RESOLVED! THANKYOU SO MUCH! Twins: Catherine and Margaret Matheson

[KatieKazoo]

Please help - I'm going round in ever decreasing circles. 

On behalf of my ailing grandmother, I'm searching for her grandmother's family. Here is what I know, which all takes place in the Applecross area:

Alexander Matheson of Culduie (1807 - 1892) married Janet MacLeay/Livingstone of Camusterrach (1808-1878) on 12/01/1838 in Applecross.  They have 5 daughters:

Twins: Isabella and Mary, born about 1840
Ann/Annie: born about 1852
Twins: Catherine and Margaret, born about 1855

I can trace both Catherine and Margaret in 1861 on the Eilean na Ba (Cow Island) off the coast from Toscaig (with parents and grandfather, Kenneth Matheson) and in 1871 in Camustiel, Applecross (with parents).  Catherine then moves to Stirlingshire and I know what happens to her.

Isabella, Mary and Ann all marry and have children and remain in Camustiel.

However, this is what I cannot find for the life of me:

Any birth or christening record for either Catherine or Margaret
Any trace of Margaret after 1871.
Any death certificate for Margaret.

My grandmother believes that Margaret lived out her days in Lochcarron but this is unconfirmed. She also believed that Catherine and Margaret were born on Raasay but a friend there has been able to find no trace of them whatsoever. I suspect they were born either in Applecross or on Cow Island but my searches have proven fruitless.  If anyone can help me, I would be enormously grateful and so would my gran.

Thanks so much in advance. KK

[CaroleW]

Hi and welcome to Rootschat

By the time of the 1881 census - Margaret could well have married so any death would be under her married name

I found this on the IGI

MARGARET MATHESON    Spouse:  JOHN MCGREGOR     Marriage:  30 DEC 1875   Avoch, Ross And Cromarty
 

[MonicaL]

Hi Katie

Can't see Catherine and Margaret's birth entries post 1855 and the start of official registration (likely born c. 1854?), but these look to be the entries on IGI for the first set of twins:

1. ISABEL MATHESON  Christening: 25 MAR 1839 Applecross
2. MARY MATHESON Christening: 25 MAR 1839 Applecross

Mother shows as: Mary or Janet McLea.

Sister Ann must have been born c. 1850 as she shows, aged 1, in 1851:

Alex Matheson 44, Fisherman & Ag Lab
Janet Matheson 35
Isabella Matheson 11
Mary Matheson 11
Ann Matheson 1

Address: Culdine, Applecross

Monica 

[MonicaL]

Apart from the marriage that Carole found, one more possibility for Margaret. There is a marriage showing on Scotlands People in 1876 for a Margaret Matheson and Peter MacLean (in Kilbrandon, Argyll I think).

This looks a possible entry for that family in 1881:

Peter McLean 31, labourer
Margt McLean 26 b. Applecross G, Rossshire
Merdock McLean 3
Alexd McLean 2

Address: Gate, Kilbrandon and Kilchattan, Argyll

For 1891:

Peter McLean 41
Margaret McLean 36
Murdoch McLean 13
Alexander McLean 12
Jessie McLean 9
Duncan McLean 7
Maggie McLean 5
Robert McLean 3

Address: Kilbrandon

Looks possible, but need to be confirmed 

Monica

[KatieKazoo]

Hi Monica and Carole

Thanks for the welcome!

The family you foundnd in Culduie is the right family and I had also found the christening records in IGI.  Though why on earth the mother is listed as Mary or Janet is beyond me.  All the official records I have list her as 'Janet' and occasionally as 'Jessie'.  'Jessie' is in fact the name which has been passed down through the family line, rather than 'Janet'.  I'm told it's a simple matter of Gaelic translation as to which one you choose.

What I'm struggling to understand is why such God-fearing people would not have had Catherine and Margaret christened - or if they did, why there aren't any records.

The 1855 birth date for Catherine and Margaret could be out by a year or two. I'm largely going on Catherine's death certificate which says she was 72 when she died in 1927.

Thanks for the tip-offs for the other marriages for Margaret - I'll check them out later and let you know what I find!

KK

[MonicaL]

A number of Scottish first names have a number of well know variants, which were used at random on different documents you see when researching. This is a great site for first name variants, with a special bias towords Scotland www.whatsinaname.net  Janet and Jessie are a good example of name variants of the same name. Some are not so obvious, such as Isabel and Elizabeth or Peter and Patrick.

As to why we are not seeing the Old Parish Register entries for Catherine and Margaret, could be down to a number of reasons. We know the family belonged to the established Church of Scotland (presbyterian) because we can see other entries on the Old Parish Registers for them. One of the main reasons for missing entries can be simply that over the years records have been lost or destroyed.

IGI at www.familysearch.org is pretty accurate on entries from the start of official registration in Scotland, 1855, up to around 1874ish when the Mormons stopped loading on Scottish records. Can't see anything on IGI for the girls on there pre or post 1855.

Let us know how you get on finding out more on Margaret 

Monica

[KatieKazoo]

Monica

I cannot tell you how loudly I just screamed!!!!!  It's Margaret - it's actually her.  She's living nowhere near Lochcarron.  Goes to show how family lore can throw you.

I've been hunting for her for weeks/months.

I don't know who you are or where you are but I could actually kiss you right now.

YIIIPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Thankyou thankyou thankyou!

Can't tell you how grateful I am.  Must go and compose myself now before I ring my gran.

KK xx

[MonicaL]

  That's great! Your gran will be so chuffed with all your hard work!

Just to finish off the censuses for you, from 1901 - all the children born in Kilbrandon:

Peter Mclean 51, general labourer, b. Lochbuie, Argyllshire
Margaret Mclean 47, Applecross
Duncan Mclean 17
Maggie Mclean 15
Robert Mclean 12
Peter Mclean 9
Colin Mclean 7
Jenet Mclean 81, grandmother (likely mother to Peter?) b. Knock Hatch, Argyllshire (never heard of Knock Hatch  likely a specific place name, rather than District etc.)

Address: No 15 xxxx?, Kilbrandon and Kilchattan, Argyll

Monica 

[MonicaL]

There is a member on www.GenesReunited.co.uk (Catrin) who potentially has the two eldests sons of Peter and Margaret on her tree on there - Murdoch b. 1877 and Alexander b. 1879 b. in Kilbrandon. Perhaps connected to this family?

Monica

Added: Think they must be connected  They also have Margaret with her birth in Applecross in 1855.