Thanks Rhoda for this idea. I wonder how I can find out if this is the right Catherine. Jes

Hi Jes It's a difficult one, this. I found the Catherine you mentioned who, in 1861, was a scholar in the industrial school in Lauriston Lane. 'Industrial schools' were institutions for children who were what we might now call 'delinquents' or who had been orphaned or deserted by their parents and were therefore not subject to parental discipline and allowed to roam the streets getting up to mischief. I found a reference on the net to a Conference of Managers of Reformatory and Industrial Institutions held in Edinburgh in 1875. (I have included the link to this at the foot of this message, for those who may be interested in some background about these institutions). Lauriston Lane was a girls' training school. If this is your Catherine it suggests that she may have been orphaned or deserted by her parents. The family that appeared in the 1851 Census headed by Joseph GOWANS does not appear in the 1861 Scottish, or English, censuses. If Joseph died, he must have died before 1855 because there is no death certificate for him on Scotlands People. There is no Catherine GOWANS who matches the mother of the 1851 family. There is no Sarah GOWANS aged 23 and no marriage for a Sarah Gowans between 1855 and 1861. And there is no Nicholas GOWANS. There are, however, possible matches in the 1861 Census for George, Charles and Catherine GOWANS. There is a George GOWANS aged 19, born Edinburgh, who is a boarder in a lodging house in the St Giles district of Edinburgh. He is a confectioner. There is a Charles GOWANS, aged 18, born Edinburgh, lodging with a family named Wederspoon in Dickson's Close, Canongate, Edinburgh. He is a baker. And there is Catherine GOWANS, aged 13, born Edinburgh and a scholar at the Lauriston Lane Industrial School. I think that these are the same George, Charles and Catherine that appeared in 1851, children of Joseph and Catherine. It seems unlikely that Joseph and Catherine would emigrate and leave their younger daughter in Edinburgh. The alternative is that Joseph, Catherine, Nicholas and, perhaps, Sarah, all died from typhoid or cholera between 1851 and 1854. This might explain why your Catherine got her father's name wrong on her marriage certificate. Of course, this doesn't prove that the Catherine at the industrial school is your Catherine. BUT there is no Catherine Gowans aged 23 or thereabouts in the 1871 Scottish Census. There were 2 marriages in Edinburgh between 1861 and 1871 featuring a Catherine Gowans, but neither of these was of the right age to be the Catherine in the Industrial School. I couldn't find Charles or George Gowans in 1871 either, and no death for them on Scotlands People between 1861 and 1871. I think there is a strong chance that the Catherine in the Industrial School in 1861 is your Catherine. And there is a good probability that the Catherine in the Industrial School was the daughter of Joseph and Catherine, and sister of George and Charles. But can't say more than that. The National Archives of Scotland may hold records for the Lauriston Lane Industrial School which in turn may include details of scholars. This is the link to the Conference of Managers of Reformatory and Industrial Instititutions, Edinburgh, 1875. http://www.archive.org/stream/preliminaryprogr00conf/preliminaryprogr00conf_djvu.txt Rhoda ----- Original Message ----- From: "Arthur" <arthur@thedangerfields.plus.com> To: <sct-edinburgh@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, March 04, 2009 9:24 AM Subject: [SCT-EDINBURGH] -GOWANS > Thanks Rhoda for this idea. I wonder how I can find out if this is the > right Catherine. > > Jes > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > SCT-EDINBURGH-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >