Person:Margaret McCrae (2)

Son Robert's 1916 death certificate gives mother's maiden name as Macrae, birthplace Scotland.

SEARCH 16 March 2003 on scottishdocuments.com for will of putative brother Donald, whole country, 1826-1875, found 5 implausible hits as MacRae, and 3 as McRae, one of them a joiner who died in Edinburgh 22 May 1874. No hits on MacRaw, MacCrae, MacCraw, McRaw, or McCrae.

SEARCH on scottishdocuments.com 16 March 2003 for Margaret McRae (soundex) b/bp 1790-1810, in OPR Births and Christenings for each of the 16 parishes within 10 miles of and including Dunkeld in Perthshire, as determined by the Parish Locator program: Auchtergaven, Blairgowrie,Caputh, Cargill, Clunie, Dowally, Dunkeld, Kinclaven, Kinloch (actually Lethendy and Kinloch), Kinnoull, Little Dunkeld, Logiealmond (actually Monzie), Logierait, Methven, Moneydie, and Redgorton.

All the searches returned only 3 women, and only one with father Alexander. This is Margaret MacCraw daughter of Alexander MacCraw and Jannet Stewart in 1805 in Logierait (GROS 376/00/0002). This is roughly consistent with her age in the 1851 census of 50. It's also consistent with one of her children being named Janet.

FWIW, this couple was married 1803 in same town and had additional children there John 1803, Janet 1809, Alexander 1812.

The next step to confirm this is to find Margaret's death record which will likely give parents' names and her age. We have no record of her after the 1851 census. She might even have remarried!

Aleck stated that his father's mother died at age 84 in an insurance application. That suggests strongly that she was alive for the 1881 census, and perhaps that she died c. 1889.

Something may be wrong with one of these assumptions. There are 91 Margaret Hendersons of an age to have been born 1800-1807 who died between 1875 and 1895. Only one of them was 84 and died in 1889 -- a perfect match -- but she died in Rothesay, a district over by Glasgow. There's also an 84-year-old dying in 1890 in Aberdeen. Probably I should spend the $ to look at these two.

I did look at a Margaret who died in Newington, Edinburgh. Turned out that Henderson was her maiden name! So I also need to search for Margaret McRae after all.

Also spelled McRae?

Residence 1826 was No. 3 Dean St., Stockbridge, Edinburgh.

In Edinburgh 1851 census, house 15, street 123; Book 17, page 15, SC 69.

Possible relatives found in 1829-1830:

John McCraw, woollen & linen draper, 389 High st. Angus McRae, shoemaker, 20 Old Fishmarket close David McRae, teacher of languages, 18 Thistle street John McRae, spirit dealer, 20 Richmond place James McRae, wright, 218 Canongate -- ho Chessels co. James McRae, flesher, 33 New market, Stockbridge William McRae, lodgings, 24 Broughton St. John McCraw, town officer, 1 Queen st., Leith P. McCraw, collector of poor's rates for S. Leith, 23 Kirkgate, Leith

Quality: 0

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Robin Henderson. Robin Henderson email, Recipient: Harold Henderson, Author E-mail: robin.kate@verizon.net
   29 July 2001.
2. ↑ Illinois Certificate of Death for Robert Henderson, Record Type: Certificate of Death, Name Of Person: Robert Henderson, Number: 12934. (28 April 1916).
3. ↑ Parish register of births and baptisms, St. Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh, Compiler Address: FHL British Film 1066762.
4. ↑ "The official government source of genealogical data". www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
   OPR Births to MacCraw (soundex) and Stewart.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} Logierait, Perthshire, Scotland births, 1798-1819, OPR 376/2, Number: OPR 376/2, FHL number 1040125, item 4, part 2. (1798-1819)
   page 31, Margaret MacCraw 4/6 Oct 1805.
6. ↑ Robin Henderson. Robin Henderson email, Recipient: Harold Henderson, Author E-mail: robin.kate@verizon.net
   29 July 2001, 17 Nov 2001.
7. ↑ ^7.0 7.1 1851 Scottish Census Index, Record Type: Scotland Census 1851 Index, Household: Edinburgh. (1851)
   236.
8. ↑ "The official government source of genealogical data". www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
   Old Parish Register Births and Christenings, Margaret MacCraw, GROS 376/00/0002.
9. ↑ Alexander Henderson. Request for Amendment of Contract, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. Policy number 144878, Alexander Henderson, Informant Address: Amendment to life insurance policy.
10. ↑ Robin Henderson. Robin Henderson email, Recipient: Harold Henderson, Author E-mail: robin.kate@verizon.net
    29 July 2001 Robert & Margaret's marriage record.
11. ↑ Alexander Henderson. Aleck Henderson Bankers Life Insurance Company of Nebraska Medical Examiner's Report, Interviewer: Herman Biersdorf, Informant Address: Portland, Multnomah Co., OR. (14 June 1910).
12. ↑ 1851 Scottish Census Index, Record Type: Scotland Census 1851 Index, Household: Edinburgh. (1851)
    236.

    Margaret HD [head] R [relict=widow] 50 House Proprietor [born] PER Dunkeld Book 17 page 15 SC 69; HS 17 ST 123
    Janet DA U 18 Miiliner
    Robt SO U 16 Assistant Teacher

13. ↑ 1861 UK Census Scotland Midlothian, Record Type: per scotlandspeople.gov.uk. (1861).

    (Parish of St. Cuthberts)
    -- Lauriston Place
    34 Margaret Henderson head W 60 proprietor of household Dunkeld Perthshire
    Isabella Henderson dau UN 31 Edinburgh
    Robert Henderson son UN 26 teacher Edinburgh
    Francis W. McHugh grandson 8 scholar Edinburgh
    Robert H. McHugh grandson 5 scholar Edinburgh

14.   Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1829-1830. (1829-1830).
15. ↑ The trouble with this parental attribution is that census records identify Margaret as being age 50 in 1851 and 60 in 1861. And although the daughter of Alexander and Jannet is by far the best fit in available recordsin the area, we have no reason to think that those records are complete. So it's not wise to proceed by elimination.
    
    "MacCraw / Margaret Lawful Da. to Alexr. MacCraw farmer & Jannet Stewart in Nethertown of Fonab was born Octr. 4th & bapd. 6th."
    
    Birth est. 1801 based on age 50 in 1851 census.
    Birth est. bef 1811 based on marriage date.
    Robin e-mail 17 Nov 2001: "I was looking for Margaret Macrae in the Parish registers from Dunkeld today, with no success. I read through the registers from 1795 to 1820 and did not find Alexander Macrae mentioned anywhere. My impression was that most of the people entered in the register were townspeople not farmers, so I wonder if there was a different church that was more convenient to the farmers? The only possible relative was David McCraw, who married Margaret Cocker in 1812 (so possibly an older brother of Margaret), and named his oldest daughter Janet- interesting of course, because Margaret also named one of her daughters Janet. On IGI, there is an entry for Margaret McCraw, bapt. 6 Oct 1805, in Logierait, Perth, to Alexander McCraw and Jannet
    Stewart, so I may check out that possibility. That would make her younger than in the census (50 in 1851), but they did round the ages. She would have been twenty one when she got married, which seems reasonable. >From IGI: Alexander and Jannet m. 9 Mar 1803, Logierait. So David would have been too old to be their son! "
16. ↑ Aleck's 1910 Bankers Life application: Father's mother died age 84 of "senility."
    Aleck's 1900 Mass Mutual application: "Fathers mother ill seven years."
17. ↑ STB age 50 in both 1851 and 1861 censuses.
18. ↑ PROBABLY NOT FOUND -- there is a Margaret Henderson, widowed, boarder, aged 66, at 4 Vinegar Close in S. Leith, but she is said to have been born in Leith so it seems unlikely that she is Margaret McCrae Henderson.
19. ↑ NOT FOUND in Edinburgh born Dunkeld or Logierait in Scotlandspeople