Chief Constable of Ayr - Help needed!

[Maiden Stone]

I had seen the possibilities on Ancestry for his baptism/birth. Halkirk is a long way from Ayr so I was very unsure about it.

I know nothing about policemen in Scotland in 19thC. However, I know a few things about contemporary policemen in Ireland: many were former army/navy/militia who needed employment when war against France ended (1814/5) and during the post-war depression; they didn't work in their home counties (to avoid conflict of loyalty). The war had caused thousands of men to leave home to join the services. 

[RJ_Paton]

He wasn't really a policeman or Constable in the modern sense - this was some time before the organisation of "modern" police forces. (Although this doesn’t rule out any possible military history. Later modern police forces in the lowland towns also favoured Highlanders as recruits due primarily to their physical stature.)

A better analogy is in the old westerns where they appointed a Town or County Sheriff. He may have had assistants (hence the term Head /Chief Constable) or he may have worked alone. It depended I suppose on the County Commissioners holding the purse strings.

One thing to be taken from the information that can be found is that he must have been held in high esteem to have been awarded a pension as he was.

[RJ_Paton]

Just looking through an old book about Ayr (Brief Historical Reminscences about Ayr published 1830 available from www.archive.org) which laments the fact that there is no Head Constable but refers to "Mr Gunn" as being responsible for dispersing funds to the poor & Needy with a Directory  entry for Angus Gunn, County Buildings.

[ColC]

http://www.ayrshirehistory.org.uk/CommSup/commsup.htm#Angus%20Gunn

References to Angus Gunn.

I realise some of this has been posted but it may give additional information.

Colin

[ColC]

Although the death of Janet puts her year of birth as 1789, below looks a possible baptism>

KERR   JANET   WILLIAM KERR/JEAN WILSON    07/02/1792   Ayr

Colin

[JLo]

Thank you.
I was aware that he was not a Chief Constable in the modern sense. I have seen several references to him having 2/3 special constables. I am presuming these may have been volunteers. I love the analogy of the Old western films. That was definitely what I had in mind, particularly with him being known as the 'thief catcher'
I agree with your probable baptism record, particularly as one of their children is named Jane Wilson Gunn. The Kerr's seem to be quite a big family in Ayrshire. The Gunn's however are a bit more elusive! Someone suggested a few years ago  that Angus may have part of the Gunn Clan of North East Scotland, but I can't find a connection as I can't even track down his birth/death dates!

I do have Elizabeth Gunn as their oldest child but have her born c 1817. She married William Gibb in 1835. May have to go back and check her a bit more....

Angus was my 4x great grandfather and my only Scottish line, turns out he almost as tricky as my Irish in laws   

[gillhak]

I'm joining this conversation a bit late but better late than never, as I've found Angus (my great-great grandfather) in the 1841 census for Eccles, Lancashire, where he's living with his son George, daughters Mary and Jane and the mystery Christina Drennan at Wallness Cottage, Eccles, Salford, Lancashire. Still, the big question remains - where and when did he die? 

[Forfarian]

That 1841 census also has another person. See attachment. She's indexed as Denman rather than Drennan, as is Christina. It's very hard to decipher.

Angus is listed as aged 50. In 1841 adults' ages were supposed to be rounded down to the nearest 5 years, so if this is accurate Angus was born between June 1786 and June 1791.

Do not trust anything you find on Ancestry without additional evidence to support it.

[JLo]

I'm joining this conversation a bit late but better late than never, as I've found Angus (my great-great grandfather) in the 1841 census for Eccles, Lancashire, where he's living with his son George, daughters Mary and Jane and the mystery Christina Drennan at Wallness Cottage, Eccles, Salford, Lancashire. Still, the big question remains - where and when did he die?

Thank you for this. Angus is my 4x great grandfather (and my only scottish link so far!). The Drennen link is intriguing.

That 1841 census also has another person. See attachment. She's indexed as Denman rather than Drennan, as is Christina. It's very hard to decipher.

Angus is listed as aged 50. In 1841 adults' ages were supposed to be rounded down to the nearest 5 years, so if this is accurate Angus was born between June 1786 and June 1791.

Do not trust anything you find on Ancestry without additional evidence to support it.

Thank you I will have a closer look at this. I completely agree about Ancestry, I always look for multiple sources of evidence to confirm anything on there! I'm a bit confused about George's age on this census as I had him as born (from his baptism record) in 1820, which would put him at 20 in 1841(even taking into account the rounding). This lot are very confusing!