Mertz Genealogy - Person Sheet
Mertz Genealogy - Person Sheet
NameJames McDougall 
Birth17 March 1796, Renfrew, Scotland
DeathRenfrew, Scotland
FatherNeil McDougall
MotherKatharin Smith (1774-)
Spouses
Birth22 May 1796, Renfrew, Scotland
DeathRenfrew, Scotland
FatherDaniel Montgomery
MotherMargaret Alexander
Marriage13 April 1816, Renfrew, Scotland
Discrepant Facts notes for James McDougall
The 1841 Scotland Census shows the household of Alexr (1797) and Bell (1796) McDougall and present there were James (1839), Janet (1823), Macon (1834), Robert (1821) and Susana (1825). This clearly is the right family, why were the parents named Alexander and Belle?
Also present at least that night was Robert Montgomery born abt 1820.
Also present at least that night was Robert Montgomery born abt 1820.
Notes for James McDougall
At some point, after learning so much about the McDougalls but nothing about their Scottish roots, it occurred to me that I had never checked my Mormon (LDS) Church sources for the McDougalls — again because for a long time I wasn’t certain that Robert was in fact Isabella’s father and I really knew so little about the family.
But after becoming confident that I had correctly identified the immigrant family of Robert McDougall, and knowing they were of Scottish origin, I decided to search the Mormon’s International Genealogical Index (IGI) -- a source I don’t often refer to because I’ve just never been comfortable with what it really is. The IGI purports to be citations of specific events — births, deaths, marriages, etc. Some in fact are actual citations extracted from actual church records, but others are just events as said to be so by any individual who cares to make a submission and you don’t know the authenticity of such entries.
I almost immediately found an IGI record of the birth on 5 Dec 1847 of Isabella Sharp McDougall to Robert McDougall and Isabella Alexander McDougall at Paisley Abbey, Renfrew, Scotland. This was a very promising find.
–Isabel’s birth year varies among all the sources I had found to date. Her 1912 obituary says she was 62 (approximately 1850 birth), the 1860 Census says she was 14 (approximately 1846 birth), the 1870 Census says 21 (approximately 1849) the 1880 Census says 24 (thus 1856 — either a simple error and they meant to say 34 [1846] or Isabella wasn’t being truthful, the 1900 Census perpetuates this myth and says 42 born Sep 1857 and the 1910 Census says 62 (1848).
–Isabella’s tombstone says she was born 5 Sep 1848 so that doesn’t match this birth record exactly but resonates with the 5 Dec 1847 date as given there. It may well be that the McDougalls never did accurately remember actual birth dates and having left their homeland may have had no exact record of it.
–The fact that she was Isabella Sharp McDougall born to Isabella Alexander McDougall provides names to go with the known middle initials of these two women. A rather large coincidence if that is all it was. And James McDougall names a daughter Isabella Alexander.
–When next I found that Robert McDougall and Isabella Alexander had one more child, James, born 21 Aug 1845, I felt that IGI was giving me, in this case, very reliable information.
And the exciting news is that these IGI records about the McDougalls are actual church records from Paisley Abbey and I have been able to get the actual records on microfilm and study them in detail. Here is the exact wording of the marriage record of Robert and Isabella and the two birth records cited:
–”2 Dec 1844. Robert McDougall Iron Moulder and Isabella Alexander both residing in Johnstone in this parish have been regularly proclaimed in order to marriage and no objection made. Married at Johnstone 6 Dec by the Revd John Clapperton Minister in Johnstone.”
–”Born 5 Sep 1847, baptized 7 Dec — Isabella Sharp McDougall d.l. (I think it means daughter, lawful) of Robert moulder of Johnstone and Isabella Alexander.”
– ”Born 21 Aug 1845, baptized 4 Dec — James McDougall s.l. (I think it means son, lawful) of Robert moulder of Johnstone and Isabella Alexander.”
Moreover, I believe that I have been able to identify both Robert’s and Isabella’s parents and grandparents and one set of Robert’s great-grandparents. I need to hedge these findings just a little and that is because for every name that comes up, there at times were several people in the Paisley Abbey records of that name. And so, if you see that a Robert McDougall was born to parents James and Elizabeth, there is nothing that with certainty makes it clear that it is the right Robert McDougall that you have found. So, it’s tricky.
However, as you will see, people’s middle names help. There were two Isabella Alexanders of about the right age, but the mother of one of them was named Sharp — the name Isabella who marries Robert and moves to Columbia, SC gives to her daughter. That seems pretty convincing evidence to me that I have zeroed in on the right birth record of the right Isabella.
And another clue comes from studying all the children a couple bears and what they name them. Robert and Isabella name their two children James and Isabella. I believe that Robert’s father was named James and that Isabella’s mother was named Isabella also. It does come together like a jig-saw puzzle and I feel pretty confident in setting forth this ancestry — but again there is no 100% proof of any of this.
But here are the additional documented church records I have found on this family in Scotland.
Isabel Sharp (McDougall) Lawther’s Parents and Grandparents
–Robert McDougall was born 7 Apr 1821 to James McDougall and Elizabeth Montgomery, who had married 13 Apr 1816. I believe this is the right Robert because he names his only son James and this birth date is approximately consistent with his age as given in every Census in which he is found (all of which imply late 1819 or early 1820). I also soon found records for seven other children of James McDougall and Elizabeth Montgomery: Catharin Smith, Neil, Janet, Susan King, Alexander, Mary Stewart and James. On several of them, it is noted that James is from Johnstone, just one of the many small villages served by Paisley Abbey so no small coincidence that James and his presumed son Robert are both from there.
But of course it was troubling that there was no one named John Augustus Malcolm Montgomery born in 1834, nothing even close. So then I searched for a birth record of Malcolm McDougall and when I found that he was born in 1834 (like the Census implies) to James Dougal and Elizabeth Montgomery — everything came together. The typo had hidden the record at first — but when found proved that James and Elizabeth were indeed Robert’s parents and that Malcolm of Columbia, SC was indeed his brother.
–Isabel Alexander was born 20 Oct 1821 to Henry Alexander and Isobelle Sharp, who had been married 13 Aug 1813. I am very sure that this is the right Isabel since she names her daughter after her mother, Isabel Sharp. (Note the various spellings here are as they appear in church records and simply reflect the common variations of the day.) Isabel and Henry’s other children are: Henry, Janet, Ann, Robert, Margaret, John and Henry. Henry was a collier and lived in Johnstone.
Isabel Sharp (McDougall) Lawther’s Grandparents and Great-Grandparents
–James McDougall was born 17 Mar 1796 to Neil McDougall and Katharin Smith, who had been married 9 Nov 1793. This seems to be the right match-up since the James we are concerned with names a daughter Catharin Smith and a son Neil.
–Elizabeth Montgomrie was born 22 May 1796 to Daniel Montgomrie and Margaret Alexander. [I don’t know of any familial connection between Margaret Alexander and the Alexanders who are Isabella’s family.] This is possibly the weakest identification I have of all the grandparents. The only name Elizabeth uses of her parent’s is she names a son Alexander. But in this case, I have gone with this identification because she was the only Elizabeth Montgomerie born in about the right time in this church. I have also noticed that all of these marriages are between a bride and groom with surprisingly similar birth dates. The 3 Mar 1795 marriage record of Elizabeth’s parents reads: ”Daniel Montgomery, sargent in the Glasgow regiment and Margaret Alexander of the parish”.
–Henry Alexander was born not long before he was baptized on 27 Feb 1791 by Henry Alexander and Ann Jamison who were married 25 May 1776. The younger Henry names children Henry and Ann so this lineage seems correct.
–Isobel Sharp was born 20 Feb 1785 to John Sharp and Janet Duglass. Isobel names children Janet and John so this lineage seems correct.
Great-Great-Grandparents
–Of these four grandparents identified, the only set of great-grandparents I can be at all sure of are that Katharin Smith was born 25 Oct 1774 to James Smith and Mary Stewart who were married 14 Sep 1771. These names come down through the line, especially note that James McDougall and Elizabeth Montgomery name a daughter Mary Stewart. James and Mary also name a son Houston which is a name (family name?) that crops up three generations later in the person of John Houston McDougall, Robert’s nephew, who eventually moves to Wilmington.
The only discordant note in all of this is that there is some family tradition among the Lawthers that the McDougalls were from Oban — and Renfrewshire (Renfrew County) and Paisley Abbey and Johnstone are in the greater Glasgow area and most certainly not Oban. But I think the evidence is too overwhelming that the Wilmington McDougalls were from Paisley, Renfrew.
But after becoming confident that I had correctly identified the immigrant family of Robert McDougall, and knowing they were of Scottish origin, I decided to search the Mormon’s International Genealogical Index (IGI) -- a source I don’t often refer to because I’ve just never been comfortable with what it really is. The IGI purports to be citations of specific events — births, deaths, marriages, etc. Some in fact are actual citations extracted from actual church records, but others are just events as said to be so by any individual who cares to make a submission and you don’t know the authenticity of such entries.
I almost immediately found an IGI record of the birth on 5 Dec 1847 of Isabella Sharp McDougall to Robert McDougall and Isabella Alexander McDougall at Paisley Abbey, Renfrew, Scotland. This was a very promising find.
–Isabel’s birth year varies among all the sources I had found to date. Her 1912 obituary says she was 62 (approximately 1850 birth), the 1860 Census says she was 14 (approximately 1846 birth), the 1870 Census says 21 (approximately 1849) the 1880 Census says 24 (thus 1856 — either a simple error and they meant to say 34 [1846] or Isabella wasn’t being truthful, the 1900 Census perpetuates this myth and says 42 born Sep 1857 and the 1910 Census says 62 (1848).
–Isabella’s tombstone says she was born 5 Sep 1848 so that doesn’t match this birth record exactly but resonates with the 5 Dec 1847 date as given there. It may well be that the McDougalls never did accurately remember actual birth dates and having left their homeland may have had no exact record of it.
–The fact that she was Isabella Sharp McDougall born to Isabella Alexander McDougall provides names to go with the known middle initials of these two women. A rather large coincidence if that is all it was. And James McDougall names a daughter Isabella Alexander.
–When next I found that Robert McDougall and Isabella Alexander had one more child, James, born 21 Aug 1845, I felt that IGI was giving me, in this case, very reliable information.
And the exciting news is that these IGI records about the McDougalls are actual church records from Paisley Abbey and I have been able to get the actual records on microfilm and study them in detail. Here is the exact wording of the marriage record of Robert and Isabella and the two birth records cited:
–”2 Dec 1844. Robert McDougall Iron Moulder and Isabella Alexander both residing in Johnstone in this parish have been regularly proclaimed in order to marriage and no objection made. Married at Johnstone 6 Dec by the Revd John Clapperton Minister in Johnstone.”
–”Born 5 Sep 1847, baptized 7 Dec — Isabella Sharp McDougall d.l. (I think it means daughter, lawful) of Robert moulder of Johnstone and Isabella Alexander.”
– ”Born 21 Aug 1845, baptized 4 Dec — James McDougall s.l. (I think it means son, lawful) of Robert moulder of Johnstone and Isabella Alexander.”
Moreover, I believe that I have been able to identify both Robert’s and Isabella’s parents and grandparents and one set of Robert’s great-grandparents. I need to hedge these findings just a little and that is because for every name that comes up, there at times were several people in the Paisley Abbey records of that name. And so, if you see that a Robert McDougall was born to parents James and Elizabeth, there is nothing that with certainty makes it clear that it is the right Robert McDougall that you have found. So, it’s tricky.
However, as you will see, people’s middle names help. There were two Isabella Alexanders of about the right age, but the mother of one of them was named Sharp — the name Isabella who marries Robert and moves to Columbia, SC gives to her daughter. That seems pretty convincing evidence to me that I have zeroed in on the right birth record of the right Isabella.
And another clue comes from studying all the children a couple bears and what they name them. Robert and Isabella name their two children James and Isabella. I believe that Robert’s father was named James and that Isabella’s mother was named Isabella also. It does come together like a jig-saw puzzle and I feel pretty confident in setting forth this ancestry — but again there is no 100% proof of any of this.
But here are the additional documented church records I have found on this family in Scotland.
Isabel Sharp (McDougall) Lawther’s Parents and Grandparents
–Robert McDougall was born 7 Apr 1821 to James McDougall and Elizabeth Montgomery, who had married 13 Apr 1816. I believe this is the right Robert because he names his only son James and this birth date is approximately consistent with his age as given in every Census in which he is found (all of which imply late 1819 or early 1820). I also soon found records for seven other children of James McDougall and Elizabeth Montgomery: Catharin Smith, Neil, Janet, Susan King, Alexander, Mary Stewart and James. On several of them, it is noted that James is from Johnstone, just one of the many small villages served by Paisley Abbey so no small coincidence that James and his presumed son Robert are both from there.
But of course it was troubling that there was no one named John Augustus Malcolm Montgomery born in 1834, nothing even close. So then I searched for a birth record of Malcolm McDougall and when I found that he was born in 1834 (like the Census implies) to James Dougal and Elizabeth Montgomery — everything came together. The typo had hidden the record at first — but when found proved that James and Elizabeth were indeed Robert’s parents and that Malcolm of Columbia, SC was indeed his brother.
–Isabel Alexander was born 20 Oct 1821 to Henry Alexander and Isobelle Sharp, who had been married 13 Aug 1813. I am very sure that this is the right Isabel since she names her daughter after her mother, Isabel Sharp. (Note the various spellings here are as they appear in church records and simply reflect the common variations of the day.) Isabel and Henry’s other children are: Henry, Janet, Ann, Robert, Margaret, John and Henry. Henry was a collier and lived in Johnstone.
Isabel Sharp (McDougall) Lawther’s Grandparents and Great-Grandparents
–James McDougall was born 17 Mar 1796 to Neil McDougall and Katharin Smith, who had been married 9 Nov 1793. This seems to be the right match-up since the James we are concerned with names a daughter Catharin Smith and a son Neil.
–Elizabeth Montgomrie was born 22 May 1796 to Daniel Montgomrie and Margaret Alexander. [I don’t know of any familial connection between Margaret Alexander and the Alexanders who are Isabella’s family.] This is possibly the weakest identification I have of all the grandparents. The only name Elizabeth uses of her parent’s is she names a son Alexander. But in this case, I have gone with this identification because she was the only Elizabeth Montgomerie born in about the right time in this church. I have also noticed that all of these marriages are between a bride and groom with surprisingly similar birth dates. The 3 Mar 1795 marriage record of Elizabeth’s parents reads: ”Daniel Montgomery, sargent in the Glasgow regiment and Margaret Alexander of the parish”.
–Henry Alexander was born not long before he was baptized on 27 Feb 1791 by Henry Alexander and Ann Jamison who were married 25 May 1776. The younger Henry names children Henry and Ann so this lineage seems correct.
–Isobel Sharp was born 20 Feb 1785 to John Sharp and Janet Duglass. Isobel names children Janet and John so this lineage seems correct.
Great-Great-Grandparents
–Of these four grandparents identified, the only set of great-grandparents I can be at all sure of are that Katharin Smith was born 25 Oct 1774 to James Smith and Mary Stewart who were married 14 Sep 1771. These names come down through the line, especially note that James McDougall and Elizabeth Montgomery name a daughter Mary Stewart. James and Mary also name a son Houston which is a name (family name?) that crops up three generations later in the person of John Houston McDougall, Robert’s nephew, who eventually moves to Wilmington.
The only discordant note in all of this is that there is some family tradition among the Lawthers that the McDougalls were from Oban — and Renfrewshire (Renfrew County) and Paisley Abbey and Johnstone are in the greater Glasgow area and most certainly not Oban. But I think the evidence is too overwhelming that the Wilmington McDougalls were from Paisley, Renfrew.