Aberdeen City directory for 1916

[speleobat2]

Does anyone know if this exists or one for any year around 1916? Better yet, does anyone have access to one?

When my great grandfather George Clerihew came over to the USA in 1916 he gave as a contact person in Scotland "Mr. A. French, 74 Powis Place, Aberdeen cousin".

I have never been able to find out much about my great grandfather's family because he died between 1851 and 1855. I would really like to find this cousin. There are several possibilites, but so far I haven't been able to connect them with my family. It would really help if I knew what the cousin's first name was!

Carol

[SarahND]

Hi Carol,
I'm sure you've seen the Alexander French at 40 Powis Place in 1901-- is he not yours?

Cheers,
Sarah

[speleobat2]

Sarah,

I've seen him, I've followed him, I can't connect him! I got the family back a couple of generations, but there was nothing in common. I'm guessing, of course, that my great grandfather was refering to a real cousin which is why I'm trying to confirm the first name. Could be one of those relatives "by marriage and 17 times removed"!

Carol

[SarahND]

Hi again, Carol!
Am I right in thinking he was the illegitimate son of Elspet Beaton and born in Monquhitter? He could be a "cousin" in some less-than-obvious way... But again, I'm sure you've already gone through his ancestry with a fine tooth comb Since I have my own unsolved Aberdeenshire mysteries, I'm always game for poking around there a bit more

Could he be the cousin of Alexander's wife?

Cheers,
Sarah

[speleobat2]

Hmm. Hadn't seen that one! I'll take a look at him too.

I've been working on Alexander French, son of James French and Margaret Reid. He was born in 1846 which is fairly close to my great grandfather who was born in 1839. Last time I worked on this I got lost in a lot of Reids!

If the cousin was a 1st cousin to my great grandfather, then my 2x great grandfather would had to have had a sister who married a French so Margaret Reid doesn't work unless you throw in the wildcard of being illegitimate which any one of them could have been. I do have this Alexander's death cert. and it doesn't show his mother being married more than once so Reid was her maiden name.

On with the hunt!

Thanks for taking a look around!

Carol

[SarahND]

Oh, the one in 1901 in Powis Place was born around 1863 in Monquhitter and was a draper. Going back it certainly looks like he was the illegitimate son of Elspet Beaton. Got any Beatons in your tree?

Good luck!
Sarah

[speleobat2]

No Beatons anywhere and 1863 is stretching the possibility because my great grandfather was born in 1839, but his parents were married in 1829. There is confusion on my 2x great grandfather's age (of course!). The 1841 census says he was 65 and the 1851 census says he was 46! Then he disappears. It would have been possible for him to have sisters 20 years younger, but I'm just not finding any evidence of them anywhere. If they were born in the 1820's, they should show up on the 1841 census at least and if they were having children after 1855 there should be at least one record somewhere--even given the multitude of ways to mistranscribe Clerihew! Just found a new one on Ancestry today--Oberchen! They did have Clerihew in parenthesis after it.

Carol

[speleobat2]

Well, you just never know when the answer is going to pop up and smack you between the eyes!

It wasn't Alexander French who was my great grandfather's cousin. It was his wife! I keep forgetting that the records were just slightly sexist. My great grandfather gave his cousin's husband as a contact person when he left Aberdeen and sailed for the USA in 1916. Alexander's wife was Mary Ann Leslie and her mother, Mary Lawrence, was cousin to Isabella Longmuir who was married to my great grandfather. Alexander and Mary Ann were living at 84 Powis Place on the 1911 census and my great grandfather was at 74 Powis Place so I finally got the marriage cert for Alexander and Mary Ann.

Good news: Now I have a whole bunch of Leslie relatives to find.

Bad news: This was a Milne cousin, not a Clerihew cousin so my Clerihew side still remains a mystery.

Carol