Lockhart at Paisley, 1811

[Forfarian]

Thank you.  I've searched Scotland's People in the past without success.  But I can give it another try.    Maybe more records have been added?  We'll see...

All the extant Church of Scotland and Roman Catholic registers are there, and most of the surviving registers of the Secession and Free churches.

It does look as if Ellen may have been baptised during a period when the Paisley baptism register was not being properly kept, so that no record of her baptism has survived.

[heiserca]

Yes, I've just finished another search at Scotland's People.  For the name Ellen Lockhart, it said:

We found 0 in 0 categories

Their system is pretty good about checking alternative spelling but I manually tried:  Ellen... Helen... Hellen... Lockhart... Lochhart... Lockart... Lockheart... Lockhead... 

In the relevant time period, about 1815-18, it found just 1 Helen Lockhart at Dumbarton and 1 Helen Lochart at Abbotshall.  Both are incorrect, wrong parents.  Failed again.

[heiserca]

Ellen’s father, William Lockhart, was a soldier, enlisted at Barony, 1807, in the 4th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry.  He married Margaret Henderson, 1811 at Paisley High Church, and he was still a soldier at time of marriage.  Unsure when his military service ended. 

The marriage of William & Margaret - and baptisms of their children - were all at Paisley High Church, so we assume they belonged to the established Church of Scotland.  Baptisms are found for 5 children:  Archibald, 1812 at High Church; John, 1814 at High Church; Mary, 1819 at High Church; Jean, 1822 at High Church; Janet, 1824 at High Church.  But apparently High Church records are missing between 1815-18, exactly the period when we think Ellen was born!

William Lockhart reappeared in the 1831 census at Montreal, Canada, with his wife and 6 unnamed daughters.  Ellen Lockhart married James Clezie at Troy, New York, 1840.  They moved to Toronto, Canada, where a child was b. 1849, named Helen Orr Clezie, after Ellen’s grandmother, Helen Orr (b. 1758 at Paisley), who was the wife of John Henderson, a weaver.   

We’ve been trying since the 1970s, to find any record of Ellen’s birth.  Getting closer but still frustrated...

[grendlsmother]

Just a shot in the dark - have you tried Lockie.  I have Lockharts - not connected - sometimes listed as Lockie.

[heiserca]

I now tried Lockie too... nothing found.  Someone has suggested that Paisley records in early 1800s  are actually missing from Scotland's People.  I don't know if that is true but it would explain the failure to find her.  Highly frustrating, to find Ellen's parents and siblings, yet she herself does't seem to exist!

[heiserca]

Still seeking a birth/baptism record for Ellen (or Helen) Lockhart, born at Paisley about 1816-17, a daughter of William Lockhart & Margaret Henderson, who married on 7 Sep 1811 at Paisley High Church.  William was a soldier in the 71st Foot Regiment at time of marriage.

The couple had sons, Archibald (1812) and John (1814), both baptized at Paisley High Church.  Ellen was born after John, probably about 1816-17.  She was the 1st daughter, so was named after her maternal grandmother, Helen Orr, wife of John Henderson (Ellen & Helen apparently treated as the same name.)

No record has been found of Ellen at Paisley.  Nothing.  I’m told that High Church records from early 1800s were badly stored in a damp location, they got wet and were destroyed by milldew.  Is that true?

The parents and children migrated to Canada about 1826-30, exact date unknown.  William Lockhart reappeared in the 1831 Canada census, near Montreal, occupation: rope-maker, with his wife & 6 unnamed daughters.  Still no mention of Ellen by name.

Is there any hope of finding some record of Ellen?  Maybe she was born at Glasgow or elsewhere instead?  Scotland's People shows nothing; FamilySearch shows nothing.

 

[heiserca]

One more attempt... still looking for some record of Ellen Lockhart born about 1816 at Paisely.

I'm told that church records from Paisley have disappeared.  One story says they were lost in a fire... another says they were kept in a basement and were destroyed by mildew.  Does anyone know the  facts?

WHEN were the records destroyed?  Is there an approximate date?

WHERE did the destruction occur?  At one of the churches?

HOW did it happen: fire or mildew or what?

DID any records survive?  If so, where are they now kept?


Ellen Lockhart was apparently born at Paisley about 1816, give-or-take a year.  Parents were William Lockhart & Margaret Henderson, married in 1811 at Paisley High Church.

The last-known record of this family at Paisley was baptism of a daughter Janet, 13 June 1824 at High Church.

Then William Lockhart reappeared, in Canada, with his family, in the census in June 1831 at St. Philippe, south of Montreal.

Between 1824-31... a blank.  Any help greatly appreciated.