Torphichen

[mosstrooper]

Almost all the names mentioned here, Cannon, O'Donnel, McBride etc are still in Bathgate and went to St Mary's High School with my wife.

James.

[Seoras]

Hi James,how are you,well I hope.Hmmm,it's possible I have relations in Bathgate then,my grandmother was born there as was my great grandfather and my great great grandfather married there,all McBrides.

George.

[Seoras]

Hollie,some more info since we last spoke via PM.It's taken a bit longer as the digging is getting harder .

Westfield Farm,where your GGG grandmother Sarah Cannon was working when she married still exists.It's just north of Bathgate to the west of Torphichen.

Some more of your GGG grandparents Myles McBride and Elizabeth Leyden's children.I'm sure there are more but this is all I have so far.

WILLIAM born 29th December 1860 Falkirk
ANN born 29th May 1864 Livingston
JAMES born 26th August 1866 Livingstone...yout GG grandfather.
MYLES born 26th October 1868 West Calder

This would be the younger Myles I found already,will have to go back and find him again
It looks like when James and Susan went to Livingstone for the birth of Thomas(before their marriage)they had relatives there.

George.

[Seoras]

Oops forgot,some on Patrick Foy and Sarah Cannon's children.You have them on the 1891 census but there is another not on it,Catherine.She would have been 21 at the time of the census and possibly working elsewhere or married.

SUSAN born 27 December 1867 Bathgate
CATHERINE born 3rd October 1869 Bathgate
PATRICK born 28th November 1873 Bathgate

You saw on the census that their eldest son was born in Ireland,now I can tell you where and so I would think this is where Patrick Foy,your GGG grandfather comes from.

MICHAEL FOY born 18th September 1871 County Mayo.
Parents..Patrick Foy and Sarah Cannon.

You are very lucky,I haven't located where any of my Irish lot were born yet

George.

[Forfarian]

an irregular marriage.This basically is where a couple just state they are married and move in together.

Err .... not altogether! An irregular marriage was (broadly speaking) a marriage recognised by the law but not by the Church (of Scotland).

Regular marriages were those performed by a clergyman after due proclamation of banns etc.

You could, however, also be legally married by declaring yourselves to be married in front of witnesses, or by 'cohabitation and repute' - in other words, by living together for long enough to be regarded as married.

See http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/scottishwayofbirthanddeath/marriage/

[Seoras]

I was giving the abridged version Forfarian,I have several in my family including one that wasn't solemnized in church till nearly 40 years later

George.

[Forfarian]

one that wasn't solemnized in church till nearly 40 years later

Fair dos though I'd have thought that 'cohabitation and repute' would have kicked in by 40 years!

But the commonest type of irregular marriage was the marriage by declaration before witnesses.

[Seoras]

Have one of them too,seems to have taken place at a house in Glasgow,witnessed by two relatives and rubber stamped at the Sheriffs.
As to the first one,she was dying and they seem to have gone through with a church marriage before she died.

George.

[ffoxy99]

Hi

I  hope I can add something useful to this thread and perhaps glean some information for myself.

I've not read everything on this thread but was drawn in by the parts about Susan Foy (McBride) and her Mother Sarah Foy.

Patrick & Sarah Foy of Russel Row, Bathgate were my paternal great great grandparents.

I have some papers about their oldest daughter Susan (32 yrs old at time of 1901 census) married to James McBride.

Their son Myles (4 at time of 1901 census) joined the army in 1915 and died 25.8.18 of 'exhaustion' as a prisoner of war in Kaehmen, Crossen.

Her address was given as The Loan, Torphichen, Bathgate. 

I also have an old photograph with no information on the back other than 'Mays Grandmother'.

It's highly likely that this was May Foy (born 1914) whose paternal grandparents were Patrick & Sarah Foy of Russells Row, Bathgate

It is however possible that the lady in the pic is on her mother's side. That would be Helen O'Donnell. She was the wife of Patrick Foy Jnr (Balbardie Avenue, Bathgate)

It's a long shot but someone may be able to confirm the identity of the lady in my picture.


Sarah Foy (nee Cannon) ?