Pieces of Evidence Connecting My Family to Scotland – Part 2 – The Maitland Connection

I explained before about finding information about my Anderson ancestors, in particular my 3^rd great-grandfather, Gilbert Anderson. The other (better?) half of the Anderson family, the ancestors of Margaret Maitland, also proved to be a challenge to locate. I did meet another cousin on the Internet who was also engaged in searching this line and who had a tree on Ancestry. She was a direct descendant of two Maitlands, first cousins who married each other in 1796. Through them we believe we share 6^th great-grandparents. This “new” cousin was very helpful in showing me her side of the Maitlands. My research on the Scotlands People website appeared to tie the two lines together.

One of the things I found right away was that the surname Maitland was also shown in parish registers as Macklum, Maiklum, Maiklem, Mclam, Mclen, Mclum, Meiklem and Miekleholm. Through comparing a variety of birth, marriage and death records we did establish that they were all in the same family, just recorded by unknowing or uncaring clerks in a different way. For example, the cousins referred to above were shown as “Archd. and Jean Maiklum” in their marriage record. Seven children were baptized with the same surname and then four more were baptized as Maitlands, although I suspect the pluralized version of the name is a reference to both parents having had the same surname of Maitland not another variation.

I have not found the actual birth/baptism record for Margaret Maitland, my 3^rd great-grandmother. There is a person of that name on the IGI listing of the right age, born in 1802 in Leven Wastes, Dunbartonshire,  but I believe this is a contribution from an LDS Church member, not an extraction from a register. In fact, this has been a problem with many of Margaret’s siblings as well. Only four entries in parish birth registers have been found for them: James in 1796 (Campsie Parish, Stirlingshire), John in 1797 (Campsie), another James in 1800 (Bonhill, Dunbartonshire) and Robert in 1813 (Campsie). The family obviously moved around in response to the father’s opportunities as a cloth block printer. Margaret is shown by one researcher as being born in Dunbartonshire as was two sisters, Janet, in 1803, and Jesse Mary, in 1804, and two brothers, Thomas, in 1798, and Robert, in 1806. Reasons why records cannot be found may be that they have not been preserved, the spelling of their surname was different or indexing of records has not been accurate. In any case, the BMD records have not been a lot of help yet.

Another James Maitland married a Margaret Russell in 1790, in Dunipace, Sitrlingshire. They also had a number of children in Stirilingshire and Dunbartonshire, including a Margaret in 1800. For a while I thought they might be the right family but other records finally surfaced to bring us back to James Maitland and Margaret Young. Their marriage was recorded in the Cadder parish (adjacent to Campsie) marriage register in 1795.

 

I looked for James and Margaret on census and burial records to try to expand on my knowledge of them. The only records I found that made sense were the 1841 census and a 1846 death record for James Maitland. The death record had him living in Lennoxtown, Campsie Parish and aged 78 when he died. That seemed to fit with the marriage to Margaret Young, the birth records for his children and the fact that Lennoxtown was the site of a large mill which produced printed cloth.

The 1841 census, however, showed him living with a presumed wife, Catharine, and two daughters, Agnes and Catherine. So was it the right guy? James was 70 and Catharine was 55, so his age seemed fine. He was recorded as a calico printer; so that fit, too. A search of other BMD records found their marriage in 1817 and the births of four children: James in 1818, Agnes in 1821, Catharine in 1823 and Peter in 1826. All were born in Lennoxtown. I did find a death record for Peter who passed away in 1826. Agnes and Catharine were on the 1841 census but what happened to young James is not known.

 

It appeared, then, that James’ first wife had died prior to 1817 but, unfortunately, the death records for Campsie Parish are missing for the years 1787 to 1816. It is presumed she died between 1813, the birth year of her last child, and 1817, when James remarried but we will probably never know when or how exactly.

The clincher came when my cousin ordered up a copy of the Testament for James Maitland which was basically a will (testament testamentary) with the wishes of a testator set out as to what he wanted to happen with his possessions. The testament for James Maitland contained his last will and an inventory of his personal estate assembled by his wife, Catharine. James of course left his wife as the main beneficiary but also provided for his daughters, Agnes and Catharine. He also left many of his personal possessions to his son, Thomas. The most important part of the document to me, though, was where is said, “. . . I desire my said Trustees that after the marriage or death of my said Wife Catharine Horn and death of my said daughter Catharine that the residue of my Estate be paid to my said daughter Agnes and her heirs and failing Agnes and her heirs to my son Thomas and my Daughters Margaret, wife of Gilbert Anderson, weaver, now in America and my Daughter Janet, wife of William Pollock, Labourer Lennoxtown share and share alike. . .” That phrase tied him to my family in Canada!

 

The list of children for James Maitland and Margaret Russell does not have either a Thomas or a Janet which adds to the conclusion that my 4^th great-grandmother really was Margaret Young.

In the absence of BMD records, other information allowed me to find my Maitland ancestors. From James, who died in 1846 at the age of 78, I was able also to find his parents, James Maitland and Janet Wilson. One of their daughters, Jean, married Archibald Maitland, about whom I started this little story. Further back from 5^th great-grandfather James Maitland, it all gets problematic. But I remain hopeful we will eventually find more about the lines of both he and Janet Wilson.

Copies of all records shown here were downloaded from Scotlands People and reproduced with the kind permission of the Registrar General for Scotland. The testament is reproduced by permission of the Scottish Archive Network Ltd.

Pieces of Evidence Connecting My Family to Scotland – Part 1 – The Anderson Connection

When I went looking for my ancestors in Scotland, I ran into a number of new and interesting experiences.

 

From other family members, I knew that my 2^nd great-grandfather, Robert Anderson, had been born in Scotland and died in North Dakota, U.S.A. The primary information for his birth date comes from his death certificate which states he was born on January 6, 1832 in Scotland. On that document, his parents were recorded Gilbert Anderson and Margaret Maitland, both of Scotland.

1912 Death Certificate for Robert Anderson, born in Scotland January 6, 1832

Robert’s life was also recorded in a book titled, Compendium of History & Biography of North Dakota, published in 1900, in which was stated the same information as to his birth date, country of birth and parents’ names. In that piece his birth place was given as Glasgow. Whether that is true or not cannot yet be demonstrated as no birth or baptism record has yet been found.

 

Robert and his family had moved to the US around 1880. The biography also summarized the migration history of the family. Gilbert and Margaret first came to Ontario, Canada, around 1832. They farmed first in Lanark County and later in Huron County, until their deaths. Gilbert was a weaver in Scotland before he immigrated and plied that trade to some extent in Canada as well. His occupation was important in the search for his family in Scotland. They had six children before they left Scotland and six after they settled in Canada. That helped narrow down the time of their immigration.

There are a number of censuses that show the families of both Gilbert and Robert, in both Canada and the US, between 1842 and 1910; so it has been relatively easy to find them on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. Well, sometimes! Not all of the records are preserved and some are not yet transcribed. A researcher in Lanark County found Gilbert Anderson, as head of the household, on the 1842 census, in Lanark Township. Nine people were in the household of which six had been born in Scotland and three in Canada. That fit the family very well. We even got a location for the farm. Gilbert was also identified on an extract from the 1850 Canada census, then living in Stanley Township, in Huron County. He died in Huron County, Ontario and his death record indicates he was born in Stirlingshire, Scotland. So I had one line of evidence as to the origin of the family.

1871 Ontario death record - Gilbert Anderson
showing he was born in Stirlingshire, Scotland

It was not so easy to identify the family in Scottish records, though. Tracing people from the Old to the New World always presents challenges. Not everyone can be found on a passenger manifest, particularly for those who came to Canada prior to the mid-1800s. And often, when they are listed, their names are spelled wrong, adding to the uncertainty!

Gilbert and Margaret were obviously here in 1834 when their daughter, Grace, was born. With Robert’s birth place given as Scotland, their emigration is narrowed down to 1832-33. The obituary of John Anderson, one of Gilbert’s sons, records that he arrived in Canada “when he was but 3 years of age” which would make the year 1832. This was the same year that Robert was born. The obituary also stated that John was born in “Kirktulloch, Dumbartonshire, Scotland” which we interpreted was actually Kirkintilloch in Dunbartonshire. Close enough!



Portion of obituary for John Anderson,
published in Huron Expository January 24, 1902



I looked at the old IGI listings for the Anderson family as well. I got several names off the old list. It is not quite the same any more but you can still search IGI on FamilySearch. A search for children of Gilbert Anderson and Margaret Maitland brings up 23 hits. Many are duplicate entries submitted by different individuals. And few appear to be from extracts from actual registers.

I then decided to look for information on ScotlandsPeople, the prime website for BMD, census and other historical records in Scotland, concentrating on the Kirkintilloch area. Only one baptism showed up in Kirkintilloch birth registers. I expanded my search to nearby parishes and found two more in Campsie parish. I also found the marriage of Gilbert and Margaret in Campsie. But no more children! It makes you wonder where the contributors to FamilySearch got their information about births of the Anderson Children. I believe much of the information comes from obituaries and publications and not from actual parish registers; so there is reason to question the accuracy of the data.

Finding Gilbert’s birth record posed a specific problem. I had his marriage to Margaret Maitland in 1820. The entry said they were both from Campsie parish so that gave me a place to look for their births. Many published family trees, and not a few family history write-ups show his parents as John Anderson and Margaret Wilson but, again, there is no entry in any parish record that shows these people. I spent quite a few credits looking for a family with these people. Finally, in a broad search for any child with a surname Anderson in Campsie parish, I found him. Except he was baptized as Gabriel, not Gilbert! And his parents were James Anderson and Janet Finlay, not John and Margaret! James Anderson was also a weaver, adding substance to the idea that James was Gilbert’s father. It appears Gilbert/Gabriel learned his trade from his father.

Once I had the parents’ names, I quickly found all of Gilbert’s siblings. Many of these names matched people named in some of the published stories so I believed I had the right person. Interestingly a sister, Grace, was baptized as Grisil. I learned that not every English name translates directly to old parish records.

 

Nobility and Celebrity as recorded in the parish registers

The Parish Registers contain a wealth of information about our ancestors much of which is rarely translated in published indexes.

Many of the old baptism records gave just the infant’s name and that of the parents, sometimes only the father’s name.  For a more noteworthy parent, his title might be mentioned.

1634 January 11 – Plympton St. Mary parish baptism – Elyzabeth, the daughter of

Right Worthy Sir Nicholas Slaning, Knight

Sir Nicholas, originally from Bickleigh parish, Devon, near Plymouth, was an important commander in the royalist forces during the English Civil War in the 1640s. He died of wounds suffered in the taking of Bristol in 1643.

The registers often include a substantial amount of information about the parish, besides names and dates, as shown on the example below. On this page from the Plympton St. Mary Parish baptism register can be found entries for labourers, a shop-keeper (butcher), a nobleman (the Earl of Morley) and an unwed mother – a real cross-section of the community.

Page from 1843 baptism register of Plympton St. Mary parish

Usually the noblemen’s families got a little more ink!  Sometimes an extended lineage was shown. 

1728 November 13 - Plympton St. Mary Baptism: Henrietta, daughter of John Parker Esquire of Saltram and the Right Honorable Lady Catherine  his wife, Daughter of the Right Honorable John Earle Poulett of Henton St George

Again, the information about the mother’s family may not be included in a general index of baptisms.  These entries suggest something about the family’s roots, and the importance of the wife/mother, which might also relate to their assets. In this case the family did acquire most of its lands in the parish through the wife whose family is particularly noted in the register.

Occasionally information about historical figures might be found in unexpected and remote parish records.  Plympton St Mary Parish was close the main port of Plymouth and the churchyard there became the final resting place for many people who died on ships that landed there or who died while passing through or visiting the area. In this case the wife of a foreign ambassador was buried after the ship carrying her body had put into port.

1806 November 21 – Plympton St. Mary burial –  “Marcia Mary Wife of the Right Honorable Charles Arbuthnot, Ambassador at Constantinople - in a vault in the Western extremity of the South Aisle, died May 25, 1806”

(the former Marcia Mary Anne Clapcote-Lisle)

Charles Arbuthnot was a British diplomat and Tory politician. He was Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire between 1804 and 1807 and held a number of political offices. He was also a good friend of the Duke of Wellington.

The Arbuthnots were never residents of Plympton St Mary parish.  Marcia was born Marcia Mary Anne Clapcote-Lisle on July 9, 1774, daughter of William Clapcote-Lisle and Hester Cholmondeley.  She had been a Lady-in-Waiting to the Princess of Wales.  She and Charles were married February 28, 1799 at Cholmondeley House, Piccadilly.  Together they had four children.  Many biographies note only that she died in Constantinople on May 24, 1806 but we see in this register where her remains ended up.

Portrait of Marcia Mary Anne nee Clapcott-Lisle Arbuthnot by John Hopper
(downloaded from Wikipedia)

Marcia apparently was carried “home” to be buried.  We are left to speculate on how she was transported that great distance. If this is the only record of her decease and burial, it is not much of a memorial to an important lady.

Baptism and burial images reproduced here are used with the kind permission of the Plymouth and West Devon Record Office (PWDRO). Images were downloaded from FindMyPast , or copied from my own microfiche.