Alexander Bain and Catherine Matheson - Margaret's parents

Margaret's parents were Alexander Bain and Catherine Matheson. Over the years, with increasing access to Scottish records and the efforts of genealogists in Australia and around the world, we can now piece together full details of Margaret's birth family.

Her parents were married on Christmas Eve in the parish church of Kiltearn. Kiltearn is a parish on the coast of the Black Isle, in what was then called Ross-shire. Alexander was born in another parish, possibly Fodderty in the foothills of looming mountains to the north. Her mother Catherine was born in the parish of Urray, west of Kiltearn. It was customary to marry in the bride's parish but this was not to be for Catherine and Alexander. 

Kiltearn Church of Scotland, with a glimpse of the Beauly Forth in the distance.

Catherine was just 20 years old when she married. In following census' and death certificates, Alexander is recorded as being younger than Catherine. So it is likely he was only 18 or so when they wed. His baptism still eludes us. For many years genealogists have postulated the parents of Catherine and Alexander, and they were correct for Catherine. Some-one had purchased her death certificate but not published it on a genealogical database such as Ancestry.com. I bought this certificate in 2025, easily found on Scotland People website. It confirmed what we had all copied as her death information, but importantly to me, confirmed the names of her parents.

Excerpt of Catherine Bain nee Matheson's death certificate, 1864

Fortunately for us, and for her young family, Catherine died after 1855 when Scotland had introduced compulsory civil registration of births, deaths and marriages. These certificates were legislated to be comprehensive - dates, parent's names and cause of death included. Only the absence of information about marriage and children of the union and burial information, as we have in Australia, lessen the absolute gold mine of these certificates for genealogists. 

Women in Scotland maintained the use of their maiden name throughout life, unlike English, Irish and Welsh women. They could return to their maiden name when widowed, and they were often recorded in death under their maiden name. This was not the case for Catherine who was recorded as a Bain. Importantly, almost all death certificates give the name of their spouse[s], and whether that spouse was alive at the time. We learn from Catherine's death record that her husband was Alexander Bain, a farm grieve [or manager], and that he was still alive. He was the informant of her death to the local registrar.

We learn that Catherine died of "General debility of the system of 11 days", and that she had "no medical attendant " - a most unsatisfactory description for her descendants. She died at 8 Fairfield Lane in Inverness, a location to be found on maps today. When I travel to Inverness in May I will visit it. She was 48 years old, which according to her baptismal record was out by 6 years. Catherine was actually 54 years of age. We get the confirmation needed for all those genealogists, including me, who had duly recorded her parents as Murdo Matheson and Christy McDonald.

Hunting down Alexander Bain's parents was also straightforward, although I had to buy 2 incorrect certificates before I found his. It was not known on Ancestry.com when he died. Alexander Bain is a common name in the region, and his baptism has still not been found. 

Alexander died in the Inverness Infirmary [hospital] on 4 April 1864 of typhoid fever - just 6 weeks after the death of Catherine. He had suffered the often fatal disease for 18 days. He is recorded as the widower of Catherine Matheson, and a farm grieve. For the very first time, I and any genealogist on Ancestry.com, now knew that Alexander's parents were another Alexander Bain, farm grieve, and Margaret Chisholm, and both were already deceased as we would expect. Alexander was said to be 47 years old [remember, his wife was said to be 48, and on all joint records she was always older than him]. Without a baptism record we can not be certain. An age of 47 puts his birth at 1817. Since he married in 1830, although legal in Scotland to marry at the age of 13, I think he was likely older. From finding his siblings, see a later post, I suspect he was born about 1812-1813. However ages on census' and on death certificates are often wildly inaccurate, and so too is Alexander's.

Now having located the grandparents of Margaret Bain, lets trace the lives of her parents through the records we have.