Author Topic: A 'lost' document!  (Read 945 times)

Offline lydiaann

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A 'lost' document!
« on: Saturday 15 May 21 16:30 BST (UK) »
Oh dear, oh dear (and other words too rude to put down here).  I have accidentally erased a document and now I don't know where I got it from! 

It's an Application for Relief and I believe it is from East Lothian.  The name is George Sutherland, a Shoemaker, born 22 June, 1829, according to the document.  Page 1 refers to his name and last known address.  It states that he was married to a Mary Cairns (born Ireland) and she died '6 years ago' (can't find a record of that); the marriage was supposedly 1863 in Tranent (again, no record to be found).  The second page is dated 1890 and consists of quite a bit of narrative which seems to concentrate on their efforts to discover exactly when he was born (yes, I know, see above, but this is probably wrong as the Scotland Select Births & Baptisms gives a date for his birth of 6 Sep, 1832).  They appeared to have interviewed his sister, Mary Hunter, wife of Joseph (don't worry, I have all their details) and she has no idea when he was born.  She did, however, state that George's wife was "alive 2 months ago" and that he was "ill-behaved". 

It would appear that George certainly was 'ill-behaved'.  I found an application from his wife (Mary Hendry, NOT Mary Cairns) from 1867 in which she states he ran away from her and their 2 infants, Mary and John.  Also, that they had spent 8 years previously going from place to place. They may have got together again because it looks as though there is an 1871 census for them in Row, Dumbartonshire.

As the document was a jpeg I believe it could have been from SP, but can't find it there either. (SP seems to have changed their site and only 'saved' documents can be found there whereas I probably down-loaded this immediately at the time without saving.  Can anyone help me, pretty please, or tell me where else to look?

Cravens of Wakefield, Alnwick, Banchory-Ternan
Houghtons and Harrises of Melbourne, Derbyshire
Taylors of Chadderton/Oldham, Lancashire
MacGillivrays of Mull
Macdonalds of Dundee

Offline Forfarian

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Re: A 'lost' document!
« Reply #1 on: Saturday 15 May 21 17:32 BST (UK) »
It sounds like an application (Poor Law) to the Parochial Board, and if so it did not come from Scotland's People. The Parochial Board records are mostly in the archives of the relevant local authority.

See https://www.johngraycentre.org/about/archives/poor-law-research-guide-3/ which lists the Tranent Poor Law records among its holdings.
Never trust anything you find online (especially submitted trees and transcriptions on Ancestry, MyHeritage, FindMyPast and other commercial web sites) unless it's an image of an original document - and even then be wary because errors can and do occur.

Offline MonicaL

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Re: A 'lost' document!
« Reply #2 on: Saturday 15 May 21 21:49 BST (UK) »
From that 1871 census entry you mentioned, the youngest child Margaret age 1 month. This looks to be her birth on the FS index www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XYPH-28Y  No reference to George or the Sutherland name so certainly looks like George and Mary were not married.

Son John born in Glasgow www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F79M-X9S is under Sutherland with both George and Mary named. So, as you have found, likely they passed themselves off as married and gave a false date for the marriage.

Monica
Census information Crown Copyright, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline lydiaann

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Re: A 'lost' document!
« Reply #3 on: Sunday 16 May 21 14:31 BST (UK) »
It's back!  Something extremely weird happened to my computer yesterday where a few things went 'missing' (as I later found out) and not just off the Ancestry website...an e-mail contact - or one certainly that I know of, there may have been more - a couple of documents and a folder of photographs.  I have never seen anything like it.  I have just come back to the computer this afternoon and lo and behold, all those things are back...I really don't understand it all, but I am very grateful nonetheless!!  I had one of those situations where I had 2 people in the tree, knowing that one of them was wrong.  I erased the 'wrong' one when I discovered the 'right' one but both disappeared completely, together with said document.  I was convinced I had erased both people but obviously I hadn't.  I have never come across this situation before and let's hope it was a 'one off' aberration.

So, MonicaL and Forfarian, thank you for your insights and links...I shall peruse those a little later.  Meantime, I shall 'back-up' the Application for Relief onto my Directory!
Cravens of Wakefield, Alnwick, Banchory-Ternan
Houghtons and Harrises of Melbourne, Derbyshire
Taylors of Chadderton/Oldham, Lancashire
MacGillivrays of Mull
Macdonalds of Dundee


Offline MonicaL

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Re: A 'lost' document!
« Reply #4 on: Sunday 16 May 21 17:57 BST (UK) »
Good to hear all is well  ;)

Monica
Census information Crown Copyright, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk