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EDIT: Updated 2022 as her birth place is listed as Dublin.


Would welcome some theories/ideas about my great grandmother Margaret Mary Murray born c1877.

Her marriage and death cert put her being born c1877. My mother thinks she was Irish but who knows? According to her marriage cert. her father was Edward Murray, builder.

I can't find her in any census. I was really hoping to find her in 1911 but she's not there.

This is what I have:

1902 marries William Pardo Fergsuson at Freshwater, Isle of Wight, 15 days after he returns from the Boer War. Her father is Edward a builder. Freshwater was William's hometown.

William Pardo dies March 11th, 1911 - right before the census!

1914 marries Frank Riddle in Portsmouth.

1961 dies in Portsmouth age 83 which ties in with dob on marriage cert.

I know all about William Pardo. His army records are on Ancestry.

Regards,

Rose

There are only 3 Ferguson births on the Isle of Wight 1903-1911:

Births Sep 1907
FERGUSON Edward William I. Wight 2b 612

Births Jun 1909
FERGUSON Cecil James I. Wight 2b 596

Births Dec 1911
Ferguson Elsie M L Fry I. Wight 2b 1061

That first one looks like a good candidate.

The Ferguson-Fry marriage was 1910, so that couple would not be the parents of the older children.

You could look for young Edward in 1911.

Is this William's death?

Deaths Mar 1911
Ferguson William P 37 Strand 1b 384

Oh well! in 1911, young Edward seems to be the son of William and Annie on the Isle of Wight.

I wonder whether this William went by a middle name:


Name: Margaret M Murray
Age: 23
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1878
Relation: Daughter
Father's Name: William
Mother's Name: Margaret
Where born: Summertown, Oxfordshire, England

Civil Parish: Portswood
County/Island: Hampshire
Country: England

Registration district: South Stoneham

William Murray 50 - superintendent draughtsman, ordnance survey
Margaret Murray 48
Margaret M Murray 23
Eleanor R Murray 22

This is that William Murray in 1881, so not too promising it seems:

Name: William Murray
Age: 30
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1851
Relation: Head
Spouse's Name: Margaret A.C.
Where born: Midlothian, Scotland

Civil Parish: South Stoneham
County/Island: Hampshire

Street address: 11 Buckland Ter
Occupation: Draughtsman Ordnance Office (C S O)

Hi Evie,

That's William's death. He died in an army hospital in Covent Garden. Looks to have been stationed in Portsmouth for most of his time though.

I've been through all the Ferguson births in Portsmouth and looked for them in 1911. There's only one I can't account for and that's Queenie Grace Ferguson.

Rose

I think I found the Oxfordshire Margaret in Sussex in 1911. I managed to rule her out.

Rose

I wonder if she could have been a nurse during the Boer War and they met that way. Perhaps on the ship returning home?

Rose

There's one slightly interesting person in Aldershot in 1901:

Name: Mary J Murray
Age: 26
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1875
Relation: Servant
Where born: St Albans Vernon, United States

Civil Parish: Aldershot
Ecclesiastical parish: St Michael
County/Island: Hampshire

But Mary J doesn't really match up.

Good thinking, Rose.

I found some databases with search engines here:

http://pcansr.net/moodle/course/view.php?id=4

and searched these databases:

The QSA Medal Roll Database
Princess Christian's Army Nursing Service (Reserve) Nominal Roll September 1990
Nurses on The Times shipping lists

but to no avail ...

Problem is, her youngest son, who is my mum's father, died when she was very young so she doesn't know too much about Margaret.

She does seem to think she was Irish though.

I've checked the Irish census records that are online but no luck either.

Rose

Thanks for looking Evie.

Rose

If you think there's any chance your MMM was fibbing about her age - so as not to be older than her hubby for instance -- the IGI has a couple of Margaret Murrays born 1872 with father Edward -- one in Scotland and one in Ireland. Also an 1870 and an 1871 in Ireland.

In other words ... there were likely quite a number of Margaret Murrays with Edward fathers. ;)

Sorry to be useless, but you're welcome!

On the name Dalkeith, searching FreeBMD for any event for given names

* dalkeith

there are two, who seem to be related:

Births Jun 1872
SCOTT Malcolm Dalkeith St Giles 1b 524

Births Dec 1889
Scott Charles Dalkeith Llanelly 11a 838

Searching for it as a first given name, there are more Scotts, a Johnston and a Carstairs. I'd bet they are all related.


Just a possible tangent to wander down!

My goodness, searching for Dalkeith as a surname, it's quite rare and exalted!

Examples:


Marriages Dec 1859
Dalkeith William Henry Walter Montague Douglas Scott St. Geo. H. Sq. 1a 361

Marriages Mar 1893
Dalkeith John Charles M D S (Earl Of) St. Geo. H. Sq. 1a 598


I'd look into that if I were you. ;)

The Earl of Dalkeith is the head of clan Scott, up to today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Montagu_Douglas_Scott,_6th_Duke_of_Buccleuch
-- the one who married in 1859

http://en.wikipedia.orghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Scott,_10th_Duke_of_Buccleuch
-- the current one

(the ones in between are there too)

I'd wondered whether there might be a military connection, if your person's father had served under a Dalkeith in WWI or some such.


This one

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Montagu_Douglas_Scott,_7th_Duke_of_Buccleuch

says:

"While serving in the Royal Navy in World War II, John Charles Montagu Douglas Scott achieved the rank Lieutenant."

which seems rather unlikely, since he died in 1935. It likely means WW I.

More good work Evie.

Rose

I'm thinking she can't have been too far out with her age as she had one son at 40/41 and another at 43.

Rose

Ah, true that, she would have been a bit long in the tooth. ;)

I think that Dalkeith business is really quite interesting. Much like the strange noble surname that shows up as a middle name in one of my own families out of the total blue. Your Dalkeith is a good deal rarer and more specific, though.

What class are we talking about with your Margaret and William? Was he an officer, for instance, or an Imperial Yeomanry grunt, in the Anglo-Boer war?