Hugh Gordon Smith was born on the 11th May 1931 and although he knew he was adopted ( and knew the names of his biological parents) tracing the ancestry has not been straightforward.
His biological parents (Alexander GORDON 1906- and Elizabeth Keppie McNAIR - see McNAIR page ) were married on 11th July 1930. Alexander GORDON was 24 years of age thus making his birth year 1906:
Sadly, Elizabeth Keppie McNAIR died on the 3rd March 1932, barely ten months after baby Hugh was born:
This is a photo of Jimmy and Kate SMITH with their son Chris (right hand side), and baby Hugh. The girl on the left is thought to be May STODDART (niece).
Alexander GORDON remarried in 1940 and had another daughter called Dianne. He died in Leith, Edinburgh in 1975.
Alexander GORDON's parents (as confirmed by birth, marriage and death certificates) were Hugh GORDON and Annabella Hodgins. They married in 1889 on the 31st December:
Hugh GORDON and Annabella Hodgins were only 18 when they were married. Hugh's parents were listed as Hugh GORDON and Mary Ann DUKE (deceased) - but this is where the ancestry becomes complicated! There was no marriage listed in Scotland for Hugh Gordon and Mary Ann DUKE; nor was there a marriage in England.
As Hugh and Annabella married in 1898, I tracked the census of 1901 to try and extract more details. The 1901 census has the couple living at 13 Canongate, Edinburgh and Hugh's birth is listed as England. Given his age on the census (not always accurately recorded!) he would have been born in England in 1871.
On the 1911 census (the first on which their son Alexander appears) the family is living at 35 Milton Street, Canongate. The older children have left home, but their daughter Nellie (Helen) and son Hugh are still living at home. They now have two other children William aged 8 and Alexander aged 4.
I hit a brick wall with Hugh Gordon, born in 1871 in England. He moved to Scotland and was married there (to Annabella Hodgins) and his parents were Hugh Gordon and Mary Ann Duke(s)(Mary Ann was recorded as deceased by this time). His death certificate (also Scotland in 1930) stated the same parents (Hugh Gordon deceased and Mary Ann Duke(s) deceased). Try as I might (and I tracked down every single Hugh Gordon born in England, trawled through census returns etc and disproved every one of them as the parentage was incorrect or I found a variety of different death certificates and census returns that did not match with the marriage and death information).
His father was a Shoemaker and this did not change as this is stated on both the marriage and death certificates. In desperation, I assumed Hugh's first name was correct but tried a variety of spellings for Gordon, Gordan. Gorden etc but to no avail. One evening I tried searching for the first name of Hugh AND Shoemaker in the occupation field and I came across a Hugh GORMAN who was a shoe maker. On further investigation, I found that the dates seemed about right for my Hugh Gordon. I cross checked Hugh GORMAN marrying Mary Ann Duke(s) and struck lucky! Hugh Gorman married Mary Ann Duke in 1869 in Greenwich.
Their son Hugh was born in Deptford, Kent on the 20th of January 1871 (so the area in England is now known, but not confirmed until the release of the 1921 census!)
Hugh GORMAN's father is listed as Daniel GORMAN, physician.
Mary Ann's father is William James DUKE, shoemaker.
For more on the GORMAN ancestry - see GORMAN page.
More on Hugh GORDON and Annabella HODGINS
Hugh and Annabella had seven children:
George GORDON (1889-1961)
Helen (Nellie) GORDON (1890- 1970)
May GORDON (1893 - 1971)
Hugh GORDON (1894 - 1943)
Annabella GORDON (1898 - 1900)
William F GORDON (1903 - 1983)
Alexander GORDON (1906 - 1975)
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