Missing McKenzie

[Kathykins]

I've got a few McKenzie relatives that seem to have dropped off the face of the planet after the 1881 census!

The one that's annoying me most is John McKenzie, who was born in Caputh 3 Jun 1855. The last definite record I have for him is 1881 when he and his sister Agnes are visiting their sister Jane Ballintine, where he gives his occupation as blacksmith.

In 1891 and 1901 there's a John McKenzie married to Catherine living in Renfrew with two sons, Robert and Allan. This John McKenzie is an iron worker, and gives his place of birth as Caputh, so I'm sure it's him.

The problem is I can't find a marriage certificate for a John McKenzie and Catherine god-only-knows, or a birth certificate for Allan or Robert OR a death certificate for any of the above!

Help. Going slightly bonkers.

[AndrewP]

Hi Kathy,

The 1891 census that shows the two sons gives their ages and birthplace (not in Renfrewshire or Perthshire).

Look up the younger son's birth certificate first. That will give you the marriage details and the mother's maiden surname. From this you will see that the older son was born before the marriage. Search for him using the mother's surname, and you will find a different father for him (paternity on an RCE).

The marriage certificate is in the place and at the date given on the birth certificate.

All the best,

AndrewP

[Jane Alexander]

Hi Kathykins,

The boy Allan that you find with John McKenzie and his wife Catherine in 1891 is my great-grandfather. As AndrewP has pointed out Allan is not John’s natural son, although he used the surname McKenzie throughout his life as did his 8 children and their male-descended line. Like you, I once thought that John McKenzie born 03 June 1855 in Caputh was the same John McKenzie who married Catherine McMorran in 1878. But the parents on the 1855 birth certificate did not match the parents on the 1878 marriage certificate. So I no longer think that they are the same man, although I wouldn’t rule out some relationship. Cousins perhaps? As “John McKenzie married to Catherine McMorran” is not my great-great-grandfather by blood, I have not done much backwards research on the McKenzie line.

According to the 1855 birth record, your John is the son (and seventh child) of David McKenzie and his wife Ann Fraser. John McKenzie who marries Catherine McMorran in 1878 gives his parents as Robert McKenzie and Jane Ferguson (deceased), and in 1879 he does name his first-born son Robert McKenzie. John & Catherine had no other children, so no chance of looking further at naming patterns. And he is definitely not your John McKenzie who you found with his sisters Agnes and Jane in 1881. John & Catherine and their young family are in Carstairs, Lanark, in 1881. When my John dies in 1924 (as John Ferguson McKenzie), his parents are again reported as Robert McKenzie and Jane Ferguson.

So I think that, for now, your John McKenzie remains elusive post-1881. Good luck in tracking him down, and I hope that some other reader can help.

Jane

[Kathykins]

Thank you both - that makes life slightly easier!

I'm starting to think that they may have emigrated - I know that there are descendants of Jane McKenzie and William Ballintine in Canada, so perhaps Agnes and John went at the same time, which is why the whole family vanishes after 1881. It's a lead to follow anyway!

I wouldn't be at all surprised if John McKenzie in your tree is somehow related to my McKenzies, Jane. When I first started researching, I worked on the prinipal that if they were born in the area, they were probably the same family and I just had to find the links! David McKenzie had at least five brothers, so I'll keep my eyes open for a Robert somewhere else and let you know!