RootsChat.Com

Hi

I know it can be a bit confusing with names but I have looked at the birth cert on scotspeople and Mary Helen West Gatt born 12/03/1908 Parkfield Road, Lerwick is the daughter of William Gatt and Margaret Gatt nee Wiseman.  The Mary Ellen who was the supposed sister of my granddad moved to North or South Sheilds and had family there.  She had Hector Gatt and a daughter called Marian out of wedlock.  I will have to ask my uncle how old she was compared to my granddad.  You have found the correct birth for my granddad as his first name was William Taylor Buchan, however on is birth certificate it is changed to William Buchan Gatt.

my granddad was born on 11/06/1920 in peterhead, his mother was Helen Buchan.  Yes he was a fisherman but also was in the Navy working on a mine sweeper called the Fetlar.  He was brought up in Lerwick but after the war he married a girl from West Lothian and eventually moved to campletown for a few years to be near his mother Mary Ann Gatt (nee McMillian).  She must have moved back after her husband died.  He then moved with his family to Corby in Northamptonshire, England to work in the steelworks.  He died on the 13/08/1984.  He always classed William and Mary Ann as his mother and father and did not want to know anything about his real mother even though she tried to contact him on many occasions.  I have found out alot about his real mother and the circumstances of his adoption.  It was not a legal requirement then to adopt through the courts so maybe the parents all knew each other.  I know Helen Buchan did live on Shetland for a while.

My grandfather William Buchan Gatt was adopted my William Gatt and Mary Ann Gatt nee McMillian (she was from Campletown),  His adopted father William Gatt was burnt on a boat in Lerwick harbour but died in Aberdeen hospital as he was flown there after the accident.  I know my grandfather had a sister called Mary Ellen but did not know about Elizabeth wiseman however he did know wisemans in Lerwick so probably were related. 

Yes..I think we are related..Stephenson Reid had a sister I though was Janet but maybe it was Jane.  There father was Thomas Reid a school master.  Stephenson was an inn keeper in edinburgh and died a cab proprietor in mussleburgh scotland.  He had a number of jobs.  Can you tell me when Jane was born roughly and where she married.

This is probably one of the reasons why you find mistakes on the I.G.I index or you cannot find someone.  Sometimes people may have been missed.

This could also be the case when you check digital indexes.  There could be an amount of human error although I think these are double checked most of the time.

I have an example of this:

if I look at the 1851 census on the computer it states that my great great grandfather was born in Luth on the transcribed statement.  However, if you look at the original census carefully you can see it says Leigh, Lancs.

Just always be aware of the pitfalls!!