William Howat (1811 - 1878) There are so many persons named William Howat in the Ayrshire area that I have investigated William Howat’s origins thoroughly and accumulated as much evidence as possible to confirm my deductions. Doubts have been raised by the repeated on-line publication of what I believe to be erroneous family trees and, more recently, a predicted DNA link via two published trees which contained mistakes. I will endeavour to find the correct connection at some time. The marriage record of William Howat on18 Nov 1836 in Kilmarnock shows that he was living in the parish of Newton upon Ayr while his wife Janet Findlay was from the Low Church parish in Kilmarnock. After that date there is plenty of evidence of his path through life; from the Census records and documents relating to the births, marriages and deaths of the couple’s eleven children. The birth record of the couple’s first child Lilias Clelland Howat in 1837 has not yet been found but her marriage certificate confirms her identity. A son James and a second daughter Jean were born and baptised in Riccarton in 1839 and 1840.