This is another one that was far from easy to track down. Whilst at first glance (and second), there appear to be some anomalies between the information contained within some of the records, I am convinced that all, with the possible/probable exception of the Birth certificate, relate to the one individual and that this individual is my direct ancestor, Janet Stewart.

I first came across the name Jane Stewart on her son, William Rogers' Birth and Marriage certificates. Both showed her as William's mother with the maiden name of Jane Stewart and importantly, provided the date of her marriage to William's father, Thomas Roger (5), i.e. 29th June 1862. This Marriage certificate revealed that Jane was a widow - therefore she had been married previously. This was, eventually, to prove crucial.

Having found Jane's marriage to Thomas, my next tasks were to find her Birth and Death records. The birth would be potentially difficult as it pre-dated the Statutory Records, but I had anticipated the death being relatively easy to find. I did, in fact, find the death of a Jane Roger fairly quickly. She was of an age that would accord with that given on her Marriage certificate, but it had taken place in a Poorhouse at a time when she had relatives living close by. Also, the names ascribed to her parents, William Stewart and Jessie Watson, were different from those shown on her Marriage certificate (to Thomas Rodger), Alexander Stewart and Janet Watson.

I then found a Birth record, in the correct year - 1834, for a Janet Stewart, born in Lyne, Peeblesshire, with parents' names of John Stewart and Janet Watson. On the whole, this seemed a bit of a red herring, but this was the only Jane(t) Stewart born at the correct time and with the same mother's name that appeared on her Marriage certificate, so I didn't dismiss it out of hand. The key, I felt, was to find Jane's first marriage and see if I could tie information from that to what I knew of her life as a 'Roger'. Thomas's Death certificate pointed the way as it recorded his wife's name as "Jane Rodger (Jane Stewart or Drummond)". So, the chances were that Jane's first marriage had been to a 'Drummond'. Interestingly, a 'Hannah Drummond' had been a witness at her marriage to Thomas. (At this stage I haven't found anything for Hannah.)

I then found a record of a Marriage between Jane Stewart and Alexander Drummond, (a Seaman), in December 1854. This record showed Jane's father to be John Stewart, formerly a Farm Servant in Peebles. I was certain now, that this Jane Stewart and the Janet Stewart whose birth in 1834 I had found, were one and the same person, particularly as her father lived in Peeblesshire. However, this still didn't prove the connection between the Jane Roger whose Death in 1892 I had found and this one.

The next stage was to have a look at the 1881 and 1891 Censuses. The 1881 Census recorded that, staying with Thomas and Jane Rodger, was their 'Son', Alexander Rodger, aged 21. That age meant that Alexander was born in 1859 or 1860, two or three years before Jane and Thomas were married, so it seemed likely that he was born from Jane's first marriage. He certainly was - I found a Birth record for Alexander in 1859, showing his parents as Alexander Drummond and Jane Stewart. So, were Alexander Drummond Jnr. and Alexander Rodger one and the same? I guessed that I might find the answer to that from Census information or Alexander Jnr's Death certificate. So, I looked for Alexander Rodger and Alexander Drummond in the 1891 and 1901 Censuses. In the 1891 Census, I could not find an appropriate Alexander Rodger, but did find an Alexander Drummond of the correct age, (31) and who had been born in the correct place, Leith. He was married to a Catherine and had three children. I could not, however, find him in the 1901 Census and I couldn't find a Marriage certificate either because, as I found out from his daughter, Margaret's Birth certificate, he had married in England.

Alexander's absence from the 1901 Census led me to speculate that he may have died between 1891 and 1901 and lo, I found a Death record for Alexander Drummond in 1894, aged 35 and married to Catherine. And now the clincher ................... The Death certificate revealed that Alexander's mother's name and maiden surname were - "Jane Rodger, previously Drummond, M/S Stewart" !!! It also showed his father was named Alexander Drummond, Seaman, (deceased).

So, what did all this prove? It proved that the Jane Stewart who married Alexander Drummond and Thomas Roger were one and the same person. Therefore, with the possible exception of the Death certificate, all of the records I had were for the correct person. It also showed, however, that wrong information regarding Jane's parents had been recorded on at least one of the records. My assumption is that the Parish record of Jane's Birth would have got her parents' names correctly - after all, they would have been present (and there are other children born to John Stewart and Margaret Watson in Lyne. So, this means that the names recorded on Jane and Thomas's Marriage certificate - Alexander Stewart and Janet Watson - are wrong. How could this have happened? Well, both of Jane's parents were dead by this time, so weren't there to make sure their names were recorded correctly - but, wouldn't Jane have known her own parents' names? You'd think so, after all, she got her father's name right on the first Marriage record (no mother's name was recorded, though). I can't explain it, but as I said earlier, I am 100% certain I have the correct person.

As to Jane's Death certificate, I am fairly sure that we do have the correct one, even though we have yet another version of her parents' names - this time, William Stewart and Jessie Watson. This error is probably easier to accept. Jane's death was reported by the Poorhouse Governor, not a family member. He almost certainly did not have first hand knowledge of Jane's parents' details and if Jane had herself been uncertain, why would he be any clearer? I was also a bit bothered that Jane had died in a Poorhouse (and described as a "pauper"), when members of her family still lived close by. However, these were different times; sometimes it was better to be looked after by the Poorhouse than by family who might ill afford to look after relatives, themselves. On the plus side, the age ascribed to Jane at her Death matches her Birth date and the age recorded in the 1891 Census. Also, she was recorded as having been the widow of Thomas Roger and our Thomas had died the previous year. Finally, her mother's maiden name was still recorded as 'Watson'. So, we have a Jane Roger, of the correct age, living in the correct area, with a maiden name of Stewart and a mother with a maiden name of Watson ...... and no other Death record for a Jane Roger at any other time with anything approaching the correct information ............ it has to be her !!

KEY EVENTS AND DATES

Birth - 23rd October 1834

Janet Stewart was born in Lyne, Peebles. Her father was recorded as John Stewart and her mother as Margaret Watson.

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Marriage (1st) - 26th December 1854

Jane married Alexander Drummond in Leith. Both were living at 30 Citadel, North Leith, although Alexander was described as a Seaman and probably lived away from home much of the time. Her father's name was given as John Stewart.

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28th August 1859

Jane's son, Alexander Drummond, was born at 20 Sandport Street, Leith. His father, Alexander, reported the birth.

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1859 to 18661

At some time during this period Jane's first husband, Alexander Drummond, must have died. So far I have been unable to find a record of his death, but he may have died at sea.

1861 Census

Jane Drummond, presumably newly widowed, is recorded as living at the home of the Young family at Pitcairn Green, Redgorton, Perthshire. She is aged 27 and her place of birth is recorded as Edinburgh, St Cuthberts. Also living there is her young son, Alexander Drummond, aged 1.

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Marriage (2nd) - 27th June 1862

At the age of 28, Jane married for a second time. Her new husband was Thomas Roger. They married at 70 Tolbooth Wynd, Jane's home. Jane was a Domestic Servant and her parents were recorded as Alexander Stewart, a Brewery Foreman and Janet Watson, both deceased. At the time, Thomas was living at 56 Yardheads, Leith.

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1863 /1864

Jane's daughter, Mary, was born during this period in South Leith.

1865 / 1866

Jane's son, Thomas, was born during this period in South Leith.

15th August 1867

Jane's son, William Cochrane Rogers, was born at 19 Laurie's Close, Giles Street, Leith.

1873 /1874

Jane's son, James, was born during this period in South Leith.

1881 Census

The Census records Jane Rodger as living at 10 Graham Street, Leith, with her husband, Thomas Rodger. Jane was aged 47. Also living there were her children Alexander (21), Mary (17), Thomas (15), William (13) and James (7).

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26th April 1889

Jane's son, William, married Isabella Fraser Brand Campbell at St. Thomas Manse, South Leith.

1891 Census

The Census records Jane Rodgers as living in 8 Pitt Street, St. Cuthbert's, Leith, with her husband, Thomas Rodgers. Jane was aged 56. Their son, James, an Iron Moulder, was still living with them as was her granddaughter, Alexandrina, aged 1. See Thomas Roger's record for more information on Alexandrina.

Also living at the same address, although according to the Census Enumerator, in a different household, were her son, William, with his wife, Isabella, and their daughter 'Meggie', my Granny McKay.

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2nd October 1891

Jane's second husband, Thomas, died in 15 Trafalgar Lane, Leith. Jane's name was recorded as - "Jane Rodger, (Jane Stewart or Drummond)".

Death - 16th December 1892

Jane died, aged 58, in the South Leith Poorhouse. She was described as a Pauper and the widow of Thomas Roger, Labourer. Like Thomas, her husband, she died from Bronchitis, from which she had been suffering for two months. Her parents were recorded as William Stewart and Jessie Watson, but as the Death was reported by a non-family member (John Pringle, the Poorhouse Governor), there must be a question mark over its accuracy.

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28th July 1948

Jane is mentioned on her son William's Death certificate as Jane Rodger, m/s Stewart.