Looking for my ggg-father Anguish (Angus) Shaw

[lstewart]

Hello:

I am looking for my ggg-father Anguish (Angus) Shaw in Scotland. He was of the Menteith Branch of the family in Scotland.

I found him on the 1790 Federal census in North Carolina, USA. He went to Pittsylvania county, Virginia; where he married Milly Free, dau of Nickolas Free on November 8, 1810. Between 1820 and 1830, they had settled in Cumberland county, Kentucky, USA. They had thirteen (13) children. I am decended from his son Jacob and wife Susanna. Anguish died in Metcalfe county, Kentucky, USA about 1858.

My plea for help is this: I got a microfilm of our local LDS Library in Wasilla, Alaska, USA; but could not find Anguish Shaw.

I don't know how old he was when he came to America. If he was deported because of the Jacobite Rebellion. If he came straight to North Caroline, and did he have family with him.

I'd like to able to find out his approximate birth date, parents name, religion; if he was deported as a troublemaker or if he was an indentured servant.

And would there possibly be family still living in Scotland.

Thank you for your help

Libby Stewart

I am currently researching the following names: Stamper, Osborne, Ferree, Gidley, Shaw, Free, Maxey, Bryant

[SarahND]

Hi Libby,
Welcome to Talking Scot!

Are you sure your Anguish was born in Scotland? The marriage record on Ancestry.com (admittedly, it is a transcription, so I don't know what the original looks like) gives his birthplace as North Carolina:

Name: Anguish Shaw
Gender: male
Birth Place: NC
Spouse Name: Milly Free
Marriage Year: 1810
Marriage State: VA

Looking closer, however, I'm not sure that the sources of this collection of marriages are always trustworthy:

These records, which include information on over 500 years of marriages, were extracted from family group sheets, electronic databases, biographies, wills, and other sources.

Is your Angus the one who appears age 85 in Northern Division, Cumberland county, North Carolina in the 1850 census? In which case he does say he was born in Scotland and it gives you an approximate date to look for.

Which LDS film have you looked at to find his birth? And where did you find the information pointing to Menteith? Just trying to figure out what sources you have already checked.

All the best,
Sarah

[Currie]

Hello Libby and Sarah,

There’s an interesting snippet in this book.

They Took the High Road: Romances of the Shaws of Scotland and America.
A Novel By Gurthie Shaw Patch, Contributor Gurthie Shaw Patch
Published by Dietz, 1946, Original from the University of California
Digitized 12 Oct 2007, 374 pages

The snippet view, slightly expanded, says:

In 1845, George had married Barbara, daughter of Angus and Milly Shaw. Angus had come to America in 1810, and was a member of the Menteith branch of the family in Scotland. He had married his Virginia sweetheart and settled in Warren County, Kentucky. George and Barbara Shaw were the great-grandparents of the author, and their marriage certificate bears the signature of the Reverend Blair, ………

http://books.google.com.au/books?id=SlB ... lr=&pgis=1

Also the author of Highland Brotherhoods
By Gurthie Shaw Patch, Published by Pegasus Pub. Co, 1939, 250 pages

Alan

[lstewart]

Hi Sarah and Alan:

I was really pleased to have received your reply so quickly after posting my first query.

You made some really good points, I don't know for a fact he was born in Scotland not in North Carolina, USA.

But I have a Shaw family history book written by Mary Edith Shaw Mallicott. Who is decended through one of Anguish and Milly's 13 children. I am decended through their son Jacob and Susan.

The book says he was born in Scotland and was a part of the Menteith branch of the family.

I want to trace him back to Scotland and find information about his family there.

If any one is interested in Angusih and Milly's history in this book, I'll be happy to share.

Since I'm new to researching in Scotland or anywhere overseas, how does this work; can someone look up info in Scotland?

Please tell me how to proceed.

Thanks for your help.

Libby

[SarahND]

Hi Libby,
You have my sympathies here... it is very difficult to make the jump backwards across the Atlantic that early on and be reasonably certain that one has the correct person. The early records in Scotland can be accessed for free on the IGI at FamilySearch.org and, a more complete list, with the actual images, at ScotlandsPeople.co.uk (link at the top of this page). Unfortunately, the records are not complete. If Anguish's family did not belong to the Church of Scotland, or if simply the christenings from that area didn't survive, then you're out of luck, unless you can get to Edinburgh and look at some of the surviving records from other churches

Offhand, I don't see an obvious birth for Anguish in Scotland. You could always make an educated guess of his parents' names if he adhered to the Scottish naming pattern in naming his children. What were their names in order of birth?

Ideally, one could find a will naming him as a son-- but again, I don't see anything obvious. Maybe someone else can think of something. I wish you better luck than I have had with my 18th century Stewart immigrants!

Cheers,
Sarah