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Thank you both. I did post a query re Winifred before and received info about the pension applications. I also have marriage and death documents plus a poor relief application, all relating to her life from 1869 onwards, where details re her age and her parents' names vary. I've done my DNA with Ancestry and have a number of genetic cousins connected to the Coyne family, none of whom appear to have any knowledge of her. I am still unable to trace Winifred's early history. What year was she born? From answers she gave, it appears between 1842 and 1849. Who were her parents? Did they die in the Great Famine? When did she arrive in Glasgow? She doesn't appear to have known any of these answers. Her pension applications were unsuccessful as they couldn't trace her. 

Hi Monica

Thanks for the reference for the divorce. I can take a trip to Edinburgh to view the record.

Robert's address in Clarkston was given on James's death certificate, and the Minor Record has the same name and address. I also have him living there on the 1976 Electoral Register and on the 1969-70 Valuation Roll, so I'm sure it's the same person. Also on the ER was Jean Nicolson, though I don't know if she was his wife or another family member. I haven't been able to find a marriage certificate.

The Minor Record of his death states that Robert was a retired bank employee. I've contacted various bank archives departments to see if they have a record of him being on their staff but with no success.

Hi

Thanks for replying. The story is a bit complicated.

According to their marriage certificate, my grandfather John Sinclair Holmes, 23, bachelor, married Jessie Margaret Nicholson, 20, spinster, in Glasgow in 1896. They had 2 sons that I know of: James Holmes, 1897-1975 (he later changed his name to James Holmes Nicholson, using his mother's maiden surname as his surname), and John Nicholson Holmes, born 1899, who died in 1900.

At some point my grandfather John and Jessie separated. According to both the 1901 and 1911 census records, Jessie was living with her parents and son James. John was not there, and there is no mention of Robert, born about 1908, in the 1911 census.

John divorced Jessie in 1919, just months before marrying my grandmother. Jessie didn't remarry and died in 1925.

So far, everything makes sense. However, the informant on James's 1975 death certificate is "Robert Nicolson, brother". I've been unable to verify this relationship (which would make him my father's half-brother) as I can't find a birth or death certificate for Robert, and only have a copy of a Minor Record of his death in Majorca. This doesn't give parents or next of kin, and the informant is a doctor at the clinic where he died.

Hi. It's great to hear from you. I think we are 2nd or 3rd cousins. I've been working on my family tree so I have a few more details for you. John and Winifred had 7 children: William John 1870-1937, Barbara 1871-1894, Annie 1873-1899, Irvine 1875-1877, Irvine 1878-?, Winifred 1880-1883, and lastly Winifred 1884-1959 (my grandmother). William John married his first wife Annie Mathieson McDougall (1871-1903) in 1890. She died of TB, apparently childless. He married Hannah McDonald in 1906. They emigrated to Canada in 1921, but by the time of the 1930 US census, they were living in Norwich.
My father Thomas was the youngest of Winifred's 9 children. Your great grandfather would have been his uncle.
I have other family details but don't want to post them on a public forum. I think once you have posted 3 times you can send a Personal Message.