Gordon Blair - Mystery? or Not!

[isobelw]

Just thought i'd have another look at the 1855 birth certificate to compare Gordon's signature with other found. Very poor scan but it looks to me as if Gordon is living at a different address to the birth address in Thistle Street. Is it my imagination, but could it say Stirling?

[Rosinish]

Hi isobel,

Does look like Stirling & also looks to be 4th child.

Annie

[Magiccat1978]

Just thought i'd have another look at the 1855 birth certificate to compare Gordon's signature with other found. Very poor scan but it looks to me as if Gordon is living at a different address to the birth address in Thistle Street. Is it my imagination, but could it say Stirling?

I believe on the 1855 birth certificates it asked for the parents birth place and in this case the informant has given Stirling as Gordon Blairs Place of Birth.

Hope this helps 

[majm]

Barrister=we don't have barristers in Scotland.
Solicitor's Clerk, a solicitor then was a Writer, whose clerk might have aspirations? but he was a clerk. ........

Agh,  thanks.   Earlier (much earlier) in the thread our OP mentions sighting certificates which mention "Writer" as the occupation.   Are you saying that this means that the "Writer" was a solicitor in Scotland. 

 

..... I also saw him on some certificates as a 'writer'. Whatever that means. Did he publish? probably not much income doing that, and that as well may have lured him here or caused a problem at home. ? We may never know. .....

JM

[loobylooayr]

I've just spent many hours searching through Glasgow Directories from 1852-1858 the period just after Gordon's marriage to Janet and through to their last child's birth.

A 'John Blair' is there at 55 Clyde Place Tradeston and Tradeston is where 2 other births are listed and he is a Wine & Spirit Merchant and from at least 1852-58 that I found. Is he related to Gordon? and was Gordon living there?

Just to muddy the waters - John Blair , Wine and Spirit Merchant is listed on 1851 Census at 55 Clyde Place, Tradeston and his place of birth is Dumfriesshire - Kirkconnel  (originally Ayrshire- Kirkconnel) . He is 43 years old and is with his family wife Agnes and 2 sons William aged 14 and James aged 10. 

Wasn't there some mention much earlier in this post that Gordon was from Dumfriesshire  ?

Looby

[loobylooayr]

The address on the 1855 birth of Jane Blair is 116 Thistle Street , Glasgow.

The 1855 Valuation rolls on Scotlands People have a result for a Blair (no first name recorded) at 116 Thistle Street. I used 2 credits to view this. There is a first name written in the original ledger book, but unfortunately the way the book has been opened to take the photo mean that the first name is not visible 
However the name Blair is recorded as is occupation, Clerk.

Looby

[Skoosh]

JM, a solicitor is what the English call a Writer. "Soliciting" was an offence in Scotland!

Skoosh.

[isobelw]

It was the entry under informant that I was querying, not the place of birth of Gordon, which is clearly Stirling.
Isobel

[isobelw]

majm wrote -
I attach a snip from the Glasgow Herald, 11 July 1856  and wonder how the newspaper learnt of the birth, just the day previous, of this baby.... did someone take the info to the newspaper offices?  Who were they seeking to inform?   Is there any significance to the wording, in particular to the baby's mum being "Mrs Gordon Blair" when the baptism shows James Gordon Blair.   Anyways, there's a residential address for Jane Norval in the cutting

There is nothing unusual in the wording of this newspaper announcement. This was the standard format at that time. The announcement would have been placed by a family member and suggests a family slightly higher up the social scale,who could afford to do this.
Isobel