Whatever happened to James Green?

[Barclay1]

Hello folks,

I'm trying to figure out what happened to James Green. James was born on the 2nd of December 1837 in Glass, Aberdeenshire. The son of Alexander Green and Jane Innes later Jane Littlejohn. (Source James Green and Agnes Moir Forbes wedding certificate) James married Agnes on December 1st 1863 in Cults, Banchory-Devenick, Aberdeenshire.

James and Agnes had the following children;

Agnes Smith Green -1864 to 1934
Margaret Smith Green - 1869 to ?
James Green - 1871 to 1904 (James Green senior is described as deceased Farm Overseer on James junior's 1904 death certificate)

In 1881 Agnes Moir "Forbes" is listed as head of household in Banchory Devenick. (No sign of James Green)
and in 1883 she married George Cowieson in Cults.

It all seems fairly straight forward so far however Agnes Moir Forbes had 2 more children prior to her second marriage;

Mary Jane Innes Forbes was born 9th January 1876. There is an RCE attached to her birth entry showing Agnes got a court to confirm a "James Innes" as the father of Mary. Mary's father is listed as George Cowieson in her death certificate and she is calling herself Mary Cowieson at the time of her marriage to Alexander Fowlie.

Jessie Ann Innes Green was born in 1880 and died in 1954. Her death certificate names her father as "James Green".

So my questions are

1. When did James Green die? I haven't found a death index match
2. If James was still alive, where was he in 1881?
3. Could the James Innes that the court confirmed as the father of Mary be James Green? James Green's mother's maiden name was Innes.
4. If James Green is not James Innes who is James Innes? All I have to go on is the name of the farm he was working on at the time of the RCE entry.

Any suggestions of where to look or thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

[AndrewP]

Hi Barclay1,



In reply to question 3 above, I believe that James Green and James Innes are two separate people. I base that on the birth information of Mary Jane Innes Forbes (09-Jan-1876) and Jessie Ann Innes Green (28-Sep-1879). Both of these children are noted as "illegitimate". It looks like Jessie's son may not have been given the full truth of his mother's paternity, and was lead to believe that his grandmother's first husband was his grandfather. It may have been easier to tell him that than to tell the truth [Supposition on my part].

Similarly, it looks like Mary was not given the truth of her parentage [my supposition], or it was easier for her to tell her children that she was the child of Agnes's second husband. As she, like her sister, had a middle name Innes, it is very likely that the father of both of them was (or was believed to be) James Innes.

If the 1881 census information is to be believed, Agnes was by then a widow. If her husband James died not earlier than 9 months before the birth of James in 1871, and probably more than 9 months before the birth of Mary in Jan-1876 (unless the couple parted company rather than Agnes being widowed). On her marriage certificate to George Cowieson, she declared herself as a widow. On James Green's Mar-1871 birth certificate, his father James Green is not listed as deceased. So if all the documents are taken at face value, then James Green senior died some time between March 1871 and April 1881 (census) or April 1875 (conception of Mary). However, like you, I see no obvious candidates on ScotlandsPeople for his death from 1871 to 1940.

All the best,

AndrewP

[Barclay1]

Thanks for your response Andrew. It's good to get another view sometimes.

Are you aware of anyway I can identify Bauds in the Peterculter census? That was the place name given as the residence of James Innes on the RCE for Mary Jane Innes Forbes. It's the only clue I have to be able to identify him. Mary was born in 1876 so it's probably unlikely James was working as a farm servant in the same location in either 1871 or 1881. but it's worth a try.

Thanks again

Barclay1

[nelmit]

Thanks for your response Andrew. It's good to get another view sometimes.

Are you aware of anyway I can identify Bauds in the Peterculter census? That was the place name given as the residence of James Innes on the RCE for Mary Jane Innes Forbes. It's the only clue I have to be able to identify him. Mary was born in 1876 so it's probably unlikely James was working as a farm servant in the same location in either 1871 or 1881. but it's worth a try.

Thanks again

Barclay1

Hello Barclay,

You can search by address at SP in 1881LDS.

I searched my sub site and I couldn't find a Bauds at Peterculter but I had a look at the old newspapers and there appears to have been a George Reid at his farm called Baads in 1876. Could his address have been Baads? Unfortunately there is no James Innes there in 1871 or 1881.

Baads, Peterculter 1881

George Reid 73 Farmer of 200 acres employing 3 men 2 girls
Matilda Reid 66
William Reid 25
John Black 26
John Gordon 21
Robert Troop 17
Gilbert McRae 16
Alexander Smith 14
James Thomson 13
Isabella Buchan 26

1871
George Reid 63
Matilda Reid 55
George Reid 24
Jane Reid 22
Duncan Reid 19
William Reid 15
Mary Reid 11
George Mckay 10
Henry Ross 23
Robert Ross 18
Charles Hervey 20
Lachland Forbes 12
Jane Smith 18

Regards,
Annette

[Barclay1]

Hi Annette,


Thanks for doing that search. It looks like James Innes is a lost cause.

I'm still not 100% convinced he isn't James Green but I suppose we'll never know. The fact that James Green's mother was "Jane Innes" and the daughter of Agnes and James "Innes" is called Mary "Jane Innes" Forbes seems like too much of a coincidence to me. It also might explain why there is no death record for James Green, if he was calling himself James Innes and rather than being deceased he'd just done a runner!

Thanks again,

Barclay