william davidson from west calder

[shona1956]

looking for info on his first marraige before he married my granny in 1925 then she had my dad. there were at least 5 children then his wife died and my granny went to look after him and the children then married him

shona

[SarahND]

Hi Shona,

Do you know what year William was born and if he stayed in West Calder at least until his marriage? As I'm sure you're aware, there are quite a few William Davidsons in Scotland and you could spend a fortune trying to find the marriage.

I assume you have William's death certificate, which should give his parents' names and help narrow things down. We won't be able to post the children's names and birth dates on the forum, as they would be too recent, but the marriage should be before the cutoff date.

All the best,
Sarah

[shona1956]

Hello

William was my grandfather he was born in west calder in 1887 on 15th april he married my granny agnes mcnaught in 1925 in St Giles in Edinburgh and they had 5 children one was my dad

He had at least 5 with his first wife who died after giving birth to her last baby then my granny went to be housekeeper for him them married him

the oldest of the children was annie then janet then jock , chrissie and jessie none of their offspring know the mothers name

shona

[SarahND]

Hi Shona,
Have you downloaded your grandfather's birth certificate from Scotland's People to see who his parents were?
Or, alternatively, do you have a copy of his death certificate or his marriage to your granny, either of which would have that information also?

I ask because you're going to need some way of determining when you have found the correct marriage. On the marriage certificate his parents should also be listed, so you can match them up. Otherwise, with such a common name, there is no way to know when you have found the correct one.

All the best,
Sarah

[speleobat2]

I think this is the correct family on the 1901 Census. If so then William's father was John Davidson (from 1891 census).

1901 Scotland Census 1901 Scotland Census
Name: William Davidson
Age: 13
Estimated birth year: abt 1888
Relationship: Son
Mother's Name: Christina
Gender: Male
Where born: Edinr, West Calder
Registration Number: 701
Registration district: West Calder
Civil parish: West Calder
County: Midlothian
Address: 23 Annan Street
ED: 1
Household schedule number: 152
Line: 3
Roll: CSSCT1901_406
Household Members: Name Age
Christina Davidson 37
Jessie Davidson 15
William Davidson 13
John Davidson 12
Robert Davidson 10
Peter Davidson 8
James Davidson 6

Carol

[speleobat2]

Shona,

Is that your Davidson Family Tree on Ancestry?

Carol

[SarahND]

Hi Carol,
I think we can bet that it is Shona's tree-- in which case William's parents were John and Christina Gowans. There is a marriage for such a couple in West Calder in 1885. From fiddling with the search on Scotland's People it looks like William also died in West Calder, on a date too recent to post.

Continuing to search on some of the information that Shona has provided leads me to believe that William's first marriage was around 1916-1918.
There is a marriage for a William Davidson in Bathgate, West Lothian in 1916, only a few miles from West Calder. Have you looked at that one, Shona?

Not sure where you're located, but if you have a chance to go to the Scotland's People Centre in Edinburgh, you could very quickly go through all the possibles and get the marriage as well as the births of the children.

All the best,
Sarah

[speleobat2]

Hi Sarah,

I'm taking a break from my own Harvey/Allan soap opera tonight so I did some looking around. I'm wondering if the marriage wasn't around 1910. There is a Janet Davidson born in West Calder in 1911. Of course, the image isn't available because of the cut off date.

With the number of Davidson's around, we might have to wait until next March when the 1911 census comes out! Would be cheaper anyway!

Carol

[SarahND]

Hi Carol,
We may both be wrong, since the second marriage was in St Giles, Edinburgh. No guarantee that the first one and the births of the children were anywhere near West Calder Lotsa Davidsons out there, no?


Sarah

[shona1956]

Hi Shona,
Have you downloaded your grandfather's birth certificate from Scotland's People to see who his parents were?
Or, alternatively, do you have a copy of his death certificate or his marriage to your granny, either of which would have that information also?

I ask because you're going to need some way of determining when you have found the correct marriage. On the marriage certificate his parents should also be listed, so you can match them up. Otherwise, with such a common name, there is no way to know when you have found the correct one.

All the best,
Sarah

Hi Sarah

I have my grandads birth certificate he was born in west calder in 1887 I know who his mum and dad were
I have my granny and grandads wedding certificate
My grandads children were all born in west calder
He died in west calder in 1965

It is my tree on ancestry my proper name is Janet but always been known as Shona

spoke to my older cousins last night who are children of the first family but they dont know the mothers name

Shona