Finding descendants

[scoswe]

Does anyone have any great ideas of how I could locate family descendants?  Or if in fact there are any who are still around?  Thanks!

[Winterbloom21]

Well, if you are looking for them in Scotland, you're laughing.     I started off in April of this year knowing practically nothing apart from my grandfather's name.   I am now in touch with two first cousins I never knew I had and well on the way to tracing more.     I would suggest you do what I did and go to the GRO in Edinburgh where for £15 you can spend the day there looking at every possible record.    If you've got, say, details of your grandparents or great grandparents marriage just feed their surname into the search window for the years when you think they may have had children and look at every one that comes up, especially the ones with names that occur in the family line.  Then do the same for likely marriages for them.  You'll get to a certain point then where you need to start looking at the website that allows you to trace people's addresses and phone numbers.    I'm not sure whether I'm allowed to mention it by name but if you don't know I will PM you and tell you.      I don't live anywhere near Edinburgh, by the way; I travelled a long way to do this.  It depends how much you really want to find them.

[Winterbloom21]

I take it that wasn't the answer you were looking for.   Perhaps you are too far away for the suggestion to be of any use - I know a lot of Rootschatters sign in from Australia and other continents, so that would be understandable!     But if you are really serious, I would recommend retaining somebody in Scotland to do it for you.    It's a much more reliable way of finding people than the hit and miss of putting messages on websites.

[scoswe]

I did try replying to your message last night, but for some reason it didn't post.  Yes, I live in the United States so it is not feasible at this time for me to come to Scotland.  However, I was there a few years ago and did go to the Register House as well as the Mitchell Library in Glasgow.  I found some leads there that helped me and after more research here I was able to determine the right family of my great great grandparents. (Mother, Father, sister and 3 brothers)  I have since found the marriage and children of my gggrandfather's sister.  The last one I have on record was born in 1818.  I contacted a researcer from ScotlandsPeople and he thought he could follow up on it.  Unfortunately, after being retained and paid he did not find anything else.  I find possibilities, but there are so many people with the same name it is difficult to know which ones are correct.  Thanks for your input.  I appreciate your contact and would like to know the name of the website to which you referred.
I had much better luck on following my Swedish ancestors and have located and visited with close to a hundred of them, several times. I guess that is one reason I am so disappointed that I can't find some relatives in Scotland.  It is so much fun to get to know other parts of your family.

[MonicaL]

Hi Scoswe

I know you have left your query quite general but it is always hard to comment on that basis.

RootsChat is not a site for tracing living descendants - very much for those long gone.... However, perhaps if you list briefly where you have got to so far (without details of any living people to protect their identity etc.) we could perhaps between us all give you better guidance.

Undertand you are in the US, but lots of sources that could be followed up to help you extend your knowledge of your family in all directions.

Monica 

[scoswe]

Hi Monica,
Well this is quite lengthy, but here goes.  My great great grandfather was Peter Fisher who came to America between 1812-1816 along with his wife Mary Anderson and daughter Jane, who was born approximately 1812.  Peter and Mary were married in 1805.  The reason I know these dates is because I found (when in Scotland) a court document concerning the settlement of his father John Fisher's, (weaver in Calton,) estate, debts etc., (John's  wife was Catherine Cameron.  They were married in 1762). The court documents ran from 1807 to 1812.  Peter was named in the records, as well as his sister Margaret, who was recorded to be the wife of Francis Mouat.  In doing research here on Ancestry as well as Family Search and others, I have found the names of his other siblings.  They were John, b. 1763;  Jean, b. 1766; James, b. 1769 and Margaret, b. 1780.  Peter was born July 4th 1776.  They were from the Barony Parish in Glasgow. The records were from the Associate Sessions Church.  I have found the marriage record of both Margaret and of Peter.  Peter and Mary's second daughter was born in Pittsburg, PA, in 1816. Their other three children in Bourbon County, Ky where Peter died before 1830.  Mary died in 1858 in Hancock CO, Ky.  On the 1850 census in Bourbon County it states Jane was born in Scotland and gives her age as 38, thus giving me her birth date.  I know it is a long shot as there are so many people with the same names, but most families recorded so many children,  it seems there should be someone left.  I know that Margaret and Francis had at least 6 children.: Catherine, 1807; Alexander 1812 who was listed at their 4th child; Margaret, 1814 and John, 1818.  Margaret and Francis were married in 1805.  I have found various records for the other siblings in Peter's family but am not sure they are the right ones.  I would appreciate any direction you could give me.
Scoswe

[scoswe]

Was wondering if anyone had come up with some suggestions that I could follow up on.  I have searched most everything in the US.  I need some help knowing where to look in Scotland.  Thanks!

[sancti]

Have you tried GenesReunited?

Plenty of members with a Margaret Fisher of the right era

[scoswe]

Seems like I have tried everything, but I may have missed one.  I'll give it a try again.  Thanks