Margaret Wellwood was, by all indications, born in 1830 in Belfast, Ireland (see earlier post).  The first indication of Margaret in Scotland is her marriage to Robert Murray, a man 23 years her senior, on April 27, 1857 in Calton, Glasgow.  Margaret and Robert had 4 children together.  Robert Murray was born in Bridgeton, Glasgow on Mar. 6, 1858.  Little Robert died 7 years later on Nov. 2, 1865 also in Bridgeton.  Archibald Murray was born on Aug. 23, 1862 in Bridgeton and died just after little Robert, on Nov. 18, 1865.  The causes of death were listed as scarlatina for little Robert and pneumonia for Archibald.  It must have been a difficult time for Margaret and her husband.  Their next child, also named Robert, was born in Bridgeton on Oct. 21, 1866.  This child survived.  Their fourth and last child was named Margaret and was born in Bridgeton on January 28, 1870.

In the 1861 Scotland census, Robert, his wife Margaret, and Little Robert (age 3) can be found living in the home of his brother William and his son (also named William) in Bridgeton, Calton, Glasgow.  By the 1871 census, Robert and Margaret have their own residence in Bridgeton and are living with their son Robert, Jr. whose age is given as 1 year.  By the 1881 census Margaret is living alone in Camlachie, Barony, Glasgow with her two surviving children – Robert, age 14, and Margaret, age 11 – her husband Robert having died on May 8, 1880 in the Barnhill Poorhouse of “General Decay” (he was 72 years of age).

Margaret remarried on March 22, 1889 to James Johnston in Dennistoun, Glasgow.  He was more of an age to her, having been born about 1822.  They can be found living in Camlachie in the 1891 census, in the back land at 37 Soho Street.   James died on April 20, 1898 in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire.  In the 1901 census, Margaret can be found living in the Barnhill Poorhouse, where she died on Feb. 15, 1907.  Her son Robert signed her death certificate.

Margaret’s daughter Margaret was living in Calton with her brother Robert, Jr. and his family in the 1891 census.  Robert had married on July 15, 1887 to Catherine Lafferty (Laverty, Laferty) in Bridgeton, Glasgow.  Robert and Catherine had two children by the time of the 1891 census – Charlotte, born Oct. 12, 1887 in Camlachie, and Peter, born in Calton on April 24, 1890.  They went on to have 5 more children – Robert, born on Aug 5, 1892 in Calton, Hugh, born Nov. 5, 1894 in Calton, Francis, born on Feb. 16, 1897 in Calton, Archibald, born Oct. 13, 1899 in Bridgeton, and John, born on April 30, 1902, also in Bridgeton.  Little Hugh died at the age of six weeks old, on Dec. 23, 1894, in Calton.  Margaret, Robert’s sister, was boarding at the YWCA in Calton in 1901 and working as a French Polisher – I have no marriage or death info for her.

Robert’s wife Catherine died on March 31, 1918 in Bridgeton, Glasgow.  Robert died there, also, on Nov. 2, 1921.  Of their children, I have only found further information for Peter.  Peter married Janet Robinson in Dennistoun, Lanarkshire on June 27, 1924.  Janet was 25, nine years younger than Peter.  They had at least one child – Peter, Jr. signed his father’s death certificate on Jan. 30, 1947 in Townhead, Glasgow.  I have no record of Janet’s death.

© Deborah Ray and archivecookie.com, 2010.