Those Mathesons of Ross and Cromarty, Scotland

Updated 25 Aug 2019 with 2nd great grandparents' birth/death dates

When I wrote about my grandfather here, I mentioned that his parents were Frank Matheson and Annie Ross. I knew Frank's exact birth date, thanks to his record keeping in his three-volume (!) bible.

Frank's parents, my maternal 2nd great grandparents were Donald Matheson (abt 1794-1859) and Margaret McKenzie (abt 1798-1865) of Ross and Cromarty, in Scotland's Highlands. I didn't have those names in family papers. I found them online.

Armed with this knowledge, I found Frank's baptismal record on FamilySearch.org together with the baptismal records and names of his eight siblings. What a fantastic discovery. Here are Frank and his many siblings, all of whom were born in Urray:

• Janet b 9 Jul 1821
• Alexander b 24 Jan 1824
• Isabel b 3 Jul 1827
• John b 30 Oct 1829
• Duncan b 11 Dec 1331
• Francis b 19 Dec 1833 (my great grandfather)
• Elisabeth b 29 Jun 1838
• Donald b 29 Jun 1839
• Ann 12 b Jul 1842

I don't have the images of the baptisms, but the transcriptions gave me the key information of their names, birth and baptismal dates, which helped me find the family in the 1841 census (below). Five of the nine children baptized are shown living at home at that time. The youngest, Ann, hadn't yet been born. Did the two eldest, Janet and Alexander, marry by 1841 or were they in service elsewhere? It's likely. Did John and Elisabeth die young, since they aren't on the 1841 census? Just as likely.

1841 Census of Scotland

Urray, according to an 1840 account, was a parish partly in Inverness-shire but chiefly in Ross and Cromarty. I found that infobit and a whole lot more here.

The never ending story continues...