Angus Macarthur, Lewis

[Cileag]

I have been trying unsuccessfully to find the record of the birth of my great grandfather, Angus Macarthur. I have been able to track him through the censuses and it seems he was born about 1848 in the parish of Lochs in Lewis. In 1872 he married Ann MacLeod. His parents were Donald Macarthur and Mary MacLeod.
 I have searched Scotland's People and IGI without success. Scotland's People did not show any matches yet one would expect that there would have been many Angus Macarthurs born over the 5 year period that I searched. I also tried to track him down on The Hebridean Connections website without success.
I have exhausted all the alternatives I can think of. Can anyone help, please?

[MonicaL]

Hi Cileag

Not sure what more to suggest than what you have already done  Can't see anything for his birth/christening either.

There are no children's registrations for Donald and Mary pre 1855 and the start of official registration that I can see unfortunately.

Looking at all their children showing for them as born post 1855, a sad story there would seem to be there - 13 births show (14 including Alexander's) and yet only 3 living children looking at the censuses 

There is one birth in 1855:

ANNIE MC ARTHUR Birth: 01 JUL 1855 Lochs, Ross And Cromarty

The first year of official registration and for one year only, the BMDs ran over two pages of the register. For births, it should include a lot more info on parents: when they married, often where they were from and how many children they already had (boys/girls, alive/deceased). One to look at if you haven't already.

Monica

[Cileag]

Hi Monica,
Thank you for replying to my query and for taking the trouble to search the records.
 I am a relative beginner to genealogy so it is possible I may have made some errors in my research. From what I have discovered  through the  Ancestry census records  Donald and Mary Macarthur  have 6 children by 1871, 3 of whom have been born prior to 1855.  By 1881, the only one still living at home is Duncan. I assumed that the others had married, moved away etc. However, my research did not show Alexdr. so perhaps I have been researching the wrong family?
 However, everthing seemed to fit and I could not find any other Donald Macarthur whose spouse was Mary born in the right year and in the right area.
 From what I have been able to find out about Donald and Mary it seems surprising that they failed to register the birth - yet another of life's mysteries.

[MonicaL]

Hi Cileag

It may be that the Parish registers have not survived over the years. Have you found parents' marriage entry on the OPRs?  It's hard to tell on the births. There is at least two couples with the same names having children pretty much at the same time. On checking further now, it looks to be the other couple who lost so many young children.

Monica

[mariac]

Hi Cileag,
    These appear to be the only Donald Mc/MacArthur Mary Mc/MacLeod marriages in Lochs around the time frame you are after. It would seem that the first one is more likely to be your family.


29/01/1844 MACARTHUR DONALD MARY MACLEOD/ M LOCHS /ROSS AND CROMARTY 087/ 0010 0152
From the certificate this is all the information given
Donald    MacArthur   residing  at   Carloway
Mary     MacLeod     residing at   Borroston.



24/01/1853 MCARTHUR DONALD MARY MCLEOD/ M LOCHS /ROSS AND CROMARTY 087/ 0010 0167

I have a lot of ancestors from around that area and it is not unusual to find some children registered and not others.

Regards
mariac

[Cileag]

Hi Monica and Mariac,

Thank you both for helping in my quest to find my family.  I am relieved to know  that I have been researching the right family!

Monica: Yes, I have found the marriage record and this is what I have been using as a basis for my search for Angus's birth.

Mariac: Thank you for that useful piece of information regarding the registration of some births and not others. I have more research to do and these pieces of information are as valuable as gold nuggets.

The internet is a wonderful tool for people like me who live on the other side of the world (Australia) but this is the kind of information that one does not find in on line research.
Thank you both again for your help.
Cileag

[scottish lassy]

Hello Cileag
I will be going to the scottish records office at the end of June, so if I can look anything up for you, let me know. 

Also I live very close to where Angus was born, but the records available locally are not user-friendly.  Although, there is the local paper in which a letter for publication may bring results

sl

[Cileag]

Thank you, Si
It is very kind of you to offer your assistance  I know how valuable your time at the Scottish Records Office will be so it is a very generous offer.
 Being new and still pretty green as far as my  knowledge of genealogy is concerned, I am not sure of the kind of information that is available from the Scottish Records Office or if it would help my research. Is it possible that the records exist that are not available from other sources and searches?
Thank you for your suggestion re the local paper which I would like to follow up. Can you tell me the name of the paper, please?
Thank you again for your help.

[scottish lassy]

I'll just use the information you have posted for a search at the records office.  It is sometimes nice to have another line to look up.  The local paper is the Stornoway Gazette  http://www.stornowaygazette.co.uk/.  They do have a guest page for posting messages but you would have far more chance of success if you e-mailed them a letter for publication.  contact details are on the 'Newspaper' tab.  (Nearly everyone here reads this paper)

Best of luck, will be in touch, SL