Parents of William MacKay born c1817

[Teochter]

A big welcome to the many new members who've joined recently. You'll find that our members are helpful and love dealing with mysterious ancestors.
I have the impression that many of you haven't used online forums very much in the past, so can I draw your attention to the message HERE (https://www.british-genealogy.com/threads/80524-Helping-us-to-help-you)?
It provides a few pointers for getting the most out your queries.

Also, it helps if you add an indication of your location on your account page, even if it's just the country or county - it helps if we know that there's no point in advising you to visit archives in London or Edinburgh, for example, if you're living in Ontario, Sydney or Beijing!

Hi Lesley (et al)
I've just joined this site today, and I'm researching my family history: my name is Ian McKay and I am in Liverpool, in the UK. My family name was spelled MacKay, until the 1851 Liverpool census; however, it is spelled McKay today, because, in that 1851 census, a lazy clerk couldn't be bothered to include the letter 'a' in his/her enumeration!

I have been researching my family tree for a number of years now; and, I have already got back as far as my g/g/g/grandparents, Robert & Janet MacKay (Nee' Davidson). Their home bailiwick was in the village of Reay, Caithness, in the Scottish Highlands. Their son, William MacKay, moved from the highlands down to Chester, in England, around the middle 1840's; where he met, and married, my g/g/grandmother Eliza Jones (Wales).
I know that William was born in the year 1817, in Reay, but I don't know his exact date of birth. so, any help from the forum users will be gratefully received.

[christanel]

Welcome to the Brit-Gen forums
I have moved your post to the Caithness forum as you are seeking help with William MacKay born c1817 and it will receive more attention there. :smile5:
I have also given it the title Parents of William MacKay born c1817

Christina

[Teochter]

Hi Christanel

Many thanks for your kind assistance.

Cheers
Ian McKay M A

[Lesley Robertson]

According to Scotlands Peoples (free) index HERE (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/), William Mackay was born or baptised to Robert and Janet on 23 Dec 1817 in Reay. To get any further will cost 6 credits so you'll have to look it up yourself. Be aware that the amount of info in Church registers from that time was defined by the whim of the Minister involved. It must mention both parents since they're both on the index (some Ministers only mentioned the father), it may say where Dad was working, it may say who the child was named for, it may say when the baby was born.

BTW the spelling of scottish surnames before WW1 was a fuzzy business - people gave their name to the Parish Clerk who wrote down what he heard. Even though most scots were literate then, the social difference would not have encouraged checking things like spelling. Often the Minister did his own recording, and if he came from an area with a different regional accent, "interesting" spelling variations turned up. There's no difference between Mac/Mc.

[Teochter]

Hello Lesley
Thank you for your message, I appreciate you taking the time. I have quite a few credits, in credit; so, I am more than happy about the six credits cost you mention. However, as I'm a newcomer to the forum, I would be grateful if you could tell me just how, and where, I can access the information you mention?

Best wishes

Ian McKay M A
http://Ian-Mckay.com

[Lesley Robertson]

Go to Scotlands People (the website of the National Records of Scotland) by clicking on the purple HERE in the first line of my message. Since you say that you have credits for them, I assume that you have an account.
Select "search our records", then "advanced people search", then "church records", "births and baptisms", feed it William's name, the parish and the year. You'll get a table with everyone that fits your search criteria. If you want the record, click the blue tag. The system will remember that you've seen it and let you look without further cost in future, but I usually also save the files to my own HD.

If you don't have an account with them, you have to open one and buy a few credits before you can get past the search table.
I've left a collection howtos and wheretos at the top of the General Scottish Forum HERE (https://www.british-genealogy.com/forums/23-General-Scottish-Family-History)