Andrew Lindsay Peter Gardner Millwright and Engineers, Stirling

[blinder]

I have found reference to a notice of impending bankruptcy proceedings against the business of Peter Gardner and Andrew Lindsay, millwrights and engineers of Stirling.  This notice was published in The London Gazette of October 8, 1861.
I am keen to know more about this business, where it was, and what the outcome of this action may have been. I believe that Andrew came to Australia in 1865 and started a foundry "The Carron Ironworks"
Thankyou
 

[Forfarian]

I can think of several ways to pursue this.

First, the National Archives Records of Scotland will almost certainly have the records of the bankruptcy proceedings, so have a look in their catalogue at www.nas.gov.uk

Second, I would go to www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk and look for Andrew Lindsay in the 1861 census. He is bound to be there somewhere, because the census was taken six months before the bankruptcy notice. The census will tell you how old he was, where he was born, and if he was married it will tell you the names, ages and birthplaces of his wife and children. Then look for him in the 1871 census. If he is still to be found in Scotland, then he is obviously not your one.

If he did have a family in 1861, use the 1861 census information to look for the birth dates of the children at www.familysearch.org. If one of them was born in 1855, get that birth certificate from www.scotlandspeople. It will give you a wealth of information about the family, far more than earlier baptism records or later birth certificates.

One other avenue you could pursue would be to look in 19th century newspapers for reports about the bankruptcy proceedings. Some, but not all, issues of the Glasgow Herald can be browsed online - I have apparently mislaid the URL but someone else will know and will tell us - and the Scotsman Digital Archive is available through the Gale 19th century Newspaper Collection http://gdc.gale.com/nineteenth-century-collections-online/ fully indexed or at http://archive.scotsman.com , both of which are subscription sites.

[Skoosh]

The Carron Ironworks in Falkirk, Stirlingshire, on the banks of the River Carron, was probably Scotland's most famous early foundry, they made the "Carronades" (or "Smashers"), for Nelson's navy. The company still existed in a form until a few years ago. I have a Victorian Carron fire surround. Possibly they did work for Carron or served their time there.
The Edinburgh Gazette, an official government newspaper available online, might have some info' on the bankruptcy proceedings not in the London Gazette.

 http://www.edinburgh-gazette.co.uk/

Skoosh.

[blinder]

Thankyou Forfarian. Your advice has been very helpful. I have one child born 1855 and there is much of value on it. I have had a look at the NAS site and will work into that eventually. Access to the newspapers has given lots of potential material. The business that went broke was making farm machinery. Looking at the UK digital on-line newspapers has made me wonder how long we will have free access to our papers in Australia! Thankyou Skoosh. I wonder whether one of my antecedents worked at Carron Iron Works. He was listed as a steam engine maker in 1855 on his daughter's birth certificate.

[Skoosh]

Blinder, this East Stirlingshire site "Tom's Tree", might come in useful,

 http://tompaterson.co.uk/testhome.php

Newspapers,    http://news.google.com/newspapers

Bests,

Skoosh.