Robert Findley/Findlay

[kasden]

I have been told that there is a Robert Findlay, aged 7 years born in 1844 in Forfarshire on the 1851 census , ( apparently there are several but this one would fit with my 'brick wall' ancestors purported birth year and place)..to establish that it is him I need to see his parents name/s...Im looking for Robert and Jane Findley nee Hale/s , Robert is a sailor or seaman,to make this the person I am seeking info on....I've been told that I will need to sight the original census to establish this but don't know how to go about this short of a trip to Scotland( not happening ).
Any help would be so appreciated.
Kasden

[Forfarian]

I've been told that I will need to sight the original census to establish this but don't know how to go about this short of a trip to Scotland( not happening ).
Any help would be so appreciated.

No need to make a trip to Scotland. Go to www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk, invest in 30 credits at modest cost, and use 6 of them to find and download an image of the original census. You'll still have enough credits left to view 4 other records  - all for less than the cost of a single certificate from many other parts of the world. For example you might find a record of the marriage of Robert Findlay and Jane Hale.

The census index at www.familysearch.org lists a Robert Findlay, born 1844, living in Forfar.

The census never gives a year of birth. It gives the person's age on census day. The year of birth is 'calculated' by subtracting the age on the census from the year of the census. Because the census was taken at the beginning of April, only about a quarter of people have had a birthday in that calendar year, so about three-quarters of the 'calculated' dates of birth are wrong. A person aged 7 on census day 1851 would have been born between 31 March 1843 and 30 March 1844, assuming of course that their age is correctly stated. If they were born between 31 March 1844 and 31 December 1844, they would still be just 6 years old on census day in 1851.

http://www.freecen.org.uk/cgi/search.pl has the most reliable census transcriptions, but it is incomplete. In particular, the district of Forfar in which 7-year-old Robert Findlay was listed has not yet been transcribed.

[ev]

Just to add -
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=561066.0



ev

[kasden]

Thanks Forfarian, I 'll give that a shot  ..I had Robert Findley's birth at circa 1844-45 so it still ties in ok.The clincher of course would be if his parents were Robert and Jane nee Hales/Hailes etc.
Kasden

[isobelw]

The seven year old Robert Findlay was the son of a James and Mary according to Ancestry. The family were living in Craig, Forfarshire (Angus)
Isobel

[Forfarian]

That's interesting, because the index at FamilySearch doesn't list a 7-year-old Robert Findlay in Craig, but it does list one in the parish of Forfar. Just another case where it is essential to check the original census!

[kasden]

So, not my Robert then if his parents are Mary and James....thanks isobelw.
On his 1873 Australian marriage certificate he states that his parents are Robert and Jane and his mothers maiden name is Hales. He states that he is 27 years old which would make his birth year 1846 however on his various children's birth registrations his age falls in line with a 1844-45 year of birth...he was several years older than his wife Florence and so I think he shaved a few years off to narrow the gap when they married.
His bride Florence added two years to her age when they married, claiming to be 20 years old but I have her birth documentation that proves her to be only 18 at the time. Both Roberts parents were still alive in 1873 and his father was a sailor.He says his birth place was Dundee, Forfarshire, Scotland....he seems to have been quite economical with the truth at times.
Kasden

[Leraya]

Hi Kasden.  Came across some of your posts in regard to my husband's ancestry and thought I'd make contact.  His name is Barry Goode.  I believe Robert Findley is in his family line as it appears in yours also.  I also previously came across some posts of yours in regard to William Henry Harrison Wells (apparently three of them in different generations).  We were very interested to learn this further info especially as we have a new grandson called Harrison having been named without knowledge of this in previous family names.  Am new to this website but would appreciate keeping in contact with any new info you discover about the family tree.

[kasden]

Barry Goode is/was my mothers cousin, therefore my 2nd cousin. His mother  and my grandmother  were sisters, as I am sure you know.
  I did attempt email contact with him several years ago in regard to discussing the family history however as he never acknowledged my email I took it to mean that there was a lack of interest and therefore did not pursue it any further, ...however I did continue with the family history and have managed to gather quite a lot of  accurate information over the years by purchasing various BDM certificates , researching records and trawling websites, and so forth as well as talking to various mutual relatives...a very long and costly process but well worthwhile. Accuracy is paramount because I have found that 'legend' here-say' and supposition in regard to many of our ancestors abounds.
 Robert Findley's life is well documented here in Australia, less so in Scotland and England to date and as to William Wells and his descendants I have traced the 1st Wells back to Ohio  as I sure that you've seen on this website , the 2nd William Wells was my great grandfather (Barry's grand father), and of course the 3rd Will (Bill) Wells was Barry's and my mothers uncle who died in WW2...Barry would already know all this I am sure, as to all the minute details that make up the bigger picture of their lives....far to much to go into here. I have a family tree program with most of the family on it including yourself and Barry, my information on the 2 of you is minimal though and really I have simply just put Barry in as a son of Ruby and added you as his wife...your children and grandchildren I have not been able to add onto the tree through lack of knowledge. Perhaps this might be rectified now.