CENSUS SUNDAY~The 1921 Scottish census for the George, Isabell & Euphemia Fitzcharles

 

As promised here is the follow up post regarding the 1921 Scottish census records I talked about in How to Locate New Information on My Scottish Ancestors ~ Using the 1921 census

Let’s begin with 11 yr old Euphemia Anderson FITZCHARLES.

Here is the 1921 Scottish census record for this family

(Please click on any image to enlarge it)

1921 Scottish census for Isabella, Euphemia & George Fitzcharles

In this record we see her mother Isabella, Euphemia and her brother George living in the parish of Arboath & St. Vigeans, in the burgh of Arbroath in the Quoad Sacra Parish of Invenbrothock in the First ward.  They are enumerated on the schedule in the schedule as #69.  The road or street is Lindsay Street and they are at No. 35.  There are 2 rooms in the house with 3 persons.

How interesting that they live on LINDSAY Street.  My paternal grandmother’s surname is Lindsay and this family is part of that line.

Isabella is head of household, age 35 and widowed.  She born in ____ (I cannot make out the location).  Euphemia is 11 yrs. 5 months old and born in Sterling.  Her brother George is 8 yrs. 6 months old and born in Forfar. Isabella’s occupation is abbreviated as H.D.  I wonder if that means Keeping house or household domestic?  There are 2 minor children in this house.

I don’t see anyone else with the same surname or any familiar family names on this census page. 

When we view pages on a website like Ancestry or Family Search, we can scroll to the next or previous page looking for family members who may live close by.  However, since each page view on Scotland’s People website costs me 6 credits, I don’t do that.

This census provides plenty of information to assist me in furthering my research on this family.

·       I have specific birthplaces and not just ages in years, but also months.

·       Isabella is listed as widowed.  If I didn’t already know this, I could then search for her husband’s death record.  However, I do know that her husband and father of her two children, was killed in action in World War I on 27 Mar 1918 in France.  Here is a blog post about him MILITARY MONDAY–Killed in Action–A Tribute to George Briggs Fitzcharles 1886-1918

     ·     In further research for this family it will be helpful to have         the details of their ages and birthplaces.

QUESTIONS:  Isabella is widowed at age 32 with two young children to raise.  How was she supporting herself?  Based on her death record from 1955, she never remarried.  

Of course I had to go looking for more records.  In doing so I may have answered the question about how Isabella was supporting herself and her children.

In Euphemia’s hints on Ancestry there is a link to UK, World War I Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923.  The image can be viewed on Fold3, which I do not currently have a subscription to.

However, I do have a Carlsbad Library card which may give me access to this website.

Sure enough I was able to sign into the library and use my membership number and view the website for Fold3, right here from home.  I found this image of a pension card for Isabella Fitzcharles for her deceased husband’s service in 1^st Royal Scots.  Certainly not as much information as I’d like to have, but this still gives me information about what income Isabella had.  How much was it?  Good question.

Well, I was going to write about the other 1921 Scottish census record I uncovered.  However, this post is already long enough, so I’ll cover that one in a future post.

Do you have Scottish ancestry?  Have you used Scotland’s People to find records?  If so, I’d love to hear your stories. 

If you are related to or connected to anyone in this blog post, please get in touch.  Let’s exchange information.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2022   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

 

WEDDING WEDNESDAY ~ Marriages in Scotland–How many have I located and where did I find them? Am I missing any?

Areas in Scotland where some of my ancestors married and lived

Today I’m going to post a few of the marriage records I have from our Scottish ancestors.   I have located most of these records at the website Scotland’s People.  It is a paid site, but the cost is minimal.  You purchase credits and it costs 6 credits to view an image.  Six credits = $2.10 US.  You can purchase the actual certificate and have it mailed, which costs $16.83 U.S.

I have created a list in the usual way, using Legacy 9.  Search>Find>Detailed Search then criteria Marriage-Marriage Place-Contains-Scotland and Create List.

Creating these kinds of specific lists helps me to know more about records I may be missing.

This search gives me a list with 42 individuals. 
 

I printed the list from my search and went through the couples, one by one.  I am happily surprised that out of 21 marriages, I have 16 of their marriage record images in my Legacy database.  Yeah!  Now, I need only go back online and see if I can locate the other 5 missing marriage records.

The oldest of the marriage records is for my maternal 4th great grandparents, William Ewen and Ann Cooper who were married in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, Scotland on 2 Dec 1773.

1773 Marriage Record for William Ewen & Ann Cooper, Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Here are the 3 marriages of my 2nd great grandfather, John Fitzcharles, who didn’t have good luck when it came to his wives.  He first married at age 21 to a woman 15 years his senior.  That marriage to Elizabeth McGovern lasted 12 years until her death from Dropsy at age 48.  His second marriage to Eliza Jane McKenna lasted 10 years until her death from heart disease and bronchitis at age 54.  His third marriage to Helen Docherty lasted 8 years until her death from pneumonia at age 48.  John died two years after his last wife, at age 60, of bronchitis.
(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)

Marriage to Betty McGovern 1854

Marriage to Eliza McKenna 1872

Marriage to Helen Docherty 1883

ABOUT THOSE 5 MISSING MARRIAGE RECORDS
They are no longer missing.  I went back to the Scotland’s People website and located ALL 5 of them and have them added to my Legacy database now.  Those 5 images cost me $12.60 which is $2.52 each.  I’d say that’s a great price for any document, wouldn’t you?

Was this a good exercise and good use of my time?  I’d say so. Including writing this blog post this whole process has taken me about 2 hours.

How do you use the lists in Legacy or whatever genealogy program you use?  Do you find them helpful?

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

TUESDAY'S TIP - Dragging & Dropping Images into the Media Gallery in Legacy

Breaking Down a Brick Wall - A 10 Year search for Elizabeth Fitzcharles parent's ends

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

MILITARY MONDAY–Killed in Action–A Tribute to George Briggs Fitzcharles 1886-1918

George Briggs Fitzcharles is my 1st cousin twice removed.  That makes him a nephew to my great grandmother, Elizabeth “Bessie” Fitzcharles.

First let me tell you how excited I am to be able to write anything about the Fitzcharles family.  My great grandmother’s parents remained a mystery aka brick wall to me, until 3 years ago.  Now I take the time to learn everything I can about this Scottish family.

BACKGROUND ON GEORGE BRIGGS FITZCHARLES
George was the son of Michael Fitzcharles and Euphemia Anderson who were married on 14 Feb 1879 in St. Clement, Dundee, Angus, Scotland.  To this couple were born the following children:
John born 9 Sep 1879
Robert Nicholas born 1 May 1881
William born 1 Dec 1883
George Briggs born 26 Apr 1886
Ernest born 24 Oct 1888
Maggie or Margaret (the only girl) born 1 Jun 1891
David born 6 Jun 1896

George married Isabella Jane Hutton on 2 Aug 1909 in Dundee, Angus, Scotland.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)

MARRIAGE RECORD - GEORGE B. FITZCHARLES & ISABELLA J. C. HUTTON

They had their first child, a daughter, Euphemia, born 12 Feb 1910. 

George was working as a Brakeman for the railroad in the 1911 census, living in Grangemouth, Stirling, Scotland.

1911 CENSUS OF SCOTLAND - GEORGE FITZCHARLES, HIS WIFE AND DAUGHTER

A son, George, was born to this couple on 5 Jan 1913.

Historical events effect our lives today as they did back then.  In 1914 the “Great War” or World War I began.  You can watch a short video about it here 
.
In 1915 George was working as a furniture salesman in his father’s business.  On 4 Jun 1915 he enlisted in the 1st Royal Scots.  Here are his attestation and descriptive papers upon enlistment
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Just a little over a month after his enlistment, George was admitted to the hospital for “Intesinal disorder” and what I read to be ptomaine ? (could it be ptomaine poisoning?)  He appears to have been admitted on July 7, 1915 and discharged on August 7, 1915.  And then transferred to Cramour House Convalescent Hospital from August 7, 1915 to August 28, 1915.

On September 13, 1915,  George was admitted to the hospital a second time for a concussion of his spine.  He stayed in the Kitchener Hospital in Brighton for 5 days.  Upon which he was transferred to a military convalescent hospital.



According to the book Roll of Honour, Arbroath and District 1914-1919, page 167, printed and published by T. Buncle & Co, Market Place, Arbroath, Scotland in 1921.

 Private George Fitzcharles was killed in action on March 27, 1918.  He was 31 years old.

“Private George Fitzcharles, 3rd Royal Scots, 33 Park Street, Arbroath, was the son of Michael Fitzcharles, Guthrie Port. He was thirty-two years of age, had married Isabella Hutton and left a son and a daughter. He was a furniture dealer with his father when he joined the army in July 1915. He went to France in October, and was invalided home the following year suffering from shell shock and wounds. In 1917 he returned to France, was slightly wounded several times, and was killed in action on the 27th of March 1918. His platoon officer wrote of him : - ' ' He was a good soldier.  We feel his loss very much."
 


I have located several references to George having been killed in action during his service, including pension papers, references in books and on war memorials and correspondence with his widow, Isabella.

He is honored on the Grangemouth War Memorial in Zetland Park, situated in the center of Grangemouth.  Here is George’s name on the memorial:

GRANGEMOUTH WAR MEMORIAL

He is also honored on the Pozieres Memorial in France.  Here is an index page for that memorial, showing his name.


George was a young man with his whole life ahead of him.  He left behind a wife and two young children.
  
I located a death certificate for his widow, Isabella, and it appears she never remarried.  She is still using the surname Fitzcharles and is listed as the “widow of Private George Fitzcharles.”  She died on February 14, 1955, age 68.

Here is the post I wrote about breaking down the Fitzcharles brick wall.  Click here. 

PLEASE contact me if you think you might be related, even remotely, to anyone mentioned in this blog.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

WHY DIDN'T I SEE THAT?  When the Obvious Escapes Us

SCOTLAND - Aberdeen & North-East Scotland Family History Society

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

MY TRIP TO SCOTLAND–WHAT I DID RIGHT AND WHAT I DID WRONG

We have been back from our trip over to Scotland for about two weeks.  I think I’ve finally caught up with laundry, snail mail, email, appointments and sleep.  

It was a fantastic trip.  Being in a place that I have read about and heard about for most of my life, was truly amazing.  

We flew into Glasgow, rented a car and drove over to Dundee.  From there we drove up to Aberdeen and then down to Edinburgh.  Getting used to driving on the “other” side of the road from the other side of the car was not easy for my husband.  And being his passenger…..well, it had it’s moments.  He did very well though, even on the very narrow city streets.  The roundabouts are very useful and better than all the stoplights we have in our cities in the U.S.  

I have ancestors from both Dundee and Aberdeen.  Also Perth, Arbroath, Aboyne and several other locations.   

On my paternal side there are LINDSAY, WALLACE, FITZCHARLES & McGOVERN.  

On my maternal side there are MILNE, RITCHIE & LESLIE.

Those are the direct lines. 

I prepared for this trip by doing as much research as I could before we left.  Knowing that no matter how much I did, or how thorough I thought I was being, I would wish I had done more.

I have taken several other trips that were either dedicated to genealogy research or included some research, so I had an idea of how to prepare.

HERE IS WHAT I DID CORRECTLY

• Located as much information about the families who lived in Scotland as I could.
• Found vital records (birth, marriage, death etc.) prior to going on the trip.  I used the website Scotland’s People to gather much of this information. This site has actual images of the records.  You can find transcriptions on Ancestry.com, but not the actual images.

 NOTE:  Scotland’s People is a subscription site.  You pay for credits, that are good for one year.  They start at 30 credits for 7 pounds ($11.90 U.S.) and go up to 300 credits for 70 pounds ($119 U.S.).  I have been using this site for many years.  To learn more about how the credits are used, please visit the site.

• Located census records from Scotland for the periods that they have released, which are 1841-1911.  Again you can find the images on Scotland’s People, but only transcriptions on Ancestry. 
• Entered all the information including images into my genealogy database.  I use Legacy.
• Created a list of all people who had any connection to Scotland.  This was easy with the genealogy software we have available these days. 
• Created a list of names and the addresses where they lived.  This way you can Google the address (or use whatever map program you prefer) before you leave and see if the street or building is still in existence.  Whether or not you found the street on your map program you can still look for it once you arrive.
• Make sure you have a list of any other locations pertinent to your ancestors such as: Cemeteries, places of business, churches etc.
• If you plan to visit any libraries, courthouses, archives, historical societies or churches be aware of the days and hours they are open. You'll soon see how important this is.
• Contact the places you may be visiting to see if they have volunteers who can do any preliminary look ups for you.  There may be a small charge, but as you’ll see later in this post, it can make a big difference.
• Have some way to access your database while you are on your trip.  Whether you carry your laptop, a tablet or a smartphone, just have something.  You could even have printed group sheets.  I carried my iPad with me which has the Families app containing my current Legacy family file, including images, sources & events.

All in all I was as well prepared as I thought I could be.
 
HERE IS WHAT I DID WRONG

When we were planning our trip, we set up our itinerary for each location.  We knew we’d only have a short time in each place.  We made all our reservations at the B & B’s and had everything planned out as to what we would do each day.  

I knew we would be in Aberdeen on Sunday and Monday.  I knew the Aberdeen & North-East Scotland Family History Society would be closed on Sunday.  I’ve been a member of this society for about 5 years and know they have many records available that I wanted to see.  I planned to spend about 4 hrs. there on Monday morning.

NOTE:  I was traveling with my husband.  This was a vacation for us, not a genealogy trip.  He knew I would be wanting to go to cemeteries and historical societies, of course.  But, spending the whole day doing that wasn’t fair to him.  He’s not the genealogist, I am.  Whatever time I can get, I will take.

MY MISTAKE:  Not realizing that Monday, May 5th was a local public holiday.  Therefore, the Aberdeen Family History Society was CLOSED.

Should I have known this?  YES!  Could I have known this? YES!  Was I disappointed? BEYOND YES!  Could I have kicked myself?  A THOUSAND TIMES YES!!!!

How I did I deal with it?  I was thankful that I had sent emails back & forth to one of the volunteers at the society.  She had been able to provide me with birth records and a burial record before my trip.  The cost of those look ups was 10 pounds. Well worth it, wouldn’t you say?

I took a nice picture of the front of the building and spent about 10 minutes being angry with myself.  Life is too short to spend time on things that cannot be changed.  I moved on.    

Here it is.  My picture of the Aberdeen Family History Society office. 

Off we went to Aboyne to see if we could locate the headstones of my 2nd great grandparents, Charles Milne & Margaret Ritchie.

It was a lovely drive, through the countryside, to Aboyne from Aberdeen.    I even got to drive the car for a while.  I wanted to experience driving on the “other” side of the road. 
The weather was typical for Scotland.  A bit drizzly and chilly, but not bad.  Our GPS in the car led us right to where we wanted to go.  

Once we got to Aboyne we stopped and asked where the Aboyne Kirkyard was and were told it was just around the corner.  

We arrived and saw this beautiful old stone church with a cemetery on the church property.  Well maintained and not too terribly big, which should make hunting for headstones much easier.  The parishioners were arriving for church and were very friendly.




You can’t see the whole church yard in that photo.  It goes back quite a ways.

My husband is very sweet and always assists me when we get to cemeteries to begin the hunt.  I give him the surnames and he hollers when he finds one.  We spent about 30 minutes walking every foot of this cemetery and looking at every headstone.  There is a book of transcriptions for this cemetery and it does have my 2nd great grandparents as being buried here.  There is a note on the transcription, however, that says the stone is partially buried.  

TIP:  Having seen that note about the stone being partially buried I was looking for a flat stone.  There weren’t many of those at this cemetery, but there were some.  Never make assumptions, as I did.  This stone was NOT flat.

When we were just about to give up and I had walked this cemetery over and over, I looked down at the bottom of this small cross shaped headstone.  What did I see?
MARGARET RITCHIE!  I went over and took a closer look and there was another name on that headstone – CHARLES MILNE!  I did my genealogy happy dance and yelled out to my husband “I found it!”

There it was, nearly obliterated by years of weather, but I had found them.

   


What a happy moment.  Those names are written in our family bible.  For a long time it was as far back on this Milne line as I could get.  

I took pictures of other Milne’s & Ritchie’s buried at this cemetery, in case I can later connect them.  I also snapped a few additional headstone photos of other surnames, as I had checked on FindAGrave and noted that there were very few memorials listed for this cemetery.  Now I can add to it.

This post is already too long and I apologize for that.  But, I had a lot to say and hope you enjoyed reading it.

You can find the memorials for Charles & Margaret on FindAGrave #129545950 and #129546301.

OTHER POSTS YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY

CEMETERY RECORDS - WHAT THEY CAN TELL YOU, HOW DO YOU USE THEM?

ADDING SIBLING LINKS TO FIND A GRAVE

Happy Hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION