RootsChat.Com
Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => Topic started by: newmodernist on Friday 12 June 15 18:27 BST (UK)
-
I'm not sure what my next step is in terms of finding my G(xlike5) Grandmother.
Isabella Wright was born on June 22 1823 in Glasgow, Scotland - I have proof of this from her headstone. She married Alexander Main on Dec 31 1846. I used Scotlands People to look at the marriage record, but there is no record of her parents on there, and when I look for a birth record, nothing comes up with the June 22nd date. What would be my next step? I did a wider range search for her birth to possibly come up with a christening, but there's more than one Isabella Wright, so then I don't know which one it'd be!
I'm still pretty much a beginner at all of this, so suggestions on how to proceed would not only help me now, but enhance my techniques for the future!
Thanks in advance,
Amanda
-
As you have a headstone, you will know her date of death. Statutory death certificates from 1855 give the names of both parents.
-
Unfortunately she died in Canada which as of the date of her death did not record the names of parents. Any other options?
-
Do you know any given names for her siblings?
-
Have you searched 1841..............then 1851 after marriage from which you may be able to back-track to eliminate any possibles who are still at home in 1851 (if that makes sense) ???
That's assuming she was born then married same area ???
Annie
ADDED..........forgot to add the possibles would still be "U" unmarried rather than "M" married.
-
Unluckily enough, they'd immigrated by 1851. (1849) I've tried to find the '41 Census, but sadly there's more than one Isabella Wright available and I don't know of any siblings.
-
Okay, what names did Isabella and Alexander give to their children? And do you know who Alexander's parents' names were? By knowing these things, we can make some pretty good guesses about Isabella's parents' names. :)
Mary
in Canada (formerly of Scotland)
-
That's what I figured since that seems to happen so often. Their kids were:
Alexander Duncan Main
James Main
Elizabeth Findlay Main (findlay was the paternal grandmother)
Isabella Leckie Main (perhaps maternal grandmother?)
Jean Main
William Wright Main
Margaret Main
Ellen Main
I'll look again and see if anything springs up!
Amanda
in Scotland (formerly of Canada) ;D
EDIT - Can't find anything of interest on the Census, but I did find a marriage between a William Wright and a Isabella Leckie in Glasgow in 1820 (Isabella Wright was born in 1823) it SOUNDS good, but I have no real proof.
-
There's an Isabella Wright on 1841 census in Renfrewshire but I haven't looked at freecen yet
Not sure if you have these ???
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X17G-NQ2
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X17P-HX2
Annie
-
AG, there's a Rootschatter interested in Lanarkshire Main's, enter Main in the searchbox.
Skoosh.
-
There is also another thread on Rootschat that mentions the children of William WRIGHT and Isabella LECKIE, and unfortunately there is no mention of an Isabella born to them in 1823, but that doesn't mean it's a complete list. (Check out a thread entitled 'James Clarkson of Glasgow' on the Lanarkshire forum.) This particular family moved around from Barony, Lanarkshire to Renfrew, Renfrewshire to Row, Dunbartonshire.
-
Isabella Wright married Alexander Main on Dec 31 1846 but there is no record of her parents on there
Did you notice if the witnesses to the marriage were named as this could be significant ???
Annie.
-
No witnesses at all! It just lists their names, the date, his profession, and the minister who performed the marriage. :-\
I'll check out these other people suggested - they could be possible siblings - I'll try to find them on census' and see if I can connect them to Isabella.
-
Nothing yet. I can't find the family on the Canadian 1861 census either though, so maybe their immigration wasn't when the census' claimed it was.
Is there a way of doing a lookup by profession? Alexander Main was a rope maker - I can't see there being multiple Alexander Main rope makers..
-
This is the only Alexander Main I could find who was a rope maker.
He's a wee bit too young to be yours.
1851 census: Address: 7 North Square, Aberdeen
MAIN Alexander Head M M 56 Pilot Aberdeenshire – Aberdeen
MAIN Isabella Wife M F 48 Aberdeenshire – Aberdeen
MAIN Violet Dau U F 19 Aberdeenshire – Aberdeen
MAIN Alexander Son U M 17 Rope Maker Aberdeenshire – Aberdeen
MAIN John Son U M 14 Rope Maker Aberdeenshire - Aberdeen
MAIN Mary Dau U F 11 Scholar Aberdeenshire – Aberdeen
MAIN Grace Dau U F 8 Scholar Aberdeenshire - Aberdeen
MAIN David Son U M 4 Scholar Aberdeenshire - Aberdeen
BRANDS William Nephew U M 35 Pilot Aberdeenshire – Aberdeen
SMITH Walter Visitr U M 17 Seaman Apprentice Shetland – Bressay
-
Hi
What about this 1841 census Barony Thomsen Lane
William Wright 45 b Lanarkshire
Isabella Wright 35 b Scotland
Isabella Wright 15 b Lanarkshire
Campbell Wright 15 b Lanarkshire
Mary Wright 10 b Scotland
William Wright 10 b Scotland
Joanna Wright 5 b Scotland
Archd Wright 4 b Scotland
Doing a search on Family Search for Wright births with parents William Wright and Isabella Leckie comes up with
Mary Smith Wright b 27 Aug 1828 Renfrew
Joanna Smith Wright b 13 Aug 1832 Renfrew
William Leckie Wright b 29 Aug 1830 Renfrew
Sabina Smith Wright b 3 Sept 1835 Row
Archibald James Smith Wright b 26 May 1837 Row
Benjamin Wright b Barony 15April 1839
Benjamin Wright b Barony 22 Sept 1841
James Smith Wright b 26 Oct 1826 Renfrew
Campbell Leckie Wright 20 Sep 1824 Barony
Lawson Wright b 9 Sept 1820 Barony
There certainly seems to be some correspondence between the two sets of records.
William
-
That does seem to fit VERY well. I wonder why there's no birth record for Isabella though? Since she was born in '23 and Campbell '24, it makes sense that on the '41 Census, they're listed as the same age since they certainly were close. With the Leckie name in there it really seems like this may be Isabella's family.
Is there anyway to definitively prove it? What would be the steps to do that considering there are no names listed on the marriage certificate, and for the life of me I can't locate a birth record?
-
Hi
Ages were usually rounded down to the nearest multiple of five in the 1841 census (except children).
It might be worth tracking the potential siblings through the censuses etc to see if there is a connection.
William
-
It may be that the family couldn't afford to record the baptism of the first child/children. The baptism was free but you had to pay for it to go in the book. It was quite common for poorer families not to record a baptism; food and a roof came first! Sometimes they paid for a back-dated job lot of all the children when their circumstances improved. It may be that she was added on when Campbell was baptised and the transcriber missed it or they may not have done it at all. I read somewhere that about a third of all births pre-1855 are not in the OPRs so have no written record.
-
Are there any other sort of records that would show the family together? There aren't any census' prior to 1841 correct? And by 1851 she was married and out of the country. What other options if any do I have to prove Isabella Wright Mains connection to William Wright and Isabella Leckie (other than she did give the name Leckie to several of her children)
-
Hi
What about this 1841 census Barony Thomsen Lane
William Wright 45 b Lanarkshire
Isabella Wright 35 b Scotland
Isabella Wright 15 b Lanarkshire
Campbell Wright 15 b Lanarkshire
Mary Wright 10 b Scotland
William Wright 10 b Scotland
Joanna Wright 5 b Scotland
Archd Wright 4 b Scotland
William
If you go onto Freecen, Isabella Wright and bring up the Barony one William has quoted, there is another name at the bottom of the record:
Leckie Campbell - M- 75 - Sheriff Officer - Outside Census County 1841.
Her father?
-
For sure! And thank you - I've never been on freecen before.
I still need to prove that that Isabella (15 in 1841) became my Isabella Wright Main...
-
This might be a tad pricey, but the only thing I can suggest is that one or more of Isabella's siblings might have been a witness on the birth of one or more of her children, ideally Campbell Leckie Wright! Could turn out to be a waste of money but who knows...
-
That's a great idea (assuming these particular birth records have witnesses!)
-
THAT WORKED!
Alexander Duncan Main b to Isabella Wright and Alexander Main
Witnesses - Campbell Wright and Alexander Duncan.
Now the question is, who is Alexander Duncan?
-
Marriage records are also worth a look. Campbell Leckie Wright seems to have married Agnes Dunn in 1847. He also seems to have left a will (died 1909). The free wills index on Scotland's People is quite easy to forget about but can be useful.
To curb possible expense of looking up loads of OPRs etc if you are in Scotland have you considered a visit to the Scotland's People centre or one of the hubs?
William
-
I literally just moved here, so I actually had no idea about it! I only found out about the Scotland's People website yesterday. For sure I'll be making a trip or two to one of the centres. My tree is full of Scots!
-
I can't find any record of William and Isabella Wright in the 1851 census. Could they have emigrated with Alexander and Isabella?
-
There is a Campbell Leckie born in 1765 at Gargunnock, Stirlingshire on ScotlandsPeople. Decent age fit with the 75 year old Campbell Leckie on the 1841 census but not definitive. Unfortunately he seems to have died by 1851. There are 2 Is*b*l* Leckies, one born 1802 and the other 1797, which might fit with the 1841 census. That is why I was looking for Isabella Wright on the 1851; hoping for a place of birth.
-
There is also a service record for a Campbell Leckie b Gargunnock which has him being discharged from the Royal Lanark Militia in 1819 because of rheumatism. It states he enlisted at the age of 31 for 20 years having previously been in the 3 rd Foot Guards from 1785 until 1791 and the 73 foot from 1792 until 1797.
An article in the Glasgow Herald in 1826 refers to a Campbell Leckie sergeant of police.
There are a couple of deaths for a Campbell Leckie in Lanarkshire in the OPR's for Lanarkshire between 1841 and 1851. A public tree has the death of William Wright and Isabella Wright in this period too.( Not sure if the owner has verified this). I note that Archibald Wright is recorded with his brother Campbell Wright in the 1851 census.
William
-
Well found! He may have taken part in a number of engagements during the Napoleonic Wars. That could be interesting research!
The Campbell Leckie Sergeant of Police you spotted could fit with the Sheriff's Officer on the 1841 Census. The Scottish PO Directory for 1838-39 Glasgow has the following:
CALTON AND MILE-END.
The Provost, Baillies and Dean of Guild, ex officiis.
COMMISSIONERS OF POLICE...
Campbell Leckie, Superintendent of Streets and Lamps.
It's looking as if your soldier and the Sheriff's Officer on the 1841 Census for William and Isabella Wright are the same guy.
-
Although it's not unexpected that Campbell at 75+ should die between 1841 and 1851, it seems odd that both William and Isabella would as they were relatively young - William 45 and Isabella 35 on the 1841 census. Could they have been victims of the cholera outbreak of 1848-49 which killed nearly 4,000 people in Glasgow and wasn't limited to the poor?
I wonder if Newmodernist has a marriage record for any of William and Isabella's children post 1855 which might show whether they were deceased or not.
-
There is a useful link on the Lanarkshire board to the archives of the Glasgow police which suggests that records exist from 1825. This could be worth following up for any biographical detail.
William
-
Hello All,
Just a wee add on.
1841. census, 47 Main Street, Barony, Calton.
Mungo Main, M. age 66 years. Cotton hand loom Weaver, born outside census area,
James Main, M. age 20 years, Rope Spinner, born Lanarkshire,
Jean Main, F. age 16 years, Sewer in Warehouse, born Lanarkshire,
Alexr. Main, M. age 14 years, Rope Spinner, born Lanarkshire.
This i am quite sure is the Alexander Mains, born 21/May/1826. Glasgow City, Glasgow, to parents Mungo Main, and Elizabeth Findlay, who were married 27/Feb/1802. Glasgow City, Barony. Who went on to marry Isabella Wright, 1846. in Glasgow City, Glasgow.
Regards,
Jonn.
-
Weel spotted John.
How appropriate they bided in Main Street. :D
-
Jonn,
That's right! That's the Alexander!
I wonder if Newmodernist has a marriage record for any of William and Isabella's children post 1855 which might show whether they were deceased or not.
I don't as of now, but I'll take a look!
-
An article in the Glasgow Herald in 1826 refers to a Campbell Leckie sergeant of police.
[/quote
How do you search newspapers? (sorry, I'm new at a lot of this)
-
This is the newspaper clipping.
Campbell was a witness in a murder trial.
(http://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/x441/5jdewar/rootschat/GH-1826.jpg)
-
How do you search newspapers? (sorry, I'm new at a lot of this)
There are lots of sites that offer digital images of newspapers.
If you live in Scotland you can apply for a reader's ticket for the National Library of Scotland, which allows you to search the Burney 18th and 19th century newspaper collections, The Scotsman and The Times free of charge.
Some of the Glasgow Herald is online but it's not indexed so you have to browse the pages by date. No doubt someone will come along with the URL soon.
There are also collections available through the British Library and the British National Newspaper Collection which you can access by subscription. I think FindMyPast has some or all of these.
You can view historic New Zealand newspapers at http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast and Australian ones at http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/home. Singapore newspapers are also online at http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Default.aspx?source=digitised - all of these are free.
There is also a vast collection of North American newspapers that I come across from time to time but I don't have a note of the URL. You usually have to pay a subscription or per view for these.
No doubt there are other newspaper collections I don't know about, and I'd be delighted if anyone can add or correct any of the foregoing.
-
This is the goggle news link
A selection of newspapers from around the world.
https://news.google.com/newspapers?hl=en
This is the Glasgow Herald link
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC