Which Parrish for Birth 1750?

[mszig]

William Manson born 6 Dec 1750 in the "northern Shires" of Caithness. Was a weaver in Dunnet in 1774 before sailing from Kirkwall to America. Which Parrish should I look in? Or is it hopeless for that date? I found nothing in Dunnet.

[SarahND]

Hi mszig,
Welcome to Talking Scot!
Where did you get the information you do have about his birth and occupation? Are you reasonably confident that it is correct?
On http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk there is no such birth, but there is one (most likely a christening) in May 1751 in Dunnett. Could this be your man? If you have his birth date correctly, he could have been christened 5 months later.

All the best,
Sarah

[mszig]

Hello, and thank you for the quick response. His birth information is from a letter he wrote applying for a Pension from the American Revolution. the dates he gave matched his age on a passenger record from 1775 on the ship Marlborough into Savannah in December with wife Elizabeth Sinclair also aged 24. She dies and leaves a child named Sinclair Manson.

I saw the christening info...but wondered if this was my guy since the father on that record was Donald Manson and Janet Anderson.....the Family reused the name William through several generations, but never used the name Donald for any of the boys.....William, James, Isaac no Donalds. Girls were named MaryAnn, Elizabeth, no Janets.......so the christening record didn't seem likely. However I am a novice at Scottish genealogy so any guidance is very appreciated. There were several other Mansons on board that ship to America as indentured servants in 1775.

The passenger record lists him as a weaver from Dunnet....anyway to find tax records, apprentice records? anything from that time period?

[AndrewP]

Hi Mszig,

Your search year of 1750 is unlucky for Dunnet's OPRs. The oldest surviving records there date from 1751.

• 36. DUNNET
  36/1 B 1751-1820 M 1797-1820 D 1751-56
  36/2 B 1820-54 M 1820-54

If you want any of the neighbouring parishes, there are three with landward boundaries with Dunnet, as follows.

• 34. BOWER
  34/1 B 1727-1819 M 1740-1820 D 1790-95
  34/2 B 1819-55 M 1820-54 D -
  RNE
  
  35. CANISBAY
  35/1 B 1652-1819 M 1652-1819 D -
  35/2 B 1819-62 M 1819-54 D -
  RNE
  
  39. OLRIG
  39/1 B 1699-1819 M 1699-1820 D -
  39/2 B 1818-54 M 1820-54 D -

All the best,

AndrewP