Isabel Elder, the paternal great-grandmother of Alec Miller, was born 2 December 1818 to Agnes Taylor and James Elder in St. Andrews, Fife and baptized on 13 December 1818 at St. Andrews and St. Leonards Parish. The official record says, "Isabel daughter of James Elder seaman and Agnes Taylor his wife was born 2nd Dec and baptized 13th Dec 1818 by Dr. Buist. Robert Trail and James Elder witnesses." More information about Dr. Buist, the Reverand of the St. Andrews and St. Leonards Parish who baptized Isabel in 1818, can be found at this Wikipedia site: Reverand Dr. Buist
On 28 July 1843, Isabella Elder married William Miller at St. Andrews and St. Leonards Parish in St. Andrews, Fife. In the marriage record the surname is spelled as "Millar" with an 'a' instead of an 'e.' Similarly, note that Isabel is now spelled as "Isabella." Spelling variation in names was common during these times. According to the Scotlandspeople.gov website, the way names were written in different records varied and, when searching for a person in our indexes, the spelling might differ from what you expect. This can be due to one or more of the following factors: transcription error during indexing; misspelling, phonetic spelling or other misinterpretation by registrars and clerks; deliberate or accidental misrepresentation by informants, especially in regard to ages but also with names; and name variants."
Per the 1861 Census for St. Andrews, Fife, Isabel's father James Elder was born 1794 in Anstruther, Fife, and his occupation is listed as a seaman. Isabel's mother Agnes (Taylor) Elder was born 1798 in Crail, Fife, and her occupation is listed as laundress. Anstruther is a small coastal town in Fife that was founded as a fishing village, and Crail is a village within the East Neuk ("nook") area of Fife along the most northerly part of the Firth of Forth, approximately 8 miles southeast of St. Andrews. East Neuk included the fishing villages of Anstruther, Crail, St. Monans, and Pittenweem (the parish where James was baptized), as well as several other villages. More information can be found at the following links:
In addition to providing valuable information about Isabel's parents, the 1861 Census lists Isabel Elder as 42 years old, which helps to confirm her birth year as 1818. Because her birthday was in December and the censuses were conducted in March or April, Isabel would still have been 42 at the time of the 1861 census and not yet 43. Also, the 1861 census says that Isabel is a widow, which means that her husband William died sometime between the 1851 census and the 1861 census. Upon further review of the records, it was learned that William Miller had indeed died in 1857.
According to the National Records of Scotland, Isabel Elder Miller died 7 September 1873 from phthisis pulmonalis (tuberculosis) which she had been suffering from for "about a year." At the time of her death Isabel had been living at 2 Union Street in St. Andrews, and her husband is listed as William Miller (deceased), a mason. Isabel's father, James Elder, a seamen in the Merchant Service, is listed as being present at her death, and her mother was Agnes Elder (nee Taylor), deceased.
Isabel's father James Elder died two years later on 7 July 1875. According to his death record, James had been suffering from chronic hepatitis for four months and peritonitis for four days. The record says that James had lived at Union Street in St. Andrews, was the widower of Agnes Taylor, and had been seaman in the Merchant Service. His grandson James Miller of 22 Market Street in St. Andrews was the signatory on his death record.
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