Brick Wall - Marriage (1700s)

[gtinCan]

Hello, all.

I've hit a bit of a brick wall in my family research: I have no idea who the wife of one of my many times great-grandfathers was.

It's not in the recorded family history, I can't find an entry on ScotlandsPeople, and tree information on Ancestry is incorrect.  There are a few people who shared his name (and have complete marriage records), but my own research has eliminated them from consideration.  I know who his wife wasn't, if that makes sense.

I know that he was a guild burgess of Edinburgh, and that one of his sons was baptized in Old St. Paul's in 1740.  And that's really all that I have to run with (there's no mention of his wife in the available burgess records).

At this point, I'm looking for advice on whether or not it would be a useful endeavour to hire someone to consult any additional records in Edinburgh (if there's anything relevant) that I can't access from where I live (I'm outside of the UK).

What's your $0.02?

Thanks!

[iluleah]

It is/was fairly normal for any marriage to take place at the brides parish so if the bride didn't come from Scotland but England/Wales/Ireland ( for example) then that is where you would look which are not on Scotlandspeople.

As you know he was a  Guild Burgess (or Merchant) I would do more research on that and see if/where his  trading took him, if there was any other areas of the British Isles that had some connection with the business he was in.
As an example wool merchants,  the best weavers lived in Flanders and in the rich cloth-making towns of Bruges, Ghent and Ypres, they were ready to pay top prices for the best wool, also Calais in France was at one time British and where wool was bought and sold. Or some of the best master stone masons came from Leicester and Rutland and many moved to Scotland, so there are connections via trade and crafts people.

[DonM]

If you post his name and known children you might get some help. 

As far as doing it on your own have you searched Wills on Scotlands People, Newspapers - British Newspaper Archives http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk has the Caledonian Mercury and Scotsman cover 1700 onwards quite nicely. 

How about the NRS online http://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/nrsonlinecatalogue/welcome.aspx 

As a Burgess he would have most likely had a marriage contract.  This might be referenced in the NRS or it may require a professional local researcher to obtain.

Don

[Sandgrounder1]

I also have burgesses in my tree.  Some of the old burgess records also give a wife's name.  If you post what information you have on here particularly full name, approximate dates and location, I will have a look at some of my records.

[gtinCan]

It is/was fairly normal for any marriage to take place at the brides parish so if the bride didn't come from Scotland but England/Wales/Ireland ( for example) then that is where you would look which are not on Scotlandspeople.

As you know he was a  Guild Burgess (or Merchant) I would do more research on that and see if/where his  trading took him, if there was any other areas of the British Isles that had some connection with the business he was in.
As an example wool merchants,  the best weavers lived in Flanders and in the rich cloth-making towns of Bruges, Ghent and Ypres, they were ready to pay top prices for the best wool, also Calais in France was at one time British and where wool was bought and sold. Or some of the best master stone masons came from Leicester and Rutland and many moved to Scotland, so there are connections via trade and crafts people.

That's something that I didn't know.  Thanks for the tip!

[gtinCan]

My ancestor was George Boswell, a saddler who was born around Kinghorn (Fife) to Walter Boswell, also a saddler, and Margaret Robertson, his wife.  George was baptized in February 1703 in Burntisland parish, and grew up at his father's home in Balbarton, Fife.

George was apprenticed to another Walter Boswell (I assume a cousin of his father's), saddler, in Edinburgh on August 13th 1718.  He was entered a burgess of Edinburgh on February 15th 1727.

George and his wife had four children that I know of: Helen (born 1732), David (born 1740), Margaret, and Walter (birth years of the last two are unknown).  George died in Edinburgh in November 1769.

Cheers!

[gtinCan]

If you post his name and known children you might get some help. 

As far as doing it on your own have you searched Wills on Scotlands People, Newspapers - British Newspaper Archives http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk has the Caledonian Mercury and Scotsman cover 1700 onwards quite nicely. 

How about the NRS online http://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/nrsonlinecatalogue/welcome.aspx 

As a Burgess he would have most likely had a marriage contract.  This might be referenced in the NRS or it may require a professional local researcher to obtain.

Don

Posted below!

[gtinCan]

I also have burgesses in my tree.  Some of the old burgess records also give a wife's name.  If you post what information you have on here particularly full name, approximate dates and location, I will have a look at some of my records.

See below - cheers!

[Sandgrounder1]

I can't see any information!