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From: Judy <>
Subject: McCrae in Kilmarnock
Date: Thu, 11 May 2000 23:58:59 +1000


Thanks, Irene, for your response to my posting about my McCRAE line. I
had actually already found John McCrae in the 1881 census, and the data
in that adds to the confusion. I guess the moral of the story is "Oh
what a tangled web our ancestors weave."

This is a long reply, I'm afraid, but I thought I'd post it to the list
as it is a typical case
history of the problems genealogists can face! Perhaps someone can see a
link in this,
or at least know they are not alone in having confusing ancestors.

John McCrae died in Kilmarnock in August 1907. His death certificate
states he was
married to Mary Ann McInerney and was age 64 years. His parents were
listed as ----
McCrae and ---- McCrae, both deceased. The death was registered by his
son Matthew,
who obviously didn't know who his grandparents were. This puts John's
birth as circa
1842/43 but of course it was probably his son who gave him the age of 64
and he may not have known his father's exact age.

The 1891 census has the family at 7 High Church Lane, Kilmarnock. John
is listed as
being age 51, which makes his birth circa 1839/40. It says he was born
in Ireland. His
wife is listed as Mary Ann (no maiden surname) born in Kilmarnock.

The 1881 census has the family at 40 Mill Lane, Kilmarnock. John is
listed as being age
41, which makes his birth circa 1839/40. It says he was born in
Kilmarnock. His wife is
listed as Mary Ann Marchall born in Kilmarnock.

The 1871 census has the family at 4 Dean Lane, Kilmarnock. John is
listed as being age
33, which makes his birth circa 1837/1838. It says he was born in
Kilmarnock. His wife
is listed as Marion (no maiden surname) born in England.

The marriage certificate of John McCRAE and Mary Ann McINAIRNEY (dated
December
1861) states John's parents as John McCrae deceased and Mary McCrae ms
Henderson
deceased. Mary Ann's parents are John McInairney deceased and Sarah
McInairney ms
Marshall. (Which is why Mary Ann used both McInairney and Marshall as
her surname.)

As a result of all this there are no absolute conclusions to be drawn
about when and
where John McCrae was born!

If John McCrae was born in Ayrshire, the only entry on the OPRs that
could be him is one in Dundonald in 1836. It says "John McCrae, son of
Marion Anderson at present residing at New Cumnock, lately in Crossburn,
which she fathers on William McCrae residing at Dankeith in the parish
of Symington, was born 4th July and baptised 7th August 1836."

Irene wrote: "I would be unhappy about parents John McCrae and Mary
Henderson
changing to William McCrae and Marion Anderson". Well, it doesn't make
me too happy
either! However, it is possible he didn't know his father, or that his
father died when he
was very young. It's possible that his father was officially named
William but known as
John (these things do happen). It's possible that the registrar entered
the father's
name incorrectly on the marriage certificate. It's possible John told
the register the
wrong name. As far as his mother's name goes: Mary, Mary Ann and Marion
were more or less one and the same name in those days, and Anderson and
Henderson sound very similar: a very easy mistake for a registrar to
make when dealing with someone who was illiterate.

If the 1836 baptised-in-Dundonald John McCrae isn't the right one, then
my John McCrae either wasn't baptised, or was born in Ireland as the
1891 census states. I'm pretty sure the family were not Catholic, given
the religious sentiments I know were expressed by his fiercely
Protestant offspring!

My next step will be to check the 1841 and 1851 census records, which I
have not yet
had a chance to do, and which is a bit of a task as I don't know where
John McCrae was
in those years. Kilmarnock? Dundonald? Symington? Does anyone know if
any of these
have been indexed?

However, William McCrae and Marion Anderson were married in Symington in
September 1836 (a few months after their son John's birth) and had a
daughter Agnes born in Symington in 1838. I cannot find any more
children born to them after this time. William McCrae is probably the
son of Andrew McCrae and Agnes Wilson, born at Bankend in Sorn in 1813.

If anyone has any other ideas on how I get around, over or through this
brick wall I'd love to hear them. And if any of these names sound
familiar to anyone, please let me know.

Regards

Judy Strachan

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