Margaret Smellie Can't find her birth

frances · Post by **frances** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 1:44 pm

Have the marriage certificate of Margaret Smellie & Thomas Collins 15th September 1871 according to the forms of the Free Church of Scotland, Parish of Corstorphine Edinburgh.

Margaret's age is given as 21 and her parents are Robert Smellie and Jane Brown.

I have tried in vain to find her birth, used wild cards and expanded the years etc but to no avail

.

Can anyone out there find her?

Thank you

Frances

Post by **AndrewP** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 2:56 pm

Hi Frances,

Have you looked for them as Smillie? (or Sm*llie) The ones in my family tree are spelled either way on different documents.

All the best,

AndrewP

Muriel · Post by **Muriel** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 2:58 pm

Hi Frances

If she was born in 1850 (ie. before legal registration) & was baptised in the Free Church (as presumably she was if that's where she married) you may have to go to those records. Any idea if she was born in Corstorphine &, if not, where? That might narrow things down a bit.

Muriel

frances · Post by **frances** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 5:14 pm

Hello Andrew & Muriel

Have tried different spellings with no joy.

I thought that she may have been reg with the Free Church. Can you point me in the direction of where to check their records?.

Thank you both for taking the time to answer.

Kind Regards

Frances

Post by **AndrewP** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 5:19 pm

frances wrote:I thought that she may have been reg with the Free Church. Can you point me in the direction of where to check their records?.

Hi Frances,

Free Church records are mostly in NAS. Not all of them have baptismal or proclamation (of banns) records, and are not name indexed on the computer system. You need to know which church and then search manually.

Have you found her in the censuses? If so, are the birthplace and birth-year consistent?

[a few minutes later] Is that them in 1881 in Corstorphine? If so, her birth is listed as Holytown, Lanarkshire c1851. Holytown came under Bothwell parish and there is no sign of Margaret or any other children of that couple baptised there.

1881 census on Ancestry:
Thomas Collins 29
Margaret Collins 30
Mary A Collins 9
Robert Collins 8
Jane Collins 6
Margaret Collins 4
John Collins 2
Thomas Collins 1

All the best,

AndrewP

frances · Post by **frances** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 6:28 pm

Thank you Andrew,

Yes that is the family on the Corstorphine Census. I will do as you suggest and check other census to see if birth place and age is consistant.

Kind Regards

Frances