margaret McLeod smith scouller b 1903 blackridge

[jerry]

Margaret McLeod smith scouller b 1903 blackridge had an illegitimate child my mother in 1925 in blackridge
i would like any info on Margaret scouller she was a mental nurse in 1925 but i know she went to Blackpool to be a house keeper to a John binglay in the 1960s then she came back to paisley in the 1970s.she died in paisley in 1979
is there any way i can find out who my mothers father was.
thanks
jerry

[SarahND]

Hello Jerry,
Do you have your mother's birth certificate? Is there no father's name indicated? If you don't have the cert it may well be worthwhile to order it from GROS, although just playing around with the search function on Scotland's People it looks as though she was registered under her mother's surname. If she petitioned for support from the father, then there may be a corrected entry on the birth certificate with the father's name. I assume that your mother didn't know her father's name either, and thus would not have supplied it on her marriage certificate, but that is another place to look.

Maybe someone will come along with a better idea, but that's all I can think of for the moment. Unfortunately, it is w-a-y too late for any kirk session records discussing the situation!

All the best,
Sarah

[Russell]

Hi Jerry

Like Sarah I was a bit flummoxed by the lack of possible information sources.
I thought about litigation possibly being picked up by the newspapers but can't figure out which newspaper would be the Blackridge daily other than the main Nationals like the Express or Scotsman. I'm not sure of the coverage in http://newspapers.bl.uk/blcs/
Anything is worth a try though.

Russell

[jerry]

hi Sarah
i have my mothers birth certificate but it has no father on it
thanks
jerry

Hello Jerry,
Do you have your mother's birth certificate? Is there no father's name indicated? If you don't have the cert it may well be worthwhile to order it from GROS, although just playing around with the search function on Scotland's People it looks as though she was registered under her mother's surname. If she petitioned for support from the father, then there may be a corrected entry on the birth certificate with the father's name. I assume that your mother didn't know her father's name either, and thus would not have supplied it on her marriage certificate, but that is another place to look.

Maybe someone will come along with a better idea, but that's all I can think of for the moment. Unfortunately, it is w-a-y too late for any kirk session records discussing the situation!

All the best,
Sarah

[carlineric]

Local paper would be the West Lothian Courier. Luckily it has been indexed and the index is available from the West Lothian Council's Libraries web page. I have had a look for Margaret Scouller but no trace.

Eric

[Russell]

Aw Well Bang goes my bright idea

Still, even a negative search should be noted so that you don't do it again. That is one lesson that I should have learned early on but its easy to forget when you get excited then dumped by a blank search.

That was a great and considerate task you gave yourself Eric. That's what I like about the TS members

Russell

[SarahND]

Hi Jerry,
I had the same situation with my mother's birth in 1916. On top of no father's name, it didn't even give her a first name beyond "baby girl" since the mother died at her birth. Through great good fortune, however, one of the nurses at the hospital saved letters from my mother's birth mother's cousin, enquiring about the baby and giving a short family history. The nurse also saved a telegram to the hospital from the father referring to my mother as "my daughter". He then died a year later. So we were able to piece it all together, thanks to the foresightedness of this nurse who kept in touch with my mother until her marriage.

This is a long shot, but I'm wondering if you have any old letters from your grandmother or her siblings, cousins, etc. that might give a hint. Are there any family members who might have such a treasure trove in their attic and haven't even realized it yet? You wouldn't believe the amazing family photos, etc. that I was finally able to get from previously unknown third cousins... Just tracked down every branch of the family I could until I finally arrived at living people.

Best of luck to you and never give up!
Sarah

[carlineric]

It may be worth contacting the Blackridge library on blackridge.lib@westlothian.gov.uk and see if they can help. It is possible one of the older residents may remember something. They are only open on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and all day Wednesday.

Eric

[jerry]

sorry for taking so long to reply thanks for the info will check it out
thanks jerry