Genealogy Chat

Does anyone have any good tips for searching on scotlandspeople site as it appears to be a waste of time or very costly unless you have the exact details. Unlike the 1901 census and the ancestry site where you can search and it returns enough details for you to pinpoint to a select few people that could be your family scotlandspeople seem to charge you for just about everything and give very little making it exremely expensive if like me you have very few details.

It can be difficult especially if it is a common name you are looking for. What info do you have and maybe we can point you in the right direction. Margaret

Although I love the scottish site for the details you get When you strick it lucky, I fully understand what you mean, have you tried www.familysearch(.)org a lot of the records are on there. Carrie

Wow, talk about quick replies. Ok my g grandfather was called Henry Young, he possibly had the middle name of Peter. That's if the details I've found so far are correct. He married Ellen Allbrook in london in 1903 (Last quarter of) and they had a son, my grandfather, Early 1904. (Shotgun wedding it seems) The only details I have of where my grandfather was from are on the 1901 census and state 'Scotland' as his birthplace. My grandfather has a really strange history that is very secretive and just odd. He said his family were from Perth. But he also said he was from Scotland despite me finding his birth record in Holborn/Islington in 1904. He had older sisters but if he was part of a shotgun wedding then I can only imagine he has half sisters from his dads previous marriege. In 1901 he was 39 and Helen/Ellen/Eliza Allbrook/Young was only 22. I can email anyone interested a copy of the information I have. And if anyone is interested in the strange background of my grandfather I can post it here too as I could do with help finding information out on him. :D

So Henry (Peter) Young as born in 1862 possibly with a Perthshire connection. From his marriage certificate do you hvae his father's name and occupation and we might be able to find a birth certificate. Margaret

Oooh, we love strange backgrounds on here! Post it up, please! As for Scotland's People, you're right, you can use all your credits up very quickly without getting much in return, as I have found when trying to trace my great-grandfather's first 'wife' (I don't think they were married). Like you, my grandfather came from his father's second relationship which was an official marriage, and he was born in London, so my searching on Scotland's People for her is only nosiness really! My tip would be to try to narrow each search down enough that you get 1 page full of results, and then look at them. And only look at the actual image if you really need to. And keep track of what searches you have done (luckily, Scotland's People does this for you anyway.) Kate.

Oh, I do have a couple of other tips. - If you get back before 1855 do all your lookups on FamilySearch first because it is free, though you could use Scotland's People to confirm an entry when you have decided it is the right one (images of the 'OPR' entries aren't available on Scotland's People yet anyway so this still won't confirm it 100%) - When searching for a death, do a free search of the wills and testaments first. Kate.

Hi Ian When you say you have found your grt grandfather Henry Young on the 1901 census, can you give us the details for this. Who was he living with at that time? A different wife and children? He didn't marry your grt grandmother until 1903 you say, so if you have found him in 1901, how did you pinpoint him down amongst all the other Henry Youngs on there? You also say that your grandfather (son of the above) had elder sisters - if he was the firstborn of the marriage then the sisters would definitely have been half-sisters. Why not post whatever information you have so far on here and any super sleuths can then tackle it when they are bored LOL Regards Leah

By the way, I usually say I am 'from' Suffolk although I was born in Surrey, to save a detailed explanation of every place my parents lived in my first few years! And Rod Stewart tries to make out he is from Scotland, although he was born down south too. Kate.

The Perth/London thing might not be as odd as it sounds. People often didn't know exactly where and when they were born (not having been very aware of things at the time!), and so if his parents were from Perth, then he might have assumed that he was born up there. As for ScotlandsPeople, although I wouldn't have phrased it the way you did, I can see where you're coming from. Because of the way it's set up, you do need to have a fairly clear idea in advance of what you're looking for. Speculative searches are less-well catered for. However, I was able to use it to confirm details that were in the IGI, even though both the g. g. grandparents concerned appear to have been telling officialdom that they were from Berwickshire when they almost certainly came from Roxburghshire. Given that their names weren't so unusual, I only had an approximate year of birth, and their fathers' names weren't very unusual, either, I was able to find one family with certainty, and narrow the other down to one of two. When they've added the other census years on, it'll become even more useful.

Leah - sorry to say that is slightly naive. He could have had full sisters born before his parents got married! Kate.

In the meantime...I think I have found Henry Young and wife Ellen in 1901 - is this the one you found, Ian? So they were living together before they married then... Ellen Young abt 1879 London, England Wife St Andrew Holborn and St George the Martyr London Henry Young abt 1862 Scotland Head St Andrew Holborn and St George the Martyr London Leah ps - Kate - yes, didn't think of that LOL

Ian do you have an occupation for him please?

Zoe On the 1901 image, it looks like Henry was a 'scavenger'. Suzy

okay - tips for anyone trying to find him in 1891 by matching an occupation like me.................. Scavengers were also called Roadmen, Roadsweepers and dustmen - all part and parcel of the same department

This is a possibility for 1891: Henry Young abt 1861 Scotland Head Paddington London Horace A Young abt 1890 Paddington, London, England Son Paddington London Jane Young abt 1829 Whickham, Durham, England Mother Paddington London Rose A Young abt 1863 Islington, London, England Wife Paddington London Suzy Occupation though is WAREHOUSEMAN! Mother's name may give us a hand for search on ScotlandsPeople.

Ian can you also put up the details of father and fathers occupatin from the marriage certificate if you have it Zoe

I thought this might have been him with a previous wife, but his occupation says Warehouseman...still, who knows if he changed jobs at some point? Henry Young abt 1861 Scotland Head Paddington London Horace A Young abt 1890 Paddington, London, England Son Paddington London Jane Young abt 1829 Whickham, Durham, England Mother Paddington London Rose A Young abt 1863 Islington, London, England Wife Paddington London I wonder if Ian knows the names of his grandfather's siblings...that might give us a few clues. Leah

Suzy I looked at that one too - but I think its a really big leap occupation wise to scavenger. A clerk would have been educated and skilled office worker A scavenger/roadsweep is a low grade occupation for the poorest with no education and usually unable to read. I have a whole branch of roadsweepers and not one of them signed their name on a certificate

Same family in 1881: George Herbert Young abt 1862 Lanarkshire, Scotland Son 12 Mortimer St, Marlebone, London, England Henry Young abt 1860 Lanarkshire, Scotland Son 12 Mortimer St, Marlebone, London, England Jane Young abt 1830 Whickham, Durham, England Head 12 Mortimer St, Marlebone, London, England Jane Young abt 1856 Lanarkshire, Scotland Daughter Henry is a clerk. Not looking good. Suzy