RootsChat.Com
Research in Other Countries => United States of America => Topic started by: Rakiura John on Wednesday 06 March 19 07:41 GMT (UK)
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William emigrated to the US from Roxburghshire, Scotland in 1858 aboard the “America” with his wife Mary (nee Oliver) and two sons Andrew (b1840) and William (b1847). They settled at West Branch, Pawnee County where they appear in the Census of 1860, 1870, 1890, 1900, then William disappears. In that 1900 Census he is aged 85 so it's likely he died before the 1910 Census. I gather Death Registration was introduced about 1905 but wasn't adopted in earnest in Nebraska until at least a decade later. As such I doubt William's death was registered.
His wife Mary Oliver died 18 Feb 1898, buried Johnson Creek Cemetery, Pawnee City [per her Headstone on FindaGrave]. William isn't mentioned on the headstone, but he may of course be buried there.
I'm hoping there might be a newspaper death notice or obituary for William. Could anyone advise whether the local newspaper for that period is searchable online? What I'm after in particular is confirmation of who his parents were. I'm not familiar with US officialdom for that time period - would William have likely provided his parents' names to any other authority? His son Andrew served in the Nebraska Grand Army of the Republic, but I doubt his grandparents' names would have been recorded by the army. I would be grateful for any suggestions.
John
New Zealand
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It seems the son Willam Scott 20 January (1848 - 9 April 1924) his wife and children were also buried
Pawnee City Cemetery -
FIND A GRAVE
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/82772915
Have you tried emailing the Pawnee Public Library to see if they can help ?
http://pawneecitylibrary.com/wp/
Sandra
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William Scott and Mary Oliver marriage Southdean,Roxburgh,Scotland 13 April 1838.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XYQB-V5V
Does the Old Parish Registers Banns and marriages on Scotlands people not give further details of the marriage
William Scott - Mary Oliver - 13/04/1838 - 806/ 20 94 - Southdean and Abbotrule
Sandra
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Lots of links here:
http://www.pawneecountyhistory.com/yesteryear/
It looks like their contact info is "contact webmaster"; not too promising, but worth a try.
This doesn't look too helpful:
http://genealogytrails.com/neb/pawnee/
I'm not sure about this one:
http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genealogyInfo.php?locIndex=22424
I was looking for a transcription of the cemetery. Sometimes they show up somewhere besides findagrave. It might still be out there and I didn't find it.
As Sandra suggested, try the local library. They are usually helpful--the smaller the town the more helpful they are. And they probably have copies of the local newspaper for the time period on microfilm, if they are anywhere.
His death record, if it exists, is the most likely place for his parents' names. That is, if there is one, and if his survivors knew what his parents' names were.
I can't think of another record that would call for the names of his parents. Definitely not his son's war record, - that wouldn't even ask for the son's own parents' names, unless somehow there was a pension file and they were entitled to it.
edited to add:
Naturalization papers might provide an exact date and place of birth, which would go a long way toward confirming his parentage, unless there were too many Scotts in the area to narrow it down to one couple.
Any siblings? any in the US? Have you looked for their records?
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There might be a RAOGK volunteer in Nebraska who could help - The third on the list just says " Cemetery Photos, State / Local Library" - might be worth a try ???
Not one Ive suggested before so some feedback whether you get an acknowledgement would be appreciated.
https://www.raogk.org/lookups/region/nebraska/
Sandra
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Thanks for those suggestions. I've sent an email to the Pawnee City Library as a first step.
I've tracked William in Scotland, found him in 1841 Census (in Hobkirk) & 1851 Census (in Jedburgh), which indicate he was born in Morebattlle, Rox., but no actual birth record can be found. His 1838 marriage record in Southdean describes him as of Crailing parish, which is where my Scott family lived after they left Morebattle, and that makes me suspect he is another son of that family. But that's why I'm trying to ascertain his parents to either confirm or dismiss this.
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Hopefully the library will come back with positive feedback. Haven't come across any newspaper clips yet.
Sandra
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http://www.rootschat.com/links/01nhh/
Falls City Tribune, January 08, 1904
"William Scott, aged ninety-seven, died at his home in Pawnee County Saturday. He was one of the oldest settlers of the county."
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Shellyesq - high five! That gives me place and date of his death (2 Jan 1904) - brilliant. But it confirms that his death won't have been registered, as death registration began "late 1904" [per FamSearch Wiki re Nebraska Genealogy].
oldohiohome - where would I find Naturalization records?
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In 1851 Scot Census, William gave his age as 43 [c1808]. Yet the 1858 passenger list for his emigration to the US gives his age as 45 [c1813], and he maintained this approx birth year in subsequent US Census.
Yet his death report states he was 97 [c1807] - which brings him back to the age he gave in the 1851 Census.
This makes me wonder if he gave a younger age for emigration purposes (instead of 45 he was really c51) and he maintained that deception in subsequent US Census.
Does anyone know if there was an actual age limit for early settlers? Perhaps there was an age ceiling for qualification to some sort of state assistance?
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I don't know if there was any age limit involved in those things, but I suspect it was just a matter of either not knowing or not paying much attention to his exact age. I've seen the same issue in immigrants who were naturalized and never traveled west of New York.
There is some information on obtaining naturalization records in Nebraska here - https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Nebraska_Naturalization_and_Citizenship Unfortunately, the early naturalization records don't tend to give much detail, so I wouldn't have high hopes of getting an exact date of birth from them.
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Someday I am going to post in the help section of rootschat and find out why I'm not getting the email notifications I should. I click on all the ones I get, maybe it is a difference between using the desktop browser and using the Ipad.
At any rate, I'm glad you found a date of death, and information on naturalization. Some of the censuses ask whether the person is naturalized or not, so you can narrow down the time frame for William. The symbols in the column for one year, I remember are:
Na = naturalized
Al = alien
Pa = papers pending (he had applied or declared his intention and had not yet completed the process).
If it asks for a year when the person was naturalized, don't count on it being exactly right.
Edited to add: As Shellyesq said, the early naturalizations don't have a lot of information. So it might not be worth paying money to get his. A few states have some of them online, but not Nebraska, at least not at familysearch.org.