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Thanks for your collective logic.

I do suspect that it is mere coincidence that Sydney appeared to have a wife at the time.

Good investigation!

Thanks so much

John

Hi,
I have a record of my grandfather, Sydney Barnes Gibson, arriving in Wellington in 1906. Directly underneath his name is a Mary Gibson shown as 'wife' even though it appeared they embarked at different places (Plymouth and London).

This Mary has, up until this time, been unknown to me or my family as he was later ,c1917, married to Rubina Kelman (my grandmother).

By the above, I assume Mary died between 1906 and 1917 (or divorced). All I have is the passenger record of the Gothic. Her DOB is c1882 and Sydney's is 1884. Does anyone know any further about Mary? (death perhaps)

Thanks

John

Thank you so much for your quick replys Sandra.

I also found these people and, funnily, also did not know what a 'Morocco Dresser' was and also found leather worker. At a level below that, one of his sons was a shoemaker, which kind of makes sense.

I do wonder whether he was escaping something such that he had to give false age and parents names. In the 1900 census he gives a precise birth date of Feb 1855.

The family were very strong Catholics and, as they lived in Cork at a time when there was some political turmoil as well as famine, I suspect they may have been in an early form of the IRA. (am I paranoid? Who said I was paranoid!)

Other possibility with the variance in age is that they may have needed to appear older in order to get through the red tape (ie. marriage)

Then again, his wife Margaret Flynn came from Ireland in 1868 and I can not find her in immigration records either. My other thought is to search a current directory of the Lynn area and contact people with the surname with a faint hope of getting a hit.

Thankfully most search sites these days cover variants in spelling but, yes, I have also tried that and will continue on...........

Thanks again

John Crowley

Thanks Monica,

There were 9 siblings and, yes, the birth date of William Bell was not given. His father was Francis who was married to Mary Irving. Francis' father was Dr John Carlyle who was married to Jane Bell (hence the 'Bell' in William's name).

You would think that the parish priests would have realised that their info would eventually be on the internet! Anyhow, who cares about future generations, what have they ever done for us?

John

Hi,

I am searching for the actual birth date of a Dr William Bell Carlyle b. 1788 Satur, Middlebie, Dumfries, Scotland. His birth date was derived from his death certificate age when he died at Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia.

His wife was Elizabeth Gatton, although there is no apparent record of their marriage in Australia. He was ships surgeon and she a convict on the way to Oz.

His parents were Francis Carlyle (1739-1819) and Mary Irving.

If an actual birth date of William Bell is known, I would like to know its source if possible.

Is it hard to get birth records around 1788 in Dumfriesshire?

Thanks

John