Who is Jane Mearns (Emslie)?

Question

Jane (if that is her real name) is my 2nd Great Grandmother. I can't seem to find her on any census in Scotland, perhaps because I don't know what her real name is. She was listed on my great grandfather's (William Mearns) birth registration as Jane Mearns, William Mearns is also listed as Illegitimate. Based on "her mark" on the birth registration she was illiterate. I can see that she was alive during William's Marriage in 1918 and her name is shown as Jane Mearns (Ms Emslie). I can't find any marriage registration for a Jean, Jane, or Janet Emslie to a John Mearns as suggested by the death and marriage registration of William. Any help identifying this individual would be appreciated.

Answer 1

If you can find the Kirk Session records (and assuming they are extant), you would be amazed what you'll find when there is an illegitimate child. You'll need to figure out which parish she was living in around the time of his birth. Then its a slow slog reading the records. They're available, unindexed, on ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk