Need A magic Wond- Still Can't Find My Buchanan Family.

[doreen gall]

I've waited for the full 1841 census to come on line in the hope of finding Christopher Buchanan , but I seem to have waited in vain as I can't find him.
Found  a record of  his first sons christening in Middlebie DFS 1843, Thomas Buchanan mother Jean Blacklock. 
Found Christopher on the 1891 back to the 1851 census in England, his place of birth on all is Dumfries.
In 1852 Jane (Jean) dies in the village of Cartmel , Ulverston. 1854 Christopher weds for a second time in Cartmel on the wed cert he names his father as James Buchanan occupation Farmer, Christopher is down as a Shepherd.

Can't find his birth or first marriage in the OPRs at Scotlandspeople site, going by the English census he was born between 1819 and 1821.
 
My only hope now is to try to find him on the 1831 census living with his father somehere in Dumfries, can someone help me with this please.

Doreen. 
                                                               

[runner]

Hi Doreen

Hate to disappoint you but there is no 1831 census to look up.
The earliest nationwide record was the 1841.
Any earlier records which have survived would probably not give you very much information anyway.

Another approach might be to trawl through the Old Parochial Records films from the LDS and see if you can locate him from them.  In a small town or village it's not too massive an undertaking especially within so narrow a time span.
Its a fascinating way to spend an afternoon. Some of the entries are interesting even if of no relevance to you.
There may be Kirk Session minutes surviving from the parish church although they are most likely to be in the National Archive in Edinburgh.
If they were very good - or very bad, they might be mentioned in a minute.
There is a local Family history Society who might be able to help too.

Russell

[doreen gall]

Hi Russell,
Thanks for your reply, thought I may be grasping at straws. I was thinking of getting intouch with Edinburgh to see if they would carry out a search.
There is a LDS office in Livepool I could give them a call to see if they can come up with the films.

Once again thanks.
Doreen.

[Gadget]

What is his approx age Doreen, I've got a few extraneous sources for Dumfriesshire ?

Gadget

Just reread your first posting - I'll go looking

[doreen gall]

Hi Gadget, he was born approx 1819 -1822, however, on his death cert 1897 he is stated to be 73 at that time, making his birth abt 1824, I do think this is wrong, as on his second wed cert in 1854 he is 32.

Thanks for the offer. (oops you are there.)
Doreen 

[Gadget]

First thoughts -

I've taken his first name with a 'pinch of salt' - my lot used to use different names occasionally

Nearest I've come up with so far in Dumfriesshire , with father James is from BIVRI 2nd Edition:

Archbald Buhannan, bpt. 1818, Dryfesdale, Dumfries, Parents - James Buhannan and N Ladlaw
and a brother -
Benjamin Bell Buchanan, bpt. 1822, Dryfesdale, Dumfries, Parents - James Buchanan and Helen Laidle
I would think this is the same family - poorly transcribed - Helen Laidlaw probably 

Not very good matches but I'm still looking!

Another possible is that he might have been illegitimate and that's a whole can of worms but his father would usually have been mentioned.

Again, there was quite a lot of secession from the established church and he could have been baptised outwith this.

Gadget

[runner]

Hi Doreen

Gadget, like me, is an unbeleiver when it comes to the information on Death Certificates.
They are notoriously inaccurate for spelling, ages, places and , worst of all the names of the person's parents.
Most sons registering a father or mother's death only knew his grandparents as "Grannie Brown" or "Grandpa McKay" and sometimes mixed up the names of the two sets of grandparents.
Even marriage certificates did not always reflect the persons 'actual' age. ladies could confabulate a little and fudged their age to be younger. If they were born before 1855 no one could contradict them could they ?
A great uncle of mine made himself older so he could become a boy soldier but a couple of years later, when he went to get married he had to continue the fiction,  so his records all have the wrong age on them.
Even Memorial inscriptions can have wrong dates. Sometimes they were put up years after the burial when the family could afford it and a wrong date could be given to the sculptor.
It all makes the hunt more exciting when you overcome the obstacles.

Russell

[Gadget]

An example of memorial inscription errors, Russell, is my 4 x granny, Jean Spalding - amazingly seems to have given birth at the age of 59 - and my overseas cousins had included it in their trees until I questioned them about it and went all the way to New Galloway to examine the edifice!
Obviously a mason's error or granny registering the birth as her own 

Gadget - the other unbeliever 

[doreen gall]

Well I never, he named his his first son Thomas , so was he a Thomas ? his second son was a James, he did have a son named Christopher .

Doreen.