James Scott was baptised in the parish of Panbride, Angus on 29 June 1845, parents James Scott and Isabella Bisset.
On 14 December 1866 he married Ann Stewart or Thomson, also born 1845, giving his occupation as Seaman, Merchant Service. They had seven children, all born in Carnoustie, parish of Barry, Angus.
James is not at home with his family in any census from 1871 to 1901. In 1891 his wife is described as 'Captain's wife'.
In 1911 James (68) and Ann (65) are living in Shipley, Sussex. I read the name of the house as 'Honey poles' and FindMyPast reads it as 'Mill House'(!). James is described as 'Naval Pensioner'.
One of his sons died in Edinburgh and the death certificate describes James simply as 'Seaman' (and gives his name as William, which is unhelpful). Two of his daughters died in England, so their death certificates won't be any use.
I don't know what became of the other four children (Isabella Millar b 1867, James b 1872, Elizabeth b 1875 and William Sturrock b 1879) except that one of them died before the 1911 census but not, it seems, in Scotland.
I think James died in 1924 in Horsham and his wife in 1938 in Tonbridge, but I have not found any grant of probate or newspaper announcement to verify this.
Is it reasonable to suppose that he transferred at some point to the Royal Navy, and if so how do I home in on his service records, given that there seem to be large numbers of James Scotts listed in the indexes at FindMyPast, and that he doesn't seem to be listed in The National Archives?
