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hi kate thanks for helping i thought they got married round about then but not sure my self her daughter was 18yrs old when she got married her esty d. o b was 1838 she died 5th january 1907 so im lost lol heather

Heather - I would guess that if you search for James Patersons born in that time frame you will probably come up with more than one and have to decide which is yours. Am I right in thinking that James and Mary got married before 1855? If they got married in 1855 or after, you would be able to view their marriage certificate online on Scotland's People and it would tell you the names of James's parents, but assuming they got married before then you probably won't get so much info from their parish records marriage entry, although you might get lucky! It would help a lot if you could find James's death certificate - assuming he died after 1855 - because that should also tell you the names of his parents, though not as reliably as a marriage certificate. Again, you can view the death certificate online on Scotland's People. Probably your best bet will be to search for the family on the censuses that are available on Scotland's People (1861 - 1901 at the moment) and see what clues you can get from that. And then the 1841 and 1851 censuses should be available 'soon'. Hopefully the censuses will give you James's birth place and approximate birth year, and if you're lucky there could be one or more of his rellies with the family. Also you can search for his will on Scotland's People, if he left one. There are also inventories etc. in with the wills. Kate.

hi janet i have info one her mary anderson - died in the por house in dunfermline at 4.40 am on the 8th june 1891 age 78yrs of vascular disease of the heart her death was reported by her son hugh paterson of summerhill place cowdenbeath her est birth would be 1813 and i have info on her daughter too margaret paterson heather

ok thanks to every one for helping me on that its realy helped me a lot i have a better idea now for the place im very greatful for all the help people are giveing me i just need to try and find details oh the rest of her family i have some to go off so i hope i can find some more out thanks heather

Hi Heather, Do you know how old she was when she died? Although we don't like thinking about our rellies being reduced to these circumstances, sometimes they lived alone and were sick and there was no one to look after them - way before the national health service and all doctor's visits had to be paid for. Often sons and daughters had large families, struggled to make ends meet and just had no room for an elderly relative. I'm sure some one on here will be able to advise you how you can get hold of a Scottish death cert, and then you will know how old she was & what she died of and then you will be able to use that information to help you get further back. Jay

afriad Im not very well up on scottish research - haven't had to tackle that yet! Ian

ok thanks ian il leave that one for now then and try and find some info on her husband james paterson if i put in an est d.o.b would i be able to find him coz i have 1810 -1813 for him ? thanks heather

People were in the workhouses/poor houses for all sorts of reasons. Usually it was financial when people had come across hard times. or they were sick, pregnant unmarried mothers, homeless etc etc. If you have her on the census and she is down as a widow but in there with her son it could be that losing her husband's earnings was the cause. Suzanne

Heather I am guessing that the Scottish poorhouse is the equivalent of the English workhouse. Workhouses generally had infirmaries attached to them, and people would go there for medical treatment if they couldn't afford private health care. So quite a few people ended up dying there. It didn't necessarily mean they were living there because they were destitute. Many English workhouse infirmaries became NHS hospitals later on. In England the workhouse records are with the relevant county records offices, but I don't know if Scotland has the same thing. nell

Workhouse records are kept usually at the local records office in England, if they have survived. I don't know if the same poor law system applied in Scotland, however. I would say it is a case of contacting the records office, if there is such a thing, for that area and seeing if they can help you. Might mean a visit, though. Good luck! Ian

sorry im a little slow at typeing thought it would be easier for people to read in the replys .. lol sorry heather

hello could any one please tell me how i could find information on why my gggg grandmother became to be in the poorhouse in dunfermline she died june 1891 in the poor house her name was mary anderson and her death was reported by her son hugh paterson she was married to james paterson but i have no info on james only he was a coal miner have more in fo if any one wants to know more but most of all was woundering if there is any way i could find any information out about this thank for any help heather

about what? Jeanette

on what.....? Encyclopedia Britanica used to be good for all sorts of things :-) Ian

Hi Heather, What are you looking for? Elaine .