Have I found the correct James Meldrum? (Marnoch, 1851)

[BHSyd]

I am trying to confirm which particular James Meldrum was the father of my great-grandfather James Davidson Meldrum.

James Davidson Meldrum’s birth record is as follows:

b. James Robert Meldrum, 18/2/1853, Buckie, Banffshire
Father - James Meldrum (Buckie)
Mother - Margaret Davidson
Christened - 18/3/1853 as Catholic although mother was protestant
Christening registered at parishes of St Peter’s at Buckie and St Gregory’s at Preshome
Illegitimate (natural)

Eight years later in the 1861 census, this young James Meldrum was living at Keith with his mother, her husband John Lyon whom she married in 1857 and their children.  Without doubt this is my great grandfather James Davidson Meldrum since later in life he variously gives his mother as Margaret Davidson and Margaret Lyon.

Going back 10 years to 1851, Margaret Davidson is listed in the 1851 census as follows:

Address: Auchinbaidy (Auchinbaidie), Alvah, Banffshire (farm of 100 acres)
Margaret Davidson, age 21, house servant, b. Forglen, Banffshire

The 1851 census also records a James Meldrum living about 10 km to the west near Aberchirder as follows:

Address: Monedie, Marnoch Parish, Banffshire (farm of 270 acres)
James Meldrum, age 23, agricultural labourer, b. Marnoch, Banffshire

It seems vey likely that this James Meldrum is the father of James Davidson Meldrum.  For example, Margaret Davidson and this James Meldrum may have happened to work/reside at the same farm sometime during 1852.

I have tried checking the 1851 census in Banffshire and its adjacent counties for other men named James Meldrum but there are not any obvious potential fathers of James Davidson Meldrum as follows:

Other adults named James Meldrum in Banffshire
Age 20, tailor, Somentone, Kirkmichael, Banffshire (living with sister)
Age 42, farmer of 5 acres, Glennieston, Gartly, Banffshire (wife and family)

Adults named James Meldrum in Aberdeenshire
Age 54 at Aberdeen North, married, harbour labourer
Age 48 at Insch, married, farmer of 30 acres - 30 km from Alvah
Age 31 at Strathdon, servant, grieve (farm overseer) - 55 km from Alvah
Age 25 at King Edward, married, farm labourer - 9 km from Alvah
Age 24 at Insch, married, farm labourer - 30 km from Alvah
Age 23 at Cairnie, farmer’s son (at home) - 22 km from Alvah
Age 18 at Insch, servant, agricultural labourer - 30 km from Alvah

Adults named James Meldrum in Inverness
Age 40 at Abernethy & Kincardine, farmer (living with sister & niece)

There were no adults named James Meldrum in Moray or Nairnshire.

I am trying to confirm that the James Meldrum who lived at Marnoch in 1851 is the correct father of James Davidson Meldrum.  This James Meldrum lived the remainder of his life in the Marnoch area, in particular at Aberchirder.  He did not leave anything to James Davidson Meldrum in his will.

James Davidson Meldrum lived in Australia for most of his adult life.  On official documents he recorded his father’s occupation as farmer.   He did not practise as a Catholic.

I have already researched the family connections of James Meldrum and Margaret Davidson in some detail so I don’t need any assistance on that side of things.  But any suggestions on how to confirm that I have the correct James Meldrum would be much appreciated.

Best regards,
BHSyd

[CaroleW]

Hi

Can you clarify/amend please

James Davidson Meldrum’s birth record is as follows:

b. James Robert Meldrum, 18/2/1853, Buckie, Banffshire

[BHSyd]

Dear CaroleW,

Yes, the birth record gives Robert as the second Christian name.  He was probably named for Margaret Davidson's father Robert Davidson.  However, in all Australian documents that I have found he was recorded as James Davidson Meldrum.  His birthplace was given in Australian documents as Buckie, Banffshire.  Another small discrepancy is the birth year.  In Australian documents his given age makes his year of birth about 1857 - 1859 whereas the Scottish record makes it 1853.  He may have reduced his age for one reason or another but I think this is not uncommon.

Best regards,
BHSyd

[Forfarian]

You say that Margaret Davidson was a Protestant.

In that case, there is a sporting chance that her pregnancy will have come to the notice of the Kirk Session, who would have made strenuous efforts to find out exactly who the father was. The surviving Kirk Session minutes are in the National Archives of Scotland, but they're not available online, so you'd need to get someone with access to the NAS to look at them on your behalf.

Do either of the baptism records say why the child was baptised a Catholic? Was the father RC, for example? Who were the sponsors?

[sancti]

Is his baptism only on the RC records?

[BHSyd]

Thank you for your suggestion re the Kirk Session.  It's just the sort of tip I was hoping for.

I have only been able to find the birth of James Robert (Davidson) Meldrum in the Catholic records.  In fact I only found this record by good fortune when I happened to notice that Scotland's People had Catholic Records and thought I'd check for the sake of completeness.

I can't post the records themselves on Rootschat due to copyright but I've summarised them below:

S.C.A. Births MP 31/1/1/3 99- Preshome, St Gregory's
Birth - 18 Feb, 1853
Baptism - 18 March 1853
James Robert Meldrum, said by the mother Margaret Davidson to be the son of James Meldrum born in Buckie on 18/2/1853 was baptised by me on 18th March the same year.  The sponsor was Elspeth Desson or Kyssack (?).  The mother (prot.) engaged to bring up the child Catholic.  John Sutherland

S.C.A. Births MP 16/1/2/1 43- Buckie, St Peter's
Column 1: (obscured) Feb 1853
Column 2: 18 Mar 1853
Column 3: James Robert N (where N = natural, ie illegitimate)
Column 4: James Meldrum, Buckie
Column 5: Margaret Davidson
Column 6: John Sutherland

I read that illegitimate births were quite common amongst farm servants at this time in the north of Scotland, partly due to the lodgings provided by the farm owners.  All the same, maybe Margaret Davidson was ostracised by her Protestant Church so she had her son baptised Catholic instead.  I'm only guessing.  (?)

I'm not sure whether James Meldrum (the father) was Catholic or not.

Best regards,
BHSyd