Barbara wrote: > I have been looking for my James Farquharson under the surname > Farquharson but lately I'm wondering if his mother had him before > marrying. His parents are on his marriage certificate as James > Farquharson and Jane Grant. Could James have been illegitimate, then > been given the name Farquharson when his mother married/ took up with > James Farquharson?? It's possible - but it doesn't necessarily follow from the data you have. It was normal practice for a married woman to continue using her maiden surname. Sometimes she might call herself "Jane Grant or Farquharson", but the fact that she appears on her son's marriage certificate under her maiden name does not necessarily mean that she was unmarried. > I cant find a marriage for James and Jane or birth for James around > 1840-42. Have tried all parts of Scotland, his marriage and death > certificates have Mortlach, Banffshire as place of birth. Again, that does not necessarily mean they weren't married. Many marriages and baptisms simply did not get recorded. Have you any idea whare in Mortlach they might have lived? The "New Statistical Account" (dated 1836) states that there was a "mission chapel" in Glenrinnes. In theory, any marriage or baptism occurring there should have been recorded in the Mortlach registers, but I wouldn't assume that always happened. The other thing that the writer of the "Account" reports is that, at that date, there was a Catholic chapel with a congregation of around 170. Catholics were supposed to register their baptisms and marriages with the Kirk, but again, that often did not happen > If he was "adopted" would it have to be recorded somewhere No. I would be inclined to have a look (or get someone to have a look on your behalf) in the Kirk Session records. These are very variable, but if your man was illegitimate, then the errant parents may have been hauled over the coals. Gavin Bell