Searching for James Moffat and Elizabeth Story

[SoilsEng]

I am trying to connect my mother's paternal line to the Moffat Clan of Scotland. I have traced the line back to James Moffat born 1733.
Wife Elizabeth Story born 1735.
Married 1761.
6 children
James born 1763 died 1769
Suesannah born 1765
William born 1766
Robert born 1768
James born 1779
Katherine born 1780

I have found this family line in the Clan Moffat website but this is as far back as I have been able to find. Any additional information regarding this family line would be appreciated.
Respectfully,
SoilsEng

[sancti]

All the births appear in Lanarkshire so it is unlikely they were part of the 'clan system'

[sancti]

The 2nd born James was baptized 1770 and all baptisms in Cambusnethan

[Forfarian]

According to The Surnames of Scotland Moffat is of territorial origin from the town of Moffat in Dumfries-shire. About as far from the Highlands and the clan system as you can get and still be in Scotland. It is a Border family, not a (Highland) clan.

There is now a Clan Moffat organisation, recognised by the Lord Lyon as recently as 1983. That does not mean that your forebears 250 years ago would have thought of themselves as part of a clan.

Have you looked at the originals of the baptism records at www.scotlandspeople.go.uk?

It so happens that I must already have looked at the page with the baptism of their son James.

James Moffat in Templehall and Elizabeth Story his spouse had a son born on the 22d April and baptised on the 12th June 1763 named James being their ?th Child. [Cambusnethan parish register]

I can't quite make out the number of ?th. It looks for all the world like 8th (see attached screenshot), but if they were only married in 1761 this is impossible. Where did you get the marriage date from? And where did you get the dates of birth for James and Elizabeth?

[Maiden Stone]

James Moffat in Templehall and Elizabeth Story his spouse had a son born on the 22d April and baptised on the 12th June 1763 named James being their ?th Child. [Cambusnethan parish register]

I can't quite make out the number of ?th. It looks for all the world like 8th (see attached screenshot), but if they were only married in 1761 this is impossible.

Could the number be a tilted 5? 

[Lodger]

Unfortunately, there is nothing in the Cambusnethan Monumental Inscriptions for Moffat and Story.

The only possible link is an inscription that may be your Robert born in 1768.
"Robert Moffat died 20th August 1836 aged 68 years, husband of Margaret Dounie".

This is approximately the correct age for the Robert born 1768, it is not uncommon for the age to be out a few years either way. There is more information in the burial records for some of this couple's children, if you are interested, just let me know.



I agree with Sancti and Forfarian regarding the clan system.

[Forfarian]

It occurs to me to wonder: if James was Elizabeth's 8th or 5th child, perhaps the first 7, or 4, were from a previous marriage?

Have you seen Susannah's orignal baptism record? How-manyeth child was she?

The only record of a C/Katherine Moffat baptised in Cambusnethan in 1780 was the daughter of John Moffat and Marrion Purdie. Why do you think your family included a Katherine born in 1780?

[sancti]

John and Marrion had another child in Carnwath 1787

MOFFAT
MARGARET
Daur of
JOHN MOFFAT/MARION PURDIE
Female
13/01/1787
in
Carnwath

[Forfarian]

It dawned on me that if James was their 5th child, then Robert would be the 8th, so I took a look at his baptism record, and he was indeed their 8th child.

James Moffat in Templehall and Elizabeth Story his spouse had a Son born on the 1st and baptized on the 21st February 1768 named Robert, being their 8th child. [Cambusnethan Parish Register]

Both records say their xth Child so my speculation about a previous marriage was incorrect.

Therefore they had four children before James in 1763. Therefore they were not married as late as 1761. Assuming a 2-year interval between births, the older children would have been born in 1755, 1757, 1759 and 1761, so a reasonable guess at their marriage would be in about 1754. (If there were any sets of twins or a set of triplets or quadruplets that logic would not of course apply.)

As Elizabeth's youngest child, (indexed as Elesebeth Moffet), was born in 1773, Elizabeth Story cannot have been born before 1723 and probably not before 1728, and she was almost certainly not born later than 1740. I cannot see any obvious baptism for her.