Category: PLACES

Adopting a New Approach

The 1881 census first told me that my second great grandfather, Alexander Gibson REID (also featured in my post, Dating Photographs) was adopted. I found it very interesting but soon realised that this created a problem for my research.

Alexander Gibson REID on a family outing circa 1928 
REID family on the 1871 census

Both censuses state Alex was born in Dunoon, Argyllshire about 1863.  I have tried searching for birth records under that name but have got no results.  This indicates to me that Alexander may have been renamed by his adoptive family; which also indicates that he was probably adopted very young.  Possibly from a family member, possibly from the victim of a colliery accident, possibly this, possibly that… There could be so many other explanations – too many for me to list all the possibilities here.Finding Alex on the 1871 census confirmed the adoption and cemented the final stone in a very solid brick wall.  Unfortunately, it will probably take a minor miracle to break this one as there were no adoption records in the 1860s.  In fact, there were no scottish adoption records at all until 1930. This problem is not unique to Scotland either as many family historians have no doubt discovered.

In the hopes a miracle will be bestowed on me, I want to gather as many clues as I can by studying the adoptive family.  The key (or sledgehammer) may just lie in the family names or newspaper reports from the places they lived.

REID family on the 1861 census


Gibson was 35 years old, born in Crichton, Midlothian; Agnes was 36, born in Bothwell, Lanarkshire.  They were living in Knightswood Cottage with their children; Mary, Alexander, Janet, Robert & Isabella, who were aged between 1 & 13 years of age.  All the children were born in Bothwell, Lanarkshire except the youngest, Isabella, who was born in New Kilpatrick the previous year.Gibson REID had been a coal miner since he was at least 15 (source – 1841 & 1851 censuses) but by 1861, he was a colliery clerk in New Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire.  He lived with his wife, Agnes (nee GIBB) in Knightswood (now part of Glasgow but then still a rural area with small scale mining source).

Death certificate of Gibson REID – 27 Jan 1872, New Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire


Sometime after 1841 – moved to Bothwell, married Agnes and had their first child, Mary in 1848.A brief timeline of Gibson REID:
About 1826 – born in Crichton, Edinburgshire.
1841 – living in the HOGG household (William and Euphemia) with Robert, John & William REID (siblings?) & 50 year old, Agnes REID (mother Agnes listed on death certificate)

Between 1851 and 1860 – became a colliery clerk and moved to New Kilpatrick.
Between 1863 and 1871 – adopted Alexander Gibson.
1871 still living at Knightswood Cottage.
1872 died of chronic bronchitis.
Next Steps:
Search for male births (first name Alexander, blank surname) for familiar or possible mother names
Check Argyllshire newspapers for local tragedies
Check 1841 census for Agnes Gibb and her family found 4 possible matches – 1 most likely in Bothwell (sisters Catherine & Jean?)

Related posts:

Marriage Entries VS Marriage Certificates

Emigrating to New Zealand

Birthplace Pedigree Charts

Bombay Love Story Continued…

Obituary Notice for Drusilla WILLS (nee WREFORD) (Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 140, 15 June 1934, p3)

This obituary for Drusilla WILLS (nee WREFORD) featured in my previous post stated that:

Mrs. Wills is survived by two children. Mr James Wills and Mrs. D. Evans, and 15 grandchildren, and 20 great-grandchildren.

My searches of the NZ BDM showed me that Thomas & Drusilla had 3 children:

Richard Henry, Drusilla Howard and James Howard WILLS birth registrations

So you may presume (as I did) that:

a) their son Richard Henry died prior to 1934; and

b) the Mrs D Evans referred to is their daughter, Drusilla Howard.

However a search of Wills/Evans marriages from 1865 only came up with 2:

WILLS/EVANS marriage registration

This means that one of the surviving children was actually ANOTHER daughter called Charlotte (and the D being her husband’s initial).  However, there was no birth record of a Charlotte WILLS.  So, IS this Charlotte a daughter of Thomas & Drusilla?

I was able to find the marriage of Drusilla Howard WILLS (spelt Drucilla – one of the 3 births listed) to a William SHORT in 1899.

I checked the WREFORD pedigree compiled in 1908 (more on that another time) which notes Drusilla and Thomas had SIX children.  With only 3 of those listed in the online BDMs – is it possible to find these other children OR was the compiler mistaken?

Wreford Pedigree

Next Steps:

  • Check birth notices in newspapers (Papers Past)
  • Check BDM for WILLS deaths prior to 1934
  • Scour newspapers for any other references to the family

Related posts:

Good Tithings

Tombstone Tuesday

Ancestor Found (almost)

Bombay Love Story

After receiving an email asking whether Drusilla WREFORD (the 14 year old innkeeper originally mentioned in my post Pub Crawl) met her husband, Thomas WILLS on the voyage to NZ, I delved further into this family.  It was a good question and one I hadn’t really thought of since she was not my direct ancestor and I have so much to research on my genealogical plate.  However, my curiosity was piqued and I donned my detective cap to find out more.

After some apparent hard times, George & Harriet WREFORD, who had apparently run the Hare & Hounds Inn run the Commercial Inn in Witheridge, Devonshire (c1861), emigrated with their 8 surviving children to New Zealand aboard the Bombay on the 26 Nov 1864.  Sadly, their youngest daughter, Mary Ann died on the voyage, aged 2.

My first step was to consult the 1864-5 passenger list for the Bombay voyage these WREFORDS took and funnily enough there was a Thomas WILLS on board aged 23.  Drusilla was 17 at the time so quite possible they could meet and take a fancy to one another.  Or perhaps they were already betrothed before leaving England?  I diverted course to search for Thomas on the UK censuses but without having any more information about him abandoned that search and turned instead to the fabulous NZ Papers Past website.

Sisters Augusta, Drusilla and Sarah Grace nee WREFORD
Although I was initially searching for marriage notices, most of my day has since been spent reading the articles and snippets which mention my ancestors and their neighbours, revisiting old avenues of research and getting to know the other members of this family.  My search also led me to the NZ Births, Deaths & Marriages online where I was able to locate the WREFORD sisters’ marriages (or at least their registration numbers).
WREFORD sister marriages including Drusilla’s to Thomas WILLS
So proof that 14 year old innkeep, Drusilla married somebody called Thomas WILLS.  The 1865 marriage made it seem likely but there was still no real evidence to suggest it was the same Tom on the Bombay with the family.
Drusilla’s Death Notice (also mentions sister Sarah Grace)
Until… serendipity stepped in.  Tweaking the newspaper search words to ‘bombay’ and ‘wreford’ led me to the obituary notice for Drusilla in the Auckland Star (Volume LXV, Issue 140, 15 June 1934, p3).
Obituary Notice for Drusilla WILLS (nee WREFORD)

The death occurred on June 13 at Onehunga of Mrs. Drucilla Wills, aged 89 years.  She was a daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. George Wreford, and came to New Zealand with them when a child in the ship Bombay.  Her late husband, Mr. Thos. Wills, was a passenger on the same vessel. They were married at St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Onehunga, by the late Rev. Dr. Purchas, and settled at Awhitu, where Mr. Wills engaged in the gum trade for many years.  When he retired from business Mr. and Mrs. Wills went to reside at Onehunga.  Mrs. Wills is survived by two children. Mr James Wills and Mrs. D. Evans, and 15 grandchildren, and 20 great-grandchildren.

Ta – dah!

Related posts:

Pub Crawl

Wordless Wednesday

Murder Most Foul

A Cautionary Tale

After a long (unintentional) break from genealogy, I returned to ancestry to find some ‘wiggling leaves’ attached to Charles RICHARDS (b1851).  There was a death and probate suggestion which seemed very likely and got me a bit excited until I actually checked the detail on the probate entry:

e92ce-charlesrichards

 Although the places were apt, none of the names seemed familiar – my Charles married a Sarah MILLINGTON while this person’s widow was Ellen.  The names Jesse and Florence Edith were unfamiliar too.  So I searched and found a 1911 census record for this couple:

fa93e-charles1911

So with that probate ruled out, I went back to my hints page and looked at the other family trees containing Charles RICHARDS and his family.  At least 3 of these trees (which were referring to my Charles -born 1851, married to Sarah, father to 11 children) had listed that particular probate record as a source!
I rechecked the probate record and also listed was a retired shipwright of Liverpool whose widow was Sarah Ann RICHARDS:
fe167-charlesrichards2
Perhaps this is where the confusion lay?  However, Charles had appeared in every census from 1851 – always in Staffordshire and always related to the coal industry (particularly as a coal miner).

Although it IS possible that Charles may have remarried, a simple search of the 1911 census found Charles and Sarah still living in Walsall with four of their children:

f0a05-charlesreal
1911 census record – Charles and Sarah RICHARDS

I left comments on two of the trees informing the owners of the mistake and am keen to hear back from them as they appear to have information (and PHOTOS!) of Charles’ parents and siblings.

In closing, dear fellow geneageeks, PLEASE remember the first rule of genealogy and do not attach information to your tree without confirming it – however much you may want it to be true.  After a long hiatus, I was rusty and nearly fell into this trap – DON’T LET IT HAPPEN TO YOU!

Related posts:

Wheeley Interesting

The LEMMENS Tree

More Chiropody at Trentham

Not the George You’re Looking For

Isn’t it funny what you can come across by accident?

You may have noticed that I don’t just research my direct line of ancestry.  I like to get into the nitty gritty of their siblings as well.  Partly because I’m nosy,  but also to help locate other ancestors you may not come across otherwise, which can help you break down brick walls.  Sometimes, an incorrectly transcribed name will finally appear on a page with correctly transcribed relatives (I have found elderly parents living with their adult child’s family) and sometimes, the relation to household column can uncover a sister’s marriage (I have uncovered married names via nieces and nephews).

This is why when I received an email from a distant relative connected to William GLAISTER’s brother, George, I dived into collecting every detail I could about George and his wife, Isabella SHORT.  Although, I have so far refrained from collecting HER siblings marriages (more on that later), I have located census records for her parents.

I decided to revise my info on George GLAISTER (b. 1826) – son of Robert GLAISTER (b.1786) and saw that I was yet to find an 1841 census record for him.  I had all others up to his death but despite searching with a number of surname variants had always come up empty handed.  I tried again today and found a 10 year old George GLAISTER in Wooler where a lot of my GLAISTERS had resided.  His age was too young, but since that can often be mistranscribed too, I took a look – definitely not the George I’m looking for…
1841 census – Stephen & George GLAISTER
…but underneath in the next ‘household’ (probably just a different room) were Stephen and George GLAISTER – they had been transcribed as Elander.
Now to find out if the John Glaister above is an uncle, brother or cousin.
Next Steps:
  • Determine whether this John Glaister is Robert Glaister’s brother

Related posts:

Neighbouring Families - Part 2

Dating Photographs

Lunatic in the Family Update