Stewart/MacGregor - Banffshire abt 1800

[grammy2]

I would like to find names of the children of James STEWART and Janet MacGREGOR.  They were born about 1797.  Their only child that I know about was Peter STUART 1808-1879.  He was born at Shore of Gleady, Invernesshire. He married Margaret George.  They were residents of Gamrie, Banffshire.

Thank you in advance,

Carol

[Forfarian]

I see that a James Stuart and Janet McGregor were married on 4 June 1803 in the parish of St Machar, Aberdeen. Are these your James and Janet, I wonder?

I also see that there seem to be two records of a marriage of Peter Stewart to Margaret George - one in the parish of Banff on 21 June 1840, and one in the parish of Kirkmichael on 18 November 1841. Normally, you get two records, at roughly the same time, if the couple lived in different parishes, but these are 15 months apart, so are they two different couples with the same names?

Pursuing this line of thought, there are 8 references to baptisms of children of Peter Stewart and Margaret George
Margaret, 5 January 1842, Gamrie
John, 11 January 1842, Kirkmichael
Margaret, 18 October 1844, Kirkmichael
James, 20 February 1845, Gamrie
Janet, 22 May 1849, Gamrie
John, 17 May 1851, Gamrie
Mary Anne, 10 December 1854, Gamrie
Jean McPherson, 10 December 1854, Gamrie

Noting the dates of birth of both the first John and the first Margaret in 1842, it is clear that they are indeed two different couples.

Now, to the census; In 1861 your ones were at Alton of Melrose in Gamrie: Peter, 53, shepherd; Margaret, 46; John, 9; Jean and Mary, 6. I also see that this is where 'Shore of Gleady' came from, and that the transcribers were doubtful about this interpretation.
See http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=71201963 for some photographs of this Melrose (not to be confused with the larger and much better known town of the same name in the Borders).

In 1851 the family were at Greenskares, Gamrie.
See http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=71201997 for some photographs of Greenskares. The family in 1851 were Peter, shepherd, 43; Margaret, 36; Margaret, 9; James, 6; Janet, 1.

This census says Peter was born in the parish of Glenelg, which makes far more sense than 'Shore of Gleady'. Glenelg is the most southerly mainland parish on the west coast of Inverness-shire. See http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/sct/INV/Glenelg for a description of the parish and
http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=71201918 for some photographs of Glenelg.

Unfortunately the parish register of Glenelg seems to be a bit patchy, according to https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//research/list-of-oprs/detailed-list-of-old-parochial-registers-of-scotland.pdf, which says that there were only 11 entries before 1805. So the chances of there being any surviving record of Peter's baptism, or of any of his siblings, seem small.

I also wonder whether the 1803 marriage can possibly be that of Peter's parents rather than of another couple with the same names? Glenelg is 180 miles from Aberdeen, through some rugged terrain, which in early 19th century terms is a very long way - several days' journey, in fact on foot or horseback or in a cart, or even by sea round the notoriously stormy north of Scotland.

(BTW James Stewart and Janet McGregor must have been born well before 1797 - they could hardly have had a child when they were both just 11 years old.)

[grammy2]

   Thank you for your great effort in searching for this information.
 
   Although Aberdeen seems very far from either Inverness or Banff, I have been amazed before to find the distances people traveled without our modern conviences.  I agree that this may not be the Stewart/MacGregor couple of interest.

    In the Gamrie, Banff, records, there are mentions of a John Stewart married to Janet McGregor.
Could they be the actual parents of Peter?   

    A friend and I are trying to unravel this information because we have both have a very high DNA match with a person on Ancestry DNA.   On Ancestry, the information can be found by searching Kerr Family Tree.  We have both attempted to contact the person for her sources but haven't gotten replies.

    I do appreciate your reply to my post, Forfarian.  It would cause a very high brickwall to tumble if I could find a link to my Stewart Family.

Carol

[Forfarian]

Although Aberdeen seems very far from either Inverness or Banff, I have been amazed before to find the distances people traveled without our modern conviences.  I agree that this may not be the Stewart/MacGregor couple of interest.

But they could be. I was just trying to warn against assuming anything.

In the Gamrie, Banff, records, there are mentions of a John Stewart married to Janet McGregor. Could they be the actual parents of Peter?

Possibly. Can you quote the exact details of these mentions? I don't see any baptisms of children to John Stuart/Stewart and Janet M(a)cgregor in Gamrie Parish Register, but there are six in Kirkmichael - Margaret 1806, Jean 1808, Janet 1814, Margaret 1817, Elizabeth 1819, Donald 1821.

Also some in other places with the same parents' names - Ann, 1798, Monzie; Janet, 1799, Fowlis Wester; Ann, 1801, Fowlis Wester; Donald, 1831, Kenmore, all of which are in Perthshire. (There is a marriage of a John Stewart to Janet McGregor in Fortingall, Perthshire, in 1817, which probably accounts for Donald; the parish of Fortingall is next door to the parish of Kenmore.)

Peter's age is listed as 43 in 1851, 53 in 1861 and 63 in 1871, which is very consistent. Therefore he must have been born between about April 1807 and March 1808, give or take a few days. Jean, daughter of John Stewart/Stuart and Janet McGregor in Kirkmichael (Banffshire), was baptised on 10 July 1808. Her elder sister Margaret was baptised on 11 May 1806. That's a gap of 26 months - so if Peter was another child of this same couple, they cannot have stayed very long in Glenelg.

BTW I now cannot find the marriage in 1803 to which I referred earlier! But I am now looking at one in Balquhidder on 12 May 1759, one in Fowlis Wester on 23 March 1794, one in Kirkmichael on 1 May 1806 and one also in Kirkmichael on 31 January 1807, one in Tain on 18 April 1825, one in Comrie on 15 June 1933, all of John Stewart/Stuarts to Janet McGregors.

[grammy2]

I was mistaken.  It is Kirkmichael instead of Gamrie. 

This may be a wild goose chase.  I wish I knew that the Ancestry information came from a primary source instead of a guess.

[Forfarian]

This may be a wild goose chase.  I wish I knew that the Ancestry information came from a primary source instead of a guess.

Never trust anything you find online unless it is an image of an original document. Especially, don't trust Ancestry or any other commercial web site where any member of the public can submit (mis)information. Always go to the original source.

See http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=714261.0

You will have deduced from what I have already said that I am doubtful that the family in Kirkmichael is yours, though it's not impossible.

[GR2]

At Doune kirkyard, Macduff.

Erected by Peter Stewart Melrose to the memory of his beloved dau. Mary Ann d. 4 Oct. 1870 aged 15. The said Peter Stewart departed this life 26 June 1878 aged 71. Also his wife Margaret George d. 8 Jan. 1895 aged 80.

The next stone is blank, the one after that is to John McGregor, labourer Macduff (d. 1922 aged 65), his wife Isabella MacRobb (d. 1903, aged 48), and several of their family.