Author Topic: George Gourley born at sea (1838)  (Read 3876 times)

Offline Famtreebuilder

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George Gourley born at sea (1838)
« on: Wednesday 29 July 15 03:46 BST (UK) »
I have a brick wall with a George Gourley/Gourlie born c1838 at sea between India and Glasgow.  From his marriage and death certificates I know his parents were William Gourley and Ann Johnston.  George got married on 31 Dec 1859 in Holytown, Lanarshire to Mary McMurdo and I have found him and their children on the 1861 (in Dalziel), 1871 (in Hamilton) and 1881 (in Shotts) census returns.  He died in 1884.  His age is consistent on those and his marriage and death.  His parents names are also consistent on both documents.  His father William is listed as a soldier on the marriage and an army pensioner on the death.

That's everything I know - I've tried to find him on the 1851 and 1861 census returns but turned up nothing.  I'm trying to find out about his parents and if he had siblings so I thought I'd ask on here and see if anyone can spot something I've missed.  Thank you!


Offline GR2

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Re: William Gourley born at sea (1838)
« Reply #1 on: Wednesday 29 July 15 07:50 BST (UK) »
If Gourley senior was an army pensioner, there is a good chance that his service papers still survive. Worth checking for as they might give lots of useful detail.

Offline sancti

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Re: William Gourley born at sea (1838)
« Reply #2 on: Wednesday 29 July 15 08:04 BST (UK) »
Could he be in India at the time of the 1841/1851 census?

Were his parents still alive at the time of his marriage?

Offline ShaunJ

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Re: William Gourley born at sea (1838)
« Reply #3 on: Wednesday 29 July 15 09:02 BST (UK) »
Any clues in the names of the marriage witnesses?
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Offline Famtreebuilder

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Re: William Gourley born at sea (1838)
« Reply #4 on: Wednesday 29 July 15 11:01 BST (UK) »
Hi GR2 - Yes I thought of that and have been searching for something on William the soldier - he must have an Army pension record.  There's a pension record for a William Gourley I'd like to look at but I don't have a subscription to the correct website.  There are also a couple of service records but the dates seem too late for him (1871 and 1879).  You never know though.  There's also a listing for a William Gourley on the Indian Mutiny medal rolls (1857-1859) and the 1861 Worldwide Army Index.

Thanks!

Offline Famtreebuilder

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Re: William Gourley born at sea (1838)
« Reply #5 on: Wednesday 29 July 15 11:15 BST (UK) »
Could he be in India at the time of the 1841/1851 census?

Were his parents still alive at the time of his marriage?

Hi Sancti and Shaun - I've thought that he could be India in 1841 and 1851 and the family returned during the 1850s perhaps when William retired as a soldier but I just don't know.

His parents are not listed as deceased on his marriage certificate and William not yet listed as an army pensioner.  The witnesses haven't really given me any clues but they were Andrew Walker, George Walker and James McMurdo (James was likely Mary's father as her brother James was only 6 when she married).  I've not been able to pinpoint the Walkers.  George worked as a miner and his address is just listed as Carfin while Mary lived at Newarthill which isn't far away.

The marriage certificate isn't the easiest to read but looking at it closely it may even say his name was James George Gourley.  There is a scribble of a word before George that I thought was part of the first column but on closer inspection isn't and to me looks like it could be James.  If his original first name was James then he certainly went by George.  I've checked for a James too without success.

I've also thought that if the family lived in India for any time before returning to Scotland maybe there were other children born out there so I've checked for any Gourleys born in India around the right time on the census but turned up nothing there either.

I've also looked for William and Ann thinking he must have returned and lived here with his army pension but nothing so far.  They are both listed as deceased by the time of George's death in 1884.

Thanks for any help.

Offline ShaunJ

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Re: George Gourley born at sea (1838)
« Reply #6 on: Wednesday 29 July 15 13:08 BST (UK) »
William could have been a soldier/pensioner of the Honourable East India Company ((HEIC) in which case there would be nothing for him in the British Army pensioner records.
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Offline Famtreebuilder

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Re: George Gourley born at sea (1838)
« Reply #7 on: Wednesday 29 July 15 17:39 BST (UK) »
Thanks Shaun - if there are no Army records then that could definitely explain it.  I've never done any research on anyone in India or the HEIC before so I'll need to look into it. 

Offline J11

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Re: George Gourley born at sea (1838)
« Reply #8 on: Thursday 30 July 15 10:13 BST (UK) »
Try the FIBIS site.  Families in British India Society.  www.fibis.org