Looking for BROTCHIE family in Wick late 1700s/early 1800s

[DCGrassick]

Greetings from sunny Queensland! I am trying to trace my 4X great-grandmother, Marie (aka Marion) Brotchie. She married Walter Mcallister in 1827 in Edinburgh and appears in the Edinburgh census records (1841/51). Her father was David Brotchie, a mason. Most of the records give her place of birth as Edinburgh, however there is one entry in the 1851 census that leads me to believe she was born in Wick. The ages are a bit out between the 1841 census and the 1851 census, but it is definitely the correct family. I think she would have been born some time after 1780 but before 1810. Does anyone have any Brotchies that match? Marie and Walter's children bore the names: Allison, Robert, Barbara, Jane and Marion.
Thanks. Regards, Dawn

[fingalmacool]

Hi Not sure if this will help but I have a couple of paintings done by a H.Brotchie, as far as my wife can recall, he was a travelling man? that did odd jobs around the county. The wifes granny used to get him to do jobs around her house at sandside, she used to feed and pay him etc, when he left the county he gave her two paintings of scenes around Dunnet Head, this would of been around 1900ish.

[DCGrassick]

Thanks fingalmacool. I know that most Brotchies in Scotland were up in Kirkwall in 1881, with a few in Edinburgh, so it makes sense that my Brotchie and 'H Brotchie' may be related. How nice that your wife's family kept these paintings! Regards, Dawn

[Tricia]

Marion - could this be her baptism ?
County Caithness-shire
Place Dunnet Church
Dunnet Vol I RegisterNumber 25
DateOfBirth Baptism Date 24 Dec 1783
Forename Marion Sex F
FatherForename William
MotherForename Margaret
FatherSurname BROTCHIE
MotherSurname DUNNET
Abode Ratter
FileNumber 23006

Tricia

This and next message may not be correct person but it can rule some out.

[Tricia]

Just realised you said her father was a DAVID.


In 1841 census in Leith it says she was born outside county,
Do you have confirmation of her father being a David and her mother's name? Children naming pattern often helps - 2nd son after mother's father and 1st daughter after mother's mother.
Not always the case and of course children may have died. Do you have Walter's parents names.


This is a bapt registered in THURSO although this couple were in Dunnet 1798.
name: Marrion Brotchie gender: Female baptism/christening date: 27 Apr 1800 baptism/christening place: THURSO,CAITHNESS,SCOTLAND
father's name: David Brotchie mother's name: Barbara Swanson
indexing project (batch) number: C11041-2 system origin: Scotland-ODM source film number: 0990555, 0990556
They had a son Richard in Dunnet 1798.


Tricia
born a MORE in Wick

[DCGrassick]

Hi Tricia,

Thanks for the information. The wedding banns has the father as David. However, I was thinking David may have been his middle name and he might have gone by his first name in other records. I have not found her husband's (Walter Macalaster's) parents yet. I will keep trying to find them in order to see who the children were named after. I have found another child of Marion and Walter, born around 1846, so this will help me narrow down Marion's birth date range (she couldn't have been born much earlier than 1800). The Marion born in 1800 to David and Barbara Swanson has come up a number of times in my search. I think the brother (Richard) was the Richard Brotchie who lived to a ripe old age and was in Edinburgh later in life. It is such an unusual name and there are not a lot of them. I might have a bit of a play with the records I find and see if I can put them into family groups. That will be an interesting little project and I may have some luck when I see it all set out in lineages. Thanks again for your help.
Regards, Dawn