Genealogy Chat

There is this marriage which is probably theirs...

1 1864 GUIRLES ANDREW REID MARGARET STRANRAER /WIGTOWN 899/00 0033

Don't quite know where I am going with this but perhaps someone else can work out a link???

Yes could be Margaret's grandson, she could have remarried??

So if I assumed Peter, aged 5 is living with grandparents, then my next step is to try and locate a Peter and Elizabeth McKie in the 1881 census who I assume must be married at this point for the son to have taken the name?

That might be my next enquiry, to look for marraige of Elizabeth Martin & Peter McKie (or Kie).

How do you manage to do all this research, do you have free searches available?

Well that Margaret Guirles/Reid died in Stranear in 1917 doing a free search but there doesn't seem to be a Martin in her name at all?

There is this one? Could it be your Elizabeth?
1871 Census
Name: Elizabeth Martin
Age: 18
Estimated birth year: abt 1853
Relationship: Servant
Gender: Female
Where born: Stoneykirk, Wigtonshire
Registration Number: 898
Registration district: Stoneykirk
Civil Parish: Stoneykirk
County: Wigtownshire
Address: Low Ardwell
Occupation: General Serv
ED: 6
Household schedule number: 28
Line: 8
Roll: CSSCT1871_190
Household Members: Name Age
James Spens 37
Agnes Spens 27
Fergus John Spens 4
Jessie Martin Spens 2
Margt Sawick 46
Elizabeth Martin 18
Ellen Cummings 20
John Muir 18
John Green 36

This certainly could be my Elizabeth, I'm not seeing her in the 1861 census and still not getting any closer to finding her connected to any McKie / Kie or working out this connection the GUIRLES names (which is such an unusual name for that part of the country).

Now I look over everything again, I am not 100% sure that the 5 y.o. Peter KIE with the GUILRES family is mine. Why would a 5 y.o. have a different name to the one he was born with and living with someone else of a third different name? I could understand if she had child very young who was sent to live with grandparents but you would expect them to be MARTIN as well? Maybe grandmother remarried, but this one in my record is REID so I think that is a red herring possibly?

And I'm spending too many credits going off in the wrong direction now following wrong lines!!