My husband's great grandfather was Alexander Stewart, b. 1860 in Lauder. We are trying to find his parents. We have written down that Alexander's mother's name was Christina (from his marriage certificate to Elizabeth Jack). I've found some census records for 1861 and 1871 that have a Christina Stewart with an Alexander about the right ages, both born in Lauder, but there are complications.

In the 1861 census, Christina (Christian) Stewart is 24 and is listed as the daughter of James Hay (age 62). Agnes Hay (age 17), Thomas Rallray (age 4), and Alexander Greive (age 11 months) are also listed as children of James Hay, and there is an Alexander Stewart (age 15) listed as a boarder. All but James have the birthplace listed as Lauder.

In the 1871 census, Christina Stewart, age 36 is living with Thomas Ratrea (age 14), Alexander Stewart (age 10), Robert Knox (age 8), and Margaret Welson (age 5). Thomas, Alexander, Robert, and Margaret are all listed as children of Catherine Stewart, yet they all have different last names. All are listed with a birthplace of Lauder.

How large was Lauder in the 1860s and 1870s? What are the chances that these are the same people? To me, there are so many similarities, that I think they are, but I can't explain all the different last names. Does anyone have suggestions for where to go from here?