Genealogy Chat

My boyfriends gran was born in Letterkenny Ireland in 18.01.1911, her name was Martha McDermid.She moved to Scotland when she was 8 and She gave up a few children for foster care in 1930, 1932 and 1935 as she was living in poor houses at the time and she must of had no choice. When she gave the 1st child up she was under the name Martha Cunningham which Cunningham was her mothers name as i don't think she ever married her dad which i have down as James McDermid and on Marthas wedding cert as William McDermid. James/ William died in 1918 in the 1st world war. In 1932 Martha now known as McDermid gave up another child and it seemed after that she carried on with the name McDermid. I have been looking for Martha's Birth cert with both McDermid and Cunningham and don't seem to be able to find one. Is there a chance she was never registered, could people get away with it back then. Thanks for reading

Would this be in Scotland she had Martha?

Margaret Cunningham had Martha in Ireland and moved to Scotland when Martha was about 8 so about 1919

Sorry, I am getting confused.

Martha was born in 1911 in ireland as Martha Cunningham?

Was her mother an unmarried Margaret Cunningham?

Added:
Yes, that is what you have stated, apologies.

Have you found the two of them on the 1911 census of ireland?

Added:
Is James McDermid down in your tree as born in 1880 in Scotland - not Ireland?

Martha was born 18.01.11 so she wouldn't be down on the census and with Margaret i'm not sure of her date of birth or parents so it's hard to find her, also i have James on my tree from scotland but still don't know if that is the right one or not as i have him down as William on her married cert deceased and a farm labourer but we were told he had died when Martha was 8 years old. He was named as James on the social services information i have and we were told by family he died in world war 1 and he was in the army, so i don't know what the truth is

Also on the records i have it said Martha was the illegitimate daughter of Margaret Cunningham but what i was saying before was i don't know if Martha was born with the name Cunningham or McDermid as she used Cunningham the 1st time she gave up a child then the second which were twins she gave up as McDermid, sorry i know it's all confusing

You say Martha married. When and who to and are both her parents named on the cert?

Why would she not be on the census if she was born in January 1911?

Have you got her address on her birth certificate?

I can not find her birth cert and when i wrote off to find one they had no record for a Cunningham or a McDermid and i could not find her on the census either, sorry i don't know why i said she wouldn't be on the census i was getting mixed up, i keep going back to this and leaving it for a while

Martha married a John McPherson in 1941 and she was McDermid at this point, her parents were down as Margaret McDermid nee Cunningham and James McDermid (deceased) but when i sent off to social services about Martha giving up her children at birth her mother Margarets details were on it as Margaret Cunningham and the information given was Martha was the illegitimate child of Margaret Cunningham

Where did you get the information about Martha's date of birth?

it was on the records for when she gave her babies up

O.K. Thanks

Where did the information about moving to Scotland when she was 8 come from - the same source?

Do you know if this id the death?

James Mcdermid
Birth Place: Dunfermline
Death Date: 14 Apr 1918
Death Location: France & Flanders
Enlistment Location: Kirkcaldy
Rank: Private
Regiment: Royal Army Medical Corps
Number: 34782
Type of Casualty: Killed in action
Theatre of War: Western European Theatre

Hi, yes i have seen that one Patchem and it was when she was 8 her Dad died which was in the social services info and i think it was not long after that they moved to Scotland but i'm not totally sure

I think there must of been either lies along the way or not enough been spoken about and things have been made up as there doesn't seem to be any record of Martha's birth and the fact that on her marriage cert her dad was called William McDermid and not James is weird too. I think it is just all going to remain a mystery

It was my boyfriends Mum that said her Mum Martha moved to Scotland about that age

Do you have Martha's marriage certificate? If you do, who were the witnesses please.

Have you found her mothers death? If her mother died in Renfrewshire, from doing a quick search there are 2 deaths in that area, both were born approximately 1891, which would make her 20 yrs old when Martha was born. Going back to the mothers death cert, it should hopefully name her parents, would also be good to see who registered it.

Thanks, her mother Margaret went on later to marry a Jimmy Porter but i haven't got a clue when, also the witnesses are hard to read but i can make out a James Pollock and i think Margaret Osbourne

I'm not sure when Margaret died either