Searching for Mary McLellan/MacLelland/Mcclelland's parents, birth & death dates

[lockhaven]

Another road block. Can anybody help me out?

I'm stumped on a ggggrandmother. Mary McLellan/MacLelland/Mcclelland. Her last name spelling seems to be different in every document, so not sure which one is actually correct.

I believe I've found her in the 1841 census with her husband Matthew Findlay. (Apr 1785 Eastwood, Renfrewshire - aft. 1841) living at Cauglen House, Eastwood, Renfrewshire with children, Matthew, Malcolm & Marian.

Judging from that, she seems to be born abt. 1796 in Renfrewshire.

They had 7 children...

Agnes Findlay 1811-  Dailly, Ayr
Andrew Findlay 1813- Dailly, Ayr
John Findlay 1814- Abbey (Paisley) Renfrew (Residence: Eaglesham, Renfrew)
Matthew Findlay 1817-1901 - Eastwood, Renfrew
Malcolm Findlay 1828-1891 (my gggrandfather) (missing any birth record)
Marian Findlay 1831-  (missing any birth record)

She married Matthew in Dailly, Ayr on 20th May 1811.

I seem to be coming up empty handed after the 1841 census for Mary or her husband Matthew. I also can't seem to find any mention of her parents / birth anywhere.

Can anyone help me out / give me some tips on where to go from here?

Thanks so much!

[Rosinish]

I'm stumped on a ggggrandmother. Mary McLellan/MacLelland/Mcclelland. Her last name spelling seems to be different in every document, so not sure which one is actually correct.

Judging from that, she seems to be born abt. 1796 in Renfrewshire.

They had 7 children...

Agnes Findlay 1811-  Dailly, Ayr
Andrew Findlay 1813- Dailly, Ayr
John Findlay 1814- Abbey (Paisley) Renfrew (Residence: Eaglesham, Renfrew)
Matthew Findlay 1817-1901 - Eastwood, Renfrew
Malcolm Findlay 1828-1891 (my gggrandfather) (missing any birth record)
Marian Findlay 1831-  (missing any birth record)

She married Matthew in Dailly, Ayr on 20th May 1811.

I seem to be coming up empty handed after the 1841 census for Mary or her husband Matthew. I also can't seem to find any mention of her parents / birth anywhere.

Can anyone help me out / give me some tips on where to go from here?

All spellings would be correct.......no hard/fast rules....spelt how it sounded by whoever was interpreting it.

Am I reading this correctly....

Mary born 1796...

Married 1811....

Doesn't add up 

Annie

[Rosinish]

  Ah......looks like you had your fingers on wrong keys i.e. 1785 

Annie

[lockhaven]

I'm stumped on a ggggrandmother. Mary McLellan/MacLelland/Mcclelland. Her last name spelling seems to be different in every document, so not sure which one is actually correct.

Judging from that, she seems to be born abt. 1796 in Renfrewshire.

They had 7 children...

Agnes Findlay 1811-  Dailly, Ayr
Andrew Findlay 1813- Dailly, Ayr
John Findlay 1814- Abbey (Paisley) Renfrew (Residence: Eaglesham, Renfrew)
Matthew Findlay 1817-1901 - Eastwood, Renfrew
Malcolm Findlay 1828-1891 (my gggrandfather) (missing any birth record)
Marian Findlay 1831-  (missing any birth record)

She married Matthew in Dailly, Ayr on 20th May 1811.

I seem to be coming up empty handed after the 1841 census for Mary or her husband Matthew. I also can't seem to find any mention of her parents / birth anywhere.

Can anyone help me out / give me some tips on where to go from here?

All spellings would be correct.......no hard/fast rules....spelt how it sounded by whoever was interpreting it.

Am I reading this correctly....

Mary born 1796...

Married 1811....

Doesn't add up 

Annie

Hi Annie, I was going off the 1841 Census, which says abt. 1796 (which I know those years can all be off), that seems to be the only thing with an estimated birth date. Given her husband's birth in 1785, I would guess it's maybe closer to 1790?

[Rosinish]

You could begin with the marriages of their children to find out whether they were deceased & when earliest recorded as such to check with a window of which censuses they would likely be on after 1841..

Annie

ADDED....Looking at their birth dates, unless any married after 1855 it may be hard finding out whether they were noted as deceased.

[Rosinish]

Does the 1841 census record them both as "Born in county" or not ?

What was Matthew's occupation?

Have you found all the children in all other census' as they may be elsewhere with children?

Annie

[Forfarian]

I'm stumped on a ggggrandmother. Mary McLellan/MacLelland/Mcclelland. Her last name spelling seems to be different in every document, so not sure which one is actually correct.

There was no such thing as 'correct' spelling before about the 20th century. All spellings are equally correct, or equally incorrect. Just think of them as variants of one another.

[Forfarian]

I was going off the 1841 Census, which says abt. 1796

Actually, no, the available UK census never says a year of birth. Never, ever. You must be looking at a transcription in which the supposed year of birth has been 'calculated' by subtracting the age from the year of the census. For reasons I have explained ad nauseam in other threads, this gives a wrong answer three times out of four in any census from 1851 onwards.

In the case of the 1841 census, it is even more misleading, because adults' ages were supposed to be rounded down to the nearest 5 years. So a person whose age is given in the census as 45 could in fact be any age from 45 to 49.

The census was taken on 7 June 1841, so if the 45-year-old person's age is accurate, they would have been born between 8 June 1791 and 7 June 1796.