Looking for places my family lived in the Rathven area

[Flattybasher9]

There is "Sketraw, Banff, Aberdeenshire AB45 3DA, UK".

Regards

Malky

[Forfarian]

Indeed there is. See http://www.geograph.org.uk/gridref/NJ6457

There are several Skateraws/Sketraws, but that one's not in Rathven, so unless the baptismal record says, "Sketraw in the parish of Alvah" I can't assume it's the right one. It is quite a distance from Rathven in late 18th century terms.

[Flattybasher9]

So, is it the "Sketraw in the parish of Alvah" we are looking for, or the "Sketraw in the parish of Rathven" we are looking for.

Regards

Malky

[Forfarian]

I'm looking for Sketraw in the parish of Rathven, unless Craig tells us that the baptism mentions another parish.

[Craig1985taylor]

24 DECEMBER 1796 JAMES TAYLOR in Sketraw had by his Wife ANNE CLARK a Daughter then born & baptized upon the 26th. day of said month named HELLEN. Witnesses John Garden in Rannachy & George Paterson in Sketraw

This is the exact transcript from the Rathven Parish register

[Forfarian]

26 December 1796 was a Monday, so it does look as if the baptism was not in the kirk, or at least not during a Sunday service. Witnesses from Sketraw and Rannachy could be neighbours, perhaps? Might that suggest that Sketraw was also near Rannachy?

[Flattybasher9]

Sketraw does not seem to be listed here.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~banff1841/Banffshire%20places%20-%201841%20census.html

Regards

Malky

[Forfarian]

Sketraw does not seem to be listed here.
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~banff1841/Banffshire%20places%20-%201841%20census.html

Neither is Sketraw in Alvah!

And there's no Sketraw in the Rathven gazetteer at GENUKI either, so it could be another of those places that has long since disappeared from the map.

As I have said, in 18th century terms Sketraw in Alvah is a long way from Rathven - you'd have to travel on foot (or on horseback or in a cart or carriage, but we have already considered the likelihood that James was a farm servant so he may not have had access to a riding horse, let alone a carriage), so if the Taylors were living there when the baby was born, why would they go all the way back to Rathven, and take a neighbour with them on a working day, when the baby was just two days old? It would have been the best part of a day's journey in each direction. You couldn't expect a new mother to do that so soon after giving birth.

If you were determined to get a baby baptised 20 miles from where it was born, you wouldn't do so at 24 hours' notice - you'd wait a week or three and plan it properly. Also you wouldn't break the Sabbath by setting out on a Sunday, so to get a baby born on a Saturday baptised several parishes away on the Monday would be quite a feat. Even notifying the minister that you required his services would be difficult. That's why I am unconvinced that Sketraw in Alvah is the right place, quite apart from the fact that all the other places the Taylors lived in were within a couple of miles of one another.

[Craig1985taylor]

Thank you I think its safe to say that it was nearby to all the other farms they lived in looking at all the evidence you have provided me with I think ive learned a little bit more about my ancestors lives from you guys today so thank you its been really helpful & interesting.

Cheers Craig