Donald McGregor Ticket No. 89377

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Lainie
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Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2016 5:56 am

Donald McGregor Ticket No. 89377

Post by Lainie » Fri Mar 11, 2016 7:39 am

I have a couple of problems that I hope someone can help with. I have been working on this for a couple of years and not really getting very far. I am researching John McGregor and Catherine Campbell who married on 3rd or 4th January 1829 at Paisley High Church. He was a baker and they had four children - Donald, Elizabeth, Charles and John.

Their son Donald born 18/9/1829 became a mariner. His apprenticeship ticket in 1845 was number 89377. He moved to Liverpool and married Jean/Jane Pratt nee Pearson (a widow) who was also from Glasgow. Her father David Pearson, was also a Mariner. Donald and Jane had four children - Agnes, John, Catherine and Elizabeth. All born in Liverpool. I cannot find the family on the 1871 census but in the 1881 census Jane lists herself as a widow. I am not sure if that is true or maybe he left her. I can see a Donald McGregor getting off the ship 'Corby' in London in November of 1881 who was born in Paisley.

My questions are these.....How can I trace Donald using his apprenticeship ticket number and would he have kept this number throughout his working life or would he have been issued with a new number after he had served his apprenticeship?

When tracing his father and mother John McGregor (a baker) and Catherine Campbell from Glasgow, their marriage certificate has no details of their parents. How can I move forward with that or is that really as far as I can actually go if I can't get their parents names?

Thank you to anyone who can help me.

Currie
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Joined: Fri Jun 22, 2007 3:20 am
Location: Australia

Re: Donald McGregor Ticket No. 89377

Post by Currie » Wed Mar 16, 2016 11:29 am

Hello Lainie, and Welcome to TalkingScot.

I'm afraid I'm a bit of a failure when it comes to finding my missing mariner ancestor.

I think the general idea is that you find the name of a ship he was on and then work backwards as each crew list only has the name of the mariners previous ship. You probably already know all that.

I don't know anything about tickets but here's the Shipmaster's Guide, 1844. Have a read and see if you can make any sense of it. https://books.google.com.au/books?id=CC ... AJ&pg=PA65

There were probably tens of thousands of mariners lost at sea between 1861 (or whenever it was they had their last child) and 1881.

It may be more productive to concentrate on finding the family in 1871 and maybe narrow down the years of his possible loss.

Not much help, but all the best,
Alan

nelmit
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Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2004 11:49 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: Donald McGregor Ticket No. 89377

Post by nelmit » Wed Mar 16, 2016 8:00 pm

Lainie wrote:.................snipped

When tracing his father and mother John McGregor (a baker) and Catherine Campbell from Glasgow, their marriage certificate has no details of their parents. How can I move forward with that or is that really as far as I can actually go if I can't get their parents names?

Thank you to anyone who can help me.
It looks as though Catherine is still alive and living in Tradeston in 1861. Have you searched for her death entry to see if the person who registered it knew her parents names?
There is a John McGregor, aged 57 death registered in 1858 at Tradeston - I wonder if this could be your John.

Regards,
Annette

Ann In the UK
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Joined: Wed Feb 25, 2009 8:44 pm

Re: Donald McGregor Ticket No. 89377

Post by Ann In the UK » Thu Mar 17, 2016 9:02 am

I can see that crew list you mean for the Corby of Liverpool (Official Number: 76391). If it is him, he joined Corby as an AB in London on 19th Sept 1880 and was discharged back in London on 22 Nov '81. He was about 50 years old then. But his previous ship was the Star of Bengal of Belfast (Official Number: 63957) which, had arrived in Deal, Kent in Sept 1880 from Calcutta. (She'd arrived in Calcutta on March 9th of that year, so this was her arriving home). However according to various newspaper reports, a few months later she was in collision with the Corby - in Dec 1880 off the Lizard (Cornwall). Reports are a little confusing. Some say the Star of Bengal went down, taking with her all hands. A boat was lowered into the water from the Corby and they searched for two hours, but in the darkness nothing was found. However, other reports suggest that more than a week later, the Star of Bengal reported from that she was fine, slightly damaged but needed no assistance. By then though, either way, he'd have been on the Corby which had arrived in London in Nov 81 from Dunkirk.

There's also a Donald in the Merchant marine deaths born around that time - might be worth checking him out.

Name: Donald Mcgregor
Gender: Male
Race: White
Age: 50
Birth Date: 1833
Death Date: 1 Jan 1883
Death Place: Merchant Marine, At Sea, Great Britain
FHL Film Number: 1483317


Quite a bit of info out there re Star of Bengal (google for more)

http://www.lostshipwrecks.com/star-of-bengal.html

http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?166655

http://www.sitnews.us/Kiffer/StarOfBeng ... engal.html

http://www.michaelmcfadyenscuba.info/vi ... page_id=46



I can also see Donald and Jane's daughter, Agnes in Liverpool in 1881, married to a Richard Fairhurt. And Jane McGregor is still alive in 1911, living with her daughter Catherine (listed as Kate, a foreman of beltworkers) in 101 Victoria Sq Liverpool.

Hope that helps.

Ann In the UK
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Joined: Wed Feb 25, 2009 8:44 pm

Re: Donald McGregor Ticket No. 89377

Post by Ann In the UK » Thu Mar 17, 2016 1:31 pm

Just out have interest, how far have you got re John and Catherine? Do you have death records for them? Was John a baker all his life? The reason I ask is, in 1841, John and Catherine lived in Newsmithills street in Paisley, where he was a baker. In 1881, there's a John McGregor (b Paisley c1803) living with his sister, Roseanne McQuade at 5 New Smithhills St,Paisley, but he's a ship's riveter. Poss a coinkydink (it's a very common name in those parts!), but it might be worth checking out. Roseanne was born in Ireland and was married to a John. John was 10 years older than Roseanne. so it's possible she was not his first wife. They had two kids, John (born Ireland c1836 - which could mean, if she was his mother, that's where they were married) and James (born Glasgow, c 1842 - which means they could have been married in Glasgow too). I can't find either of them after that, so it might be worth looking at death records for them in the area at that time. At least one of them could give their parents names (that's the other place you'll find parents names).

Lainie
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2016 5:56 am

Re: Donald McGregor Ticket No. 89377

Post by Lainie » Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:53 pm

Thank you everyone for your help. I will begin my search with some renewed efforts and see what I come up with. I will be in Scotland in June and wonder if anyone knows of any places I should/could visit that might be of some assistance. I was planning to visit the Scotland's People's offices. Thank you again.

Lainie
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2016 5:56 am

Re: Donald McGregor Ticket No. 89377

Post by Lainie » Wed Mar 23, 2016 6:18 am

Have found Rose Anne McQuade's death certificate but her maiden name was Killan so I guess she is not really John McGregor's sister or her maiden name would have been McGregor. Could it be that her and John McGregor were living together but wrote down that they were brother and sister on the 1881 census? or did people not do that sort of thing in those days??? My other thought with Donald McGregor and his wife Jane is that maybe he left her and she wrote that she was a widow to cover up that fact. Would the marriage certificate of their children state whether he was alive or dead at the time of their marriages. I know on their sons marriage certificate it says he is deceased (this is in 1896...I think). Did they always write that on the marriage certificates or can it not be relied upon to be accurate? Thanks again everyone!

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