Kinross kin confusion.....

TerryJ · Post by **TerryJ** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 4:30 pm

Hi All:
This is my first time on a forum and directly contacting Scotland. So, be gentle with this Yank. I may not be up on your acronyms.

I'm having trouble reconciling ages and dates that are on records relating to my g-grandfather, James WATSON. The 1900 US Census gives his bd as July 1838. The 1881 Tillicoultry Census gives his age as 42. Fine. The extract of his 1860 Saline marriage gives his age as 21. Fine again. The problem arose when I located him in the 1851 and 1841 Orwell, Kinross (his birthplace) Censuses. They give his age as 14 and 4, respectively. I had Ancestry, Inc. do a birth/christening search giving them the July 1838 date. They came back with a photocopy of his 8 Sep 1836 birth record. Parents, Robert WATSON and Margaret BEVERIDGE, match on all my documents. Siblines' names match. I'm flummoxed! I know the names are common. But Milnathorort isn't exactly a metropolis. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Terry

DavidWW · Post by **DavidWW** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 5:01 pm

Hi Terry

Welcome to TalkingScot !

Milnathort is not only a small town but also a parish, which contains Orwell.

When the birthplace is described as "Orwell, Kinross", - that means Orwell in the county of Kinross. As Orwell is actually in Milnathort parish the entry could also have read "Milnathort, Kinross" !! .......

It's not uncommon to find such relatively minor variations in ages given in the censuses. Since the parents names fit, and the names of the siblings fit, then you be can near certain that the 0Sep1836 record is correct, - note that this date is the birth, - the baptism would have been later, see the International Genealogical Index .......

JAMES WATSON - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Birth: 08 SEP 1836
JAMES WATSON - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Christening: 18 SEP 1836 Orwell, Kinross, Scotland

So why did James give Jul1838 later. Who knows

And not a single acronym

David

TerryJ · Post by **TerryJ** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 5:30 pm

David:

Wow! That was fast and painless. I guess I had things turned around. I thought Orwell was the parish and Milnathort was a cross-roads town. At any rate, thanks for not thinking me crazy. Men usually try to make themselves older to join the army, etc. Oh well.

While I have you here—any suggestions on how I proceed to get more info on Robert WATSON and Margaret BEVERIDGE? I only know that their first child was born in 1826. So, they were probably married ca. 1825 (haven't been able the find marriage documents).

Hope it's not bad form to contact the Mother Isle on our Independance Day!

Terry

DavidWW · Post by **DavidWW** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 6:31 pm

Hi Terry

Nae prob!

Milnathort is both a wee toon, and a parish, not an uncommon situation..........

For Robert and Margaret, you need to go to www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk , and look first for a death matching both of Margaret's surnames, - WATSON and BEVERIDGE.

There is one matching on age, in Tillicoultry, another registration district in the county of Clackmannan, just to the West of the county of Kinross, but, as luck would have it, there's no image, so either you'll have to wait until some kind soul can look it up for you at New Register House, or Park Circus, or spend £10 ordering it ...............

Taking a complete flyer on Robert also having departed this mortal coil in Tillicoultry turns out to give you his death register entry - I don't really believe his age, but he is shown as the correct occupation, and as the widower of Margaret BEVERIDGE, so there's ain't too much doubt that it's him, - but it would be sensible to wait and see what appears on Margaret's death record, e.g. address at the time of death, and you should also have a look for them in the censuses, starting in 1841 ......

Don't get all excited about the annotations in the left hand column, - this most probably relates to the fact there's no cause of death shown, so that this has been added via an entry in the Register of Corrected entries...

With the info on his parents, you can then pay a visit to www.familysearch.org , and, in the International Genealogical Index section, do a search based on those parents , - there's two extracts in particular around the expected date for what are probably Robert's siblings, both in Orwell, but no entry for a Robert ........... watch out as most of the other entries are patrons' submissions as opposed to extracts............

And still not an acronym in sight

David

TerryJ · Post by **TerryJ** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 8:10 pm

Hi David:

Awesome!, as we hyperbole prone Yanks say. It's off to Tillicoultry we go. That's the WATSON family homestead before they left for Canada and the US. Thanks again for your fast, informative and acronym-free response. This is a wonderful site you have here. I'm sure I'll be talkin' to ye in the future.

Cheers,

Terry

pinkshoes · Post by **pinkshoes** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 9:50 pm

Hello Terry - If you can wait a couple of weeks I'll look up the death record of Margaret for you - I'm going to Scotland for the last 2 weeks in July and intend to spend plenty of time at NRH.

I also have kin born in Orwell, so I expect that makes us cousins

Best wishes
Pinkshoes

TerryJ · Post by **TerryJ** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 9:59 pm

Hi Pinkshoes:

That would be lovely. I much appreciate your kind offer and hope you have a wonderful time in Scotland!

Terry