RootsChat.Com
Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => Angus (Forfarshire) => Topic started by: 1z2m3e4g on Friday 18 August 17 14:28 BST (UK)
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Hi Rootschat community.
I have a mysterious Scottish ancestor who left Scotland in the early 1800's for another country. We have an oral history passed down which indicates the location he was from, but nothing more than that.
I am tending towards the view that this oral history is an indicative starting point but may not necessarily be totally accurate given the length of time that has passed and due to him being a seafarer.
Adding to the complexity is the fact that there are multiple renderings of both his family name (at least 3 documented) and his first name (at least 2 documented).
I am hoping that as more historic documents get added online/transcribed, that we may chance upon something.
Does anyone know what official documents may be available that could be searched online (as I am not in Scotland!) from that time period, to try to start this quite complex search?
Thanks
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It will make it easier to advise you if you post all the details you have about him here, including the area he is supposed to be from.
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Welcome to rootschat.
You are right to be cautious about the oral history, but it might be worth pursuing anyway to see where it takes you.
Have you exhausted all avenues of research in the country he settled and died in? For example obituaries sometimes give information about place of origin. Newspapers? Immigration records? Did any of his siblings also go to the same country - sometimes it pays to search side shoots and they may have left more of a paper trail for you to follow.
Did he marry in Scotland or in his new country? Does his marriage certificate tell you anything of his origins or parentage? Sometimes naming patterns of children may gives clues as to parent's names.
Others will have more ideas I am sure. :)
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It's not clear whether you know where he went, or if that is what you are trying to determine
??? ??? ???
Dawn M
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Post what you can on your mystery person and see what pops up. You may get lucky with details and the chatters maybe able to assist in giving some clues.
JacK Gee
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Could the fact the query is on the Angus, Forfarshire board be a clue to the mystery location :-\
Annie
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Well, we could assume that is the known location of where he was from, but until the OP confirms some details we are all fumbling around in the dark, aren't we :P :P :P
Dawn M
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Hi and welcome to rootschat ;D
More information required, like name(s) place etc to get the best help/advice, there are several very good Scottish researchers on here who know their country and records very well. But without some basics even they can't help you.
I would agree family stories two centuries old and passed down can be complete fairy stories but if you only have those to go on it is what you have to start, however you mention several 'documents' what exactly are those documents and what information do they contain?
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1z2m3e4g, Please please please tell me you've found my John McFayden???!!!! 😃
Jane :-)
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Have we frightened off the original poster?
1z2m3e4g, the simple answer to your question is, go to www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk.
But beyond saying that, it is impossible to generalise because without some information to go on, even the most experienced and enthusiastic RootsChatter can't really tell where to start. If (s)he came from say one of the remoter glens, the advice about where to search will not be the same as if (s)he came from say one of the larger cities. Some things are better documented in the cities, and others can be easier to find in a less populated place. The standard of record-keeping varies over time and in different parishes.
So do yourself a favour. Tell us everything you already know about your mystery ancestor, including where you got the information from. Only then will there be any chance of anyone here being able to help.
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Forfarian asked:
Have we frightened off the original poster?
Not entirely. He/she is showing as active today 24 August ??? ???
Maybe didn't indicate they wanted to be notified of replies?
Dawn M