Marriage in the not too distant past (UK)

The choice of spouse was limited in the days before mass transport and communication. Prospective partners were your neighbours in the community you lived in or relations. I have lots of examples of cousins marrying and pairs of brothers marrying sisters. This was and still is perfectly legal.

Matthew Rolinson married his cousin Mary Ann Price in Cumnock in 1871.

George Stewart Anderson married his cousin Garden Walker in 1902 in Aberdeen.

Muncie sisters married McMurdo brothers in Muirkirk, Ayrshire

Christina Muncie married James McMurdo in November 1846

Margaret Muncie married George McMurdo in 31 Dec 1849

Hugh Blue married Elizabeth Wilson in West Kilbride, Ayrshire in 1835. His younger brother Daniel Blue married her younger sister Janet Wilson in 1839.

More recently Penrose brothers John and David married Herbertson sisters Lettie and Georgina respectively in Ayrshire in the 1920s.

Second marriages in the past were very common. 

Many women died young from childbirth or diseases like tuberculosis, typhus and smallpox. I have seen comments on family history forums along the lines of "his wife died in July and he married again in October with indecent haste." We should not be too quick to judge.   Put yourself in the place of the bereaved. You are a man with a job and 5 children including a baby and a toddler. Your family can help out but they probably have a houseful as well. The long term solution is clearly to get another wife. But where to find one? Often the second wife is much younger or else a widow maybe with some children of her own. In a few cases I've seen a man marrying his late wife's sister and one of  a widow marrying her brother-in-law.  In many ways it seems an ideal situation. The children know their aunt or uncle and vice versa.  However marriage to a wife's sister was illegal until 1907 (The Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act 1907)! ( As far as I can make out, it was legal for a woman to marry her deceased husband's brother.) To marry they may have gone temporarily to another parish where their history wasn't known.

Elizabeth Hunn Lander married Chynoweth brothers in Cornwall/Devon

First she married Joseph Chynoweth in Cornwall in 1822. Joseph died in 1838 leaving her with 5 children. She married his younger brother William Chynoweth who was 7 years her junior across the county border in Devon in 1840. 

Joseph Lockhart Wilson married sisters Margaret McCrae in about 1844 in Ayrshire and Jane McCrae 1855 in Glasgow although they continued to live in Ayrshire. He had five children with each of them.

In Kirkcudbrightshire Grace Gibson married Samuel Coltart in 1874: her mother had married his father in 1866 so he was her stepbrother.  Marriage to your stepbrother was and still is illegal!

I am not condemning or criticising any of these unions, just saying they happened! If anyone knows more about the legal situation please leave a comment.

Where groups of people moved from one part of the country to another in seek of work, they tended to marry within their community for the first generation at least. I have followed my miner ancestors who moved from the Midlands (Wolverhampton area) to Ayrshire and Cornish miners who also moved to Ayrshire.  The first few marriages were to other English or Cornish compatriots.  Gradually they married the locals. And within a couple of generations they thought of themselves as Scottish, as indeed they were.

Update on Hamilton as a given name.

This post follows on Fun with the McFunns where I tried to work out where the given name for a girl Hamilton came from.

I had a message from a lady in Canada descended from Hamilton Lesley mother of Hamilton McFunn. She said it was her understanding that Hamiltonia Lesley b Cambuslang in 1757 was named after a Covenanters' victory at the "tiny village" of Hamilton.

I asked my husband about a famous Covenanters' victory and he immediately said the Battle of Drumclog in 1679.  Wikipedia confirmed this.  Drumclog is a tiny village but not terribly near Hamilton so that didn't make sense. However Wikipedia says the commander of the Covenanters forces at Drumclog was Robert Hamilton.  Could he be the source of all these girls called Hamilton? Why not call the sons Hamilton? There did seem to be a tradition of calling girls by surnames.

A search of Old Parish Records on scotlandspeople revealed 848 females named Hamilton but all were from 1730 - 1854. Seems a bit too long after the event. However, few records exist before 1730. The jury is out.

The fallen

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
 In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
 In Flanders fields.

The author of this moving poem is  John McCrae who is a very distant relative of my husband (a McCrae married into the Wilsons.)

I looked through my extended tree to find those who fell in WW1. A lot of our ancestors were miners and stayed at home to keep the home fires burning so there are maybe not as many as in others' trees.

Aaron Dickens of Kirkintilloch died 7 Nov 1918 in France & Flanders. He was a private in the Highland Light Infantry.  A particulary sad case - just before the Armistice and only 21.

Alexander Shaw of Aberdeenshire a private in the Gordon Highlanders died of wounds on 26 Dec 1915 in France or Flanders aged 26.

William Rollie of Ayrshire died 27 Feb 1916 in France or Flanders. Only 18.

Tom Holmes of Featherstone, Yorkshire died 12 Apr 1917 in France or Flanders age 41.
Left a wife and 6 children.

Murdoch Ferguson of Skye died 5 Aug 1917 in France or Flanders aged 50. He was a corporal in the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders and formerly in  the Lovat Scouts.

James Cook of Blackburn died 26 Sep 1917 in France or Flanders age 27.

William Mathieson of Ayrshire died 21 Mar 1918 in France or Flanders age 26.

Corporal Abraham Yates from Auchinleck, Royal Scots fell 19 Apr 1918 in France or Flanders aged 29.

Alfred Allan Walker of Aberdeen was killed in action on 14 Nov 1914 in France having served only 45 days. He was a corporal in the Gordon Highlanders and my great aunt Aggie's husband.  Their only son William Sievwright Walker died in the Second World War.

Richard Ewart Shearer my grandfather's younger brother was an engine fitter in the Royal Flying Corps and died of pneumonia in the military hospital in Ayr aged 19 on February 17th 1917.

Gone but not forgotten.

Chynoweths in Mexico

This week I've gone off on a tangent but it has taken me to Mexico and back so it has been interesting!

While hunting Chynoweths I spotted one Maria Chynoweth born in Mexico about 1830. This sparked my interest and I resolved to find out more.

In 1841 census she is living in Helston with William and Mary Allen and their children at the New Inn. I suspect they are relations.

In 1850 she marries Thomas Priske of the Railway Inn in Penzance and in 1851 census they are living in Penzance where he is an innkeeper.

By 1861 she is a widow with 2 children and is an innkeeper at the Red Lion back in Helston.

In 1871 she is the manageress of the Metropol Tavern in London which is owned by her older brother William Chynoweth.

In 1881  aged 50 she is described as a bargirl back in Helston at the New Inn owned by cousin Lavinia Lory. This is where she was in 1841 and Lavinia turns out to be daughter of William Allen and Mary Harris born 1841 after the 1841 census. More of Lavinia in a future post.

Now to work out who her parents are.  Her  mother must be either an Allen or a Harris. Being born in Mexico there is no birth record.
But her brother William was born in Cornwall about 1824.
Using Cornish Parish Records online I find  William Chenoweth born 1824 in Helston to John Chenoweth carpenter and Grace (no maiden surname) but with Helston it sounds good.
I look for other children of John and Grace and find several with the middle name Harris. I think she is Grace Harris! The oldest is Grace Harris Chenoweth born 1819. I look for a marriage prior to 1819 and find it in December 1818.  She is from Helston but he is from Breage. And two witnesses are named Mark Shephard and John Chynoweth. I file this info away in my head!

Now to explore the Mexico connection.  Some  judicious googling leads me to find out he worked at the Real del Monte silver mines in Mexico and died there is 1837. His wife and 5 children come back to Helston. Grace died in 1839 in Helston. You can see the family tree here

 Their daughter Grace (b 1819)  married and stayed in Mexico. Son William (b 1824) went back as a civil engineer before becoming a pub landlord in London.

I love that you can get Cornish pasties in  Real del Monte (now called Mineral del Monte  twinned with Redruth.)

The Cornish in Latin America project

BBC story from 2008

Maria's family tree

Kedzlies from Scotland to New Zealand

This time last week I had one Kedzlie on my tree. Now I have upwards of 30 and rising! A comment left on my tree led me to contact a friend of a living Kedzlie in New Zealand who had been trying to find out where her family came from.

May Irene Kedzlie born 1901 in New Zealand married Colin George Sievwright.  This information from a cousin in New Zealand and it checked out on NZ records. Her father was Alexander Charles Kedzlie, born 1866 but parents were not recorded. At this point many would give up, but I am determined.  Kedzlie is not that common a name - I had never heard it before so I searched for all the Kedzlie births in New Zealand and entered data into an excel spreadsheet so I could sort them by year of birth.

I could see that the only Kedzlies recorded having children between 1857 and 1871 were John and Elizabeth and decided to assume that they were the unrecorded parents of all three with no parents.

I had a wee look on familysearch for Kedzlies and saw that there were a lot in Inveresk and Musselburgh, Midlothian, Scotland  near Edinburgh

I then looked for a marriage of John Kedzlie to Elizabeth. Nothing on familysearch but ancestry gave a marriage to Elizabeth Cossar in Australia in 1854. Hadn't I just seen "Cossar" on the list of births? This was sounding good despite being Australia. Familysearch had one child Ellen Janet born to them in 1855 so they must have come to New Zealand between 1855 and 1857.

I turned by attention to Elizabeth Cossar and looked for her death on NZ records to get an idea of her birthdate. Found Elizabeth Catherine Kedzlie died 1915 aged 79 giving a DOB of 1836.  Some googling and looking on family search, other family trees and  censuses leads me to believe her to be the daughter of George Cossar a tanner from Edinburgh who married Susana Gallet in Hanley Castle in Worcestershire. Elizabeth was born in Tewkesbury and the family moved back to Edinburgh by 1851. Other Cossars are found in Australia too.

I am suspecting by this time that John Kedzlie is the son of butcher George Kedzlie in Inveresk censuses in 1841 and 1851 but there is no John to be found in the censuses with the family or anywhere else.

The biggest breakthrough though was in online newspaper archives New Zealand's papers past and Australia's trove.

I found an obituary in the Otago Witness (scroll d0wn about 3/4) for John Kedzlie who died in 1903. It recounts his birth in 1821 in Musselburgh, that he left for Australia in 1849, married Elizabeth Cossar  there and moved to New Zealand in 1856. I found a record for the latter journey too.

I also found a baptism on 6  Sep 1821 to George Kedzlie and Helen Cleugh in Inveresk and Musselburgh. 

And his death is reported in the Northern Star in Australia as well; he is the eldest brother of Alexander Kedzlie which supports my theory of him being the son of George Kedzlie the butcher. Alexander was born in Musselburgh in 1831.

All this research took about 3 days (well it's been raining here) and I did it all on my laptop at no additional cost to my ancestry subscription.  I had a lot of fun looking and what a great feeling of satisfaction when it all ties in.


John Kedzlie on my ancestry tree  I f you have an ancestry account, you should be able to see this tree. If it is not a UK account you have change the url from .co.uk to .com or .au or whatever.

What is an "inmate"?

My friend was shocked to see "inmate" next to her g g auntie's name when she registered her mother's death on a Scottish death certificate. Her stepfather worked as an attendant at Aberdeen Lunatic Asylum and she put 2 and 2 together and thought the worst. Auntie had had an illegitimate son the previous year.

On Scottish death certificates from 1855 the informant gives a relationship eg son, whether present at the death and an address. If the son does not stay at the same address he gives his address. If however he does stay at the same address the archaic term "inmate" meaning living at the same address is used.

Here are three examples from the same certificate.

To prove it to my friend, I found her auntie in the census at the same address with her siblings and her son a year later.

70 years ago today

My parents were married in Glasgow on 27 August 1942.  My father was on leave from the forces,  I think he was based at Fort George at the time.

They were married in the Ca' d'Oro in Gordon Street in Glasgow. Mum had sweet peas for a bouquet and her cousin Ethel Sievwright was the bridesmaid. I still have the daisy brooch she is wearing. I don't think this is the wedding photo - it must be in the attic. She wore a mauve two piece and he wore a smart uniform.

They had a brief honeymoon in Nairn.

They lived at my grandparents' house in Knightswood until 1949. It must have been a full house as my uncle Colin lived there too with his family; so 6 adults and 4 children in a council semi!

Tour of Scotland 1964

I came across my mum's journal of the 1964 tour of Scotland we did when I was 13. We went up north, as far as John O'Groats and across the north coast, down to Ullapool and then Oban. I can remember some of the dodgy bed and breakfasts particularly an ancient iron bedstead with a mattress I sank into the middle of.

 Mostly we toured about stopping to take photos and short strolls. Not so dissimilar to our current holidays apart from the length of the walks!  Mum documented every meal.  What passed for a good meal in 1964 is fascinating as in this entry from 14 August 1964.

We lunched at the Thistle Restaurant (in Oban), really very smart like Nardini's in Largs and had tomato soup (Kay had tomato juice) then Kay had a cheese omelette and Cliff and I had a tomato omelette all with chips. Kay had strawberry ice and a glass of milk and Cliff and I had apple tart and custard and coffee (£1.4.11d) 7/6 and 1/- coffee.

1965 advert

They must have liked it at the Thistle as they ate there again in the evening (cold roast beef salad) and subsequent days (haddock & chips and braised rump steak, jelly & fruit). She also mentions seeing the new Columba ferry "much bigger than the Clyde ferries" and records a visit to the tiny isle of Easdale, which David and I repeated in June. They went to see a friend of my father's who had recently bought a cottage there. He and his brother were born in Glasgow but his father had been from the island. He left  in 1904 when work at the Easdale slate quarries was petering out after about 600 years. The roofs of Glasgow University and the Royal Infirmary are of Easdale slate.  The island now (1964)  has electricity and "many mod cons". Mum reports that the children wear shorts or slacks all the time except for ceilidhs or to go to church.

A typical view stop with me off to take a photo

Somewhere near Durness. Looks chilly for August

Bad hair day!

 

 We had these tweed skirts run up for us somewhere en route, maybe Strathpeffer. I don't think my mother wore slacks until the late sixties or seventies.

  Mum always took her knitting!

This one is from the 1962 tour at Hopeman. I'm 11.

Fun with the McFunns

Readers of this blog will know how I get caught up with names.

I like unusual names and I especially like unusual first names especially female ones.

The one that started me off on this route was a witness to the marriage of Agnes McMeekin and John Ross in Cumnock in 1864 - Hamilton Stillie.  I had seen Stillie before. Elizabeth Stillie was the first wife of husband's grandfather so I needed to find out more.

It turned out that these 2 Stillies were cousins.

But why was he called Hamilton? Often it would be his mother's maiden name. But not in this case. His parents were Daniel Stillie and Jean Adamson.  There were 3 other Hamilton Stillies in the extended family, so it must be important.

His grandparents were James Stillie and Jane McFunn, sometimes McPhun(n) born about 1780. Only Jane survived to the first census in 1841 in Cumnock and it gave her as born in Ayrshire.

Surname		First name(s)		Sex		Age		Occupation		Where Born		Remarks
		STYLIE		Jane		F		50				Ayrshire
		STYLIE		Daniel		M		20		Ag. Lab.		Ayrshire
		STYLIE		Ann		F		25				Ayrshire
		STYLIE		Andw		M		15		Ag. Lab.		Ayrshire
		STEEL		Janet		F		10				Ayrshire

I left it at that for a long time but today I had another look for McFunns in Ayrshire. I did a very wide search in familysearch.org with McFunn and Ayrshire
and one jumped out at me. A Catherine McPhunn married to John Walker had a child Hamilton Walker in Galston in Ayrshire. In fact they had 2 daughters named Hamilton in 1812 and 1814. Did the Hamilton name come from the McPhunn/McFunn line?

Had another look for possible parents of Jane McFunn est DOB 1780 (as first child b 1801) and found one in Glasgow to Archibald McFunn and Hamilton Leslie. They also had a Catherine.

Looking at James Stillie's and Jane McFunn's children names
first daughter was Hamilton ( named after her mother, traditional Scottish naming pattern)
and second son was Archibald (named after Jane's father) - a perfect fit. Now I'm convinced. It doesn't tie in with 1841 census saying she was born in Ayrshire but that's not 100% reliable.

So the first Hamilton Stillie in 1801 was a girl named after her grandmother, but the other four in subsequent generations were boys.

Now to work out where Hamilton Leslie got her name from. I may be some time…


Update here

John McMeekin 1932 - 2012

This is my dear brother-in-law Jock who died earlier this year just a few weeks short of his 80th birthday.

He was born in Glengyron Row where the family lived until 1939 when they moved down to Cumnock.

On leaving school he served in the army in Malaya and Singapore and carried some photos from that time in his wallet. He never went abroad again!

He married Margaret on 6th June 1952 when they were both 20 and they went on to have 8 children.

He was a skilled bricklayer and generally very good with his hands.  

with his mother Bel circa 1980

For a while he drove a baker's van and his wee brother was his van boy. David recalls how well he dealt with his customers.

He was a wonderful family man investing in a minibus for outings. The family grew as the children married and gave him 19 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren. The family home was never empty for long.  However they were chased home on Sunday evening as that was the night he and Margaret would head for the Juniors Club for some R and R.

The annual family bash on the 2nd January was legendary. Jock would sit in his armchair like the ayatollah as food and drink were delivered to him. He would dispense balloons and pennies and hugs and kisses to the wee ones. He was a truly lovely man and had time for everyone.

Fleming line from Beith

I've traced my mother-in-law's ancestors to Beith in north Ayrshire in the late 18th century. It's a typical tale of families supporting each other, adapting to circumstances: moving where there is work, early deaths and second marriages and families.

Online tree here Follow the blue markers for the direct line.

Robert Fleming married Margaret Anderson in Beith on 23 August 1805

I think Robert was the one born 25 May 1783 in Beith to Robert Fleming and Margaret Barbour making him 22 at the time of his marriage

Margaret Anderson (1786 -1862) is the daughter of John Anderson and Mary Dunlop born 14 October 1786 in Beith making her 18 at the time of the marriage. Her family farmed at Foreside in Beith parish.

Robert Fleming (1783) and Margaret Anderson have 10 recorded children born in Beith between 1806 and 1826.

We are descended from Samuel Fleming born 2 December 1818 who married Elizabeth Shemons on 3 Jan 1839. Elizabeth was born in Ireland about 1819 and her parents are Hugh Shemons and Elizabeth Jellie; this information from her 1864 death certificate as given by her son.

In the 1841 census Samuel, Elizabeth and baby Janet are at 60 Main St, Beith. He is a cotton handloom weaver.

His grandmother Margaret Barbour is, I believe, still alive in 1841 and recorded at 99 Bunswynd, Beith as Widow Fleming; not much to go on, but her daughter-in-law and 5 grandchildren are present:

Widow Fleming     80 = Margaret Barbour born possibly 1756 (Ages in 1841 are rounded down, so 80 = 80 - 84, assuming the person knows their year of birth!)
Mrs.  Highslop     50 stocking maker  = ?may be daughter Mary
Mary Highslop     15 =?  Cotton Hand Loom Weaver
Mrs. Robt Fleming     50 = Margaret Anderson b1786 Cotton Hand Loom Weaver
Robert Fleming     30 = Robert b 1809 Cotton Hand Loom Weaver
Margt Fleming     25 = Margaret b 1814 Cotton Hand Loom Weaver
Andrew Fleming     20 = Andrew Fleming b 1816 Cotton Hand Loom Weaver
William Fleming     15 = brother b 1823 Cotton Hand Loom Weaver
Thos Fleming     15 = brother b 1826 Cotton Hand Loom Weaver

Margaret Anderson is living in Bunswynd with son William a cattle driver in 1851 and 1861 and dies there in 1862. Her parents names are confirmed as John Anderson and Mary Dunlop.

Samuel Fleming dies somewhere between 1844 and 1847
1844 is the birthdate of his 3rd child Robert (great grandfather) and 1847 is when his widow remarries.

In 1851 census his widow Elizabeth Shemons, with her 3 children Janet, Elizabeth and Robert, is in Auchinleck with new husband coal miner George Rae, an older widower,  and baby Hugh Rae born in New Cumnock in 1850

In 1861 census they are at Kilgrammie in the parish of Dailly with daughter Catherine Rae born in Old Cumnock in 1853.

Elizabeth Shemons dies in 1864 in Dalry aged only 45 of cancer of the uterus. Son Robert Fleming signed the death certificate as Robert Rae. Widower George Rae gets married for a third time to Margaret Bole.

Samuel and Elizabeth's son Robert Fleming (1844-1920) a coal miner marries Marion McFedries(1842-1917) in Dailly later in 1864*. She is the daughter of David McFedries and Isabella McJannet. They name their first child after Robert's stepfather George Rae.
They live in Dailly, then Galston, New Cumnock and settle in Cumnock about 1883 and have eight  children all of whom survived to adulthood (1911 census).
Robert's older sister Elizabeth Fleming and husband David Murdoch and children go out to Australia in 1889 on the Cuzco. Other family members remain in the area.

Grandfather Hugh Fleming was born at Kilgrammie in Dailly in 9 February 1875. He was a coal miner. He married Elizabeth Stillie in 1895 in Cumnock. They had 3 children 2 of whom died before 1900. And Elizabeth herself died in 1900 of tubercular peritonitis aged 35. In 1901 widower Hugh married his cousin Mary Cowan Wilson the daughter of Isabella McFedries and William Wilson. They had seven more children five of whom survived into adulthood including
Isabella McFedries Fleming b 1903 who married David McMeekin.

Mary Cowan Wilson (Mrs Hugh Fleming)

Bel (Isabella McFedries Fleming (1903-1995)  her niece Mina Fleming (1929-1994)  and her mother  Mary Cowan Wilson (1874-1957) taken early fifties in Cumnock

In 1914 Robert and Marion Fleming celebrated their Golden Wedding with a party at their home 6 Glengyron Row.  This is the invitation they sent to their son Hugh which was kept by Hugh's daughter Bel McMeekin who must have attended the party on 7 October 1914 aged 11, just 2 months after the outbreak of World War One.

The Philadelphia Story

Some distant relations on my husband's side left Scotland for a new life in Philadelphia.

A lady over there contacted me via ancestry to ask about another member of the family who also fetched up in Pennsylvania. Her name was Isabella Wardrope and I found her birth in Falkirk in 1872. It seems she met her future husband on a sea crossing from the USA back to Glasgow as she was going to visit her mother who was sick. Her future husband Matthew Wilson was returning with his young son George aged about 4 after his wife had died of influenza. The family story is they met on the boat and she helped Matthew with the boy.
I hunted and hunted to find them both on the same boat. I could see them on separate boats but needed to find them on the same crossing to substantiate the family story.
Meanwhile I found both of Matthew's marriages and the 1900 census has the first family. He married Isabella or Bella in 1905 so probably looking for a voyage about 1901 as the son was born in 1895. I had already found Bella returning to USA in 1901 so eventually pared the search down to Isabella Wardrope going from New York to Glasgow in 1901.

Here is the record of the City of Rome arriving Glasgow July 1901 and look whose names are below.

Isabella is 10 years younger than her birthdate and it's Martha not Matthew. No wonder I they were hard to find!

The lady in the US did not know that her grandmother had a sister nearby. Her 98 year old father (Matthew and Isabella's son) is still alive so he will be pleased to learn all this.

Hyslop gravestone in Penpont

I took this photo as I thought it related to the Hyslops in my tree. It doesn't, as it turns out,  but I had a look-see to find out more about the family. A lot of the people mentioned don't appear in records so this gravestone is a wonderful source of information.

John Hyslop was born in Sanquhar about 1823.

His first wife is Henrietta Laurie born 24 April 1822 (from stone) in Penpont from (censuses).

I can find no record of her birth but she could be the daughter of Alexander Laurie and Jean Mcmillan who had children in Penpont in 1824, 1836 and 1828  in Penpont. Wrong! See UPDATE below!

I pick up John and Henrietta in 1851 census on ancestry (a site to which I am subscribed) in Penpont Village, John is a carter. Henrietta is a year older than him. Their children are 
Ann 6
James 5
Ebenezer 2 
John 5 months. 

In the 1861 census they are at Pringleton, Penpont. John is still a carter, and they have one additional child Helen age 1. The four in 1851 are still alive. 

In the 1871 census they are in Penpont village. John is still a carter. Children with them are 
John 20 
Helen 11 
Jessie 5

Children who died in infancy are

an earlier Ebenezer  born 10 Mar 1846

Margaret born 20 Jun 1860

an earlier Jessie born 1 Jul 1861 died 23 Jan 1864

William 11 Jul 1864 died in infancy

Henrietta died in 1872. We are now into the era of statutory registration (1855 onwards in Scotland) so I could download the death certificate from scotlandspeople for £1.20 (after buying a minimum of £7 of credits) to find her parents. Parents are recorded if the informant knows the names. Since her husband is still alive he is most likely the informant, so the chances are that they will be correctly recorded. When it is a child, a grandchild or a neighbour who is registering the death, it is less likely to be accurate.  See UPDATE below

Their son John was born 3 Oct 1850 and died 20 Mar 1874 according to the gravestone.

Summary of 10 known children of John Hyslop and Henrietta Laurie, born Penpont

James 1845 (married Marion Kirk) grocer in Thornhill

Ebenezer 1846-1846

Ann 1846

Ebenezer 1848

John 1850-1874

Helen 7 May 1859

Margaret 20 Jun 1860 -1860

Jessie 1861-1864

William 9 Jul 1864-1864

Jessie 15 Aug 1865

In 1881 John is a coachman at Drumlanrig Mains Cottage with a new wife and family. He died there 22 Jan 1888 (from gravestone) so I am sure it is the same John Hyslop,

His new wife is the much younger Elizabeth from Rannoch in Perthshire. There is a marriage in 1874 of a John Hyslop to Elizabeth Ferguson so that could be them. I could get the certificate. * See UPDATE below.  Both mother and father's names are recorded on Scottish marriage certificates from 1855 on. They tend to be accurate, assuming the bride and groom know the names of their parents, not always the case with mother's maiden name if the parents are already deceased.

1881 census

Drumlanrig Mains Cottage

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John Hyslop  60 coachman

Elizabeth Hyslop  36 wife born Rannoch, Perthshire

John A Hyslop 5

William McC Hyslop 3

Robert Hyslop  2

Christina E S Hyslop  1 Month

William is William McCheyne Hyslop (gravestone died 10 May 1888 age 10 years and 6 months)

and son Robert is the Private in the 8th Rifles who died in Palestine in 1917. Ancestry has a record of his death in "Egypt". If a service record exists, you can get lots of information including measurements, colour of hair and eyes and next of kin.

In 1891 census,widow Elizabeth has moved her family to Glasgow.

7 Willowbank Cresent, Kelvin

Elizabeth Hyslop    43 born Rannoch

John Alern Hyslop  16 clerk born Durrisdeer

Robert Hyslop    13

David Hyslop   8

Henry Hyslop   6

James Steel     40 a boarder, commercial traveller

John Aikman   20 a lodger, ironmonger’s assistant

Thomas Hetherington  21 a lodger, ironmonger’s assistant

James Gordon  20 a lodge, grocer’s assistant

1901 census

16 Stanley Street, Kelvin

Elizabeth Hyslop  54 keeps lodgers

John A Hyslop 25 law clerk

Robert Hyslop  22 vanman fruit merchant’s

David Hyslop 17 distiller’s clerk

Harry Hyslop  15 electrical

John P Macdonald    42 visitor law clerk

Thomas King   42 lodger draper’s clerk

Jessie L Geddes  34 lodger, music teacher

Summary of 6 known children of John Hyslop and Elizabeth, born Durisdeer

John A Hyslop 1875

William McCheyne  1877-1888

Robert 1878 - 1917

Christina E S 1881-1889

David 1883

Henry (Harry) 1885

As to his parents, there is no record for a John Hyslop born around 1822 in Sanquhar but there is a child William born there in 1824 to Ebenezer Hyslop and Jean Wilson.  *see UPDATE below

An alternative to shelling out for each certificate, for me, is to go to the Burns Monument Centre in Kilmarnock. There you can pay £15 for unlimited searching and certificates. You can't save the records to your account but you can print them. I like to go with a list of look-ups.  It is excellent when looking for eg a death of someone with a common name who is not in the place you expect them to be. You can (if you are as determined as me) go through dozens of results till you find the right one. Next time I am in, I'll get these certificates and see if I am right about the parents of John and Henrietta. Watch this space!

UPDATE 10 Mar 2012
I got Henrietta's death certificate today. She died at Pringleton on 21 Nov 1872.
She is the child of Jams Lowrie joiner and Helen Hyslop

My guess about John's parents was wrong. John Hyslop died at Drumlanrig Mains on 22 Jan 1888. His parents were James Hyslop carter and Agnes (sic) Hunter.  I also got his marriage to Elizabeth Ferguson which gave his parents as James Hyslop carrier and Ann Hunter, though hard to read. Elizabeth is daughter of John Ferguson and Christina McGregor.

Further information from Rhonda in Dumfries 

re:Ebenezer Hyslop: his father John Hyslop and Henrietta Laurie, I can tell you that his grandparents were James Hyslop and Ann Hunter, his GGrandparents were John Hyslop and Margaret Crichton, latter buried Kirkconnel.

Henrietta Laurie's sister married William McCheyne. Assume that's who William McCheyne Hyslop was named after.

Francis Sievwright, 1795-1872

I've been looking into Francis Sievwright, army surgeon ca 1795-1872
First of all, I have no reason to believe he is related to "my" Sievwrights from Angus, but since I have done the research, I thought I would share it. Maybe someone else will find it useful.
Since there is an older Francis Sievwright and a Colin Sievwright, surgeon,  in my tree I thought it was possible that this man was related. I've added them to my tree anyway as it is easier to make sense of it. link to Francis

Sources
A lot of information on his life came from Edinburgh newspapers, army documents and medical reports found online. The University of Edinburgh Archive http://www.archives.lib.ed.ac.uk/  gave his years of study and qualifications. 1851 and 1861 Scottish censuses transcribed by Ancestry.com gave dates and places of birth for Francis, Mary and 2 children. Familysearch.org provided records of some of his children and gravestonephotos.com helped tie it all together with photos and transcription of 3 gravestones in Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh.

Birth, Marriage and Death
1795 born in Edinburgh. No record. Date from census and death certificate. No parents on his death certificate Started university of Edinburgh in 1811. That would make him 16.
 25 March 1824 at Trinity College, Edinburgh marriage of Francis Sievwright Esq. 59th Regiment to Mary Henderson  dau of Wm Henderson Esq.
23 Jan 1872 Francis died in the Royal Edinburgh Asylum, Morningside.

Wife
Mary Henderson
born 16 Jan 1799 Edinburgh
died 9 Aug 1867 Edinburgh parents William Henderson and Barbara Rutherford

Known Children

1  William Edward Paget Suvwright (sic)

born:
christening:            04 Jun 1825            Cawnpore, Bengal, India
parents:            Francis Suvwright, Mary
burial:            02 Aug 1825            Cawnpore, Bengal, India
parents:            F. Seivewright (sic)
Death reported in the Edinburgh Magazine:
Death on 1 Aug 1825 at Cawnpore William Edward Paget infant son of Francis Sievwright Esq. Assistant Surgeon 59th Regiment of Foot

2  Francis Seivewright (sic)

birth:            27 Apr 1826            Cawnpore, Bengal, India
death: abt Dec 1845
He had a son Francis who died after the Battle of Ferozshah - 21st-22nd December 1845. Lieutenant Francis Sievwright - 9th Foot - died of wounds, 3rd January 1846. Aged 21. Son of Assistant-Surgeon Francis Sievwright (59th Foot). His will is in the National Archive

3 Andrew Sievwright no record other than his gravestone.

4 Allan Sievwright

b 1826
d 1870 gravestone in Dean Cemetery

5  Charles Edward Whitefield Sievwright

recorded as Lievwright
birth 21 Apr 1830 Cawnpore, Bengal
in Edinburgh in 1851 and 1861 censuses
died 1867 single

6  Mary Rozalie Sievwright

as Mary Royaline Sieveright
birth:
15 Apr 1835 Meerut, Bengal
married John Birkmyre Wingate on 11 Dec 1860 in Glasgow
died 1901

7 male child

born  05 Apr 1841 in Edinburgh died same day, father Francis Sievwright. From the gravestone information below I have deduced that this is Theodore.

Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh, photographed by a volunteer for the excellent Gravestone Photographic Resource http://www.gravestonephotos.com/
They are always looking for volunteers to photograph local graveyards.

William Sievwright died 1825

Francis Sievwright  age 20 died 1846  brother of William Sievwright

Andrew Sievwright age 36 1862 brother of William Sievwright

Theodore Sievwright died 1841  brother of William Sievwright

Charles E W Sievwright age 37  1867

Mary Henderson  age 68 died 1867

Francis Sievwright age 77 1872

Mary Rosalie Wingate age 66 died 1901

a third stone bears the legend

Allan Sievwright age 42 1828 died 1870
Harriet Pain Langland age 73 1831 died 1904 wife of Allan Sievwright
Mary Jessie Harry Sievwright age 3 1859 died 1862 daughter of Allan Sievwright

Their marriage certificate reveals that Allan too is a child of Francis Sievwright and Mary Henderson and was a Captain in the Royal Artillery when he married Harriet in 1859.
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Major Sievwright served in the Crimean campaign from July 1855, including the siege and fall of Sebastopol  (Medal with Clasp, and Turkish Medal)

from THE NEW ANNUAL ARMY LIST,  MILITIA LIST,  AND  INDIAN CIVIL SERVICE LIST,  1870


Francis's Career from various magazines published online

1813 enrolls in RAMC Royal Army Medical Corps from University of Edinburgh record. Ties in with 31 years service in 1844

1818 assistant surgeon in India

1819 writes a report on smallpox in India (doc in Glasgow university archives)

1823 does further study at Edinburgh University

1827 Francis Sievwright of 59th Regiment to 11 Dragoons

1844 31 years service


Census information

1851 census Scotland
5 Rutland Place, Edinburgh
no Francis but wife Mary age 50
and their 2 surviving children both born E Indies, British subjects
Mary R Sievwright 15
Charles 20 clerk in HM Exchequer

1861 census Scotland
Milton Shore Victoria Terrace, Dunoon and Kilmun, Argyll
Francis Sievwright age 63 born Edinburgh army medical officer
Mary Sievwright wife 56

1861 census
25 India Street, flat
Charles E W Sievwright 30 clerk in civil service

Francis died in Edinburgh Royal Asylum in 23 Jan 1872 of exhaustion due to a large carbuncle. His death was recorded by an attendant who got his wife's name wrong (Mary Rosalie Deuchars instead of Mary Henderson)  and didn't know his parents' names. His father was recorded as a merchant.

It looks like Mary Rozalie Sievwright's husband John Birkmyre Wingate's sister Jane Wingate married John Langlands in 1862 brother of Allan Sievwright's wife Harriet Pain Langlands. Allan and Harriet had 2 other children. After Allan's death, Harriet lived with Langlands family members in England.

If anyone has any further information, please leave a comment or email me via my profile.