Major brick wall....can anyone help, please?

[gerry55]

Searching for my Pat(t)erson ancestors. Only know for sure that my great, great grandfather emigrated from Scotland to Canada about 1820. His birth place, parents and sibling names (if any) are not recorded in family documents. Assuming that my great, great aunts and uncles were named after the grandparents living in Scotland, the most probable names of his parents would be William and Isabella. Using SP and LDS databases, I've discovered a William Paterson married to Isabella Mason, june 17, 1794 at Kintore, Aberdeen, Scotland. They lived in the Kemnay District and had 5 children, Anne b. 31 March 1795, William b. Aug 22, 1796, James b. Jan 10, 1798, Elspet b.1802 and Charles b. Feb 1803. I'm trying to determine if the son William was my great, great grandfather. If I could track down descendents of any of the children perhaps someone could tell me if William emigrated to North America or if he died in Scotland.

I've found records indicating that Elspet married George Milne and she died Mar 13, 1878 in New Machar. She had a niece Jane Moir whose name is shown as the Informant in the Statutory Death Register. I don't know any further details on the other children.

Any help, clues or suggestions to further my research would be most welcomed.

[speleobat2]

Hi Gerry,

What was your great, great grandfather's wife's name and their childrens' names? There are many William Pat(t)ersons on the 1851 Canada census in Ontario. Do you have access to Ancestry.com? I can't look at all of the results as I have dial-up and downloading the originals takes a long time, but I can look at some of them for you.

Carol

[gerry55]

Hi Carol,

Thank you very much for your offer to do some look-ups for me in the 1851 census. I have checked a number of the Ontario census documents already and have traced the family to Dundas County in EAstern Ontario. This has helped me locate a number of descendants of the great, great aunts and uncles that were born in Canada, but unfortunately, none of them have been able to provide any additional information regarding relatives left back in Scotland or details concerning the specific parish where William was born.

If only I could find William's correct parental link back in Scotland or even better a relative or two, it would be wonderful. Thanks again.

Gerry

[speleobat2]

Hi again,

I was hoping that another sibling's name would turn up on one of the census records or passenger lists to give you a clue!

I've been doing some digging on the William Paterson/Isabella Mason family and it isn't looking good. Family Search has 6 children for them--the five you listed plus Jean b. 1799. On the 1841 Scotland census, it looks like Charles, Elspet, and William are all living together on a farm in Monymusk. Charles and Elspet each marry in 1842. Charles to Margaret Malcolm in Kemnay and Elspet to George Milne in Monymusk. Jean/Jane married William Moir in 1825 in Monymusk. In 1861, William is living with Jean/Jane Moir and her two daughters Jane and Elspet in Old Machar. I haven't purchased any of the death certs for these people, but I think if you were to find one for William Paterson after 1861, it would most likely be the son of William Paterson and Isabella Mason (Meson, Messon, Masson) and since this one remained in Scotland, he couldn't be your 2x great grandfather.

Keep hunting though. I recently found my 2x great grandmother's brother after looking for her siblings for three years!

Carol

[gerry55]

Hi Carol,

Wow! Thanks so much for all your research. It's too bad that it wasn't my g2x grandfather though as it would have been the gold mine I was hoping to find.
Nevertheless, he may turn out to be a cousin or distant member of the family when I finally do find my William so I'll tuck your research away for later reference. Meanwhile, I won't be giving up. I've been looking for William's birth place since I retired 5 years ago. I visited Scotland in 2008 hoping to find some clues there that would advance my research. Unfortunately, soon after my arrival in Glasgow I learned that Pat(t)erson is such a common name that I'd have a better chance of finding the needle in the proverbial haystack than I would at locating his birth place. Maybe I'll be luckier next time.

Well, it's back to the drawing board for me. Thanks again for your help. I'm truely grateful.

Gerry