Checklist by site The same 46 items as the research checklist , grouped by where the record is held, with the most urgent first inside each group. Ticks are shared with the main checklist.
Free Irish sites IrishGenealogy.ie, the National Archives of Ireland census and registers.nli.ie are free. Start here: it costs nothing and covers the Cavan and Donegal lines.
Francis Ward's baptism, about 1863, Co Cavan Civil registration started in 1864, so he is more likely in the Catholic registers. Parents given as Phillip Ward and Margaret Cusick. Update: Philip Ward and Margaret Cusack lived at Tievenanass, Co Cavan (petty sessions 1873 to 1881 and the 1899 and 1900 deaths), so search the Knockbride and neighbouring Roman Catholic registers on Roots Ireland for a baptism around 1862 to 1864. Next 3c. Ward and McCaffery line (Ireland): registers.nli.ie Mary McCaffery's birth, about 1865, Co Tyrone Her parents' marriage at Dromore, Co Tyrone, on 15 January 1864 is now on the site, so she was most likely born at or near Dromore in 1864 or 1865. Civil births are indexed for free from 1864 (Omagh registration district). Parents Thomas McCaffery and Sarah McPike. Her 1936 death gives age 71, which fits. Next 3c. Ward and McCaffery line (Ireland): irishgenealogy.ie Philip Ward at Tievenanass in the 1901 and 1911 Irish censuses Philip died in 1900, but his household may still be listed in 1901 under his daughter Margaret Feeney or the Bernard Ward named in his probate, and the 1911 census may show who stayed on the farm. The Irish censuses are free and searchable by townland. Next 3c. Ward and McCaffery line (Ireland): National Archives of Ireland census site, Cavan, Tievenanass townland Hugh Gavigan's baptism, about 1837, Ballyshannon area Parents are Peter Gavigan and Mary McGonnigal. Peter is known only from a valuation record. Next 3d. Gavigan line (Donegal): registers.nli.ie (if the Donegal parish is covered) William McClure and Lailia, Joseph's parents Names come from a certificate only. Find the Irish baptism for Joseph around 1838 once the county is known. Later 3a. McClure line (Ireland): registers.nli.ie, irishgenealogy.ie Robert Speirs's birth, about 1852, Ireland Parents are Joseph Speirs, farmer, and Hannah Johnston, confirmed by his 1892 death. The death gives his age as 40, so about 1852. The county is still unknown. Later 3b. Speirs and Hendrie line: registers.nli.ie Margaret Ward's marriage to Mr Feeney, and who Bernard Ward was Both Cavan death entries were reported by their daughter, Margaret (Maggie) Feeney. Her marriage should be in the Cavan civil or Roman Catholic registers around 1870 to 1895. The 1900 probate names Bernard Ward as the beneficiary but not his relationship, so the full Calendar of Wills entry (executor, address) is worth reading. Later 3c. Ward and McCaffery line (Ireland): IrishGenealogy.ie civil records, Roots Ireland, National Archives of Ireland wills calendar Baptisms and families at Dromore, County Tyrone Thomas McCaffrey and Sarah McPike married at Dromore in January 1864, so this is a parish to search. The Dromore Catholic registers (Clogher diocese) should have the baptisms of their children (Mary about 1865 and others). The marriage names Thomas's father Andrew McCaffrey and Sarah's father James McPike, with Sarah's mother Bridget McGraw from her 1908 death. Thomas and Sarah themselves were probably baptised about 1840 and 1841. Later 3c. Ward and McCaffery line (Ireland): Irish Catholic parish registers, Dromore (Tyrone), via the National Library of Ireland Florinda Elliot's baptism, about 1844, Co Donegal Parents are George Elliot and Nancy Murray. Elliot suggests a Protestant family, so also check Church of Ireland records. Later 3d. Gavigan line (Donegal): registers.nli.ie, PRONI ScotlandsPeople Most of the list is here: Scottish births, marriages and deaths, church registers and the 1921 census. Searching the index is free and you pay per record you open, so work down the "Do first" items before the rest.
George Finlayson's death (before 1926) The 1926 marriage calls him deceased. The tree has no death date for him. His death entry would give his age, address and cause. Do first 2. Fix gaps and puzzles in the tree: ScotlandsPeople (deaths, 1901 to 1925) Helen McKechnie's second marriage to a Mr Johnston The 1926 marriage names her as Helen Finlayson, now Johnston. Neither the marriage nor Mr Johnston is in the tree. Her daughter Helen Donald (who reported the 1950 death) is also missing. Do first 2. Fix gaps and puzzles in the tree: ScotlandsPeople (marriages, 1901 to 1925) Marriage of Joseph McClure and Margaret Cairns The most likely route to where in Ireland they came from, and to both sets of parents. Do first 3a. McClure line (Ireland): ScotlandsPeople (marriages); Irish church records if married there Maggie Hendrie's death, 18 January 1918 Would name her parents and confirm whether they are James Hendrie and Christina Cochrane. The tree has her born in Ireland but her parents born in Scotland, which is unusual. The 1915 marriage of her daughter Hannah names her as Margaret Duff, formerly Spiers, so look under Duff as well as Hendrie and Speirs. Do first 3b. Speirs and Hendrie line: ScotlandsPeople (deaths) Hugh Gavigan's birth entry, Glasgow about 1875 or 1876 The tree now shows a Glasgow birth about 1875 or 1876, from four censuses (1881, 1891, 1901, 1911). Look for a Gorbals or Calton birth entry to Hugh Gavigan and Florinda Elliot, and for a death entry for a Hugh Gavigan in Ballyshannon or Glasgow around 1870 to 1875, which would explain the Hugh baptised in June 1870. The army papers now give Govan as his parish of birth, so search the Govan parish births around 1872 to 1876. They also give ages that point to 1871 to 1874. Do first 3d. Gavigan line (Donegal): ScotlandsPeople (statutory births, Gorbals district) Daniel McKechnie's baptism, about 1837, Kilmarnock Would confirm or reject Alexander McKechnie and Mary Campbell as his parents. That link is currently marked unconfirmed. Do first 3f. Finlayson, McKechnie, Rennie and White lines: ScotlandsPeople (old parish registers) 1921 census for the Gavigan, Finlayson and Johnston households Already on the site: the McClure household (30 Franklin Street) and the Ward household. Still to get: Hugh Gavigan junior's household at 19 Orr Street (Hugh Joseph was 14), the Finlayson and Johnston household, and the McKechnie household. The 1921 census gives each person's birthplace to parish or county, so it finds siblings missing from the tree and the Irish county for the Irish-born. Do first 4. Census and wider sources: ScotlandsPeople Agnes (Nancy) Gavigan's birth, 12 October 1926, Calton Exactly 100 years old, so it may have just been released. Search under Agnes Wood Gavigan, the name on her 1948 marriage. Confirms her parents and exact address. Next 1. Helen's own household: ScotlandsPeople (births open after 100 years) Colin McKechnie's birth, 23 May 1859, Govan The 1861 Colin McKechnie file in the folder belongs to someone else. This entry would name his parents and settle the Daniel McKechnie link. Next 2. Fix gaps and puzzles in the tree: ScotlandsPeople (births) Check Margaret Cairns is William John McClure's mother The tree has her born about 1828, which would make her 43 at his birth in 1871. The 1871 birth entry and the 1881 census should show who the mother is. Next 2. Fix gaps and puzzles in the tree: ScotlandsPeople (1871 birth, 1881 census) Margaret Galloway (née Gavigan): her 1932 birth, 1953 marriage and 1983 death certificates Her parents come from family information (Colin's mother and John Galloway Jnr), and the death index backs the mother: Margaret Brock Galloway, aged 51, mother's maiden name Finlayson, Leith 1983. The ScotlandsPeople indexes have all three events with no images: born 1932 in Calton, Glasgow (644/3/802), married 1953 at Leith to John Gray Galloway (685/8/347) and died 1983 at Leith (732/798). The birth entry would name both parents, the marriage entry would give ages and both sets of parents, and the death entry would show who reported it. All can be ordered from ScotlandsPeople or seen at their centre. The 1950 electoral register lists a Margaret B. Gavigan at 19 Orr Street, who would have to be 21 or older, so the 1932 birth year is not certain. Next 2. Fix gaps and puzzles in the tree: ScotlandsPeople (order birth 644/3/802, marriage 685/8/347, death 732/798) William John McClure's birth, June 1871, Glengarnock Names his mother's maiden surname and confirms the Cairns link. Next 3a. McClure line (Ireland): ScotlandsPeople (births) Marriage of Robert Speirs and Maggie Hendrie, around 1870 to 1872 Would name both sets of parents and show whether they married in Scotland or Ireland. Next 3b. Speirs and Hendrie line: ScotlandsPeople or Irish civil records Maggie Hendrie's second marriage to a Mr Duff, 1892 to 1915 Her daughter Hannah's 1915 marriage record calls her Margaret Duff, formerly Spiers, maiden surname Hendry. She therefore remarried after Robert Speirs died in October 1892. A marriage search for Duff and Speirs (or Spiers) in Lanarkshire, probably the Airdrie or New Monkland district, would find it. Next 3b. Speirs and Hendrie line: ScotlandsPeople, statutory marriages 1892 to 1915 Hugh Gavigan junior's death, after 1950 Hugh junior, the soldier, is on the 1950 electoral register at 19 Orr Street, aged about 74, so he died after that. A death certificate gives his age at death, which would settle the conflict between the army ages (1871 to 1874) and the census ages (1875 to 1876), and names his parents. Search the Glasgow deaths index from 1951 to the early 1960s, probably Bridgeton or Calton. His wife Agnes died at Orr Street on 1 April 1953. Next 3d. Gavigan line (Donegal): ScotlandsPeople statutory deaths index, Bridgeton and Calton districts Thomas Wood's baptism, about 1801, Cadder Father of John Wood (b. 1821). Only his marriages are on the site. Next 3e. Wood, Seaton and Macmillan lines: ScotlandsPeople (old parish registers) Euphemia Robertson's birth or baptism, and her 1817 marriage to Thomas Wood Her 1879 death entry is on the site (Evie, Orkney) and names her parents, George Robertson and Rebecca Anderson. Still to find: her baptism, which may be in Orkney, and the 1817 Dundee marriage. Next 3e. Wood, Seaton and Macmillan lines: ScotlandsPeople John Wood's birth and the name of his wife (Susanna Seaton or Jane) The censuses have John Wood born in Glasgow about 1824 or 1825, not Dundee in 1821, and call his wife Susanah in 1861 and 1881 and Jane in 1871. A 1848 Girvan marriage entry and the children's birth entries would settle both. Duncan Wood (aged 2 in 1871) also needs a birth or death entry. Next 3e. Wood, Seaton and Macmillan lines: ScotlandsPeople (Girvan marriage 1848; Glasgow births) Marriage of George Finlayson and Mary Stuart, probably 17 November 1866, Edinburgh His 1873 birth entry gives the parents' marriage as 17 November 1866 at Edinburgh, with her maiden name read as Fraser or Turner, while his 1901 marriage says Stuart. The marriage would settle her surname and name her parents. She was born in Castleton, Caithness. Next 3f. Finlayson, McKechnie, Rennie and White lines: ScotlandsPeople 1881 to 1911 censuses for the McClure, Ward, Finlayson and McKechnie families The 1881 census is free on FamilySearch. Shows birthplaces for the Irish-born parents. The Wood household (1861 to 1891) and the Gavigan households (1881 to 1901) are already on the site. Next 4. Census and wider sources: FamilySearch (1881), ScotlandsPeople Elizabeth McPherson or Elizabeth McIntyre? The tree has Betsy McIntyre of Daviot with Macdonald children, but the 1864 Inverness marriage is of an Elizabeth McPherson of Daviot, aged 25, to a ferryman at Knockbain. Check the 1871 and 1881 census households at Knockbain for Jessie and Lauchlan Macdonald and who their mother was. Next 5. Things to ask the family or look for at home: ScotlandsPeople census 1871 and 1881 (Knockbain), OPR baptisms Mary-Anne (May) McClure's marriage to Mr McLean May is William McClure's sister and Moira McLean's mother. Her husband's first name is not known. A marriage entry would name him and both families, and the 1921 and later censuses may show May with her parents. The Ancestry tree gives May's birth as about 1927 and lists a younger sister, Margaret, born about 1929. Later 2. Fix gaps and puzzles in the tree: ScotlandsPeople (marriages open after 75 years), family Mary Ann Pollock's first marriage to a Hendry She married William McClure in 1917 as "Pollock or Hendry", a widow of 36. She had four Hendry daughters (about 1904 to 1915). Look for the marriage of Mary Ann Pollock and a Hendry in Glasgow about 1903, the husband's death before 1917, and her own birth about 1881 to Thomas Pollock and Margaret Lindop. Later 3a. McClure line (Ireland): ScotlandsPeople statutory marriages 1900 to 1905, deaths 1905 to 1917 Marriage of William Seaton and Mary Close, 1820s, Glasgow Susanna Seaton's parents have no records. Susanna was born in 1829. Later 3e. Wood, Seaton and Macmillan lines: ScotlandsPeople (old parish registers) Marriage of Hugh Macmillan and Mary Anne Millan, around 1850 Hugh was born in Ireland and Mary Anne in Argyll (the place is spelled "Cringrich" in the tree). Mary Macmillan was born in Johnstone about 1851. Later 3e. Wood, Seaton and Macmillan lines: ScotlandsPeople (old parish registers) Marriage of Thomas White and Sarah McDougall, around 1838 to 1840 Christina White was born in Govan around 1841. Thomas is recorded as born in Ireland in the 1841 census but in Glasgow in the 1851 census (Govan), so his birthplace needs settling. Both census entries are in the old Ancestry research and should be re-checked. Later 3f. Finlayson, McKechnie, Rennie and White lines: ScotlandsPeople Earlier Rennie and Inglis baptisms at Kinghorn, and the Dixon family of Leith John Rennie and Margaret Anderson married at Kinghorn in 1801 and their son George married Marion Inglis in 1827. Baptisms for John and Margaret, for Marion, and any older siblings of George would take the line back a generation. Andrew Dixon and Elizabeth Young, the bride's parents in 1856, have no records yet. Later 3f. Finlayson, McKechnie, Rennie and White lines: ScotlandsPeople (old parish registers: Kinghorn, Fife; and Leith) Which John Ferguson is in the 1911 census? The 1911 household on file (Lizzie Ferguson, a widow of 49, with sons Robert 17 and John 14, Franklin Street, Dalmarnock) fits John Ferguson born 22 December 1896, but the Ancestry tree has him with brothers Malcolm, James, Allan and Archie and no Robert. His marriage to Thomasina Ward at Sacred Heart in 1920, and a birth entry for 1896, would show his parents. Later 5. Things to ask the family or look for at home: ScotlandsPeople birth 1896 and marriage 1920 (Glasgow) Roots Ireland A paid search of Irish parish registers, where the Cusack baptism came from.
Ancestry Only one item on this list needs Ancestry. The English lines (Hensby, Widdows) have no open items yet, and Ancestry would be most useful there. Treat other people's trees as leads, not proof.
Order or request Records you have to ask for: copy orders, service records and cemetery lair records.
William McClure's Royal Navy service record His photos show HMS Jupiter, HMS Cockade off Korea and Hong Kong in 1951. A service record would give his dates, ships, rank and any medals. Next of kin can apply to the Ministry of Defence. The National Archives holds ship logs. Next 1. Helen's own household: Ministry of Defence (next of kin request), The National Archives Dalbeth lair record for the Gavigan stone, and the cemetery for the McClure stone The Gavigan headstone is in Section 19 of Dalbeth Cemetery (Find a Grave memorial 231588086). The lair record would show who is buried in it, which settles whether Hugh Joseph is there. The McClure stone's cemetery is only known from its file name (Linn Cemetery), so its lair record is still to find. Next 4. Census and wider sources: Glasgow City Council bereavement services Helen's own birth entry, 1955 Closed to the public, but a family member can order a certified copy. Later 1. Helen's own household: NRS copy order Margaret Doyle's first husband and Maureen's birth date Both come from family information only. A 1951 to 1952 Glasgow marriage entry for Hugh Joseph Gavigan and Margaret Doyle would name her first husband. Later 2. Fix gaps and puzzles in the tree: Family, then NRS copy order Ask the family Things only relatives can answer.