Hi all,
I am having some issues sorting out my Murrays in Hawick. I think I have some conflicting evidence in certificates and census records (so what's new?!!), and I am hoping that by putting it all down in writing here either I can work it out myself or some of you wonderful people can help sort it out.
Here goes...
My GGG Grandmother was
Ann(a) Murray born circa 1854 in Hawick (have never found a birth record unfortunately). Her marriage and death certs both show father as
David Murray and
Helen Murray, previously
Clark, maiden surname
Hardie. So far so good...
I have Helen
Murray nee
Hardie's death certificate, which mentions no marriage to anyone called Clark, but this is possibly unknown to George Murray, her son who registered the death.
So to census records - my issue is matching the correct children to the correct parents as I think that Helen Hardie may have been David Murray's 2nd wife. There is no mention of a previous wife, but the census records seem to suggest this. I cannot find any record of marriages for David Murray and Helen Hardie/Clark or births of the children in the OPRs which is also frustrating.
David Murray died in 1860, so I started by looking for 1851 census, and found the following in Hawick:
David Murray Head aged 50 (correct age to agree with death cert)
Helen Murray Wife aged 36 (again seems correct for death cert)
James Murray Son aged 20 (seems a little old to be Helen's)
George Murray Son aged 8
Isabella Murray Daughter aged 2
Robert Hardie Brother-in-law (presumably Helen's brother)
Martha Hardie Sister-in-law (possibly Robert's wife?)
In 1861 however, we find Helen as expected in Hawick, but the family are not quite as expected...
Helen Hardie Head aged 46
James Murray Stepson aged 30 (agrees with 1851)
George Murray Stepson aged 18
Isabella Murray Stepdaughter aged 12
Ann Murray Stepdaughter aged 8
Janet Murray servant aged 14
Betsy Hardie Sister aged 28
Margaret Hardie Daughter aged 4 (Betsy's daughter?)
Helln Hardie Daughter aged 2mo (again, Betsy's daughter?)
And going back to 1841 the most likely candidate seems to be the following, again in Hawick:
David Murray aged 40
David Murray aged 20
William Murray aged 15
Andrew Murray aged 15
James Murray aged 10
So which kids are actually Helen's? And who was the mother of the rest of them? And who was Helen's first husband?
To complicate matters, the 1851 census suggests that David Murray was born in Ireland, but the 1841 says he was born in the county. I am getting to the point where I am not sure how to untangle them all
All help/thoughts/suggestions are welcome
Cheers,
Clare