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My 2nd great grandmother was Jane Pirie, daughter of James Pirie and Ann Hendry of Marnoch. Jane died a pauper in Forglen in 1905 where she gives her parents. Her age at death is 75, which points to 1830 as the year of her birth. The same birth year is also pointed to in the 1871 and 1861 censuses where she is living with her father James Pirie in Marnoch, and in the 1851 census (as Jean) where she is living with both parents and 5 siblings including her sister Anne (born 1833). She gave birth to my great grandfather in 1851 but didn't marry the father (who scarpered to the U.S. and had a different family there).

She is not in the 1841 census, when she would have been 11, but the younger sister Ann is listed age 9. The surname is misspelled "Perrie" Where is Jane? It's possible that she was just somewhere else when the census taker showed up, but there is a bit more mystery.

I can find a record of birth for all her siblings, but nothing for Jane. There is, however, another Ann, born in Marnoch on 19 December 1829. I know it is fairly common when a child died to give a subsequent child the same name, but I can't find a death record for the 1829 Ann. This is an odd thought, but could Jane and 1829 Ann be the same person? If not, where did Jane come from?

Thanks for any help or advice!

I just got the birth certificate:

24th November 1878 Bollo Bridge Road, Acton
Sex: boy
Name and surname of father: Henry Spicer
Name, surname and maiden name of mother: Maria Spicer, formerly Binyon
Occupation of father: broker
Signature, description and residence of informant: Maria Spicer Mother/Bollo Bridge Road, Acton
When registered: Fourth January 1879
Signature of registrar: Henry Mitchell, Registrar

I'd attach it, but this attachment thing seems to be a bit hit and miss.

Hello all:

My great grandfather, William Riddoch, was born "natural Son of Alexander Riddoch son of James Riddoch, Farmer in Upper Deuchries and of Jean Pirie, daughter of James Pirie Crofter in ? of Deuchries was born 23 February 1851 - and subsequently baptized by the Reverend Andrew Todd". William lived and married in Scotland until 1910 when he and his family emigrated to Vancouver, Canada

After William's birth I can trace Jean/Jane Pirie to her death in Banffshire in 1905. William is living with her and his grandfather Jamies Pirie in 1861. Alexander seems to disappear.

About Alexander: according to the parish register, Alexander was born December 31, 1828 to James Riddoch and Mary Riddoch (MS Napier) in upper Deuchries.

The most intriguing possibility I can see is that he moved to the U.S. and started over. There is an Alexander Riddoch who married Jessie Davis in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1856. The 1900 Census says he arrived in 1852 and according to an 1877 voter registration in Contra Costa California, he naturalized in 1858. His name is usually given as Riddock rather than Riddoch

He's in Judsonville, Contra Costa in 1880, but for the 1900 Census he is in San Francisco and he died in there in 1904. I have a picture of his and his wife's Jessie's grave. He had other children in the U.S.

The San Francisco gravestone says he was born December 31, 1829. Same month and date as on the parish register, but one year out. Maybe his family wasn't sure of the year?

A picture of the grave is on Findagrave at http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=136768328&ref=acom. I note that the transcriber got his birth year wrong-- he said 1823 whereas it definitely looks like 1829 to me. This person also provides a link to an obituary in the San Francisco Call on July 3, 1904 that says he died at 74 years, 6 months, which corroborates the rough birth date of 1829 . I could send that but can't seem to find a way to upload (no upload button).

The transcriber also says Alexander's parents were John and Mary Riddock. Not sure where he got this, because it's not in the obituary. The Deuchries Alexander's parents were James Riddoch and Mary Napier (rather than James and Mary Riddoch). Again a little wrong, but it all seems so very close.

My questions is: is there a way to prove or disprove that the Alexander Riddoch born in Deuchries in 1828 is the one who died in San Francisco in 1904?
 

Isabella's husband William Riddoch died in Vancouver, Canada in 1914 of a street car accident. They married in 1875 and in 1881 include Elisabeth, born in Monquhitter, as a daughter on the census form.

This William is the son of Alexander Riddoch and Jane Pirie (I have that wrong in my tree). He is also my great-grandfather on my father's side.

Do you have another entry that shows that the other (John Riddoch + Anne Pirie) William Riddoch married an Elsie Riddoch? That would really be something because we as a group had determined that Elspet Davidson (aka Elsie) married Alexander Leslie and died in 1880 of tuberculosis ("pthisis").

The thread started as a request to help find the mother of Elisabeth Riddoch Davidson, who was born in 1871 to Elspet Davidson but living with William Riddoch (and Isabella) in 1881. No father given on the birth cert. Elisabeth (Lizzie) eventually moved to Vancouver in 1893 (when she married a Peter Duthie in Ontario who died the same year in Vancouver). I'm not yet sure when she moved to Canada, but William and Isabella and family eventually moved to Vancouver in 1910.  The narrative seemed to fit the events, but maybe there is an alternative that involves a confusion of two Williams?

In the Vancouver Daily World on May 21, 1910 there is an entry:

"Mr. and Mrs. Wm Riddoch and family, Misses Bella and Katie Riddoch, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Riddoch, are recent arrivals from Aberdeen, Scotland, and will locate in Vancouver. At present they are the guests of Mr. and Mrs. Wm Riddoch’s daughters, Mrs. J.C. Mitchell 2512 Westminster avenue, and Mrs. A Perie, 36 Tenth avenue, east."

The two daughters they meet are Annie and Jeannie. Annie moved to Vancouver in 1907. No mention of Lizzie, which has puzzled me. Lizzie was still living there as a widow of husband #2, William Davie. though she married husband #3, George Barrowclough, a few months later).

Another tidbit is that I did an autosomal DNA test through FTDNA and came back a strong match to Lizzie's grandson, now living in Arizona.