Daniel Blair, b. 1808 Glasgow - father Duncan

[Lynne Tasker]

Hi everyone.
I wonder if anyone can help with a brick wall I have. My 3 x great grandfather Daniel Blair was born in 1808 in Glasgow. He married Elizabeth McDougal 10/4/1831 and they lived at Market St Prentices Land and 3 West Burn St, Greenock.

The birth record I have for Daniel from Scotlands People shows his father as Duncan Blair, occupation Confectioner, and married to Elizabeth Ferguson. I have no exact birth year, but have assumed around 1780 as their youngest child (Finlay was born 1804 and died 1816). I have searched Ancestry and Scotlands People but can't find an 1841 census for either Daniel or his parents (and assuming all the children have now left home). Siblings are Catherine (1806), James (1811), Margaret (1814) and Finlay (1819).

Also, I'm looking for Duncan's parents and siblings. A search of Scotlands People came up with half a dozen or so possible fathers called Duncan, but there's no way of telling if any of these are correct. To add to the confusion, I've now also found possible parents on IGI named John Blair and Agnes Livingston.

Is anybody out there researching the same line by any chance, or maybe have any suggestions? Any help would be much appreciated.

Has anybody got any ideas (short of going to Scotland - and I live in Cornwall!) of how I can move forward on this?

Thanks.
Lynne

[AndrewP]

Hi Lynne,

Welcome to TalkingScot.

A parent search on the online IGI gives a slightly different line-up of children, as follows.

• THOMAS BLAIR - Christening: 16 AUG 1802 Balfron, Stirlingshire
  FINLAY BLAIR - Birth: 07 MAY 1804 Glasgow, Lanarkshire
  CATHRINE BLAIR - Birth: 18 APR 1806 Glasgow, Lanarkshire
  DANIEL BLAIR - Birth: 19 AUG 1808 Glasgow, Lanarkshire
  JAMES BLAIR - Birth: 01 FEB 1811 Glasgow, Lanarkshire
  MARGARET BLAIR - Birth: 24 JAN 1814 Glasgow, Lanarkshire
  ELIZABETH BLAIR - Birth: 12 FEB 1819 Glasgow, Lanarkshire
  MARGARET BLAIR - Birth: 24 JUN 1821 Glasgow, Lanarkshire

It was quite common for the mother to go home to her mother for the birth of the first child, so Balfron, Stirlingshire may be worth a look to seek the mother's family.

The next generation's listing by a parent search on the online IGI gives a more sparse list. If these are indeed of the same family group, then there is a strong possibility that there should be more births in the 10 year gap.

• PETER BLAIR - Christening: 29 OCT 1831 West Or Old Parish, Greenock, Renfrewshire
  DANIEL BLAIR - Christening: 10 OCT 1841 Campbeltown, Argyll
  JOSEPH BLAIR - Christening: 08 OCT 1843 Campbeltown, Argyll

I take it you have seen Elizabeth Blair / McDougall's death certificate on ScotlandsPeople. Daniel had the misfortune of signing the death certificate of his wife's suicide.

LATER: The 1861 census shows the family with more children, some born in Campbeltown, so the pair above should be of this family group.

All the best,

AndrewP

[nelmit]

I wonder if this record is worth looking at since Elizabeth is on her own with the children in 1841. I know the occupation is wrong but I am hoping it is mis transcribed.

Name: Daniel Bain
Age: 35
Estimated birth year: abt 1806
Gender: Male
Where born: Scotland
Civil parish: Greenock Middle
County: Renfrewshire
Address: Shaw Street
Occupation: Hatter J
Parish Number: 564
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
John Blair 45
Isabella Blair 40
Elizabeth Blair 20
Janet Blair 8
Mary Blair 6
John Blair 2
William Buchanan 35
Daniel Bain 35

I see your comprehensive tree on Peter at Ancestry is missing the 1871 census. He is at Newton Abbot, Devon transcribed as Blain.

Regards,
Annette

[Lynne Tasker]

Hi Andrew

Thanks for the information - it was very useful in that you've found a couple more births that I didn't have. I had a look at the death for Elizabeth McDougal and I see that the mother's maiden name is shown as Dow, whereas I have parents as Alexander McDougal (1775-1849) and Janet Fulton (1778-1846). Also, I have Elizabeth Blair on the 1881 census, living with daughter Christina whose married name is now Wilkie. On the death certificate Daniel is shown as a ship's carpenter which is the correct occupation, but I have them on the census as living at 3 West Burn Street, Greenock, so I think that this may be the wrong one.

The next generation you have listed is correct and I have found 8 siblings for Peter Blair (1831). Interestingly Peter was born only 5 months after Elizabeth and Daniel married... the marriage records have their record squeezed in at the bottom of the page, so I think we can draw our own conclusions on that one!

Anyway, back to my "digging"... if you have any ideas about Daniel's father Duncan, especially in his role as confectioner, I'd be pleased to hear them. In the meantime, thanks again for your help.

Regards
Lynne

[Lynne Tasker]

Hi Annette

Thanks for your suggestion and I will certainly have a look at the 1841 census you suggested.

With regards to the 1871 census - thank you!! It's been driving me mad for some time. I knew the family were still around that area as I have Peter Blair's coastguard records and they confirm that. I had a feeling it may have been mis-transcribed... funny how something that simple can throw you.

Once again, many thanks.

Regards
Lynne

[AndrewP]

Hi Lynne,

The online IGI has a multitude of entries for the offspring of Alexander McDougall and Janet Fulton (various spellings), but every one of them is an LDS submission. There are no entries extracted from the records, so unless you can find any other documents to show these people are the family you are seeking, then it could be difficult to show that this is the right family line to be following.

The online IGI offers this lot (the LDS submissions).

• LDS submissions
  Alexander McDougall - Birth: About 1801 Of, Johnstone, Renfrewshire
  Alexander McDougall - Birth: About 1801 Of, Johnstone, Renfrewshire
  
  Daniel McDougall - Birth: About 1801 Of, Johnstone, Renfrewshire
  Daniel <MCDOUGALL> - Birth: About 1801 Johnstone, Renfrewshire
  
  Dougall <MCDOUGALL> - Birth: 1803 Johnstone, Renfrewshire
  Dougall McDougall - Birth: 1803 Of, Johnstone, Renfrewshire
  
  Mary McDougall - Birth: 12 DEC 1805 Johnstone, Renfrewshire
  Mary McDougall - Birth: 18 DEC 1805 Of, Johnstone, Renfrewshire
  Mary McDougall - Birth: 18 DEC 1805 Johnstone, Renfrewshire
  MARY MCDOUGALL - Birth: 18 DEC 1805 Johnstone, Renfrewshire
  Mary <MCDOUGALL> - Birth: 18 DEC 1805 Johnstone, Renfrewshire
  
  Margaret <MCDOUGALL> - Birth: About 1807 Johnstone, Renfrewshire
  Margaret McDougall - Birth: About 1807 Johnstone, Renfrewshire
  
  Daniel MCDOUGALL - Birth: About 1807 <Johnstone, Renfrew, Renfrewshire>
  Daniel MCDOUGALL - Birth: About 1807 <Johnstone, Renfrew, Renfrewshire>
  Daniel MCDOUGAL - Birth: About 1807 Johnstone, Renfrewshire
  
  Elizabeth McDougall - Birth: 1809 Of, Johnstone, Renfrewshire
  Elizabeth McDougall - Birth: 1809 Of, Johnstone, Renfrewshire
  Elizabeth <MCDOUGALL> - Birth: 1809 Johnstone, Renfrewshire
  Elizabeth Mc Dougal - Birth: 1809, Scotland
  
  Alexander <MCDOUGALL> - Birth: 1812 Johnstone, Renfrewshire
  
  Margaret MCDOUGALL - Birth: About 1814 <Johnstone, Renfrewshire>
  Margaret MCDOUGALL - Birth: About 1814 <Johnstone, Renfrewshire>
  Margaret MCDOUGALL - Birth: About 1814 <Johnstone, Renfrewshire>
  
  Thomas MCDOUGAL - Birth: 1814 Johnstone, Renfrewshire
  Thomas MCDOUGAL - Birth: 1814 Johnstone, Renfrewshire
  Thomas MCDOUGAL - Birth: 1814 Johnstone, Renfrewshire
  Thomas MCDOUGAL - Birth: 1814 Johnstone, Renfrewshire

All the best,

AndrewP