Record Availability

[MrBluesman]

I wonder if anyone can help, For a long time now I have been struggling to find any records of my Great Grandmother. The 1901 English Census says she was born in Scotland nothing more than that. I have managed to find her in Northeren Ireland in 1890 having a child and 1893 getting married to my Great Grandfather. The English 1911 census says she was born in Falkirk but I have been unable to trace her birth. I have checked Scotlands Records but found nothing and wondered if there were any other records anyone could suggest. Her name was Minnie Magill although her marriage record says Mary and her childrens birth certificates say her maiden name was McGill or Magill depending on which you look at. The Year of birth is around 1870 to 1874 and her father was called John.

Any Advice would help

Andrew

[MonicaL]

Hi Andrew

Just adding the link to the previous post www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,426167.0.html

Hard search this one - hopefully someone may find new info for you 

Monica

[Rena]

Hi there,

I haven't looked on scotlandspeople but I did see on the Hugh Wallis site that there was only one set of church records which covered Falkirk, Stirlingshire for the period you're researching.  Using only the batch number I looked for both Minnie and Mary (with no surname) to see what I could sniff out - but there was nobody with a father named John.

I wondered whether there had been a transcription error by the census enumerator when transcribing from the original house census questionaire to the street list and could it have been Selkirk, Scotland?

MARY MC GILL
Birth:  03 NOV 1872      
PLACE: Galashiels, Selkirk, Scotland
Father:     JOHN MC GILL
Mother:     AGNES DRUMMOND FAIR
Batch No.: C117751

Good luck.
Rena

[MonicaL]

I did look at this entry earlier Rena - Mary didn't show with the family on the 1881 census so hard to say isn't it (might be worth checking for deaths to discount her if nothing else). This I think was the family:

John McGill 31 painter b. Troqueer, Kirkcudbrightshire
Agnes D McGill 26 b. Galashiels, Selkirkshire
Maggie McGill 8 b. Melrose, Roxburghshire
Caroline E McGill 6 b. Melrose, Roxburghshire
Christina McGill 4 b. Melrose, Roxburghshire
John McGill 4 Months b. Troqueer, Kirkcudbrightshire

Address: 9 Welldale Terrace, Troqueer Kirkcudbrightshire

Monica

Added: Just checked on SP. Possible death entry for Mary McGill in 1873 in Galashiels.

[MrBluesman]

Thanks for the details and your time, I had also found this record and being that her first child was called Agnes does tie in well. I'm not good on Scottish Geography and also thought it could have been an error. However the English 1911 census was done filled in by the family much like the 2011 we have just done and it does clearly say Falkirk, Stirlingshire. If I could just find a mothers name it would help, I think I may need a re-think and see if there is anything else from Ireland.

Andrew

[Rena]

The problem with northern damp churches is that record books suffer damage and some entries aren't legible or have rotted away.

Looking on the bright side.  I think there might be a slim chance that the Falkirk church records haven't been digitalised yet.  Last year I phoned Edinburgh and Glasgow archives to enquire if one particular set of church records had been published and the clerk referred to a list of unpublished church records for me.

When the Mormans went round churches in the 1980's to film their record books not all parish churches gave their permission.  I remember when I started fam.history in 2002 that a few genealogists had already set up scotsorigins (part of britishorigins) and had organised a contract to offer digital images to amateur family historians.  Not all church records had been filmed when scotsorigins lost the contract and it was given to scotlandspeople.gov.uk

I've had a look at the Falkirk Town Council's family history page and although it mentions all pre 1855 church record/registers have been transferred to the GRO central archives it doesn't actually say that all later ones have been transferred and it may be worth sending them an email asking if this is the reason you can't find the baptism of your ancestor:-
 
http://www.falkirk.gov.uk/services/community/library_services/family_history/archives.aspx

If they say all books have been transferred - it may be that the GRO haven't filmed the register yet.

[apanderson]

Have a look at Falkirk Archives:

http://www.falkirk.gov.uk/services/community/cultural_services/museums/archives/finding_aids/churches.aspx

If you click on any Church (and there's plenty of them!), all the documentation held comes up in a pdf file.

If you can't find exactly what you're looking for - I would suggest sending them an e-mail. They're usually very helpful.

Anne 

[andycand]

Hi

The Hugh Wallis site and the relevant LDS batches for the period 1855 to 1875 are not church registers, they are the Statutory (Civil)  Registers and in theory are 100% of all births and marriages that were registered in Scotland in that period.

It's possible that the birth was registered under a different surname such as her mothers. If her parents were not married then the fathers name would only be on the registration if he was present at registration and signed. It is not unusual for the child to then use their reputed fathers surname from then on.

Also, is it possible that she fibbed about her age and she was born after 1875? If so, unless she was catholic, the only online records are the Statutory Registers on Scotlandspeople.

Andy

[MrBluesman]

Hi Andy

Thanks for the note, let me see if I am reading this correct,

From the ages I have for Minnie and the years I calculate she was born between 1872 and 1875. I can't find a birth record for a Minnie or Mary Magill in this period in Falkirk. If I understand you right although this is her fathers surname she could have been registered under her mothers surname.

I don't know why I hadn't thought of this previously so many thoughts i'm having now on why.

What I need is her mothers name and another way of finding it.

Regards
Andrew