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Potty
Thank you so much for the suggestion that I should look for John McKeand's death rather than birth. I had no idea the Scottish death records were so informative - a bit like 1855 birth records! (Usually death records are just those index things which tell you nothing and you have to buy the certificate to find out it's the wrong person!)

I'm delighted to report that I have found the right record (from 1887).It not only confirms that his father was called Alexander, gives me a fairly illegible mother's maiden name (McDowell/McDonald?) to start working on but also has the informant being the son John S McKeand described as county Police Officer Garston Liverpool - which is exactly right!

This may be as far as I can go but I'm really chuffed to have this document!

I await a reply from the Familysearch people as to whether they can supply a copy of the marriage record they've got. I can't locate that McKind marriage record you refer to on Scotlandspeople but I don't think I'll spend any more credits on that until I've heard from the other source. :-)

Glad to have been able to help, Ann. Yes, Scottish records are much better than English and by using scotlandspeople, you can see the details straight away and more cheaply than buying English certs but bear in mind that the details are sometimes inaccurate. I have one couple who on a child's birth give the place of their marriage as the village in which I live but the marriage actually took place in a Manse some 8 miles away in a different Parish! So, as always, info only as good as the informant knows or remembers!

Possible marriage ..

Margaret Crosbie and Alexander Courtas
6th December 1805
Buittle, Kirkcudbright, Scotland

Can also be viewed on Scotlandspeople .. using the spelling variation ..Courtas

Thanks. This is definately Elizabeth McCourty's parents. I've found them in the 1841 census aged 60 and 55- rounded of course. I've also found records for 3 more of their children - James Mccourty(1806) Janet Mccourty (1808) and Alexander (1819). By the 1851 Census he is showing up as a widower with one child, Margaret.

I will add the McCourty parents marriage date to my tree.It's interesting that they married in Buittle - that adds credibility to the record i'm trying to get my hands on for their daughter's marriage which I believe was in the same place.

I also think that I've found a record of Alexander McCourty's birth in July 1780 in Twynholm - which fits nicely with the 1841 census record. Guess what his father's name was? Alexander again!
I'm beginning to feel I could just make this tree up by recycling the same names over and over again!!

This website has the marriage!
http://www.kirkcudbright.co/historyarticle.asp?ID=32&p=2&g=2

You need to scroll down the page and it is under the name of McKinna:

27-Nov 1832 John McKinna (Balmaghie) married Elizabeth McCourtie (Corra)

Just checked on scotlandspeople and it doesn't list the parish of Buittle. That's odd as the parish records must exist as they have been transcribed on the above site.

Gets odder! Buittle is there for 1805 but not 1732. I was searching in the wrong century! Buittle is there for 1832 but the McKinna marriage isn't coming up!

Thank you again for your efforts. That Kirkcudbright website entry certainly seems to be the right couple - even if his name is spelt strangely and her place of origin is not Kelton as it should be. Do you think Corra actually exists or is that just another transcription glitch?
Your original guess that the transcribed record I'm hoping to get from FamilySearch may have been the banns rather than the actual marriage looks like a good one, since the date of the marriage you've just found is some months later than the date I had
As for why none of this is apparently on Scotlandspeople - I can only guess that the original record is so hard to decipher that different transcribers have come up with different interpretations of the spelllings. I feel that I am now convinced that this marriage took place in 1832 - even if I can't ever get the documents to prove it. I've found records for the births of their children and records of the couple in the census, so they were undoubtably a family even if they didn't manage to get their marriage recorded for posterity!

Needless to say I can't find a death or birth record for John's father Alexander McKeand (who I estimate lived from c1770 to 1845) nor his wife Mary but I'm rapidly losing the will to go on looking!

Yes, Corra does exist. A google search brings up a few hits. The most likely one is as a name as a farm (there is also a castle and a hill with that name). Probably where Elizabeth was living at the time. This is the link to a map showing it - it is just ~South of Kirkgunzeon~:

http://maps.nls.uk/os/6inch/view/?sid=74427646&zoom=7&lat=1551.88839&lon=8762.5&layers=B#sid=74427646&zoom=5&lat=4689.38839&lon=7823.5&layers=BT

This website has old maps and lots of info about Scotland:

http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/

For interest:

1851 Scotland Census about Alexander Mc Caurtie
Name: Alexander Mc Caurtie
Age: 70
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1781
Relationship: Head
Spouse's Name: Margaret Mc Caurtie
Gender: Male
Where born: Kirkcudbrig, Kirkcudbright
Parish Number: 884
Civil parish: Urr
County: Kirkcudbrightshire
Address: Shennan Creek On Mickle Richorn Farm
Occupation: Agricultural Labourer
ED: 10
Page: 13 (click to see others on page)
Household schedule number: 48
Line: 14
Roll: CSSCT1851_214
Household Members:
Name Age
Alexander Mc Caurtie 70
Margaret Mc Caurtie 71
James Grierson 14



1861 Scotland Census about Alexander Mccourtie
Name: Alexander Mccourtie
Age: 81
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1780
Relationship: Head
Spouse's name : Margaret Mccourtie
Gender: Male
Where born: Kirkcudbright, Kirkcudbright
Registration number: 864
Registration district: Dalbeattie
Civil parish: Dalbeattie ***
Town: Dalbeattie
County: Kirkcudbrightshire
Address: Water Street
Occupation: Labourer Pauper
ED: 2
Household schedule number: 23
Line: 17
Roll: CSSCT1861_146
Household Members:
Name Age
Alexander Mccourtie 81
Margaret Mccourtie 82
Margaret Rigslop 57


Possible death:
Alexander McCourtie (age 82yrs)
1861
County: Kircudbright
District: Dalbeattie ***


Possible death:
Margaret McCourty (age 88yrs)
1870
County: Kirkcudbright
District: Borgue

Well done, Helen. Looks like two more death regs to look at! Here's the 1841:

1841 Scotland Census
about Alexr McCourty
Name: Alexr McCourty
Age: 60
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1781
Gender: Male
Where born: Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland

Civil parish: Urr
County: Kirkcudbrightshire
Address: Meckle Richorn
Occupation: Ag Lab
Parish Number: 884
Household Members: Name Age
Alexr McCourty 60
Margaret McCourty 55