Craiks in Brechin

[IanCraik]

I have begun researching my family using Ancestry.com, with obvious limitations.

So far:

William Bell Craik (Grandfather)
James Craik 1860 (gr grandfather) - married Isabella Bell
George Craik 1833 (gr gr grandfather) - married Jean (?) 1834
George Craik 1801 (gr gr gr grandfather) - married Jean Nielson 1799

All seem to have been born and lived in Brechin. If anyone could fill in the blanks regarding dates of death, etc, it would be gratefully welcomed.

Regards
Ian William Craik
Massachusetts, USA

Moderator Comment: Details of living person removed.  Best not to put them on an open forum for fear of identity theft etc.

[lizdb]

James Craik's birth cert will give his mum's maiden name.

[IanCraik]

James Craik's birth cert will give his mum's maiden name.

Thanks, but I don't have his birth certificate. The best I have is that he was a merchant going between Scotland and South Africa, leaving my grandfather in South Africa.  He died (I believe in Arbroath) in 1891 at age 31.  I can't even locate my grandfather's information, since there aren't many records available from South Africa.

[sillgen]

Hi and welcome to rootschat
Brechin is in Scotland so Scotlands people is the site you want.  The Scottish records are very good.
I will move this to the appropriate board where you should get help from those who know the locality.
Andrea

[Forfarian]

According to the 1881 census George (47) and Jean (41) Craik, both born in Brechin, were at 35 Nursery Feus, Forfar, with daughter Mary Jane, 17, son John, 15, son David, 9 and daughter Margaret, 3. George was a tenter in a factory, Mary Jane a powerloom weaver, and John an apprentice cabinetmaker. The two elder children were born in Montrose and the younger in Forfar.

According to the International Genealogical Index at www.familysearch.org George Craik and Jean or Jane Mitchell were married in Brechin on 9 April 1858 and had five children
James, born Brechin 15 July 1859
George, born Brechin 31 March 1861
Mary Jane, born Montrose on 17 June 1863
David, born Forfar 11 May 1871.
The IGI stops in 1874/5 before Margaret was born.
John, born Montrose on 12 January 1866

It looks as if James Craik, aged 21, born Brechin, was a grocer's assistant boarding with the family of Isa Wallace in 43 Dishlandtown Street, St Vigeans. This address is in the part of the town of Arbroath which had expanded into the parish of St Vigeans.

The 1841 census, transcribed at http://www.freecen.org.uk/cgi/search.pl, lists George and Jean Craik, both 40, at Path Wynd, Brechin with Helen, 15, David, 15, James, 10, George, 7 and Isabel, 1. (Adults' ges in 1841 were rounded down to the nearest five years) The IGI lists their proclamations on 12 July 1823 at Laurencekirk and 1 August 1823 in Brechin, and their family included
Helen, baptised 14 November 1824
David, baptised 20 November 1825
Jean, baptised 1 April 1827
Mary, baptised 7 June 1829
James, baptised 12 December 1830
George, baptised 31 October 1833
Isabell, born 24 June 1839
all in Brechin

You can, and should, confirm all the information you already have at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk, where you can download birth, marriage and death certificates, and also pre-1855 baptisms and proclamations of banns of marriage, and the 1841 to 1901 censuses, for a modest fee. Bear in mind that the pre-1855 ones are not nearly as informative as the later ones. Start with William Bell Craik, if he was born in Scotland, and work back in time.

You should also be able to find death certificates for both Georges and both Jean/Janes, which should confirm their parentages.

Ancestry may be OK as a pointer, but it doesn't have any original records. The IGI is a superb finding aid, but it has many drawbacks, not least that it contains a lot of potentially misleading disinformation. Anything 'submitted' to the IGI must be viewed with great caution. It is essential always to consult the original record for anything you find on Ancestry or the IGI.

HTH

[IanCraik]

Thanks so much for the information to add to my search.  James was my great grandfather.  He died at 31 years of age, and by that time was already a merchant travelling between Scotland and South Africa (I'm going on the assumption that since the family had been in the linen/jute business for some time, that he was involved with that trade).  It was on a return trip to Scotland that he died in Arbroath- actually a few months after the 1891 census was taken. I can only think that my grandfather must have stayed behind on South Africa for this trip, because that is where my dad was born and our family lived until 1970 when we moved to the US.
It was an old, very faded picture of James' grave in Arbroath that stimulated this search, and once I had it enlarged and enhanced, I had a few dates to get going.
May I ask whether you too are doing Craik research?  Never the less, I greatly appreciate you taking the time to do the look ups.  This thing has become all-consuming and every answer stimulates another question.

Regards
Ian William Craik

[IanCraik]

Just to add to my last post.  In cross referrencing what I got from Ancestry and the new information, the birth dates are quite different, and going by the ones from the census' and what you said about rounding down the ages, I can see the reason why I've been hitting some dead ends.  I can see that I'll need to begin using Scotlandspeople to verify what I have before I proceed.

Since you have been so helpful, maybe I can ask a bit of advice.  According to Ancestry.com (1881 census) Gearge b. 1833 was living at 35 Nursery Fens with his niece Isabella Lowson.  Now, I know that another branch of Craiks owned a Linen/jute mill in Forfar as did the Lowson family.  I am having a heck of a time trying to figure out how the Craik and Lowson families intersected.
Using Scotlandspeople, how would I proceed with a search to see which Craik daughter married a Lowson?  Would I just go down the list of all female relatives until I found a Lowson marraige?
I very vaugely recall my father mentioning a split within the family (which would explain James boarding away from home and that he was staying with his wife's family at the time of the 1891 census and his death). It has me wondering if the split was somehow related to the Lowson connection who were Craik rivals in business. I'm hoping that discovering a Craik/Lowson marraige will offer a clue.

Thanks again
Ian

[Forfarian]

Just to add to my last post.  In cross referrencing what I got from Ancestry and the new information, the birth dates are quite different, and going by the ones from the census' and what you said about rounding down the ages, I can see the reason why I've been hitting some dead ends.  I can see that I'll need to begin using Scotlandspeople to verify what I have before I proceed.

Yes. You can't do reliable research in Scotland without Scotland's People.

Gearge b. 1833 was living at 35 Nursery Fens

This is Feus not Fens.

I know that another branch of Craiks owned a Linen/jute mill in Forfar

Yes. One of the linen manufacturers married a distant relative of mine, so his descendants are related to me. I have been researching this branch, but not the rest of the Craik family.

I am having a heck of a time trying to figure out how the Craik and Lowson families intersected. Using Scotlandspeople, how would I proceed with a search to see which Craik daughter married a Lowson?  Would I just go down the list of all female relatives until I found a Lowson marraige?

Hmmm. It's not just as straightforward as that. Leave it with me for a little while and I'll have a think.