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How can I confirm parentage of James Scott & Elizabeth Elliot (m.1820?) Burnfoot, Ewes?

Elizabeth Elliot may have been the illegitimate daughter 4th Earl Minto. She is my great-great-great grandmother.

Major Alexander Gilbert Barry may have been a member of the same Minto family. He had a number of illegitimate children. Reported in MSS 11133 - 6 "Letters and papers of and concerning the illegitimate children of the 1st Earl, chiefly Major Alexander Gilbert Barry, 1797 - 1824." Held in the National Library of Scotland.

How can I trace the marriage of Elizabeth Elliot & Alexander Scott, Burnfoot, Ewes? Their children are recorded in an Old Parish Register in Scotland 7066239 CE. Dated 6 August 1828. Oral tradition links Elizabeth to Fatlips Castle.

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    – Jan Murphy ♦
    Dec 29, 2015 at 16:42
  • Where have you looked for their marriage record? Where and when did James and Elizabeth have children? Do you have any sources for Elizabeth being the daughter of an Earl of Minto or does it come from a family legend of some sort?
    – PolyGeo ♦
    Dec 29, 2015 at 20:16
  • If you have anything else to link your 3rd great grandmother to an Earl of Minto then the 1st Earl would seem to be more likely than the 4th Earl. books.google.com.au/… However, I think you should look for any evidence related to James and Elizabeth's marriage first.
    – PolyGeo ♦
    Jan 2, 2016 at 12:11
  • It is a very strong "oral tradition" going back to the children of Alexander (Sandy) Scott, born to James Scott & Elizabeth Elliot in 1828.
    – K. Wilson
    Jan 3, 2016 at 17:05

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From Wikipedia the 4th Earl of Minto appears to have been born about 25 years after the Elizabeth Elliot in your question was married:

Gilbert John Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto KG GCSI GCMG GCIE PC (9 July 1845 – 1 March 1914) was a British nobleman and politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the eighth since Canadian Confederation, and as Viceroy and Governor-General of India, the country's 17th.

Consequently, I think we can discount Gilbert John Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound as being the father of a woman born berhaps 40-50 years before him.

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  • What about Major Alexander Gilbert Barry? Was he a member of the same family?
    – K. Wilson
    Jan 2, 2016 at 11:38
  • I am not familiar with the family but I found microform.co.uk/guides/NLS-Minto1stEarl.pdf which may be worth you reviewing, if you have not already. I do think you will be better to seek legitimate birth records for Elizabeth first, and if you find none and come back to your Earl of Minto theory then seeking anything that places them in the same place at around the right time might help build that case.
    – PolyGeo ♦
    Jan 2, 2016 at 12:17
  • Yes, I have the reference you mention, though I can't read it on line. I have tried unsuccessfully to find any reference to her birth. The earliest I can get is the Baptismal records of her children dating from 1822 - 1837. Elizabeth and her husband James Scott (born at Eskdalemuir) were living at Burnfoot, Ewes.
    – K. Wilson
    Jan 3, 2016 at 16:58

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