I am researching the ancestors of my great great grandmother, Elizabeth Ritchie, daughter of James Ritchie and Margaret McNichol. Following is the research I have put together so far. Sources are shown in italics.
Elizabeth Ritchie
Born 29 July 1831 Powmill, Kinross. Father: James Ritchie, Smith. Mother: M McNichol
(Extract of entry from GRO dated 1886 - presumably required when she moved to Australia with her second husband, George Deany in 1886 - Family Search and Scotlands People)
Married 9 April 1858 Alexander Wallace, Fossoway. Father: James Ritchie, Smith decd. Mother: Margaret McNichol decd. (Scotlands People)
Married 2 September 1863 George Deany, Dollar. Father: James Ritchie, Smith decd. Mother: Margaret McNichol decd. (Scotlands People)
Died 4 July 1910 Windsor, Melbourne, Australia. Death appears not to have been registered.
The Family of James Ritchie and Margaret McNichol
Married: 20 April 1816, Dunblane (Ancestry.com)
Possible Children:
• James, Born 1 March 1817, Fossoway Father: James Ritchie Mother: M McNichol (Ancestry.com)
• Margaret, Born about 1830, Married William Brand 29 March 1858, Auchterarder (Family Search) and Died 29 May 1863, Fossoway. Father: James Ritchie, Blacksmith decd. and Margaret McNichol decd. (Scotlands People)
• Elizabeth, Born 29 July 1831, Fossoway Father: James Ritchie Mother M McNichol (Family Search and Scotlands People)
• Mary "who died young" (Margaret McNichol monumental inscription). No record of the birth or death can be found.
• Janet "who died young" (Margaret McNichol monumental inscription). No record of the birth or death can be found.
1841 Census data: (Scotlands People)
Village of Easter Gartwhinzean (later called Powmill)
James Ritchie, 45, Smith (b.1796)
Margaret Ritchie, 45 (b.1796)
Margaret Ritchie, 13 (b.1828)
Elizabeth Ritchie, 9 (b.1832)
1851 Census data: (Scotlands People)
Powmill Village
James Ritchie, Smith, 57, Born Dunblane (b.1794)
Margaret Ritchie, 60, Born Blackford (b.1791)
Margaret Ritchie, Dressmaker, 22, Born Fossoway (b.1829)
Elizabeth Ritchie, Dressmaker, 18, Born Fossoway (b.1833)
Margaret McNichol
According to the monumental inscription in the Fossoway churchyard, she was the wife of James Ritchie, Smith, of Easter Gartwhinzean, who died 28 May 1831, aged 65 years (b. 1776). The memorial also refers to her daughters, Mary Ritchie and Janet Ritchie, who "died young". (Monumental inscription).
No other record of her death can be found.
James Ritchie
Died 1856 (exact date indecipherable), Easter Gartwhinzean, Blacksmith, widower, aged 63 years (b.1793). Buried Fossoway churchyard. (Scotlands People)
Inconsistencies and questions
How could Elizabeth Ritchie be born on 29 July 1831 when her "mother" died on 28 May 1831?
How can Margaret Ritchie (nee McNichol) be included in the 1841 and 1851 census when, according to the monumental inscription she died in 1831? Did James re-marry and his second wife was also called Margaret? - No marriage record can be found.
Was James the son of his first wife Margaret McNichol, and were the children Margaret and Elizabeth then the children of a second marriage? But the first wife only died a few months before the birth of the second family?
Were the children Mary and Janet born about the same time as James, and did they die soon after birth? Margaret McNichol obviously did not die during childbirth at the age of 65 years.
Did the monumental mason or his informant simply get it wrong? Did Margaret McNichol in fact die on 28 May 1851, just a few months after the 1851 census (in which she was described as a 60 year old)? Is the date 28 May 1831 the date of death of the young children (babies?) Mary and Janet? Did they die at birth or very soon thereafter? As the early 1830s was a time when James and Margaret produced their other daughters Margaret and Elizabeth.
Hope someone can help me out with this conundrum!
