Scottish Clan information?

[Ian]

please get scanned images... that way we can upload to our website and look at images of the actual records.... the higher the quality of the image the better, they are often hard to read.

[Ian]

also it can be helpful to use an online index of the records, for example: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XTT2-VJM. the index isn't always accurate though, so it's always best to get an image of the actual record, in my opinion.

[Edward]

Um ... okay, I will try to figure out how to do that; the missionaries here are great but with the technology they are ......... not too comfortable. But maybe a student worker will be able to help once the records arrive.

Meanwhile here are pictures of the area of West Calder!

An old view of Main Street:


A more modern view:


A lovely cottage:


The village Kirk (Scots for 'church,' and yes it's the actual Kirk, not just a generic English parish (I double-checked)):


West Calder is part of West Lothian, just a few miles south of Edinburgh:


The famous Linlithgow palace is located in this area:


Once the microfilms arrive I will try to get all the information you are looking for and figure out how to scan it.

[Ian]

might be good to ask a librarian if these microfilm have already been scanned, in case they are available online somewhere. i looked around a little and couldn't find them, so i suspect we'll have to scan them ourselves. it takes time and patience but i think it'll be worth the effort, somebody's got to do it.

[Ian]

this might be an indexed record for the marriage of robert bell ross sr. and elizabeth wright, which would show that by the time he was married he adopted the ross name: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XY71-Z5F

this appears to be an indexed record of the birth of robert bell ross jr.: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F73G-DHW

[Ian]

also, that census record seems to show another ross family, not sure if those are directly related to us.

[Ian]

we'll need to figure out a way to verify that robert ross, who married elizabeth wright in 1854, is the same person as robert bell, born 1830 in west calder to john bell and mary paterson. otherwise we might be wasting our time in west calder.

[Edward]

Well, this Ross line seems to come from West Calder as well, which may explain the confusion. But I will find out what all this is about, so help me! Hopefully next time I am at the library the films will be there and I will find out more information.

[John]

May I just say that reading these last several posts and imagining that we may actually ultimately solve the Bell/Ross conundrum with Edward's help has made for a great Fathers' Day. Thanks, you two. May the dam break!

[Ian]

i found some biographies that have been added to familysearch in the past year or two. we'll need to dig up the primary sources but i think it's highly likely that these will lead us in the right direction.

here's a summary (based on information from the biographies): our ancestor (robert bell ross sr.) had an older sister named mary bell. she was born in 1815 in west calder to john bell and mary paterson. she married walter muir in 1835 in west calder. two mormon missionaries (elders samuel mulliner and alexander wright, natives of scotland) found walter and mary, and the family was baptized in 1848, when mary was eight-and-a-half months pregnant with their seventh child. around that time, mary and her siblings added "ross" to their last name. so far, no evidence has been found as to why this occurred. from mary's younger brother's life story (which we need to find), there was an "uncle" robert ross who apparently paid for the schooling of the bell children in edinburgh. there may have been some legal adoption by this "uncle", or perhaps something happened to the father, john bell, and robert ross was made legal guardian. we don't know. whatever the reason, even the married children added "ross" to their name. mary's two younger brothers carried on the ross name. their mother, mary paterson, was listed as a widow in the 1841 census, and was found in the 1861 census at her daughter mary's home. our ancestor, mary's younger brother, robert, was baptized by walter muir in 1850. mary's tenth child, elizabeth wright, was born around 1856, and was apparently named after robert's wife.

i believe that this can lead us to the evidence we need to show that robert ross, who married elizabeth wright in 1854, is the same person as robert bell, born 1830 in west calder to john bell and mary paterson.

here are links to the complete biographies:
Walter Muir and Mary Bell (Ross) Story by Carma Muir Golding
(Sil) Addendum to Walter Muir, Sr. and Mary Bell Ross
Biographies of Walter Muir Sr. 1809-1860 and Mary Bell (Ross) 1815-1888

[Edward]

So ... what should I look for and where?

[Ian]

i believe the parish registers for west calder (1645-1871) will contain birth, marriage and death records of our bell relatives. these registers have been scanned onto three microfilm reels. i would go through the microfilm reels and scan each page with a computer so that we can have digital images of the records. i have done this before for another location and it took some time but it was worthwhile. i believe we have enough relatives in west calder to make it worth the effort. we may not need to scan all the pages but depending on volume it may be worth it. let me know if i can help.

[Edward]

Well hopefully the senior missionaries will know how to scan things since I haven't a clue how to do that. But I will see what I can do.