John McColl was recalled as an agricultural labourer (deceased) on the 1931 death certificate of his son, John McColl or Cochran.

Owing to the circumstances of John junior’s illegitimate birth, his precise identity remains unclear. However, clear candidates emerge from the 1851 census, in which there were three men of that name in the Parish of Avondale.

The first of these was John McColl, lodger with Daniel Livingston at Meadowhead, unmarried, 38, agricultural labourer, born ‘Invernefs (Kilsnally?)’.

The second was John McColl at Mid Linbank, unmarried, 20, farm servant to William Semple, born Avondale.

The third was John McColl, son of Hugh McColl, aged 15 and living in the family home at Hookhead.

John McColl was recalled as a farm servant, (reputed father) (deceased) when his son, also John McColl, married Ellen or Helen Kyle in 1878. This suggests that the younger John had stayed in contact with his father and that his death in the intervening period was known to him.

John McColl, farmer, married to Elizabeth Gemmell, died on 30^th September 1868 at twelve noon, at Windyedge, Parish of Avondale. His age was entered as 33. The cause of death was certified as consumption, from which he had been suffering for one and a half years. The informant on 6^th October 1868 at Strathaven was Hugh McColl, the deceased’s father, a farmer, entered as present and resident at Hookhead, Avondale. His mother was entered as Janet McColl MS Wiseman (deceased).

John McColl would have been 19 or 20 when Christina Cochran gave birth to her illegitimate son, John McColl, in 1855. This, together with the fact that he was indeed prematurely deceased when the younger John married in 1878, makes the elder John an excellent candidate for his father.

Maternal / paternal great-grandfather of Helen Kyle Watson