Dead end on William Pryde?

[JustJean]

Good morning Mary Ellen

Well Duh.....i'm now thinking with charged battery Of course you can tell if one of those extracts is going to be right!!!! Just search based on surname, given name, mother's maiden name, year of death, and place of death! Plug in the M word for the maiden name and voila....you win the coconut! So yeah....I'm really betting now that one of your extracts is going to be the right one.

Ain't it amazing what a few hours of sleep can do for the brain waves???!!

As for drunkeness and prositution.....well.....not one to cast stones as my own family tree has more than one strong willed lady who came to her marriage bed a proven mother. Actually the rule seemed to be the "unlucky" ones who birthed out of wedlock were typcially passed over for the white wedding day yet were preferred as 2nd wives to widowers with children. At least the ones who kept their children and raised them on their own were passed over. The ones that camped the weans with their grandparents and went off to find employment (and usually a husband fared much better in the nuptial dept. In at least one of my cases it was a win win situation given the fact I'm descended from the subsequent offspring of such a 2nd marriage! In another case it was a single mother of 3 (not unlike your Isabella) who took my 3xgr grandfathers proposal and then buried him a few short years later and singlehandedly continued raising not only her 3 but his 2 sons from a previous marriage. If not for this stepmother I can't imagine where my 2xgrgrandfather would have ended up. You can see that I have a great deal of respect and admiration for the matriarchs and matriarchal figures in my family no matter what their motivations or extenuating circumstances were.

Best wishes
Jean

[Anne H]

Hi Mary Ellen,

The suggestion was simply to look into all aspects of the situation to try and solve the mystery. Hopefully, none of us would think any less of our ancestors if we ever did find a situation of drunkenness and prostitution...actually, I would be inclined to applaud anyone who lived through hard times and was still able to raise a family - no matter how they accomplished it.

Glad you're making some headway.

Regards,
Anne H

[marypryde]

Hi, Anne -

I wasn't offended, just enlightened. That's what I like about TS. Whatever g-grandmother Isabella's story was, she and the kids survived or I wouldn't be here. That's why I'd love to know more.

Regards, Mary Ellen

[nelmit]

Hi, Anne -

I wasn't offended, just enlightened. That's what I like about TS. Whatever g-grandmother Isabella's story was, she and the kids survived or I wouldn't be here. That's why I'd love to know more.

Regards, Mary Ellen

Just back from a fantastic couple of days at the beautiful Bruges in Belgium. Ma feet ur killin' me!!!!

Jean - get your head out of the stocks -and everybody stand back from the squashed tomatoes I think we are on the right track!

Here is the Margaret who married William Pryde in 1901 -

Name: Margaret Miller
Age: 7
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1894
Relationship: Daur (Daughter)
Father's Name: Alexander
Mother's Name: Margaret
Gender: Female
Where born: Largo, Fife
Registration Number: 447/2
Registration district: Windygates
Civil parish: Markinch
County: Fife
Address: Drumcaldy

Alexander Miller 29
Margaret Miller 32
David Miller 11
Robert Miller 10
Margaret Miller 7
Janet Miller 5

I thought this may be Margaret senior in 1881 -

Name: Margaret Gatherum Also her name in 1871
Age: 12
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1869
Relationship: Stepdaughter
Mother's Name: Margaret
Gender: Female
Where born: Largo, Fife
Registration Number: 443
Registration district: Largo
Civil parish: Largo
County: Fife
Occupation: Scholar
ED: 6
Household schedule number: 24
Line: 4
Roll: cssct1881_123
Household Members:
Name Age
Robert Kidd 29
Margaret Kidd 30
Margaret Gatherum 12
Thomas Kidd 8
Mary Kidd 6
James Kidd 4
Robert Kidd 2

And found this marriage -

ROBERT KIDD
Marriages:
Spouse: MARGARET FULTON Family
Marriage:
05 AUG 1872 Largo, Fife, Scotland

A search at the IGI shows Margaret Fulton born illegitimately in 1869 at Largo.

So I think it's a case of the old 'mother's maiden surname' mix up.

Hopefully this will be revealed in Margaret Miller/Pryde's death entry.

Regards,
Annette

[marypryde]

This is all pretty well sorted out now. It was indeed the old "got mother's maiden name wrong" scenario. Thanks to all of you at Talking Scot, Uncle William was NOT a dead end.

I leave for a week in Scotland on September 14th and am hoping to spend time with Uncle William's grandson (my second cousin, if I've got it right). If anyone knows who fathered G-Grandma Isabella's 3 illegitimate boys, it will be him.

With your help I am even prepared to zero right in on certain grave markers at Dalserf Churchyard. And I know exactly where Woodside/Largo is and what to expect. The tour guide may wonder why I have hired him at all!

When I return, hopefully with more puzzle pieces, I plan to post a Success Story combining "Uncle William" with "Closing in on Great-Grandma" (our common ancestor).

The trip will be so much more worthwhile thanks to your guidance and assistance.
Gratefully, Mary Ellen

[LesleyB]

Hi Mary
Have a great time! I hope the Scottish weather treats you well....


Best wishes
Lesley

[marypryde]

By the end of a summer on the South Carolina coast, 60 degrees and rain sounds wonderful!