I’m related to the Andersons who lived in Oakbank Cottage in Drainie and Brea Villa in Elgin ..... could you tell me if Brea Villa on the High Street still exists and perhaps Oakbank Cottage , that's in Bishopmill, but I don't know how far/close this is to Elgin.
Bishopmill is the part of the town of Elgin north of the River Lossie. It is in the parish of (New) Spynie, and Drainie is the next parish to the north. No part of Bishopmill is in Drainie, and anywhere which is in Drainie cannot be in Bishopmill.
http://libindx.moray.gov.uk/mainmenu.asp lists two houses called Oakbank, one in Duffus Road, Bishopmill, parish of Spynie and the other in Duffus Road, Bishopmill, parish of Spynie. As the road from Bishopmill to Burghead goes through Duffus, I reckon these are in fact one and the same house.
Looking at the 1881 census, I see that there was a Mrs Anderson in Oakbank, with a mother-in-law and a daughter both born in Drainie. The nearest neighbours are Woodlands and Findrassie, which tells me that this house is on or near the road to Duffus, so I assume that this is your folk.
Oakbank, Duffus Road, Elgin is listed in the current post code directory, so it seems that there is still a house there.
Now, Brea Villa. LIBINDX doesn't list any such house, but Brea is a common misspelling of Brae, and there is a Brae Villa in West High Street, Bishopmill, which is not the same as Elgin High Street. This was built around 1860 for a Mrs Simpson, and sold to a W Cookes when she died in 1888.
The 1881 census lists at Braevilla, New Spynie Dorothy Simpson and her daughter Dorothea. As the next addresses on both sides are in West High Street, it looks as if this is it. These days it seems to be No 37 West High Street, and its name my have been changed to Algarve.
So yes, if I am right in my reasoning, there are still houses at both these addresses, even though Oakbank is not in Drainie and Brea Villa is not called Brea Villa and is not in Elgin High Street.
Hope this helps.
