A Pair of Speedie Baptisms

Whilst researching in the Scottish Old Parish Registers (OPRs) recently I came across an interesting pair of baptisms and couldn't resist following them up.

The baptisms were recorded consecutively in the OPR for Beath in Fife as follows:

OPR 410 - Beath, Fife - Register of Births and Baptisms 1835

                         David Speedie had a

Child born to him of           Henderson

in fornication in the parish of Inverkeith

-ing on the 15th August, baptized and

named                                 William

              David Speedie had a Child

born to him of his wife in Oakfield on

the 12th Novr 1835, baptized and

named                                Helen

Were both these children fathered by the same man?

I was surprised to find no mention of David Speedie in the Kirk Session Minutes for the Parish of Beath for 1835.  However, his fruitfulness did not go completely unnoticed.

In the Kirk Session Minutes for the Parish of Inverkeithing, Fife (viewable on Virtual Volumes at the National Archives of Scotland) I found two references to him:

CH2/195/3 - Inverkeithing St Peter's, Kirk Session Minutes - Page 552

Inverkeithing 29 November 1835
The which day the Session being met and constituted Sederunt the
Moderator with Messrs Bell, Cousins, Robertson, Bell & Brown
Elders  Compeared David Speedie, Farm Servant and declared
that he was guilty of Fornication with Elizabeth Henderson Seceder
who had brought forth a child to him.  He also acknowledged that
he was guilty of Antenuptial Fornication with Margaret Walls
he was suitably rebuked for his repeated transgressions and

exhorted to repent and Amend his life.  The Session considering

this aggravated Case require him to produce a Certificate from the

Kirk Session where he now resides how he has behaved since he left

this Parish at Whitsunday last.             Concluded with prayer

Inverkeithing 7 February 1836

The which day the Session being met and constituted Sederunt The

Moderator with Messrs Bell, Cousins, Christie, Bell and Brown Elders

Compeared David Speedie mentioned in a former Minute and having

professed deep repentance for his sins he was again rebuked and

exhorted and absolved from the scandal.

The birth of a child to Elisabeth Henderson on 15th August 1835 is also recorded in a list kept by a midwife of children born in Inverkeithing which now forms part of Inverkeithing Kirk Session Records (Reference: CH2/195/70).  This does not name the father.

The mention in the minutes of 'Antenuptial Fornication' refers to the fact that David Speedie and his wife were married in Glasgow (OPR 644/01) on 7th July 1835, only four months before the birth of their child.  Obviously, someone could do the maths!

A Case of Bigamy

I've been looking through old newspapers at http://newspapers.bl.uk/blcs/ today and the following story caught my eye. Not only because it involves bigamy (always popular with genealogists) but because of the great amount of detail given about each marriage.

The article comes from the Caledonian Mercury of Monday, October 13, 1851:

ABERDEEN CIRCUIT COURT. - This court was appointed to have been held on Wednesday; but, in consequence of that day being the Aberdeen sacramental fast, it was formally adjourned until Thursday morning, when it was opened by the Lord Justice Clerk. There were only nine cases, six of which were for thefts, one for assault, one for forgery, and one for bigamy. The name of the party accused of bigamy was Robert M'Intosh, miller, Bagrie Mills, Forgue, as respectable-looking young man. On the 23d day of July 1849, he was lawfully married, by the Rev. Robert Houston, Glasgow, to Catherine Anderson, then residing there, yet, notwithstanding his knowing that the said Catherine Anderson was alive, he entered into a matrimonial connection, at the Inn of Cornhill, parish of Ordiquhill, Banff, with Isabella Murdoch, daughter of George Murdoch, mason, parish of Marnoch, having been married to her there, on the 9th day of February 1850, by the Rev. James Grant, minister of Ordiquhill. He pled guilty, and the judge, in sentencing him, remarked that this was a most heinous offence, being always deliberately conceived and committed. That the present was one of the worst he had ever heard of - only eight months elapsing between the marriages. A great number of parties now, in shifting about the country, labouring, seem to think that they should get a new wife at every place they went to; but he (the judge) felt he would not be doing his duty to his country, nor affording due protection to women, if he was to let the prisoner pass with a slight punishment, and he therefore sentenced him to transportation for seven years. In concluding the criminal business the Lord Justice-Clerk congratulated the Sheriffs on the lightness of the calendar.

1939 National Identity Register

Family historians may know that, following applications under the Freedom of Information Acts, it is now possible to request information from the UK 1939 National Identity Register.

The National Register was taken on 29th September 1939 (shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War) and was used for the issuing of identity cards and rationing books. Information from the register later formed the basis of the National Health Service Central Register. For genealogists, much of the importance of the 1939 National Identity Register lies in the fact that no census was taken in 1941 and so, although not strictly a census, the register serves as a replacement.

As with many records, the process for obtaining information is slightly different in Scotland than it is in England & Wales. Although in all cases it is only possible to request information on deceased persons.

The situation in England & Wales is far from clear, although Guy Etchells has successfully requested information on the deceased residents of an address in Leamington Spa and the results can be seen at http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~framland/census/1939NatReg.htm.

However, a news release from the Scottish Government at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2010/01/12103321 clearly sets out how to obtain information from the Scottish register, providing an address to write to and detailing the necessary fee. What isn't clear from the news release is whether it is necessary to know the address where a person was resident in 1939 in order to request their details.

Further information can be found on Chris Paton's blog Scottish Genealogy News and Events. Chris has successfully requested details of two ancestors, in one case without knowing an address, and received a response in just three days – quite impressive!

For me, the ability to request information on an individual without knowing their address greatly increases the usefulness of the 1939 National Identity Register. In effect, you supply a name and date of death and in return are given that person's date of birth, with their occupation, marital status and address on a given date – if only all genealogical research was that simple!

I wonder if the fast turnaround was in part due to the fact that the availability of this information has not been well publicised. In fact, aside from the news release and Chris' blog mentioned above I could find very little online about it.

I was particularly surprised to find no mention of how to request information from the 1939 National Identity Register on the website of the General Register Office for Scotland (although there is a little history given in the section on the NHS Central Register and elsewhere).

However, I was intrigued to find, hidden away on the site, the information that the 1939 National Register has been digitised (apparently in the last few years). It seems likely that the existence of this digitised version of the register is the reason why requesting information from Scotland is apparently so straightforward.

Presumably the digitisation of the register was not done with any intention of making the information public. However, surely a strong argument can be made that the information held in the register is no more personal than that provided in modern records of births, marriages and deaths. Records which, although not available as digital images online, can be viewed in full by anyone who visits the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh.

If the Scottish 1939 National Identity Register is already digitised why not make it fully accessible to the public at the ScotlandsPeople Centre?


UPDATE: 14 September 2011

I've recently become aware that people searching online for information on the 1939 National Identity Register may be coming across this, now outdated, post. For the avoidance of confusion, the access details and costs are currently as follows:

England & Wales - £42 per request
Application details at www.ic.nhs.uk/services/1939-register-service

Scotland - £13 per request
Application details at www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/national-health-service-central-register/about-the-register/1939-national-id-register.html

Northern Ireland - via FOI request
General details at www.proni.gov.uk/index/about_proni/freedom_of_information.htm
For details of a success request see Chris Paton's post: http://scottishancestry.blogspot.com/2010/03/1939-northern-irish-foi-request.html

By Any Other Name?

This week I worked on an heir tracing case concerning a man who was known by two different surnames – neither of which, it turned out, was exactly what was recorded on his birth certificate.

I've also had a few enquiries lately about people who changed their surnames and that has got me thinking about some of the reasons why a person might change their name, or be known by a variety of different names.

One of the most common reasons was probably illegitimacy. In Scotland in particular, illegitimate children usually took their father's surname. However, on statutory birth records the name of the father of an illegitimate child is normally only recorded if he was present at the time the birth was registered (alternatively if the mother brought an action of paternity against the father his name might be given in an R.C.E.). Therefore the surname on the birth certificate may be one the child never used. Some individuals born to unmarried parents seem to alternate between two surnames, sometimes being recorded with their father's name, sometimes with their mother's.

Also quite common (in my family at least) were women who took the surname of a man they lived with, but were not actually married to. I discovered quite recently that one of my relatives who did this actually changed their name by deed poll.

Then there were children who were adopted and subsequently took the surname of their new family. Adoption only became legally recognised in England & Wales in 1927 and in Scotland in 1930. However many informal adoptions took place before these dates. I came across an example of this recently by accident. When researching a family of Scottish origin I was surprised to come across the death, aged 7 months, of a boy who had apparently emigrated to New Zealand twelve years later. My first thought was that a younger child had been given the same name but I could find no evidence of this in birth records. It turned out that following the death of their child the couple 'adopted' a baby born to an unmarried mother and gave him the name of their dead son. As this was prior to adoption being legally recognised there is no official record of this. Luckily, the information had been passed down through the family or this might have remained a mystery.

Similarly, children of a widow might acquire the surname of their mother's husband should she marry again. Even if this did not happen step-children may be recorded in census returns under the surname of the head of household regardless of whether they actually used the name.

Other reasons for a change of surname might include to benefit from an inheritance, an immigrant changing their name to one found in their adopted country and, of course, someone who deliberately wished to conceal their identity.

In fact, for our ancestors, a change of name seems to have been incredibly easy and, in most cases, left little documentary evidence. This presents rather a challenge to the family historian, who often has little more than a name to go on when searching for their forebears.

I wonder how often a change of name could be the reason for a research brickwall. Then again, there are some ancestors who by any other name would still present a challenge!

Happy New Year and Thanks for the Awards!

I'd like to start this post by wishing everyone a very happy new year.

I don't really make new year resolutions (too easy to break) but, as it's been nearly two months since my last post, I certainly intend to make this year one in which I will blog a little more often!

I'd also like to thank the fellow bloggers who have nominated me for the Kreativ Blogger Award, that is: Earline Hines Bradt of Ancestral Notes, Professor Dru of Find Your Folks, Mary B. of AncestorTracking and M of Roots Digging.  I really appreciate all the kind words and it's great to know someone is actually reading what I write.  Thanks for the encouragement!

I understand that the recipient of a Kreativ Blogger Award has to write seven things about themselves and then nominate seven other bloggers for the award, so here goes:

About Me:

1. Despite being primarily a researcher of Scottish genealogy I'm actually English born and bred (but with plenty of Scottish ancestors).

2. One of my favourite names on my family tree is Patience Porritt.

3. Since taking up genealogy professionally I barely have time to trace my own ancestors any more (and I feel like I've barely scratched the surface of what there is to find on them!)

4. I would like to learn Latin properly (if I can ever find the time).

5. When I was a child my ambition was to be a writer.

6. I'm a vegetarian and so was one of my great-great-grandfathers.

7. I'm a fan of Real Ale (mine's a Deuchars if anyone's asking :p).

My nominations for the Kreativ Blogger Award (in no particular order):

1. Geneageek - http://geneageek.blogspot.com

2. Patten Genealogy - http://pattengenealogy.blogspot.com

3. Your Ancestors Free.Com - http://www.yourancestorsfree.com

4. Carole's Canvas - http://caroleriley.id.au/

5. Blog of a Genealogist in Training - http://genealogist-in-training.blogspot.com

6. Folk are the Thing - http://folkarethething.com

7. History Repeating - http://familytreeuk.wordpress.com

Wordless Wednesday - 11 November 2009 - Remembrance Day

Written on reverse: "Our two sons Douglas & Joseph meet after 4 years absence."

Foundling Children in Glasgow

Researching at the ScotlandsPeople Centre this week I was looking for a baptism in the Old Parish Registers when I came across a list of names under the heading 'Exposed Children Continued'.

By looking at the previous page I discovered that this was actually a list of baptisms of Foundling Children in Glasgow's Town's Hospital.

According to the Old (or First) Statistical Account of Scotland (Account of 1791-99 vol.5 p.520): “The Town's hospital, or Poor's House, was founded in the year 1730. It was intended to maintain and give good education to orphans, or those who were left destitute, to afford an asylum to the old, and to promote the best interests of all, in the cheapest possible manner.”

The list appears to be at the end of one of the baptismal register books for the Parish of Glasgow (OPR 644¹/20) and there may well be similar lists in other books of the register.

These baptisms are included in the usual indexes to the OPRs (you can spot them because there are no parents' names) and at least some of them are included in the IGI. However, on the IGI ages have been rounded up or down to the nearest year rather than being given as recorded.

The full list is as follows:

List of Foundling Children, in the Towns Hospital, Baptized by D^r John Lockhart

Mess^rs Daniel Mackenzie, Preceptor, James Moffat, Chaplain & Francis Ross, Witness

Baptized 13^th. Dec^r. 1805.  -  Age as nearly as could be conjectured at the Baptism

Duncan  -  Mathew Duncan  -  2 years & 3 Months
Stewart   -  James Stewart  -  2 years
Russell   -  John Russell  -  6 Months
Largs  -  Paterson Largs  -  4 Months
Frazer  -  Campbell Rae Frazer  -  3 Months

Baptized 29^th. July 1806.
Gardner  -  John Gardner  -  9 years & 3 months
Hay  -  Margaret Hay  -  4 years & 3 months
Lindsay  -  Jean Lindsay  -  2 years & 6 months
Govan  -  James Govan  -  3 years & 3 months
Thomson  -  Richard Thomson  -  2 years & 3 months
Brown  -  Thomas Brown  -  3 years
Falconer  -  Mary Falconer  -  3 years & 9 months
Smith  -  John Smith  -  1 year & 3 months
Miller  -  Elisabeth Miller  -  8 months
Young  -  Alexander Young  -  2 months

Baptized 21^st. May 1807.
M'Arthur  -  Mary M'Arthur  -  3 years & 9 months
Graham  -  James Graham  -  6 years & 9 months
Young  -  Agnes Young  -  4 years & 3 months
Cleland  -  Martha Cleland  -  2 years & 3 months
Duncan  -  Mary Duncan  -  3 years & 3 months
Patrick  -  Elisabeth Patrick  -  1 year
Monteath  -  Robert Monteath  -  6 months
Miller  -  Joseph Miller  -  6 months
Cherry  -  Agnes Cherry  -  3 months

Baptized 16^th. Sept^r. 1808.
Paisley  -  William Paisley  -  1 year & 3 months
Martin  -  Elisabeth Martin  -  1 year & 3 months
Gillies  -  Mary Gillies  -  1 year
Fairley  -  Elisabeth Fairley  -  9 months
Paul  -  Charlotte Paul  -  9 months
Symons  -  Jean Symons  -  9 months
Smith  -  Martha Smith  -  8 months
M'Farlan  -  Mary M'Farlan  -  8 months
Wilson  -  Mary Wilson  -  8 months
M'Lachlan  -  James M'Lachlan  -  8 months
M'Grigor  -  Mary M'Grigor  -  8 months
Gordon  -  Stewart Gordon  -  6 months
Robinson  -  Ann Robinson  -  6 months
Miller  -  Agnes Miller  -  5 months
M'Kean  -  Mary M'Kean  -  5 months
Campbell  -  Sarah Campbell  -  3 months
Sinclair  -  George Sinclair  -  3 months
M'Dermid  -  Janet M'Dermid  -  6 months
Dodd  -  William Dodd  -  3 months
Brown  -  Joseph Brown  -  2 months
Ross  -  Sarah Ross  -  2 months
Paterson  -  Jean Paterson  -  1 month
Fergus  -  James Fergus  -  3 years & 3 months
Torrance  -  Maria Torrance  -  10 months

Baptized 18^th. May 1813
Ferguson  -  Ann Ferguson  -  3 years & 11 months
Stewart  -  Ann Stewart  -  3 years & 1 month
Ramsey  -  Margaret Ramsy  -  3 years & 1 month
Fotheringham  -  Peter Fotheringham  -  4 years & 3 months
Chisholm  -  James Chisholm  -  4 years & 1 month
M'Lachlan  -  James M'Lachlan  -  3 years & 4 months
Strachan  -  Nancy Strachan  -  3 years & 3 months
Nichol  -  Harriet Nichol  -  1 year & 6 months
{…...}  -  John Buntine  -  1 year & 10 months

Exposed Children Continued
Stewart  -  Helen Stuart  -  1 year & 6 months
Stewart  -  Robert Stewart  -  1 year & 2 months
M'Pherson  -  Isobel M'Pherson  -  1 year & 2 months
Stevenson  -  John Stevenson  -  1 year & 2 months
Campbell  -  Will[ia]m Campbell  -  1 year & 2 months
Berrie  -  John Berrie  -  1 year & 2 months
Stwart  -  George Stuart  -  1 year
Maxwell  -  Jean Maxwell  -  1 year
Newark  -  Jean Newark  -  1 year & 4 months
M'farlan  -  Peter M'farlan  -  1 year & 1 month
Houstoun  -  Cathrine Houstoun  -  1 year & 3 months
Rodger  -  Will[ia]m Rodger  -  5 months
Sym  -  Will[ia]m Sym  -  7 months
Stewart  -  Agnes Stuart  -  3 months
Govan  -  Mary Govan  -  1 year & 9 months
Lumsden  -  Mary Lumsden  -  9 days
Gillespie  -  Janet Gillespie  -  1 year & 6 months

It appears that some records relating to the town's hospital are held by Glasgow City Archives and the University of Glasgow.