Hi all,
First of all, I just registered and dug through this whole chain. So much fascinating information and resources. Thank you all!
Second, I descended from Jessie Heatlie Scott and Thomas Douglas Moyes both from Selkirk. Jessie was a Castle St. Heatlie I believe based on census data showing her and family residing in Kirkwynd and Castle St throughout the years. I've spent a good bit of time digging through census data, Kirk session records, and tracking down birth/marriage/death certificates. There are a number of illegitimate references in birth certificates and I'm wondering if anyone has clues.
Jessie Heatlie - Mother consistently listed as Janet Heatlie (b. 1837) but father is not listed or is referenced using 'illegitimate'
Janet Heatlie - Death certificate lists mother as Mary Heatlie and father as William Heatlie. Baptismal record has same parents listed; however, a more likely biological mother appears to be Jessie Thorburn ...
Jessie Thorburn - Based on census data and signing as a witness for key events such as marriages and deaths, I believe Jessie was the biological mother of Janet Heatlie, Andrew Heatlie, James Heatlie, and Archibald (John) Heatlie. She was also likely the biological grandmother of Jessie Heatlie Scott and was witness to her wedding to Thomas Moyes.
Do these names/families ring any bells? I'm quite curious to confirm whether Jessie Thorburn was the biological mother of Janet. I have my tree with notes and documents listed on ancestry and publicly available for those interested.
Michael Moyes