William Gordon, bur. at Portpatrick, ancestor of Gordons of Lude/Barrisdale

[William Gordon]

Hello, I am trying to find out more about the ancestry of the following William Gordon, buried in Portpatrick graveyard. He is the furthest back ancestor I have for the family of Gordon of Lude and Barisdale. His gravestone at Portpatrick graveyard (seen here: http://www.portpatrickchurchyard.org.uk/search-headstones.php ) features a crest of a savage with a club. This is generally associated with the family of Gordon of Lochinvar, but I have thus far found no definite link between the families. A link would be particularly interesting, since the Lochinvar family had a Viscountcy - Viscount of Kenmure - that has been dormant since 1847, but *not* extinct.

William Gordon was born About 1771 and died on Feb. 24, 1846 in Portpatrick.  He married Jannet McGarraway. Jannet was born About 1763 and died on Nov. 15, 1825. 
 
Children of William Gordon and Jannet Gordon [McGarraway]

i. Arthur Hill Gordon was born on Jul. 26, 1805 and died on Jul. 12, 1863.
ii. Jane Gordon was born on Sep. 7, 1802 and died on Jul. 7, 1861. 

[MonicaL]

Hi there 

Have you viewed the Will & Testament entry for William on www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk ?

William GORDON - 17/08/1846 - INNKEEPER IN PORTPATRICK @ WIGTOWN SHERIFF COURT  - Ref SC19/41/8 - 11 pages.

What type of specific document it is doesn't show. Maybe some clues on estate, names etc?

I don't suppose the 1800 marriage was any more of a one line in the OPRs https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XY7G-9ZF With the reference to the surname Ross on the MI, this is Janet's first marriage? https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XY7G-QM8

Monica

[William Gordon]

Hi 

I had not viewed Will's Will, but I have now! Sadly not much clue to his heritage, but does mention his two children and also refers to a grandchild Robert that I have a note of and his step-children from his wife's previous marriage.

Thanks for pointing out those two records. I think you're right both are referring to the correct person.

Can you think of anything else I might try? Although I have done quite a bit of genealogy research up to now it has tended to be from secondary sources e.g. family histories, so I'm not quite sure about the context of statutory/church records. For example, would a death certificate exist for William in the time period he died in, and would this include information about his parents?

[MonicaL]

Unfortunately, William died before the start of official registration in Scotland from 1855 (after 1855, Scottish BMDs have a huge amount of detail). The main source for records pre 1855 is the established Church of Scotland, ie Presbyterian, Old Parish Registers (OPRs). Only about a third of events were included in these registers for all sorts of reason, with death & burial entries the worst kept. See here for details www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/Content/Help/index.aspx?r=554&613

The name of William's son, Arthur Hill Gordon, is quite distinctive. I wonder what the source of the name was for William. Maybe a connection to his family?

Monica