Can someone help me find my Thomas Cochrane's parents?Thomas was born in Greenock,Scotland on march 31,1831.He came to America when a boy of 13 if the family story is true,and married on July 4,1853 in Avon,New York,Sarah Selina Cochrane.I cannot find any marriage record of them and this was in a family Bible one of the members had.How do i find him?They later moved to Grennfield,Iowa.Is there anything online i can check?i allready did the family search site,nothing there on his birth.Ihave run out of ideas. Thank you,shirley ginter

Shirley, Thomas birth/christening may or may not have been recorded in the OPR's. The only reason I have my ggg-grandfather, Douglas Hunter's birth date is because his family bible has survived and been handed down. Might be worth checking the microfilm, but still no guarantee that it will be listed. I checked and found Thomas, wife and children in the 1880 US Census Census Place: Greenfield, Adair, Iowa Source: FHL Film 1254325 National Archives Film T9-0325 Page 84A Relation Sex Marr Race Age Birthplace Thomas COCHRANE Self M M W 49 SCO Occ: Laborer Fa: SCO Mo: SCO Sarah COCHRANE Wife F M W 45 OH Occ: Keeping House Fa: CT Mo: NY William R. COCHRANE Son M S W 24 IL Occ: County Surveyor Fa: SCO Mo: OH Frances E. COCHRANE Dau F S W 21 IA Occ: Dressmaker Fa: SCO Mo: OH Harry COCHRANE Son M S W 11 IA Occ: At School Fa: SCO Mo: OH George COCHRANE Son M S W 7 IA Occ: At School Fa: SCO If Thomas and his family came to the US in about 1844, the first US census he would be recorded in would be the 1850. If you have not checked any of the early US censuses, what you will find in the 1850 and 1860 census is Name, Age, Sex, Color, Occupation, Value-Real Estate, Value-Personal Property, Birthplace, Married in Year (this means if married in the census year), School in Year, Can Read or Write, Enumeration Date. Not a lot to go by, but can sometimes be enough to prove a bit, especially if you are looking for parents. The 1870 has basically the same information, but they also asked if parents were foreign born and if the person was eligible to vote. With the 1880 census, you start getting relationship to head of household (the US was 30 years behind Scotland in this) asks marital status, place of birth of parents, age prior to June 1st. Very little of the 1890 has survived, much to our dismay. It wasn't the fire that damaged the 1890 census, it was the water used to put the fire out. As this was pre-National Archives, there wasn't one group or agency to make sure that what could be salvaged, was. It isn't until the 1900 that you get more useful info, like month and year of birth, year of immigration, how long in the US and if Naturalized. If you are not near a library, society or regional National Archives to check the early censuses, you can get the microfilm from the LDS Family History Center or I can add it to my lookups when I go to the regional National Archives in Waltham, Massachusetts. As to finding Thomas' marriage, have you checked to see what sources are available? I checked www.vitalrec.com to see what was available for Births, Deaths and Marriages. I haven't done any research in New York. But this site can be a good place to start. I recommend that you check New York, then the county of Livingston, that is where Avon is located. I noted that this is a link to the Livingston County US GenWeb page and then from there a link for Avon. Might be able to find some useful information there or someone who can point you in the right direction. Good Luck, Julie Dufault Merrimack, New Hampshire, USA