Author Topic: Need help with my Jaffrays and Davidsons, please.  (Read 3558 times)

Offline FeeJay

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Need help with my Jaffrays and Davidsons, please.
« on: Thursday 14 September 06 14:30 BST (UK) »
I hope someone with Jaffrays or Davidsons can help me with this.

I'm (pretty) certain my great great grandparents were John Davidson and Isabella Birnie, who lived Peterhead and  married 1 Dec 1882 in Lonmay. My problem is with his parents. On John's marriage cert they are described as William Davidson and Jessie Davidson (M.S. Jaffray), both deceased. I've found a birth cert from 1859 that matches John's details. This describes William as a ship's carpenter. Unfortunately there was no info on the parent's wedding.

Next I found William Davidson's death cert in 1870 - the details matched, ship's carpenter, married to Jessie Jaffray.

I also found a marriage OPR on Scotland's People showing a marriage between a Jessie Jaffray and A WM Davidson in 1854, in Fraserburgh.

On censuses Jessie's birthplace is given as Kincardine O'Neill but I can find nothing of her birth either on SP or the IGIs.

To confuse matters there is another couple with the same names as William and Jessie (including M.S. of Jaffray!) This means I've found 13 children on the IGIs with the same parents' names.

I cannot find anything more on Jessie, no birth or death record. (I also looked on SP to see if she remarried - no luck.) I found her as a widowed washerwoman, along with her children in the 1881 census. She must have died between 1881 and 1882.

Also, just using census records, I guess William's birth to be around 1828ish. On SP there are 2 Williams born 1827 and one in 1828. No idea which is which!

I'm beginning to think this is brick wall time. I hope someone can give me some ideas on where to search next.

FeeJay ??? ???
Souter, Davidson, Giblin, McVey, Cogie, Close, Parker, Salter, Ellis, Watts, Hunter, Richardson

Offline Grothenwell

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Re: Need help with my Jaffrays and Davidsons, please.
« Reply #1 on: Thursday 14 September 06 16:56 BST (UK) »
Hi Feejay,

Quote
Also, just using census records, I guess William's birth to be around 1828ish. On SP there are 2 Williams born 1827 and one in 1828. No idea which is which

Did William's 1870 death cert not indicate who his parents were?
Aberdeenshire; Brechin, Robb, Clark, Hardie, Johnston, Watt, Elmslie, Milne, Harper, Adam, Edmond, Laing, Gibson, Aedie, Jameson, Argo & Doverty.
Booth, Watson, Grothenwell, Ewen, Mackie, Simpson, Piper, Taylor, Davidson, Willox, Chalmers & Gordon
Still, Fraser, Robertson, Burnet & Lumsden
Banffshire; Cruickshank, Bennet, Broug, Allen, West & Lyal
Caithness; Sutherland
Herefordshire, Worcester, Monmouthshire, Gloucestershire; Wagstaff, Jones, Turner, Wiggett, Hannes

Offline MonicaL

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Re: Need help with my Jaffrays and Davidsons, please.
« Reply #2 on: Friday 15 September 06 01:36 BST (UK) »
Feejay

These are the two marriages showing on IGI for a William Davidson and Jessie Jaffray:

1. WM. DAVIDSON  Marriage: 15 OCT 1854 Fraserburgh, Aberdeen, Scotland
2. WILLIAM DAVIDSON Marriage: 01 JUN 1865 Saint Fergus, Banff, Scotland

This will help you when trying to figure out who had which children! You also have a number of children's births showing post 1870, after your William Snr died.

I also cannot see any obvious deaths of a J* J*f*r /Davi*s*  female any place/age that fits your Jessie who shows as age 46 in 1881 (I assume the death by year 1882 comes from John's marriage cert). I can only think that her name have been mis-indexed. If you have a complete list of their children and with William's parents' names confirmed, you could check to see if they followed Scottish naming patterns. If so, whether you could find a set of parents with those names in the 1841 census including a Janet/Jessie in the household - it's a start until you figure out how Jessie's death has been indexed.

Regards.

Monica
Census information Crown Copyright, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline FeeJay

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Re: Need help with my Jaffrays and Davidsons, please.
« Reply #3 on: Friday 15 September 06 13:21 BST (UK) »
Thank you Grothenwell and Monica for your replies.

The death certificate information I got from Scotland's people is very poor quality reproduction, with parts of it unreadable. (I really think they should change 2 and 1/2 credits for it rather than the full 5.) Because of this I didn't think to look at William's parents' names.

After much scrutiny I think William's father was John/James/or possibly Iain. And his mother's name is most likely Elizabeth. Hopefully this will narrow it down a bit. I'm going back to the IGIs right now.

This can be such a frustrating hobby. After watching 'Who Do you think you are?' I really wish I could get someone else to do this for me - they make it look so easy on the telly!

Thanks

FeeJay
Souter, Davidson, Giblin, McVey, Cogie, Close, Parker, Salter, Ellis, Watts, Hunter, Richardson


Offline MonicaL

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Re: Need help with my Jaffrays and Davidsons, please.
« Reply #4 on: Friday 15 September 06 13:45 BST (UK) »
Feejay

You can contact SP re an illegible image and they will send out in most cases a paper copy which can make a huge difference to legibility, see http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/content/help/index.aspx?r=1202 Quote the name and the GROS ref for the cert you viewed when contacting them. Hopefully the paper copy will be much clearer.

Regards.

Monica
Census information Crown Copyright, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline MonicaL

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Re: Need help with my Jaffrays and Davidsons, please.
« Reply #5 on: Friday 15 September 06 14:26 BST (UK) »
My starter for 10! From William's death cert. I would guess the mother to be Elizabeth Booth. This would also fit in with the birth from IGI for:

ELIZABETH BOOTH DAVIDSON  Birth: 22 MAY 1856   Peterhead, Aberdeen, Scotland
Parents: Father: WILLIAM DAVIDSON Mother:JESSIE JAFFREY

There is a marriage on IGI for Elizabeth Booth and a John Davidson:

ELIZABETH BOOTH  Marriages: Spouse:  JOHN DAVIDSON    
Marriage:  26 DEC 1815  Monquhitter, Aberdeen, Scotland

And a possible birth entry for your William:

WILLIAM DAVIDSON  Birth: 07 OCT 1829  Fraserburgh, Aberdeen, Scotland
Parents: JOHN DAVIDSON  and BETTY BOOTH    

Monica
   
Census information Crown Copyright, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline MonicaL

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Re: Need help with my Jaffrays and Davidsons, please.
« Reply #6 on: Friday 15 September 06 14:37 BST (UK) »
Elizabeth Booth was the mother of William I believe. She died two months before him, age 77,  in Peterhead. Robert Thomson reported the death, the same Robert Thomson that reported William's death two months later (nephew/neighbour?).
Census information Crown Copyright, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline MonicaL

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Re: Need help with my Jaffrays and Davidsons, please.
« Reply #7 on: Friday 15 September 06 15:00 BST (UK) »
I wonder if this is the family in 1841, from FreeCen:

DAVIDSON John 40 Flesher b.Aberdeenshire            
DAVIDSON Elizabeth 45 b. Aberdeenshire            
DAVIDSON Alexander 15 b. Aberdeenshire            
DAVIDSON William 13 b. Aberdeenshire            
DAVIDSON Ann 11 b.Aberdeenshire            
DAVIDSON Mary 9 b.Aberdeenshire            
BAIN David 20 Apprentice Carrier b. Aberdeenshire    

Address: Ugie Street, Peterhead-Aberdeenshire    
Census information Crown Copyright, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline MonicaL

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Re: Need help with my Jaffrays and Davidsons, please.
« Reply #8 on: Friday 15 September 06 19:01 BST (UK) »
Found Jessie! She didn't die between 1881-2, she went on to live another another 26 years, death in 1908.

From her death cert. details, this looks to be her family in 1841, from FreeCen:

JAFFREY John 30 Wright b. Aberdeenshire            
JAFFREY Augness 30 b. Aberdeenshire            
JAFFREY Jannet 5 b. Aberdeenshire            
JAFFREY Andrew 3 b. Aberdeenshire

Address: New Leeds, Strichen-Aberdeenshire

And, from IGI, her parents' marriage:

JOHN JAFFREY Marriages: Spouse: AGNES ROGER      
Marriage:  28 AUG 1832 Strichen, Aberdeen, Scotland

There are no details on IGI for John and Agnes's children. Nor can I see any reference to Kirkardine O'Neil as yet.

Monica
Census information Crown Copyright, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk