Alexander Grierson

[wyanga]

Kay99
 Thank you for the screenshot of the Census. It confirmed that it was written as Wigton , Dumfrieshire.
 But someone has put a line accross Wigton as if it is incorrect
Wyanga

[Forfarian]

My thoughts on this are that there were Census collectors who wrote down what they thought they heard the individual say, speech and accent could very well have made Wigtown sound like Wigton.

At that date, I wouldn't give even a passing thought to spelling.

But that doesn't alter the fact that it is not in Dumfrieshire. He was at that time an old man and maybe was confused in his thinking.

Possibly, or maybe it was an enumerator's error.

in the 1861 Census, she had also reverted to her maiden name of McKellar

It's very common in the early censuses for a married or widowed woman to be recorded under her own maiden surname. This is because in Scots law a woman does not lose her maiden surname when she marries. It's for the same reason that you get the mother's maiden surname in the majority of baptism records, and in all post-1855 birth, marriage and death records. In legal documents a married woman is named as xxx yyy or zzz, xxx being her given name(s), yyy her maiden surname and zzz her husband's surname.

[Forfarian]

Kay99

Does the original of the 1851 census say exactly where Margaret Campbell or McKellar was born? FindMyPast's transcription only says Argyll.

[Kay99]

Kay99

Does the original of the 1851 census say exactly where Margaret Campbell or McKellar was born? FindMyPast's transcription only says Argyll.

Alexander's mother-in-law Margaret lists her birthplace  as Kilmun - the same as her daughter Helen

Kay

[Forfarian]

Thanks, Kay99.

wyanga, if this is correct, Margaret Campbell or McKellar cannot be the one baptised in Lochgoilhead in 1775, because Lochgoilhead is a separate parish from the parish of Dunoon and Kilmun. So don't hasten up that tree until you have some proper evidence that it's the right tree.

Just because there is only one candidate in the available records does not mean that they are the right one. There are many gaps in the records before the start of civil registration in 1855, and the further back you go, the more records, if they ever existed, have not survived.

I see that Duncan McKellar and Margaret Campbell had a large family; Catherine 1801, Hellen 1802; Anne 1804; Peter 1806; John 1808; Margaret 1810; James 1812; Archibald 1815; Mary 1816; Sophia 1819 and Donald 1822. No Agnes, as you would have expected if Margaret's mother's name was Agnes or Nancy; though it is true that the names Anne and Agnes are sometimes used interchangeably.

If I were you I would have a look at the baptisms to see if the names of witnesses are recorded, and if so, whether they contain any clues to the identities of the grandparents.

[Kay99]

Apolgies  Forfarian - rechecked the 1851 image and it was Margaret's son Donald who was listed as born in Kilmun.   Although Margaret is listed as born Argylshire there is a line through where the parish would be rather than the ditto as in the entry above for her grandaughter Sophia 

Kay

[wyanga]

Fortarian and Kay99
   I am sure that my tracking of the McKellar family is correct.
\ I have tracked the births  (baptisms) of all the 12 children of Peter and Margaret McKellar on Scotlandspeople and they commence with Duncan McKellar. 1/11/1798, Dunoon Kilmun,
Catherine 11/12/1801 Slighgrachan, Dunoon, Helen 19/12/1802 Slighgratchan, Anne , 12/8/1804 Slighgrachan, Peter 17/5/1807, Slighgrachan, John 10/7/1807 Slighgratchan, Margaret 4/71810
Slighgrachan, James 26/11/1812, Slighgrachan, Archibald 21/12/1815, Slighgrchan, Mary 13/9/1816 Slighgrachan, Sophia 12/6/1819 Cuil Dunoon, Donald b 28/11/1820 baptised  13/1/1821.
 Slighgachan was part of the Glenfinnert Estate further up the valley from Glenfinnert.
 Margaret McKellar was buried at Lochgoilhead Churchyard
 Peter McKellar was listed as a shepherd in 1841 and I have a map of Cuil with a sheep fold near the houses at Cuil near Barnacabber.
Wyanga

[wyanga]

Fortarian
\           Quote"No Agnes, as you would have expected if Margaret's mother's name was Agnes or Nancy;

          I assume that in this case the Nancy= Anne
 My own mother was Annie and known as Nancy.
Wyanga

[wyanga]

Death Record for Margaret McKellar