At this point, I’m going to skip over to Matthew Wellwood, even though I haven’t yet proved that he is a child of Moses and Jane.  Matthew makes his first appearance in Scotland on New Year’s Day in 1838, when he married his first wife Catherine Glen in Glasgow.  As near as I can figure it, he was 20 years old at the time of his marriage.  By the time of the 1841 census, they have 2 children: Alexander M., born Jan. 23, 1869, and Jane, born Oct. 12, 1840, both in Glasgow.  Their third child Matthew, Jr., was born on Jan 16, 1842 in Glasgow.  Just a note – Matthew, Jr.’s birth record was witnessed by Samuel Wellwood and Hugh Glen.  The interactions between Matthew, Sr.’s family and the known children of Moses and Jane are the primary reason I believe Matthew to also have been a child of Moses and Jane. Matthew and Catherine’s last child, Hugh, was born on Sept. 27, 1844, also in Glasgow.  Little Jane may have died prior to the 1851 census, as she is not found definitively after that time.  Hugh is in the 1851 census, but does not appear after this date.  As death records were kept after Jan. 1, 1855 when it became mandatory, I assume little Hugh died between the time of the 1851 census and late 1854.  Matthew’s wife Catherine did not survive for the 1851 census, and must have died between the time little Hugh was born and Matthew’s marriage to Jane Gribbons, which took place on Dec. 15, 1850.  Matthew and Jane had a daughter Elizabeth who was born about 1852 or 1853, as she was 8 years old in the 1861 census.  Matthew and his second wife Jane, you will recall from an earlier post, witnessed the marriage of Ellen (Elizabeth) Wellwood to Francis Dickson in 1855.

Matthew, Jane, and their daughter Elizabeth emigrated to the United States at some point between the 1861 Scotland census and the 1870 US census.  They actually appear twice in the 1870 census, which I only just discovered this week!  In June 1870, they are living in Philadelphia, but ancestry.com has Matthew mis-transcribed as Martha.  Matthew is 53, Jane is 49, and Elizabeth is 17, which is all correct.  Then in November, they are once more enumerated – this time the names are correct but the ages have been rounded off (Matthew is 50, Jane is also 50, and Elizabeth is 20).  It is this last census record that I had earlier found.  By the 1880 census, Elizabeth is no longer living at home.  I assume she married, but have no proof to whom or when.  It’s possible she may have been the Elizabeth married to James Dillet in Philadelphia in about 1871, as the 1880 census information on her fits with Elizabeth Wellwood’s, and is the only Elizabeth in Philadelphia who is married and does fit, though that by no means is definitive.  There is an Elizabeth Wellwood who married James Graham in Philadelphia in 1897, but I don’t know if this is the same Elizabeth born to Matthew and Jane, as she would have been about 45 by that time – rather old for a first marriage in those days.  Gopsill’s Philadelphia City Directory, for 1887 lists Matthew as still residing at 2339 Meredith in Philadelphia (according to ancestry.com), but in the 1891 copy of the same directory Jane is listed as widowed.  Matthew must then have died in Philadelphia between 1887 and 1991.  I have checked all the transcriptions listed in Find-A-Grave for Philadelphia but have not found him or Jane, who must have died in Philadelphia between 1891 and the 1900 census, as she does not appear in it.  The record of Matthew’s death – if one can be found – may be the only proof of his being a child of Moses Wellwood and his wife Jane McDowall. (Edit: I have since discovered the dates of death for Jane and Matthew – both died in Philadelphia, he on 25 June 1888 and she on 28 Sept 1891.  He was 72 years old at the time of his death, she was 71.  She is – and I assume he also is – buried at Fernwood cemetery.  I have not yet checked to see if the names of his parents are listed on the original death record).

Matthew’s surviving children by his first wife did not enter the U.S. when he did, but his son Matthew, Jr. did eventually immigrate with his family.  Matthew, Jr. married Margaret McMillan in Bridgeton, Glasgow on Sept. 16, 1870 – after his parents had arrived in Philadelphia.  They proceeded to have 10 children in Scotland before moving to the U.S. where their 11^th and last child was born.  Their first child, Mary, was born in Bridgeton on July 21, 1871 but died there not quite ten years later on Feb. 4, 1881.  Matthew III came next, born in Bridgeton on May 8, 1873.  Alexander was born next, on May 23, 1875 in Dennistoun.  The fourth child was John E. Wellwood, born on Nov. 8, 1876 in Camlachie.  James was the next child born, on July 21, 1878 in Dennistoun.  Little James died there less than three months later on Oct. 13, 1878.  James McMillan Wellwood was born on Aug. 18, 1879 in Dennistoun, but also died – on Jan. 15, 1882 in Bridgeton.  A daughter, Margaret McMillan Wellwood (named for her mother) was the seventh child.  She was born in Bridgeton on April 9, 1881.  Next came a set of twins – James (surely, persistence will eventually pay off!) and Samuel.  They were born in Camlachie on Aug. 22, 1883, but unfortunately both infants died the following day.  Elizabeth Grant Wellwood was the 10^th child, born on Aug. 20, 1884.  Little Elizabeth died at exactly 5 months of age, on Jan. 20, 1885 in Camlachie where she was born.  Was the name of this last child another tie to the other Wellwood siblings?  Elizabeth Grant was the maiden name of Samuel Wellwood’s third wife, who at that time was his widow.

Matthew, Jr. first entered the U.S. through Boston on June 7, 1886 on board the CANADIAN out of Glasgow.  His wife and their four surviving children (Matthew III, Alex, John, and Maggie) entered through New York on Sept. 14, 1886 on the CIRCASSIA out of Glasgow.  They settled in Rhode Island and their daughter Jane was born in Providence on June 9, 1889.  Matthew, Jr. became a U.S. citizen, although his date of birth is given as Feb 2, 1842 instead of Jan. 16, 1842 as on his birth record.  In the 1900 census, his birth is recorded as being in March 1845!  Please remember in your own searches to look for the definitive record and use it if possible (birth record for birth date, etc.), as opposed to using the first date you come across in some other document.  Yes, they should all agree – no, they all too often don’t.  Matthew, Jr.’s wife Margaret died on Aug. 21, 1916 and was buried in Locust Grove Cemetery.  Matthew, Jr. was buried with her upon his death in 1925 – I do not have the exact day.  Of Matthew, Jr. and Margaret’s 5 surviving children, Mathew III died on March 1, 1905 at the age of 31 in Providence, Rhode Island having never married.  Alexander died at the age of 24 on Feb. 2, 1909 in Providence also having never married.  In the 1900 census, Alex was 16 years old and an inmate at the state mental hospital in Cranston.  John married on Nov. 25, 1896 to Margaret T. Provan in Swansea, Ma., and they had four children: an unnamed son who was born on May 30, 1897 in Providence and died on June 28, 1897; Albert James, born on Mar. 8, 1899 in R.I.; Gordon C., born on Mar. 5, 1903 in R.I.; and Leroy C., born in Providence on Apr. 24, 1907.  Albert was listed in the 1930 census as divorced – he registered for the WWI draft and listed his father as the person to notify in the event it was needed, and he was single in the 1920 census.  In 1931, Albert took a one-week cruise to Honduras, and in 1933, 1934, and 1935 Albert can be found as a member of the crew on vessels sailing into Havana, Cuba and Bermuda. He must have fallen in love with the sea on the voyage to the Panama Canal area that he took with his family in 1912.  In 1941, Albert can be found returning from a cruise to Bermuda, and his status at that time is married, though there appears to be no wife present on the ship.  I can find no other information on Albert or who he married.  Perhaps when the 1940 census is released I’ll find some answers.  Albert’s brother Gordon appears to have remained in R.I. until his death in March, 1986.  I have no information on any spouse or children for Gordon.  Leroy appears to have remained in the Providence area.  He later married.  Leroy died in January 1988.  Margaret McMillan Wellwood married on June 25, 1900 in Taunton, Ma. to Arthur Joseph Roberts.  They went on to have 2 daughters: Mildred, born Dec. 12, 1901 in Providence and Helen, born in Providence on April 12, 1903.  I can find no record of them after Helen’s birth.  Jane Wellwood married Frederick Gay Renfree in Providence, R.I. on Aug 7, 1915.  They had 2 sons: John M., born in 1916 and who died on July 8, 1930 in Providence, R.I. (in the 1930 census he is a resident at a treatment center for troubled youths); and Frederick Jovine, born July 13, 1918 in R.I.  Fred joined the Army, fought in Korea, and died on Feb. 13, 1980 in California.  He is buried in Willamette National Cemetery in Oregon.  I have no record of any spouse or children for him.  Jane’s husband Fred died at some time in 1920, as he appears in the census but in the 1920 Warwick city directory Jane is listed as his widow, and Jane died at some point after the 1930 census.

Matthew, Sr.’s first child Alexander M. Wellwood remained in Scotland.  He married Elizabeth Rowan in Bridgeton, Glasgow on June 10, 1862.  Alex and Elizabeth had 7 children.  Their first child, William, was born in the late summer of 1863.  His death on May 25, 1865 in Glasgow gives his age as 1 year 9 months, which would put his birth around August of 1863.  I have found no record of his birth, but assume it would have been in the Glasgow area.  Jane (known as Jeanie) Wellwood was their second child.  She was born in Glasgow on Oct. 5, 1864.  On June 21, 1895 she married David Bald in Neilston, Renfrew, a man 7 years her junior.  I can find no record of children born to them, and on the 1901 census they have no children living with them. I’ll skip over the third child for just a moment, and move on to Alex and Elizabeth’s fourth child, David.  David was born on Nov. 22, 1868 in Calton, Glasgow.  He died less than a year later on Sept. 30, 1869, also in Calton.  Child number 5 was Mary, who was born on July 10, 1870 in Bridgeton.  Mary never married, and lived at home until she died on Jan 6, 1919 in Gorbals.  Mary signed her father’s death certificate in 1909, and her sister Jeanie Bald signed hers in 1919.  Elizabeth came next, being born on Aug. 27, 1874 in Neilston, Renfrew, Scotland.  She also never married, and lived at home until her death on Apr. 19, 1918 in Gorbals.  Jeanie signed her death certificate as well.  The last child of Alex and Elizabeth was a male child who never had a name in the official records.  He was born on Feb. 27, 1876 in Neilston and died 5 days later on Mar. 3, 1876 also in Neilston.  I have no idea why he was never given a name in the official records.

Now I’ll come back to Alex and Elizabeth’s third child.  This was Alexander M. Wellwood, Jr. and he was born on Nov. 1, 1866 in Calton, Glasgow.  On June 20, 1893 he married Elizabeth Kenmure in Kelvin, Glasgow and they had at least 8 children.  This is the reason I’ve put off listing him until last – as he and his father have the same name, and both married Elizabeth’s, I felt it would be easier to tell which children went with which parents if I put the information in separate paragraphs, rather that refer to them as children of Alex and Elizabeth or Alex, Jr. and Elizabeth in the same paragraph – that sounded too much as if he’d married his mother!  😉

The first child of Alex, Jr. and Elizabeth was Sydney Kenmure Wellwood, who was born on May 8, 1894 in Gorbals.  Next born was Alexander Glen Wellwood, born on May 19, 1895 also in Gorbals.  These two oldest children emmigrated to Wellington, New Zealand on board the WAIMANA out of Southampton on Feb. 18, 1921 when they were 26 and 25 years old, respectively.  Sydney’s marriage to Jessie Smith Christie took place in 1925, according to the BMD site for New Zealand, which can be found at https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/home/.  Jessie died in 1937 at the age of 42.  Sydney died in 1959.  I have no personal knowledge of any children born, or any possible remarriage, due to the privacy laws of New Zealand which limit publically accessible information.  I came across a discussion group that included descendants of Alexander and Elizabeth (Rowan) Wellwood, but have not personally been in contact with them so have no definitive information on which children they are descended from, and so will continue to publish only my own research here.  Alexander Glen Wellwood died in 1955 in New Zealand.  I have no record of any marriage for him.

The third child of Alex, Jr. and Elizabeth was Isabel Wellwood.  She was born on April 19, 1896 in Gorbals.  After her birth, the family appears to have moved to the London, England area, as the next child, Charles Frederick, was born in Islington in the last quarter of 1898 (I have not yet sent for the certificate, so do not definitively have the actual date).  His brother David Bald Wellwood was also born in Islington, but in the September quarter of 1901.  At this point, the family moved back to Scotland, and the next child, Frances Anna Wellwood, was born in New Ardrossan, Ayrshire on July 15, 1903.  John Kenmure Wellwood was born next, in West Kilbride, Ayrshire, on July 20, 1907.  Their last child, Jeanie Glen Wellwood, was born on April 6, 1910 also in West Kilbride.  In 1922, a year after the two oldest children had emigrated to New Zealand, Alex, Jr. and his wife and remaining children also emigrated there.  They traveled out of Liverpool, and arrived at Wellington.  The name of the ship on which they travelled is unfortunately not written on the page of the passenger list that contains their names, nor was the date of their departure.  In order to obtain the name of the ship, I had to view the transcript, as well as having previously viewed the original image.  This told me the name of the ship was the DORSET and that she departed Liverpool on Jan. 28, 1922.  Let me take this opportunity to praise yet one more site, www.ancestorsonboard.com, which contains copies of the passenger lists for ships leaving England between 1890 and 1960.  It should be noted that Alex, Jr’s sister Jeanie Bald and her husband David also emigrated to New Zealand.  They departed on the IONIC out of Southampton to Wellington on April 19, 1923 at ages 58 and 51, respectively.  Jeanie Bald died in New Zealand in 1930, and her husband David died there also in 1942.

Of Alex, Jr., his wife Elizabeth, and their other children who moved to New Zealand, I know that Charles Frederick married Margaret Norris Christie in 1930, that David Bald Wellwood married Anne Matilda Lucy Stunt in 1929 and that they had a stillborn child in 1947, that Is(a)bel married John Campbell in 1928, and that Frances Anna married Harold William Chambers also in 1928.  I have no idea if it may have been a double wedding.  I have no marriage information for John Kenmure Wellwood.  Jeanie Glen Wellwood’s death record lists her married name as Parsons.  She died in 2000, but her birth is given as April 5, 1910 instead of April 6, 1910 as shown on her birth record.  Alex., Jr. died in 1936 at the age of 69.  His wife Elizabeth died in 1947 at the age of 81.  John Kenmure Wellwood died in 1978 – his date of birth as shown on the death record agrees with his birth record.  David Bald Wellwood died in 1986 – his date of birth on the death record is given as July 21, 1901.  Charles Frederick’s death record has his names reversed to Frederick Charles Wellwood.  He died in 1980, and his date of birth on the death record is given as November 20, 1898.  When I eventually send for and receive copies of David’s and Charles’ birth records, I can state with certainty what day each was born, but for now this is likely accurate.  Charles’ wife Margaret died in 1972 at the age of 67.  David’s wife Ann(e) died in 1991 and her birth is given as Jan. 30, 1901.  Isabel (Wellwood) Campbell died in 1965 at the age of 68.  From the information I have available, I can’t be certain which entry for the death of John Campbell applies to Isabel’s husband.  Harold William Chambers died in 1950 at the age of 47.  His wife Frances Anna (Wellwood) Chambers died in 1967 at the age of 64.  All of the above occurred in New Zealand.

© Deborah Ray and archivecookie.com, 2011, 2012.