Trying to piece together my "orphan" grandfather's story

[MargP]

Hi

"I've contacted the relevant dept in Glasgow Council about the adoptions or "boarding out" and twice they've said someone will reply but they never have. I've contacted  Dunalastair Estate and they have no records."

I would send them an e-mail every week until you get an answer, I had a similar situation with my father's Industrial School Records, this was in England, I eventually got a result

Margp

[alpinecottage]

Was the birth cert you found issued at the time of Ian/James birth, implying it had been with him since birth, or was it issued later, say when your grandfather was trying to track down his origins?

It is interesting that Alexander Wilson was a waiter and Helen/Ellen was a waitress.  Can you find an Alexander Wilson, waiter on 1901 or 1911 census?  Alexander could have married (or remarried to Mary) after 1911, so you may not find him with Mary in 1911.

Another possibility is that your grandfather was keen to hide his illegitimacy when he married, so Alexander and Mary are the real names of his adoptive parents, but he just tagged on his own surname, which doesn't help you at all!

[Annette7]

Don't know if this is a 'red herring' but have found the following on 1901 census (I'm only able to view transcript):

9 Hutchison Street, Blythswood, Glasgow

Mary Wilson  21    Waitress in Hotel        b. Deanston, Aberdeenshire (??)

Another site states Deanster, Aberdeenshire but from what I can glean Deanston is in Stirlingshire anyway.

Annette

[IMBER]

Hi

The attached may be informative:

http://www.blackshouse.demon.co.uk/Forgotten%20Scots.htm

Imber

[Sharon01]

Hi,

Do you have his death cert? If so then what info does that have?

Sharon

[stewrat83]

Death cert only reflects what the family knew - and includes (from memory) James and Ian.

Birth cert I have was issued in 1941 but refers to entry no 89 in the 1904 Blythswood register - which is where the illegitimate birth to Helen comes from.

I seems like some of the searches i need to do - by address, by occupation - are going to be expensive in ScotlandsPeople credits, so will need to be done when I next spend a day at the centre there.

But the biggest part of the problem (maybe) is not finding Alexander Wilson and Mary Stewart as a couple within any of the nets I have cast - perhaps I need to cast wider.
 

[IMBER]

Perth & Kinross archives may have the local school register. Might be worth investigating to see how he is recorded there.

Imber

[MonicaL]

Hi All 

Stewart, you can search the transcript (up to 1901) by address. For 1901, there are 101 entries showing at 220 Hope Street. Safe to say it was a large building with multi occupancy! No Wilsons showing there.

Not sure where you are based or how practical this may be for you to do in person. Have you considered checking the Poor Relief records? Assuming James was still in Glasgow when he was boarded out to Kinloch Rannoch. There may well be an application for relief that might reveal more personal family details, leading to him being boarded out to Kinloch Rannoch. Legal adoptions didn't begin in Scotland until 1930 - www.nas.gov.uk/guides/adoptions.asp You are unlikely to find a paper trail before this date, except for potentially I think, a poor relief record for him or his mother. Have a look at this link here regarding the Mitchell Library archives - parts 5/6 in particular cover poor relief applications - www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,522720.0.html

He was too young for WW1 service. You could consider applying for copies of his WW2 service papers to see what information he may have provided himself regarding parents and early years (schools etc).

I wonder why he went by the name of Ian? This is normally a variant of John -
www.whatsinaname.net/php/search.php?action=search2&search_name=ian  Good that you seem to have the application for his birth cert from 1941, and the official connection to that Dec. 1903 birth.

Was James Roman Catholic?

Monica 

[stewrat83]

I dont hold out much hope from 220 Hope St - it feels like there was a lot of to and fro there, probably much turnover between census.

 I'd forgotten about the 1930 adoption thing - I'm in Fife, other side of the country but a visit to Glasgow quite feasible for some dirt world research.

I think though John/Ian is well documented, James/John -> Ian is a thin line, especially within a context where names seem to have come and gone with a fluency we wouldn't recognise today.

I can't rule out him being born catholic, which would be especially amusing as I remember him in his masonic apron as an adult - given what I (don't) know of his life, his religion may have varied with his upbringing.