New Member seeking Chalmers in Montrose, Forfarshire

[Gladfyfe]

Hello, I am new to this site and a beginner in family history. Most of my mother's side of the family come from Montrose, Forfarshire (Angus) with some of the earlier generations coming from Kincardineshire.

I am trying to find out about Isabel or Isabella Chalmers for whom I have all the Census records as living in and being born in Montrose, certainly Angus. She was married to Alexander Fyfe. I have a birth date which appears to come from family trees through Ancestry.co.uk which gives a very specific DOB of 17 Dec 1822. However, I have not found any record in MI, OPRs or other of this particular birth. Can anyone help please? I see that there have been posts in the past from some of you with similar family names in the Dundee region - Chalmers and Milne.

I hope this is adequate information to begin with . It is a rather mysterious black hole, this one. I look forward to your help.

Many thanks,

Gladfyfe

[AndrewP]

Hi Gladfyfe,



Do you know the names of Isabella's parents?

All the best,

AndrewP

[trish1]

Hi Andrew & Gladfyfe

From census records (& after checking ancestry) parents appear to be William Chalmers and Mary Milne. There is a marriage on family search 20 Jan 1822 Montrose, Angus
I can't find any baptisms for the children on Family search - the film number for the marriages in Montrose is online - but the number given for the baptisms returns no finds. I get 11 matches at SP for Chalmers in Montrose but 0 for those parents. Could they belong to a church other than the Church of Scotland - Genuki gives a number of non-conformist churches - giving links to records at the University of Dundee - but I don't know how recent are those links.

There is a ancestry record of a death for William - 1 Mar 1855 - if that is the right William his death would list the children - were any birth dates recorded? I don't think I've seen such on an 1855 certificate
Isabella is listed as buried at Rosehill Cemetery, Montrose - which could be another source for her date of birth if there is a headstone

There are birth dates for all the children of William and Mary online - some appear to have come from the census of Canada 1901 - but I'm thinking one person has the information (family bible?) and everyone else has copied same. Some of the ancestry trees are private - it could be worth contacting those folks and checking if they will provide their source.

Trish

[Gladfyfe]

Dear Trish and Andrew,

Many thanks for your replies. Yes, the parents are William and Mary ms Milne. I have looked in theAngus Seacoast MI book but can't seem to find their records although there should be one Chalmers entry in Rosehill 8c. I can't find it! I will certainly follow up your suggestion re. other denominations of church in Dundee. I really need to find her in order to provide the link with the birth of a more distant relation by a brother or sister, George Paul Chalmers.


Very many thanks. Oh, and I just discovered that you had answered. Will I receive emails to say that people have written on the post or do I need to do something?

Helen

[nelmit]

According to newspaper reports 'he was the only son of an aged mother'..............and she was still alive in 1878.

Have you looked at George's mother's death entry for her parents names?

Regards,
Annette

[AndrewP]

Hi Gladfyfe,

If there are records in a Montrose church, other than the Established Church of Scotland, the following could be considered:

• First United Associate Congregation Church :: CH3/1177
  • baptisms 1749-1799, 1807, 1828-1831, 1932-1953
  • marriages 1760-1789
  
  Second United Associate Church :: CH3/858
  • baptisms 1842-1850, 1877-1923
  
  St Georges Free Church :: CH3/1179
  • baptisms 1847-1957
  • banns 1932-1964, 1964-1977
  
  St Johns Free Church :: CH3/1178
  • baptisms 1883-1923, 1901-1911, 1911-1976
  • banns 1932-1976
  • marriages 1833-1849

The CH3 numbers are the reference numbers for the Church records in NAS (the National Archive of Scotland at General Register House, Edinburgh).

These could also be found on microfilm #6084809 that can be hired into an LDS (Latter Day Saints) Family History Centre. To find your nearest LDS Family History Centre, see https://familysearch.org/locations/centerlocator . Looks like there are two in Fife (Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy).

Unfortunately none of these records are indexed by names, so you would need to read through the pages to see if any of your family names appear.

All the best,

AndrewP

[Bethan]

Hello Gladfyfe,

Perhaps you've managed to find the 8c Rosehill MI entry for Chalmers already, but just in case you haven't, it's on page 236.

It's listed as being on the obverse of the stone - for a James Chalmers, farmer in Easter Memus, Tannadice, who died in Fettercairn aged 86 in 1870, and his wife Betsy Miller Crichton who died in Warburton in 1874 age 77, and their sons, who predeceased them, called James, John and Archer. The west side of the stone has been eroded.

Best wishes,
Bethan