This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: suze7869 Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.britisles.scotland.wig.general/1011.3/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Hi Darlene I have been reading posts on ancestry uk re: McMichan family. I have been researching my family tree and noticed we have a connection. My father's aunt, who we called "auntie daisy" was married to James Marchbanks McMichan, also known as uncle jimmy. They married in April 1932 in Hawick, Roxburghshire. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to explain Irregular marriages. It has always confused me. >From reading the discussion, it would appear that non-conformists who married in their own churches pre 1834 were considered to be in Irregular marriages. Is that correct? If so, where would these marriage records be held? Regards, Ailsa

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: margeryedmonds2 Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.britisles.scotland.wig.general/2167.2/mb.ashx Message Board Post: The laws of marriage were quite different in England and Scotland. In England, marriage was a religious sacrament as well as a legal contract and a marriage was not legal unless celebrated by a minister of religion in a parish church. In Scotland however marriage arrangements were based on principles of mutual consent rather than religious ceremony. After registration of births, marriages and deaths was introduced in Scotland in 1855,irregular marriage could be registered if: * the couple presented themselves before a sheriff or magistrate, were 'convicted' as parties to an irregular marriage, and paid a fine. * some couples found it quicker and cheaper to have their 'irregular marriage' entered in the schedules under the sheriff's warrant, than go to the expense of banns and a regular marriage ceremony (in church) * marriages established in court by a Decree of Declarator could also be registered, on production to the registrar of an extract (copy) of the Decree and payment of one pound. In 1939, marriage registered by sheriff's warrant ended. I have copied this information from a paper published on the internet by the University of Glasgow - School of Social & Political Sciences, and called "Scottish Way of Birth & Death"/ chapter "Marriage - The Law". Margery Edmonds Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

Edinburgh Gender History Network Professor Eleanor Gordon (University of Glasgow) will be speaking on 'Irregular Marriage in Scotland: Official Attitudes and Popular Practice' on Wednesday 18 Sept 2013, 5.00-6.30pm. Venue: William Robertson Wing, University of Edinburgh, seminar room G13 http://www.shca.ed.ac.uk/Research/networks/gender_history/ https://www.facebook.com/GenderHistoryNetwork Iain

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: jecroft Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.britisles.scotland.wig.general/2167.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: In Scotland, any marriage not performed in the Church of Scotland was considered irregular. This did not mean they were illegal or that the couples were not considered to be married. If they wished to have proof of marriage, they could go to any Sheriff's office and obtain a "Warrant" upon declaration in front of the available witnesses. To quote the wikipedia: "Irregular and common-law marriages Under early modern Scots law, there were three forms of "irregular marriage" which can be summarised as the agreement of the couple to be married and some form of witnessing or evidence of such. An irregular marriage could result from mutual agreement, by a public promise followed by consummation, or by cohabitation and repute.[10] All but the last of these were abolished by the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1939, from 1 January 1940. Prior to this act, any citizen was able to witness a public promise. The tradition of eloping English couples searching for blacksmiths resulted legally from the fact that blacksmiths were necessarily citizens and could often be recognised by strangers by their presence at their forge. A marriage by "cohabitation with repute" as it was known in Scots Law could still be formed; popularly described as "by habit and repute", with repute being the crucial element to be proved. In 2006, Scotland was the last European jurisdiction to abolish this old style common-law marriage or "marriage by cohabitation with repute", by the passing of the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006." Jo-Ann Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

The extract below is from: http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/socialpolitical/research/economicsocialhistory/historymedicine/scottishwayofbirthanddeath/marriage/ Iain Scotland was famous for its distinctive marriage arrangements, which owed much to pre-Reformation canon law, and were based on principles of mutual consent rather than religious ceremony. Both 'regular' and 'irregular' marriages were recognised by the law. A 'regular' church marriage, requiring marriage banns to be read in the church some weeks in advance, was the usual practice, and from 1834 'priests and ministers not of the established church' were also allowed to conduct legal marriage ceremonies. In Scotland, regular marriages did not have to take place within a church building; indeed, they were more likely to take place in private homes. Even so, at first sight, Scotland's system seemed more religious in practice than England's, because civil ceremonies in a register office were not possible until after an Act of Parliament in 1939. But Scotland's fame for distinctive marriage practices stemmed from 'irregular' marriages. There were three ways of forming a legal marriage without banns or a minister being present. 1. A couple were legally married if they declared themselves to be so in front of witnesses, regardless of whether this was followed by a sexual connection. Marriage contracted in this way without witnesses was also legal, but much harder to prove in court unless there was other evidence, such as letters that confirmed what the couple had done. 2. A promise of marriage, followed by a sexual relationship, was regarded as a legal marriage - but this had to be backed up by some kind of proof, such as a written promise of marriage, or an oath sworn before witnesses. 3. Marriages 'by habit and repute' were also legal if a couple usually presented themselves in public as husband and wife, even if no formal declaration of marriage was made. Irregular marriages were frowned on by law and the churches, and couples who admitted to them were fined, but they had the same inheritance rights as regularly married couples, and their children were legitimate. Although the Church of Scotland did not approve of irregular marriages, it tolerated them because it feared that if the law did not recognize such relationships, the couple would end up 'living in sin.' The system was believed to protect women from unscrupulous men who might seduce them with promises of marriage or fake wedding ceremonies. After registration was introduced, an irregular marriage could be registered if the couple presented themselves before a sheriff or magistrate, were 'convicted' as parties to an irregular marriage, and paid a fine. Some found it quicker and cheaper to have their irregular marriage entered in the schedules by the registrar under sheriff's warrant than to go through the expense of banns and a regular marriage ceremony. Marriages established in court by a Decree of Declarator could also be registered, on production to the registrar of an extract of the Decree and payment of £1, but this was not common. In fact, irregular marriages notified to the registrar were infrequent in Scotland in the mid-nineteenth century, and fewer than 100 per year took place between 1855 and 1870. After that, the numbers rose steadily, and then rapidly in the early twentieth century, until they accounted for over 12% of all Scottish marriages in the registers in 1914. They remained at this level until the Second World War. Contrary to the national myth, most took place not on the Scottish border, but in the larger towns. This may have been due to a decline in the influence of the churches, or to the relative cheapness of 'irregular' marriages, but it also reflected the growing number of divorces. Since many churches would not remarry a divorced person, and civil marriage was not possible in Scotland, couples in this position had no alternative but to marry by sheriff's warrant. Although so-called 'irregular' marriage by sheriff's warrant technically attracted a 'fine' until the law was changed in 1916, it was becoming a more frequent legal alternative to a church ceremony. In 1939, marriage registered by sheriff's warrant ended, and it was possible, as in England, to marry by a civil ceremony in the registrar's office. Legal textbooks described all types of marriage outside the churches as 'irregular' until the early twentieth century, but, given the rise in numbers of marriage through sheriff's warrant, the public no longer saw anything irregular in the proceedings. The Registrar General's annual reports give the figures for 'irregular' marriages as notified to the registrars through the sheriffs, but it is very difficult to calculate the number of 'irregular' but entirely legal marriages that were never notified in this way. They tended to come to public attention in court cases involving property, when one of the partners wished to deny that a marriage had taken place, but these cases, which were not common, must have reflected only a small number of relationships that were legally recognised, but did not appear in the registers. Unlike marriages notified to the sheriff, other types of 'irregular' marriage were sometimes hard to prove. A close study of Scottish birth certificates might tell us more about how common this type of marriage was.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: AnneBurton23 Surnames: Murdoch & McCreadie Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.britisles.scotland.wig.general/2167/mb.ashx Message Board Post: John Murdoch was 21 years old and a fisherman living at 4 Market Street, Stranraer and Davida McCreadie, 17, a domestic servant living at 27 Queen Street, Stranraer were married by declaration and in the presence of William Stevens, tailor and John Cummingham, tailor in the District of Anderston, Glasgow. His father was Robert Murdoch a fisherman and his mother was Jane Garret. Her parents were listed as James McCreadie, mason (journeyman) and Sarah Rae. Part of the certificate states: "If irregular (marriage), Date of Conviction, Degree of Declarator or Sheriff's Warrant--then it is written below--Warrant of Sheriff, Substitute of Lanarkshire, dated 12 August 1897. Can anyone tell me what is an "irregular" marriage? Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: disdamn Surnames: Agnew, McKitrick, Wallace, Adair, Cochrane, Davidson Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.britisles.scotland.wig.general/2166/mb.ashx Message Board Post: I've been working fairly hard at tracing back my branch of the Agnew tree and I've hit a road block and would appreciate any information anyone has to help me get a few generations backwards. I have an ancestor Patrick Agnew who was born on or about 1675. His wife was Jean Cochrane who was also born on or about 1675. They were married in 1699 on December 4 in Kirkmaiden by Drummore, Wigtown, Scotland. As far as I can tell they had at least 3 confirmed children (William Born: 1700, James Born: 1702, and Margaret Born: 1704. - James Agnew married a Janet Davidson - William Agnew married Ann Wallace and this spawned my family line As best I can find Patrick Agnew had at least 1 brother (James Agnew Born: 1672, married Sarah Adair) and at least 1 sister (Agnes Agnew, married Johne McKitrick) Around this time there were multiple Patrick Agnew's that I can find but their recorded histories don't match up with the corresponding brothers, sisters, and children that I have. What I'm trying to find is any info on who Patrick's parents could be based on the related information. If anyone has an Ancestry.ca account here is a link to what I have to help you visualize http://trees.ancestry.ca/tree/57182849/family?fpid=48018741340 Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

Thanks Jo-Ann. Just in case anyone is wondering, Crawford took over the job of maintaining the Wigtownshire Pages site from Leigh-Ann some time back now. He began with a major up-date and continues to work on the inevitable broken links which occur with time, and other updates. It certainly is the case that a number of past and current Mailing List subscribers have contributed to the content - Wayne being the most recent, as per Crawford's posting. This Mailing List is administered by Mary Richardson. I suspect that most subscribers are unaware of how much effort and expertise Mary contributes behind the scenes. Crawford and I are very much aware, as in our capacity as assistants, Mary keeps us informed of all that is going on. Regards, Bruce

I am looking for stories and legends on smuggling from early times to the late 1800's along the Solway Firth Jody -- Jody Allen, RINGS TRUE RESEARCH <http://ringstrue.webs.com/index.htm> for authors, publishers and family historians ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Researching: Scotland: Mctaggart, Clarke,Wallace, Mckean(d), McCartney, Kissock, Milligan Stewart Ireland: Lynch, Drought, Walsh

Hello All, William Parker m Jane Cruickshanks 1824 Stoneykirk. a Daughter Jane Parker b 1842 Balcarry Bents. Jane m Alexander McKay 1871 at Balcarry. He was killed in a blasting accident at a quarry 1872. Their son Alexander McKay was b 1873 at Balcarry Bents. He m Janet Irvine at Glen of Luce 1909. On 1911 census they are at Balcarry Bents with his mother Jane and have a daughter Elizabeth Jane McKay. On 1915 Valuation Rolls they are at 48 Queen Street Newton Stewart. Jane died here 1914. He is a Pointsman on Railway. Does anyone have information on Elizabeth McKay and any other children the may have had. Ken Parker

Another long one as I seem incapable of being succinct! Here are two references to Robert Burns and a ‘nebulous’ association with Thomas Clint and his son Henry Clint, both vintners/innkeepers. Thomas and Henry operated the King’s Arms Hotel, Dumfries and then Thomas ran the Carlingwark Inn, Carlingwark. Unfortunately, Henry went bankrupt and lost the King’s Arms Hotel, but not before he likely had at least a nodding acquaintance with Robert Burns (whose place as Scotland’s national poet has not been usurped). It is very likely too that Henry Clint’s father might have known Robert Burns, and if nothing else, made sure that his horses were taken care of! #1 Reference “On 25th June 1794 Burns set out on a second tour of Galloway. He left Dumfries in the afternoon and reached Castle Douglas that evening. He stayed in the High Street in the main hostelry, then named Carlingwark Inn, after the town’s earlier name. This was a staging post where the horses were changed for the stagecoaches travelling between Dumfries and Stranraer.” #2 Reference To John McMurdo, a friend of Burns: 'I think I once mentioned something of a collection of Scots songs I have for some years been making: I send you a perusal of what I have got together. I could not conveniently spare them above five or six days, and five or six glances of them will probably more than suffice you. When you are tired of them, please leave them with Mr. Clint, of the King's Arms. There is not another copy of the collection in the world; and I should he sorry that any unfortunate negligence should deprive me of what has cost me a good deal of pains....' Here is where I wish it were even far less nebulous for me to glue Thomas Clint and his children Henry, John and Margaret on my ‘tree.’ The Clint name is rather scarce in Southwest Scotland, with the name far more common in Yorkshire (England). However, as my great-great grandfather William Clint presumably was born in Carlingwark, Kelton Parish, I jumped at a possible connection with Thomas Clint of Carlingwark (via York.) Quite a few years ago a lister sent me a fine epitaph on the flatstone for Thomas Clint that she found online. Later, Irene Macleod sent me photos of both headstone, such a find! Two sons and a daughter were mentioned on the flatstone in Terregles Cemetery (Kirkcudbrightshire), but unnamed, with only the actual name of a deceased son, a namesake, was indicated. Alongside this grave is one for Margaret Grierson (aka McGrigor), his first wife who was R.C. (important detauil when following the trail of the children). Thomas Clint’s second wife was Isabella Robertson Marshall (Robison Marishall on some documents). They were married in the Presbyterian Church, Castle Douglas. A lot of sleuthing over the years, with the unstinting help of Malcolm Lockerbie and Irene Macleod, as well as others, finally reinforced my ‘gut’ feeling that this Thomas Clint just had to come from Yorkshire, as this is where I had found a ‘ton’ by this name in reference sources years ago. Yes! He was married to Margaret Grierson (aka McGrigor) in St. Michael’s C of E, Oursebridge, York, and their daughter Margaret Clint was born in England. We have no documentation as yet to show where the sons Henry and John were born. At some point Thomas is up over the border and running the King’s Arms Hotel, Dumfries, with Henry at his elbow, who later took over and somehow lost the inn. John was a farmer and horse dealer at Hightae, near Carlingwark. I have nicknamed him the ‘pollinator’ as we know of at least two children ‘pollinated’ by him whose mothers he had no interest in marrying, it would seem. One of them took him to the Court of Session Edinburgh, but for what purpose, I don’t know as I balked at paying £15/$23 r.o.e per half an hour for further research. The thought is that maybe the mother of the child was trying to have his name legitimised or she was trying to dun him for some money! Jumping to conclusions, with no documentation found, it is my gut feeling that John Clint may have sired my great-great grandfather. The frustrating thing is that this John Clint’s offspring of the ‘misbegotten child’ have been documented all the way to a present generation. Why can’t I be so successful with my antecedent? The last foray might be Kirk Session minutes. They are not available online and it would likely take a personal visit to Edinburgh to do further research. Can’t be done from California. It’s the last resort, perhaps, to try to find the parentage of my great-great grandfather William Clint. Robert Burns would pen: '”...and forward though I cannot see, I guess and fear....” Not to be pessimistic as I have ben able to fill in many gaps from William Clint, his progeny and theirs, all of whom came from Dumfriesshire, Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire, until my grandfather Peter Clint left his roots in Kirkcudbrightshire to come to Glasgow. Of his eight grandchildren born in Glasgow, there has been a bit of a diaspora with only one of my brothers left in Glasgow, two of whose daughter went to England and another to the USA. Only one has remains in Lanarkshire. One brother went to England, taking his children with him; two sisters ended up in Haddington, East Lothian (near Edinburgh) with their children, some of whose offspring hied it to Australia. One brother went to Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, where all of his children continue to have roots, but with USA calling a granddaughter. When Peter Clint left Kirkcudbrightshire, so too did his siblings, so that when I tracked down two ‘far-out’ cousins in Auchencairn when I was home one year, and where this great-great grandfather William Clint had settled down, they were the only two left that I knew of with any family connections. My grandfather’s widower father buzzed off to England where he married an English woman and started up another family with her, most of whom were born in Wales. He did all right for himself as captain of mines and lived in what is now a ‘listed’ house. Not that you’ve been following the thread, but at least the ‘pollinator’ has one descendant and his offspring with family still within shouting distance where this frisky fellow was a farmer/horse dealer. Would it be a kick if I were to be another of them! For those still ‘guddling along,’ my little essay might encourage you to ‘keep right on to the end of the road,’ for you never know what is round the bend! Maisie ------------------------------- WHEN REPLYING to a post please remember to snip most of the earlier message. Be sure the reply to address shows as LANARK@Rootsweb.com. You may contact the List Admin at lanark-admin@rootsweb.com 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 LANARK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Thank you Bruce for the hard work and to Crawford & others who maintain the site. It's been very useful over the years. Jo-Ann

>From time to time, I have been able to make a few additions to the "Pages". I'm very happy to be able to say that thanks to the transcription efforts of Wayne Hannay, who you may remember started the list and the pages a good few years ago, we now have a substantial part of the Kirkmaiden OPRs (Old Parish Records) available for everyone. Thanks, Wayne. Crawford.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: max760 Surnames: Anderson Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.britisles.scotland.wig.general/611.2/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Hi Nicole, My name is Max Anderson. Peter Hugh Anderson was my great grandfather. I have been trying to find other grandchildren or great grandchildren of one of his siblings and it looks like I have!!! Hope this message reaches you, if so don't be afraid to respond. Sincerely, Max Anderson Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: hendo383395 Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.britisles.scotland.wig.general/900.2/mb.ashx Message Board Post: David Crosbie was born 1880 in poorhouse Edinburgh for more info contact me at hendo3833@dodo.com.au as i am his grandson Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

Hi Jo-Ann and John, I have pondered the age question. The 1841 census, as Jo-Ann pointed out, suggests that Jane DUNN was born between 1811 and 1816, depending on her month of birth, and Peter would have been born in 1827 or 1828 depending on his month of birth. Thus, Jane could have been as old as17 when Peter was born. This assumes that Jane did not fib about her age . In the 1851 census age gives her age as 45. With no rounding down and assuming this age was truthful, she would have been born in 1805 or 1806. In 1861, she gave her age as 51, suggesting she was born in 1809 or 1810. At her death in November 1873, her age was given as 67 by the informant, John McKIE. That would have her born 1805 or 1806, consistent with the 1851 census. John McKIE was her brother-in-law, having married Jane's sister Thomason. According to the IGI, Thomason was baptised 01 Aug 1809 in parish of Kirkinner. It seems reasonable to expect Thomason would have known Jane's age and that her husband John McKIE was thus well informed. Thomason's age reported at death on 13 May 1886 was 75, suggesting she was born in 1810 or 1811. If she only cribbed one year on her own age, it seems reasonable to expect that she would have been within a couple of years on Jane's age. That said, there remains some doubt. The IGI shows 11 children to James DUNN & Thomason STRACHAN from 1793 to 1812. The only Jane amongst them was baptised 04 Sep 1796, so it seems likely this one died in infancy. The problem then is to fit the subject Jane into the sequence. The gaps, in order, are 14,30,16,22,20,24,22,21, 30, and 30 months. James was baptised 12 May 1805 at Burlescombe, Devon, and Helen on 01 Feb 1807 at Wooler, Northumberland. It is possible that Jane was born between James and Helen, but it is doubtful. Her place of birth as reported in 1851 was Oak Hill, England. The only one I could find is in Somerset, some 40 miles or 65 km from Burlescombe, Devonshire. This could of course be mistaken information. That does happen. We still can't be sure of Jane's year of birth, but on balance, I think she was likely to have been old enough to have been the mother of Peter. I agree with Jo-Ann's caution in jumping to that conclusion. It is the most obvious possibility, but not the only one. *From the IGI: Father Name: james dunn, Mother Name: thomason strachan* Name John Dun Gender Male Christening Date 20 Jan 1793 Christening Place BARONY,LANARK,SCOTLAND Birth Date 10 Jan 1793 Father's Name James Dun Mother's Name Thomson Strachan Indexing Project (Batch) Number C11622-8 GS Film number 1041477 Name Elizabeth Dunn Gender Female Christening Date 02 Mar 1794 Christening Place, YETHOLM, ROXBURGH, SCOTLAND Father's Name James Dunn Mother's Name Strahan Indexing Project (Batch) Number C11811-2 GS Film number 1067954 Name Jane Dunn Gender Female Christening Date 04 Sep 1796 Christening Place BURLESCOMBE, DEVON, ENGLAND Father's Name James Dunn Mother's Name Thomzin Indexing Project (Batch) Number C16847-5 GS Film number 6340827 Name Anne Dunn Gender Female Christening Date 25 Dec 1797 Christening Place BURLESCOMBE, DEVON, ENGLAND Father's Name James Dunn Mother's Name Thomazin Indexing Project (Batch) Number C16847-5 GS Film number 6340827 Name Betsy Dunn Gender Female Christening Date 27 Oct 1799 Christening Place BURLESCOMBE, DEVON, ENGLAND Father's Name James Dunn Mother's Name Thomazine Indexing Project (Batch) Number C16847-5 GS Film number 6340827 Name Mary Dunn Gender Female Christening Date 20 Jun 1801 Christening Place BURLESCOMBE, DEVON, ENGLAND Father's Name James Dunn Mother's Name Thomasin Indexing Project (Batch) Number C16847-6 GS Film number 6340828 Name Thomas Dunn Gender Male Christening Date 26 Jun 1803 Christening Place Burlescombe, Devon, England Birth Date 10 Jun 1803 Father's Name James Dunn Mother's Name Thomazine Indexing Project (Batch) Number C16847-6 GS Film number 6340828 Name James Dunn Gender Male Christening Date 12 May 1805 Christening Place Burlescombe, Devon, England Father's Name James Dunn Mother's Name Tomazin Indexing Project (Batch) Number C16847-6 GS Film number 6340828 Name Helen Dunn Gender Female Christening Date 01 Feb 1807 Christening Place UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHEVIOT STREET-NC,WOOLER,NORTHUMBERLAND,ENGLAND Birth Date 11 Jan 1807 Father's Name James Dunn Mother's Name Thomason Indexing Project (Batch) Number P00454-1 GS Film number 87986 Name Thomeson Dunn Gender Female Christening Date 01 Aug 1809 Christening Place, KIRKINNER, WIGTOWN, SCOTLAND Father's Name James Dunn Mother's Name Thomeson Strachan Indexing Project (Batch) Number C11889-2 GS Film number 1068037 Name Betsey Dunn Gender Female Christening Date 06 Feb 1812 Christening Place, WIGTOWN, WIGTOWN, SCOTLAND Father's Name James Dunn Mother's Name Thomason Strachan Indexing Project (Batch) Number C11901-2 GS Film number 1068042 Regards, Bruce

Hi Bruce I see you have lumped the Dunn children born of James Dunn and Thomazine Broom in Devon with the four born of James Dunn and Thomason Strachan born in Oak Hill and Wigtown.. I have also considered these two groups of children several times. First of all it is true that there seems to be no direct conflict in dates (assuming Jean was born about 1806) - ie the Devon children fill a large gap between John born 1793 and Jean born 1806. However, there is a marriage in Burlescombe, Devon of James Dunn and Thomazine Broom in 1795 (Family Search M16848-2) and the children are born 1795-1805 which seems consistent. There also appear to be numerous census reference to these Dunn children born in Burlescombe in English censuses but no reference at all in Wigtown censuses. Another option might be for the first Thomason to die in 1793/94 and James to marry in Devon in 1795 - however, if that was the case, they then returned to Wigtown without any of the children and the death report for Thomason 1809 stated that her mother was Thomson Strachan. So I have to conclude that these two families were separate. The bigger mystery, I think, is what happened with James and Thomason in that 13 year gap from 1793 till 1806 or so? Did they have a number of still births? Were they living in Wigtown or in Oak Hill? (was it Oak Hill London or Somerset?) The fact that both the wife and one child were born in Oak Hill, England seems to indicate that James was moving back and forth between these two locations at least twice, for employment, I assume. Any Idea why Oak Hill? Blessings John in Canada

John, I would not assume that all the children in the 1841 household belong to Jane/Jean Dunn. While the "rounding down" instructions for adults for that census means Jean's age would be 25-29, she would have been too young to have a 13-yr-old son. Peter could have been the child of John & Thomason or, if a grandson, the child of any of their other older children, male or female. Do you know if there is an existing memorial inscription for this family's gravesite? If there is, it might help with the relationships. Jo-Ann Croft

"John Dunn" <jtd13561@gmail.com> wrote: <SCT-WIGTOWNSHIRE@rootsweb.com> Greetings - In the 1841, 1851, 1861 census in Wigtown there is a Jean Dunn born about 1806 in Oak Hill, England, daughter of James Dunn and Thomeson Strachan. In these census reports she is shown with three children Peter, Betsy and Mathew. I have been able to trace Matthew into the Royal Marines, married to Martha Harper in Ireland and one of his sons eventually makes his way to Canada. Question - there does not seem to be any info on whether Jean was married or not and some researchers even doubt if she was really the daughter of James and Thomeson. Does anyone have any insight into this situation? Thanks John Dunn in Canada Hi John, I think that the following death registration settles those questions. *Wigtown Deaths 1873, no 38:* Jane DUNN, (Single) / 1873, November Second between 3 h and 5 h P.M., High Street, Wigtown / F / 67 Years / James DUNN, Millwright, (Deceased), Thomason DUNN, M.S. STRACHAN, (Deceased) / (1) Heart Disease, (2) Not Kmnown, (3) William CUMMING M.D. &c Wigtown, (4) After Death as reported by Ebenezer S Black, Procurator Fiscal / John McKIE, Brother in Law, Kilwhirn House, Wigtown / November 3d, At Wigtown, P Halliday, Registrar / Regards, Bruce