John, As was suggested earlier, I would tend to accept the parents' names given on the earliest record, presumably given by the principals themselves (assuming they had no reason to lie in order to hide something). So I would accept Michael & Alice as Thomas's parents. Who was the informant on Thomas's death certificate? Regardless of who it was, they were less likely to know than Thomas would have been (again allowing for the possibility of a lie). Same comments and questions regarding Catherine. The only thing that seems reliable is that her mother was a Bridget. Was Bridget a widow in 1882? The principals sometimes told fibs, sometimes they did not know or did not hear the question clearly (Irish vs Scottish accents?), often the clerk did not hear properly or transcribed his notes incorrectly when he later filled in the form. Or dozens of other possibilities... Try to get as many other records as you can, from censuses, deaths of parents, births of children, newspaper announcements, etc, etc and then try to eliminate the most spurious "facts". Bon Chance !! Ken Harrison North Vancouver, Canada -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of John & Yvonne McDonald Sent: 17-Sep-13 10:27 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [Lanark] Parents name Problem In February 1882 Thomas Crilly married Catherine Begen and witnessed by James Graham and Bridget Clark. They both gave their address as Peter Street Priv. Ho., Irvine, Dundonald Ayrshire. His parents Michael Crilly and Alice Milligan on his marriage extract. Thomas Crilly and Helen Milligan on his death extract. Her parents Thomas Begen and Bridget Clark on her marriage extract. John Begen and Bridget S------- on her death extract. When researching the 1881 Census for Peter Street Priv. Ho. There is a Bridget Clark married to a Thomas Clark, with a son James Clark. I can't find either a Thomas Crilly or Catherine Begen at this address on this Census. All the participants were born in Ireland and normally I would think that the parents name given on the marriage extract is correct, but: Could it be Bridget Clark the witness, was recorded incorrectly as Catherine's mother. (my assumption) Or is Bridget S------really Catherine's mother and John instead of Thomas as her father. John, Pitt Meadows, BC, Canada ------------------------------- WHEN REPLYING to a post please remember to snip most of the earlier message. Be sure the reply to address shows as [email protected] You may contact the List Admin at [email protected] or click on the following link to the list information page online: http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/index/intl/SCT/LANARK.html ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message