Having acquired the 1911 census from SP of my grandmother Margaret Buchan and her family, I discovered there was a David Buchan aged 8 listed as a son to M B’s parents. As I never knew of his existence he was a mystery as I was unable to locate a birth certificate for him. It later turns out he was adopted for reasons unknown. His birth name was David Bruce McWilliams Mathew, born 1903. His mother Sarah Ann Mathew (Park) died when he was a month old, his father James Cow Mathew remarried in 1904. It also transpires on the 1901 census for James and Sarah, he had four brothers William, Charles, James and George. The 3 older boys remained with their father at 11 James street, Peterhead after their mother died, while George went to at some point to Aberlour Orphanage, where he died in 1904 aged 5.
Is there anyone researching the Mathew family? As I am curious as to why David would have been taken in by my family, who I’m sure would not have been able to afford the upkeep of another child. There is no indication that the Mathew or Park family are related to the Buchan family.
