Greetings,
I'm putting this out in case anyone has any good ideas for another place to
look.
John Calderwood and Jean Bicket were married at Fenwick in 1832 and came to
the U.S. (West Galway, NY) immediately thereafter. John died in Scot
County, Iowa, in 1886 "in his 89th year".
That much we know. We do not know his birth date. We do not know his
parents names. We do not know if he was actually born at Fenwick or moved
there from a neighboring parish sometime earlier. I've checked all the old
parish registers and other church records I can find. Nothing. I've checked
with Scott County, Iowa, and the State of Iowa. No death certificate.
There were other Calderwoods from Fenwick who settled at West Galway, but no
record shows any mention of how they might have been related. (I've found
enough to know they would be cousins at most, because there was a John
Calderwood in the other family.) I found a brief death notice, but it gives no
indication of John's origins. I've corresponded with Scottish descendants
of the most likely family of origin from Fenwick -- the Calderwoods who
lived at Blackbyre -- and they agree he "might" be from their line, but no
proof. I don't know any direct male descendants of the Blackbyre group, so
there doesn't seem to be the DNA option. (The Blackbyre Calderwoods seem to
have originated from a Calderwood family at Magbiehill in Stewarton,
mid-18th century.)
The only indication we have is the naming pattern, which indicates John's
parents' names were probably James & Margaret, which would fit the Blackbyre
group. The naming pattern fits on the maternal side of the equation (i.e.
Jean Bicket's side), and their third son was named John, so it seems they
did use the traditional pattern.
Does anyone see any options I've missed? Anyone with any connections to
the Blackbyre and/or West Galway Calderwoods have any additional clues that
might help?
Ken Cuthbertson
Albuquerque, NM