Today I received the marriage certificate, District of Turanga, of Allan McLean, bachelor, a sheepfarmer and Amelia Elizabeth Watts, widow, a store keeper. They were married July 4 1888, at Amelia's residence in Te Arai. Allan's Residence also Te Arai.
Allan is listed as a bachelor, Amelia a widow, widowed on June 19 1887.
And wait for it . . . she was 29, and he was 58!! Who ever said "Maybe he was ond when he got married" was correct. Well done!
Amelia was born in Melbourne, Victoria
Allan born Argylshire, Scotland. (the Island of Bute is part of Argylshire)
Allan's parents were John McLean and (now it gets complicated again) Breadalbane McLean(maiden name McLean), just like my grandmother who was a McLean who married a McLean.
My grandmother was born in 1869. Allan was born in 1830.
I have a 1901 Scotland Census showing my grandfather Dugald McLean 35, and my grandmother Breadalbane 32 that also states a John MacLean 73, (then he would have been born in 1828) was living with them. He was apparently referred to by my grandmother as old uncle John.
Could he have been the John that Allan refers to in the 1878 letter, and also his brother?
I'm beginning to think that the letter I have was written to Grandmother Breadalbane's mother, and I don't know her first name. She was a McLean who had my grandmother, and as they said then 'out of wedlock' Hence my grandmother had her mother's maiden name. I don't think she ever married and I don't know if she ever had any other children. Apparently she lived in Rothesay, Bute, Scotland, and my mother thinks on High Street.
I'm trying to piece this together, but I was thrown for a loop when I saw another Breadalbane McLean
