Author Topic: Absolutely stumped!  (Read 1773 times)

Offline lydiaann

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Absolutely stumped!
« on: Monday 14 July 25 16:39 BST (UK) »
James MacDonald (could be McDonald).  Ropemaker.
Born about 1816, Dundee. 
Married.  Ann Lawson, 7 Sep, 1835, Dundee. (Have all the issue listed, etc. - don't want people wasting their valuable time on that!)
Shown as alive on the 1871 census (although they have his age, dob, wrong) BUT Ann died in 1876 and her death reg'n shows she is a widow.  So, he died between 1871 and 1876.
Scotland had mandatory death registration after 1855...so why cannot I find a trace of his death anywhere?  Trouble is, such a common name. 
I started on this frustrating journey because I need to confirm his parents' details and I wanted to make sure I had the right person.  (They, too, were still alive on the 1871 census :John MacDonald and Flora Kennedy.  And, no, I cannot find their death details either!).  Oh, and I've tried every which way on LDS too.

Is there anybody out there who might be able to trace 'my' James, pretty please?

As always, grateful for any glimmer of hope you can give me.

lydiaann
Cravens of Wakefield, Alnwick, Banchory-Ternan
Houghtons and Harrises of Melbourne, Derbyshire
Taylors of Chadderton/Oldham, Lancashire
MacGillivrays of Mull
Macdonalds of Dundee

Offline Blairvadach

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Re: Absolutely stumped!
« Reply #1 on: Monday 14 July 25 16:59 BST (UK) »
Hi
Don’t know if you have looked at Ancestry!

A fair few have his death as 26 Mar 1872 • Dundee. That doesn’t make it a fact!!

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Offline Blairvadach

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Re: Absolutely stumped!
« Reply #2 on: Monday 14 July 25 17:08 BST (UK) »

Hi
Scotland People have a death for James McDonald, 53. Mothers maiden name Kennedy.
Died in 1872
Reference 282 / 2 / 220 St Mary

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Offline Forfarian

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Re: Absolutely stumped!
« Reply #3 on: Monday 14 July 25 18:32 BST (UK) »
(They, too, were still alive on the 1871 census :John MacDonald and Flora Kennedy.  And, no, I cannot find their death details either!).
Please tell us what the 1871 census says about them: where were thy, how old were they, what was his occupation, where were they born, and who else was in the household with them?

Quote
I've tried every which way on LDS too.
If they're not on SP they're not likely to be on the LDS web site because the LDS is mostly an index to what is on SP. Unless there's a gravestone on FindaGrave or BillionGraves which has been indexed or transcribed by the LDS.
Never trust anything you find online (especially submitted trees and transcriptions on Ancestry, MyHeritage, FindMyPast and other commercial web sites) unless it's an image of an original document - and even then be wary because errors can and do occur.


Offline Millmoor

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Re: Absolutely stumped!
« Reply #4 on: Monday 14 July 25 18:37 BST (UK) »
Here is a transcription of the death found by Blairvadich. This is from LDS . These transcriptions of Scottish Civil Registration records are very useful finding aids before  spending money on Scotland's People! ( Only 1855 - 1875, 1881 and 1891 have been transcribed).

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X955-NGM7?lang=en

Of course the original on SP will give you other detail such as cause of death and the name of the informant.

And of course to amplify the joy of transcriptions I do love that his occupation has been transcribed as Hopespinner!

William
Dent (Haltwhistle and Sacriston), Bell and Jetson (Haltwhistle), Postle, Ward, Longstaff, Purvis, Manners, Parnaby and Hardy (Co. Durham), Kennedy and McRobert (Banffshire), Reid(Bathgate), Watson (Wemyss), Graham (Libberton), Sandilands (Carmichael), Munro (Dingwall)

Offline lydiaann

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Re: Absolutely stumped!
« Reply #5 on: Tuesday 15 July 25 11:07 BST (UK) »
Millmoor & Blairvadich:  I don't know how you did that, I STILL can't find it (I must be getting old...my brain has gone to mush I think) but thank you a thousand times.  I had cottoned on to the fact that 2 or 3 other people had this date, but there was nothing in their trees to back it up.  Scotland Select Deaths & Burials just had the name and the date - although there is also a date in April for a James Y. MacDonald, which threw me somewhat.  The important thing was the parents, I needed to confirm that this was indeed the right James.  (One person has his parents as a landed "General Sir..." and his Lady!)

I had 2 or 3 different entries in my 'Shoebox' (I've been clearing it out a little which is why I started nit-picking at this bit of Himself's tree) so now I can get rid of them- another thanks for that, it's getting rather full once again. 

Forfarian:  John and Flora were on S. Uist and the 1841-71 censuses show him alternately as a Joiner or a Crofter (the latter in 1871) and they were 83 and 84.  That is the last of them so far. I'm not too worried about them at the moment, I'll probably get back to them when I've tidied up a bit.

Thank you so much everyone for sorting out my dilemma - I'd be lost without you!!

lydiaann

Cravens of Wakefield, Alnwick, Banchory-Ternan
Houghtons and Harrises of Melbourne, Derbyshire
Taylors of Chadderton/Oldham, Lancashire
MacGillivrays of Mull
Macdonalds of Dundee

Offline Blairvadach

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Re: Absolutely stumped!
« Reply #6 on: Tuesday 15 July 25 11:15 BST (UK) »
Glasgow Warriors
Allotment
Walking the dog.
Reading
Family History
Researching...Brockett, Muir, McLeod, Ross

Offline lydiaann

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Re: Absolutely stumped!
« Reply #7 on: Tuesday 15 July 25 11:52 BST (UK) »
Sorry, no "...has expired or does not exist".  And this despite you wishing me the 'luck of God'!!

Thanks for trying, anyway.  Don't fret too much about it, I've copied the LDS entry so I can get that into James's Profile/Facts.

lydiaann :-*
Cravens of Wakefield, Alnwick, Banchory-Ternan
Houghtons and Harrises of Melbourne, Derbyshire
Taylors of Chadderton/Oldham, Lancashire
MacGillivrays of Mull
Macdonalds of Dundee

Offline Blairvadach

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Re: Absolutely stumped!
« Reply #8 on: Tuesday 15 July 25 12:13 BST (UK) »
Hi
This is the details.
Cheers
Glasgow Warriors
Allotment
Walking the dog.
Reading
Family History
Researching...Brockett, Muir, McLeod, Ross