Census Request for Dundee 1841 and 51

[anne]

Would someone be able to do a census lookup on Jean Cant and Alexander Nicol,i would love to know how many children they had.I know they were married in Mains and Strathmartin in 1789.Thankyou for any help.Anne.

[GEN10]

Hya Anne, a little bit more information would be great. What were  their ages. Any idea? Try looking for them on FreeCen. You do know that with them marrying in 1789 this at a minimum would make them both at least 71 on the 1841 census. Do you know if they were still alive then?
FreeCEN : UK Census Online Project
Found these two births on the IGI records. Both have parents that match exactly with Jean and Alexander. People did have a habit of giving their children the same names, maybe the first Margaret died. I know they are not the same children as they both have different birth dates. This you will see when you take a look yourself.

15. MARGT. NICOLL - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Christening: 21 SEP 1800 Mains And Strathmartine, Angus, Scotland

16. MARGARET NICOLL - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Christening: 22 AUG 1802 Mains And Strathmartine, Angus, Scotland

GEN10

[anne]

Hi,thankyou for your reply.This is the info i have so far on Alexander and Jean/Jane.
Alexander Nicol a ploughman born 29th January 1765 not sure where married Jean/Jane Cant Mains and Strathmartin Dundee 16th December 1789.If this is the correct couple i have Alexander Nicol husband of Jane Cant died 1st February 1830 aged 77 born Forfar,occupation Labourer cause old age,this would make him born 1753.
Jane Cant wife of Alexander Nicol died 14th November 1842 aged 76 born Dundee this would make her born 1766.Cause Fever,widow of Alexander Nicol.
I did see the 2 Margarets a while ago and came to the conclusion they were born to the same parents.
There is an awful big difference between their ages 12 years.I dont think this is the correct couple,or maybe one of them is right.Anne

[GEN10]

Hya Anne
First: If you have a birth date, have you got a copy of the transcript from the parish registers? If so does it name the parents? Are you sure you have the correct Alexander Nicol?
Second:  You know when these people died, have you thought of contacting the local library for that area and checking parish registers for their death?
Thirdly: The two Margaret Nicol's, could well be the same person, this depends if someone has submitted them as part of their family tree. As I've said before, people named their children with the same names, they were not very adventurous and gave their children the same name, you usually find this where an older sibling has died.

Can I ask how you came to the decision that Alexander and Jean were your ancestors ?
GEN10

[anne]

Hi,thankyou agin for your reply,in answer to your question.About 3 years ago i hired a professional genealogist to get me started on my dads side of the family and this is one little bit of info i got regarding Margaret Alexander and Jane.
Ref Death 1886 St Andrew Dundee 282/4.569
Name Margaret Kennedy ms Nicoll
Marital Status Widow of David Kennedy Mason
Age 79
Date of death 19th July 1886
Place of Death 85 Cowgate Dundee
Cause of Death Meningitis 21 days
Fathers Name and Occupation Alexander Nicol ploughman deceased
Mothers Name Jane Nicoll ms Cant deceased
Informant Edward Kennedy son.

If she died aged 77 in 1886 that would make her born 1807.
If you take roughley 25 years off that for her parents they would have been born around 1782.I think i have the wrong parents.I found a death for Alexander Nicol died 1st June 1850 Guildie aged 73 but he was listed as a blacksmith,he would have been born 1777 this might be him,but i have an awful lot of mights.What do you think.Anne.

[GEN10]

Hya Anne
Boy this is a query! I have searched the IGI (THEY ARE FREE) and keep coming up with the same marriage date for Alexander and Jean as you do. I can't find any other children for them in Strathmartine. When did Margaret get married? If you are a member of Scotlands People check the OPR'S. It means buying the extract from the parish records but it might bring closure to your answer. You could also try
http://www.familysearch.org/. It's the Mormon site and they do have centres all over. Go to the web site, click on Family History Library catalogue, then click on Family History centres. Put in your address and it will bring up the nearest centre to you. If you order the micro fiches for Alexander and Jean I bet you will discover if they are yours or not. You could check in your yellow pages to see if there is one near you. By the way occupations changed, don't take for granted the information you have been given as being his only occupation. One of my ancestors was a plough man but ended up a winder at the mines. Another started off as a quarry man and ended up a farmer.
Don't know what else to suggest. Maybe someone else with a bit of luck will come in and notice the obvious that I have missed.
GEN10

[JAP]

Hello Anne,

Did the professional researcher not cite his/her sources for the information?  Or his/her reasoning and proof for the information which was provided to you?

The scenario you draw sounds reasonable to me (I wonder why you doubt it) - and the information about the births and deaths of Alexander and Jane must have come from somewhere!  I would try to find out where it came from - the only source would seem to be parish registers (given that the stated births, marriage, and deaths of Alexander and Jane were well before the time of statutory registration though Jane is supposed to have still been alive at the time of the 1841 census).  I certainly would not be at all worried about a 12 year age difference between Alexander and Jane (which you seem to be if I understand you correctly).

If I were you, and if you have not already done so, I would be working steadily and carefully backwards from the death of Margaret (NICOLL) KENNEDY.  I would start by searching on the pay-per-view site ScotlandsPeople at:
http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
for Margaret in the 1881 and 1871 census which are available there.  These should give her place of birth, and also possibly a more accurate age than is on her death certificate (though a discrepancy of 5 years compared with Margaret chr 1802 is not unusual; the older the person, the less reliable the age is likely to be).

The marriage of David KENNEDY and Margaret NICOLL seems to be in the IGI - you could order in the film of the parish register to your local LDS Family History Centre in case it contains more information (though often the parish registers don't have any information other than that in the IGI).
David KENNEDY mar MARGARET NICOLL, 1 Apr 1834, Dundee, Angus.

Most of the 1841 census for Angus is on FreeCEN at:
http://freecen.rootsweb.com/
though I can't seem to find David and Margaret.
There are a couple of possibilities for Jane/Jean NICOL/NICOLL (your information says she died in 1842).

Good luck,

JAP

[anne]

Thankyou again for your replys.I have census records for Margaret Kennedy ms Nicol and also for David Kennedy also i have Margarets death certificate i got these from Scotlands People.Margarets death gives her parents as Alexander Nicol and Jane Cant obviously both deceased.This is the census record for Margaret and her family minus her sons Edward and David.
1871 census for 28 Tindals Wynd St Clement Dundee
Margaret Kennedy head widow washerwoman aged 68{makeing her born 1803}
Mary Kennedy daughter domestic single aged 31{born 1840}
Margaret Kennedy daughter single steem loom weaver{born 1844}
David Webster grandson illigitimate son of Mary Kennedy and David Webster a seaman born 19th October 1863 at 7 Yeamans Close,he died aged 9 on 11th January 1872 at 10 Grey Square Dundee.The funny thing is Margaret is listed as Widowed but then on the census for 1871 for 13 Fish Street Dundee i have a David Kennedy liveing in a lodgeing house i cant make out his age but he is listed as married and his occupation is Mason,i think this is my David regardless as to wether it says married or widowed.I cant find a death for David on Scotlands People or their marriage details either so i gave up looking for his death a long time ago,only trouble is i cant get his parents names although i think possibly William Kennedy and Margaret Gowans.
Anyway i got a bit side tracked there sorry,regarding Alexander and Jane i am no further forward with them either,i have spent a fortune on Scotland People and only go on once a month now and buy 60 credits.The genealogist i hired got his info from Edinburgh Records Office or so he told me.Anyway i think thats about it .Anne.