James Muir 1807, son of James and Miriam muir

[trudym]

Would some kind soul please be able to help with this teaser.  We are looking for our James Muir born 1807 the youngest brother of three siblings.  He has a brother Phillip and another Saul.  There are so many James, sons of James but no Miriam as the mother.  We have a very sketchy history of him just that he went and worked as an apprentice in Edinburgh in the Ballance and Scot printing firm which went bankrupt.  No idea which town or county he comes from, he was a bit of a character.  there is a gap of 10 years when we do not know where he goes.

All we know he was supposedly born in scotland, his mother was Miriam Barnston.

I just wonder if Miriam came from chester and cheshire as there are quite a few Barnston families there.

Thank you in advance.
Trudy M

[Annette7]

You need to confirm the birth year - in your title you say 1897 but in the message you say 1807!

Annette

[trudym]

oOPS. Just a typing mistake, it is 1807  He was definitely a printer in Edinburgh where he passed his apprenticeship
Thanks, I had missed that.

Trudy

[KirstyG]

Do you have him in any census records? If so what does it say for place of birth?

What year did he pass his apprenticeship? I have not been able to find any mention of this firm anywhere online.

Kirsty

[trudym]

The name of the firm was ballantyne and Co, where sir walter scott published his novels.  We are unable to access any census because we are unsure when he leaves england, we only know that he arrived in new zealand in 1840.

I hope this helps.  I did find one census form but he was a border, I guessed it was his,  I have to find a copy of where he is registered as being born and then work backwards.  He was a real character.  I dont know how he managed to arrive in New Zealand.  There was one story that he even enlisted in a mercenary army and went off somewhere,

Thanks for your help.
Trudy

[KirstyG]

Hi Trudy

I see that the Ballantyne press went bankcrupt in 1826, however thre remained a printing company of that name until 1916. So it is not as straightforward as might have been thought.

http://www.edinburghcityofprint.org/pages/timeline/1800---1900.php
http://www.walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk/biography/ballant.html


If James Muir was in New Zealand by 1840 then he would not have been in any census records in Scotland as the first national census was 1841.

Can you post what information oyu have on the family, and your sources so that people do not duplicate searches. Did he marry? If so do you know the religious denomination of the family as that can make a difference when searching for birth records.


Kirsty

[Chris MB]

Hello there! I too am trying to find out more about the "roots' of James Muir my great  great great great grand father! We know he arrived around 1839 in new Zealand --- possibly shanghied from Aberdeen, Scotland on a whaling ship -- this would have made him about 32 years if he was born about 1807. I also have the family tree which lists his parents as Miriam barnston and James Muir, however no information about the area of scotland from whence he came, except that his obiturarys do mention he was employed as a printer for Ballantyne and co, carrying prints of the waverley novels to Sir Walter Scott for proof reading.
My aunts tell me that he was a bit of a "player". He had 7 children with Janet Ramsey, but i am unsure as to whether they were married. Janet originally came to NZ on the Olympus in 1841 and at this stage she was married to a David Coutie and had a baby girl on the ship, whom i understand was also brought up in the Muir household.
Just wondering whether you have been able to find out any other history!

I have found an entry on an electoral role which identifies that Jame's second name was William. An obituary published by his son does mention that James arrived in Wellington around 1840, on a new bedford whaler off Kapiti island, North Island, New Zealand.

[Raewyn Munro]

hi there - James Muir was my great great grandfather.  James was born and brought up in Edinburgh.  He arrived in Wellington Aotearoa NZ in 1840 on a whaling ship.  He was employed as a printer on the NZ Gazette, the first newspaper published in New Zealand.  Subsequently, he and 3 other partners set up the Wellington Independent newspaper which he remained connected with until he sold his interest and retired. He was a well respected early settler. James died in Wellington 24th November 1865, aged 58 years.  James and his wife Miriam are buried in the historic Bolton Street cemetery in Wellington.