james johnston /e

[LHG]

hello
iam new here and hoping someone may be able to help please.
mt 2nd grt grandfather james johnston married agnes heron 15/1/1844 mochrum wigtown. in the 1851 census civil parish mochrum, port william agnes is stated as being the head and seamans wife. by 1861 they had moved to glasgow. he had died by 1867.
can anyone please point me in the direction of where i might look regarding the seaman part it seems about 1855 he was seaman merchant service.i can find no death for him on scotlands people . he was born about 1820 kicudbright i can find no trace of him in the 1841 census.
appreciate any info at all.

[MonicaL]

Hi LHG

Welcome to RootsChat 

Not sure if it would give you any extra info, but have you checked the 1855 birth cert for daughter Margaret in Mochrum? The first year of official registrations and for one year only, the register entries ran over two pages of the register and included additional info relating to parents (for birth certificates of that year).

What was the event of 1867 that let you confirm that James was deceased by then?

Monica

[LHG]

hello monica
many thanks to you for replying.
i do have margarets b/c. in 1861 census the family are living in govan glasgow, he is listed as a seaman. his wife agnes in 1871 census in in another address in govan. jame is not. one of their sons william b. 1847 marries in 1867 and that cert states father deceased. so james must have died between 1861 and 1867 but he is always listed as being a seaman. i can find no records on scotlands people about that monica.just not sure where to look now.all i know is he was born about 1820 minigaff kircudbright. married agnes heron 15/1/1844 mochrum wigtown on his daughters margarets b/c he is stated as not present and a merchant seaman.
lorraine

[MonicaL]

Hi Lorraine

Can't see anything conclusive for you that would let you confirm at this stage James' death and family. As a merchant seaman, likely he may have died at sea. He seems to have been away from home for both 1851 and 1861.

Sometimes you can find some merchant seaman records on the National Archives site here:

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/search/advanced_search.aspx?homepage=ad-search&javascriptenabled=True&j=t

You can deselect all and such search under 'Merchant shipping and seamen'.

I don't have any experience really of searching records for this occupation. Hopefully someone can give you further advice on this.

I can see a number of extensive family trees on this line on A/try. Looks like everyone is struggling with James' roots. Sometimes, when it is this hard, you have to look at alternative clues. Maybe not a 100% proof but looking for strong possibilities.

You are lucky that the family and the children are well researched. Their children are given as:

Samuel 1845
William 1847
John 1849
James 1852
Margaret 1855...fits well with the mention in Margaret's bc of 4 boys and 1 girl living at this time.
Grace McGuffie 1857
Archibald 1860

I found these entries for children and wondered whether connected to James' line - particularly with the mother's name (Grace and Grizel and interchangeable first name variants).

To Archibald Johnston and Grace/Grizel McGuffog (thinking here of James and Agnes' children born in 1857 and 1860):

1. Mary JOHNSTONE chr. 14 Jan. 1813 Sorbie, Wigtown
2. Grace JOHNSTON chr. 30 April 1817 Wigtown, Wigtown
3. JAMES JOHNSTON chr. 15 Sept 1819 Penninghame, Wigtown...wondered about this entry for your James?
4. Margaret JOHNSTON chr. 15 July 1821 Wigtown, Wigtown

Monica

PS: What is the source for James being originally from Minnigaff? The 1855 birth entry for Margaret shows Wigtownshire for James as his birth place (not more specific than than).

[LHG]

hello monica
thank you for replying
i checked on laterday saints for marriage of james and agnes heron. marriage is stated as 15/1/1844 in mochrum, wigtown. on 1861 census for 13 albert st govan, glasgow it states he is a seaman born about 1820 minigaff, kircudbright. i have his wife agnes d/c  21/2/1888  conti st glasgow, states widower of james johnston, merchant seaman. i have all the childrens births. so have nothing concrete about his birth at all monica e.g. b/c.
lorraine