Hi, I've recently been researching Isabella Kerr and Isabella Callan as they were my x3 and x4 Grandmothers. This has been my findings ...
Isabella Kerr’s parents were John Kerr and Isabella Callan. The census indicate that Isabella Jr was born in New Cumnock. On her death cert her mother is documented as having married a James Young, Ploughman.
Unable to find a death cert or parish record for John Kerr. However in 1873 a man named John Kerr, coal miner, died aged 77 at Linkyburn (where Isabella and family were living in the 1871 census). The death is registered by “Hugh Park, Grandson” and this is probably Isabella’s grandfather (Hugh would in fact be Grandson in-law). John is named as the widow of Jane Anderson and Isabella and Hugh Park had named their first daughter Jane Anderson Park (1869-1938). (Their second born son was named John Kerr Park (1867-1942)). This John Kerr’s parents were Archibald Kerr, Farmer and Elizabeth Hyslop. The 1851 census indicates Isabella living with her grandfather John (who was born in Sanqhuar), in Muirkirk on Wellwood Row. There is no mention of her parents or Jane Anderson (indicating Jane had died, and proberly her father John was also deceased). Unsure why Isabella was living with her paternal grandfather as opposed to her mother and/or maternal grandparents who were still alive.
Parish records indicate that Isabella had an older brother, John born to John Kerr and Isabella Callan in New Cumnock in 1845 and this record indicates that he was illigtimate and thus Isabella too was probably illegitimate (no parish record available for her). Parish records would record an illegitimate person as “natural child” as opposed to “legal child” if the parents were married. There is a marriage of an Isabella Callan to a James Young, ploughman, in New Cumnock in 1862, although Isabella is aged at 27. She died in 1883, aged 52 at Gallowhill Farm, Maybole, making her old enough to be a young mother. In the 1841 census “Tibby” is aged at around 14, staying at Greave Hill. (This is not unusual for ages across documents to be inconsistent giving this Isabella birth dates of 1827 (via census), 1831 (via death cert) and 1835 (via marriage cert). However her parish record has her being baptised in 1826. She appears in the 1851 census as living as a servant in Ayr. Some of her (and other members of her family) have the surname recorded as Cullen (again not unusual for different spelling of names). Another fact clarifying that she is the mother of Isabella is that on Isabella’s Jrs death cert it states “afterwards wife of …” which has been the same as what has appeared on certificates of other illigtimate family members if their mothers married after they had been born. A newspaper article further indicates that Isabella Sr had another daughter, Mary Campbell who soliciters were trying to locate after the death of Isabella Srs last survivng sibling, Archibald (1824-1897). Isabella had 2 sisters who appeared to have married men with the same surname (McNally) so perhaps they were brothers.
Isabella Sr parents were John Callan (1800-1880), Grocer, and Mary Hunter (1803-1873). Both died at Pathhead, New Cumnock. having been born in Dumfrieshire. They married 1822 in Sanqhuar. John remarried to a Margaret Patrick in 1874 (his housekeeper).
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Topic: Kerr Callan marriage (Read 5091 times)