RE-EXAMINING OLD ASSUMPTIONS: WHEN WAS "JAMES THE SCHOOLMASTER" BORN?

According to all the genealogies I've seen, 1804 is given as the birth year for James McLauchlan of Crook. If that were the case, then the 1851 census should list his age as 46 or 47. I say "or" because the information in that census is as of March 30, 1851. If James was born between January 1 and March 30, 1804, he would have been 47. After March 30, 1804, he would still be 46.

However, the 1851 census lists his age as 45. If that's true, then his birth date would be somewhere between March 31, 1805, and March 30, 1806. I am now curious about the origin of the "1804."

JAMES THE SCHOOLMASTER

I can trace my surname lineage as far back as the 1851 Census in Durham County, England. There is the entry for James McLauchlan, a schoolmaster in the village of Crook. The entry is not easy to read and the last name looks as though it is spelled “McLauchland” by the entrant.

I remember my excitement when the page arrived in the mail because I knew that the 1851 Census was the first one listing the place of birth for individuals. I scanned across the line for my ancestor to “Birthplace” to discover the entrant listed only “Scotland.” Good taste prevents me from fully describing my disappointed reaction.

I refer to this ancestor as “James the Schoolmaster” though I’ve seen his name listed variously as James W. McLauchlan, James W. McLauchlan, Jr., James McLauchlan, and (arguably) James McLauchland.

I once had a correspondence with a distant cousin in England who was in possession of some letters that James had written during a trip to Scotland. I subsequently wrote and asked for copies but never received any. That was some years ago and I don’t know if this relative is even still living. I need to dig out my research as I’m sure I saved this correspondence. If memory serves me correctly, he did mention the letters were written from two different Scottish towns, but he didn’t know if these had been James’ destination or simply towns he passed through on his way to or from.

Once I find these documents I’ll scan them and try to figure out a way to post them on this blog.

BLOG WON'T BE RESTRICTED TO ONLY "McLAUCHLAN"

There are something in the neighborhood of 200 spelling variations of this surname. I'll be commenting on topics involving a number of them. I used the particular spelling above because it's particularly relevant to my own genealogy and because I didn't want this blog to appear as though it were an official organ of Clan MacLachlan or any or its affiliates in the UK or North America.