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Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => Topic started by: Cahoots on Monday 23 April 18 15:54 BST (UK)
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Hi to all,
I am researching the Stewart family and in particular I am attempting to find the parents of Malcolm Stewart/Steuart d.1795 (aged 50yrs) Cannongate, Edin. Scot. Malcom (occ. tailor) married Jean Broun/Brown in 1773 and they had twelve children. I have all necessary information of his descendants but despite searching myself silly I cannot confirm his parents. I find a Malcolm born 1745 Logierait, to John Steuart and Ann McLagan and they are a strong possibility. I have checked this baptism record on ScotlandsPeople but other than parents names and date, there is no further information that might lead to something more, likewise on his and Jean's marriage certificate. Can anyone possibly advise where I can go from here? Many thanks.
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Cahoots, how about checking if he was a member of the Edinburgh Tailors Incorporation & a Burgess!
Skoosh.
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Hmmm.
The indexes on Scotland's People list six children of Malcolm Stewart and Jean Brown
Thomas, 1785
William, 1786
Jean, 1788
Margaret, 6 May 1790
Jean, 23 April 1971
James Struthers, 17 November 1791
There's also an unnamed child in 1781, no mother named.
There seem to be too many children in 1790/1791 - only 11 months between Margaret and Jean, and 7 months between Jean and James. Have you looked at all the originals of the baptisms to see if there is an explanation for this?
Without the names of any older children (where did you find them?) it's not possible to speculate about Malcolm's or Jean's parentage. In the absence of a John or an Ann among their children, the couple in Logierait would not be very strong contenders. What reason do you have for thinking they are 'a strong possibility'?
There won't be a marriage certificate for Malcolm and Jean because there was no such thing as a marriage certificate in Scotland until the start of statutory civil registration on 1 January 1855. Before that, the only records are those kept by the churches, and they are often rather uninformative.
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Thank you Skoosh and Forfarian for your replies.
I will check Edinburgh Tailors Incorporation & a Burgess, I just need to find where to do so :) I haven't done much research in Scotland before so still feeling my way around.
With regards Malcom and Jean's children - I have the older children from the marriage, transcribed from the original baptism registers of the Relief Church when the family was listed at Nicholson Square.
- Agnas 6.4.1774
- John 1.10.1775
- James 26.6.1777
- Helen 11.2.1779
- David 23.9.1780
- Alexander 14.12.1781
- Walter 10.6.1783
The younger children from St Cuthbert's Bap.Regs. when the family were listed at Pottersrow.
- Thomas 20.5.1785
- William 16.11.1786
- Jean 19.11.1788
- Margaret 6.5.1790
- James 2.11.1791
Forfarian, I think you might have confused the gap between births of Jean, Margaret and James, by inadvertently noting a Jean b.23 April 1971.
Malcolm and Jeans marriage in 1773 is taken from the Cannongate marriage register and the original register entry from ScotlandsPeople, where he is listed as a tailor. I realise there were no certificates prior to statutory registration.
My reason for thinking that John Steuart and Ann McLagan might be the parents is due there being very few contenders who had sons named Malcolm, born in the right time frame (1745/46) as well as the similarities of names given to the children. There are a few others with sons named Malcolm born around this time but little or no similarities between the names of the children. Since Malcolm's eldest son was John, I'm assuming this might have been the name of his father ... I guess I'm banging my head against a brick wall trying to find a connection, with the scant info I have found so far in the registers.
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John Steuart and Ann McLagan's children were - Alexander, Margaret, Malcolm, Jean, James, Anne, John - with the exception of Anne, all these names were repeated in Malcolm's family. The rest of Malcolm and Jean's childrens names probably came from Jean's family. She was the daughter of William Brown and Janet Douglass.
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Ah, yes, that all hangs together quite well.
Forfarian, I think you might have confused the gap between births of Jean, Margaret and James, by inadvertently noting a Jean b.23 April 1971.
1971 was a typo for 1791. There is a baptism in the SP index of Jean, daughter of Malcolm Steuart and Jean Brown, in St Cuthberts on 23 April 1791, so my original comments on the spacing of the births stand.
Skoosh's suggestion is by far the best idea for progressing this research. I haven't seen the Edinburgh Tailors' Incorporation records, but if they are anything like the Forfar Shoemakers' ones they will tell you who Malcolm's father was.
Curious that Maolcom and Jean didn't name a daughter Ann or Janet, and that it was their eighth, rather than their second, son who was named William. Also, of course, that they didn't name a son Malcolm.
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Ah, okay! I see the other Jean now, Malcom Steuart not Stewart - very odd, makes no sense at all! Will buy more credits and check is out, maybe a transcription error because James Struthers was definitely born in Nov. 1791 so couldn't even be a twin birth. If I may ask, where would I find the Edin. Tailors' records?
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Ah, okay! I see the other Jean now, Malcom Steuart not Stewart - very odd, makes no sense at all! Will buy more credits and check is out, maybe a transcription error because James Struthers was definitely born in Nov. 1791 so couldn't even be a twin birth. If I may ask, where would I find the Edin. Tailors' records?
Start with Edinburgh City Archives http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/20249/edinburgh_city_archives
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Thanks so much, will do.
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Cahoots, I am not familiar with the Edinburgh Trades but as in Glasgow your man would have to apply for a Burgess Ticket before joining one of the incorporations! If he was unrelated to any members of the Guild he will be described as faur-haun & the fee would be greater than near-haun, usually a son etc.
Skoosh.
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Thanks for this info, Skoosh, I will check it out.