James Mitchell Brechin

[aspin]

I haven't got much to go on here
James Mitchell is named the father on a birth certificate in 1872
His occupation is shown as a carpenter living at Market Street  Brechin 
I have had a look at Scotland people and managed to guess two James Mitchell's one is 18 years old and a visitor the second married aged 27 with a family

The mother of the baby is 18 year old and single I went for the ages near to her age on scotlandspeople
Any help out there please
Elizabeth

[GR2]

I assume you have looked for a carpenter of that name in the area in the 1871 census. An unmarried mother, especially for the birth of a first child might go home to her parents. If you find the child on the 1881 census, he/she will probably be with a family member. If the mother later married, the child's marriage certificate might well give her husband's name which would allow you to track her down. Even at this period the minutes of the kirk session might help.

[aspin]

Hello and thank you for your reply
Mother was already at home with her parents where she had her baby
On the birth certificate both of the babies parents are shown baby is illegitimate born 1872
I did as I said looked into Scotlandpeople and chose two men I thought might fit but they didn't
Also shown in s/p men in 70 s and children one 16 years old but not looked at him yet
The mother does go on to marry and has loads of more children
The baby in question lives with her and her husband until he marries
Am I being too nosey looking for this father 😚
Elizabeth

[Forfarian]

Am I being too nosey looking for this father 😚

No, it's reasonable to want to know.

The fact that he is listed on the birth certificate means that he did acknowledge the child by accompanying the mother to the Registrar's when she went to register the birth.

As the father's name is on the birth certificate, does it give his place of residence too? And did you notice whether or not there is an RCE (Register of Corrected Entries) listing attached to this certificate? It's unlikely but just possible, so do check.

Remember that a carpenter may also be described as joiner or (square-)wright in a census.

Normally one might turn to the Kirk Session minutes for further details. However (a) they are unlikely to tell you anything much that you don't know from the birth certificate (b) the KS minutes of Brechin Cathedral Kirk don't seem to be in the National Records of Scotland, though the Brechin East KS ones are and (c) by 1872, the kirks in many towns were beginning to lose track of errant parishioners as populations grew and people attended different denominations. So while there might just be something I doubt if it will help much.

I think you just have to plug away looking for a Robert Mitchell who was a carpenter or similar. I would go for the 1881 census, because the LDS Church transcribed the whole of that census, and it was made available on a set of easily searchable CD-ROMs. I have a set somewhere but they won't run on this PC (Windows 7). Maybe someone who has access to a set and an antiquated PC (Windows XP for example) would be able to take a look on your behalf. I might be able to do this in a couple of weeks when I can get my hands back on such a PC.

[aspin]

Thanks for. The info first I am looking for James Mitchell he lived at Market Street
May have to look again tonight when I have more time I thought looking in 1871 the year before the baby was born would be OK ...also I am still with Windows 7 thanks for that info too
Elizabeth

[cookies4]

I wonder if this could be your man at 107 Market Street, Brechin in 1871.

James Mitchell   40 born Marykirk, Cabinetmaker.
Helen Watson   35

I haven't checked for confirmation but it looks as though his wife, Helen Watson/Mitchell died in 1871.

[aspin]

Thanks again for this reply
Helen's baby was illegitimate and she went on to marry James Howie She had more children to James Howie and they lived in Trinity Road
Elizabeth