Struggling

[NorthernGeezer]

So, moving backwards from Charles and Marjory, I'm not going to get any further as a couple but may do so individually??

[Forfarian]

I think you'll find it quite difficult to get much further back with them at all. The missing marriage record won't make much difference because it would probably not have contained any information about Charles' or Marjory's parents in any case.

If I were you I would look at as many M*cArthur/M*cIntosh baptisms as possible, in the hope that they list the witnesses to the baptisms, and if so that the witnesses provide clues. Who were the witnesses to the baptisms of Charles and Marjory, and did Charles and Marjory witness the baptisms of other children in Cawdor?

[NorthernGeezer]

Thanks for that Forfarian, I'm a way from that research I think, I'll see what I can find with Duncan juniors mother, Sarah, first.

[Neale1961]

There appear to be only three baptism records for children of Charles McArthur and Marjory McIntosh in Cawdor – Duncan 1792; John 1795; Jean (Jane) 1797.

I did note that there is a marriage  in 1801 Nairn for a Marjory McIntosh to William Mackay.
It is possible that Charles died and Marjory remarried.
This is only speculation, and you would need to look at records. Something to consider in the future perhaps.

[NorthernGeezer]

Thanks for that Neale, its on the list.

[NorthernGeezer]

Just looking through the replies since getting Duncan's death certificate, are we saying that the search for his father ends there as other Duncan Macarthurs after his birth don't match??

Is Sarah Browning maybe the way to go, at least trying to find her death??

[Forfarian]

No, I don't think that's the case.

You have the death certificate of Duncan MacArthur, who was apparently the illegitimate son of Duncan MacArthur, wine merchant, and Sarah Browning, sometimes recorded as Benning.

You have Duncan MacArthur, 59, wine merchant, in the 1851 census in London, with a nephew named Frederick Gowans, 20.

You have Frederick Gowans, son of Jane MacArthur, born in 1830 in Cawdor.

You have the death record of Jane MacArthur or Gowans, daughter of Charles MacArthur and Marjory MacIntosh or MacArthur.

All that points to the birth of Duncan MacArthur in Cawdor in 1792 to the same parents as Jane/Jean, born in 1797.

So you have got two generations back from the Duncan who died in New York.

To get back any further is going to be a bit more difficult because there are a lot of possible lines, but I wouldn't give up just yet.

[NorthernGeezer]

When you put it like that Forfarian, its a bit of a result eh.

I cant find anything on Sarah Browning, even moving down brother Johns route, we're assuming she died but another possibility is Duncan the hubby buggered off and then married Fanny in 1830.

So, pause and take a breath and move on to the Perry's I think.

[Neale1961]

You have made very good progress. You now know when and where Duncan junior was born. You know the name and birth details of his father, and you know who his Scottish grandparents were. So you are now back to the mid-1700s!

I can't find anything on Sarah Browning, even moving down brother Johns route, we're assuming she died but another possibility is Duncan the hubby buggered off and then married Fanny in 1830.

Sarah Browning is proving a much "harder nut to crack". I have spent a lot of time searching around for her without any clear leads  - and I will continue to look over the next couple of days if time permits. If I find anything I will post. Don't think that no posts here, means I have given up yet. 
      As Duncan was baptised with the surname BROWNING, I think we must assume that he was illegitimate, and his parents were not married. When Duncan senior married in 1830 he was a bachelor. Of course Sarah must have died eventually, but it is also possible that she married sometime after the birth of Duncan. That is another possibility to explore.