A Theory, please comment.

 


https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/guides/research-guides/forenames#Forenames%20and%20naming%20patterns

 

The spelling of NICOL has been consistent in the documents I have found but some trees have had the spelling NICHOL. I search using both spellings.

 

Research Question.

Who are the parents of Margaret Kidston NICOL born 1820?

 

Information.

1)   Death Certificate: Statutory Deaths, 578/00 0179, parents given as William NICOL and Jane HARGRAVES.

2)   The Morrison Family Tree on Ancestry by lbowman222, (a distant cousin), has the parents as Henry NICHOL and Catherine BRINGING.

Theory.

Margaret’s parents are John NICOL and Janet GRAY.

Working it out.

1)   Using Scotland’s People, I searched for the marriage of William NICOL and Jane HARGRAVES in a 15-year period from 1805 to 1820, there were no results. I then searched for the birth of Margaret, with the above parents, using the same timeframe, there were no results.

2)   Using Scotland’s People, I searched for the marriage of Henry NICHOL and Catherine BRINGING, in a 15-year period for 1805 to 1820. That spelling of NICHOL had no results but on using the spelling NICOL, there was one result: Henry NICOL and Catherine BRINGING, Leith South 16/11/1810, (FR 647 110/228)

3)   Using Scotland’s People, I searched for births to the above couple, in a 15-year period from 1810 to 1825, there were two results: William, Leith South, 17/11/1811, (692/2 80/277) and Daniel Henry, Leith South, 23/01/1814, (692/2 80/294).

These were the only two children I could find to Henry and Catherine.

4)   Using Scotland’s People, I then searched for any Margaret Nicol OR Nichol born between 1810 and 1825. I had five results:





5)   I then shifted my searching from locating her birth, to using other documents, such as her marriage record, census records and her death certificate, in my possession to work out an approximate year and place of birth.

6)   Her marriage has only her spouse, Samuel GALBRAITH, residing in Barony and her, Margaret NICOL, residing in Glasgow on it. No ages or parents. (OPR Marriages 622/000170 0391 Barony, 24/10/1836)

7)   Her 1893 death certificate has her age as 79, and no place of birth. Making the year of birth as 1816. 

                                                                                                 

8)   All the census records, on Scotland’s People, from 1851 through to 1891 have Margaret’s place of birth as being Gargunnock, Stirlingshire, with her age range being from 36 in 1851 to 76 in 1891. Making a year of birth being 1816. And lead me to the fifth birth record, see above.

 

9)   Margaret ROBINSON and John NICHOL had two children; Margaret born 1816, (see above) and Robert, 24/08/1818, FR2491, 664/1, 220/87, in Glasgow. I can find no marriage record for Margaret and John in a 15-year period from 1805 to 1820, with either spelling of NICOL/NICHOL. Are these her parents???

 

My case for John NICOL and Janet GRAY. (Which feels a bit shaky.)

 

1)   Margaret used the spelling NICOL, when her maiden surname was required.

2)   Looking at the children of Samuel GALBRAITH and Margaret NICOL and using the traditional naming pattern, (see above), I can see the pattern. Samuel’s parents were John GALBRAITH and Agnes McNISH.

Children.

John, b 1837, d 1837/1840.

Janet, b 1839.

John, b 1840, d 1919.

Agnes McNish, b 1842, d 1867.

Samuel, b 1844, d1926.

William, b 1845, d 1933.

Andrew, b 1848, d 1893.

Arthur, b 1850, d 1850/1852.

Arthur, b 1852, d 1894.

 

 

 

 

3)   John NICOL and Janet GRAY had four children born in the period 1810 to 1825.

Children.

David, b 1814.  585 10/346 FR307

Margaret, b 1820. 20/6 FR502

John, b 1822. 585 20/14 FR506

William, b 1824. 585 20/22 FR510

All registered in Dailly.

 

Explaining my theory.

 

My theory is (was) that Margaret rounded her age up, for the census, but I can’t explain the consistency of the birthplace on ALL the census records.

 

The only other one that could be considered is the birth in Cupar, but it is near Dundee, on the east coast of Scotland, and it was a twin baptism. I don’t think that this is the correct Margaret, because of the birthplace.

 

Before I found the birth of Margaret, to Margaret and John in 1816, in Stirling, I was certain that John and Janet were the correct parents and looking at the naming pattern, they still could be.

 I have yet to work out why she had the middle name of Kidston/Kidstone.

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Lost in DNA Weekend Part 1. (my 600th post)

Transcription Agents.

Two New Australian Authors.