Help - McMillan Family Line

[jaffacakes83]

Hi, I am helping my husband with his family tree and am stuck on a Scottish line. His gran was a McMillan and we have traced his 5th great grandfather Daniel Donald McMillan born about 1796 back to Scotland but this is where it stops. His fourth great grandfather was Samuel William McMillan born 1830 in Newhaven, Oxford and his wife was Mary Kibble born 1825 Gloucestershire. Daniel McMillan's wife was called Ann (unsure of maiden name as there are a few it could be.) On the 1841 census he is living in Cheltenham Gloucester and later I believe they lived in Leckham. His occupation was a gardener and I think he died in 1861. It would be great if we could find out what part of Scotland he was from and perhaps his parents. Any suggestions would be appreciated! Laura

[Forfarian]

Daniel and Donald are effectively used as equivalent names in Scotland, so it's not unusual to find someone originally baptised as Donald turning up in a later record as Daniel, or vice versa. So your Daniel Donald was probably plain Donald when he was baptised.

I see from the 1841 census that he had sons named Charles, William, John and Benjamin, and that John was born in Scotland. There is a five-year gap between John and Benjamin. Were there possibly other children who died young?

Have you found him in any censuses later than 1851? Do you have places of birth for Charles and William, who were not born in Gloucestershire?

[jaffacakes83]

Hi, thank you for the reply!

I tried to find John McMillan but no joy. The only children I have found so far are Charles, William, John and Benjamin. The William mentioned in the 1841 census is our fourth great grandfather Samuel William. In 1851 only Samuel William is living with Daniel and Ann. I believe Daniel died in 1861 as his wife is a widow on the 1861 census and there is a death record for a Donald McMillan in 1861 in Leckhampton which is the last place he was living. Both Charles and Samuel William were born in Newhaven Oxfordshire.

[Forfarian]

Hmmm. Not looking too promising. If they followed the Scottish naming tradition you would expect his father's name to be Charles, but in the absence of any daughters, and of the name of his parents-in-law, you can't rely on that. To be honest, without his father's name from his marriage record, it's going to be pretty difficult.

[Rosinish]

Later census' sometimes tend to lend us a bit more info. with Counties mentioned so an 1861/71 may be good if Donald/Daniel was still alive.

Annie

[Forfarian]

Later census' sometimes tend to lend us a bit more info. with Counties mentioned so an 1861/71 may be good if Donald/Daniel was still alive.

Sadly it seems that he died before 1861, when his wife appears as a widow.

[jaffacakes83]

Thank you for your suggestions, although maybe this will be as far as we get on this line. I did find another child though an Elizabeth Ann McMillan born 1826 in Oxford (Newhaven) so this may narrow down the marriages before this date.

[Rosinish]

Given Donald's approx yr of birth he would have been 34 yrs old when he married, on assumption that Samuel was the eldest son?

It was common for the name Donald (originating from where Gaelic was spoken) to become Daniel which seemed to be through dialect. Donald would sound like "Danal" i.e. it became Daniel.

On that basis I would say he was of "Highland" descent but with no other info. it's not going to help.

You don't have anything on wife Ann which is a pity as it would have been good to try & eliminate family names from her side as Samuel is not very Scottish.

Annie

[sancti]

Death shows he just missed the 1861 census

Name:          Donald Mc Millan
Birth Year:          abt 1797
Death Year:      1861
Death Age:   64
Burial Date:   9 Apr 1861
Parish:   Leckhampton, Gloucestershire, England