Robert Swan & Mary Colquhoun

[Hoppity]

I wonder if you can help.

I am looking for the deaths of Robert Swan and his wife Mary Colquhoun. 

Their last child was born in 1817.  They were definitely deceased by 1859.  I know this is abroad time scale but it is all I have right now.

They lived in Renfrewshire, or Paisley itself.

Any help would be appreciated.

Kind regards
Hoppity

[runner]

Hi Hoppity

Renfrewshire is a fairly large county with lots of small villages and parishes. You would need to be slightly more specific to help identify a possible burial ground.

Have you found them on the 1841 and 1851 census records ?
That would give you some idea of where to start looking.
Paisley is - and was, a reasonable sized town with several churches within the Burgh area itself so there are High, Middle and Low churches with a variety of other denominations also within the town.
Abbey was a broad descriptor for the wider Landward area around the town and took in villages like Neilston, Barrhead, Erskine, Elderslie and Johnstone. Additionally there are separate parishes like Lochwinnoch and Kilbarchan.
Without more detail it is needle in a haystack time.

Russell

[Hoppity]

Hi Russell,

I think I may have found Mary on the 1841 Census living with her family:

Piece: SCT1841/575 Place: Renfrew -Renfrewshire Enumeration District: 4
Civil Parish: Renfrew Ecclesiastical Parish, Village or Island: -
Folio: 4 Page: 2
Address: Backrow

  Surname First name(s) Sex Age Occupation Where Born Remarks
SWAN Margaret F 65 Renfrewshire
SWAN Mary F 60 Renfrewshire
SWAN Elizabeth F 40 Renfrewshire

So it looks as if John Swan died before 1841.

Unfortunately I only know that they lived in either Paisley or Renfrew at some time.

Is there anywhere on line that I could search the GRO indexes, similar to those free on Ancestry for the UK?

Thank you so much for your help and time.

Kind regards
Hoppity.

[runner]

Hi Hoppity

I'm afraid that Death records in Scotland were not recorded prior to the start of Statutory Records in 1855 which makes it difficult to locate a Death record.
Some Burial and Monumental Inscription details are on-line but it is the luck of the draw if they are in the right places for you.
Where a family was poor, as most were, they would not be able to afford a permanent grave marker but if you know the graveyard they were buried in there may still be a record of their interrment.
Many parishes hired out Mortcloths (The decorative cloth used to cover the coffin when it was carried to the graveside) and some of these records have survived. They are available as part of the Old Parochial Records on microfilm and can be looked at in the Latter Day Saints Family Centres. There is probably one fairly near you.
Since you know that Mary was in the parish of Renfrew that, at least gives you a starting point to request the films for the appropriate dates from the LDS Centre. They charge a small fee for bringing in the film.
Then it is a matter of trawling optimistically through the images to see if any mention is made of Mary hiring a mortcloth. Most entries tell little more than the name of the person hiring it and the date.

I wish you luck.

Russell

[Hoppity]

Hi Russell,

Thank you so very much for all this information and for taking the time to write it.  I am very very grateful.

With best wishes
Hoppity 

[runner]

My pleasure Hoppity

The only problem with genealogy is - you learn so much that you have to share it.
Sorry there are two problems really! 
It's addictive and there are no patches or quick fixes. Once hooked you can't stop

Russell

[Hoppity]

Hi Russell,

I agree!!  My family tree started with just one certificate!!

Now I am totally addicted.  There is so much more to learn and find out too!!

Thank you again for all your time.

Kind regards
Hoppity