Family Mystery - African American in Scotland 1870s?

[flower2912]

Hi

I am struggling to solve a mystery within my tree

Edward Haig was born in South Carolina in 1844 - it shows on census and later military records he was a black man and served in the USCT regiment. Sometime before 1870 he found his way to Scotland and married a Scottish woman. They had children and after her death, he returned to America and was in a disabled veterans home under alias Edward Higgs. I potentially think he could have deserted in 1860s and that is when he ran away to Scotland.

Would this have been possible in Scotland during this time? I am intrigued by how he would've been accepted into society in Glasgow during this time. He could have been what they called in America "Passing" or maybe he was mixed race. I can't find out any more information about his parents and I think potentially one of his parents could have been slaves. His mother may have been called Caroline McEwan. 

I have found this fascinating and have hit a wall with research. I would love to know more about how he ended up in Scotland, his time in Scotland being a person of colour during this time and his life in the military.

Thank you

[flower2912]

Scottish Census states he was born in the United states but also says he is a 'Naturalised British subject'

He also remarries in Scotland after the death of his first wife Wilhelmina before returning to America.

[polarbear]

Hello and a very warm welcome to RootsChat.

The military record I looked at for Edward indicated he joined up 16 Jan 1864 and was discharged 06 Dec 1865. I don’t see anything about desertion and I don’t think he would have been allowed to be buried in a National Cemetery if he had. It appears to be an honorable discharge.

Edward Haig and Wilhelmina Smith were apparently married 25 Mar 1870 at Coylton Ayr Scotland (transcript on ancest..ry).
And….
Since he married in Scotland after 1855 his marriage certificates should have the names of both his parents. There is no guarantee that this would be the case for Edward but the only way to find out is to order one or both certs. This is done through the scotlandspeople (SP) website…they would not be on line. It is free to join. Link….

https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/

In case you haven’t seen it, this other link is to the Roots Chat Scotland board. If you scroll down to the pinkish area there are some hints for Scotish research, like how to how to optimize scotlandspeople searches.

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/scotland/

PB

[Ashtone]

Glasgow Weekly Mail
18 June 1881

[Ashtone]

Wishaw Press
18 January 1890

Evangelical Union Church snippet. He's still in Scotland from 1890-1891.

[Ashtone]

Glasgow Evening Citizen
13 June 1884

[Ashtone]

More details about the 1884 street preaching charge...

[Ashtone]

Information you'll already have:

1893 passenger record for him. Departing Glasgow for New York.

1900 census - he's an inmate at National Home For Disabled Soldiers, Elizabeth City, Virginia.

[scotmum]

The Virginia death record has his colour or race as 'colored' but his birthplace as 'Scotland'.

No obvious naturalisation record for him at https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/naturalisation-british-citizenship