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Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => Inverness => Topic started by: woodvillecaz on Friday 12 November 10 21:45 GMT (UK)
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Can anyone help me to find out about my relative Kenneth McLean who ended up in Loftus Yorkshire and married jane Wilkinson ther in 1787. I cannot find his birth record in England so now trying Scotland and think he may have originated from the inverness area but not sure.
Thanks.
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Hello! This is my ancestor too and I've reached a similar wall. Would be very interested in learning more. Sorry this isn't an anwer to your query!
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Hi MisterMc,
Wow. That is great. I am related through Donald McLean who ended up in Golspie. And you??
Woodvillecaz
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Hello woodvillecaz
So you're of Donald (born circa 1847), the elder brother of Kenneth (b1849) from whom I am a descendent? Great stuff! I see from your posts you're in Scotland, my g'g'father (kenneth b1884) came to London from Loftus before my g'father (1914-1993) was born and we're now based in Surrey.
I will send you a photo of our common ancestor Alexander McLean's gravestone (also Eliz. nee Jackson), his second wife I learn in Loftus, a marble one no less.
Also I have a picture of Donald's brother, my g'g'g'father and g'g'father (both Kenneth) which I must dig out for my own tree.
I'm sure you're in posession of more information than me but according to my father (some of) the McLean records used to reside with Jessie (Donald's neice) in Harrogate until her death aged 100 in 1990s and have since apparenty disappeared unfortunately.
Do ask questions and I'll see what I have, but mainly I'm building the framework at the moment.
Cheers for now,
mistermc
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Hello MisterMc,
Thank you for that photo and info. That is wonderful to see. This is some of the info I have..and as far back as I have got...
Kenneth McLean born 1752 to 1759 married Jane Wilkinson in 1787. I have a copy of the marriage certificate. I will photograph and send by email to you if you don't have it.
They were married in Lofthouse and he was a labourer. Someone checked and there is no record ofMcLean baptisms in Lofthouse/Loftus from 1708 to 1742. Mention on certificate a Wiliam Wilkinson. Could be her father.
Children..William born Sept 1787
Thomas born Mar 1789
James born Oct 1790
Kenneth born 1792
Mary born 1794
Peggy born 1796
Jane born 1798
Alexander born 1803
Brother of Alexander, Kenneth 1792, married Ann and had Mary 1820, Thomas 1821, Kenneth 1824, James 1823,
Jane 1827, George 1829, and William 1832.
Ebenezer Independent Church.
You may want to check these details for yourself.
There was a Kenneth McClean in prison in the 1801 Loftus census and this may have been "our" Kenneth.
Hope this helps,
Woodvillecaz.
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Hello again,
Just some more info..
Alexander McLean married Margaret Elizabeth Moore who died in 1840. She was born Northallerton.
They had Elizabeth 1833
Anne 1835
He then remarried Elizabeth Jackson in 1844 and had William 1845
Isabella 1848
Donald 1847
Kenneth 1850
In 1828, mentioned in Teeside Archives, they were involved in the building of a chapel or meetinghouse
Alexander McLean..Yeoman
1878 Donald McLean, land agent, and Kenneth McLean, druggist, mention of conveyance of land for chapel building...you will need to check that one out. Just seen the synopsis and not real document.
Information about Loftus in CommuniGate website under Loftus. and Alexander mentioned in list of residents.
Don't know how to find Kenneths birthplace as there is no mention anywhere of a birthplace.
On Rootschat someone had information about an McLeans of Whitby and I will send it to you by email.
Don't think I am allowed to copy the marriage certificate of Kenneth to Jane in 1787 so can't send that.
Woodvillecaz
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Hello woodvillecaz and MisterMc
I've just discovered all your posts on the McLean family from Loftus. I to have links to this family down through Alexander's elder brother Kenneth born 1792. The one who married Ann Best.
However, don't build your hopes up as I'm also stuck with where the eldest Kenneth came from, although it has been suggested to me that he came from Scotland as he worked at the Alum mines belonging to the Earl of Zetland who had estates in Scotland and so I'm told brought some of the men from his estates to work the alum mines.
I have copies of the documents held at Teesside Archives mentioning Alexander, Donald and Kenneth. Also information from old newspapers on Donald McLean 1847 who was very involved in the Loftus community before moving to Golspie where he was factor for the Duke of Sutherland.
I've also got lots of info on the Whitby/Sandsend McLeans and thought that there must be a connection to the Loftus ones but have not found any link, although I've lots of information on that branch as well.
If you've any questions please ask, although the one thing I am lacking is photo's of individuals. It would be wonderful to be able to put some faces to all the factual information I hold.
Look forward to hearing from you both
Baygil
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Hi Baygil,
This is wonderful news. It is great to find more relatives and to get some more information. Between us we are really filling in the picture. I think you are right in saying that the original kenneth came from Scotland and so we will have to keep digging.
Will be in touch with some more information,
Woodvillecaz.
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Hello babygil
(and hello woodvillecaz, I see you've just posted a message seconds before I posted mine!)
Thanks for getting in touch, it's very good to hear from you.
woodvillecaz and I are both descendents of Alexander b1803. woodvillecaz is descended from his son Donald (who went to Golspie to be Factor to Duke of Sutherland) and I'm descended from Donald's brother Kenneth b 1849 who also had a hand in the Alum mines.
The Whitby /Sandsend McLeans do seem to bear some relation though exactly what isn't very clear yet. woodvillecaz did suggest the possibility of a whaling boat which landed at Whitby and from there some may have gone inland a little to Loftus but this is only speculation at the moment. As you suggest, the Scotland connection looks strong and Invernessshire looks like a good place to start but again, this is only based on hunches and snippets of information. Nothing concrete unfortunately! My dad who is retired is threatening to go to Scotland and do some digging but without something firm to go on it could be a waste of time.
My Great Uncle who is 90 in Edinburgh has sent me a photo of Donald (as Factor) from an illustrated news magazine in 1901 (from an article: Leading Agricultral Men of the North) and I also have a photo of Kenneth b1849 aged about 13 so I will let you have copies if you would like.
I'm interested in the articles you have from Teeside Archives. If it's not too much trouble, would it be possible to have copies of your copies please??
If you are on Ancestry.co.uk then I can give you access to my tree...but if not then I can send you an image of the McLean tree we've completed so far and I've very much like to know more about your branch too. Kenneth b1792 is one of the few people for whom I have names of children with Ann Best but nothing more.
So where are you based?
Kind regards,
mistermc
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Hi Baygil...
(and thank you MisterMc for posting that comprehensive reply.)
I will continue on the McRae side of things to see if there is a link with any Mcleans in the Inverness area prior to Donald's marriage to Sarah Mcrae and to see if this leads to the original Kenneth's birthplace.
I would love some copies too if that would be ok with you,
Woodvillecaz.
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Hi Mistermc and Woodvillecas,
Thank you for your replies.
As I said my link comes in through Kenneth who married Ann Best although it's not actually a direct one. However, I linked up some years ago with a descendant who is. We both connect through Kenneth's son James who was born in 1823 and married Mary Wilson in Whitby. I think from your posts you have all the dates but any that you are missing I can let you have. James and Mary had a daughter Ann and two sons James and Kenneth. James married a sister of my g.g.grandmother and is my link to the McLeans and Kenneth married Sarah Richardson which is where, who is now a friend, comes in. We had a short holiday together a few years ago, visiting Loftus, Whitby and area and two visits to Teesside Archives. Actually, the photo of Alexander McLean's headstone that you posted looks like the one that we took on this visit. The documents mentioning Alexander, Kenneth and Donald are too large to scan in, 4 sheets of A3 for each document, but we may be able to find a way round it.
I became particularly interested in Donald and found a number of articles in the old newspapers about him, including one where he opened the Dornoch Light Railway in 1902. There's a photo which Donald must be on but I've no idea who he is so yes please to a copy of the one you have and also one of the Kenneth 1849. I do have a subscription to Ancestry.
Funny your dad threatening to go to Scotland, we considered that but decided it would be something of a wild goose chase without something more concrete to go on. I've always wondered if it's why Donald ended up in Scotland or if it was just co-incidence. If you are on Ancestry you will have seen the WW1 Service Record for Kenneth McLean born 1884, the Pharmacist/Chemist from Harrogate.
I have to admit that lots of my information from the Archives is still in the form of notes, I never seem to get the time to get it all on the computer. Family commitments at the moment take up a lot of time. I don't know if theres a way to contact you directly as I'm not very good at the technical side and would find it much easier to send you images etc directly if possible. I'm new to Rootschat and don't know what's persmiible and what isn't.
Kenneth and James both ended up in what is now Hartlepool and I have information on their families but not sure jst how much you would like. Anyway, just let me know and I'll help where I can.
Regards,
Baygil
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Hi baygil
Thanks for coming back. My email is ross75 at gmail dot com (you'll need to put that together in email format as I think this site will block whole email addresses). We can then communicate with woodvillecaz too via email.
If you have a digital camera then that might be the best way to "photocopy" the A3 documents. I work in internet technologies and design so will be able to piece together several photos if need be. Either way, I'm more than willing to help with what I can so please do ask.
I'm sure you'll be able to ID Donald in the photo from the picture I have. I seem to remember something to the effect that he opened the railway on behalf of the Duke who was indisposed...or something.
Interestingly the Kenneth you mention, b 1884 - the Chemist from Harrogate is my Great Grandfather and it is this Kenneth from which my photo of Donald comes (via my Great Uncle). He was injured in WW1 but managed to re-open his pharmacy for a bit but succumbed to legacy trench fever and malignant endocarditis in 1922. I have a photo of him too with my grandfather from about 1921.
Look forward to hearing from you via email when you have the time.
mistermc
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I am new to this site and looking for help around the McLean family that were in Loftus in the late 1700's. Kenneth McLean born around 1752 in Scotland is my great, great, great , great grandfather through his son Kenneth born 1792 his George born 1829 his William Kenneth born in 1852, my grandad John Burdon McLean born 1887 and my Mum Jean born 1923 and still alive aged 90. Anyone with connections and information on the family?
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Hi Daviddas,
Do you know if your relatives were in Loftus? Where was your Kenneth in 1792 born? We have a family tree but not sure if this is your family.
Woodvillecaz
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Thanks for the reply woodvillecaz. Yes the Kenneth born in 1792 was in Loftus and he married Ann Best. And later Johanna Jackson. From the first marriage one of the children was George born in 1829 who is my great great grandfather. George married Barbara Taylor and one of their children was William Kenneth in 1852 who married Margaret Green. One of their children was John Burdon McLean who was my grandad and he married twice. From his second marriage to Lilian Scott they had my Mum Jean in 1923. She married a Smith hence myself and my brother. I have done quite a bit of digging but could not get further back on the original Kenneth born 1752.
Are we from the same family somewhere along the line?
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Hi Daviddas,
This is exciting. We have the same ancestors! I haven't been able to find out where the original Kenneth Mclean, born approx 1752, was born. How did you find out he was born in Scotland and where was he born? Am in touch with others in the tree and they hope to reply to you as well.
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To be honest I am not sure where I picked up the Scotland link for the first Kenneth as I haven't any actual information to say that is correct. I certainly cannot find anything about him prior to Loftus but he does not appear to be from there.
We live in Buckinghamshire but amazing to think my Mum is within 25 miles of Loftus and my grandparents were from Stockton and Scarborough. Until I started the family tree Mum didn't know anything about these links at all.
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Hi Daviddas,
It is so amazing when you start to look into your family history and it must be lovely for your mum. I cannot get further back than Kenneth's marriage and so am sure he must be from somewhere other than Loftus but can't find out where. There are no McLeans in the records or gravestones prior to them.
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Thanks. Which branch of the family are you linked too?
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We have the same common ancestor Kenneth McLean and he had your Kenneth and our Alexander McLean born 1803, I think. He worked in the alum mines for the Earl of Zetland. He had Donald McLean and he had my grandfather William Lawrence McLean.
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Meant to say that he married Jane Wilkinson...the original Kenneth that is. I am sure he is from Scotland. Does the original birth certificate for your Kenneth have any information i.e witnesses etc.
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Hello davidas
You sure seem to be part of the same clan descended from Kenneth 1752. All the info you mention seems to tally. As woodvillecaz says, the trail ends there for the time being.
Kenneth 1752 is also my 4x Gt G'father > Alexander 1803 > Kenneth 1849 > Kenneth > 1884 > Alexander 1914 (my late G'father).
With a huge amount of help from both woodvillecaz and babygil, I've constructed an ancestry tree which extends to 500+ people now. Anyway, I have your G'father John B of Stockton (now updated to Burdon) and siblings and would be very happy to let you have access to the tree should you be happy to exchange info on some of your ancestors. I will need your email address so if you email me at ross75 at gmail dot com I can set you up with access. No obligation of course.
Does your mum have many memories about her aunts/uncles? My great uncle Colin (Alexander 1914's brother) died aged 91 early this year having left me with some pretty strange and wonderful stories about his.
mistermc
PS I was born and live in Surrey but a number of family walking holidays to the beautiful Yorkshire Dales and Moors led us to think of Yorks as another home, ignorant though we were of the long connection.
PPS woodvillecaz - hello - I think babygil was also descended through Kenneth 1792 (like davidas) and then through either George or James. I will need to refresh my memory :)
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Great to hear from you Mistermc and exciting to have another member of the tree. Thank you for the credit though I think you have put in far more work than us all.
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Have just found this site and also seemingly new distant relatives. And it is good to find the 1750s Kenneth Mclean. His son, also Kenneth Mclean (born 1793 in Loftus) was my g.g.g.grandfather. He is listed as first a clerk and later overseer and then retired manager to the alum works in Loftus. The works I think closed around 1863. Two of Kenneth (jnr)'s sons, George (my g.g.grandfather) and John were flour millers at Spite Mill (now a house) in Osmotherley. George married Barbara / Barbra Taylor from Dalton on Tees. He died around 1863 and just before the birth of his 4th son, George (born 1864), according to my grandmother, of a respiratory illness related to milling. Did the two sons of Kenneth jnr complete apprenticeships, I ask myself, at the alum works before transferring their skills to grain? George's widow, Barbara, then moved to Stockton where she ran a grocery business. She died in 1898. My great grandfather, another George, is listed as a youth in the census as a millwright, but he is later mentioned as a joiner and worked as a pattern maker at the foundary in Middleton St George. John Mclean, born 1859 and son of Barbara Taylor and George Mclean apparently was a farmer in Dalton. Did he inherit Barbara Taylor's family farm?
My grandma (died in mid 1980s) had several stories about the Mcleans 'way back'; that they came originally from the Inverness, that they had something to do with the Argyll estates (tho' I have no proof of this). Also that the Taylors (as in Barbara) were apparently associated with the Whitby jet trade (tho' again I have no evidence). I (and my mother) would love to catch up your research so that we can fill in the holes in ours. Interestingly, just back from visiting my mother's cousin near Thirsk who is the grandaugher of George Mclean the pattern maker in Middleton St George. She has the family name of Barbara, her father was called Wm Kenneth and her brother Kenneth!
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PS other of my grandmother's tales included that someone in the family was a pharmacist and that there were land agents / factors. These memories might relate to the sons of her great uncle, Alexander brother of Kenneth jnr (her great grandfather) as it is possible that she had knowledge of second cousins - the family seemed quite close and 'clannish'. She also said that someone was a sea captain.
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Hi Belem. Just got this reply. Great to see another branch of the tree opening up. Your Grandmother was quite correct in her stories as you can see from the tree. I will forward this info to MisterMc who has the whole tree and he may be in touch for you to be able to see it. He has some post further down this topic which you can read and he has been a great help to me in piecing it all together. Thanks for all the wonderful information. Have you viewed the original birth certificate for Kenneth born 1793 because it may say where his father was born because that is what I would like to ascertain. Where did Kenneth 1750s originate from and how come he ended up in Loftus. Alexander 1803 is where my branch stems from and he and his son worked in the mines too. It would be good to see the mining records and see what information is there. Also loftus had a census 1801 and it says there was a Kenneth Mclean in prison. Could this be your Kenneth's (1793) father? Haven't been able to find a prison record of that either. Lots still to find out.
Thanks again.
Woodvillecaz
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Thanks for responding so quickly.
No, I haven't seen the birth certificate (did these exist in the 1750s?) and had been working thro' the documents on Ancestry.co. I stumbled across this site and the thread with delight at the weekend when my mother visited. I had, however, written to the Loftus Historical Society to see if they knew of any relevant documents / histories and will let you know if I have a reply. I specifically asked if they knew of a list of indentures for apprentices as somehow, George and John, grandsons of the original Kenneth became flour millers. I wondered if they had been trained as millers of alum in the quarries. Also strange that a labourer's family in the late 18th century so quickly became middle class / professionals. Maybe displacement post Jacobite uprising meant that perhaps an educated original Kenneth had to work with his hands to earn his crust but that aspirations / sense of a place in the world persisted. I'm also very surprised at how itinerant the family seems to have been; Scotland to North Yorkshire (all over), then London, back to Scotland, Nottingham, etc etc. Always believed that folk ion the past were very rooted, but maybe once you have been displaced, the roots never dig very deep!
Thanks again and will be watching / contributing over the next wee while
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I too have wondered how they have moved up socially so quickly. Have you seen this site..http://www.communigate.co.uk/ne/loftushistory/ It lists Alexander McLean as clerk in the Loftus 1840 section of the page. Also I have a copy of Kenneth 1750s marriage certificate which lists him as labourer and it is signed by him but in my opinion it is an educated signature for a labourer of the day (no disrespect to labourers intended here). In another directory it lists Alexander as gentry but haven't been able to locate where I found this info yet.
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Hi Belem and welcome to the site! I cannot quite piece together from your post your exact line in the tree. We same to have the same Gig grandfather Kenneth and then the same gg grandfather George born 1829. I have quite a bit of info from that line. One of their children was William Kenneth 1852-1922 who married Margaret Green 1854-1923. One of their children was my grandfather John Burdon McLean 1887-1975 born in Stockton who married twice- first to Sabina Wills 1892-1917 and they had my aunt Sabina May McLean 1917-2002. From grandad second marriage to Lillian Scott 1889-1983 born in Scarborough- they had my mum Jean McLean born 1923 in Middlesbrough and still with us at 91.
I have quite lot of other details added to by mistermc who has been very helpful but I haven't fitted them all in yet! My e mail address is * if you want to ask questions direct.
We are off to see my Mum next week who still lives in Middlesbrough. In September we have a week in the area so am aiming to go to Loftus as we know there are records there and in the local cemetery.
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Hi! and thanks
I am descended from William's younger brother George. George jnr does not appear on any census along with his father George senior (m Babbara Mclean and the miller at Spite Mill) because he was born after his father died of a pulmonary related (according to my grandma) to milling. George jnr was born at Spite Mill (again, according to my grandma) and then Barbara moved to Stockton on Tees where she had a grocer's business. George junior is my great grandfather, so Wm would be my great great uncle. Below I've copied and pasted the 1871 census entry for Barbara Mclean nee Taylor when she had moved to Stockton. In 1881 she was living in Tower St (I forgot to make a note of the address for 1871). You will see Wm aged 14 and George aged 7. My grandmother was George's youngest daughter, Olive May, born Stockton but moving as a child to New Row in Middleton St George. She met my grandfather as a penpal during WWI and moved aged about 20 to Nott'm. There are still Mclean descendants in Middleton St George thro' grandma's older sister Lizzie, but they have the surname Gayles. Have a good trip north! Will be in touch
1871 census
30
Name:
Barbara McLean
Age:
44
Estimated birth year:
abt 1827
Relation:
Head
Gender:
Female
Where born:
Dalton, Yorkshire, England
Civil Parish:
Holy Trinity
Ecclesiastical parish:
Holy Trinity
Town:
Stockton
County/Island:
Durham
Country:
England
Registration district:
Stockton
Sub-registration district:
Stockton
ED, institution, or vessel:
35
Household schedule number:
38
Piece:
4905
Folio:
110
Page Number:
7
Household Members:
Name
Age
Barbara McLean
44
William McLean
14
Annie McLean
14
George McLean
7
John McLean
30
Robert Arton
33
George Walker
19
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George Mclean (born 1830), son of Kenneth Mclean junior
I wrote to the Loftus History Group enquiring about any record of the family of Kenneth Mclean locally. Unfortunately the group folded over a year ago, however, they kindly passed my query onto Rodney Begg from the Loftus History Group who was able to provide some very interesting information, both on George Mclean and the alum industry in and around Loftus. Here is what he says:
'George McLean (born 1830) was at Darlington in 1851, as a servant to a master Miller. From this I would assume that he was apprenticed about 1845 (I haven’t studied the indenture terms for a miller, but i would assume 5 – 7 years. As his brother John is with George at Spite Mill, Osmotherley in 1861, 2 years before George’s death, but at home with his parents in 1851, then it is fair to assume that as he gives his profession as Miller then he was apprenticed to his brother George.
(Although he worked for a miller called Thomas) Taylors, (Rodney hasn't) found any trace of a relationship (between these Taylors and the family of Barbra / Barbara Taylor (born Dalton on Tees))'.
The census is difficult to read, but the mill may be called Steam Mill
'The alum works stretched from Hummersea to Boulby, along the cliffs. I would recommend “The Loftus Alum Makers” by Peter Appleton, a local researcher, as an easy-to-read non-technical book. Although specifically about the Hunton family (who would be Alum Managers when your relative was the clerk of the Alum Works), it gives a good overview of the declining years of the Alum Industry – your relative was to be the last manager of the Alum Works – it was closed between 1861 and 1871 as the process became redundant, superseded by the Sulphuric Acid process which was much more efficient and it too was to become redundant with the invention of Aniline Dyes, which didn’t require fixing!
There were millers at the Alum Works – not corn millers, but cement millers! The process is the same, only a local cementite rock is ground down between the stones to make the cement dust to cast into conduits and channels used in the making of the Alum. They would find it very easy to adapt to corn milling when the works closed.
Gallihow (where Kenneth Mclean lived near Loftus) is in the middle of the Boulby Alum Working area and cottages exist there to this day, still inhabited.'
Belem
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Hi Belem,
Thank you for that very interesting information and it really does fill in some more of the picture. Very interesting that the milling process is similar to milling flour and obviously a transferable skill. Will have to get this book to help understand the alum industry. Great that you got in touch with someone from the Local History Group. Thanks for passing the information on,
Woodvillecaz .
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Hello all
I came across this conversation by chance when searching for Loftus and I am now amazed at how much research has been done.
My great grandfather Newark Burton who died in 1939 at the age of 99 was born in Staithes lived in Saltburn (then under Marske) and was buried in Loftus. He married Annie McLean and his children were Donald McLean Burton- my grandfather, Annie, Kate, Isabel and Duncan. They were staunch Methodists so I havent found anything about them in parish registers, but I know Donald was born on the 28 Oct 1871. Strangely enough after he married they too lived in Middleton one Row before moving back to Saltburn. I have two photographs of Newark Burton as an old man, and also one I am fairly sure is Annie McLean.
I have assumed my Annie McLean is the one born to Kenneth McLean and Ann Best on the 17 July 1842 at Gallehow Loftus. If any one can confirm this and tell me how she fits into the bigger picture I would be very grateful.
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Hi Ianmack. My ancestor Donald McLean is a brother to your Kenneth McLean married to Ann Best. Mistermc on this thread is also related to your Kenneth McLean. Thanks for your information which helps greatly to fill in the tree.
All descended from the original Kenneth born 1760 ish. Still don't have an idea where he was born but died in Loftus.
Thanks for your info again.
Woodvillecaz.
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Hi!
Someone suggested that we might be able to find out a birthplace for Kenneth McLean of Loftus from his and Jane Wilkinson's the marriage bond (1787). I have received the following from the Borthwick Institute in Yourk, who hold such documents in their archives, but sadly the record does not indicate Kenneth birthplace:
''Thank you for your email. I can confirm that we hold the marriage bond (the paperwork associated with marriage by licence) for the marriage of Kenneth MacLean and Jane Wilkinson in 1787. Unfortunately, I don't think the bond is going to give you the information you are searching for. Marriage bonds don't give the place of birth of the bride and groom, but their place of residence at the time of the application. For people who didn't move far from home, this can be their place of birth but it isn't necessarily. For Kenneth McLean (as he signs his name on the bond), his place of residence is given as Lofthouse. He had probably been living in Lofthouse for some time before his marriage. Where marriages involved a minor, a parent needed to give consent and this can be another avenue for research but as Kenneth was of age (28), there was no need to involve his parents.
I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news. It is always difficult to track individuals when they move over long distances. I've had a look but I can't find any sign of a probate for Kenneth (which could have given hints to the whereabouts of his wider family). Is he likely to have fallen on the parish for relief? You could check to see if any poor law records survive for Loftus, as a settlement examination would give you good information about his movements - although, unfortunately, their survival is extremely patchy. The Loftus parish records are held by Teeside Archives. I have had a quick look at their online catalogue and can't see any settlement papers listed, but it would be worth checking with them as they may have other ideas about places to check.''
Best wisheas all
Belem
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Hi Belem,
It is a shame his name is not on the marriage certificate. I think he was a labourer. Maybe he has connections with the local mine. If we could see the records for the local mines in Loftus maybe a birth place may be mentioned. I am too far away to be able to visit but maybe someone would be able to go one day. I was thinking also that his original name may be William Kenneth as his first son was called William and they were usually called after the fathers father. Maybe worth looking for a William McLean and not Kenneth,
Wooddvillecaz
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Hi! Wooddvillecaz
The records do give both Kenneth's and Jane's names and place of abode but not the former's place of birth, which is what we are after.
Kenneth continued to be a family name down through our branch of the Mclean family from Kenneth jnr (b 1792) and his son, George (b 1829).
The archivist at the Borthwick had some good ideas, I think, for other possible clues. I'll try and contact Teeside Archives sometime, but it might take me a while to find the time, I'm afraid.
All the best
Belem