Alexander CROMBIE

[bowes]

my brain is dizzy
I will have to write this down in a tree format and try make head and tails.  You are certainly right about there being too many A C 's

Thanks so much for taking the time to help out here. 

Kind regards
Jackie

[hoadsfarm]

Monica,
I have sent you a mesage via your profiles page but in case it doesn't arrive am posting this as well.
Basically I want to find family or estate papers for Alexander Crombie that might show who their employees were because my interest Edward McMullen McKenzie may have worked for them and I can't find anything on him in Scotland.
The swine put two different birth places on two different census returns so it is hard to know where to focus one's energies.
having said that the two places he put Aberdeen and Dumfires both had Alexander Crombies living there, in Dumfries they were architects.
My Edwards connections are 1). he may have come from Aberdeen, 2). he was married in Marylebone just yards from Crombies home in Regents Park and 3). Crombie sold him a lease on land in Greenwich on which he built three houses.
My thinking is : My edward wouldn't have known Crombie socially (Edward was a gardener) but they obviously had some contact for my edward to have bought the lease from him.
Given both came from Aberdeen and both lived in Marylebone and Edward would have needed a good reason to travel south like perhaps the offer of a job it could be that he (Edward) or his family had a connection (worked for) with the family in Scotland. Sounds plausible but ...
If only I could lay my hands on some proof  .....
Any ideas ?
Mike

[MonicaL]

Mike, I now understand why you sent me the PM, I'd forgotten about this Crombie post 

As I suggested via my PM to you, why don't you start a new post for your Edward, including as much info as you have so that people don't repeat any searches for info you already have.  The key things will be the census info you have for him, ages he shows, date of marriage and children and names/order etc.

Hopefully between all of us we will hopefully find something 

Given that you are unsure of birth place I would probably start on the General Scottish Board until you have some indication as to where he was actually from.

Regards.

Monica

[hoadsfarm]

Hi Momica,
Thanks for your reply.

I have already posted details of my Edward McMullen McKenzie on Rootsweb some time ago but have had little response.

I had imagined it would have been relatively easy to find some info given his unusual second name McMullen (which he also gave to three of his sons) which suggests a McMullen connection on his maternal side but alas nothing despite having employed a professional researcher.

Rightly or wrongly I believe there is a connection between my Edward and the Crombie family but I wouold need to get my hands on some of their family papers to prove this, the only trouble is I don't know where to start looking.

I have the Crombie wills and I was hoping that you might be able to offer up some suggestions as to where these papers, if in fact any exist, might be held ?

After all both Crombies were lawyers and lawyers never throw anything a way. The Crombies had an estate at Pheso and also one at Thornton Castle.

What incidently is a PM ?

Regards

Mike

PS I will start another thread on the general Scotland board as you suggest, you never know your luck ...

[MonicaL]

Hi Mike

The details I found for Wills & Testaments for Rev. Crombie with the London connections were from Scotlands People:

Crombie   Alexander   31/10/1845   Revd, residing at York Terrace in parish of Saint Marylebone in county of Middlesex and of Phesdo   Additional Inventory   Stonehaven Sheriff Court   SC5/41/10

Crombie   Alexander   01/01/1841   Revd, Doctor of Laws, residing at York Terrace in parish of Saint Marylebone in county of Middlesex and of Phesdo in county of Kincardine   Inventory; List of Arrears of Rents; General Disposition   Stonehaven Sheriff Court   SC5/41/8

Crombie   Alexander   30/08/1845   Esquire of Phesdo Advocate in Aberdeen   Additional I.   Aberdeen Sheriff Court Inventories   SC1/36/22

Crombie   Alexander   10/12/1842   esquire of Phesdo, advocate in Aberdeen   Additional inventory   Aberdeen Sheriff Court Inventories   SC1/36/19

I would imagine this would be one place to search if you are looking to your connection to Edward.

I did have a look at the English censuses last night for Edward. Now, I think I was looking at the right entry for 1851, with son Edward and wife, where he looks to show a Dumfries birth place. The 1861 entry where he is lodging in Greenwich, shows just Scotland (couldn't see a ref. to Aberdeen?).

The 1841 census in London I wasn't so certain about. There was one entry for an Edward married to a Sarah, is this his entry?

Regards.

Monica

[MonicaL]

Sorry, Mike, forgot to add. PM is private message, where you send someone a personal message through their profile page.

Monica

[MonicaL]

Just read your update on the general board. 1871 census is where Aberdeen comes up and married to Ann not Sarah. Have you managed to find him in the 1841 census?

Monica

[hoadsfarm]

Monica,
You're a star.

It was the 1871 census that shows him as being born in Aberdeen, however this was three years before he died so he may have been  a bit doddery and his grandson was staying with him that night and may well have completed the forms for him thinking his grandfather hailed from Aberdeen(shire).

My thinking is he was probably born Dumfries(shire) because of the McMullen / Irish (?) connection because Dumfriesshire was a portal for returning Scots and Irish immigrants and then moved to Aberdeen although in another scenario he might have born in Ireland (?).

We have Edwards wife on the 1841 census living Park Street in Greenwich (where he built his three houses) and an Edward at Woodlands, a small estate just on the edge of Greenwich owned by a famous Russian banker, as Edward McKinsey aged 50 (about right) Male servant (gardener ?) born Scotland.

So I have him born somewhere in Scotland 1787 +/-, in Marylebone 1816 when he was married and then in Greenwich where he died.

Could find no trace of him on any online births or christenings anywhere in scotland, no marriage anywhere in Scotland or Ireland (although the records are skimpy) for a McKenzie / McMullen and no other person with a McMullen second Christian name in any Scottish records.

I did however find an Elizabeth McMullen born in Dumfriesshire in 1748, Eliza being a common name in the family around that time but possibly a little old to be Edwards mother.

I have the Crombie wills in case my Edward had been left a something, fat hope of that though ....

I had pretty much given up all hope and research until a lady from Israel wrote asking about the Crombie family yesterday which has me again thinking about the subject.

Got any ideas ?

Mike

[hoadsfarm]

For those interested in Rev Alexander Crombie ....

He granted a 90 y lease in 1822 on land in Park Street Greenwich to Edward McMullen McKenzie. At that time he was living in Greenwich.

In 1823 he was living in Cadagan Place, Sloane Street.

In 1827 he granted more land to EMM whilst he was living at York Terr, Regents Park.

In his will dated 15th July 1839 he left all his property "unto use" in Greenwich to a major General Sir John Mclean and Henry Trancred all though some of this was kept in trust for his wife Jane Crombie.

In 1860 much of this land was sold because of a dispute between his heirs although the rents on the land leased to EMM were being collected by Greenwich Hospital.

Every little bit helps ...

Mike