Adopting a New Approach

The 1881 census first told me that my second great grandfather, Alexander Gibson REID (also featured in my post, Dating Photographs) was adopted. I found it very interesting but soon realised that this created a problem for my research.

Alexander Gibson REID on a family outing circa 1928
see Dating Photographs post for more information

Finding Alex on the 1871 census confirmed the adoption and cemented the final stone in a very solid brick wall.  Unfortunately, it will probably take a minor miracle to break this one as there were no adoption records in the 1860s.  In fact, there were no scottish adoption records at all until 1930. This problem is not unique to Scotland either as many family historians have no doubt discovered.

REID family on the 1871 census

Both censuses state Alex was born in Dunoon, Argyllshire about 1863.  I have tried searching for birth records under that name but have got no results.  This indicates to me that Alexander may have been renamed by his adoptive family; which also indicates that he was probably adopted very young.  Possibly from a family member, possibly from the victim of a colliery accident, possibly this, possibly that... There could be so many other explanations - too many for me to list all the possibilities here.

In the hopes a miracle will be bestowed on me, I want to gather as many clues as I can by studying the adoptive family.  The key (or sledgehammer) may just lie in the family names or newspaper reports from the places they lived.

REID family on the 1861 census

Gibson REID had been a coal miner since he was at least 15 (source - 1841 & 1851 censuses) but by 1861, he was a colliery clerk in New Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire.  He lived with his wife, Agnes (nee GIBB) in Knightswood (now part of Glasgow but then still a rural area with small scale mining source).

Gibson was 35 years old, born in Crichton, Midlothian; Agnes was 36, born in Bothwell, Lanarkshire.  They were living in Knightswood Cottage with their children; Mary, Alexander, Janet, Robert & Isabella, who were aged between 1 & 13 years of age.  All the children were born in Bothwell, Lanarkshire except the youngest, Isabella, who was born in New Kilpatrick the previous year.

Death certificate of Gibson REID - 27 Jan 1872, New Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire

A brief timeline of Gibson REID:
About 1826 - born in Crichton, Edinburgshire.
1841 - living in the HOGG household (William and Euphemia) with Robert, John & William REID (siblings?) & 50 year old, Agnes REID (mother Agnes listed on death certificate)

Sometime after 1841 - moved to Bothwell, married Agnes and had their first child, Mary in 1848.
Between 1851 and 1860 - became a colliery clerk and moved to New Kilpatrick.
Between 1863 and 1871 - adopted Alexander Gibson.
1871 still living at Knightswood Cottage.
1872 died of chronic bronchitis.

Next Steps:
Search for male births (first name Alexander, blank surname) for familiar or possible mother names
Check Argyllshire newspapers for local tragedies
Check 1841 census for Agnes Gibb and her family found 4 possible matches - 1 most likely in Bothwell (sisters Catherine & Jean?)

Kissing Cousins?

I'm still reading Roy Buchan's fabulous 'From Peterhead to Passchendaele' which has thrown up some more avenues of research but have been wondering about Jessie's husband who was also a BUCHAN.   John's parents, Arthur and Christian BUCHAN sounded familiar but the same names do keep cropping up in these fishing villages.  How closely related were they?

The first step was to download their marriage certificate to prove the parents of John.



Marriage of John BUCHAN and Jessie BUCHAN
(8 Nov 1883 - 4 Port Henry Lane, Peterhead (bride's home))


Then I located the family on the 1861 census. Christian was deceased and 2 of her sisters were living with Arthur - most likely helping with the 2 young children.


Arthur BUCHAN and his young sons, John and Arthur on the 1861 census at 21 West Row, St Combs


I suspected she died during childbirth but she actually died shortly before the census was taken of consumption and pneumonia.



Death of Christian BUCHAN  -  2 Mar 1861

I then looked to the transcribed 1851 census.  Christian and her sisters were there and again appeared in 1841 with their other siblings. Which I will soon look closer at as a study of the village of St Combs.

Roy lists other children of Arthur and Christian but mentions that he believes some are half brothers and sisters and therefore children of another union after Christian died.  Before I look further into the BUCHAN - BUCHAN connection, I'd like to find out more about this second union.

The One That Stayed Behind

I had mentioned in 'Desperately Seeking John' that there was one BUCHAN who didn't emigrate to New Zealand on the Rimutaka with the rest of the family.  In Roy Buchan's book 'From Peterhead to Passchendaele' he mentions that "there is thought to be at least one other who stayed behind.".

Feeling inspired, I wanted to find out more about Charles BUCHAN (junior) - 'the one that stayed behind'.  He had appeared on all the census records between 1871 and 1891 - odd that he didn't go with them. I wondered why he had stayed and considered whether his descendants were still living in the Peterhead area?

I downloaded Charles' birth certificate:


Birth Certificate of Charles BUCHAN
born 27 November 1865

 After a search of marriages on the IGI, I was unable to find a likely match so I checked deaths.  I hoped this would give me the name of his wife if he had at all married.

Unfortunately, he hadn't.

Poor Charles died at 26 years of age in 1892 - about a year and a half before the family moved to New Zealand.  He died from consumption of the lungs (phthisis pulmonaris). His father, Charles (b.1830), was present at his death and registered the event three days later.



Death Certificate of Charles BUCHAN
Died 30 July 1892

Now we know Charles had no option BUT to stay behind.

Desperately Seeking John - A Sad Conclusion

In case brother John DID refer to brother-in-law John, I decided to check for deaths before embarking on a costly census trawl.  There were a few likely entries but since John hadn't appeared on any of the censuses, I chose one of the infant deaths first and sure enough there he was:

Poor little tyke only lived 12 days - cause unknown.

I think it's safe to say that the John present at Alexander BUCHAN's death is his sister Jessie's (born 1860) husband.  They had married back in Peterhead and emigrated with Jessie's parents and siblings.

Inquests and Articles

This morning I received some death certificates for members of my BUCHAN family.  On Alexander Ritchie BUCHAN's certificate it states his cause of death as 'Verdict of Jury - Sudden Failure of the Heart'.

Part of Alexander Ritchie BUCHAN's death certificate - 1896

My grandmother mentioned in a letter years ago that "Grandad B [a fisherman] was actually pulling in a fishing net, when he apparently ( I presume) had a heart attack & died at age 34".  I had no idea there was an inquest into his death though.

I searched through the newspapers on New Zealand's wonderful Papers Past site and found a mention in the 'Casualties' section:

A sudden death occurred about 8 o'clock on Wednesday night, 2nd. Alexander Buchan, who was engaged fishing with his brother John in the lower harbour, had just hauled in the net, when he went to the bow of the boat and fell forward, and on his brother going to him found he was dead. An inquest was held on Thursday afternoon when after hearing the evidence of Charles and John Buchan, John Keenan, and Dr Cunninghame, the jury returned a verdict that deceased died from sudden failure of the heart. Deceased leaves a wife and five children in very poor circumstances. (Otago Witness - 10 Dec 1896, p15)

Otago Witness - 10 Dec 1896, p15

His wife Agnes (nee FINDLAY) was left with 5 children under the age of 9 - their daughter was only 3 weeks old!

Alexander was buried in Port Chalmers cemetery on the 5th December 1896.  Also buried on the plot were members of the GRANT family who I believe to be unrelated and a Robert JONES (according to the Cemeteries Database on the Dunedin Ciy Council website).  On the entry in the Cemeteries Database is the note:"GRANT PLOT: CONSENT OF CHURCH"

image via flickr

It seems that the church took pity on Alexander's family (who had only arrived in the country 3 years earlier) and because of their "very poor circumstances", buried him in this plot as an act of charity.

I am really keen to find any surviving inquest records as I know nothing about a brother called John!

Next Steps:

• Locate inquest records (if any)
• Search for church records that may mention the burial
• Research 'brother John'

Neighbouring Families - Part 3

Part of a series of posts - beginning with Neighbouring Families

Back on track after my William BROWN confusion - I pick up with proving George BROWN and James BROWN are brothers. Thereby proving that the William BROWN on the 1891 census is indeed related to me.

Proving Brotherhood

I had previously sought to prove George BROWN and James were brothers and so had some of George's records at hand.  George's death record states that his parents are John BROWN and Jane [Jean] Maxwell:

Statutory Death Record of George BROWN - 1862

James BROWN's death record also gives his parents as John BROWN and Jean Maxwell:

Statutory Death Record of James BROWN - 1873

This proves that James and George are brothers.  A search for BROWN births in Glencairn show that there was also a William born to John BROWN and Jean MAXWELL:

Birth Record of William BROWN in Glencairn Parish Register - 1807

So, I have proved the heads of household at Woodhead, George and James BROWN are brothers.  I have also found the existence of another brother, William (as there are no statutory death records of a William BROWN with a mother named MAXWELL, I can only assume he died before 1855).

I have therefore come to the conclusion that the William BROWN (b.1829) living at Woodhead on the 1891 census is in fact James BROWN's nephew.

*bows and wipes the sweat from her furrowed brow*

Workhouse Call

Read 1st part here and 2nd part here.

It took some time (and a bit of money) for me to find the right George PALMER's death certificate. I am now quite sure this is the correct one as the age, occupation and location fit.

George Palmer's death certificate - 29th October 1896

After an eventful life, George died in Westminster Union Workhouse. How did he end up there?

Note that George died of 'Senile Decay'. Does this mean I have another lunatic on my hands?
Ancestry UK now has London Poor Law records available to view online. I searched the Westminster Union 'Register of Lunatics', which thankfully has a surname index and found there were no PALMER lunatics between the years of 1890 and 1898.

Unfortunately the 'Admission and Discharge Book' does NOT have a surname index. Using George's date of death, I found his 'discharge' (death).

October 1896 Westminster Union Workhouse 'Admission and Discharge Book'

George died on Thursday, October 29th 1896. His last meal was breakfast and his diet was described as 'class 2' (The Workhouse site explains the class of diet from 1900 onwards but I have yet to find a key to the Westminster Union classes in 1896).

The 1891 census for Westminster Union Workhouse contains a George Palmer of the same age, occupation and county of birth as mine.

George PALMER on the 1891 census in Westminster Union Workhouse

Presuming the George on the 1891 census is mine (the town of birth is listed as Winchester, Hampshire whereas all the other information that I have, states that George was born in Portsea, Hampshire), I have a window of 10 years in which to search for his admission.

Considering there is no surname index, this is a bit of a tedious task as I have to trawl through each page in the book for his surname - wish me luck!