McAulays of Paisley

[Rosinish]

James McAuley's marriage to Elizabeth Fraser was actually on 2 March 1858 not 1855...which is a pity really.

That's a pity for sure, would have been the best opportunity of all records.

Still wondering about addresses on the marriages which can often offer some good leads?

Annie

[SVN]

Hi Monica! Thanx for joining in! Good call on my error - it is indeed 1858, not 1855. A typo on my part, for which I apologize. I had told Annie the same thing about the census data and POBs - nothing but "Ireland" for them both. I do know that it is unlikely that they meant Ireland proper, rather than Northern Ireland.

In response to your query about the death, I am the one who mentioned it. The DOD/YOD is 1904 in Paisley. At the time he was married to a Mary Murray (it does not say widowed).

What I find most telling is that there was a James McAulay as a witness to Rachels marriage. Perhaps NOT significant given that James was not an uncommon name, no?

 

[SVN]

Monica - to your comment about the importance that a difference of one or two years can make - if you go by the marriage, death certs and the three censuses, Rachel's approximated YOBs are as follows: 1837, 1840, 1841, 1843, and 1844. From 1837 to 1844, is a huge difference!
The McAulays - no concrete answer on any of them. So terribly frustrating.

[Rosinish]

I do know that it is unlikely that they meant Ireland proper, rather than Northern Ireland.

What I find most telling is that there was a James McAulay as a witness to Rachels marriage. Perhaps NOT significant given that James was not an uncommon name, no?

As mentioned, Ireland was a whole until 1921 i.e. there would never be any mention of NI on any cert. or census until then although nowadays we talk about our families coming from NI (present day terms).

The witness would certainly seem to be a brother as mentioned from the info. of parents on marriages.

What addresses were Rachel & James at when they married?

This could be a possible route to further info. although maybe not but certainly worth pursuing.

Annie

[SVN]

Hi again, Annie! James was living at 4 Abbey Close (in Paisley). Rachel was living at 25 New Sneddon (looks like that), also in Paisley. She and her new husband both had same address at time of wedding.

[Rosinish]

Rachel's approximated YOBs are as follows: 1837, 1840, 1841, 1843, and 1844. From 1837 to 1844, is a huge difference!

This is the norm for many of us as people were illiterate, birthdays weren't important like they are these days & the above is nothing compared to differences I've come across in my own research of 10+ yrs
The average yob for Rachel is 1840 i.e. 4yrs either side is acceptable for the times.
What are the ages for her husband on records?
Often where there was an age gap, this was tightened on records, one maybe gained yrs, the other lost yrs.

I recall being told my ancestors couldn't count, couldn't tell the time on a clock i.e. they used the sun to tell the time of day! Some had no English, only Gaelic.

Your ancestors were likely the same as mine i.e. Irish Gaelic would probably be their 1st language. On the marriages of Rachel & James, do they sign their names or use their mark 'X'?

One last question I forgot in my list was, what were the names of the witnesses to the marriages apart from the witness James?
You may find they're of Irish origin too, from the same place which I think I mentioned earlier on the thread?

Annie

[Rosinish]

This is a list of the people at 4 Abbey Close in 1855, the closest date to the 1859 marriage.

Have you done DNA to find connections?

Annie

[SVN]

Annie, the two witnesses, nor James (obviously) aren't on there. No luck there. How did you pull up this list - very helpful tool!

[SVN]

They did mark with an "X." I find that quite a bit.