When was she born???

[caljam371]

According to FamilySearch my GGreat Grandmother was born:

MARY WOTHERSPOON
Birth: 22 JUL 1820 Blantyre, Lanark, Scotland
Father: ALEXANDER WOTHERSPOON
Mother: MARION NIELSON

BUT

According to the censuses:
1841 Age 15 so b.1826
1851 Age 25 so b.1826
1861 Age 30 so b.1831
1881 Age 50 so b.1831
1891 Age 65 so b.1826
1901 Age 74 so b.1827

Her marriage in 1855 said she was 26 so b.1829. (According to the MC he was only 23 - do you think she lied to get a younger man????)

I know the censuses rounded up ages but by 11 years????

[AndrewP]

I know the censuses rounded up ages but by 11 years????

The only census that was supposed to have had the ages rounded was 1841, for over 15 year olds. The others should all be the real ages. But we have all seen the ages are somewhat variable.

All the best,

AndrewP

[caljam371]

I know the censuses rounded up ages but by 11 years????

The only census that was supposed to have had the ages rounded was 1841, for over 15 year olds. The others should all be the real ages. But we have all seen the ages are somewhat variable.

All the best,

AndrewP

That's what I thought.
ODD!!

[paddyscar]

Hi Caljam:

There's more than 1 oddity about her ages. She was born in 1820

• 1841 - 1820 = 21 not 15 - not likely to lie about age that young -6 years
  1851 - 1820 = 31 not 25 - ""
  1855 - 1820 = 35 not 26 - could her age on registry be 21? - 9 years
  1861 - 1820 = 41 not 30 -11 years
  1881 - 1820 = 61 not 50 -11 years
  1891 - 1820 = 71 not 65 -6 years - common 'alteration' as they age
  1901 - 1820 = 81 not 74 -7 years - ""

Her marriage in 1855 said she was 26 so b.1829. (According to the MC he was only 23 - do you think she lied to get a younger man????)

Sometimes if a child dies, a subsequent child may be given the same name or a variation. So, I wonder if there were 2 girls whose names started with Mar born to Alexander and Mar* W*therspoon between 1820 - 1830.

There are 2 records in the OPR - one for 1820 and one for 1825 - it may be that you have the birth of one and the census of another - which may be the case if Mar* born 1820 died before the first census record of 1841.

It might be worth checking out that second record on ScotlandsPeople.

Frances

[Russell]

Hi

You wrote
According to FamilySearch my GGreat Grandmother was born:

MARY WOTHERSPOON
Birth: 22 JUL 1820 Blantyre, Lanark, Scotland
Father: ALEXANDER WOTHERSPOON
Mother: MARION NIELSON

This entry appears to be a submission on IGI rather than extracted from the records.
Submissions are notorious for giving estimated dates and hazarding guesses at place of birth or marriage based on (gu)estimates by the researcher who may know little, if anything, about the local area.
If you are sure about her parentage based on more accurate sources then the OPR may give some answers - BUT - don't use the IGI date as a certainty. If the guess is based on something like a marriage date and she was their last of many children it could be 25-30 years out.
Blantyre was a mining area and miners families moved around, usually within the area but some moved to Ayrshire, others to Fife and christenings were sometimes forgotten about, or carried out in a batch with older children being christened on the same date as the latest arrival.
If the family were members of the Free Church of Scotland or another smaller faith branch then the original records may not be available or not yet digitised.
I would suggest averaging out the ages given on the various censuses as a more accurate indicator of her possible age.

Russell

[caljam371]

Sometimes if a child dies, a subsequent child may be given the same name or a variation. So, I wonder if there were 2 girls whose names started with Mar born to Alexander and Mar* W*therspoon between 1820 - 1830.

There are 2 records in the OPR - one for 1820 and one for 1825 - it may be that you have the birth of one and the census of another - which may be the case if Mar* born 1820 died before the first census record of 1841.

It might be worth checking out that second record on ScotlandsPeople.

Frances

Where do you find the second Mar*?

I searched SP for W*therspoon, Mar* - Parents Al* between 1820 & 1830, Lanark and only get one match - narrowed down further is 22 July 1820.

[caljam371]

Hi

You wrote
According to FamilySearch my GGreat Grandmother was born:

MARY WOTHERSPOON
Birth: 22 JUL 1820 Blantyre, Lanark, Scotland
Father: ALEXANDER WOTHERSPOON
Mother: MARION NIELSON

This entry appears to be a submission on IGI rather than extracted from the records.
Submissions are notorious for giving estimated dates and hazarding guesses at place of birth or marriage based on (gu)estimates by the researcher who may know little, if anything, about the local area.
If you are sure about her parentage based on more accurate sources then the OPR may give some answers - BUT - don't use the IGI date as a certainty. If the guess is based on something like a marriage date and she was their last of many children it could be 25-30 years out.
Blantyre was a mining area and miners families moved around, usually within the area but some moved to Ayrshire, others to Fife and christenings were sometimes forgotten about, or carried out in a batch with older children being christened on the same date as the latest arrival.
If the family were members of the Free Church of Scotland or another smaller faith branch then the original records may not be available or not yet digitised.
I would suggest averaging out the ages given on the various censuses as a more accurate indicator of her possible age.

Russell

Under the record there is the message:
Extracted birth or christening record for the locality listed in the record. The source records are usually arranged chronologically by the birth or christening date.

The MC clearly has the parent's names.

There are also submisions on FS as follows:

Results for: Wotherspoon, Scotland, British Isles
Father: Alexander Wotherspoon, Mother: Marion Neilson
Exact Spelling: Off
Film Number: 457676
International Genealogical Index / British Isles - 12
Select records to download - (50 maximum)
1. Alexander Witherspoon
Gender: Male Birth: 14 DEC 1798 Coatshill, , Lanark, Scotland
2. Alexander Witherspoon
Gender: Male Christening: 26 DEC 1798 Blantyre, Lanark, Scotland
3. Janet Witherspoon
Gender: Female Birth: 30 NOV 1800 Blantyre, Lanark, Scotland
4. Janet Witherspoon
Gender: Female Christening: 07 DEC 1800 Blantyre, Lanark, Scotland
5. Agnes Witherspoon
Gender: Female Birth: 14 FEB 1803 Blantyre, Lanark, Scotland
6. Agnes Witherspoon
Gender: Female Christening: 19 FEB 1803 Blantyre, Lanark, Scotland
7. Marion Witherspoon
Gender: Female Birth: 12 JAN 1805 Rcd Blantyre,Coatshill, , Lanark, Scotland
8. William Witherspoon
Gender: Male Birth: 31 MAR 1807 Rcd Blantyre,Coatshill, , Lanark, Scotland
9. John Witherspoon
Gender: Male Birth: 03 NOV 1809 Rcd Blantyre,Coatshill, , Lanark, Scotland
10. David Witherspoon
Gender: Male Birth: 13 AUG 1814 Rcd Blantyre,Wheatlandhead, , Lanark, Scotland
11. Robert Witherspoon
Gender: Male Birth: 13 APR 1816 Rcd Blantyre,Wheatlandhead, , Lanark, Scotland
12. Mary Witherspoon
Gender: Female Birth: 22 JUL 1820 Rcd Blantyre,Wheatlandhead, , Lanark, Scotland

It looks as if she was the last of 9 but Mum would have only been 36ish when Mary was born so it is possible that there were more - haven't found them though.

Lorna

[apanderson]

Hi Lorna,

According to the British Vital Records (which are supposed to be extractions only) these are the children of Alexander & Marion (all born/christened in Blantyre)

Alexander, born 14th December 1798, christened 27th December 1798
Janet, born 30th November 1800, christened 7th December 1800
Agnes, born 14th February 1803, christened 19th February 1803
Marion, born 12th January 1805, christened 20th January 1805
William, born 31st March 1807, christened 5th April 1807
John, born 3rd November 1809, christened - not listed
Robert, born 13th April 1816, christened - not listed
Mary, born 22nd July 1820, christened - not listed.

The mother Marion is listed as Nelson, Neilson and Nielson

Looking at the births, the children seemed to come along every two years except after John where there's a 5 year gap, then a four year gap to Mary. This could mean there were other children who were still-born etc. - but that would make them even younger than the last child Mary, born in 1820??

Anne

[caljam371]

Thanks Anne,

There was also David b. 1814 (I have him in the 1841 & 1851 censuses aged 20 & 30 respectively - another age that doesn't seem quite right)

[paddyscar]

Where do you find the second Mar*?

I searched SP for W*therspoon, Mar* - Parents Al* between 1820 & 1830, Lanark and only get one match - narrowed down further is 22 July 1820.

I tried it again entering:
Surname: W*therspoon
First name: Mar* check box Return all forenames that begin with these characters
Parent name: Alexander
Parent name: Mar*
Date from: 1 January 1825
Date to: 31 December 1825
County/City: All records
Parish: All parishes

Frances