Choosing line to follow

[Homebody]

Hello:
I am having a problem choosing which line to follow.  I have an Andrew Drysdale born around 1810, his father was John Drysdale, mother Isabel Alexander born about 1772 and about 1776 respectivelly.  John's first son was named James, and the second son named John (Isabel's father was John Alexander).

I have found other people researching the same line, that have chosen a different path which leads me to question my direction.  There is another John Drysdale born in 1773 married to Anne Melieur.  All of these people are from Alva, Stirlingshire.  They named their first child John.

I guess my question is,  should I follow the traditional naming patterns when deciding which line to follow?

Thanks:
Lois   

[ev]

hi Lois 

if he died after 1854 , do you have andrew drysdale's death cert. ?
are the parents named ?
the IGI has andrew drysdale baptised 5th aug. 1810 alva stirling parents john
drysdale and betty(elizabeth ?) alexander

ev

[MonicaL]

That's a good find Ev  Worth noting that Elizabeth is also a variant of Isabel so would be a good fit for Andrew's birth www.whatsinaname.net/php/search.php?action=search2&search_name=elizabeth

Monica

[MonicaL]

In respect of your question as to which line to follow for Andrew's father John, hard to say without you being able to verify it in some way. As you have seen from other family trees, there are a couple of options, assuming John Drysdale was from Alva:

JOHN DRYSDALE Birth: 05 FEB 1772/ Christening: 09 FEB 1772 Alva
Parents: JAMES DRYSDALE and ISABEL ALEXANDER

JOHN DRYSDALE Birth: 26 JUN 1773/ Christening: 27 JUN 1773 Alva
Parents: JOHN DRYSDALE and ANNE MELIEUR

I can only see two daughters for John Drysdale and Elizabeth Alexander: Margaret (for Betty's mother) and Mary so no clues from that.

Have you tried contacting other descendants to see why they have gone down the route of John Drysdale and Anne Melieur for John's parents?

Monica

[Homebody]

Hi again Ev. and MonicaLesl:

I'll answer MonicaLesl question re  naming pattern before I forget my train of thought.  If I follow the line with James Drysdale as John's father it seems to fit.  James' mother was Mary Archibald, and father was William Drysdale.  So, John named 1st. son James, 2nd. son John (John Alexander?), 3rd. son William, 4th. Alexander, 1st. daughter Margaret (Elizabeth's mother?), 5th. son Andrew, and 2nd. daughter Mary.   Is it just coincidence, or just that everyone seemed to give their children all the same names in every generation? 

I did e-mail one of the other people researching the same Andrew, but they are not relatives as far as I know.  All the others researching this line are in Australia, and I'm in Canada.  The person I e-mailed did answer me but wasn't very definite about his info. regarding Andrew.  I have to add here that Andrew didn't seem to be in his direct line, but off to the side, and I asked if he had any documents that he could tell me about so that I could look for them also, but he didn't answer that except to say that he had done a lot of research.  Perhaps he has had bad experiences in the past sharing.  Everyone else seemed to have the same info. as his perhaps they are all connected with him.  One person in the U.S. followed the line that I did, but this person is no longer on line.

Ev.  I haven't been able to trace Andrew fully as yet.  I had his family in the 1841 census, and then in 1851 the children seemed to be living with their grand-parents on both sides of the family.  There was another Andrew in 1851 census married to someone else with another family in Perth with an entirely different occupation.  I don't know yet if his wife Margaret Stalker died or if they may have divorced.  I sort of got side-tracked on following the male line, and then couldn't leave it.

I do know for sure that I'm questioning my research past John and Elizabeth now, so any ideas you have will be gratefully received.

Regards:
Lois       

[Timetraveller77]

Hello Lois,
though it's been a few years, I just wanted to throw my research hat in the ring for this family, and see where you ended up also.

I have Andrew Drysdale (b. 1810 d. 1858) as the son of John Drysdale & Elizabeth "Betty" Alexander simply because the baptism and death register show these parents. I haven't purchased the full death cert for Andrew but Scotlandspeople have his mother's maiden name as "Alexander" in the registration search, and so it all seemed to fit for me.

Did you also know that John Drysdale and wife Betty Alexander were first cousins? Betty being the (seemingly illegitimate) daughter of John ALEXANDER (b. 1747)  and Margaret DICKSON/DICKERSON (b. 1754). I cannot find a marriage for the couple, nor seemingly any other children. But John Alexander (b. 1747) was the brother to Isabel ALEXANDER (wife of James Drysdale b. 1733), making their children cousins. Betty appears to have died before 1841 Census night.

For my part, I am a descendant of John Drysdale (b. 1772)'s brother Robert Drysdale (b. 1775) and wife Catherine SMITH.

But your ancestor, John Drysdale (b. 1772 d. 1862) has an interesting family, as his youngest daughter Mary Drysdale (b. 1813 d.1887) appears to have had 3 daughters out of wedlock. The 1851 Census through me for a loop with her father John (aged 79) living with dau Mary Drysdale (age 40) and "granddaughters" Elizabeth Dawson (age 14), Janet Stalker (age 10) and Margaret Kemp (age 8yrs). Following those 3 girls into adulthood, it revealed their mother to be "Mary Drysdale". Fascinating family tree.

As for Andrew DRYSDALE, his son, I have only been able to trace him in 1841 Census records, and subsequent death 17 Jan 1858 in Wilton, Roxburgh, Scotland. I am struggling to find him in 1851 Census records- his wife Margaret (nee Stalker) is living in High Street, Tillicoultry, Clackmannan with a daughter and niece.

 I am happy to share what I have, or compare notes with you or anybody researching the Drysdale family of Alva. Please feel free to PM me anytime.

[Forfarian]

I am having a problem choosing which line to follow .... I guess my question is,  should I follow the traditional naming patterns when deciding which line to follow?

No.

If you have two or more possible lines you have to follow both until you get a clinching piece of evidence in support of one of them.

Don't be swayed by what other people think. You have no idea whether they have done the research properly, or whether they have just found someone who appears to fit and assumed that it is the right person.