west side high street Rothesay

[Rdmclure]

John McLean and Isobel Thomson (or Thomas) married 1818
children Christian, John, James and Angus
1819, 1821, 1823 and 1826.
I hired a genealogist from Scotland to look into the son Angus but she did not find this family in any census. Just an 1820 Examination Roll parish of Rothesay - crossed out
“a household identified on ‘West Side High Street’ containing John M’Lean, Isobel M’Thomas and Christian M’Lean. This was likely John McLean, his wife Isobel and their eldest child. “
I’m not sure where I can go from here.

[Forfarian]

If a professional searcher could find nothing, then it's unlikely that we amateurs can do better, especially with so little to go on.

Can you give us a bit more background? Where did you find the information that led you to look for Angus MacLean, and what else do you know about him?

I don't see any likely listing in the 1841 or 1851 census (transcriptions) or any matching deaths with mother's maiden surname Thomas or Thomson.

Did the family emigrate to somewhere?

[Rdmclure]

Hello, yes my maternal grandfather’s grandfather was an Angus Maclean. He was born in Scotland abt 1826. He migrated to Prince Edward Island , Canada. He married a woman on Prince Edward Island, Sarah MacGillivray abt 1855. I was told by people with trees on ancestry that his father was John Maclean that I listed. I hired the genealogist to trace whether this John was actually the father of Angus. I have no source that connects the two and I had my doubts.

[Forfarian]

I think the answer to your question, if it is to be found anywhere, is likely to be in Canada rather than in Scotland.

There are 20 recorded baptisms of Angus M(a)cLeans between 1824 and 1828 in the Scottish indexes at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk, and probably several more whose baptism records, if they ever existed, have not survived. There could also be one or two in surviving records of dissenting religious denominations that have not become available to Scotland's People.

You can narrow down the field by noting the details from the baptism records and comparing them with the deaths index using the mothers' maiden surnames. But the deaths index starts in 1855, so you can't be sure that any of the remaining ones hadn't died or emigrated before 1855.

Without additional evidence there is no way of determining with certainty which one is yours.

A couple of things that may be helpful.

I could not find any of this Bute family in a census, which is what led me to wonder if they had emigrated.

You have confirmed that your Angus did emigrate, so the next question is, have you found him in any census in Canada?

What religion did he belong to?

Next, is there any evidence to suggest that Angus and Sarah might have known one another in Scotland? If so, it might be worth looking for Sarah in Scotland, in the hope that she might lead you to a clue about Angus.

Another clue could be in the names of their children. There is a tradition in Scotland of naming
- the first son after his father's father
- the first daughter after her mother's mother
- the second son after his mother's father
- the second daughter after her father's mother
- the third son after his father
- the third daughter after her mother
which isn't infallible, but can sometimes help.

And finally, do not trust anything you find online unless it's an original document. Especially don't trust online trees on Ancestry (or any other commercial web site). If someone tells you that Angus' father was John, you need to ask them for the evidence to prove it. "He's the only candidate who sort of fits" will not do, given the likely absence of records of other possible candidate.

[trish1120]

Is this him?


Angus Maclean
Birth Date   1819
Age at Death   76
Death Date 5 Jan 1895
Burial Place Little Sands, Prince Edward Island, Canada

1891 Canada Census
Angus McLean   71 Farmer born Scotland as are his Parents
Sarah McLean   71
Kate McLean   45
Peter McLean   34
Sarah McLean   18
Kenneth McLean   10

1881 Census
Angus McLean   60 Farmer
Sarah McLean   60
Catherine McLean 40
Peter McLean   22
Effie McLean   20
Son McLean   0

Sorry I dont have access to open images

Or are there 2 couples around named Angus/Sarah??

[Forfarian]

Assuming that Angus McLean's age at date of death is accurate, he was almost certainly born in 1818 as he died only five days into 1895.

But the 1891 implies that he was born in 1819/1820 and the 1881 that he was born 1820/1821.

There are 21 Angus M(a)cLeans baptised 1816 to 1823 in the index to the Old Parish Registers.

From the 1881 census, Catherine must have been born around 1840, so she is not likely to be a daughter of a marriage in 1855. Could the marriage to Sarah have been Angus' second marriage?

Sorry I dont have access to open images

Not sure what you mean? Digital images of all the Canadian censuses are online at Library and Archives Canada https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/pages/census.aspx and you don't even have to register to view them.

[trish1120]

Didnt know that Forfarian, I was just looking at them on Anc Trees.

[Rdmclure]

Thanks Trish,
My Angus does appear in the 1881 census with wife Sarah and daughter Isabella in lot 40 Prince Edward Island. This rules out the Angus in Little Sands.
The other problem with Little Sands is religion, my Angus’ children are Catholic.
Sarah MacGillivary was Catholic
This is why I doubt he is the son of John and Isobel the most. I am not convinced they were Catholic. Although, it is possible he agreed to become Catholic after his marriage to Sarah

The source for the births on Ancestry are listed as ‘selected Scottish births and baptisms’ Ancestry database Utah

[Forfarian]

Forget about Ancestry and FamilySearch. For a start neither of them, as far as I know, has the Scottish Roman Catholic parish registers (though I'd be happy to be corrected on that).

See https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=714261.0