"born Scotland" - advice please

[snowball]

Hi,
I'm sure this is a familiar lament from those with English ancestry who find they have a single forebear who is described as being b "Scotland" consistently in the census, but I'm wondering if I have any chance of finding the origins of my Jane/Jean McPheal and could do with some advice.

What I know:
In March 1839 she marries William Cherry in Corsenside, Northumberland as Jean McPheal, of full age. Her father is John McPheal, accountant. She makes her mark on the register, and witnesses are James McEwen and Jane English.

She appears in the next four censuses as Jane Cherry. Birth date varies quite a bit. She is 30 in 1841 (838/15/22), 39 in 1851 (2417/15), 50 in 1861 (3711/40) and 70 in 1871 (4933/88). She appears to die in Sept qr 1873, aged 73.

I'm aware of the surname spelling variations, and while there are some possibles for a Jean or a Jane, father John, on the IGI and Scotlands People, nothing is conclusive. Can anyone suggest further areas of research?

Many thanks

Rob

[Forfarian]

One or two things you could think about.

Does her marriage record give any indication whether her father was still alive when she married?

Are there any other marriages of M(a)cPh/F(a/e/i)ls in Northumberland within say 10 years? If so, could they be siblings?

Can you find a John M(a)cPh(a/e/i)l, accountant, anywhere in the 1841 census? Accountants were not that common in the 1830s and 1840s. (Try http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl first)

Are there any other M(a)cPh/F(a/e/i)ls in the 1841 census in Northumberland?

Might the names of her children give a clue to her mother's given name?

As her father was an accountant, did he leave a will? If he did, you should be able to access it online.

You might find that a series of snippets like these could point to her parentage.

[snowball]

Thanks very much for this - it's given me some pointers. I can't find any likely wills for accountants called John McP - there are several possibles though...
Regards
Rob

[Ruskie]

Following on from Forfairan's suggestion re naming patterns? Are you familiar with the Scottish naming pattern?

Do you know the names of both of William Cherry's parents?

Do you know the names of all of William and Jean/Jane's children in order of birth? If so, do William's parent's names and Jean's father's name all appear in the lineup of children's names?

[Ruskie]

There are a couple of submitted entries on the IGI for births of Jean/Jane McPhail with father John. Of course none of these may be your Jean/Jane ... only one, b 1803 Argyll, is extraced.

[Ruskie]

There are no entries for McPheal but you can check the distribution of McPhail here:
http://gbnames.publicprofiler.org/Surnames.aspx
(obviously this is just a rough guide and for your own interest)

[Ruskie]

There are a couple of submitted entries on the IGI for births of Jean/Jane McPhail with father John. Of course none of these may be your Jean/Jane ... only one, b 1803 Argyll, is extraced.

I found this one on the 1841 census and no occupation is given ...  However someone living in the household is a fisherman, so possibly not the right family ... 

[Ruskie]

Are there any other family members living with the Cherrys on any of the censuses?

[snowball]

Hi,
William Cherry's (b Ireland - similar problem) father was called John too - don't know his mother

Not sure if this provides a clue, but William Cherry and Jean McPheal's children in order are, I believe:

James b1840
Elizabeth 1842
Joseph 1844
William 1845

Rob