Hi, Thanks for that, especially the marriage certificate- it is very hard to read but it's quite interesting that they all appear to be illiterate- hence the various spellings of 'Susanna' and 'Rafferty' no doubt- in fact Rafferty is spelt 2 different ways on the cert alone!
I'm a little confused still with the Irish bit; Daniel & Mary were Irish, Susannah was Irish, James was Irish, was Mary Scottish or Irish? Do you have any other copies of birth/ death certificates that could pinpoint this? I'm getting quite confused now.I've been on Scotlands people but didn't get very far, maybe I'll try again, my
My family are dotted about the place, my mum and immediate family are in Scotland and I have family in London (my father's side), a sister & nephew in Canada and I live in the West Midlands(UK) with my family.
Ceri

Hello Mcanlen,

Here is another we tip on your Rafferty's, this is a 1861. census index, not the full census you would need to purchase the full census from Scotlandspeople, to get relationships of the people concerned.

Girvan, Ayr. 1861.

Rafferty Daniel, age 50 years, born Kirkoswald,
Rafferty Mary, age 42 years, born Ireland,
Moorhead Susanna, age 83 years, born Ireland,
Templeton Thomas, age 70 years, born Ireland,
Douglas Neil, age 57 years, born Ireland,
Dodds John, age 55 years, born Ireland,
McCulloch James, age 26 years, born Girvan,
Rafferty Agnes, age 28 years, born Ireland,
Rafferty Mary Jane, age 3 years, born Girvan,
Rafferty James, age 1 year, born Girvan.

I am quite certain this is your Daniel Rafferty, although he is i think mistakenly down on the census as born Kirkoswald, which is in Ayrshire, instead of Ireland, his wife Mary, and her mother Susanna Moorhead, ie Muirhead.

I also think that Agnes Rafferty, is their daughter in law, wife of Thomas Rafferty, who is not with them, and their two grandchildren.

The childrens births were as this Mary Jean Rafardy, born 25/Dec/1857. Girvan, Ayr, to parents Thomas Rafardy, and Agnes Mcloon.

James Raverty, born 08/Sep/1859. Girvan, Ayr, to parents Thomas Raverty, and Agnes McLune.

As i stated you would have to look at the original census to see relationships.

Regards,
Jonn.

Hi there,
Thanks for that, I just purchased the records & it list Daniel as head of the family, Mary as wife, & Susanna, Thomas, Neil,John & James as boarders. Agnes, Mary Jane & James Rafferty live in the next address, she is listed as married but no husband appears. But I still can't find any death cert for Daniel, obviously he was still alice in 1861, but he is proving hard to track down!! He had already passed when Mary died in 1899, so it cuts down the search field a little bit!!

Hi there,
I have a few print out from Scotlands People, from memory I have most of the census returns on which James & Susannah appear on aswell as there death certs. On all of the census papers they are listed as being from Ireland, but unfortuantly the death certs don't list country of birth. And since they were born in Ireland I don't have any birth certs. I have attached their death certs for you, they died in 1920 & 1921.
As far as I am aware, Daniel & Mary (Muirhead) Rafferty & family are all from Ireland aswell as James Brown & his parents Joseph & Margaret ( Anderson) Brown. The 1st generation of Scot's were James & Susannah's children.
I just wish Irish heritage was as easy to research as Scottish!
Regards
Colene

Had to post the certs separatly because the computer wouldn't let me upload them at the same time! Here is Susannahs

Sorry for all these posts!! Just found Daniel & Mary Rafferty on the 1871 census, & they are both listed as being from Ireland,& this time they are listed as Raverty & Susannah ( Mary's mother) is listed as Moorhouse, no wonder it's proving diffcult to trace them, you never know what name to look for!!

Hi there, Just found Daniel Rafferty's ( Susannah's father) death certificate after a long time searching for it! The reason it would never come up in my searches is because it had been mis-transcribed as David Raverty, although it clearly says Daniel when you look at the original document, married to Mary Muirhead, so it is definitly the right one. He died on May the 7th 1880, in Dounepark, Girvan, of chronic brochitis. His parents are listed as John & Helen Raverty, & from what I can make out her maiden name was Neill

Hi, well done for finding it- I must admit it does get frustrating all the mis-spelled names. I've been on scotland's people again but starting this end of my mum's roots in Anstruther and there's been a few headaches there trying work out names etc. I have found the link via marriage/ death certs from my grandparents (James & Janet Brown nee Myles) to Daniel Rafferty, if you're interested I will attach them so you can follow my link to Daniel.
keep up the excellent work!
Ceri
PS any chance of a copy of the Daniel's certificate(please)?

Hi Mcanlen, just had a chat with my mum over the Rafferty/Brown family, she wasn't surprised by the Irish connection and believes the Brown's came from Galway and were very much roguish. She told me a tale on how they would lure ships onto the rocks to steal its cargo and once thought they would get Irish Whskey ended up with a tonne of soap!! She also mentioned that they were very agricultural although her granddad- Thomas Brown (James' & Susanna's son) ened up working for the GPO.
hope that's helpful- I know tracking the Irish side will be nigh on impossible but it's a start.
Ceri

Hi Ceri,
That would be great,had to laugh at the story about the whiskey, maybe thats where I got the taste for it!!
Another reason I couldn't find Daniel originally is because they have his age listed wrong aswell, he is listed as 57 but I think he would have been closer to 67.
It's a shame that other countries haven't got a website similar to Scotlands People, would make things so much easier!! Here in NZ, you can search for the records on the internet, but it costs you $20 NZD to get a print out & you have no idea if you have the right person until you get the document in the mail!! Very frustrating & expensive at times too!!
Regards
Colene