Wiliam McDonald 1804 Hoddom Confusion!

[Neale1961]

 Just a few thoughts after looking at some records today …….

Ecclefechan is where your William McDonald is living in the census, and on one, he records himself born there. Ecclefechan is 2 miles from Hoddom, and (as far as I understand) the parish church was in Ecclefechan.
Hoddom parish records seem rather thin and there are no kirk sessions available. However the name McDonald seems not particularly common in this part of Scotland.
There are a couple of McDonald families in Ecclefechan that might be related, and you may wish to explore further.
The family that took my interest was that of James McDonald and Ann Jamieson (children baptised between 1819-1829 with similar names to William’s family.)
James obviously died before 1841 census, but his widow Ann can be found in the census.

1841 census for Ann McDonald Ecclefechan , carter (mis-transcribed as McDonnell)
https://www.freecen.org.uk/search_records/5902e700e9379091b1d098a7/anne-mcdonnell-1841-dumfriesshire-hoddam-1786-?locale=en

1851 census Ann McDonald Ecclefechan , carter
Ann McDonald   Head   Widow   72   F   Carrier   Born England
Henry McDonald   Son   Unmarried   17   M   Ag. Lab.   Born Dumfries, Hoddom
James McDonald   Son       6   M   Scholar   Born Dumfries, Hoddom
Mary Jamieson   Mother   Widow   92   F   Pauper   Born England


1861 census – living next door to your William McDonald 
Anne McDonald  Ecclefechan High Street, Pauper Carrier, with grandchildren
https://www.freecen.org.uk/search_records/5a148cd6f4040b9d6e87725f/anne-mcdonald-1861-dumfriesshire-hoddam-1781-?locale=en


I wonder - Did your William McDonald take over Anne’s carting / carrying work by 1871 as she was too old? Could she have been his sister-in-law?

Anne (Jamieson) McDonald died in 1874 Hoddom (age 96)

[dippitybix]

That's very interesting thanks for the digging, and sounds plausible.

Do you think it would be worth purchasing the death record for Anne?

Are there any other records you could suggest obtaining to prove this?

[dippitybix]

Hoddom church is in ruins, I think there was a fire on something. Could also explain why there are no surviving parish records. My dad visited a few weeks ago as there are some McDonald family graves in the church yard there.

[Forfarian]

Ecclefechan is 2 miles from Hoddom, and (as far as I understand) the parish church was in Ecclefechan.

Ecclefechan is in the parish of Hoddom; it's actually the largest village in the parish.

The original parish kirk of Hoddom was beside Hoddom Bridge, but it was replaced by one at Hoddomcross, a mile or so outside Ecclefechan. This one was built in 1817 and burned out in a fire in 1975. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1781258

The Johnstone Church https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/7525291 in Ecclefechan village dates from 1865. It was originally a United Presbyterian kirk, but since the fire in 1975 it is now the parish kirk.

Hoddom Castle https://www.geograph.org.uk/gridref/NY1572?centi=NY155729, which is a couple of miles west of Ecclefechan, is actually in the parish of Cummertrees, the boundary being the River Annan. See https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/apex/f?p=1505:300:::::VIEWTYPE,VIEWREF:designation,LB3558

However Hoddom Mill, Hoddon Mill Knowe, Hoddomcross, Hoddomtown, Hoddom Bridge, Hoddom and Hoddom Cottage are in the parish of Hoddom, on the east (left) bank of the River Annan.

The most intriguing detail is that the site of Old Hoddom Castle is on the left bank, in the parish of Hoddom, and is now a Farm named Hallguards. See https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.1&lat=55.04555&lon=-3.30610&layers=257&b=ESRIWorld&o=100

See https://stataccscot.ed.ac.uk/static/statacc/dist/parish/Dumfries/Hoddam

[Neale1961]

That's very interesting thanks for the digging, and sounds plausible.

Do you think it would be worth purchasing the death record for Anne?

Are there any other records you could suggest obtaining to prove this?

I don’t think there are any records available that would prove my theory. I doubt that Anne’s death will help you in finding a link.
It seems that in such a small place, there may be family connections between the families. I wish it was straight forward.

[Forfarian]

Hoddom church is in ruins, I think there was a fire on something. Could also explain why there are no surviving parish records.

No, it couldn't.

The fire was 120 years after all the surviving records should have been transferred to the National Archives.

[dippitybix]

Hoddom church is in ruins, I think there was a fire on something. Could also explain why there are no surviving parish records.

No, it couldn't.

The fire was 120 years after all the surviving records should have been transferred to the National Archives.

Ahh ok thank you for that information.

[dippitybix]

That's very interesting thanks for the digging, and sounds plausible.

Do you think it would be worth purchasing the death record for Anne?

Are there any other records you could suggest obtaining to prove this?

I don’t think there are any records available that would prove my theory. I doubt that Anne’s death will help you in finding a link.
It seems that in such a small place, there may be family connections between the families. I wish it was straight forward.

Thanks, I really appreciate all your efforts.

[Forfarian]

It might be worth looking for the records of the workhouse where William died? If they have survived, then at the very least they should tell you whether it's the right William McDonald.

https://workhouses.org.uk/Carlisle/