Family link or just big coincidence?

[t1m]

Hi purplekat,

I wouldn't be able to give up.  I've tried several times in the past, and it's the know that the next certificate might turn up something new.  It's only because I came back after "giving up" several times in the past that I found Alexander in 1861, In Roxburghshire.  Not nearly what I wanted, but it was still that little further back than anyone knew before.

And given that Alexander's father died after the SSRs were introduced, it's probable that somewhere there is a death record of John DAVIDSON, farmer, widower of Margaret WILKIE.  I know it's not definite, but I'm still looking.

Like others on that thread, my eyes have been opened by the number of people miraculously born so soon after a wedding.  It does end the suggestion that Alexander's father was illegitimate and so therefore his marriage and his son's birth are not in the church records (something I never believed even a little bit).

Frustratingly, I also have problems with my paternal great great grandfather, who was born in the Falkland Islands.  My father has struggled for years to find information on him.  These things were sent to try us!  Good luck with your own research too.

Tim

[t1m]

Hi flst,

Coincidentally, I've been wondering about the possibility if Alexander was non-conformist.  He was married in CoS in Monikie, but if we were all to go far back enough then we'd all find non-conformist ancestors.  That book covers just the right range of dates for Alexander, and it's a great idea to email the Aberdeenshire library service.  In fact it was the very first thing I did this morning, so I'm now looking forward to a reply from them.  And even if they find nothing, researching non-conformist records is definitely another angle to take in my research.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Tim

[Kempie]

looking at the copy of the witnesses on the marriage certificate  the name would be George Barrie
The nuns had us practising our cursive writing which no one does today.  everyong's writing is different.   had a situation with an L  being mistaken for a T

[Guy Etchells]

Hi Monica,

I'm quite comfortable with a cartwright being described as a farm labourer.  Maybe that's with a modern head on though.  Would a cartwright work mainly on a farm?  Or is that too much like assuming a modern mechanic works on a farm today?

It could be my inexperience, but the Dickie/Wilken thought you put forward seems much less likely to me.  I can't help but think that with all those names, and the location and the dates, there must be some kind of link.  For Alexander to have been illegitimate, or to have been given away ("I'm 50 now Margaret, I can't cope or afford any more children") would explain it so well.  But that could be my inexperience in genealogy -- no properly developed gut feeling.

Unfortunately, even if this link were true, there may be no documentation anywhere to prove it.

What do you think of the witness signature "George ?"?  Is it Baine?

While not disputing a cartwright could do labouring on a farm I doubt if he was regularly employed by a farm in either capacity.

Cartwright’s would often be self-employed and indeed if he was more involved in repairing carts may even have been a wheelwright or even a blacksmith.
The skills required by cartwrights were also required by wheelwrights & blacksmiths and such work would have been more rewarding than labouring (but that can never be ruled out).

Another angle to look at especially when the trade cartwright is mentioned is the likelihood of him being a gypsy.
I would you widen your search in other types of records such as Quarter Session records, Sheriff Court Records and even J.P. Records though these last were not as important in Scotland as they were in England you may even find references in poor relief records.
Cheers
Guy

[Forfarian]

I'm quite comfortable with a cartwright being described as a farm labourer.

I'm not. A cartwright was a skilled tradesman who would have gone through several years as an apprentice to learn the trade. He built carts and waggons, and had to be able to make wheels and to fit them to axles so that the cart or waggon ran smoothly. A very big estate might employ a cartwright, but most would probably have been independent businessmen.

Edit: Apologies, had not seen Guy's reply, but we both seem to be of similar opinion.

[t1m]

Hi,

Thanks for the suggestions. However, this post is seven years old now. I never did find John Davidson and Margaret Wilkie, but I hope to pick up the genealogy again some time this year and take a fresh look at it.

He was born in Aberdeenshire, but at the age of 21 was working as a Railway Labourer at the other end of Scotland in Roxburghshire. So when I pick it up again, instead of concentrating on John Davidson from the north of Scotland, I expect I will:

• concentrate my search more in the south, particularly the south-east
• look for Margaret Wilkie, especially her death certificate as I have a date-range for her death

But I haven't looked at my notes for so long, I really need to review them first. I do remember that I did decide that I was clutching at straws about the hypothesis I outlined in the opening post.

Tim

[MonicaL]

Tim

Looking at this again after a while...

Curious about the family of John Dickie and Margare Wilkie (Wilken etc.) They were having children at the right time in Cruden including an Alexander in 1839 https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XBQ5-54B  (you need to be logged on to view now). Further daughter Isabella in Cruden 1835. Maybe a co-incidence?

Marriage or banns in 1935 in Cruden https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XTNX-G42

Monica
 

[MonicaL]

This is the Dickie family in Cruden 1841:

John Dickie 30 farmer
Margt Dickie 30
Isabella Dickie 5
Alexander Dickie 1
Isabella Daniel 15 servant
Christian Dickie 13 servant
George Menzies 20 tailor j
William Menzies 15 tailor j

Address: E Aquharney,  Cruden

Monica

[Flattybasher9]

Have you looked at the birth of an Alexander Davidson to JAMES DAVIDSON/JEAN CHALMERS born on 25 April 1839 in Cruden ?

Malky