The surname Hay

[MaureenEdna]

Hi,
Could anybody tell me if the surname Hay is very common in Scotland,trying to trace my grand-mothers relations.
my g.mother was Christina Craig Smith d.o.b.1874 who married Archibald McPhail (occupation Butcher) d.o.b.1874 in Govan,Lanarkshire 20th october 1902 on the marriage certificate parents were John Smith occupation Railway Labourer and Margaret (nee Hay) at the time of the marriage the address for Christina was 33 Robert Street,Govan and Archibalds address Elphinstone Street,Govan his parents were Alexander McPhail occupation (Iron Driller) & Jessie McPhail (nee McPhail).I have a marriage certificate for John Smith d.o.b.1847 Occupation Railway labourer & Margaret Hay d.o.b.1847 occupation Jute powerloom weaver
address for Margaret Hay 33 Blackness Road,Dundee for john 27 Cherryfield Road,Dundee.
My problem is am I connecting the right people,could some experts take a look and give there approval.

Looking forward to some replies,thanks for your Help
Maureen.
Liverpool.

[WilmaM]

One way to confirm the correct parents and marriage date would be to look at the Bride's Birth certificate - it should [?] give the date and place of their marriage.

Have you checked the 1901 census too? if she was still living at home.

Railway workers did move around a fair bit, so it's not unusual to find them in different areas.

Your original question was how common is Hay as a surname: I would say fairly common, but more so in the North East / Moray Firth area.

Your posting above is a little confusing - you have everyone's DOB as 1874!
I did a little digging on the IGI at familysearch.org :

Your Christina :
CHRISTINA CRAIG SMITH
Birth: 11 MAY 1874 Kettle, Fife, Scotland
Father: JOHN SMITH
Mother: MARGARET HAY
Extracted birth or christening record


Her siblings could be any or all of the following:
MAY HAY SMITH - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Birth: 18 APR 1872 Kettle, Fife, Scotland

JOHN SMITH - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Birth: 26 JUL 1865 Falkland, Fife, Scotland

JANET SMITH - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Birth: 07 DEC 1868 Falkland, Fife, Scotland

JAMES HAY SMITH - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Birth: 23 NOV 1866 Falkland, Fife, Scotland

DAVID HAY SMITH - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Birth: 24 JUN 1864 Falkland, Fife, Scotland

CHRISTIAN CRAIG SMITH - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Birth: 16 SEP 1861 Falkland, Fife, Scotland

THOMAS SMITH - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Birth: 11 JAN 1863 Falkland, Fife, Scotland

The most likely candiate for her parent's marriage would be:
MARGARET HAY
Spouse: JOHN SMITH
Marriage: 31 MAY 1861 Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland
Extracted marriage record for locality listed in the record .

The Dundee marriage date of 18 MAR 1870 would be too late if all those children were from the one family - and they were all born in Fife not Angus.

Do check her Birth and any census records to see if they confirm or deny these findings.

[deano]

Hello Maureen,

I think i would agree with WimaM, that the marriage of 1861, Kirkcaldy, Fife, between John Smith, and Margaret Hay, is your couple.

1881 census dwelling Russells Land, Collessie, Fife, is your family.

John Smith, Head, Railway Labourer, M. age 51 years, M. born Falkland, Fife,
Marg Smith, Wife. M. age 46 years, F. born Falkland, Fife,
David Smith, Son, Unable, age 16 years, M. born Falkland, Fife,
John Smith, Son, Tailors App. age 15 years, M. born Falkland, Fife,
James Smith, Son, Stationers Paper Boy, age 14 years, M. born Falkland, Fife,
May Smith, Daur, Scholar, age 8 years, F. born Kettle, Fife,
Christn. Smith, Daur, Scholar, age 6 years, F. born Kettle, Fife.

These ages and place of birth are correct going by the births WilmaM. provided from the IGI.

Regards,
Jonn.

[deano]

Hello Maureen,

Your Archibald McPhail, was actually born 27/Nov/1873. Govan, Lanark, to parents Alexander McPhail, and Janet McPhail.

Here they are 1881. census. Dwelling, 135 Main Street, Govan.

Alexander McPhail, Head, Driller Ship Building, M age 45 years, M. born Kilmore, Argyll, ( Gaelic )
Janet McPhail, Wife, M. age 43 years, F. Born Kilmore, Argyll, ( Gaelic )
Archibald McPhail, Son, Scholar, age 7 years, M. born Govan, Lanark,
Alexander McPhail, Son, age 4 years, M. born Govan, Scotland.

I cannot see a marriage for the parents, and they are quite old if that is there only children.

Regards,
Jonn.

[AndrewP]

Hi Maureen,

The online IGI gives births up to the end of 1874 from the Scottish records, and for this McPhail family gives the following two.

MALCOLM MACPHAIL - Birth: 27 AUG 1871 Govan, Lanarkshire
ARCHIBALD MCPHAIL - Birth: 27 NOV 1873 Govan, Lanarkshire

Alexander, mentioned above, was born after the LDS's 1874 cut-off date.

If Malcolm was not around at the time of the 1881 census, it may be worth looking for a young death.

All the best,

AndrewP

[LesleyB]

Hi Maureen

my g.mother was Christina Craig Smith d.o.b.1874

Can you tell us where she was born, please and do you have a day and month? The only one I'm seeing on Scotlands People is the same one that Wilma found on IGI. Have you downloaded a copy of that original birth entry already?

Best wishes
Lesley

[alex19canteen]

Hi,
Could anybody tell me if the surname Hay is very common in Scotland,trying to trace my grand-mothers relations.

Here is the distribution of the Hay surname in Britain 1881: http://tinyurl.com/cpgekd

[HeatherH]

Hi MaureenEdna,
I did a simple "surname search" on Scotlands people and found this for the surname "Hay"

Search Count
Census 1841 5864
Census 1851 6175
Census 1861 6218
Census 1871 6630
Census 1881 7360
Census 1891 7966
Census 1901 8507
Old Parish Records Births & Christenings 1553 - 1854 17489
Old Parish Records Banns & Marriages 1553 - 1854 9819
Statutory Register Births 1855 - 2006 27842
Statutory Register Marriages 1855 - 1933 9017
Statutory Register Deaths 1855 - 2006 25512
Wills & Testaments 1513 - 1901 1815

While not in the top 25 surnames Hay does seem to be among the more common surnames.

Happy Hunting,
Heather

[Montrose Budie]

Just an observation, - a very common indexing error is that HAY is misread as KAY.

mb

[MaureenEdna]

Hi again,Thanks to everybody who gave me guidance with my research on the name Hay,sorry for confusion I have got to admit I'm not the best at explaining my self.
Found the birth certificate for my Grandmother Christina Craig Smith on Scotlands People as you instructed me to do and yes you were all right, silly me had the wrong parents so now I,m over the moon I also got her parents marriage certificate but I'm having terrible difficulty reading the hand-writting,do any of you know if I can get get a printed version?.
My next search is on for my dads birth certificate where ever that may be just hope he wasn't telling" porky pies "about being born in Ireland.

Thanks again everone.
your all great.
Maureen.