Ross-Swanson marriage needed, please

[BassinghamTerrier]

Alexander Ross (born c1782 in Buckie, Banffshire) marries Jane Swanson (born c1801 in Caithness) sometime before 1824 (I hope!) but no idea where.
They have five boys born between 1824 and 1832 in Caithness, Portsoy and Old Machar, Aberdeen.

I have verified parentage from two baptisms, that of William (Swanson) Ross on 16th July 1830; Daniel Ross on 14th Feb 1833, both events in Old Machar where both parents are named.

I've tried searching AŁ but can't find a marriage.

Thanks for any help.

MT

[Kay99]

Hi MT

You need Scotlands People - Looking at their index there is a marriage on 05/06/1812 at Canongate Edinburgh of Alexander Ross to Jane Swanson.  It is pay to view-
Edit - Wonder what they were doing in Edinburgh if it is the right one - Can't be Jane would be too young 

Kay

[BassinghamTerrier]

Hi again, Kay!
That looks an interesting possibility.
I wouldn't put it past being right - Jane could well have lied about her birth being in 1801 because I can't confirm that either, and she does seem quite young for an Alexander born in the 1780s.
Would be lovely to see an original image of the register!

MT 😉

[Kay99]

I couldn't resist looking and it is them - She is listed as coming from Caithness and he is in the Army

Kay

[BassinghamTerrier]

BINGO!
So she DID lie about her age on the censuses!
The little tinker ...

Thank you so much, Kay - again!,

MT 😉

[higgsy]

according to Familysearch they also had a daughter Isobel born 1814 in East Lothian


Norma

[BassinghamTerrier]

Hi Norma,
Yes, I had found Isabel earlier today but discounted her at the time because she would have been born when her mother, Jane, was only twelve.
Then Kay confirmed that Jane's birthdate must have been earlier, so I reinstated her.

MT 😉

[flst]

I'd like to point out that until 1929, in Scotland the marriageable age was 12 for girls & 14 for boys.
flst

[Forfarian]

I'd like to point out that until 1929, in Scotland the marriageable age was 12 for girls & 14 for boys.
flst

Perfectly true, but have you ever found a verifiable example?

Date of marriage 5 June 1812 would require her to have been born before 5 June 1800. This isn't inconsistent with the age of 50 in the 1851 census. The census was taken on 31 March, so a person born between 1 April and 31 December 1800 would not have had a birthday in 1851, and would show up as 50.

However I think the likelihood of a 12-year-old girl from Caithness marrying a soldier in Edinburgh and going on to have a child at the age of 13 is tiny in comparison with the chance of an error, deliberate or otherwise, in her age as listed in the census.

Alexander is described in the 1851 census as a Chelsea pensioner, and you already know that he was in the Army, and which regiment etc. So you are well placed to find his service record (if it survives) which should tell you when and where he enlisted and where he served. He would have served during the Napoleonic Wars. If he was posted to a base where families could join their men, you might find more children born overseas during the 10-year gap between 1814 and 1824. Army records for that period are in the UK National Archives at Kew in London, but I believe that some can be accessed at www.findmypast.com though I have not looked at this web site.

Interestingly, I could not find a death for J*n* Sw*nson or Ross of appropriate age in the indexes at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. This means either that she died between the 1851 census and the end of 1854, or that she died outside Scotland. This is a pity because her death certificate would have supplied the maiden name of her mother (assuming, of course, that whoever registered the death knew this).