information on christie family of 15-17

[jollyrob]

hello

i am searching for any information on my family tree.
 my grandmother elizabeth christie was born approximately 1918. she was one of 15 or 17 children and i would love to find out their names.
we think her mothers name was elizabeth jameson (but could be wrong)
Her father was called harold we think. and he had a brother robert christie who according to family rumour was an mp a councillor and a jp for the area. they lived in the linlithgow area. we think harold and robert came over from ireland. there is also a rumour that robert wrote a book about the  brothers trip to scotland.
Elizabeth  ( my grandmother) was one of the eldest children, (she raised the youngest phyllis as her own daughter). Elizabeth had an older sister called mary who was run over by a car aged 6 ( there cant be too many of these about i would guess) as my nan remembered this event it must have happened in the early 1920's.
my grandmother has unfortunately developed dementia and it is now too late to ask her all these questions, i wish i had found out more when i had the chance, but i hope i can at least find out some things now.
my grandmother married and moved to london and we have therefore no real contact with her roots just some half remebered stories that we are trying to piece together.
i hope someone can help-
from robert plaister

[MonicaL]

Hi Robert

It is quite hard trying to research in the period you are in on-line because most of the records are too recent to access on line. It would be worthwhile trying to verify your steps back one at a time which will require you to order some certificates to establish parents' names and dates. You also have to take care, because of the recentness of events, when including people's names on the forum because people may still be alive...just tread with care 

I can only find one birth entry for an Eli* Christ* (allowing for variants of spelling) in Linlithgow and that is in 1923. Elsewhere in Scotland with a search range of 1920 +/- 5yrs brings up over 100 entries (18 alone between 1918-19). You can view certificates on line for births on Scotlands People, the official pay to view site for BMDs and original census images, only up to 1907. For marriages up to 1932 and deaths up to 1957. After these dates, you have to order certificates due to privacy rules.

In respect of possible marriages for parents, there are 5 entries coming up with Harry Christie to wives with different names that you show, none in Linlithgow.  There is one marriage in 1905 showing for an Maria M Elizabeth Jameson to an Alexander Harpe(r?) Christie in 1905 in Edinburgh. Bear in mind for both the birth of your Grandmother and parents' marriage, that the family may not have moved to Linlithgow until later years.

In respect of births for Phyllis, there is one possible showing in 1945 in Linlithgow.

In your position, I would start by trying to find the marriage certificate for your Grandmother which hopefully took place in Scotland. Hopefully with your Grandfather's name, you can ask the GROS to do a search for the marriage (the marriage index on SP unfortunately only goes up to 1932 at present although there are plans to extend this shortly). The cert. would include her parents' names including mother's maiden name and an occupation for her father. It will also include whether her parents were alive at the time of her marriage.

Monica 

[MonicaL]

  Your Grandmother's sister that died as a result of a car accident was Margaret, not Mary. She died aged 5 in 1926 in Linlithgow. Parents were Henry (a variant of Harry) and Elizabeth Jamieson. Henry was a shale miner by occupation. Margaret was knocked over near the road next to Bridgend School some doors down from where the family were living at 64 Bridgend, Linlithgow.

Monica

[MonicaL]

Your Grandmother's parents were young when they married in 1920 Linlithgow, at the home of Elizabeth:

Henry Christie, 18, wine lorry driver, living at 78 Bridgend Rows, Linlithgow. Parents: William Christie, shale miner and Margaret Gibson
Elizabeth Mitchell Jamieson, 17, living at 30 Bridgend Rows, linlithgow. Parents James Jamieson, shale miner and Agnes Mitchell.

Monica

[MonicaL]

I can't easily see William and Margaret Christie on 1901 which would fit with likely Irish origins. For Elizabeth's parents, there is this possible entry showing in 1901:

James Jamieson 26, shale miner, b. Cowdenbeath, Fifeshire
Agnes Jamieson 25, b. Alloa, Clackmannan
John Jamieson 4, b. Kirknewton, Midlothian
George Jamieson 2, b. Kirknewton, Midlothian
Cathrine Jamieson 3 months, , b. Kirknewton, Midlothian
Isabella Allen 22, cousin, b. Alloa, Clackmannan

Address: 79 Oakbank, Kirknewton and East Calder, Midlothian.

There is a marriage showing in 1896 in Alloa Clackmannan for a James Jamieson and an Agnes Mitchell which might be their given Agnes' birth place showing on the census.

Monica

[MonicaL]

If Henry's parents were Irish, you might be able to find out more about them from their death certs. There is one possible entry for mother for example (always easier to search for wives because you can include maiden name in the search parameters).

1943 - Margaret Gibson/Christie in Linlithgow, age 66

If the correct one, the death cert which is available to view on Scotlands People www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk will show whether husband William was alive or deceased at the time of her death letting you narrow down the search for his death.

Similarly for Elizabeth's mother, there is this potential entry for her death:

1943 - Agnes Mitchell/ Jamieson in Linlithgow, age 67   

Monica

[jollyrob]

Wow monica thank you so much for replying with so much information.
i will start following the lines you have suggested to find out more.
i hadnt thought of entering names upsetting people but i will tread with care especially if i uncover any skeletons that might embarass some people still living.
i really cant thank you enough for pushing me in all the right directions. i will let you know where it all leads me to .
robert

[sicknote]

Hi Jollyrob,
 
 The margaret Christie that was killed in the road accident is buride at Linlithgow cemetry Section J lair No 188.
she was buried on the 5 may 1926,she was residing at 78 Bridgeng,Linlithgow. There is also a Henry Christie buried in the same plot he was buried on the 10 feb 1972 aged 69 and was residing at 6 Auldhill Avenue,Bridgend.

I had a look for other christie's in the burial records and found that in Section H Lair No 169 there were the following

Margaret Christie buried on the 8 nov 1943 aged 66 was residing at 4 Auldhill Crescent Brigend,linlithgow
William Christie   retired Shale Miner was buried on the 10 Aug 1954
Mary aged 2 buried on the 28 May 1914
Mary aged 1 buried on the 17 Oct 1916
Susan aged 0 buried on the 28 jan 1909
William aged 0 buried on the 7 aug 1924
and a Ann o'Brien aged 26 buried on the 12 Sept 1908.

[MonicaL]

That great info Sicknote  Certainly helps in confirming the family lines. I wonder why Henry's wife Elizabeth Jamieson is not showing as being in the same lair as Henry - SP show her death in 1976 - age 71  (GROS 703/00 0085).

Your info also puts a date by when the Christies had arrived in Linlithgow, from 1908. I wonder who Ann O'Brien was? I would imagine that a number of the young children who show in lair no. 169 could well have been siblings to Henry given his mother Margaret's age.

Have you managed to find anything on the Jamieson's? We have that likely death for Agnes, Elizabeth's mother, also in 1943.

Monica