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William LITTLE (b c1774)

William Little is my paternal great-great-great-grandfather.

Sources and Notes:

There was a second daughter born to this couple before the birth of John in 1803. John was reported to be their first son and third child. The child's birth was apparently not recorded in the Old Parish Registers. It does not appear in the list of this couple's children in a search on Scotland's People. I also have no idea how long the child lived, but I would presume the child died near birth since the birth was not recorded in the parish register.

William Little's birth: William Little's death in 1834 is recorded in an official record. His age is given as 60. This would suggest that he was born in 1774. As unreliable as ages can be, that seems to be the best we can do. It is impossible to be confident about the selection of a Scottish birth record from among the many that can be found with dates from 1771 to 1777. If (1) I have identified all of this couple's children and (2) the couple followed traditional Scottish naming patters for their children, one would expect to find that William's parents were named John (first son) and Margaret (second daughter). Using Scotland's People, I can find nothing that would fit that pattern. The only Old Parish Register birth of William Little found in Renfrewshire for these years is the son of William Little and Isabel Stirling on 21 Feb 1772 in Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire(ref 1772/Births/568/10/359). Kilbarchan is not so far from Barrhead (where William finally settles) but the parent names would suggest this couple defied convention in naming their children. I'm inclined to think that William's birth must remain a mystery.

William Little's marriage to Janet Liddell: I have searched Scotland's People for this marriage but been unsuccessful. I have found no record that directly references a date or location for this marriage but the fact of the marriage itself is attested by the 13 Old Parish Registers entries for Little children. The date of circa 1798 is nothing more than a guess based upon the date of daughter Jannet's birth in 1800. The location is likely the location of Jannet's birth in 1800, Mearns (Renfrewshire) Scotland, but I know of no evidence to support this conjecture.

William Little's occupation: William Little was a blacksmith and farrier. There are references to his occupation in the record of his children's births. Also, he is found in both Pigot and Fowler's directories for Barrhead. For the Pigot Directory the reference is as follows: Ancestry.com. UK and US Directories, 1680-1830. Listed in Scotland, Pigot & Co's New Commercial Directory of Scotland for 1825-6. The listing for 1825 shows William Little in Barrhead (Renfrewshire), a smith, farrier.

1834 Death Registration for William Little (b 1772): Citation: The National Records of Scotland. Old Parish Registers 572/60 197 Neilston) Page 197 of 355. Content: A Neilston Parish (Renfrewshire) record of deaths in 1834 has the entry Sept 20, William Little -- Barrhead, [age] 60.

For sources of the births of William Little's children see the page for his wife Janet Liddell.