Greenock Industrial Schools Ships - Josiah Gilray.....

Looking for Scottish Ancestors

Moderator: Global Moderators

Oran
Posts: 29
Joined: Thu Feb 24, 2005 3:03 pm
Location: Hastings, East Sussex. UK.

Post by Oran » Tue Feb 14, 2006 4:56 pm

Hello Andy,

Thank-you very much for your comprehensive reply, which I think I am now starting to comprehend. :)

May I just clarify a few points before I change my tree please.
It was William the Shoemaker, the brother of Josiah Gilray Brassfounder and Engraver that married in 1853, in Barony to Janet Ferguson,
that had James 1855 and not as I thought from the information I took from here...

http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi? ... s&id=I1865

It was William Gilray, Shoemaker who married in 1853 to Armagh born, Ann Larkin, that had children,
James 1855, Ann 1857, and William 1859.

When Ann Gilray nee Larkin died in 1869 her maiden name is given wrongly as Thomson by the lodger William Kerr, and the children too young to really know thier mothers maiden name.

Andy
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Dec 12, 2004 8:06 am
Location: Gourock

Post by Andy » Tue Feb 14, 2006 10:03 pm

William the Shoemaker married Ann Larkin in Greenock in 1853

Josiah, the Brassfounder, William's brother, married Janet Ferguson with the Banns recorded in Barony.

Considering the names of William, William and Josiah's children I was hoping to find a link. William (Shoemaker) and Josiah had a brother, Duncan. William the Brassfounder had sons Duncan and Josiah but I can't see a link between the families.

The Family tree you linked to belongs to a pal of mine, Eddie Dowds, Eddie is a very accomplished genealogist but has made an error in James parents, James 100% married Elizabeth Phillips and named William the shoemaker and Ann Thomson as his parents. James 1855 birth cert is online correctly naming William and Ann Larkin as the mother.
Searching for Keogh, Kelly, Fitzgerald, Riddell, Stewart, Wilson, McQuilkin, Lynch, Boyle, Cairney, Ross, King, McIlravey, McCurdy, Drennan and Woods (to name but a few).

Also looking for any information on Rathlin Island, County Antrim, Ireland.

Oran
Posts: 29
Joined: Thu Feb 24, 2005 3:03 pm
Location: Hastings, East Sussex. UK.

Post by Oran » Wed Feb 15, 2006 11:37 am

Thank-you for clarifying, I did try to track down Eddie, and found a lot of posts by him helping others, but most of the email links were dead.

Eventually I telephoned a E. Dowds which turned out to be one of Eddie's relative's, who passed on the message. Eddie did telephone me we had a little chat and giggle, and was sorry to hear, Eddie is unable to do much ancestry now due to health problems, but he agreed to send details of how he fitted into his tree.

I had a feeling for a moment, you were going to inform me William Gilray the Brassfounder, that also had a son Josiah, had a son James born abt. 1880 and was in fact the James below, as the record from 'Registers of Seamen's Services' did not give details of home address or parents, maybe, they will hold more detailed records at Kew Archives?

After Tracey kindly posting the Gilray find on NAS. We thought it might have been Josiah 1880 changing his name to sign up, as I have read the Royal Navy were taking less boys from Industrial Training Ships, and the birth dates match excactly.
We are not sure why Josiah 1880 was found in the Greenock Industrial School in 1891. Josiah's mother had died 1883 but he was not a complete orphan, his father was still alive.

We are not sure how we can positively identify this James as Josiah?
I did search Scotlands People for a marriage for this James/Josiah? who was dismissed 31st March 1903 three months before his father James died on 29th July 1903. The search produced a list of five marriages, one was James Gilray to Elizabeth Phillips, one was the second marriage of above James Gilray to Isobella Wood in 1887 the other three did not match.

To conclude, we wonder what happened to Josiah/James after 1903 as there appears to be be no marriage, death entry, or any life event after 1903 in Greenock?
Maybe he did in fact migrate on an emigration scheme, as intially thought at the start of this post, the question is where?

May I take this opportunity, to thank you all at TalkingScot for the response, contributions, and support, we have recieved from the post concerning Josiah/James Gilray, Thank-you!

Description Name Gilray, James
Official Number: 290859
Place of Birth: Greenock, Renfrewshire
Date 17 June 1880
Catalogue reference ADM 188/468
Dept Records of the Admiralty, Naval Forces, Royal Marines, Coastguard, and related bodies
Series Admiralty: Registers of Seamen's Services
Piece 290501-291000