Stewart and James McVey

[Cramond Brig]

I have made good progress with this, cost me a £ or two to get documents but my conclusion is that CWGC have a cock-up on their hands.

I found the 1881 Census showing John and Theresa McVey from Ireland living in Bridgeton, John 36, Theresa 20 and no children. This leads me to conclude that the James on CWGC, whose service record gives his sister Elizabeth as next of kin, is not the son registered by Theresa in 1881 but the son of a different John who was widowed in 1891 but had 7 children including Elizabeth and James, who was the same age as Theresa's James. The McVey family are not to be found in the 1901 Census which leads me to conclude they had gone to Canada. I wonder if James joined up in Canada in 1905. In his Royal Scots attestation he says he had service in a militia.

I went to the minor records to find Samuel's death, got it, but with an age of 24, not 18 as suggested by CWGC. Then got his birth certificate and, guess what, here's our Theresa again, this time naming the father as Stewart Elder but making the same declaration about her relationship with John McVey. The 1891 Census shows Stewart Elder, Theresa Elder, James Elder and Samuel all together.

With me so far? There will be questions later.

In the same Census we now have John living as a boarder and describing himself as a widower.

The 1901 Census then tells a sad story. There is no sign of Stewart or Theresa Elder but we have a James McVey living in an orphanage with 19 other boys and a Stewart Elder in an industrial school with 101 other boys. What's the betting Theresa dumped them?

You could not make this up.

Alistair

[IMBER]

Fascinating.  In preparing the registers of the dead the CWGC would eventually have written to the address of the recorded next of kin.  The replies received determined what appeared in the registers. For example, where a parent had remarried or whatever the information given often reflected the position when the registers were being finalised rather than at the time of death. In my great uncle's case the entry refers to his father as "the late Mr xxxx", although he died after the war. I'm not quite sure how that helps but I suppose it suggests the entries are what someone in the family wanted it to say.  Sorry if that's a bit long winded.

[Cramond Brig]

Fascinating.  In preparing the registers of the dead the CWGC would eventually have written to the address of the recorded next of kin.  The replies received determined what appeared in the registers. For example, where a parent had remarried or whatever the information given often reflected the position when the registers were being finalised rather than at the time of death. In my great uncle's case the entry refers to his father as "the late Mr xxxx", although he died after the war. I'm not quite sure how that helps but I suppose it suggests the entries are what someone in the family wanted it to say.  Sorry if that's a bit long winded.

I suppose there is always the element of human error. One thing is for sure, the entries for Stewart and James are incorrect, and the James who was Theresa's son did not have a sister, Elizabeth. There were other James McVeys who dide si I suppose the paperwork could have got mixed up. In Stewart's case whoever attached McVey to Stewart Elder's name may have been trying to legitimise him as Theres would presumambly still be married to John.

Alistair   

[Janice M]

I understand this post was made a long time ago, but I do have some information for you.

I have the "birth certificate" for Stewart Elder (McVey). If you would like a copy, then please send me a personal message with your email address and I will send you a copy.

On the birth certificate, it "claims" that Stewart Elder's parents were - (Stewart Elder) & (Theresa Palmer). It also states that Theresa was the housekeeper to the wife of John McVey. Theresa also goes into quite a bit of detail to explain that John McVey is "not" the father of the child etc. There is also an "S. Elder" who signs as the father.

My interest in this particular birth was the address of 24 Oswald Street, as well as my great grandfather's name was "Thomas Stewart Elder".

Please contact me.

Janice