Hi Monical.
Ann Small's parents, Peter Small and Betsy/Elizabeth Shaw (Two of Ann's children were called Peter and Betsy/Elizabeth) moved from Kingoodie, west of Dundee, to Moray, where Ann was born in 1823. Some time later, they returned to Kingoodie, leaving Ann behind.
After James (Ann's hubby) was drowned in 1860, Ann moved to Dundee to be near her mother.
An Edinburgh researcher told me a couple of decades ago, that it was highly probable that John Ross, or the enumerator, had probably described and/or recorded Ann as 'step-daughter' instead of
'daughter-in-law'. Ann's father was alive and kicking in Kingoodie at the time of that census. Proof positive is in Ann's death cert, where it shows her parents were Peter Small and Betsy Shaw.
As for John Ross, the OPR shows his birth as 10 December 1853, and that of his brother Peter, a mere 5 months later, is logged as 15 May 1854! On the OPR showing Peter's birth, the page doesn't have a page number, and the birth records on it are in the following sequence, 1830, 1833, 1851, 1848, 1854, 1842, 1854, 1853. The entries have obviously all been recorded at the same time, and in higgeldy piggeldy fashion, a mistake waiting to happen! Apart from the birth entry I have found no other evidence of him.
A newspaper report of James Ross' death said that he left a widow and seven children. If we include John, then that report was correct. Where are you John!
Anyway, back to the enigma of identifying James' father. The John Ross (Widower) in the 1851 census, is nowhere to be found after that date, and I believe it's because it was he who drowned when the Ann Garrow was wrecked in the 1860 gale.
What do you reckon?
