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From: (Vivienne Dunstan)
Subject: Re: Grandparents' names unknown - Aberdeen mid 18C
Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2004 00:19:15 +0000
References: <413433c0.3478290@news.individual.net>


cecilia <> wrote:

> I am trying to judge the likelihood that I have death entries for
> siiblings.
>
> Charles WILKIE in Aberdeen, a tanner, died 1861, aged 70 (at 1 Rogers
> Walk). His son Charles registered the death.
>
> No names are given for his parents.
>
> Elizabeth GORDON, nee WILKIE, in Aberdeen, died 1859, aged 76, widow
> of a linen-weaver (journeyman). Her parents are given as

Have you looked for matching births? I'd only recommend doing this if
you can find them in the 1851 or 1861 census (use addresses at death as
a clue: did Charles die after the 1861 census or before it?) because
that should help locate their birthplaces, normally to single parishes.
Then you could look to see if there might be matching baptisms in those
parishes for these people, and see what parents they might have. Of
course not all births are recorded in the parish registers at this time
so you may not find them, but if the census returns give birthplaces
that are identical or nearby that might help narrow your hunt a bit.

The drawback of skipping the census search is that it might be fairly
easy to find people of these names born at about the right time in what
looks like it might be the right place (Aberdeenshire, or a larger area
of northern Scotland or wherever). That's an easy route to creative
genealogy (often leading to tracing the wrong pedigree). But if you can
get a better guide to their birthplaces from the census returns (later
than 1841 which would just indicate county) it's a slightly safer step.

Names of children can also be a useful clue in Scotland (can you find
out what children Charles and Elizabeth had by their respective
spouses?) but don't rely on that too much. It's too easy to go down the
creative genealogy route with that approach too. But try finding them in
the census before they died. It's what I'd try if it was my family.

>If they are siblings, there should be others (they are 8 years apart
>in age) - so, on the off-chance, I express interest in other Wilkies
>(particularly in Aberdeen) of the correct age-group with unknown

Even if they had siblings who survived past childhood those same
siblings could have died before 1855. This Wilkie pair lived to a grand
old age for their time. In my Cavers one-name study there's a case of
one family that hardly shows up in the pre-1855 parish registers at all
but a few long-lived siblings lived until just after 1855 and have death
certificates identifying them as siblings. They probably had other
siblings too, but who died before 1855, or in England (so no death
certificate naming parents), so are pretty untraceable now.

Good luck!

Viv Dunstan

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