Jane BROCKIE

[Eyesee]

Trying to find the birth or baptism of Jane BROCKIE.

According to age at death she was born c1852, daughter of William BROCKIE and Jane GERRIE (GARIOCH) who were married at New Deer on 10 Dec 1854.

William and Jane had a son Alexander in Apr 1855, born at Monquhitter, and sometime in 1856 they left for New Zealand.

According to other sources she was younger than Alexander. She married in 1874 in New Zealand.

In NZ the name is BROOKIE, which is probably what it sounded like in the 1850s. There are no BROOKIE births in Scotland, only BROCKIE.

Thanks
Ian C

[flst]

I do hope you have viewed Alexander's birth certificate on scotlandspeople site. You are very fortunate that Alexander's birth was registered in 1855! Here's why;
Understanding the content in statutory birth records
Most entries contain the following information:

Forename and surname
Whether the child was illegitimate (1855-1918) - this term was discontinued from 1919 and official certificates are typed with '(illegitimate)' omitted
Date and place of birth
Time of birth - this is recorded on all Scottish statutory birth entries, not just those of twins or multiple births
Gender
Name and surname of father
Rank or profession of father - if you find an unknown term check the glossary - occupations for further information
Name and maiden surname of mother
Date and place of parents’ marriage (except 1856-1860)
Signature and qualification of informant and their residence (if not the place of birth)
When and where registered and signature of registrar
1855 register entries
In 1855, the first year of statutory civil registration, the following additional information was recorded:

Other children and whether they were living or deceased
Ages of both parents
Birthplaces of both parents
Parents’ usual residence
Baptismal name (if different).
As for Jane's birth record, as she was born before her parent's marriage & before statutory records began, then the only place you might have found a mention would be in the Kirk Session Records. Theses are free to view on scotlandspeople. I have had a look and unfortunately both the New Deer & Monquhitter records do not cover the time period of Jane's birth.
Regards,
flst.

[GR2]

This is William in 1851:

https://www.freecen.org.uk/search_records/5902666be9379091b1c8da8a/william-brockie-1851-aberdeenshire-new-deer-1822-?locale=en

The Aberdeen Journal of 13th December 1854 has a report on a ploughing match held in a field belonging to Mr George Aitken in New Deer. "William Brockie, servant to Mr Chalmers, Old What" came 4th. He also came 7th in the class for best kept harness.

[Eyesee]

Thanks GR2

The ship they came to NZ on was the Westminster, which arrived on 1 April 1856 from Plymouth, which means it would have left sometime in November/December 1855. They would have also had to travel from Aberdeen to Devon which would have taken a while.

So it is possible that Jane was born on the ship coming out, or even in NZ, if she was younger than Alexander, as one source said she was. The next child was born in NZ in October 1857.

Ian C

[GR2]

The Inverness Courier of 8th November 1855 and numerous other papers advertise the sailing of Frederick Young & Co.'s Line's frigate "Westminster", John Westgarth, Commander, for Wellington direct, Canterbury and Otago. It was loading in the East India Dock ready to be despatched on 25th November, calling at Plymouth to embark passengers.

[Lucy2]

So it is possible that Jane was born on the ship coming out, or even in NZ, if she was younger than Alexander, as one source said she was.
Ian C

Hi Ian

"Westminster" to New Zealand (dep. 1855 -- arrived 1856) ... Births recorded for this voyage were a daughter (Mary) to Wm and Ann LUCAS and a male child to Henry and Susanna JONES, 2 February 1856  :  (nothing for BROOKIE/BROCKIE)  [source:  ancestry.com - BDM's at Sea ]

    ~  Lu

[flst]

Eyesee, if you have seen Alexander's birth certificate then you will know if there are any older siblings!
Regards,
flst

[Eyesee]

Thanks flst.

I have seen Alexander's birth cert and it said he was their first child. This means another source that said Jane was younger than him makes sense.

"But seriously there were no bridges either so they had to ford all the rivers and streams along the coastal highway from Wellington to Bulls. They also had a young daughter who was still a toddler and a son who was not much older." A piece from a newspaper article from five years ago by one of the descendants.

If this is the case then she must have been born on the boat or in NZ not long after they arrived, and the age on her death cert is a bit out. Alexander was born 21 April 1855, and the Westminster arrived in NZ on 1 April 1856. The next child was born 14 October 1857 in NZ, so enough time for her to have been born in 1856. As Lucy pointed out there were no BROOKIE births on board so would have to be born after they arrived.

Curiouser and curiouser.

Ian C

[Eyesee]

Someone sent me Jane's death registration.

She died 1946 aged 94, and had been in NZ for 90 years, so 4 when she arrived. This is probably where the info about her comes from for the trees on Ancestry.

If this is correct then she would have been born two years before William and Jane BROOKIE were married.

Ian C