Agnes Reid, Banffshire

[colincam]

I am struggling to find any BMD information on Agnes Reid who was the mother of Agnes Wright who was christened in Banff on 17 Oct 1803. The father was a Thomas Wright who I think was christened in Banff on 5 Jun 1783. I am not sure if Thomas and Agnes Reid were married but he did marry Henrietta Cameron on 27 Apr 1805 in Banff. Can anyone help me?
Colin

[GR2]

Have you looked at the actual entry for the baptism or only seen it on an index? The actual entry will make it very clear whether the parents were married and might give you something to help identify the mother - perhaps names and addresses of witnesses. If they were not married, the minutes of the kirk session might contain further information.

Graham.

[colincam]

The birth record actually indicates that Thomas Wright and Agnes Reid are married but since I have been unable to find a marriage record for them. I was beginning to think that it was untrue.
Colin

[MonicaL]

Hi Colin

Often happens that marriage entries on the Old Parish Registers are harder to find than births. Not sure whether birth parish registers were better maintained! If you have the wording from the birth OPR that parents were married, then you would think this was so.

Did the family later move to Edinburgh? There are a couple of births showing there in 1816 and 1820 for parents with these names.

Monica

Added: Ignore the comments re possible children! I see from a post you have on another forum that Thomas remarried in Banff in 1805.

[GR2]

There is a burial register for Banff in the OPR microfilm. I can't remember if it covers the very early 19th century. If it does, you should find Agnes there, unless the family came into Banff from another parish and were buried there.

Graham.

[colincam]

Hi GR2
Where can I find the burial register for Banff that you refer to?
colincam

[colincam]

Hi Monica
Thanks for your response to my query
I have no reason to believe that the Thomas Wright and Agnes Reid who gave birth to the 2 children in Edinburgh are the same couple as gave birth to my Agnes Wright in 1803.
The reason I think that my Thomas Wright "remarried" in 1805 is because it is unlikely that there were two Thomas Wrights in Banff at the same time; it is not a very common name in Scotland.

[GR2]

If you get hold of the microfilm version of the Banff OPR you will find the burial register on that. I cannot remember, however, if your period is included. Don't know where you are, but the Central Library in Aberdeen and the ANESFHS in King Street, Aberdeen have copies of the microfilm. The only piece of information you might get from it is age and perhaps cause of death.

Graham.

[Forfarian]

The reason I think that my Thomas Wright "remarried" in 1805 is because it is unlikely that there were two Thomas Wrights in Banff at the same time; it is not a very common name in Scotland.

I don't think that is a very safe assumption. It's possible, of course, but it certainly is not one I would make without some additional evidence to support it.

Suppose that at some point in the 18th century there was one Thomas Wright in Banffshire, Suppose further that he had two sons, who were named John and James.

Then suppose that John and James both get married, and both have sons. It would be traditional for both to name their first son after their father, so there would be two Thomas Wrights, first cousins, of similar age.

I think you are probably right that the Edinburgh baptisms are a different couple, because there is a marriage of a Thomas Wright to an Agnes Reid in Edinburgh in 1812. However I would plan to have a look at the marriage and both baptism records just in case. It's not impossible for Agnes b 1803 to have been born illegitimate and her parents to have married later.