This is probably only of use to someone who might be able to hook into this tree but I will put it up for what it is worth:
I have been stuck for some time because I cannot find a record of the marriage of Allan Caldwell & Janet Guthrie or any definite evidence of their birth details.
I have been doing a bit of creative snooping arond and I have some possibilities that might yet turn into probabilities. My technique is far from foolproof but might help other researchers.
I believe that there is a good chance that Allan Caldwell was the son of Allan Caldwell & Anna Wilson (1). The latter couple have two recorded children that I can find -
John Caldwell b 31/1/1736 at Ayr and Francis Caldwell b 27/7/1747 also at Ayr. There is an eleven year "gap" which suggests that there were other children in between. John Francis and Allan are names that crop up in the family of Allan & Janet Guthrie (2) (but not Anna who should be there by all accounts). The fact that in family (2) Allan was the second child could have been because Allan was the name of both father and paternal grandfather. There could be other children before they moved to St Quivox possibly an Ann or Anna and an Allan who might have died making way for a second Allan.
A clue to another possible member of family (1) is that a Margaret Caldwell married a James Wilson at St Quivox on 1/12/1753. If Margaret was approximately 20 years old at her marriage she coul dvery possibly have been an elder sister of John and Francis. Allan (2) would have been the third son who was named after his father. This would make John either the first son named after his paternal grandfather or the second son named after his maternal grandfather. I think it more likely that he was the first son otherwise Allan would be the next son born and could have been up to 38 years old at the time of the birth of his first child and 49 years old at the birth of the last recorded child 11 (co-incidently) years later. This is possible. More likely there were several daughters and perhaps another son before Allan was born. Allan (2) could have been born as late as 1745 which would have made him 31 at the birth of his first recorded child.
Janet Guthrie is a bit of mystery also. It is possible that she was the daughter born to John Caldwell and Janet Brown at Irvine on 22/1/1758 - his would make her 18 at the birth of her first child and only 29 at the last recorded. This is ominous although there could be many reasons for this including death of either parent or a move to another area where birth records have not been collated. Allan was a coal miner and if he was a fair bit older than Janet he could have been injured, killed or just suffering from lung disease.
The eldest child - Janet b 5/2/1776 married Andrew McMurtrie at St Quivox on 11/7/1807
The second child - Jean b 15/5/1777 and I know no more
The third child - John b 24/2/1780 married Mary Morton at Galston about 1802 - they were my ancestors. John later re-married Agnes McClanachan. He had 13 children by his two wives.
The fourth child - Allan b 6/12/1780 married Janet Bole (Boyle?) at St Quivox in Feb 1802 they had at least one child Charles c 1/2/1812 at Ayr who married Elizabeth Stewart at Tarbolton 28/6/1835. They turn up in Dreghorn Parish in the 1851 census living in a colliers row at Perceton with their children - Allan 17, Janet 13, Jane 11, Robert 8, Elizabeth 4, and Charles 1 (the naming order is spot on and we can deduce that Elizabeth Stewart was probably the daughter of Robert Stewart and his wife Jane)
The fifth child - Francis b 3/6/1783 and I know no more
The sixth child - Thomas b 1/5/1783 at St Quivox was christened 6/9/1789 at Dundonald. I know no more but the place of christening is interesting and suggests that the family had connections there or moved there after the last child was born. The fact that two of the children married at St Quivox (1801 & 1807) suggests that the parents were probably still there and the "family connection" theory seems to hold more water. If this is so it is possible that all the children were christened at Dundonald although I only have found one recorded christening in this family. If Allan (2) was the son of Allan (1) and Anna Wilon from Ayr then it follows that we are heading in the wrong direction. Either Allan (2) was from the Dundonald area and we are looking for another set of parents for him or it was the Guthries that were from that area - which is a closer fit if Janet Guthrie was born at Irvine. However if all the family were to be involved in a christening then sure St Quivox would be the place as being more central for all. (All births were registered there).
The seventh child - Charles b 10/7/1787 at St Quivox and I know no more.
All this speculation and deduction from a few entries - its what makes tracing a family tree interesting!
I started last night's work with just my line and I now have at least the rudiments of lines for three out of seven chldren and some clues as to the grandparents.
It is even possible that Jean, Frances, Thomas and Charles emigrated as I did not find traces of their families.