JAMES BROWN of Greenbank & Pitblae in FRASERBURGH late 1700s

[jonwicken]

My ancestor was Alexander Brown a shipwright who resided at Peterhead. The 1851 census shows he was aged 64 and born in Fraserburgh, so around 1786 to 1787.

The parish registers of Fraserburgh have only one Alexander Brown baptised on 7 June 1788. There are also no Alexander Browns for this period in the Episcopal registers either. Therefore this Alexander Brown baptism would appear to be my ancestor.

This 1788 baptism shows he was the son of a James Brown of Pitblea. I looked at the other baptisms of children of James Browns and there are 16 baptisms from 1768 to 1798. From the residences on the entries the children can be divided into the following six groups:

JAMES BROWN OF KINBOG:
1768 – Katharina Brown

JAMES BROWN OF PHILORTH
1775 – Robert Brown (In Fraserburgh 1841 & 1851 census. He died in 1860 and death shows mother had maiden name of Hunter.)
1777 – James Brown

JAMES BROWN OF GREENBANK
1777 – Mary Brown (must have died before 1781)
1778 – James Brown
1781 – Mary Brown
1784 – William Brown (Must have died before 1793)
1790 – George Brown
1793 – William Brown

JAMES BROWN OF PHINGASK
1780 – James Brown (Illegitimate son with Elisabeth Milne)

JAMES BROWN OF PITBLAE
1785 – unnamed Brown (entry is dated 16 Aug 1785 and is incomplete, reading ‘same day James Brown in Pitblea had a…’)
1785 – Agnes Brown (23 October 1785, perhaps Agnes is the same as the entry above and she ended up being baptised later in the year for some reason.)
1788 – Alexander Brown (My assumed ancestor)

JAMES BROWN OF PHILORTH
1791 – William Brown
1794 – Andrew Brown
1798 – John Brown

So looking at this information, if the 1788 baptism is my Alexander, the only sibling I could be certain of was Agnes Brown born in 1785 so I looked to see if I could find her in the records.

To my surprise I found Agnes Brown’s death in Fraserburgh in 1855 where she is listed as being aged 67. This would be a bit out for the 1785 baptism by two or three years but of course age differences are. She is listed as being the wife of Alexander Wilson. Her parents are listed as James Brown, cotton weaver, and Ann Forsyth.

Agnes’ death states that she died at ‘Greenbank Parish of Fraserburgh where she had continued to reside during life’.

This and the fact the death shows James Brown was a cotton weaver show James Brown of Pitblae and James Brown of Greenbank were one and the same man. The dates of the Pitblae baptisms fit into the gap of the Greenbank children. Also the 1790 baptism of George and 1793 baptism of William show this James Brown was a weaver, the same occupation on Agnes’ death.

Looking in the 1841 census, Agnes and her husband James are shown with a James Brown aged 90. This must be Agnes’ father, but unfortunately the burials in Fraserborough are defective so his death cannot be found.

On the 1777 baptism of Mary, 1778 baptism of James and 1781 baptism of Mary a James Brown and a William Penny were the witnesses. It would therefore seem likely that this James Brown’s father was therefore also named James Brown. I assume William Penny was a relative but no idea how.   

I then used the death indexes on Scotland’s people to see if there were any other Browns that had a mother with the maiden name Forsyth. To my surprised there were two but neither of them are in the baptisms of Fraserburgh:

Sophia Brown/Ross born c 1775-1779 Fraserburgh (according to the census) and died 1865 in Fraserburgh was also the daughter of James Brown and Ann Forsyth as this is given on her death.

Jane Brown/Hay born c1791-1792 (yet to find her in the census) and died 1861 in Fraserburgh was also the was also the daughter of James Brown and Ann Forsyth as this is given on her death too. Here her father has the occupation of a Tollkeeper. The person who registered her death was a Sarah Craighead who is listed as cousin.

I am now somewhat confused about this James Brown. I can’t find a marriage of a James Brown and Ann Forsyth and I can’t find baptisms of Sophia or Jane. I know the Fraserburgh registers are a bit defective so perhaps it is just this.

I am all a bit puzzled about this and wondered if anyone else might please be able to offer any suggestions, ideas and advice about how to unravel the family further.

Many thanks,
Jon

[flst]

Do you have details of Alexander's death? Is he still living in 1861? Have you searched for a headstone?
regards,
flst

[jonwicken]

Alexander Brown had died by the 1861 census as by then his wife Isabella Reid/Brown was a widow living in Rotherhithe, Surrey, with her daughter Elizabeth Brown/Shand. 

I have no idea if Alexander therefore died in Peterhead or perhaps came to England and died here. I have looked everywhere to find his death and have seen other Alexander Brown death and burials but not his.

It would really help if I could find it!

His marriage to Isabella Reid between c1809-1816 has also not not found, presumably because the marriage registers are sadly defective for Fraserburgh for this period.

Thanks for the reply,
Jon 

[jonwicken]

He was a ship carpenter so unlikely he had a gravestone either, unfortunately.

[jonwicken]

The death of Jane Brown/Hay in 1861 has Sarah Craighead being an informant. What do you think the relationship says? It is a variant of cousin? If anyone knows, please do throw your thoughts in!

Thank you.

[flst]

Do you know who Barbara Murdoch was? She is the head of the household in 1841 census. I did wonder if she was Alexander's mother. Scottish women use their maiden or married surname interchangeably. She died in December 1847 & is buried in St.Peter's Old Churchyard, Peterhead. Sadly I do not know if there is a headstone or not. It does look like Sarah was a cousin of Jane's. What address was given on the death certificate?
flst

[jonwicken]

Good reminder about Barbara Murdoch. I have seen that but could do with some revisiting for sure as she was head of the household. The burial gives no further indications and does not say whether she was married or not. There is a Barbara Mackie marriage to George Murdoch in Peterhead in 1801 but no idea if that is her or not.

I have found that Sarah Craighead was born Sarah Chalmers in c1816 and married firstly Alexander Brown in 1834 and then John Craighead in 1853. Presumably Sarah's first husband Alexander Brown was a relative of Jane Brown/Hay and explains the cousin relationship. I have no idea how thought at this moment...

All more to look into.

Thanks again,
Jon

[Forfarian]

The parish registers of Fraserburgh have only one Alexander Brown baptised on 7 June 1788. There are also no Alexander Browns for this period in the Episcopal registers either. Therefore this Alexander Brown baptism would appear to be my ancestor.

This is a classic error that you must not make. Many people's baptisms were never recorded and there could be another Alexander Brown whose baptism record has not survived.

It's fine to note that this recorded Alexander Brown may be yours, and to look for additional evidence, but without that additional evidence it's only a working hypothesis.

Also, don't confuse 'of' and 'in'. In older Scottish records someone described as 'of xxx' is generally the owner of xxx, while someone described as 'in xxx' is a tenant. Someone who is 'at xxx' is only there temporarily.

[jonwicken]

The parish registers of Fraserburgh have only one Alexander Brown baptised on 7 June 1788. There are also no Alexander Browns for this period in the Episcopal registers either. Therefore this Alexander Brown baptism would appear to be my ancestor.

This is a classic error that you must not make. Many people's baptisms were never recorded and there could be another Alexander Brown whose baptism record has not survived.

It's fine to note that this recorded Alexander Brown may be yours, and to look for additional evidence, but without that additional evidence it's only a working hypothesis.

Also, don't confuse 'of' and 'in'. In older Scottish records someone described as 'of xxx' is generally the owner of xxx, while someone described as 'in xxx' is a tenant. Someone who is 'at xxx' is only there temporarily.

Thanks very much for the reply, Forfian.

Don't worry I am being cautious with this. The fact this Alexander had siblings with names which do not appear to be replicated in his children has made me suspicious, however Alexander's eldest son was called James. I am looking into all the Browns in Fraserburgh at this time as well.

And like you say one lots of baptisms could be missing. I know for example that Sophia Brown and Jane Brown's baptism are missing which shows this to be the case with them completely. Brown is such a common name.

Thanks so much about the information on prepositions and how that changes the meaning. That is so very helpful and I had not heard that before. I will be looking trough quite a few documents now!

Thank you,
Jon