Looking for Alexander Davidson b1812-3 son of Alexr Davidson and Isabella Nicol

[Maggie Knockater]

I'm looking for the birth of Alexander Davidson (one of many). His death certificate records his parents as Alexander Davidson shoemaker and Isabella Nicol and his age as 55 at his death on 29/10/1868. That would put his birth as 1813 or late 1812.

Census data show:
Year         Place                                   Age   Year of birth   Birthplace
1841    Memsie, Rathen                        25    1805 -1813     Aberdeenshire
1851    Cairns of Memsie                     38    1812 -1813     Fraserburgh
1861    Blacksmith's Shop, Memsie     48    1812 -1813     Fraserburgh

   
He was working as a blacksmith and living with wife Elizabeth Findlater and children and I have found the marriage and births in Scotland's People. The marriage certificate does not record any names other then those of the couple. Alexander is recorded as of Rathen  which is probably, but not necessarily, his birthplace and could well appear as Fraserburgh in censuses.

Problem is I can find no birth of A(lexander) Davidson born in 1812 or 1813 to parents A* anywhere in Scotland who would fit. By fit, I mean that of 8 Alexander Davidsons born in 1812-3, none has a father A(lexander) and mother Isabel(la)Nicol in any spelling.

I searched for a marriage record in Scotland for A* Davidson and Is* between 1780 and 1815 and found no matches near or far.

If mother was 17 in 1812-3 then she was born in 1795-6
If she was 47 in 1812-13 then she was born 1765-6
So marriage date is 1782 - 1814

Plausible birth Isobel Nicol 1780 in Pitsligo which is the best geographical match and would put her at 32/3 for the birth of Alexander BUT there is no sign of a marriage and no indication of an Isobel Nicol in any spelling giving birth. The records for that period show the mother's unmarried name if it is shown at all.
What am I missing?

Searched censuses for Alexander Davidson, shoemaker and found one family in 1841 in Lands of Phingask, Fraserburgh: Alexander 55, Margaret 60, Margaret 60, Margaret 20, Alexander 15 all born in Aberdeenshire.
In 1851 they were at Greenbank, Fraserburgh: Alexr 69 born Fraserburgh, Margret wife 70 born Elgin, Margret  dau 33 born Fraserburgh, Alexr nephew 6.
By 1861 there's no sign of the parents and a potential match for daughter Margaret as house servant in Peterhead.
No sign of deaths in1851-61 window
Occupation fits but not wife's name

Searched censuses for Alexander Davidson (no occupation) living with Isabella and found in 1841 at Stirling Hill, Peterhead: Alexander mason 48, Isabella 45, James 15, Isabella 7, George 5 all born in Aberdeenshire.
In 1851 they were still at the same address; Alexr 61 mason born Lonmay, Isabella, 54 wife, Isabella dau, 17 both born Peterhead
(Seems odd that Alexander's age in 1841 was not multiple of 5 and if the ages in 1851 were correct, then they should have been shown as 50 and 40 in 1841- strange.)
Wife's name fits but not occupation

Found an Isabella Nicol unmarried in 1851 aged 64 living in Pitblea, Fraserburgh with her unmarried sister Ann and niece and nephew.
Were Alexander Davidson and Isabella Nicol ever married?
Could be that they were unmarried parents of Alexander Davidson the blacksmith and Alexander Davidson the shoemaker then went on to marry Margaret.
No sign of a marriage of AD and Margaret around 1812 or even before.
Even if they were not married, Alexander's birth should be recorded in 1812-13.

Am still no nearer finding a line back from blacksmith Alexander Davidson 1812/3 who was my great-great grandfather.

Can anyone shed any light, please?

[GR2]

There is a stone in the old kirkyard at Rathen with the following inscription.

The late Alexander Davidson blacksmith Memsie d. 29 Oct. 1868 aged 55; his wife Elizabeth Findlater d. 27 Jan. 1881 aged 67. Their 4th daughter Penelope widow of William Lamb d. Aberdeen 15 July 1944 aged 90.

[ruthhelen]

What, exactly, does the death registration for your Alexander Davidson, blacksmith, say about his parents, and who registered the death? Does it say for his mother: 'Isabella Davidson MS. Nicol' or just 'Isabella Nicol', or something else? If it's the former, and the death was registered by a close family member, then Alexander and Isabella may well have been married - but there's no guarantee that's the case. If the latter, then it's likely they weren't married. However, death registrations are notoriously inaccurate records of parentage, since, by definition, the deceased isn't around to confirm that the details given to the registrar are accurate.

For Alexander's birth circa. 1812/1813, there won't be a birth certificate or registration - statutory registration of births in Scotland wasn't introduced until 1855. What you may find, if you're lucky, is an entry in the parish register recording the baptism of the child, but this is far less likely if the child was illegitimate - many parishes wouldn't baptise an illegitimate child unless both parents attended (so the father was essentially recognising the paternity of the child).

However, even if the birth was legitimate, and Alexander's parents were married, there's still no guarantee that the baptism is recorded in the parish records. The surviving parish records are far from complete - some have been lost, and some parishes were simply poor at keeping them.

Ruth

[Forfarian]

He was working as a blacksmith and living with wife Elizabeth Findlater and children and I have found the marriage and births in Scotland's People. The marriage certificate does not record any names other then those of the couple.

. No. This is not a marriage certificate. Alexander Davidson and Elizabeth Findlater were married in 1838. Marriage certificates did not exist until the start of statutory civil registration in 1855. This record is the church record of proclamation of banns, and it is very unusual for a proclamation of banns to say anything about the couple's parents.

Plausible birth Isobel Nicol 1780 in Pitsligo which is the best geographical match

Please don't go there! Isobel/Isabel/Isabella Nic(h)ol(l) is a common name. Just because there is only one likely-looking candidate does not mean that it's the right one. There are large numbers of people whose baptism records have simply not survived. This is especially true of Aberdeenshire, where many people were adherents of the Episcopal Church rather than of the Church of Scotland.

[Maggie Knockater]

Thank you all for your helpful comments and rapid responses.

The details about the stone in Rathen churchyard fill in a couple of gaps viz Elizabeth Findlater's death and their daughter Penelope's husband and date of death. I suspect a visit might be productive for some of the rest of the family.

Alexander Davidson's death was registered by his son James who is recorded as being present. However, the details of his mother merely state her name and occupation as "Isabella Nicol Dom: Servant (Deceased)" so it looks as if his parents were not married. That is a useful detail to remember for the future.

I must admit I was disappointed that the record of Alexander and Elizabeth Findlater's marriage was not more informative but again, another useful lesson.
Yes, I wasn't over confident about ascribing the Pitsligo Isobel Nicol to be Alexander's mother.

I have tried looking at Episcopal (and Catholic) records on Scotland's People but they are pretty sparse as yet compared with the Kirk's.

Given, as you say, that many baptismal records have not survived then I have to accept that's as far as I can go with that line.
 

[Forfarian]

There is one possibility. You know that he was born in Fraserburgh and that he was illegitimate. Therefore it is possible that the Kirk Session got wind of his mother's pregnancy and summoned her, and his father, to answer for their sin. If so, there could be something in the Fraserburgh Kirk Session records that might shed some light.

The surviving Kirk Session records are in the National Records of Scotland, and they are supposed to be becoming available on Scotland's People 'soon'. Whatever 'soon' means.

[Maggie Knockater]

Yes, I went to the National Records of Scotland and found the same story. I've come across this before. On my father's side an ancestor and her boyfriend were summoned to the Kirk Session and admonished. They were married pronto and the first of their subsequent 12 children was born a week later.
Thank you for the tip and I'll keep checking Scotland's People.

[ruthhelen]

I’m relatively confident that the unmarried Isabella Nicol who is in Pitblea, Fraserburgh - with her unmarried sister Ann in 1841 and 1851, and on her own at 34 Shore Street, Fraserburgh in 1861, with granddaughter Elspet Clubb - is the mother of your Alexander Davidson.

My reasoning is as follows:

Elspet Clubb (granddaughter, aged 4) is the illegitimate daughter of one Elspet/Elsie Hepburn and William Clubb (born 28 Apr 1856, Fraserburgh, at 34 Shore Street). Elspet Hepburn herself was the illegitimate daughter of Isabella Nicol - she went on to marry William Lawrence in St Nicholas in 1864, and her parents are named as George Hepburn and Isabella Nicol (who were not married).

Elspet Hepburn, aged 10, is in Memsie in 1841 with Alexander Davidson, Elizabeth Findlater and two of their children (Sarah, aged 2, and Andrew, 2 months) - no relationships are given in the 1841 census, but she would have been Alexander’s half-sister.

The final piece of the jigsaw for me: when Elspet Hepburn married William Lawrence in 1864, the two witnesses to the marriage were Andrew Davidson and James Davidson - Alexander Davidson’s two sons?

Isabella Nicol died in 1864 in Fraserburgh - her parent’s are recorded as George Nicol and Isabella Park. There are other Nicols in Fraserburgh at this time with the same parents - notably James Nicol, farmer at Pitblea, who was likely Isabella’s brother.

Now, whether the Alexander Davidson, shoemaker, who is in Fraserburgh from 1841 onwards is your Alexander’s father is a whole other thing, but it’s certainly possible.

Ruth

[Forfarian]

This may have nothing to do with this family, but I have a William Davidson Clubb, son of Alexander Clubb and Margaret Moir, born at 26 North Street, Peterhead on 19 November 1871, married Georgina Cowie on 1 January 1908, and had a son William James G Clubb, born at 24 Ugie Street, Peterhead on 17 November 1916. William Davidson Clubb died on 24 November 1944 at 28 Ugie Street, Peterhead.