Trying to find birth of Charles Kelly who married Janet Wallace in Stoneykirk

[Marilynoz]

Is there anyone that can help me with this query as I am not succeeding in my search.  Charles Kelly was my great, great Grandfather.   I can't seem to find his birth certificate/notice and I don't know where he was born.  Information I have is as follows:
Charles' Father : William Kelly, born 6/12/1788, Died 9/11/1829 (born Kilmarnock, Ayr)
Charles' Mother : Margaret Milwain. 
William and Margaret were Married 31/3/1821 at Stoneykirk
Charles's DOB: 1825 (worked this out with his age on Census.
1841 Census shows Charles aged 16yrs at the home of John Milwain aged 80yrs.
1851 Census shows Charles aged 26yrs at the home of his mother Margaret Milwain (not sure why Margaret went back to her maiden name when William Kelly died and then on her death certificate shows Margaret was back using her married name 'Kelly' - I have yet to find that out).  She died in Stranraer in 1878).
Charles Kelly married Janet Wallace in 1856 at Stoneykirk and had two children, John Kelly and Andrew Kelly.
I checked and double checked names and dates and don't think I have made any mistakes but there are so many families with the surname 'Kelly' and 'Milwain' that I could have missed something.
Is there someone that can point me in the right direction?
Thanks so much.

[loobylooayr]

Hi Marilyn,
I take it you have checked the OPR'S for Charles and he's not there. Could be the record of his birth has not survived or was never made in the first place.

Regarding his mother Margaret Milwain/Kelly. It was common practice during that era for a widowed woman to revert to her maiden name.

Regards
Looby

[Marilynoz]

Thanks so much for your quick reply, Looby.  Much appreciated!  I think I will start looking at someone else in the family history and thanks for explaining the fact that some women changed back to their maiden name when their husbands died.  I hadn't heard of that.  Thanks again!

[loobylooayr]

No problem Marilyn. It's a shame you can't find Charles's birth.
There is quite a good website    freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ainsty/index.html
 
Its called the Wigtownshire Pages and covers genealogy in Wigtownshire. Sorry, I'd forgotten to memtion it earlier ! Perhaps it may be of interest to you if you haven't found it already.

Hope you have success with your research,
Best wishes,
Looby

Ps. I didn't need to put in www. before that website name.