David McNeill/Neill whereabouts unknown help

[garydevine]

Hello, Can any help me find an ancestor?

David McNeill/Neill was born 1814 in Tranent, Scotland to John and Ann Young. I can’t find him anywhere. His mother died in 1862 in Tranent and he signed it, so that helps a little. I know his mother and a few siblings moved to West Lothian near Linlithgow, Carriden and Bathgate. His mother is there in 1861. I’ve been following three David’s, one married to Margaret Chalmers, one to Margaret Wood and the last to Elizabeth Reid. Chalmers and Reid aren’t him. The one married to reid was the son of David and Isabel Neill 1815 and the one married to Chalmers died in the 1850s, which left Margaret Wood who this David married in 1836 in Tranent. I’ve found him in 1861 with Margaret and his children, one being Janet who died in 1889, married to James Wardrop, in 1871 David is with his daughter in New Monkland, Lanarkshire, Margaret died in 1870. On his daughters death the husband has said David is still alive, but I can’t find him on the 1881 census. I’m not even sure this is the right David, but it’s the only lead I have for now. I’ve seen multiple trees on Ancestry, full of utter rubbish and copied over from tree to tree, so I cant even rely on them to help, but some have said he is the son of John and Ann, but again not reliable. He is listed as a miner and iron miner in both census’. I was thinking perhaps he even went to America as he had two siblings that moved there in 1863 and 1867

Gary

[ColC]

I note the birth records on SP but you may know of more.

NIEL   JAMES   JOHN NIEL/ANNE YOUNG    02/04/1809   Tranent

NIELL ELISABETH   JOHN NIELL/ANNE YOUNG    09/12/1810   Newbattle

NIEL   JOHN   JOHN NIEL/ANNE YOUNG    15/11/1812   Inveresk and Musselburgh

NIEL   DAVID   JOHN NIEL/ANNE YOUNG    20/11/1814   Tranent

A marriage that you may have seen but not mentioned?

MCNEIL   DAVID   MARION DAVIDSON   04/01/1835   Tranent

One death but no age.

MCNEILL   DAVID   Died    No age    M   17/05/1849   Inveresk and Musselburgh

No clear census returns, freecen have East Lothian 1841/51/61 which you may have seen?

Colin

[Forfarian]

What definite records do you have of him as Neil(l) and what definite records as M(a)cNeil(l)?

[garydevine]

The names interchange all the time. The son john changes name between the two spellings as does Elizabeth who I come from but her death says McNeill. Ann the mum has McNeil, David signs it McNeill. There is also a sister Janet, who has been registered as McNeill and Neill throughout her life.

The marriage to Marion I thought may be possible because his brother James married Beatrix Davidson, and this family have a history of marrying cousins and cousins of cousins, they all end up intermarried or connected. But Marion is found with James and Beatrix in 1841 with Davidson and again in 1851 with Davidson.

I don’t think he’s in East Lothian, the family have all moved around, he had a brother in West Lothian and his mum stayed there for 20 years with her husband being there in 1841 with her, before coming back to Tranent and Dying, Elizabeth was Tranent and her children all moved to New Monkland and lived with an Aunt, her sister Ann, in the 1850s, a brother Thomas and sister Beatrix moved to Pennsylvania and a sister Isobel had a child in the 1845 in West Lothian as well and died probably afterwards as she’s not found. So they all move around which is why I’m not focusing it completely on Tranent or East Lothian.

The David married to Margaret Wood is the line I’m going with just now rather than get into a mess and look and many others at the same time. They had a son David also he died in Fife in 1912 and his dad is listed as deceased. In the 1861 census they are in Bo’Ness. The son David is elsewhere with his wife.

Definite record is his birth, all the children seem to be Niel but obviously meant Neil and when signing his mums death he uses McNeill

Gary