Brickwall - Inverness, Scotland 1847 birth

Question

Hi all, I've been researching my tree and have come to a brick wall with my 2nd great-grandfather [[McWilliam-547|Alexander Forbes McWilliam (abt.1847-1910)]]. I have not been able to find a birth document for him nor able to deduce his parents. On FamilySearch he was linked to parents but I think that was a different Alexander McWilliam born in Argyll I think. (FS link for reference https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/M1YF-LQC). I was wondering if someone more familiar with Inverness and Scottish families might be able to help me?

Thank you! 

Kerry

Answer 1

I couldn't find a birth/baptism for Alexander Forbes McWilliam but I did find a marriage of an Alexander McWilliam and a Helen Forbes 31 May 1840 (240/30 157) in Strathdon and Corgaff, and also 16 Jun 1840 (177/20 137) in Cabrach. This could be the parents. Sometimes the child was given the mother's maiden name as a middle name.

Comments

Thank you so much Elizabeth! This is certainly something I will look into. Very eagle eyed! I will be sure to mention your kind assistance in the research notes.

Answer 2

It doesn't directly answer your question but an Alexander McWilliam from Inverness enlisted into the Royal Artillery in 1864. The transcript may be behind a paywall on findmypast but here are the details. On balance I think it is him.

First name    Alexander
Last name    McWilliam
Birth year    1845
Birth parish    Inverness
Birth town    Inverness
Birth county    Invernessshire
Birth country    Scotland
Service number    54
Regiment    Royal Artillery
Year    1864
Attestation date    07 Nov 1864
Attestation age years    19
Attestation service number    54
Attestation corps    Royal Artillery
Discharge corps    Royal Artillery
Document type    Attestation
Archive reference    WO 97
Series    Wo 97 - Chelsea Pensioners British Army Service Records 1760-1913
Box    3403
Box record number    43
Archive    The National Archives
Country    Scotland
Record set    British Army Service Records
Category    Military, armed forces & conflict
Subcategory    Regimental & Service Records
Collections from    Great Britain, Scotland

https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBM/WO97/3403/157871

Comments

Hi Matthew, that does indeed look promising. I know at least one of his children were born in India so it might well follow he was on military service. Thank you for providing the detail of the record, I don't have an account at find my past so that's super helpful!

Answer 3

Have you found him in the 1851 and 1861 census returns? Ancestry has transcribed/extracted records, while the originals are at Scotlandspeople.

Before the start of civil registration in 1855, baptismal records are of varying degrees of completeness, so you may or may not be able to find a record for him. The church records (baptisms, banns/marriages, burials/deaths/mortcloth rentals) for the Church of Scotland, some dissenting Presbyterian churches, and the pre-1855 Catholic churches are at Scotlandspeople as well. Other websites have some parts of these records but the only complete set is at Scotlandspeople.

While it's not definitive, it's worth figuring out if any children of his were given names following the fairly common naming pattern used in Scotland ~ if he did, his first son and his second daughter would have his parents' names.

Comments

Thank you! I think I definitely need to get on Scotland's people and have a look. I'm going to need to learn a bit more about Scottish genealogy conventions.