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Okay, Eliza sounds good, thank you all.

CaroleW - I have this family well mapped out, excepting Eliza and her elder sister Agnes who are both difficult. Yes, have been thinking Eliza could be illegitimate, or adopted / a step-child. William married three times that i know of. Isabella died 5 years old in 1865, she was born to William's second wife who herself died in 1860.

Shanreagh - Thanks, I think I had been too focused on Elsie as a possibility, given William's first wife's mother was an Elspet. But Eliza makes more sense looking at the cursive style.

[Edited: replied to wrong person]

May as well weigh in here with another Slessor and hope.

I have a direct ancestor, Mary Slessor, born c. 1806 Aberdeenshire and who died prior to 1851 in Aberdeen. She was married to William Robb, a merchant service seaman and labourer - marriage date unknown but likely c. 1836.

Both of them are brick walls but I believe Mary may have come from the Old Deer area. The Robb family was closely linked with a family of Grants (William Robb junior married Margaret Ann Grant - William was often a marriage witness on the Grant side, including for this next one). The youngest of the Grant siblings, William (1851-1919) first married an Elizabeth Kerr (1846-1889) who was born in New Deer to George Kerr and Ann Slessor. Her mother Ann Davidson was from Old Deer. Her father Alexander I'm not sure.

Just chance, or is there a family link? I tried to branch out Ann Slessor's family to see if there was a missing Mary but they're all quite hard to pin down. Ann Slessor's father was a ship carpenter, so there's a marine connection.

Hello,

First post on RootsChat although I've been looking at the boards here for several years without an account.

Stumbled across a problem on my tree yesterday after obtaining a census that's causing a lot of confusion, perhaps someone here might be able to suggest an avenue of attack. This post could equally apply to the Clackmannanshire board if the admins decide to move it. There are two John Hunters, father and son - the problem is with the father.

The son John Hunter (b. 1863 Saline, d. 1946 Inverness) was the illegitimate son of John Hunter (b. 1841 Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire, d. 1885 Ontario, Canada) and Margaret Neish (b. 1836 Carnock, d. 1866 Dunfermline). For all his working life he was a public school teacher. I have him on the 1871 and 1881 censuses living with his grandparents, Robert Hunter and Janet Condie, in Tillicoultry. On the latter census his occupation is a 'pupil teacher' so I know it's him. On his 1890 marriage record to Elizabeth Forrest his parents are both deceased - his father was a blacksmith.

Lately I've been trying to fill out the life of his mother and after finding her death record set out to find corroborating evidence that it was the correct person. Got hold of the 1861 census with her living with her sister's husband and family in Saline, all blacksmiths. Great.

Also on the 1861 census was John Hunter, age 19, blacksmith, from Tillicoultry. Excellent. Looks like he was employed by the family, they were all living together, this is strong extra evidence for him and Margaret being John's parents.

Except...

Except that, John Hunter, the father, is also on the 1861 census for Tillicoultry, living with parents Robert Hunter and Janet Condie. Also aged 19, a blacksmith, and born there.

So... is John Hunter the father on the 1861 census twice or are there two John Hunters with the same age, place of birth and occupation?

The Tillicoultry John is living with parents Robert Hunter and Janet Condie, later listed as grandparents to John junior in 1871 and 1881 when the younger John was starting off in his teaching career.

The Saline John is living with the future mother of his child.

Perhaps grasping at straws but as Tillicoultry and Saline are not that far apart (approx 8.5 miles), could he have been recorded at one address then gone to visit the other on the same night and be recorded again there? This census doesn't record if either is a visitor to the respective households.

Hunter is a very common surname around these parts and there will be other Johns around. I've looked up four other John Hunters around the same age in Tillicoultry in the 1851 then 1861 censuses and they can be crossed-off for having different occupations / outside of county places of birth. Of course, there may be others elsewhere in the country.