The hunt for the mysterious M Strange

I have been researching my friend Alice's tree since April when I broke my leg and was stuck at home for a few weeks.  I have stuck with it as it is easy to get sucked in!

I had a long look for descendants of Alexander Shepherd of Aberdeen. Two daughters Annie and Helena were hard to track down. One day (the 24 June)  while in the Burns Centre in Kilmarnock I looked for deaths of Ann/Annie Shepherd all over Scotland not just in Aberdeen and found it in 1943 in Inverness.  She was single and a lady's companion. The informant was one M Strange, niece, with an address of the Palace Court Hotel in Westminster in London. So who was M Strange with the rather posh address?

Then I had to look for her parents; which Shepherd could have married a Strange or was she a Mrs Strange?

We had a look at some Shepherds in Hackney but they seemed to have been there since the 1830s while our lot were in Aberdeen, so they were discounted. By this time we had tracked down all the other Shepherd siblings except Helena who was last heard of in 1871 working in a hotel in George Square, Glasgow.

There was a marriage in Yorkshire in 1886 of a Helena Shepherd with a father Alexander to David Beath father Alexander. Did some digging and found his parents originally from Scotland living in Islington in London. David Beath worked in stationery. David and Helena had 6 children born in Fulham including Marjorie born 1890.

In July Alice found a marriage of a Marjorie Shepherd Beath to Louis A Strange in Hanover, London  in 1915? Could M Strange be Marjorie? She would have been 53 when her aunt Annie Shepherd died in 1943.

All a bit circumstantial, but Strange and Beath are not such common names as Shepherd. One other pointer is that a brother of Helena named a son David Beith Shepherd in 1894, so he could have been named after his aunty's husband. I have see that before.

Today though I located the Beaths in the 1911 census. The parents have eluded me in earlier ones, although the children turn up in boarding schools. Who would have thought that stationery would be so lucrative?  I suppose the parents were abroad. In 1911 they are living in Marylebone road with  daughter Nora and 5 servants. He is still down as working in stationery, a department manager, but the crucial proof is that Helena, or Lena, as she is calling herself was born in Aberdeen so she is the right Helena Shepherd! 

And Marjorie's husband was a famous airman Louis Arbon Strange

Anyone with ancestry account can, I think, see Helena here

UPDATE: 9  March 2012
I found David, Lena and Kenneth Beath in Dorset valuation roll via ancestry and a burial entry for Helena's husband and son Kenneth at the Anglican Cemetery in Langton Matravers in Dorset and had another go at finding her death. Definitely nothing in England or Scotland which made me think she may have gone to live with another child abroad.
Her daughter Esme Katherine Beath married John Cyril Lloyd and some googling led me to New Zealand. Her son-in-law was buried in Waikamate. Many thanks to Sandy Em for posting the photo and the research.  New Zealand births marriage and deaths are online so I tried Lena Beath and there she was. Died in New Zealand 1928.

Still to find them in 1891 and 1901 censuses though!

All this from one signature M Strange on a death certificate!

Success

I am pleased to report a success.
Yesterday  I was asked to look for a marriage in Scotland for a couple who emigrated to Canada arriving in May 1881 They were Mr & Mrs Douglas accompanied by a nephew.
I was told their names were David or John Douglas and Jane Rose Brodie.
Since they had no children, I reckoned they married quite soon before 1881, but no combination of the names was yielding any results.
The Canadian descendant had identified the Brodies in Dalry Ayrshire and the Douglases in Leith. Being in  Ayrshire, I started with the Brodies. Jane is in 1871 census but not 1881 which fitted, but any Jane Brodie marriages were to other men.
Then I just tried for David Douglas marriages to Jane blank and 3 came up. I tried the one closest to 1881 and bingo!
David Douglas married Jane Rosie, daughter of John Rosie and Margaret Rose. Rosie not Brodie! The Rose middle name stems from her mother's maiden name.
The Douglases did match the family identified. I found David and Jane in Edinburgh in 1881 and saw she was born in Orkney. So far I haven't managed to find the family any earlier although there are lots of Rosies in Orkney and Caithness. None of them quite match. Names of John, Margaret and Jane are not distinctive enough!

Mysterious name change?

I had spotted a likely marriage of one of husband's Flemings, Janet b 1840 to James Smith coal miner in 1860 in Patna but could find no further trace of them.
I thought no more about it until I had an email suggesting that Janet was the wife of James Scullion. Further investigation revealed that they were recorded in the 1861 census as Scullion. I got the marriage certificate from scotlandspeople for more information. It was the right Janet Fleming and his parents were Hugh Smith, seaman and Sarah Mclean.
Ancestry research goes so much better when there are more than one of you researching and coming at it from different angles. The Scullions were from Ireland. We locate the family in the 1851 census at the Netherton Coal works in East Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire. Sarah Scullion is a widow, a house servant, born Ireland 1811. Three children are with her John Scullion 20 a coal miner, Mary Ann Scullion 18 a dressmaker and the aforementioned James Scullion all born Ireland.
In the 1861 census James and wife Janet (Fleming) along with baby Elizabeth (named after Janet's mother following Scottish naming patterns) are at Gartnavel Farm in the parish of Govan in Glasgow and with them is his mother Sarah aged 50 formerly a servant. He is still a coal miner.
So why was he calling himself Smith when he got married? I and the other researcher exchanged emails with all sorts of suggestions and I posted a query on the talkingscot forum. At last, an experienced researcher came up with what I am satisfied with is the solution.
Irish James, the nervous groom, would be asked his name. "Smith" was how the registrar heard it. When asked father's name he answered Hugh. Since James was illiterate (from his x mark on the marriage certificate) and Janet was barely literate (from her handwriting) they did not know that the wrong name had been recorded. Sometimes you just have to picture the situation!
Baby Elizabeth, born in December 1860, is registered by her mother as Elizabeth Fleming Smith. I can only presume that Janet had the marriage certificate with her to prove the baby was legitimate. The next child John born 1863 is registered Scullion with no mention of Smith. The only other mention of Smith is on wife Janet's death certificate where Smith is middle name of her husband, informant their son John.
I have emailed scotlandspeople to ask how the Scullions could have sorted this out, if there is a record of it.
As for James's father Hugh who was deceased by 1851, he is variously recorded as a seaman, a farm servant and a seaman in the US navy! Another mystery to be solved!

Check out the siblings and in-laws!

I always include other members of the family, brothers and sisters, the in-laws and even check out the neighbours who often turn out to be family members.

Sometimes I chide myself that I have too much information, but often it turns out to be useful information.

Having the siblings on your tree makes it easy to find the correct family in other censuses, even with surname mistranscriptions.

When children are orphaned, which happened often enough, they are taken in by other family members, grandparents, aunts and uncles, older siblings.

Here is a recent example.

Christina Moffat Smith daughter of a Muirkirk shoemaker, married a butcher from Galashiels George Fairbairn. They had 3 children before George died in Monte Video, Paraguay in 1868. Quite what he was doing in Paraguay is still to be discovered, but another researcher found his death notice in a Gala newspaper.

The 2 oldest children were with the Smith grandparents in 1871 in Muirkirk and in 1881 she and all three children are with her family in Muirkirk. I had to search long and hard for Christina and 2 year old Agnes in 1871. It was only by going through her siblings in turn that I found her. In 1871 they are in Glasgow with 2 of her brothers and a nephew (son of another brother).

Even when you find people lodging with another family with an unknown name, check for marriages between the two names. For example, today I found Mary Oliphant and husband Hugh Philp visiting Thomas Methven and wife Margaret. A quick check for Thomas and Margaret's marriages reveal her to be Margaret Oliphant. Result!

George Thompson, or is he?

I was contacted this week by a lady whose great grandfather married into my Raes in 1888. She was having trouble finding anything on him earlier. On the marriage certificate in Ayrshire his name is George E Ellerington Thompson, father William Thompson gardener and mother Rachel Thompson, maiden surname Ellerington, deceased.

From the 1891 and 1901 censuses he was born about 1852 in England (big place).

I though with such a distinctive name he would be easy to find. Silly me.

First I looked for his parents' marriage, on the IGI and freebmd. Nothing. Then tried for a birth using various wildcards to account for spelling variations eg Thom*on would include both Thomson and Thompson spellings. Also drew a blank. Asked if she knew what the other E stood for - it was Edgar. He had an earlier first marriage in Ayrshire in 1884. His father William was an engine driver then. Seemed a bit different from gardener. So tried Edgar too. Nothing.

Then concentrated on the mother Rachel Ellerington. I found her in the 1851 census in Yorkshire, working as a house servant. This must have been quite soon before the birth of George. Tried looking in Yorkshire for his birth. Still no luck. Looked for a death for Rachel Ellerington. Nothing. Then looked for a marriage just of Rachel, not William Thomson and found one in 1857 to either Henry Canty or Barnabas Clark Pottle - you just get the names on the page for all the marriages and have to work out the pairings for yourself. I tried Henry Canty first and bingo here they are in 1861 census in Lincolnshire and in 1871 along with an Edgar Canty who is too old to be Henry's son. George Edgar must be illegitimate. I should really have thought of this sooner. But it contradicts the information George gave on both his marriage certificates.
Given that he was known as Edgar in 1861 I tried for Edgar Ellerington and, whoopee, there he was. I also found him in 1861 census as Edgar Ellerington with his Ellerington grandparents.
But where did "George" come from and who was "William Thomson"? Grandfather William Ellerington was a gardener and stepfather Henry Canty was an engine driver. Could William Thomson be made up? And if so, why?

Wondered if Edgar Ellerington had a criminal past. Happily that doesn't seem to be the case.

I still have to locate him in 1881 census. On both marriage certificates he was working as a pit bottomer. In the 1891 and 1901 censuses he was working in a pottery in Cumnock. He died in 1905, only 52. His wife had already died so he left 5 orphans under the age of 16.

I found the death of Rachel (Ellerington) Canty in 1871 aged 37. The previous but one entry was for Rachel Canty age 0. Seems like she died not long after giving birth.

The only hope may be the 1881 census. No Edgar Elleringtons. But lots of William Thomsons - none fit. But who knows what name to search under? Only thing that is definite is he was born in Hornsea in the third quarter of 1853. Any suggestions?

Footnote on 6 Sep: Working on the premise that he knew his father was William Thompson, then WT had to have been around in Yorkshire in 1852 so had a closer look at 1851 census and have found a possible William in Sculcoates (about half an hour from Hornsea) whose father was George. He has emigrated to USA by 1856 which would account for no further sightings of him! Absolutely no way of proving any of this, unfortunately.

A Royal Connection!

I found this card amongst postcards my parents had saved. I knew it referred to my mother's uncle Colin. I have been trying to date it by researching the people mentioned by his wife Meg on the reverse of the card.

Dear Sis This is Colin taken at the Braemar Gathering. Prince Arthur is standing at the back and his son is along the front with  Mr Farquharson and Invercauld and Lord Aberdeen with Mr Hosie (the Factor) then the Princess Royal shaking hands and at her back Princess Arthur. Doesand (sic) Colin look nice in his car. The man in Highland dress is the man who is her attendant while at Braemar. Love to all hoping to hear from you soon. Love from Meg & Colin

Prince Arthur of Connaught (13 January 1883 – 12 September 1938) the grandson of Queen Victoria who often represented his cousin King George V. I think that is him on the far left, smoking.

His wife Princess Arthur (Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife in her own right, 17 May 1891 – 26 February 1959). She is the woman nearest the car.

Their only child was Alastair 9 August 1914 – 26 April 1943. He could be about 14 in the photo.

The Princess Royal is Louise the Duchess of Fife, 1867 - Jan 1931, the eldest daughter of King Edward VII and the mother of Princess Arthur. She is the one shaking hands with either Invercauld or Aberdeen.

Mr Farquharson of Invercauld is Lt Col Alexander Haldane Farquharson (1867-1936).

Lord Aberdeen is John Campbell Hamilton-Gordon 1847 - 1934.

Mr Hosie, the factor, I found in a photo of 1938. He is the factor of Mar estate and is seen with Myrtle the daughter of the above Invercauld in September 1938 possibly at the Braemar Gathering.

The date then is somewhere between 1926 and 1930, going by the birthdate of Alastair and death date of Princess Louise. ( I think it is most likely 1928 as young Alastair was there  in 1928.  The Princess Royal was wearing beige in 1929 and 1930 was a washout and none of the Royal Party attended.)

And the driver of the car is Colin Clark my great uncle, son of Jessie Sievwright and Charles Clark. The card is written by his wife Maggie Bella Pirie and "sis" is Colin's sister my granny.

I had previously seen the photo below but didn't know who it was. I believe it is the same car in the first photo, registration HP .. (Moral of the story - don't throw anything out!)

Variations in spellings of names

When starting out in family history research I thought a different spelling of a surname meant a different branch of the family.

However it didn't take too much much looking into records to realise that prior to 1900 not too many of the ordinary folk who make up our ancestors could actually read or write. This is borne out by signatures on certificates being his or her "x mark". And yet they all had some schooling. Surely they managed to learn enough to write their own name? My children could manage to write their own first name before they went to school. But then they had me to teach them.

So they went along to register their births, marriages, deaths and give information to the enumerator on census night. The person recording wrote down what they heard. This is fine as long it was something familiar like Wilson. If it was an unusual name or an outlandish name from Ireland or England pronounced by the Irish or English owner then it was open to fanciful interpretation.

My favourite first name is the Cornish Emma being recorded as Emmor!

Next problem is when it comes to the transcription of the handwritten records. Some of the scans are faint and have ink blots over them or are squashed in tiny writing at the bottom of a page. Some of the handwriting is extremely flowery and you need to study the whole page, checking the way familiar words are written to decipher the crucial word you need.

I struggled to find a marriage of one Josiah (aka Joseph) Felvus and Mary Elizabeth Catherall in England using http://www.freebmd.org.uk/ for English and Welsh birth, marriage and death records from September 1837 onwards. I tried all sorts of spelling combinations and wild cards where you type an asterisk for a missing letter eg c*t*r*l. She was from around Chester just over the border in Wales and he was from the Dudley area. Their first child was born in Prescot in Lancashire. I was beginning to think they weren't married at all. Eventually I remembered that Scottish birth records include the parents' date of marriage and their last child was born in Scotland. That gave me a date and a place Wiston which seem to be in Wales but far from Chester. Nothing. Another person researching gave me the info I needed. It was Whiston near Prescot, Lancs and armed with the date and the place I was able to search for simply first names Jos* and Mary and bingo up it popped Caffril, Mary Elizabeth & Felrus, Joseph! No wonder I couldn't find them. Caffril was how Catherall sounded and Felrus would be a transcription error, a V read as an R.

What a great feeling when I found it and was able to send the details to the other less determined researcher!

William Edward Strudley 1866 -1946

Marchmount House nr Polwarth in the Scottish Borders
The drive extends for 1km behind the photographer
Photo 2004 © Copyright Janet Connochie and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

My great aunt (sister of paternal grandmother) lived here in the 1901 census!! No, she wasn't in the aristocracy but her husband was the butler, the aristocracy of below stairs!

Agnes Sarah Armstrong Haig married William Strudley in Cupar, Fife in 1892. He is down as a gentleman's servant and a widower. Being nosey, I had to find out about his first wife. He married Marion Chisholm in 1888. I find a birth of Agnes Marion Strudley in 1891, But the mother is Janet Leggate, father William Edward Strudley and the marriage date of the parents which also helpfully appears on Scottish birth certificates is the same date as the wedding to Marion Chisholm. What is going on here? Has he 2 women on the go? More delving required. Poor baby Agnes died after only 9 days. From her death certificate it is clear her mother is Marian Chisholm as she is named and already deceased. So who is Janet Leggate? I have a closer look at the marriage certificate and see she is Marian's mother. At the registration of the birth on 13th March, when asked for the name of the mother he gave the name of his wife's mother, not the baby's mother.

What a terrible 9 days for him. Baby born on March 8th, wife dies on March 13th of puerperal fever and septicaemia and phtisis (TB) and baby dies on 16th March. He registered Marion's death on the same day he registered the baby's birth. He must have been distraught.

By the 1891 census, on the night of 5th April, William is back with his mother and 2 year old son Frederick in Hambleden, Buckinghamshire.

However things pick up after he marries great aunt Agnes in December 1892. They go on to have 6 children including twin boys.

And in 1901 he is butler at Marchmount. Can't wait til the 1911 census is available next month so see where they are then.


My tree here

Isabella McFedries Fleming 1903-1995

ca 1950

Today would have been the the 108th birthday of my mother-in-law.

Known as Bel, she lived until a month short of her 92nd birthday.

She was born in Elbow Lane, Cumnock the first child of Hugh Fleming and Mary Cowan Wilson. She had 4 younger siblings and 3 older half siblings. When Hugh's first wife died he married his young cousin Mary.

Bel worked in a hotel in Ayr and she was married there to David McMeekin, a Cumnock coal miner who was 11 years older than her. They had 3 children, the youngest when she was 45 and her husband was 56.

with her sons in the 70s

They lived in Glengyron Row a miners' row on the hill above Cumnock until 1939 when they moved into the town.

What was remarkable about her that she was profoundly deaf from her early twenties but she could speak very well and was excellent at lip-reading. She would "listen" to her son's reading. She had trouble with modern words that she had never heard such as video which she pronounced as vidAyo and chiropodist which was CHERRypodist.

She was an excellent cook and expert at knitting and crochet. Widowed in 1973, she lived on her own until shortly before her death, supported by her daughter-in-law and grandchildren who lived nearby.

Most of all I remember her as a kind and funny lady who never bad-mouthed anyone. She had a large number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren who loved her dearly.

1989 at Lochside Hotel with grandson David

Christmas 1994

http://mcmeekinfamily.tribalpages.com/family-tree/mcmeekinfamily/1823/278/Isabella-Fleming-Family

What's in a name?

I had an uncle Colin, my mother's brother and as a child I was tickled to find that she had an uncle Colin too. However family history research reveals (so far) 11 Colins and a Colina in the same line in New Zealand, Canada and Denmark. The first was Colin Sievwright born 1792 a surgeon who served in the Peninsular wars. I thought at first he was my great great grandfather, the poet, but turns out he was his uncle. I think Colin was an unusual name at that time. Colin the poet didn't name any of his sons Colin but his children did. They are all Colin Sievwrights with the exception of 2 Colin Shearers and 2 Colin Clarks. Colina Charlotte seems to have preferred her Charlotte middle name which made her difficult to track down but now think she married George Dixon as Charlotte C Sievwright.

I wondered where my uncle George (father's brother) got his middle name Herbert. It was after a younger brother of his father who died in infancy. And uncle Ted's names were Edward Colbourne. Turns out Edward Colbourne was the husband of his granny's sister Delilah Ball who lived in Dudley. One of her children was James Clifford Colbourne b 1896 which are also the first names of my father, though I think it more likely he is named after his uncle Clifford b 1894.

I think this is one of the most interesting things in doing family history - seeing names occuring in different generations. I've mentioned traditional Scottish naming patterns before. It helps confirm you have the right family in a census. It is particularly useful when there are unusual first names, however my Muirkirk Murdochs are all unhelpfully called Andrew, Alexander, George, John, James, Robert and William.

The English forbears have many biblical names Moses, Abraham, Hezekiah, Zachariah, Delilah, Samson, Emanual, Mark and Samuel.

But my all-time favourite is a distant ancestor of my Cumnock born husband - Marmaduke! Marmaduke McCrae b 1776 in Cumnock. I'm so glad he wasn't named after him.