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Hi Looby,

Thanks again for replying.
I have done a lot of searching on the Scots peoples website and I have over the past couple of days gone back over my saved searches, there is a marriage record for Alexander and Janet, I am now convinced - thanks entirely to your very helpful link - that they are my people, Janet is, as you say, McKinlay.

I shall have to go through the saved searches with a fine toothed comb, I am very sure that I have a record there for a birth for an Alexander Bell, born to a James Bell and Elizabeth Beattie, however, I don't think that this is mine, due to the naming of his children, they fit in with the given names of his parents as listed on his death record.

I don't think that I've ever had such a puzzling search before!

Alex.

Hi everyone,

I've had a huge brick wall that has been quite frustrating for me for quite some time now, regarding my 4th great grandparents, Alexander Bell and Janet Findlay/McKinlay.
Alexander was born in 1805, Sorn and Janet was born in 1800, Kilmarnock, both according to the census records.
They married in late 1831 and went on to have seven children (that I know of) between 1833 and 1850.
I have the birth record of their third born child, also my third great grandfather, Alexander Bell and it states that Janet's maiden name was McKinlay as it also states on the marriage record, however, here's where it becomes ridiculously confusing ;
On the 1851 census, it shows that a nephew is living with the family, his name is James Findlay and his parents were Alexander Findlay and Elizabeth Gebbie, on the death record for Janet, it shows her as being called Janet Findlay and father is unknown Findlay, mother Janet Templeton.
I have several marriage and death records of the children of Alexander and Janet and there appears to be much confusion (?) over her birth name, it changes from Findlay to McKinlay and the occupation of Alexander Sr is always correct on each one.
Alexander Jr was always consistent in his stating that Janet was a Findlay, so you can probably understand my utter bewilderment about the whole thing!

My other issue is with Alexander Sr, upon his death, it states that his parents were John Bell and Margaret Wilson, after I'd put these details into my tree on ancestry, it threw up a hint for a couple of those names who married in about 1789 in Cumbria.
I know that many people have been jumping to and fro across the border for aeons, but I'm still in two minds about this and then there's the baffling issue about there being no birth records for both Alexander and Janet.
I know from both death records that John Bell was a farmer and the mystery Findlay, a shoemaker, but obviously without any birth records, I'm stuck in an extremely confusing place.
Would there be any reason for the absence of these records?

If anyone can help me in anyway, I would be eternally grateful!

Many thanks in advance,

Alex.

Thankyou everyone and many thanks to Terry (sorry for missing you!), I absolutely love every single one of these restorations, I can't wait to show the rest of the family, they'll love them!

Sorry! Wrong end of the night to be attempting to use my brain! I've changed it, sadly I can't find a delete function