Adam Forbes and Christian Cruickshank

[leemcm]

Hi folks. I could really use some help and advice to track down what happened to my 2G grandmother. Her name was Margaret Forbes, and was born around 1850. I believe that she spent most of her life in Tomintoul, and had a couple of illegitimate children; one of whom was my great-grandmother, Janet (Jessie) Forbes (illegitimate; 1891-1933). She also had a daughter, Christina McDonald (1878-1915) with a man called John McDonald. I assume she was married at some point to John.

I believe that her mother was Christina Cruickshank but, other than that, I have drawn a few blanks. I don't know when or where she died (or was born), what the story was with her parents and whether or not she had siblings - I have seen censuses with mentions of potential other children (Jemima Forbes and Alexander Stuart) but I don't know if this is the right record.

If anyone can help or provide advice as to how I can crack this mystery, I would be extremely grateful.

Many thanks!

[CaroleW]

This is the 1901 entry for 98 Main St Kirkmichael

All children b Kirkmichael which was in the Tomintoul registration district

Margaret McDonald 50 b Huntly, Aberdeenshire (transcription shows age as 30)
Christina McDonald   22 dtr
Jessie Forbes   9 dtr dtr
Isabella I Imrie   12 boarder
Alexander MacDonald   2 grandson
Kirkmichael ED 1 Page 6 Line 3

Have you viewed the original image on Scotlands People to confirm Margaret's age and also that Christina was her daughter?

There is this 1891 entry for 35 Main St Kirkmichael

Christina Stewart 67 b Abernethy, Invernesshire
Margaret Forbes   43 dtr b Huntly, Aberdeenshire
Alexander Stewart 10 grandson b Tomintoul
Margaret Forbes   9 g/dtr b Tomintoul
John Watson   22 boarder b Morayshire
Kirkmichael ED 1 Page 6 Line 2

[Forfarian]

This is the 1901 entry for 98 Main St Kirkmichael

One of the quirks of certain transcriptions is that they transcribe the address (in the left-hand column of the page) and completely disregard the information in the boxes at the top of the page. In this case, the top of the page would have told the transcriber that this is 98 Main Street, (village of) Tomintoul, (parish of) Kirkmichael.

All children b Kirkmichael which was in the Tomintoul registration district

Not quite. In 1855 the registration district was Kirkmichael, and it covered the whole of the parish of Kirkmichael, including the village of Tomintoul. From 1856 onwards, the parish was split into two registration districts, Kirkmichael and Tomintoul. So the registration district of Tomintoul was all in the parish of Kirkmichael, but there were parts of the parish/district of Kirkmichael which were not in the registration district of Tomintoul.

[leemcm]

This is the 1901 entry for 98 Main St Kirkmichael

All children b Kirkmichael which was in the Tomintoul registration district

Margaret McDonald 50 b Huntly, Aberdeenshire (transcription shows age as 30)
Christina McDonald   22 dtr
Jessie Forbes   9 dtr dtr
Isabella I Imrie   12 boarder
Alexander MacDonald   2 grandson
Kirkmichael ED 1 Page 6 Line 3

Have you viewed the original image on Scotlands People to confirm Margaret's age and also that Christina was her daughter?

There is this 1891 entry for 35 Main St Kirkmichael

Christina Stewart 67 b Abernethy, Invernesshire
Margaret Forbes   43 dtr b Huntly, Aberdeenshire
Alexander Stewart 10 grandson b Tomintoul
Margaret Forbes   9 g/dtr b Tomintoul
John Watson   22 boarder b Morayshire
Kirkmichael ED 1 Page 6 Line 2

Thank you very much for this. I assume that Christina Stewart must have died between the censuses, but I wonder why Margaret Forbes' name changed - unless she hadn't married by the time of the first census. I cannot find any mention of her birth on Scotlandspeople nor her death. It's a big mystery.

Any other suggestions anyone how I could find this out?

[leemcm]

This is the 1901 entry for 98 Main St Kirkmichael

One of the quirks of certain transcriptions is that they transcribe the address (in the left-hand column of the page) and completely disregard the information in the boxes at the top of the page. In this case, the top of the page would have told the transcriber that this is 98 Main Street, (village of) Tomintoul, (parish of) Kirkmichael.

All children b Kirkmichael which was in the Tomintoul registration district

Not quite. In 1855 the registration district was Kirkmichael, and it covered the whole of the parish of Kirkmichael, including the village of Tomintoul. From 1856 onwards, the parish was split into two registration districts, Kirkmichael and Tomintoul. So the registration district of Tomintoul was all in the parish of Kirkmichael, but there were parts of the parish/district of Kirkmichael which were not in the registration district of Tomintoul.

Thank you for this explanation. It really helps me understand how things worked back then with registration districts etc.

[MonicaL]

Have you worked right back on all the censuses as best you can with the info available?

This for example, on top of the 1891 & 1901 from Carole, looks to be 1881 in Tomintoul:

Christina Stuart 60 b. Abernethy G, Inverness
Marg Forbes 33 b. Abernethy G, Inverness
Jemima Forbes daughter 11 https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XYPK-6HN
Alexr Stuart 6 son https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XYYC-3B3
Christina McDonald 2 daughter (guessing to Margaret)
Christina Fraser   60 boarder b. G, Inverness
Address: 12 & 13 The Square

Monica

[MonicaL]

Just picking up on the new child, Jemima. For 1871, there is this entry:

Donald Stuart 76 pauper b. Strathdon, Aberdeenshire
Christina Stuart 48 wife b. Abernethy, invernessshire
Alexander Stuart 11 son b. Tomintoul, Banffshire https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XYYC-3WL
Peter Stuart 8 son b. Tomintoul, Banffshire https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XYYC-S5R
Grace Ross/e 7 boarder b. Tomintoul, Banffshire ? maybe https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XYPK-D96
Jemima Forbes 1 boarder b. Tomintoul, Banffshire
Address: Street, Tomintoul

Relationships and names etc, as they do when families are like this, can get confusing a little     Guessing Margaret may have in service somewhere nearby and daughter Jemima being taken care off by her mother?

Cannot see the marriage of Donald and Christina in either the OPRs or statutory registers on family search. Best place to check for originals is always Scotlands People. The birth entry of son Peter should include the date and place of parents' marriage...if they were married.

Monica

[MonicaL]

1861 for the Stuarts has this entry:

Donald Stuart 61
Christian Stuart 35
James Stuart 10
John Stuart 7 ? maybe https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XB3D-SV3
Robert Henry Stewart 5 https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XYYC-33X
Alexander Stewart 1

Address: Main Street, Tomintoul

[MonicaL]

OK...just working through more censuses 

I think this is them in 1851, with Margaret with them:

Donald Stuart 52 b. Strathdon, aberdeen
Christina Stuart 29 b. Abernethy, inverness
Margaret Stuart 3 b. Old Marchar, Aberdeenshire
James Stuart 4 Months b. Abernethy, inverness
Address: Bualgorm, Abernethy and Kincardine, Inverness

So, likely Christina had Margaret before she married, or she was married to a Forbes before her marriage to Donald Stuart.

Just found that there are lots of lovely family trees on a/try for the Stuart line. You can access them if you have a subs to a/try or via a library link if you have one available. One tree here for example: http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/10596824/person/-579009729?ssrc=  or here http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/5264647/person/-214373673?ssrc= Nice photo there of Peter, who we think might be Margaret's half brother.

Monica