Welcome to the site

Can you give some dates and a few details, they would help in the search for right family.

Date and place if possible of Annie's birth or estimated date?

Annie's details from marriage certificate age, occupation and address, date, place and name of person Annie Married?

Fathers occupation on marriage? Does it say either of Annie's parents as deceased?

Hello there... I'm sorry - I really should have posted all the details I have in my first enquiry! DUH!

I cannot find a Birth Certificate for Annie but according to her Marriage Cert, she was 21, making her birth date around 1837. From my own research, having contacted people and having access to other people's Family Trees in which she appears, there seems to be two different schools of thought - 1836 and 1838. ;o/

Annie was married to my 2x Grandfather, David Fergusson Annand on 06 February 1858 in 'Torphins, Kincardine O'Neil', Aberdeenshire, (these days Torphins and Kincardine O'Neil are separate communities - not sure about back then) Scotland. On their Marriage Cert, it lists her parents as John McCombie and Margaret Low and it records her Mom as deceased at the time of the marriage.

Annie died 29th May 1901 in Lochty Cottar House, Menmuir, Angus, Scotland. Her parents are listed as 'John McOmbie, deceased' and mother as '-- McOmbie, deceased'. She was 65 years old at the time of her death and pre-deceased David Annand.

On looking at the Census records, I can find no Ann/Annie McCombie/McOmbie living with a John McCombie AND a Margaret Low. Having said that, the first Census Annie would be recorded on is the 1841 - and it may be possible that Margaret Low died before that Census was taken. I could well be mistaken about that but it would explain not finding her on the Census.

The only Ann/Annie McCombie I can find on the 1851 Census with a John McCombie gives the wife as Margaret Morgan and their family and it HAS crossed my mind that perhaps the Registrar misheard the name given and wrote Low instead of Morgan. It does sound similar... I'm sure most people here have come across records where the names were incorrectly filled in. I'm just seeing that as a possibility - my main search has centred on finding a Margaret Low and a Margaret Low married to a John McCombie - but can find no birth or marriage dates for either! I have searched through Scotlandspeople (and spent a small fortune doing so! LOL!) looking for births and marriages of these people and can find no trace of this elusive lady or her marriage! Or Annie's either!

I have to admit - I just don't quite know where to go with this next? I would appreciate ANY thoughts on this or where I should now look?

Thanks so much for such a fast response. :) Sorry to not have given you more clues! :/

I found the 1841 & 1851 Census for the family of Cattle dealers

I had a quick look in Scotlands people and going by the 1851 Census and 1841 census

I looked under births

Surname: left blank
name: Alexander
Father: John

date range 1837-1840
County: Aberdeenshire
District Kincardine O'Neil

it comes up with 2 possibilities it may be worth while having a look to see who the parents are and the surname.

also did the same with Agnes b abt 1842 year range 1841-1843 comes up with one entry,

The problem could be the surname spelling, any and all variations could be used, McCombie, McCoombie, McComb, McCrombie and the list goes on.

There are also 3 Margaret Low marriages in Aberdeenshire 1833-1837 that might be worth a look nothing for Margaret Morgan, there is a Catherine Morgan in the same date range.

The first Morgan Reference I can find is for son John's baptism 1843

Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950 about John Mccombie
Name: John Mccombie
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 15 Sep 1843
Baptism Date: 17 Nov 1843
Baptism Place: Kincardine O'Neil,Aberdeen,Scotland
Father: John Mccombie
Mother: Margaret Morgan
FHL Film Number: 993334

There is also a listing for an Elsie in 1853, note surname spelling.

Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950 about Elsie Wilson Mcombie
Name: Elsie Wilson Mcombie
Gender: Female
Baptism Date: 14 Nov 1853
Baptism Place: Keig,Aberdeen,Scotland
Father: John Mcombie
Mother: Margaret Morgan
FHL Film Number: 993193

The Census for reference

1841 Scotland Census about John Mccombie
Name: John Mccombie
Age: 30
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1811
Gender: Male
Where born: Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Civil Parish: Kincardine O'Neill
County: Aberdeenshire
Address: Ennets
Occupation: Cattle Dealer
Parish Number: 209
Household Members:
Name Age
John Mccombie 30
Margt Mccombie 30
Hariet Mccombie 5
Jane Mccombie 3
Alexr Mccombie 1


1851 Scotland Census about John Mccombie
Name: John Mccombie
Age: 43
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1808
Relationship: Head
Spouse: Margaret Mccombie
Gender: Male
Where born: Tarland, aberdn
Parish Number: 205
Civil Parish: Keig
County: Aberdeenshire
Address: North Keig
Occupation: Cattle Dealer
Household Members:
Name Age
John Mccombie 43
Margaret Mccombie 40
Ann Mccombie 7
Harriet Mccombie 14
Jane Mccombie 3
Alexander Mccombie 11
Agnes Mccombie 9
John Mccombie 7
William Mccombie 4
James Mccombie 2
Charles Mccombie Under 7 Mo
John Douglas 28 servant
Ann Cowie 18 servant

Wiliam 4, James 2 & Charles 7/12 all born Keig the others all born Kincardine O'Neil.


The 1861 Census is interesting still lists Margaret as wife

1861 Scotland Census about John Mccombie
Name: John Mccombie
Age: 51
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1810
Relationship: Head
Spouse's name : Margaret Mccombie
Gender: Male
Where born: Tarland, Aberdeenshire
Registration Number: 205
Registration district: Keig
Civil Parish: Keig
County: Aberdeenshire
Address: North Keig
Occupation: Farmer Of Lab Acres 1 Servt
Household Members:
Name Age
John Mccombie 51
Margaret Mccombie 51
Alexander Mccombie 21
Agnes Mccombie 19
William Mccombie 15
James Mccombie 12
Charles Mccombie 10
James Diack 14 (servant)

The births details are all the same, but according to Annie's marriage 1858 her mother Margaret Low is deceased, so who is this Margaret??, perhaps Margaret Morgan or another Margaret.


1871 Scotland Census about John Mccombie
Name: John Mccombie
Age: 61
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1810
Relationship: Head
Spouse's name : Margt Mccombie
Gender: Male
Where born: Tarland, Aberdeenshire
Registration Number: 205
Registration district: Keig
Civil Parish: Keig
County: Aberdeenshire
Address: North Keig
Occupation: Farmer Of 40 Acres
Household Members:
Name Age
John Mccombie 61
Margt Mccombie 61
Charles Mccombie 18
Geo Henderson 21 Servant

So Margaret still alive in 1871.

Can you find the Occupation for father John McCombie on the marriage certificate for Annie it is possible that this is a different family.

Going by the Census ages Annie would be born about 1841 so she may have said she was 21 but she may not have been, possibly closer to 17 or 18.

Other trees can be helpful but unless they have documented proof it's all guess work and copy & paste and can be misleading.

Does the marriage list witness names sometimes that's a good clue as well.

Another search on Scotlands People for Charles 1850-1851 comes up with surname Mcombie, so might be worth looking at his birth and getting mothers name and comparing with Alexander and Agnes.

and I found an Ann Mccombie b1841 Aberdeenshire possibly you Annie worth a look.

Hello again. :) WOW! You HAVE been busy! And in such a short time you found all that! LOL! I was just closing my computer for the night, not expecting to hear any more tonight, when my email notifier went off - and so checked and was very surprised to see such a prompt - but welcome reply. :) And as the clocks go back an hour, I can sit for an hour longer and have a lie-in in the morning. ;)

Well... I have to say that I had my eye on this John McCombie/Margaret Morgan family as on looking at all the Censuses for them, they just seemed to... fit. Hence I wondered about whether the names Low had been mistakenly entered instead of Morgan. I'm glad that you picked up on this family too as it means I'm not the only one that feels PERHAPS this is 'my' family... When I first started my Tree (about 4/5 years ago) I worked on this family for quite a while and looked for records for the children, hoping to find out if there was any extra info on their birth records that might help.

And thus, I did have a copy of the 1841 Census which lists (as you have above)John and Margaret - but no Ann, which on the 1851 Census shows her to have been born AFTER 1841 - which then isn't right on her Marriage Cert. It could be she was out of the house on the 1841 Census, but if the 1851 Census is indeed our family, then... Ann's birth date would be about 1844 according to it - which seems too late to me... And then she is gone by the 1861 Census which isn't unusual for a 17 year old girl. She would be out working and possibly a kitchen maid/dairy maid (as per her Death Cert) on another farm. But - if it was this Keig family, I'd have thought their 40 acres big enough to warrant keeping her at home and working on their own farm. But perhaps it just couldn't support so many, in spite of the numbers of acres and the fact they have a 'Servant'...

It's interesting to note that Catherine Low is listed on the same 1841 Census page as this family. She is at Drumlasie, and lives with Alexander,(who funnily enough is listed as a shoemaker and not a farmer) and Elizabeth McRobie, and their three children. There is also a William McAndrew (shoemaker journeyman) and Catherine Low, 14 years old and a farm servant.

As for the Margaret Morgan, on researching this family I wondered if she could be a second wife? Margaret was such a common name back then (don't mean that disparagingly!) and I have found in some of my other families that men whose wives died in childbirth married other ladies with the same first name. It could have been that Annie's birth - or perhaps another sibling - may (or may not) have have resulted in Margaret Low's untimely death? I also have another Census for another family where the 'head of family's' wife is not stipulated as being some of the children's STEP mother but it is correctly recorded in a later Census. So could it be the case here??

And as this Margaret is clearly alive in 1871, and Annie's Marriage Cert clearly states her Mom is deceased, then... I'm inclined to think that this is a step-mother? But again - Margaret WHO? COULD it be Margaret Morgan... but if THAT is the case, who is this Elsie Wilson whom I too have found and is the child of John McCombie and Margaret Morgan - but is not registered on any of the Censuses. Could it be that she died young? Yes - have just checked Scotlandspeople and indeed she died in 1855, aged 2 years. So that would explain her not being on the 1861 or subsequent Censuses for that family.

And THEN - if this Margaret Morgan IS the 2nd wife, I'm still left with the question of who Margaret Low was... :/

I checked Scotlandspeople for deaths around 1839 and really thought I was on to something - a Margaret McCombie had died in 1839. When I oped it, I found it was a Margaret McCombie married to a Thomas McCombie and her maiden name was Boyn. NUTS! :(


I had a look at Scotlandspeople, using the search references you gave but in the 'Alexander' case, I was only given one possibility. Strangely enough it came up as Alexander LOW, born 27.07.1839, parents: John Low and Ann Alexander and he was indeed born in Kincardine O'Neil, Aberdeen.

27/07/1839 LOW ALEXANDER JOHN LOW/ANN ALEXANDER FR563 (FR563) M KINCARDINE O'NEIL (ABERDEEN) /ABERDEEN

However, I don't think that that helps us any with John McCombie and wife... *sigh*...


I tried with Agnes too, (not putting her surname in and adding her Dad's name John) but the one hit doesn't seem to relate at all to my family:
1 21/03/1842 KENNEDY AGNES JOHN KENNEDY/MARJORY ANDERSON FR493 (FR493) F KINCARDINE O'NEIL (ABERDEEN) /ABERDEEN


I also had a look at the Marriages for Margaret Low, again using your references - and got 24 hits, but NONE seem to fit, though I'll list them here in case you see something I have missed (which is a good possibility! In spite of working on my tree off and on for 4/5 years, I'm still probably in the 'novice to beginner' stage!) :/ But here they are:

09/03/1820 LOW MARGARET GEO. DAVIDSON/FR5294 (FR5294) F ABERDEEN ABERDEEN CITY CITY/ABERDEEN 168/0A 0170 0263
2 09/03/1820 LOW MARGARET GEO. DAVIDSON/FR8514 (FR8514) F ABERDEEN ABERDEEN CITY CITY/ABERDEEN 168/0A 0330 0166
3 09/03/1820 LOW MARGARET GEORGE DAVIDSON/FR8427 (FR8427) F ABERDEEN ABERDEEN CITY CITY/ABERDEEN 168/0A 0330 0004
4 03/02/1822 LOW MARGARET WILLIAM RIDDLE/ F OLD MACHAR ABERDEEN CITY CITY/ABERDEEN 168/0B 0160 0055
5 16/02/1822 LOW MARGARET JOHN LYON/FR7404 (FR7404) F ABERDEEN ABERDEEN CITY CITY/ABERDEEN 168/0A 0280 0432
6 16/02/1822 LOW MARGARET JOHN LYON/FR7212 (FR7212) F ABERDEEN ABERDEEN CITY CITY/ABERDEEN 168/0A 0280 0057
7 25/06/1822 LOW MARGARET JAMES WALKER/ F INVERURIE /ABERDEEN 204/00 0040 0311
8 27/09/1823 LOW MARGARET CHARLES TOUGH/ F NEW MACHAR ABERDEEN CITY CITY/ABERDEEN 227/00 0030 0210
9 04/03/1826 LOW MARGARET JOHN DONALD/ F BOURTIE /ABERDEEN 176/00 0020 0062
10 12/03/1827 LOW MARGARET WILLIAM REID/ F OLD MACHAR ABERDEEN CITY CITY/ABERDEEN 168/0B 0160 0250
11 01/12/1827 LOW MARGARET ROBERT MESTON/ F SKENE /ABERDEEN 238/00 0020 0175
12 11/04/1829 LOW MARGARET ROBERT/MCDONALD FRMR7-41NO.87 F NORTH CHURCH ABERDEEN ABERDEEN CITY CITY/ABERDEEN 168/0N 0430 0000 No Image
13 23/04/1829 LOW MARGARET ROBERT DONALD/FR7342 (FR7342) F ABERDEEN ABERDEEN CITY CITY/ABERDEEN 168/0A 0280 0315
14 23/04/1829 LOW MARGARET ROBERT MCDONALD/FR7520 (FR7520) F ABERDEEN ABERDEEN CITY CITY/ABERDEEN 168/0A 0280 0616
15 03/11/1831 LOW MARGARET DAVID TOUGH/ F SKENE /ABERDEEN 238/00 0020 0180
16 29/04/1832 LOW MARGARET WILLIAM COPLAND/FR390 416 (FR416) F LUMPHANAN (ABERDEEN) /ABERDEEN 220/00 0020 0252
17 29/04/1832 LOW MARGARET WILLIAM COPLAND/FR390 416 (FR390) F LUMPHANAN (ABERDEEN) /ABERDEEN 220/00 0020 0218
18 01/01/1833 LOW MARGARET JOHN WIGHT/ F FORGUE /ABERDEEN 194/00 0040 0371
19 18/08/1833 LOW MARGARET JOHN WIGHT/ F AUCHTERLESS /ABERDEEN 173/00 0030 0268
20 20/03/1834 LOW MARGARET JOHN COBBAN/ F OLD MACHAR ABERDEEN CITY CITY/ABERDEEN 168/0B 0160 0563
21 30/03/1834 LOW MARGARET JAMES DAVIE/ F ELLON /ABERDEEN 192/00 0040 0297
22 30/03/1834 LOW MARGARET JAMES DAVIE/ F LOGIE BUCHAN (ABERDEEN) /ABERDEEN 216/00 0030 0101
23 15/08/1836 LOW MARGARET GEORGE CROSS/FR7672 (FR7672) F ABERDEEN ABERDEEN CITY CITY/ABERDEEN 168/0A 0290 0204
24 01/08/1838 LOW MARGARET WILLIAM BURNETT/FR 293 (FR293) F BIRSE /ABERDEEN


Anyway it is VERY late - I'm getting to the point where thinking is getting painful! LOL! A good night's sleep is needed and then I might then be able to make more sense! Hehehe...

Thank you so much for the help you've given this far. It does help to talk sticky points over with someone. For the moment I'll leave it there.

Good night.
Kate.

Sorry - just seen your last post when I submitted the above. I hope you will forgive me if I take myself off to bed. It's 4:30am! And I think perhaps its time to call it a night. I shall check all the points in your post tomorrow and reply as best I can. Once more - thank you so much for all that info! Kate. :)

I thought and meant to say above... But have done a quick check to be sure - John McCombie is indeed recorded on Annie's Marriage Cert as being a 'farmer'...

Different times zones, make it interesting.

The Ann Mccombie b1841 Aberdeenshire, might be worth the look, but!!

The Census were not always accurate with the ages, sometimes it's the writing or detail is transcribed incorrectly. It might be worth a look at the original 1841 & 1851 Census on Scotlands people.

It is possible that the Jane is Ann on 1841 and the Ann 1851 has age transcribed incorrectly, but still doesn't solve her birth details, and again could be transcriber error.

Ann is on the 1851 but would be Annand on the 1861 as she married in 1858.

I found the Census for her up to 1901 all of them state b abt 1837

1901 Census she is living with William Greig and her daughter Agnes Greig and grand children Mary & William both 4, and that's where she died.

Hello again, on a rather raw, wet autumn day! (Sorry for the delay! Got hung up on a family thing over the weekend. :( )

No - no clues through witnesses on the Marriage Cert. The witness names are totally different to any family names I have come across... the names being Andrew Strachan and Francis Duncan.

Looked at that Charles McCombie - mother is Margaret Morgan and born in Keig. Also looked at that 1841 Ann MacCombie - turns out to be MARY Ann MacCombie, parents: John MacCombie and Helen Joss, of Midmar, Aberdeenshire. Not the jackpot but it was worth checking out.

Yes, Ann McCombie was living with my Great Grandma & Grandpa, Agnes and Will Greig (and my Grandmother Mary & her brother Will) when she died in Menmuir, Angus, Scotland. Again her father is listed on her Death Certificate as Farmer, which strengthens the occupation given on her Marriage Certificate I think and thus, makes it credible that the John McCombie (& Margaret Morgan) is a good candidate for Ann's father. Will Greig was the 'informant' of Ann's Death and I think it likely he got to the Registrar's and realised - he had no idea who her mother was. Hence the blank entry. Rather than go home and ask Agnes, the Registrar has just said 'never mind, we'll just leave that blank'.

Thanks for the reminder about people giving false ages. It is something I knew about for sure but I have to say, I just didn't consider it in this case. But I should have. In the last century it didn't do to seem an 'older' lady and you're right. Ladies often recorded themselves as a younger version.

However, the problem with the age thing in Ann's case... According to the Ancestry 1851 Census, Ann is 7 years old - and so is John. So they are twins? BUT - I suddenly remembered I had a copy of the original 1851 Census, have looked it out - and this is the summary:

North Keig - John McCombie, Cattle Dealer, b: Tarland, Aberdeenshire - age 43
Wife: Margaret McCombie - Cattle Dealer's wife, b: Kincardine O'Neil - age 40
Ann - daughter - age 17 years
Harriet - daughter - age 14 years
Jane - daughter - age 13

The Ancestry transcriber has clearly gotten Ann's age wrong on the 1851 Census. She is SEVENTEEN, not Seven. HOWEVER, she is not recorded on the 1841 Census - it is simply Harriet (age 5) and Jane (age 3) and Alexander (1 year). I cannot find Harriet OR Jane's births either,(nor Alexander, Agnes or William) though the parameters I put in were very generous - 1830 - 1850, all counties, all parishes. Again - makes me wonder if they are children from 1st marriage - Margaret Low? Having said that, I could not find Alexander, Agnes, William either, though I found John, James and Charles, all born in Keig to John McCombie and Margaret Morgan. Can it be that Keig just kept better records than Kincardine O'Neil. I know that some Parishes were much better at recording BMDs than others.

It's interesting that there is a family of Alexander and Jane Morgan (both 55 years of age and three children are also listed.) on the same page in the 1841 Census - Alexander is also a Farmer at Ennets - ?? So - could Margaret be his daughter? She is listed as being 30 years old, which would tie in with Alex and Jane being 55. Gosh I wish there had been an 1831 Census! LOL!

On closer look at Ann's Marriage Cert., I wondered if Margaret Low's name could be Cow... The 'L' looks much like a 'C'. And so I looked into that. While there are quite a few 'Cow' marriages, none married to a John McCombie - or any McCombie, come to that. :( And again - the parameters were quite generous - 1820 to 1845, all of Aberdeen. But again, nothing that seems to relate to John.

HOWEVER, I looked at the deaths and found a death for a Margaret Milne, Nee LOW. Her father was John Low, a farmer and widow of George Milne, crofter. And so I'm wondering... if she could be my Margaret Low who may have divorced John. With not finding a marriage certificate for them, it could be that perhaps they never even married? Perhaps Ann was illegitimate? I'm just looking at possibilities... So I've had a look for Ann Lows but while I've found a few, there are none with the Mom Margaret Morgan... So beaten again... :(

Oh indeed, I agree re: other people's trees and the information on them. I find they can sometimes be helpful in that they can possibly give you a direction to work in. But I never just 'copy and paste'. I want to find MY family, and while the people I see on other trees are very likely good people, they may not be MY people. So I NEVER add any info unless I 'talk' to the person whose tree it is so we can work out if there is any correlation and and I always look for verification that I am related to that family. Hence my continued struggle over this family. As I mentioned, I have seen various trees concerning this family, with various dates for Ann McCombie - but I have never seen PROOF of those dates and so until I do or can work it out to my complete satisfaction, where there is EVERY likelihood of it being a certain family, I'm not happy to add the details to my tree or use that information to go beyond Annie's Dad. This family is only a couple of steps away from me and because I can't be sure about this family, I am stuck at a relatively early stage in this family's line. Which makes me sad, as it's an important line for me. But it's not worth adding information that isn't relative to MY family (no pun intended. LOL)

I grew up in Canada and my Grandmother Mary Greig (Annie's granddaughter), lived all her days in Scotland. And so I never heard many stories of her childhood, or about her grandparents. I did get snippets about her parents Agnes and Will Greig but very little really. My Mom had some lovely stories to tell me about them as she visited her grandparents every Saturday and so I did get some lovely anecdotal information about them. But few real facts about dates and places, unfortunately. I sooooo regret that I waited so long to find out where I came from, who my family was! By the time I started getting curious about them, my grandparents, great grandparents and even my Dad had passed away, and so many valuable sources were gone. Living away from the family 'roots' meant I never heard stories or got the background to the family that I might have otherwise. :(

Anyway - thanks so much for all the suggestions you've made. It does really help to work through it with someone. Any more ideas will be gratefully received. :) And again - my apologies for my disappearance over the weekend!

Best wishes
Kate.

There is a baptism record

John Mccoombie
bap 11 Dec 1809
Tarland Aberdeenshire
Father Charles,
Mother Harriet.

daughter Harriet may be named after John's mother, I'm still thinking it's all got to do with transcriber input on the records.

Ann may be visiting a relative or grandparent in 1841 Census worthwhile checking on the Census, birth around 1834 going by the 1851 Census.

Wow! Thank you for finding this! As I mentioned, I have tried A FEW TIMES to find John McCombie's birth - and nothing remotely likely came up! But your info has finally done the trick! :) I found it on Scotlandspeople and opened it fully.

11th Dec 1809 - Charles McCombie in Coldwells & Harriet Anderson his wife had a child baptised named John.

Not much information, BUT - having the name 'Harriet' is so useful! I agree that the name Harriet is rather coincidental and likely that young Harriet is named after her Grandmother. It's not a name that is so 'common' at this period, in this area. (Seems to be a severe lack of imagination at this period of time! Female children all seem to be called Margaret, Ann, Jane, Mary, Isabella and Elizabeth or derivatives...) And so I think, combined with all the other similarities, I am inclined to believe we have worked it out.

Yep - I think checking the Census to see where Ann is, is a good idea. And now that we have a good idea who the Grandparents on her Dad's side are, it will be possible. I'm off to do that now...

Right - had a look for an Ann McCombie on the 1841 Census - and there was only 1 came up. An Ann McCombie living with a 'family' in Woolmanhill, Aberdeen - "head of family Ann McCombie - 35 years old, occupation: Broker; Jessie McCombie - 14 years old; Ann McCombie, 8 years old. Born in that County."

I thought that this Ann, who seems to be John's sister, might be the one that Annie was living with on the 1841 Census:

Name: Ann Mccombie
Gender: Female
Christening Date: 22 Apr 1815
Christening Place: TARLAND AND MIGVIE,ABERDEEN,SCOTLAND
Father's Name: Charles Mccombie
Mother's Name: Harriet Anderson

But as that Ann is 35 years old, making her birth year 1806, this Ann wouldn't be right - unless its another anomaly. :(

Unfortunately on that first 1841 Census, the info was pretty basic - no 'relationship' given so can't be sure whether those girls are elder Ann McCombie's or not. But - it could be that Jessie is - Ann isn't. So the hunt is on to see if I can find elder Ann McC and Jessie in the 1851 Census - see if Ann is still with them. If she is Jessie's sister, she should be. If cousin, visitor, whatever, rather than sister, it is likely she wouldn't be on the 1851 Census...

No - can find no sign of Jess McCombie on the 1851 Census but that isn't surprising. She would be 24 or thereabouts so is likely married and her name has changed. I cannot find a 45 year old Ann McCombie in Aberdeen either. Has she married, re-married?? Possible... But of course young Ann appears on the 1851 Census with John McCombie and Margaret Morgan. However, that is the one with the age discrepancy - transcribing her 10 years younger than her actual age (oh, I WISH!!! LOL!)

How strange if that is the lady (8 yr old Annie) I have been looking for soooo long! I went to University in Aberdeen and I studied on the Woolmanhill Campus! My elusive lady was only steps away from me!)

I agree - I think transcribing these records incorrectly has been the problem. Between the name 'Margaret Low' on Annie's Marriage Lines and then her mistaken age on the 1851 Census, it has caused researchers of this family to hang back on recording any info on John McCombie and Margaret Morgan for fear of adding a wrong family to their tree. I have suspected all along that this must be our family - but the mistakes have made me leerie about recording it as such.

Anyway - that's what I've found today. Thank you for all your latest help. :) Kate

This may be of interest to you as I also have a great grandmother called Annie
McCombie who was married to Henry Alexander (1841 - 1914) She was the mother of my grandfather also called Henry Alexander and the dates I have for her are 1841 - 1904
Her father was William McCombie and his mother was Marjory McCombie.
I have no more information at present but will try and find out more to add to this site.