All born in Kirkmichael, but what surname?

[Hugo]

I have a possible relative Helen Donagh who appears in the 1871 Scottish census as head of household. She is 22 (or 28, GROS). Her children are Robert,7, James, 5, William, 3, John, 7months.

All, including Helen, recorded on Ancestry and GROS as born in Kirkmichael.

BUT I cannot find any trace of their births!

Can anyone help?

Hugo

[herky]

Hi Hugo,
Do you have the family in any other census?
Is there a father or could she have remarried and used another name?
I see on the census that her sister is living with her - is that the same as Helen's maiden name and could the children be going by that name.
Any info you can add would be great - happy to help, if I can.
Quite a mystery!!

[Hugo]

Herky

I think I have just lost interest in this mystery.

I have just found a James McBirnie married Ann McClure in Kirkmichael in 1870. Unfortunately McClure was not the surname I wanted for Helen.

So back to the drawing board and the crystal ball.

Thanks anyway.

Hugo

[kylejustin]

have you played with the igi?

[GallowayLass]

Does the GROS version say whether Helen is married, single or widowed? What is her sister's marital status?

If you have checked the births of Helen's children on GROS, what was her maiden name? It'll be given on the certficates. If she later remarries you can check for her death in Scotland using her new name and also her maiden name which is handy if you don't know what her new married name was.

Can you give us her maiden name please? - ignore that bit about the births and her maiden name - I may have misunderstood what it was you checked on GROS, I think now it was the census?

I've not had any success on IGI, do you know if they were Catholic as that could explain why I'm not getting anything?

[GallowayLass]

1881 census has a John born 1871 with a mother Helen and other younger siblings. No older ones mentioned and also there is an Ann McBurnie sister in law a former cotton weaver living in the household. The family are given as DARROCH. Try GROS version to see what it says for these people.

[Hugo]

I found Helen Donagh while browsing the 1871 Scottish census on Ancestry. (Thought it might be Helen Donochy and James Dunnach who married in 1858 and then disappeared without trace.)

In the 1871 census Helen is married so presumably her husband was alive but elsewhere. Her sister, Anna McBurnel, is also married. I could not find any Ann and McBurnel marriage but did find the Ann McClure (spinster) and James McBirnie marriage in Kirkmichael, 1870. Thus her surname was not Donochy or any variation.

All the Donagh children were born in Kirkmichael, according to the 1871 census (both Ancestry and GROS agree on that. However, no births were found.

My notes don't say if they were catholic or not but I have not found that a problem with GROS. I didn't realise it was a problem on IGI and will try to remember that in any future work with IGI.

I did not check any other census for Helen Donagh as she is not part of my tree.

Thanks for all your efforts and help.

Hugo