Badroach

[Forfarian]

The census is supposed to record the parish of birth, not the specific place in the parish.

[sheenamac]

I hope you get this attachment.

[Forfarian]

Got it, but it only tells us what we already know, which is that in the census Janet was in the parish of Liff and Benvie.

[sheenamac]

Thanks for giving your time to this.  I don't know what else I can say.   There are a few Janet McPhersons  born in Perth so I have to dig a big further to find her - the traditional naming pattern is not helping.  At least I can confine my search to Perth.  I'm going to dig into other censuses.  She's in the 1861 census with her sisters - and she was aged 85, bless her.  She's in the censuses in her single name which I know is not unusual.  I can't find any towns of the names suggested, but I'll share the result when I dig further.

[Isabel H]

Badnoch seems to me most likely to be Badenoch. People were sometimes a bit hazy about the actual location of their birthplace, and Perthshire is adjacent to the area known as Badenoch, so possibly Janet or the enumerator mistook which county it is in.

[sheenamac]

Thank you.  I have found later census records giving Fortingall as the birthplaces.  Would that be near Badenoch?

[Forfarian]

Badnoch seems to me most likely to be Badenoch. People were sometimes a bit hazy about the actual location of their birthplace, and Perthshire is adjacent to the area known as Badenoch, so possibly Janet or the enumerator mistook which county it is in.

I think it is highly unlikely that anyone from Perthshire would confuse anywhere in Perthshire with Badenoch in Inverness-shire. To get from Perthshire to Badenoch you have to cross the Drumochter Pass, which is a major geographical feature and a long stretch of very sparsely inhabited mountainous land.

People's affinities were generally with their parish of birth, and Badenoch is not a parish, so is not likely to cause confusion of that sort.

Thank you.  I have found later census records giving Fortingall as the birthplaces.  Would that be near Badenoch?

Not in late 18th century terms, when the only power available for transport was muscles. It's about 65 miles from the village of Fortingall to the village of Newtonmore, via some pretty wild country including the aforesaid Drumochter Pass.

I think the likelihood is that you are looking for a small croft or a single cottage, not a village or town.

The 1861 census lists Cate, Christy and Janet McPherson at Brouch in the parish of Fortingall. Going back to 1851, there is a listing of Alexander, Janet, Catherine and Christian McPherson, brother and sisters, all unmarried, in a household at Brouch in the parish of Fortingall. So I think there must at least be some doubt that the Janet McPherson in the parish of Fortingall in 1861 is your Janet McPherson. 

This Brouch is in the same enumeration district as Innerwick, Balinlone and Camusvracan.

There is a place called Bruach between Innerwick and Camusvrachan on the first edition of ten six-inch Ordnance Survey map. See https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16&lat=56.5970&lon=-4.2909&layers=6&b=1. I wonder if this is could be the place you are looking for?

[Isabel H]

https://maps.nls.uk/view/74428128#zoom=5&lat=5646&lon=8869&layers=BT

Balknock above Milton of Keltney on this map. Misheard as Badnoch?

[Forfarian]

https://maps.nls.uk/view/74428128#zoom=5&lat=5646&lon=8869&layers=BT

Balknock above Milton of Keltney on this map. Misheard as Badnoch?

Excellent find! Well sleuthed.

You could read that census as Bailnoch.