Hadden family from Cumnock

James Welsh was left in Scotland as a baby when  his mother and the rest of her family went to the USA! 

James ca 1925

Mary Hadden had two illegitimate children with James Welsh, a shepherd. First James in 1890 in New Cumnock then William born in 1892 in Kilmarnock.  She later sued the father for breach of promise seeking £200 damages and was eventually awarded £40 in 1893. She may have used this money to sail to the United States in 1894 on the Anchoria. Her mother and siblings were already there.

But first let's go back to 1890. She gave birth to James and the midwife Grace Connell took in the child, certainly by the 1891 census when he was a boarder and probably soon after his birth.  When his mother Mary went to collect him from the Connell home at Refuge Cottage at Roadside, near Cumnock in order to go to America, he was hidden and not handed over. He was left to live happily the rest of his life at Refuge Cottage. His father James Welsh's father had allegedly blocked the marriage. This information from  James's granddaughter.  The newspaper reports  from the Dundee Courier give some information on where Mary, a dairy maid, had worked; Craigdarroch in New Cumnock, Benston between Cumnock and New Cumnock and Stoopshill in Dalry. 

So, Mary Hadden age 30, William age 2 and another son John age 6 sailed on the Anchoria to New York in 1894.  In fact Mary had had 2 other illegitimate children before the 2 with James Welsh.  John and Mary Jane who died a few weeks old.

Once in America Mary married a fellow Scot James B Campbell in Scranton Pennsylvania in 1895 and had another 4 children. This photo dates from about 1909.   William and John will be in the back row.

Earlier generation
Mary Hadden was the son of John Hadden an Irish miner and his wife Mary Jane Bruce. Mary was born in 1866 at Barlonachan in Cumnock. Her father died in 1873. Her mother married a younger Irishman William  Coulter (sometimes Cousar) and emigrated with most of her children to Pennsylvania in 1887 on the Spain.
Mary J Coulter 50
John  Haddon 20
Samuel Haddon 11
Martha Haddon 10
Wm Coulter 10
Andrew Coulter 9
Alice Coulter 7 (=Esther)
Bruce Coulter 4

The only children missing from the manifest were the oldest son James and oldest daughter, the above Mary. We know she was still in Ayrshire but had James gone on ahead and where is Mary Jane's second husband William Coulter?

According to the 1910 US census, James emigrated in 1883 so yes, he had gone first.

William Coulter is alive and well in the 1900 US census in Dunmore with wife Mary, son Bruce daughter Acey Seigel aka Esther and her husband and son.

This is thought to be a photo of James outside Refuge Cottage. His granddaughter in Cumnock had a copy as did the cousins in America.

Mary didn't forget her son James in Cumnock. She sent him a half hunter watch for his 21st birthday. it is now treasured by his great grandson.

Meanwhile James Welsh stayed on in Cumnock, married and had one daughter Isabel. He was a joiner to trade but was an engineer/ car mechanic for most of his working life.

Click here for further information added 10 June 2020

Hutcheson Dalgleish family

I do like an unusual name and they don’t come much more fanciful than Honolulu and Fairy Kyleakin Hutcheson.  Their grandfather George Dalgliesh was from Auchinleck, Ayrshire. 

I decided to have a closer look. 

Blanche Ethel Ruth Dalgliesh was born on 19 April 1874 in Wales where her father was a mine engineer. By 1891 census age 16 she was working as a governess to the daughters of the wealthy Hutcheson family in Rothesay. By 1901 she was the wife of William Hutcheson so I went looking for a death for the first wife, Janet (Jenny) McFie Orkney. What I found instead was a divorce citing Blanche. The wife had found her husband in the girl’s bedroom both in their nightwear. Ruth had had a baby who had later died. There was mention of a yacht and a house in Strone (near Dunoon). 

I found the baby Dousie Pearl Hutcheson was born on 27th February 1892 in Dun-Edin, Strone. Blanche was calling herself Banche Pearl Dalgliesh. Dousie died later that year in Cathcart where the Hutchesons had a home.

The divorce was granted in 24 Jun 1893 with the wife getting £100 a year for each of the two children. William married Blanche Pearl Dalgliesh by declaration in December 1893 by which time she was pregnant with Honolulu who was born in June 1894. 

In 1901 William Blanche, his first two daughters Deta Tahiti and Juanita, Blanche and their two daughters Honolulu and Fairy are living in Rothesay, on the Isle of Bute.  It seems it was William who liked fanciful names for his daughters. They had one more daughter Alexandra Gweneth and 2 sons with more mundane names  William David and George Moir.

William died in 1909 in Rothesay aged 52 and Blanche  remarried in 1915 in London to Frank Conway Reet, a Lieutenant on HMS Centurion. Blanche died in 1957 in Chichester.

I wondered where William’s wealth came from as he didn’t work.

William Hutcheson’s father Alexander and uncle David  were steamship owners in partnership with David MacBrayne, the precursor of Calmac.

https://www.theglasgowstory.com/image/?inum=TGSA00039

Paddle steamer the Iona, one of their fleet and its successor

Blanche on the Cumnock Connections tree

Mystery McIlwraiths

I love old family groups like this. I sadly don't have anything like this for our family.  This family portrait turned up in a box of items Cumnock History Group fell heir to when the Cumnock Chronicle office in Cumnock was closing. All it says on the back is McIlwraith, Springhill Terrace, Muirkirk 

Should be a piece of cake finding them! Ha!

First let's take a look at the photo.  It's a posed studio portrait and they are all in their Sunday best. Going by the clothes I'm guessing pre WW1. A family with first 3 sons then 3 daughters. or the youngest son and oldest daughter could be about the same age.

I look on scotlandspeople.gov.uk for any McIlwraiths in Muirkirk. I find a death of a young married woman in 1928 aged 36. Seems too young and the address is in Glenbuck village some miles to the east of Muirkirk  whereas Springhill I think is near Kames in the town of Muirkirk.

I have made the classic error of assuming the spelling of McIlwraith would be how they were recorded.  I try again using a wild card M*raith and I find a family of 8 in Muirkirk in the 1911 census. This looks promising. They have been recorded as McIluraith and when you look at the handwriting you can understand why.  They are not in Springhill Terrace but in Railway or Old Terrace. This at least is in the town of Muirkirk. They had 3 boys then 3 girls. They were all born in Dailly in Ayrshire and are there in 1901.

1911 census 4 Railway or Old Terrace, Muirkirk

William Mclwraith  48 coal miner (under manager)

Annie 47 wife m 21 years 6 children all living

William son 21 single colliery * keeper UG (=underground)

James son 19 single coal miner hewer

McEwan son 18 single horse driver U/ground

Margaret 14

Janet 10

Evelyn daughter 7

all born Dailly

They were in Muirkirk by 1909 as see in the Cairntable Echoes chapter 2 1909, assuminging this is the son James the second son who would have been about 17 in 1909.

By WW1 all the boys were of service age. I quickly found the youngest McEwan Mcilwraith because of his distinctive name. He was killed in 1917. I found him on the War Memorial in Dailly and a quick look through the other names on the memorial revealed the death of a James McIlwraith in 1915. He was in the Scots Guards.  The oldest son William is not on the Dailly War Memorial. If he served, he presumably survived.

I had a look at the father's death certificate to see who the informant was, usually the oldest son, but it was his son-in-law David Nisbet.

Here they are on the Cumnock Connections tree

I wonder why the Chronicle had the photo.

James Bayne

I am feeling quite pleased with myself.

The large Bayne/Bain family in Fife has been well researched by others before me, but I have found one, James Bayne, who so far hasn't figured on anyone else's tree. I think this is for two reasons
1  his birth in 1817 was not recorded
2 he had no children so no-one was working back up the way
He passed unnoticed until I downloaded his mother's death certificate from scotlandspeople and it was signed by James Bayne son in 1860.  Who he?

After some searching the censuses via ancestry I found him married to Margaret Kidd. They were at Arncroach in 1851 and 1861

I downloaded his death certificate to be doubly sure he was my GG uncle and he was.

His mother-in-law Sophia Kidd was living with them in 1851 and 1861 so that is how I knew his wife's name since I can't find a record of the marriage.  In 1861 a brother William Kidd, "fundholder", is living with them too. I couldn't find him in earlier censuses so I googled and found this photo
which gave me James Bayne's date of birth of 17 May 1816.  The inscription is also on Fife FHS CD but it is great to see the original stone. Thanks to Sandy Stevenson for posting it.

William Kidd had been in Calcutta. Still to find out what he was doing there, probably with the HEIC (The Honourable Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies) or the army.

I found out all this because I got the certificate and read carefully all the details.

Cousins removed

What does a relationship such as first cousin twice removed mean? Or a half second cousin three times removed?

We all know what a cousin is, the child of an aunt or uncle. This is also called a first cousin.

The "removed" part refers to a different generation. For example your first cousin's child is your first cousin once removed (in genealogy shorthand 1C1R).

In the tree below
Margaret and Marion McFedries are sisters, daughters of David McFedries
Their children are Isabella Campbell and Hugh Fleming (first cousins), they share grandparents.
The row below Marion M M Patrick and Isabella M Fleming are second cousins, they share great grandparents.
And Mary W McMeekin is a second cousin once removed to Marion M M Patrick.

Back to the first cousins, if Margaret and Marion McFedries had different mothers, they would be half sisters and their descendants would be half cousins and so on as well.

In this second tree

Alexander Anderson (the poet) is a first cousin of James Anderson born 1828, so all of James Anderson's children will be first cousins of Alexander, you just need to count the generations to get the right degree of removal. Jane Anderson Reid is a first cousin  three times removed (1C3R).

Hidden Ayrshire Lives – Mary Jane Smith 1875 - 1947

Guest post from Elaine Corbett about her grandmother. I asked her to write this as I've never come across a story quite like it.

Always start with something you know – Kay’s golden rule of family research, and in this case we knew only little snippets. My great grandmother Mary Smith (on the tree)  was from Islay, had a brother called Robert, and lived at Laggan farm.

There they were in the 1911 census at Laggan on the island of  Islay but it was only when I bought the credits and had a look at the detail that we found she was an Ayrshire lass! Not only that, she was living with her aunt and uncle.  Tracing back revealed more and more of her life. Born at Drongan House, Stair, in 1875 where her father was well established as proprietor of the farm there, she had a very promising start. Her mother was also from a farming family, the Osbornes of Drumjohn, and she was quite a bit younger than her new husband.  Brother Robert soon followed, and then the first tragedy struck. After only four years of marriage David Smith, her father died suddenly at Drongan House.

The 1881 census finds them resettled in a house in Kilmarnock; widow Mary, Mary Jane, Robert, and two lodgers,  Matthew Osborne and Harold McNicol both apprentices.  Matthew Osborne was Mary’s younger brother who would later become proprietor of the Kilmarnock Standard.

The same year as the census, another tragedy hit as diphtheria swept through Ayrshire and claimed the life of Harold McNicol, just seventeen, and then the following year Mary’s mother died as well.  After these traumatic events, widow Mary’s mental and physical health must have deteriorated as the next tragedy is her death in Ayr asylum leaving Matthew Osborne to deal with her estate and see that the two children are cared for.  It is with some relief that the census of 1891 shows them settled with Aunt Agnes Osborne and her husband Robert Wallace at Townhead of Drumley, Tarbolton.
All seems well and the 1901 census shows them still there.  Robert has a job as a clerk, and Mary Jane is ‘farmer’s niece’. All is not as it seems, however, because I am looking now at my grandfather’s birth certificate.

In midsummer  1896 Mary Jane stepped off the train at Keswick station in the Lake District, rented an apartment just off the main street, and gave birth to Robert.  She registered his birth in Cockermouth and handed him over to a miner and his wife from Stainburn near Workington.

The following year she did the same thing again with Victor James, leaving the two little boys together.

Two years later she left her next child with the MacMaster family in Cockermouth.  This couple already had a few children of their own, so when Mary Jane called back again in January of 1901 it was Sarah Briscoe who stepped in to take the new child.  Two months after his birth there is Mary Jane back in Tarbolton with glaring blank spaces where her children should be. Second golden rule of family research – People Lie.

By about 1905 and a total of five children secreted away, Robert Wallace decided to move to Islay. That may have been a reaction to his niece’s inappropriate behaviour but we cannot know. If it was an attempt to stop the babies arriving it didn’t work, because Sarah Briscoe took in another four babies from Mary Jane over the years up until 1912. They called her Granny Briscoe.

When living in Islay, transport must  have been more difficult for her. Rather than taking the train, Mary Jane would have to rely on the numerous passenger ferries that shuttled across between Islay, Workington and Whitehaven on the west coast of Cumberland, and sometimes Silloth and Belfast. During her frequent visits to check on the children, Mary Jane became unsettled with the treatment her first two were having.  She brought with her money for their keep, sewn into her petticoats and Islay cheeses in her luggage, but the miner and his wife spent the windfall cash on themselves.  Granny Briscoe couldn’t take them until she had moved to a bigger farmhouse in the beautiful vale of Lorton, which she did and kept all eight together in the end.

Then another change. Aunt Agnes died in 1918, and shortly afterwards the lease on Laggan farm ran out.  Here is supposition, but family lore had it that Mary Jane was done out of her legacy, so I assume Robert Wallace remarried taking her inheritance to his new wife.  Whatever happened, Mary Jane is next seen getting married to David Knox, a bachelor farmer from Ochiltree where she had been housekeeper – she had to find employment.  They married at Schaw Manse and lived in Woodland Cottage, Drongan.  The marriage lasted six years until David Knox died. After that, I believe she got the family in Cumberland together and asked if they would like her to move to live nearer them.  Granny Briscoe was still living with them at the time, and they collectively thought it would be unfair on her, she being their carer for so many years.  So Twynholm was her next stop, where there were Smith cousins.

She died there in 1947 with her cousin James’ daughter Jane Fergusson present.

I thought this was all I could find out about Mary Jane and then my cousin Raymond came up with something new – he says 13 children!  So my job isn’t complete yet.  Somewhere along the Kilmarnock to Carlisle line, or near a port of call of those Islay ferries, there may be some more of our relations with Cumnock Connections.  Looking at the names of my great aunt and uncles,  I am short a David – after her father, and a Jane – after a grandmother. If anybody knows of them I would be delighted to hear! (leave a comment)

Many thanks to Kay and her team at Cumnock History Group for providing so much additional information through the Cumnock Connections tree, and showing us just how many Ayrshire links we have.

Posted on behalf of the Cumbrian Smiths, the sons and daughter of Mary Jane.

John Morrison, showman

John Morrison was born on 12th April 1829 in Old Cumnock (according to all censuses) and baptised on 26th November  1829 in Kilmarnock, the natural son of Elizabeth Grier and John Morrison.  Elizabeth went on to marry Donald or Daniel Stewart in 1833 in Kilmarnock.

John was living with the Stewarts in 1841 in Kilmarnock but by 1851 census he was an "equestrian" living in Paisley with his wife Mary McNab of Renton.

In December of 1852 he was charged with wife assault in Cullen, Banffshire and is a showman from Kilmarnock. She clearly forgave him as she paid his fine and they went on to have nine children together. (9 children according to his obituary. I've only found 8)

Published: 7th Dec 1852 
Newspaper: Banffshire Journal and General Advertiser

In November 1858 John and Mary were in court again but this time they were the victims of an assault by Sheriff Officers in Cummingston on the Moray coast near Burghead.

Their children were born all around the country; Kilmarnock,  Ayr, Aberdeen, Golspie, Lossiemouth, Echt, Charlestown. Many of these are seaside places.

In 1861 census he is a shoemaker living in 34 Shuttle Lane Aberdeen with Mary and 4 children.

In 1871 census he is a photographer living in a caravan on South Green Dunfermline with Mary and 7 children.

In September 1877 he is a showman and shooting gallery proprietor from Dundee in trouble for setting up with out permission. Found guilty.

Buchan Observer and East Aberdeenshire Advertiser - Friday 21 September 1877

Mary died in Dundee in 1878 and he married Sarah Stratton in 1880. This marriage was short lived. More later.

 In 1881 he is back in Kilmarnock with his mother now the widow of William Richmond and half brother William Stewart. He is a joiner.
West George Lane, Kilmarnock
Elizabeth Richmond 79
John Morrison 51 son journeyman joiner
William Stewart 16 son
Ann Goudie 61 visitor

Meanwhile 3 of his children Jessie, Hugh and Helen are living with their stepmother Sarah in Dundee.

In 1885 he was in court again in Perthshire.

Dundee Courier 
Friday 10 April 1885

He was sinned against in 1885 when his second wife committed bigamy. His address was Euclid Crescent Dundee.

Dundee Evening Telegraph
Tuesday 02 June 1885

Things seem to have gone downhill for him after that.

In 1891 he is in a lodging house in Dundee. At 20 Bruce St Lodging House

Occupation Pedlar age 67

It was reported in the Dundee Courier of Thursday 02 June 1892 that he was drunk and disorderly at the Model (lodging house) and he was fined 5 shillings or five days' (imprisonment)/

In 1895 he featured in a series of articles in the Caledonia magazine written by Donald J Jolly. I wasn't sure at first it was the same man as he claimed to be born on 7th April 1819 but his obituary ties in with some of his claims.
Caledonia

1901 at  97 Overgate St Lodging House (Patrick Rock's)

Occupation Pedlar age 75

He died of chronic bronchitis in October 1903 in Perth Poorhouse age 74, consistent with his birth record.

Reports of his death appear some weeks later and he is described as a centenarian born 1801 in New Cumnock.  He performed at the coronation of George IV in 1821 before he was born! I wondered if this refers to his father who was described as a labourer in 1829 and a tile maker on John's death certificate. Interesting reading though. He was known as "Shooting Johnny"; a clown called Caldebratis; the original Ord.

Aberdeen Press and Journal - Friday 25 December 1903

Cumnock Connections tree

* His place of birth is consistently Old Cumnock in the censuses and his mother was from there.

Updated 19 Feb 2018

Chynoweths from Cornwall to Ayrshire

Elizabeth Hunn Lander (born 1804 in Calstock) married Joseph Chynoweth,  a brewer or maltster in 1822 in Calstock.
They had several children but Joseph died in 1838 leaving six children, one of whom, Eliza 1838, was born after his death.
Elizabeth then married her brother-in-law William Chynoweth in 1840. They had another four children.

In the 1860s the children went their separate ways.

Elizabeth Hunn Chynoweth 1828 and her husband went to Australia about 1866.

Father William son Joseph and dau Eliza went to Illinois, USA around 1867-8.
They are in 1880 census in Braidwood I think mother Elizabeth Hunn Lander went too, as I can't find a death in England for her.

James 1823, Henry 1834 and Jane 1850 all turned up in the parish of Loudoun, in Ayrshire, Scotland.

John 1831 and wife went to Canada, I think shortly after the birth of their son Joseph in Loudoun in 1867.

Margaret Thorburn 1841-1910

Following on from yesterday's post:

Margaret Thorburn was the daughter of William Thorburn and Janet Stewart born about 1841 in Kilwinning.

She married James King on the last day of 1860 in Galston.

They had 5 children John, Charles William, Mary in 1869 and Margaret in 1872.
Wee Margaret died in 1873.

Maybe that was the catalyst for what was to follow.

Soon after this Margaret  took wee Mary and went to live with James Masterton.

Meanwhile James King took up with Marion Scott and they had a son James in Mar 1875 in Tarbolton.

James Masterton and Margaret Thorburn  had a son George in 1874  and then Jane in 1877 in Northumberland and by 1881 census were living in Wakefield Yorkshire with Mary, George Jane and James age 7 in Wakefield Yorkshire. They are all recorded as Masterton.

They had another child Janet in 1882 in Dalmellington (where her mother was living in 1881)   Her birth certificate confirms that Margaret left James King in 1873.

By 1891 census however James and his children are living in Muirkirk and Janet is living with her mother in Dalmellington.  In 1901 James Masterton and daughter Janet are still in Muirkirk.

In 1901 Maggie Thorburn is living in Carcluie Farm near Dalrymple. She is apparently the cousin of the farmer William White. Still to find out who he is. Thanks to fellow sleuth Rhonda Queen for finding this record.

I worked out the Masterton connection from a tree Emily Thorburn Wilson supplied, drawn up by John McSwan in 2003.

In it he has the daughter Mary King married to John Michael Duffy in 1890.

I found John and Mary in the 1891 census where they are living with her "father” James Masterson and some of the siblings.

From that I tracked them down in 1881 census in Wakefield and I got the 1882 birth of Janet in Dalmellngton to confirm it.

We know have Margaret accounted for in all the censuses. But her mother Janet is still unaccounted for in 1861 and 1871. Maybe tomorrow?


Margaret Thorburn on the tree

William Thorburn and Janet Stewart

William Thorburn was born in Stranraer in 1814. His parents were Robert Thorburn a sailor and Mary Millwrick. He had  brothers, John, Theobald and Robert the latter of which was born in Ayr in 1824. Sadly there is no further information on Theobald or John.

In 1833 in Ayr he married Mary Begbie (also recorded as Mary Jane Bigger (and various other combinations). This is not unusual at this time when ordinary people were illiterate and officials wrote down their name as they heard it. They had 3 children quick succession. Jane, Mary and James. The girls both succumbed within a few weeks of their births but James survived. Sadly wife Mary died of a fever in 1837. (more about Mary on previous post here  )

We pick William up again in 1841 census in Kilwinning when he is living with Janet age 15 (= in the range 15-19) and James age 5 and baby Margaret 3 months. This is second wife Janet Stewart whom he married in 1839 in Kilwinning). He is a coal cutter born in Scotland but not Ayrshire.  Two more children are born in Kilwinning in the 1840s - William and Daniel.

In 1851 census they have moved to Galston at Holmes colliery.  This gives William’s birthplace as Stranraer and Janet’s as Patna, born about 1824.

In 1861 William and son Daniel are at Loudoun Kirk near Galston living with his brother Robert and family. Wife Janet doesn’t appear in the 1861 census but I couldn’t find a death between 1855 (when statutory recording began) and 1861 so presumed she died between 1851 and 1854. This turns out not to be the case as we will see later.

His other sons James and William were both married and living in Galston. Daughter Margaret was married to James King and also living in Galston.

In 1870 William fell into the river Irvine near his home while inebriated and in the company of an unnamed woman. His body was found weeks later. This is reported in newspapers. His death certificate gives no relatives. The coroner was the informant.

His wife Janet Stewart (calling herself Janet Trainer) turned up in Dalmellington in the 1891 census in the company of daughter Margaret Thorburn (wife of James King). In the 1881 census she is at the same address alone. She died in Dalmellington in 1898 and the informant was her grandson Daniel Thorburn of Galston. I cannot find her in the 1861 or 1871 censuses under any of those names. She is "Trainer" on her death certificate. Margaret Thorburn or King also appears to have left her family. James King was living with another woman Marion Scott in 1881. Margaret is unaccounted for in 1881 and 1901*. She died in Kyle Union poorhouse in Ayr in 1910 of a stroke. Her usual address was Dalrymple.  Informant was her son William King of Skares.

So the questions still to be answered are:

Why was Janet calling herself Trainer? I have looked for a marriage in vain.

* Where was the daughter Margaret Thorburn King in 1881 and 1901. Update: she was living with James Masterton in 1881 in Wakefield. In 1901 she was living with a cousin at Carcluie Farm in Ayr.

Janet on the family tree here