Gordon Blair - Mystery? or Not!

[isobelw]

I note from Julia's obituary notice that she was supposedly married to Gordon in St Paul's Anglican Church, Ipswich (Queensland).
Isobel

[RJ_Paton]

1833 19 Sep birth Glasgow - Fact from DC

If accepted as fact this then rules out The Clerk in a Solictors office - Gordon Blair. age 23 in 1851 - giving a potential birth around 1828.

1841 Census - St Ninians Stirlingshire

Certainly there is a 15 yr old Gordon Blair in Stirlingshire in the 1841 census (the rounding down in this census makes his age anywhere between 15 & 19) giving us potential births around 1822 to 1826 but in Stirlinghire NOT Glasgow.
While the 1851 census has Gordon born in St Ninians Stirling there is no evidence to support (or disprove) the theory that he is the same person as the 1841 entry - although I'm prepared to accept it as a very strong possibility.

1850 Marriage to Jane Norval - Glasgow Lanark
1850 birth at Barony Lanark

No disputing that "a" Gordon Blair did marry Jane Norval and that they did have a child together.
Although one point that Isobel picked up in her excellent research was that Gordon and Jane were married by a minister from the Free Church. The Free church was formed from the secessionist churches and many of their records are not available online, this might explain the difficulty in finding proof of birth.

1851 Census - St Ninians Stirlingshire - Law clerk

Again this would be at odds with the claimed birth on the Death Certificate - but who hasn't come across such discrepancies.

1852 Birth unnamed child 2 days - Glasgow lanark
1853 Birth at Gorbals
1855 Birth Hutchesontown Glasgow
1856 Birth Hutchesontown Glasgow

All evidence for Gordon Blair husband of Jane Norval

1857 Birth at Tradeston - he's a 'writer Glasgow

This is the birth of Thomas Gordon Blair born to James Gordon Blair and Jane Blair (M.S Norval). James Gordon Blair states he is a Writer - in Scots terms at that time a Writer was a Solicitor. Quite a jump up from Solicitors Clerk.

There is no indication of any records of a marriage between Jane Norval and James Blair - although lack of proof does not mean it didn't happen. Although there are several Jane Norvals listed in the records around that time it would be a strange coincidence for one to marry Gordon Blair and another to marry James Gordon Blair both of whom have connections to the Legal profession.

1861 Census - missing wife Jane a boarder with da Georgina at 40 Maxwell St, Glasgow

If we accept that James Gordon & Gordon are the same person this would appear to indicate that Gordon left or abandoned the family sometime after the birth of Thomas and the 1861 census (He is the signatory on his sons Birth record so is there in October 1857). No matching death records on SP for James Gordon Blair or Gordon Blair
This then begs the question WHY ?

1861 7 Aug - Arrival of a Gordon Blair labourer. Only Gordon Blair to arrive in either NSW or QLD
        from 141 Blair arrivals from about 1848 to 1912

If this is the 19 yr farm labourer old from Dumfries- Could (or would) a man in his 30's having had a sedentary job be able or want to pass himself off as almost half his real age 

Accepting that the Gordon Blair who married Jane Norval is the same person who lived the rest of his life in Ipswich, Australia gives a possible time line of

1826- 1828 born St Ninians Stirling
1841 - 1850 moved to Glasgow and obtained employment as a Solicitors Clerk (or Clerk in a Solicitors office) - this would indicate a reasonably good education  with at least the ability to read and write well, possibly with an understanding of Latin (many legal documents were written in Latin)
1850 marriage to Jane Norval
1850-1857 the births and subesequent deaths of the majority of their children
1857 - the appearance of JAMES Gordon Blair and the promotion to Writer
1857 - 1861 the disappearance from Scotland
1861 onwards the appearance and subesequent climb upwards in Australia.

Was Gordon a "Walter Mitty" type, or were his accomplishments real.
Did he leave seeking better times for the family or did he simply abandon them
and probably loads more questions but I doubt that answers will be found and I suspect that much of what is now deemed the family history is a very air brushed version with enough facts interspersed with the stories to make Gordon look as if he took the first step in the proverbial Rags to Riches story for the family - The good Knight is a prime suspect 

[isobelw]

Excellent summary Falkyrn.
Just been having a look at the marriage certificate for Gordon and Julia ( copy of the original on an Ancestry tree.) Not only were the ages wrong but bride and groom gave different places of residence! It is almost as if they were trying to recreate the details as they would have been if they had married in 1863 (as they declared on one of the children's birth certificate).
Isobel

[RJ_Paton]

Just found an old post of my own  which shows that the leap from clerk to Writer was possible
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=197646.msg986114#msg986114

I have checked the Post Office Directories from 1851 to 1861 for a James or Gordon Blair, Writer but with no success. Although it is not proof it is another element of doubt to add to the various claims.

The following is the signature of "James Gordon Blair" who signs his sons birth registration as J Gordon Blair

[Rosinish]

Have to agree with isobel, brilliant summary Falky!

Makes some things a bit clearer when all in one place.

I can't be bothered having to scroll up & down every 2 mins to find how things fit or don't fit but what I will say is, from the offset, alarm bells were ringing with so much differing bits of info. but nothing in any order to help confirm/eliminate one way or another.

It's a bit of a quandary though why the James forename suddenly appears?

Not sure if James Gordon/Gordon signed any of the other births including & post 1855 for comparison?

There's something of a mystery to this name change & when else does he use 'James'?

Annie

[sparrett]

EDIT.

We do have this certificate

Well, the Gordon who married in Australia will have signed his marriage certificate to Julia DROUGHTON. That would be a good start for a comparison of signature.

OP needs to download it .
Easy to do immediately after payment.


Can a snip be posted
Sue

[Rosinish]

Sue,

I reckon the signatures would be the 'decider' as isobel & JM have found different things which don't add up completely, even though at one point the 'Dots' seemed to have been connected 

Too many differences with a lot of the info. which makes it a 'Court case' of it's own with RC'rs as the Jury     

Annie

[sparrett]

I am not sure the image of the form you posted Falkyrn is actually showing  a signature.
Isn't the form completed by the registrar?

It all seems to be in the same hand, and I would have thought it the hand of said registrar??

Sue

[Rosinish]

With or without the signature on the child's BC, the marriage points to the young lad from Dumfries who Falky pointed out 

"If this is the 19 yr farm labourer old from Dumfries- Could (or would) a man in his 30's having had a sedentary job be able or want to pass himself off as almost half his real age" 

My transcription for marriage between Gordon BLAIR and Julia DROUGHTON, noting that the online image is written on the one hand throughout, so likely a summary entry, all four marriages on the page are in that same hand.  . 

7th July 1876 Brisbane, Manse, Ann St, according to the rites of the Presbyterian Church 

Gordon BLAIR,
Bachelor,
Dumfries, Dumfrieshire, Scotland,
Freeholder,
29
Stanthorpe
John BLAIR, farmer, and Jane BLAIR

Julia DROUGHTON
Spinster
Ballymore, Westmeath, Ireland
27
Goondiwindi
Henry DROUGHTON, farmer and Eliza LOWE

Witnesses George Lowe WILSON and Charles Archibald OGG.

The Reverend Charles OGG conducted the ceremony.

I also notice that perhaps the Rev’s son was one of the witnesses, and that the other witness may be related to Julia via her mother (LOWE).

Question :

Has anyone sought to obtain the original parish register (Presbyterian) to check and confirm (or otherwise) the information actually given by both Gordon and Julia about themselves and compare it with the info on the civil registration .... (ages, usual addresses, parents, and to find actual signatures to compare with for example birth cert for Elizabeth born 1863 .... )   

Annie