Seeking advice - Margaret Russell

cindi556

Hello - I'm new to researching in Scotland but was able to find my 3xGGrandmother Margaret Russell born about 1801 in Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland and the marriage to Thomas Patterson in 1825. However the marriage and death records don't have parents names. The marriage was "irregular". Any suggestions on ways to find her parents names? There are two possible parents with daughters named Margaret born within a few months of each other.

Thanks in advance.

Paul W

I believe that if Margaret Russell died in Scotland after civil registration began you should be able to obtain parents' names from her death certificate. I have found the deceased's name usually to be indexed both in a woman's maiden name and that of her spouse - so probably under Russell and/or Patterson, in this example. It is possible you might have to acquire access / buy more than one death certificate if there are other persons of similar identity, but this method has helped me in getting back at least a further generation in working on my own Scottish ancestors.

Update - you might find this entry - on the ScotlandsPeople website - to be of interest. It roughly matches Margaret's birth year, comes up in a search of both Patterson and Russell surnames, but does appear to relate to a location about 50 miles from Falkirk!

Paul W

Note on above - HUNTER is her mother's maiden name, not Margaret's.

Paul W

Assuming her maiden name was RUSSELL, I seem to have got identification wrong. The 1881 census shows a Margaret Russell, born Falkirk around 1803/04, wife of William, but no Margaret Patterson to match (if, indeed, she did marry Thomas Patterson in 1825).

cindi556

Thanks Paul, Margaret b. 1801 died in 1830 and her husband left for Canada a few years later. I think I might have found their marriage lines, awaiting the certificate to arrive and keeping my fingers crossed it has her parents names included.