Hamilton - McMorran

[GBurke]

Hello to all from Canada
I am new to tracing genealogy and am trying to trace my Scottish ancestors. I would greatly appreciate if anyone has any information or could point me in the right direction as where I could find information. My grandfather died when I was young and my grandmother died years before I was born. My grandfathers name was William Hamilton, he was born in Stranraer, Scotland on March 7,1879, lived on a farm until he was 18. He served with the Imperial Yeomanry in the South African War in 1901 and 1902. My grandmother was Sarah McMorran, she was born in April of 1879, I do not know her birthplace. They were married in Scotland , I do not know the date, they had a daughter, Sarah Jane, that was born in Scotland in June of 1905. They came to Canada in 1907. Also on the Canadian Census of 1911, is a John Hamilton that lived with them. I assume this was my grandfathers brother, he was born in Feb. of 1885. Also living with them was Janet (McMorran) McMann, who was born in Dec. 1850 and who was widowed. I have been told that this was my grandmother's( Sarah McMorran), mother. On a website on the McMorran name, I found a Janet McMorran ,who was born on Dec. 2, 1850, in Carmacoupfoot, Douglas, Lanark. She was the daughter of John McMorran , born Nov. 14, 1827. They share the same birth month and year, but I do not know if this is the right person or not.
Thanks
Gary

[Russell]

Hi Gary

And a very warm welcome from TalkingScot


You do realise that genealogy is addictive and there is no known cure

I had a look on scotlandspeople (see the blue link at the top of the page).
I located births for 2 Sarah J* Hamiltons in 1905. You were lucky as birth information only goes up to 1906. One was in Inch, Wigtownshire, the other in Ayrshire.
I then checked for marriages between William and Sarah McMorran. Because the name McMorran appears in so many guises I used wildcards and searched for Sarah M*cM*r*n. The only one to come up was in Ayr, Ayrshire in 1905. So it is possible that the Birth in Ayrshire is more likely. Particulary as he was in the Army and was most likely in barracks in Ayr.

Scotlandspeople is a pay-to-view site but a look at the birth record and the Ayr marriage record would possibly send you back a generation to William and Sarah's parents. (It costs 1 credit to search and 5 credits to download the actual Registrar's entry)

Before you embark on a search I would recommend you to look at some of the very useful information available here on TalkingScot. The PowerPoint Presentation about TalkingScot is also very useful to help you get the most from this site. Folks on here are always pleased to be asked to solve the most obscure questions so all questions are welcomed.

Russell

[Ina]

Hi Gary,

Welcome to talkingscot.

William Hamilton married Sarah McMorran in Ayr in 1905. You will find the marriage record on scotlandspeople. The link at the top of this page will take you there.

The marriage record will tell you the parents names of both William and Sarah.


Regards,

Ina

[Ina]

Russell, looks like we both posted at exactly the same time

Ina

[GBurke]

Hello
What a wonderful site this is!! I would like to thank Russell and Ina for the information they gave me and for showing me where to find other information. I have found that tracing your ancestors is addictive, fun and very interesting. It is because of this site with its dedicated , knowledgeable and helpful moderators that will make ones quest successful.

thank you again
Gary

[Russell]

Hi Ina

Yours was more succinct than mine though

I was a bit concerned about the McMorran link. We have McMorrans too and they have come in all flavours of spelling. Hard to track down.

The wee snippet about Army campaigns could prove useful though.
Possible regimental records at Kew, census returns for 1901 in Ayr plus possible earlier family records for Wigtownshire on the Dumgal 1851 census site.

Russell

[Ina]

Hi Russell and Gary,

The nice thing about scotlandspeople is it allows the use of wildcards.

I have Moran's in my family and have seen many different spellings. For McMorran marriage.......I used M*Mo*an there was only one came up......love those wildcards

Ina