At the end of my last post, I mentioned that I had no idea that Alexander Ritchie BUCHAN had a brother called John.
I did a ‘parent search’ on familysearch.org for Alex’s parents, Charles and Jessie (nee RITCHIE) and up he popped! While checking the information, I noticed that his birth date was identical to brother William’s but perhaps this was confused with a christening date (children were sometimes baptised in ‘bunches’).
I managed to download the birth entry on Scotlands People and sure enough, John and William were twins!
Birth record of Charles & William BUCHAN, Peterhad 1868
Anyone else found twins in their families? I think this was the first instance I’ve come across.
Back on track after my William BROWN confusion – I pick up with proving George BROWN and James BROWN are brothers. Thereby proving that the William BROWN on the 1891 census is indeed related to me.
Proving Brotherhood
I had previously sought to prove George BROWN and James were brothers and so had some of George’s records at hand. George’s death record states that his parents are John BROWN and Jane [Jean] Maxwell:
Statutory Death Record of George BROWN – 1862
James BROWN’s death record also gives his parents as John BROWN and Jean Maxwell:
Statutory Death Record of James BROWN – 1873
This proves that James and George are brothers. A search for BROWN births in Glencairn show that there was also a William born to John BROWN and Jean MAXWELL:
Birth Record of William BROWN in Glencairn Parish Register – 1807
So, I have proved the heads of household at Woodhead, George and James BROWN are brothers. I have also found the existence of another brother, William (as there are no statutory death records of a William BROWN with a mother named MAXWELL, I can only assume he died before 1855).
I have therefore come to the conclusion that the William BROWN (b.1829) living at Woodhead on the 1891 census is in fact James BROWN’s nephew.
! The results here are accurate, however not the William BROWN I was tracing (see previous post for correction). I have chosen to leave this information here to help others.
Using FamilySearch, I searched the IGI for Sarah FERGUSSON with a spouse named BROWN.
Success: It listed Sarah marrying a John BROWN in Glencairn, 1826 (about 3 years before William BROWN was born according to the censuses). This seemed a very good match indeed so I began to search for birth records of William and his brother, John.
No sign of William but I found a birth and christening record for John (parents John BROWN and Sarah FERGUSON) in the nearby parish of Keir, for September 1825. However, this was a year before his parents’ marriage so although it is not impossible, I could not be sure. Perhaps the parish record will say whether the birth was ‘legitimate’ or not? I bit the bullet and viewed the actual parish record on ScotlandsPeople. The birth had been transcribed incorrectly and actually took place in December 1828 – remember ALWAYS view the actual record where possible!
Birth entry for John BROWN, son of John BROWN & Sarah FERGUSSON – December 1828
While checking my previous searches on ScotlandsPeople, I found an entry for William, legitimate son of John BROWN and Sarah FERGUSON of Snade Mill (the residence was indecipherable to me at first but the ordnance survey maps helped me a great deal) He was born on the 2nd December 1826 and christened the 6th December.
Birth entry for William BROWN, son of John BROWN & Sarah Fergusson – December 1826
Snade Mill (Cairn Water), Glencairn parish via ScotlandsPlaces
Now I need to link this John BROWN to my James BROWN to prove these neighbours were also family. I would also like to find the family connection to George BROWN who also lived at Woodhead throughout these censuses.
Next steps (edited):
Find a family link between these BROWNs and the BROWNs at Woodhead (see next post in the series)
It’s easy to think that people were more chaste in the past. This may be true, but a journey through the parish records shows that people back then also indulged in sex before marriage or as the Victorians preferred to call it, ‘antenuptial fornication’.
Whilst looking through the Dunscore parish records for births and marriages, I found an entry for James BROWN’s proclamation of banns, for which he paid 3 shillings on June 10, 1827. (James was originally mentioned in this post).
James BROWN & Janet CURRIE’s marriage proclamation – Jun 1827
I believe the next entry for June 16, shows his marriage although the bride’s name appears different. In January the next year, the couple were blessed with their baby girl, Jane.
BROWN, Jane [Legitimate Daughter] of James BROWN & Janet CURRIE, Whitecairn. Born 11th January 1828.
Someone must have done the maths though, because two weeks later James paid 3 shillings and 6 pence as a fine for antenuptial fornication.
James BROWN’s fine for antenuptial fornication – Jan 1828
Janet would have been about 2 months pregnant when they announced their intentions to marry back in June. It is possible that Janet did not know she was pregnant but I think they were both aware when they decided to marry. I wonder what must have gone through their heads – were they fearful of their secret being discovered? How did their families react? Apart from the church fine, did they suffer any other repercussions or did it not matter now the child was legitimate?
