Hello everyone, and again, thanks so much for your replies and suggestions.
***An update tonight - as suggested, it appears that Adam might actually have been born a Hardie. The dates of birth are almost exact…and his mother’s name provides the strongest clue. I will begin working in this new direction….. In the meantime, here is what I’d been working on over the last few days to respond to all of your questions….it was ready to go, so I’ll send it to you anyway. Again, my deepest appreciation!
“After Scotlandspeople was up and running again, I was able to go back and double check the few records I’d gotten over the years, and put those together with the Canadian records I have. Extensive searches have only gotten a few vague hits, and I possess only 4 confirmed records in total.
ILLEGITIMATE - the suggestion that Adam may have been illegitimate was a not one I'd pursued yet for this branch of the family. Nor had I thought that W might have been his grandfather. However, I'm familiar with what you are suggesting because it's cropped up in other searches - but in those cases, the child showed up with their mother and kept either her maiden or new married surname. In one case, the mother even named the father on the birth registration which was very helpful in confirming what information I had.
WHY JEDBURGH? Back in the 1980s when I was just getting started with our family history, I interviewed my husband’s aunt and then his father. While each corrected the other’s memory on some details, neither argued that their grandfather Adam had come from Jedburgh. It’s also in their notes that Adam had a sister Bella who helped with his children when Jane died.
MORE ABOUT ADAM : We have a page from a family Bible giving Adam’s name and a date which has no relevance to us yet – Nov. 27, 1863, about 6 months before his first marriage; on the reverse of this page is his first wife’s name together with what turned out to be her date of death, Jan. 14, 1873. We also had a brief obituary listing Jane’s father as James Symington of Lanark, Scotland. With that information I was able to find their 1864 Ontario marriage registration on Ancestry (no original available, and one has not been ordered so I cannot confirm if the initial is W or A) on which Adam lists “W” as his father and Agnes as his mother. On this, he lists his place of birth as “York Tsp, Weston” (which is part of Toronto, Ontario and where he was living at the time). For many years, that and the Bible entries were all I had. In the 2000s, I went looking for the birth certificate for another of Adam’s daughters - Elizabeth, my husband’s grandmother - and along the way, discovered a second Ontario marriage for Adam in 1883. On that marriage registration, Adam listed his father as “William”. In the 1871 and subsequent censuses, Adam lists his place of birth as “Scotland”. In the more expansive 1901 Canadian census, Adam lists his year of emigration as 1860 and we finally have his birth date - Jan. 16, 1839. The year is consistent with ages he gave on other documents we have.
OTHER RECORD SEARCHES – Thank you for the records you have uncovered. I will study those further. In the meantime, here is what I’ve uncovered through the years -
• I have an OPR birth/baptismal document dated 17/12/1813 for an Adam Bell and his sister Janet of Jedburgh to a Thomas Bell, millwright in Jedburgh and his wife, Isbel(sic) Miller. Witnesses for Janet are Adam Bell, Mason, and Margaret Bell. Witnesses for Adam are Adam Bell and Geo Sword.
• I have an 1841 census for William Bell, 50, Agnes Bell, 40, Janet, 15 George 12 and William 10 of Moorfoot. The listings are with others in Swinnie. I place these settlements just south of Jedburgh, is that right?
• An Ancestry search for Bells in Jedburgh turned up one Adam Bell in the 1871 census, age 12 living with Walter, 50 and Margaret, 54. Obviously too late to be our ancestor though.
• There are a few William Bells in Roxboroshire, but none in Jedburgh and because other locations can’t be confirmed, I haven’t purchased any of these records.
EASTON as a family name -
• I wanted to find out if the Easton middle name used in all her official documents by Agnes, Adam’s daughter, was a family name or just one she liked.
It seems that I’m at an impasse. If you have any further suggestions, I’d be appreciative!” End
Now, as of tonight, I have ‘new’ work cut out for me! Many thanks everyone….
