McIlhaggs - Easton

In the Scottish Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950 there is one example of an obviously stupid mistake, producing a deviant of our name, McIlhaggs. It is the record of the birth on 10th October 1865 of Catherine Johnston McIlhaggs at Renfrew, Renfrewshire, to William McIlhaggs and Catherine Johnston Easton. It is a simple matter to find the marriage of William McIlhaggo to Catherine Johnston Easton on 3rd July 1863 in Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, and indeed the four siblings of Catherine Johnston, namely John McIlhaggo born 15th November 1863 in Rutherglen, William born 29th March 1868 in Old Kilpatrick, Mary Houston born 23rd April 1870 in Old Kilpatrick, and finally Robert Easton on 12th April 1872 in Central Glasgow. Second names are so helpful in suggesting to which family a couple and their children belong. William (father) was the son of John McIlhaggo born about 1800 (hence the eldest son being called John) and Mary Houston. John (grandfather) was the son of Henry McIlhaggo born about 1780 in Maxwell's Walls, County Antrim, Ireland, and Mary McDole or McDowel. William, like his grandfather and father, was born in the townland of Maxwell's Walls, in 1834. He must have migrated across the North Channel to Scotland and met Catherine Johnston Easton about 1860.

I have no records to show what happened to the five children of William and Catherine. There is a possible marriage of John to a Margaret Scott in 1902 in Camlachie, but nothing else as yet. There is however another Robert Easton who crops up a generation later. He was in fact William Robert Easton, born 26th March 1904 in Belfast who married Margaret Malcolm Stewart (born 28th July 1899 in Belfast), in Perth, Western Australia, in 1930. We know that they have descendants flourishing in Australia today. It is reasonable to assume that the two families in which the name Easton occurs, indeed the combined name of Robert Easton occurs, must somehow be connected. I have to say that at this time I do not know what that link is. I wonder whether the Irish 1901 Census, which is about to be published, will throw any light on this problem, and indeed on others too?