Lesmahagow - what Kirk Session records might exist for Brown/McReady 1850s?

[Bella55]

Hi Lodger,

That's a lot of hours of research you did back in 2002!

Would the records you mention need to be research via microfiche at NRS in Edinburgh?

"649/4 (i.e. book 4)
Baptisms 1820 - 1854. The first 10 years of these records are only just readable. Quite good from 1830 - 1854.
649/5 Marriages 1820 - 1854. Very badly written and extremely difficult to read.
649/5 Deaths 1820 - 1844. Very poor handwriting, difficult to read."

thanks,
Bella

P.S. You may remember kindly helping me find information about the family of William White who was ex-army and latterly a Cemetery Keeper at Dalziel - his grandson, Malcolm, married James McReady's daughter, Lizzie, so this thread is in a way linked to that one

[doolittle72]

There are Old Scottish records for Lesmahagow in Dustydocs.  Also find the father although these don't seem to be as early as 1850.
Doolittle

[Bella55]

Thanks doolittle72 - I'd not actually come across dustydocs.com before so it'll come in handy!

bella

[Lodger]

Hi Lodger,

That's a lot of hours of research you did back in 2002!

Would the records you mention need to be research via microfiche at NRS in Edinburgh?

"649/4 (i.e. book 4)
Baptisms 1820 - 1854. The first 10 years of these records are only just readable. Quite good from 1830 - 1854.
649/5 Marriages 1820 - 1854. Very badly written and extremely difficult to read.
649/5 Deaths 1820 - 1844. Very poor handwriting, difficult to read."

thanks,
Bella

P.S. You may remember kindly helping me find information about the family of William White who was ex-army and latterly a Cemetery Keeper at Dalziel - his grandson, Malcolm, married James McReady's daughter, Lizzie, so this thread is in a way linked to that one

Hi Bella, I remember you very well, I was happy to have been able to help with your Dalziel cemetery research.
I would imagine that the parish records will have been digitalised by now but the easiest way of finding out is to send an email to NRS. Last time I was there (2023) I didn't see any microfilm readers, that's for sure.
Good luck with your Lesmahagow research. The 'Gow as it's known locally, (Gow as in now) but that usually only refers to the town I suppose, not the parish.

[Bella55]

Thanks Lodger, I'll keep trying to find out about my ancestors in 'The 'Gow'!

cheers,
Bella

[sancti]

There is this marriage in Lesmahagow

MCREADDIE
JAMES
&
SARAH NUGENT
30/06/1850
649
50 / 226
LESMAHAGOW

[Bella55]

Thanks sancti - I'll take a closer look at that record.

'Sarah Nugent' hasn't appeared in any of my searches. However, the date of marriage is around the time that 'my' Margaret Brown had 3 sons with surname McReady/McReadie - I just hope the father wasn't Sarah Nugent's new husband!

Bella

[sancti]

The 1851 census records them as McReadie

No sign of reputed father, James, in Lesmahagow 1851

First name(s)   Last name   Relationship   Marital status   Sex   Age   Birth year   Occupation   Birth place
Jean   Brown   Head   Married   Female   62   1789   Mason's wife   Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Margaret   Brown   Daughter   Unmarried   Female   25   1826   -   Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, Scotland
William   McReadie   Grand son   -   Male   2   1849   -   Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Thomas   McReadie   Grand son   -   Male   0   1851   -   Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, Scotland

[Bella55]

Thanks Sancti

Unfortunately, I've found no sign of the reputed father anywhere other than on the death certificate of Margaret Brown's son, James McReady (or James Brown McReady).  Also, the three 'McReady' boys, William, Thomas and James, were born prior to 1854 and I've not been able to find any birth records for any of them which is why I was hoping to find Kirk Session records that might have mentioned Margaret having children 'out of wedlock'.

If James Brown McReady had been the only McReady son, it's possible that the father was a mason only in Lesmahagow temporarily but as there are three children born around 1849-1852, I'm not sure this theory holds up (though perhaps masons stayed in an area for years if involved in building some of the grand houses locally?).

I started looking at Nugent census records just to see whether a McReady appears anywhere but no luck so far.

The search continues,
Bella