Janet Duff's birth and parents

[Shona]

Janet Duff married a tailor named David Morris on 6 May 1805 in Kinghorn, Fife.

On the 1851 census, David and Janet Morris werre living in Kinghorn. She was 72 and was born in Markinch, Fife.

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=1851scotland&rank=1&new=1&MSAV=1&msT=1&gss=angs-d&gsfn=janet&gsfn_x=NN&gsln=morris&gsln_x=NN&gskw=markinch&gskw_x=1&cpxt=1&catBucket=rstp&uidh=fpy&cp=11&pcat=35&fh=0&h=1173776&recoff=&ml_rpos=1

Janet Morris, 'widow of a tailor' died on 23 February 1858 at the age of 78, at Dubbyside, Markinch parish, Fife. Her parents are named as Robert Duff and Catherine Simson. The informant was a Mr Thomson - it isn't stated if he was related to Janet.

I haven't been able to find a birth of a Janet Duff to Robert Duff and Catherine Simson.

Perhaps her parents are wrongly recorded on the death registration.

There is a marriage of a James Duff to Christian Simson in 1768 (9 October in Markinch, Fife/28 October in Largo, Fife).

James Duff and Christian Simson had the following (so far identified) children in Markinch.

Robert, b 23 Jan 1770
James, b 23 Jan 1770
Andrew, b 6 Jan 1772
Christian, b 4 Sept 1775
Margaret, b 26 March 1777
Betty, b 5 Sept 1781
Agnes, b 25 March 1785

I can't find a Janet Duff born to this couple, but with an estimated year of birth as 1779/1780 (from the census and the death registration), there is a sufficient gap between Margaret and Betty for another birth.

David and Janet Morris (nee Duff) had two children that I have been able to identify - Christian Morris and Andrew Morris. James Duff and Christian Simson named two of their children Christian and Andrew.

I'd appreciate views on which couple is more likely to be Janet Duff's parents:

- Robert Duff and Catherine Simson (as per death registration).

Or

- James Duff and Christian Simson (which fits better with naming traditions).

[kiterunner]

I should think it is more likely to be James Duff and Christian Simson; the informant on the death probably didn't know the correct information.

[Shona]

Thanks. I can't find any marriage between Robert Duff and a Simson, so I'm tending towards James Duff and Christian Simson as Janet's parents.

[JBee]

Shona have you checked whether the parish ledgers are complete for the time you're looking at?

Researching in Kirriemuir c1795 I found that the parish ledgers had been water damaged.

Some pages were wiped entirely of entries, some had a few lines here and there and others were completely legible.

[Shona]

That is an issue, Julie, as there is a gap in the birth/baptismal registers for Markinch between 1777 and 1780. The only Duff/Simson births I can find in that parish are to James Duff and Christian Simson.

[Olde Crone]

I have two or three Scottish DCs where the parents' information appears wrong and I eventually decided that the death informant didn't actually know the names, or didn't remember them properly.

In one case it was a grandson recording his grandmother's death, so he was giving information about his great grandparents, who died long before he was born.

In your case I would be happy with James and Christian, but with a note made....

OC