Help needed with 1844 BDM. Scotlandspeople no results

[aj57]

Can anyone help with how to find a birth register .
Name: Thomas Muir
D.O.B : 25th August !844/1845.
Place : Stonebyres Falls of Clyde.
Parents on his marriage details show George Muir /Mary (Brown).
Scotlandspeople have no record of his birth.
Any ideas welcomed!

[Clare Fowler]

Hi there,

I 'think' it might be in the parish of Lesmahagow - but not 100% sure.  You could try having a look at the OPRs for that parish which might help.  I am not sure where you are based, but they will be available at New Register House in Edinburgh and at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow.

Also, have you tried searching with a variant of Muir as it could have been transcribed incorrectly when they were indexing the records for the site (I have had a couple of issues with this before)?

Hope you find your ancestor :-)

Cheers,
Clare

[aj57]

Thanks for the info but I am based in Australia so I am not sure how to get info from those places.
I also tried every possible name variant  it still didn't help!

[Clare Fowler]

Hi there,

I have done a little digging around... is this your Thomas Muir?

http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Muir.html
 
I just put "Thomas Muir" Stonebyres into google and got quite a lot of hits.  If he is indeed the correct one.

Cheers,
Clare

[aj57]

Yes that's the right Thomas he is my G G'father.There is so much written about him but I just need to connect the dots e.g I can't find his birth recorded to find out more personal details.
On his marriage details it lists his father George (railway superindentant) but all my research shows him as a shoemaker in Biggar,following his father William's occupation.
I found a marriage for his parents George & Mary (Brown)1843 Lanark but now while researching his home 'Nemphlar'at Stonebyres Linn 1841 census shows George 35 ,sons William 11,John 9,James 7, George 5, Peter 3.then someone posts a 1851 census George 47,Mary 47, Peter 12,Thomas 6,Andrew 4,then someone else posts a 1861 census shows George 59 Mary (Brown)59 Thomas 16, Andrew14,Margaret 8.
So until I can find his birth details & who are his siblings I am so confused!!!!!!! Hope you haven't fallen asleep yet .How good are you at solving puzzles?

[Clare Fowler]

Hi there,

I'm not too sure how I am with solving puzzles, given how many brickwalls of my own I have .  However, leave this one with me, and I will see what I can do.

In the meantime, have you tried searching for his will - as that might show some siblings on it?

Cheers,
Clare

[aj57]

I know most of the details of his 4 children , he moved to South Africa in 1892.I can find info abt his 2 daughters( lived in South Africa) & 1 of his sons (my gfather who lived in Australia) the other son?.I was looking to see if Thomas had any brothers /sisters? I have obtained lots of info from South Africian Library etc but not a lot of personal Scotland details. South African sites seemed to be limited a lot more than others.
Have I confused you even more now?
Thanks
Ann

[Clare Fowler]

Hi there,

Not at all - I'm just clutching at straws.  There are many issues with Scottish records before 1855, when statutory registration was introduced.  Before 1855, people were still obliged to register the births of children, but there are many reasons why you may not find people in the Old Parish Registers

• Records may not have survived
• Parents may not have registered the birth for whatever reason
• The minister may not have been as conscientious as some at keeping records(how good a record keeper they are varies from minister to minister and parish to parish
• The family may not have belonged to the Church of Scotland
• The entry may have been written incorrectly in the register itself, or transcribed incorrectly by scotlandspeople

And that's only a few suggestions!

This is why I am suggesting that you look for alternate sources, as well as the OPRs, as I have had similar problems where people just seem to 'vanish'.  I will however keep on digging around

Cheers,
Clare

[Mk2_Zephyr]

Nothing wrong with the census lists, the older kids were probably sent out of home the minute they were old enough.
George's age  on the 1841 census is rounded down and the other ages flow thru.

My guess is ...

 George ( b abt 1805)     wife     Mary (1805)

Children:  William  (1830), John (1832), James (1834), George (1836), Peter (1838),  Thomas (1845), Andrew (1847), Margaret  (1853)... Kids births being approximate.

The marriage could be wrong or maybe they got married then ?  Check Kirk sessions, and the parish registers at you local LDS centre.

If the census is from the same house then no real problem at all,  the marriage is the least of concerns.