• Born: 1785, Stewarton, Ayrshire, Scotland
• Christened: 9 November 1785, Stewarton, Ayrshire, Scotland
• Marriage (1): James KIRKLAND on 21 December 1810 in Stewarton, Ayrshire, Scotland
• Died: January 1847, Stewarton, Ayrshire, Scotland at age 62
• Buried: 19 January 1847, Stewarton, Ayrshire, Scotland

  General Notes

Problems regarding Margaret Kirkland's parentage: 

Margaret Kirkland was born in Stewarton, according to all the census enumerations.  However, she married before the 1841 census, so she can't be found in a census with her parents.  According to birth records in Stewarton, there is only one Margaret Kirkland born during the right time period:  Margaret Kirkland, daughter of James Kirkland, slater, and Janet Love.  These parents seem to be a fit based on the names of John Porter and Margaret Kirkland's children (first daughter is Janet, presumably after Margaret's mother; first son is Joseph after John's father; third daughter is Marion after John's mother; and second son is James, presumably after Margaret's father).  The marriage certificate for Margaret Kirkland and John Porter is no help regarding their parents — it simply says that both are of Stewarton parish. 

Unfortunately, Margaret's death certificate states that her father is "John Kirkland, blacksmith, deceased".  Her mother is unknown.  The informant is her son-in-law, John C. Dunlop.  I can find no records of a John Kirkland who was a blacksmith in the Stewarton area.  Of course Margaret's parents could have died long before even the 1841 census.  But there are no burial records or cemetery records that I can find.  There are plenty of traces of James Kirkland the slater and his wife Janet Love.  The only record of a John Kirkland in Stewarton in the right time period is an erroneous birth listing for Elizabeth Kirkland in 1816.  The index (and IGI) say that she is the daughter of John Kirkland and Agnes Kirkland, but when you look at the actual image of the parish birth record it's clear that her father is really Robert Kirkland, a weaver.  So no traces of John Kirkland the blacksmith.

I have also searched to see if I can find a Margaret Kirkland from Stewarton who might have married someone else.  But these searches (death records in combination with census records) have not turned a Margaret Kirkland who is the daughter of James Kirkland and Janet Love.

It seems most likely that Margaret's death certificate information is just wrong, based on the son-in-law's faulty memory.  Both James Kirkland and Janet Love were deceased long before John Campbell Dunlop ever married Marion Porter, so he would never have met Margaret's parents (assuming they are indeed James Kirkland and Janet Love).

Although there are some discrepancies (notably the death certificate information), I am going to assume that James Kirkland and Janet Love are the correct parents for the Margaret Kirkland who married John Porter in Stewarton in 1837.

Jan 2010, kmh.

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  Recorded Events in Her Life

• Parents: Hugh Love and Margaret Harper.

• She had a residence on 6 March 1812 in Stewarton, Ayrshire, Scotland. ²

• She appeared on the 1841 Census of Scotland on 6 June 1841 in Stewarton, Ayrshire, Scotland.
  

James Kirkland       55   Ayrshire, Scotland   Slater
Janet Kirkland       55   Ayrshire, Scotland
Agnes Kirkland       20   Ayrshire, Scotland
Mary Kirkland        15   Ayrshire, Scotland
John Kirkland        15   Ayrshire, Scotland   Ap Weaver
Ann Kirkland         10   Ayrshire, Scotland
Elizabeth Kirkland   10   Ayrshire, Scotland
Alex Brown            2 Mo   Ayrshire, Scotland

Janet married James KIRKLAND on 21 December 1810 in Stewarton, Ayrshire, Scotland. (James KIRKLAND was born on 20 January 1782 in Stewarton, Ayrshire, Scotland, died in June 1851 in Stewarton, Ayrshire, Scotland and was buried on 12 June 1851 in Stewarton, Ayrshire, Scotland.)