Hi Annie, here is a little more background....
My grandfather, David Kennedy, was born on the 3rd of August, 1877 in Stanley, Perthshire, Scotland to Jane Kennedy. No father is given on the birth records, and Jane was unmarried at the time. Jane’s occupation was domestic servant and the story passed down in the family, which of course could be false, was that the father was her employer, and that he was wealthy. The picture I attached earlier of the supposed father shows a gentleman who appears to be well dressed and would suggest someone reasonably well off (nothing written on the back of the picture to identify him). According to the story passed down his name was William McLaren. There are a couple of reasons why I think the McLaren part is correct:
• My grandfather added McLaren to his surname after he immigrated to South Africa in the early 1900’s – that is the first time we see McLaren-Kennedy on any records. There must have been a reason, and the only one I can think of is that it was his father’s name.
• In the 1881 census my grandfather was being cared for by his grandparents (his mother married James Sharp in 1880 and moved away from Stanley) and he is the only one in the family not listed as Kennedy, but as David McLaren. However, the 1891 census, when he was 13, listed him as David Kennedy. In neither census was his mother living with her parents.
So that is my interest in William. I would like to know more about the McLaren side of the family....
