The barren years

STUARTDALGLEISH · Post by **STUARTDALGLEISH** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 7:52 pm

Hi all,

It’s been some time since my last post but I’ve been looking in most weeks and amazed at how over the years the users change and how names come and go as they troll through the past.

I’m looking to see if anyone has a spare 5 or 10 minutes on their next visit to Park Circus or NRH.

I’m currently back working through my Gran’s family and looking to see if someone can look through a few years for me. I recently got the BC for James who I knew was born in England and found him in the Leeds area. I am waiting for the BC for Alexander who I think was born in the Middlesbrough area as was “hopefully” Joseph but I’m waiting to see if my hunch is right with Alexander’s certificate first before ordering it. The family then moves to Glasgow where John is born (just trying to track the correct him from SP). What I’m looking for is the gap in between 1906 and 1912 where Donald is born. There were no more surviving children that I knew of but they seem to have had children every couple of years and the gap seems odd. There is a rumor within the family there may have been another girl born in this gap which died and may be the reason for the barren years.

Parents are
Alexander Cameron 1862 FALKIRK - 1930 GLASGOW
Catherine (Kate) Dodds 1876 SOUTH SHIELDS - 1963 GLASGOW

James 1899 KIRKSTALL ENGLAND – 1965 GLASGOW
Joseph 1902 ENGLAND - 1968 GLASGOW
Alexander 1904 ENGLAND - 1968 GLASGOW Awaiting BC from GRO
John 1906 SUSPECT GLASGOW - 1948 GLASGOW

Gap

<Male> 1912 GLASGOW– 1993 GLASGOW
<female> Cameron 1914 GLASGOW - 1999 GLASGOW
<male> 1916 GLASGOW - 1994 GLASGOW
<female>. 1918 GLASGOW - 2001 GLASGOW

<deaths which are too recent to mention have names edited.LesleyB>
see Essential Reading http://talkingscot.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6601

Many Thanks
Stuart

Post by **Tracey** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 10:50 am

Hi Stuart

Just my two penneth worth.........................
Is there any chance he was in the Military, does his occupation on the certificates give anything away?
I have an eight year gap between births of my grandma and her sister 1897 / 1906. 1901 my gt grandfather is found at South Albion St Police Office so i assume he may have been in prison for some of that time, and his death certificate is the only one that mentions he was a Military Reserve Man.
This was also in Glasgow.

Sure youve already thought of this

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 9:36 am

Hi Stuart

I've done that kind of search before for my own families, trying to trace extra children, and in my experience it has alwyas been quite a long job without specific child names, unless the surname is rare, or it is a sparsly populated rural area.

Unfortuntately, it is not possible to specify parent names in the search, even if you know them, so it would mean looking individually at every Cameron born in Glasgow for each of the years, first all males, then all females, and without a specific area of Glasgow to work with that could take hours per year.

e.g. a search on SP for Glasgow City only (so not counting any of the other Glasgow districts) says there are 160 Camerons born in that area in that year.

I've seen a search of a similar kind take me a whole day at NRH and still not be conclusive.... perhaps one to book yourself in for! Sorry to be all doom and gloom, but just so you understand what is involved.

Best wishes
Lesley

STUARTDALGLEISH · Post by **STUARTDALGLEISH** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:12 am

Hi Tracey

I re-read my initial posting and I now see it doesn't read too well. I have all or most of the actual dates of birth and death for all those listed. The ones I don't have I am waiting on a certificate from England to confirm it. The other Scottish ones I know the year of death just waiting to get up to Park to finalise these (Joseph and James). I was just looking for a head start to see if there were any new children born in the gap years that we didn't know about, you know what it's like waiting for Christmas and you can't open the presents.

Lesley

Many thanks, it's been a few years since my last visit to Park but in those days when it was the microfishe i'm sure I found my fathers brothers and sisters (he was adopted and his name was changed) by searching on his birth surname and then either his mother of fathers name *****edited, just seen this is from 1929 onwards******. I know I had to go through the alphabet ie a* then the surname but I found 3 brothers and a half sister in less than 2 hours (i was working in the building and cheekily asked if there was space for a few hours late in the afternoon) so I hope it's not changed for the worse.
as I said to Tracy above I was trying to open the present before Christmas. Looking forward to Park in a few months and glad to be back on again.

Funny thing about it is, Joe and James who were born in England were as Scottish as Haggis and bad weather and they loved Robert Burns

Thanks again
Stuart

STUARTDALGLEISH · Post by **STUARTDALGLEISH** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 6:52 pm

Amazing what another afternoon can bring. I have had to edit this because John has now been born in England. Looked for his marriage cert and found he had a middle name which nobody alive new of and discovered he was not born in Scotland, quick search on FreeBMB and there he is in Middlesbro' which also confirms (hopefully) the certificate I am waiting on for Alexander in Middlesbro' and then the following one for Joseph in Middlesbro'

Parents are

Alexander Cameron 1862 FALKIRK - 1930 GLASGOW
Catherine (Kate) Dodds 1876 SOUTH SHIELDS - 1963 GLASGOW

James 1899 KIRKSTALL ENGLAND – 1965 GLASGOW
Joseph 1902 ENGLAND - 1968 GLASGOW
Alexander 1904 ENGLAND - 1968 GLASGOW Awaiting BC from GRO
John Hiram 1906 ENGLAND - 1948 GLASGOW

Gap

<Male> 1912 GLASGOW– 1993 GLASGOW
<female> Cameron 1914 GLASGOW - 1999 GLASGOW
<male> 1916 GLASGOW - 1994 GLASGOW
<female>. 1918 GLASGOW - 2001 GLASGOW

<deaths which are too recent to mention have names edited.LesleyB>
see Essential Reading http://talkingscot.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6601

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 8:52 pm

Hi Stuart
Good to hear you have made some progress. It is such a pity the "gap" comes after the IGI tends to fizzle out, otherwise a parent search would have been just the thing, and several years before mother's surnames are added in the 1920s (23? 24? can't remember!) which is what you probably remember from the microfiche.

The new search at NRH, (and no doubt at Park Circus too?) although improved by allowing wildcards in some names, is in some ways, perhaps just because I'm not used to it, seems a more difficult tool to search with when you are "fishing".

You may turn up the name in five minutes, ...or you could be there five hours! I suppose the "gap" may have happened when the family were in England going from your new info?

Best wishes
Lesley

STUARTDALGLEISH · Post by **STUARTDALGLEISH** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 9:15 pm

Hi Lesley

I suppose these are the things which keep bringing us back. Looking forward to my troll in a few months time, then again, I'll maybe try for a wee cancellation to get there quicker as I've now got the bug again.

Cheers

Stuart

David Lang · Post by **David Lang** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 12:05 pm

Stuart I have gaps in my Bown and Stewart Lines both in partick around 1900, they dont stick to the usual naming patterns, but to try and narrow down some of the possibilities i used 2 methods:

1- a leading wild card then a middle name (usual a mother/granny maiden surname in my lot eg * Mcdonald brown

2- check out the deaths for children under 5 in the same areas for the time that way any infant deaths will be found

STUARTDALGLEISH · Post by **STUARTDALGLEISH** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 7:32 pm

Hi David,

I've been told by an Aunt that there was possibly another girl also called Agnes who died which is going to be my first check as my Great Aunt Agnes was then probably named after her. It's amazing how little drips of information still keep coming out if you keep asking questions. It's the usual old question.....why did I not ask more questions when they were all alive.

Cheers

Stuart

STUARTDALGLEISH · Post by **STUARTDALGLEISH** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 3:22 pm

Hi

Just a wee update after getting my GRO certificates, James, Joseph, Alexander and John well all born in England.

Alexander Cameron 1862 FALKIRK - 1930 GLASGOW
Catherine (Kate) Dodds 1876 SOUTH SHIELDS - 1963 GLASGOW

James 1899 KIRKSTALL, ENGLAND – 1965 GLASGOW
Joseph 1902 THORNABY ON TEES,ENGLAND - 1968 GLASGOW
Alexander 1904 THORNABY ON TEES, ENGLAND - 1968 GLASGOW
John 1906 THORNABY ON TEES, ENGLAND - 1948 GLASGOW

Gap

<Male> 1912 GLASGOW– 1993 GLASGOW
<female> Cameron 1914 GLASGOW - 1999 GLASGOW
<male> 1916 GLASGOW - 1994 GLASGOW
<female>. 1918 GLASGOW - 2001 GLASGOW

<deaths which are too recent to mention have names edited.LesleyB>
see Essential Reading http://talkingscot.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6601