BMD Registers: McIlhagga, Wade and Linton

On the Internet there are many indexes of names on which one may possibly find an ancestor. The golden rule, however, is that one should never accept such a name at face value.  Always check with the original entry, usually that of a BMD - a Birth, a Marriage or a Death.  Registers of these 'vital events' are usually correct - but not always!  If transcription mistakes can be made in Indexes, the accuracy of registers is only as good as the information given to the registrar.  I came across a case recently in my own family tree.

My great-great-grandfather, William McIlhagga, had eight children, the third of whom was Jane.  She married Robert Wade and had seven children, the youngest of whom was Crawford. It was Crawford who, in 1909, gave notice to the Registrar in Greenock, Scotland, of the death of his mother.  A death register records the names of the deceased's parents.  William's name is correct, though his occupation of Labourer is not.  He was a tenant farmer and a weaver.  The name of Jane's mother is given as Agnes Linton.  She was in fact Agnes McCosh.  'Young Crawford' (he was at the time 60) knew the name Linton because his Aunt Ann, William and Agnes' sixth child, had married a Robert Linton.  Maybe he didn't know the maiden name of his grandmother Agnes and said the only name that came into his head - he knew it had some connection with the family!

I have to say that I don't know if there are any Wades or descendants of Robert and Jane left. There are certainly descendants of the Lintons who live today in Broxburn near Edinburgh and who keep in touch with the McIlhagga Clan.  We'd be delighted to hear from any Wades.