McCormick

I am researching the birth records and parents names of my great grandfather George McCormick b.1854 and his siblings, Sarah b.1836, James b.1849, Janet b.1844, Elizabeth b.1851, and Agnes b.1853. They were reportedly all born in Scotland. Sarah married George Smith b.1834 in Rutherglen, Lanark, Scotland on July 6, 1857, according to a marriage record I found; however, I have no proof that it is actually them. They all, along with George and Sarah's daughter Mary Smith 6 months old, arrived in the United States on December 18, 1859 from Glasgow Scotland aboard the ship Marthas Vineyard to the port of NY. Their destination was Connecticut. George's PA death certificate d.1937 lists his father as James born in Scotland and Sarah's d. 1910 lists her father as John born in Ireland. Mother for both is listed as unknown. I have DNA matches to George's sisters' families, Sarah and Jane, who live in the US. Any assistance is finding their birth records/parents names would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

Welcome, ashiock! The best place to search for records is Scotland's People. You can search the index for free. Also, the 1841 census is available on FreeCen. Those are places to start. I'll have a look later this evening if someone here hasn't already done it by then.

 

The 1857 marriage of Sarah McCormick to George Smith is in the Statutory Record and also Catholic Banns at Rutherglen, St Columbkille's. This is on Scotland's People, which requires use of purchased credits to view the records. The USD to GBP rates aren't too bad at the moment.

From Old Parish Records (not Catholic) Births and Baptisms:
MCCORMICK, SARAH
JAMES MCCORMICK/ANN BENNOCH FR100 (FR100)
F 28/05/1836
852/20 8
Tynron (Dumfriesshire)

1841 Census
MCCORMICK, SARAH F 5 826/ 8/ 15 Glencairn, Dumfries

From FreeCen:
Census Year County Place Civil Parish Piece Enumeration District Folio Page House Number House or Street Name
1841 Dumfriesshire (DFS) Glencairn Glencairn 826 8 8 16 Cottage Row

Surname Forenames Sex Age Occupation Birth County Notes
MCCORMICK James M 42 Independent OUC (outside county)
MCCORMICK Anne F 41 DFS
MCCORMICK Mary F 10 DFS
MCCORMICK Janet F 7 DFS
MCCORMICK Sarah F 5 DFS
MCCORMICK Robert M 3 DFS
MCCORMICK Margaret F 50 Independent OUC

Hmmm, not an exact match for George's family, but will pursue further.
FreeCen does not have this County in 1851 - back to Scotland's People:

Found this family unit (with additional kids - none named George) in 1851 AND 1861 - so not the correct family and not the correct Sarah.

Taking a break, then back to the hunt!

 

Back to FreeCen:
1841 Lanarkshire for Sarah McCormick
Gorbals on King Street:
MCCORMICK John M 28 Cotton Spinner IRL
MCCORMICK John M 4 OUC
MCCORMICK Sarah F 8 OUC
MCCORMICK Mary F 29 IRL
MCCORMICK Mary F 1 OUC

Census Year: 1851 County: Lanarkshire (LKS) Place: Barony
Civil Parish: Bridgeton Ecclesiastical Parish: Calton
Piece: 622 Enumeration District: 4 Folio: 599 Page: 10 Schedule: 45
House Number: 24 House or Street Name: Oswald Street

Surname Forenames Relationship Marital Status Sex Age Occupation Birth County Birth Place
MCCORMICK John Head M M 37 Cotton Spinner IRL -
MCCORMICK John Son U M 14 Cotton Spinner LKS Glasgow
MCCORMICK Joseph Son U M 7 Scholar LKS Glasgow
MCCORMICK James Son U M 4 Child LKS Glasgow
MCCORMICK Margaret Wife M F 38 House Keeper IRL -
MCCORMICK Sarah Dau U F 17 Cotton Piecer RFW Mearns
MCCORMICK Jane Dau U F 8 Scholar LKS Glasgow
MCCORMICK Elisabeth Dau U F 3 Child LKS Glasgow
MCCORMICK Agnes Dau U F 1 Child LKS Glasgow

Roman Catholic births/baptisms that match this household:
MCCORMICK, MARY JOHN MCCORMICK/MARY BARETT F
29/6/1837 22/7/1838 Glasgow, St Andrew's
MCCORMICK, JAMES JOHN MCCORMICK/MARY BARRETT M
12/10/1846 25/10/1846 Glasgow, St Andrew's
MCCORMICK, ELIZABETH JOHN MCCORMICK/MARY BARRETT F
10/6/1848 2/7/1848 Glasgow, St Andrew's
MCCORMICK, AGNES JOHN MCCORMICK/MARY BARRETT F
24/3/1850 4/4/1850 Glasgow, St Mary's

Haven't found suitable birth records for Sarah or George, though.

I'm perfectly happy if someone takes a different tack or finds better matches.
Done for this evening.

 

OK, it's and obsessive hobby after all...
I have a HeritageQuest sub via my local library. They belong to Ancestry, so the results are almost identical:
1860 U.S. Federal Census for Webster, Worcester Co, MA
John McOrmic, 47, Mule spinner, b. Ireland
Mary age 31, b. Ireland
Jane age 17, b. Scotland
James, age 12, b. Scotland
Thomas, age 11, b. Ireland
Elizabeth, age 11, b. Scotland
Agnes, age 9, b. Scotland
George, age 8, b. Scotland
Michael, age 8 b. Ireland
Allen, age 6, b. Mass
Catherine, age 3, b. Mass
Mary, age 1, b. Mass
In same dwelling - different household:
Michael Casey, age 40, b. Ireland
Woman Casey, age 49, b. Ireland

 

You probably have this one:
1870 U.S. Federal Census Woodward, Clearfield, PA
Smith, George, 33, miner, b. Scotland
Smith, Sarah, 35, keeping house, b. Scotland
Smith, George, 11, at home, b. Connecticut
Smith, James, 6, b. Rhode Island
Smith, Peter, 4, b. Penn
Smith, Joseph, 2, b. Penn
Smith, Sarah, 0/12ths (March), b. Penn
McCormick, George, 18, miner, b. Scotland
Craton, Michael, 30, miner, b. Ireland
McCormick, Agnes, 22, weaver, b. Scotland
Moles, Elizabeth, 1, b. Penn

 

In 1880, George is in Dublin, Bradford Co, PA age 24, Driving in Mine, b. Scotland, both parents b. Ireland
Wife is Margaret, 22, keeping house, b. England, both parents b. England
daughter is Bridget, age 7/12ths (Nov) b. Penn.

There's no U.S. Census for 1890. I don't know about PA records.

In 1900 George and family are in Clayville, Jefferson Co, PA. He and Margaret have 9 kids, with month and year of birth for each. George's birthday is listed as Mar 1858. He says he immigrated in 1862 and has been in the U.S. 38 years. He's naturalized - the number 22 or 23 is scratched through in that box, so that might be how many years he's been a citizen - which might help you find his naturalization papers. I would take those numbers with a grain of salt, though, since he was so young when he came over, he may have mis-remembered or made a guess.

In 1910 George and Margaret are with 6 youngest kids in Punxsutawney (Ward 5), Jefferson co, PA. Here, he says he's age 54, and year of immigration is 1860. His job is "Labor" and industry - to me it looks like "contractor," but the hover hint says "con master."

In 1920 George, Margaret and two youngest sons are in same place in PA. THIS TIME the immigration date is 1885 and naturalization is 1893. Um, I don't think so. The census taker either heard it wrong (Scot's accent) or had a liquid lunch or something. He also had both of George's parents b. Scotland, and George is a laborer for the railroad - at age 64.

In 1930 it's just George and Margaret in the same home. Here, he's 68, immigrated in 1862 and both parents b. Scotland.

I'm going to go back and see if I can find U.S. records for John McCormick, b. Ireland post 1860. It's getting late, though, so no promises.
Thanks for a fun evening - Happy 4th!

 

Yes, I do have this census record. They came to Clearfield County from CT or RI. I have not found any records of where they were in the 1860's other than a couple of Sarah's children were reported in this census to have been born there. I really appreciate your assistance with this

 

Barb,
Your assistance is greatly appreciated. I have searched Scotlands People; however, there are so many McCormick's with the same names how would I tell if its the right family other than with the names of the children that I have that I am sure of. Most of the families I found did not list a George. He was my great grandfather so I'm sure of him. I'm also sure of Sarah and her husband George Smith as I have DNA connections to her great grandchildren. They raised their family in Clearfield County, PA but came through CT and RI. Also, I have DNA connections to Jane McCormick 1847-1916. Jane married Peter Knowe 1847-1899 and raised their family in RI. So 3 of the children that I am sure of would have to be listed in the censue, Sarah, Jane and George. Thanks again

 

Hi Barb,
Yes, I have all these records. Its his and his family's birth records and parents names from Scotland that I am stuck on. Happy 4th of July to you too. Andrea

 

This census is kind of close but George and Agnes' birthdays are off by a couple years...

 

I have searched Scotlands People in the past with no luck. Would you please send me a link to the FreeCen. I haven't used that Web site. Thanks so much.

 

If this is the correct family then John McCormick married Mary Barrett at Mearns, Renfrewshire 30 Dec 1832

 

Hi, Andrea. I can never remember the correct URL and usually just do a web search, but here it is:

Code:

https://www.freecen.org.uk/

It's against board policy to post live links to commercial sites or those that ask for donations, member fees, or sell things. I think we're safe with this one. If not, I'm sure Jan or one of the mods will "unclicky" it and send me a gentle finger wag.

FYI, there's also FreeBMD and FreeReg, for UK research, but I don't believe they cover Scotland. Also, GenUKI is a good finding aide - especially since the counties / shires have been reconfigured. I also like the FamilySearch wiki help on topics and locations.

 

I post those so we can see how George's parents were both born in Ireland, but later listed as Scots. I think that maybe George was not the informant on those later census reports.

I hit a snag on looking for John McCormick in the U.S. and will give it another try this evening.

 

Do you have the full marriage record from SP for George Smith and Sarah McCormick as suggested by grannybarb? SP have only one George Smith / Sarah Mccormick marriage so probably your couple. The record should give you names of their parents including mothers' maiden names.

 

Looked at it last night and it has John Smith and Mary Barret(t)

 

John McCormick and Mary Barrett married 30 Dec 1832 Mearns,Renfrewshire

 

Sorry post 18 should read John McCormick and Mary Barret(t) not John Smith and John is shown as a Cotton Spinner and Mary as Deceased