John Dumbreck's Family

My own findings so far.

John Dumbreck was married to Margaret Stevenson, and had a family with her. Margaret died before official death records began but who she was married to and two children were discovered from legal documents.

No marriage record has been found so it has to be presumed to have been sometime prior to 1819, when the first child was born. This legal information also stated that John had been married twice since the death of Margaret and had other children. (I shall look for these children in due course and by discovering information on them, I should be able to see who the other two wives were).

I also discovered, from looking at the actual Old Parish Records, from the births of his children with Margaret Stevenson, that he was at Cumbernauld Inn. This would suggest that he had moved in to the property vacated by William Stevenson, his father-in-law. John Dumbreck was then at what looked like 'Carbeans' which was still in the Parish of Cumbernauld. He was then an Inn Keeper at Airdrie in 1828.

I searched the Airdrie Census for 1841 but drew a blank. I have either missed them or they had, by then, moved. Their son, Charles, was born in Edinburgh, so it is possible that the family were there during 1841 or in the Glasgow area.

John re-married after Margaret's death, Margaret Beaton. I looked on the Glasgow census for 1851 and found the family which gave more information on John, which was until now, not verified.

OBJECT. VII. for C. Dumbreck. The objector’s father, since the death of his mother, has been twice married, and has a family by each wife. The objector and his brother John have been totally neglected by him, and their provisions under the settlement of their maternal grandfather appropriated as above mentioned.

From legal document

Unfortunately the 1841 census gives us little detail but it looks as if the second wife was the above Janet but it could as easily be a sister.

This information shows that he was married to Margaret Beaton at this time and the child they had together was called Mary. This may be a clue to whom John's parents were. As there was only one female child with Margaret Stevenson, another female child may have been called after John's mother. Now knowing where he was born and roughly when (census ages are not always exact) this leads me to suspect that his parents were John Dumbreck and Mary Livingston. They had a son called John christened 8 April 1792 at Linlithgow. He could well have been christened long after his birth and perhaps with other siblings.

This census also shows Charles, a son from his marriage to Margaret Stevenson. It also states that he is 19 and born in Edinburgh. This means he was born about 1832 and adds weight to my finding a death certificate which fits with him, although the parents were not recorded.

The visitor, Alex Stewart, was obviously a friend of John's. It seems that John had a family connection with a Stewart family from Stirling.

I have not been able to find a death certificate for John Dumbreck so I suspect that he may have died prior to 1855. The next search will be for Margaret Beaton Dumbreck's death certificate to see if she died after 1855. I will also have a look at subsequent census information as well as trying to establish where John and his family were in 1841.

In 1861 Mary Dumbreck is visiting a Murdo and Mary Beaton at Glenleedle, Kilfinichen and Kilvickeon, Argyll. Murdo is a labourer and they have a one year old son, Duncan. This would have to be the family of Margaret Beaton.