Mislaid Mclaren Auckland 1916

[adenshillito]

Here's a little sleuthing problem. My Mclaren clan came to Dunedin, New Zealand in 1875 and all of there first generation here are accounted for except for one. James McKay Mclaren was born at Greenock, Renfrew, Scotland in Feb 1873. While his siblings all found a place in life, James remained a solitary man and entered a life of crime, habitual lying and theft. The record of his life ends with his release on probation in 1916 in Auckland, a long way from his Dunedin kin. What began of him thereafter is unknown. He might have changed his name or left the country, even lived by an alias and been buried as such. Any ideas on researching this one further?

[shume]

Given the date (1916) try NZ WW1 records, there are 2 James McLaren enlisted here.
He may have had a past, but in my experience with Australian WW1 soldiers many lied about their age and also criminal records and wives.
Also check Papers Past website for possible clues, and of course NZ BDM which are on line ( Google a big help here)
shume   Australia

[philipsearching]

Given the date (1916) try NZ WW1 records, there are 2 James McLaren enlisted here.
He may have had a past, but in my experience with Australian WW1 soldiers many lied about their age and also criminal records and wives.
Also check Papers Past website for possible clues, and of course NZ BDM which are on line ( Google a big help here)
shume   Australia

James Mclaren 49249 born 28/7/1875, parents John Mclaren & Agnes (Hosie) of Scotland
James Mclaren 8/1788 born 28/5/1887, k-i-a 1917
James Holliday Mclaren 38058 born 17/5/1894 father deceased, mother Annie Barlow, wife Edith, d-o-w 1917

http://archives.govt.nz/world-war-one

Philip

[shume]

www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz
There are a number of James McLaren listed here for NZ deaths if you haven't already checked but you need to sort out dates of birth as it only gives age at death.
shume

[adenshillito]

checked BDMs a few times with different criteria in the the past.
parents were JOHN and ELLEN McLAREN of Greenock, Scotland. JOHN was Irish we believe.
With son James having fallen foul of the law, assuming a new name makes some sense and was easier to do in those time. He was already 41 by the time he vanished.
Wonder if any legal records exist.

[shume]

Possibly try New Zealand Archives for records e.g. legal that may be available.
shume

[adenshillito]

~ thanks all

[wivenhoe]

Searching Paperpast for -
...........James McKay Mclaren.............returns nothing. What name did he use?

Is the second given name important to him.....would he use it........in full or just initial?

"...crime, habitual lying and theft." Can you expand on this please. What did he lie about, what crime.........what did he steal............did he work alone or have an accomplice....was he a smart / intelligent criminal or more opportunistic - as the chance presented........pattern of behaviour?

Have you sighted the files for the last term in prison.......might say where he intended to live.

Did he ever acquire a work trade...or always eg labourer?.

Were his parents both deceased at 1916?. If not, how are their children accounted for on death certificates?

What is his birth order in the family.............are siblings likely to mention him in death notices....obituaries?

[adenshillito]

Wow, that's a lot of questions in detail.
The middle name is a family oddity, all his other siblings either had no middle name or a middle name taken from a previous maiden name of ancestors in recent line. The McKay is the exception, altho it doesn't appear to be used in any documents once he arrived in New Zealand.
I have no sighted any prison records, what I know of him comes from a booklet written by a distant family member in the 1980s. His father was deceased at 1916, his mother died the following year. Given she died in the middle of the War, it hard to follow the narrative exactly, but four sons died at the time of the War, 3 in military context and one civilian. Her deaths certificate says 4 living son, but the ages don't correspond well to the most likely living sons. He seems to have worked as a labourer when he worked. He was 4/5th born with a twin in the family, the twin died before one year. I will look further at obituaries.