I know Thomas is a sibling to my gr-gr-grandmother Isabella only from her daughter Annie (Dougan) Brady’s diary. Indeed, if not for that, I would have thought Thomas to be a sibling of the James Wellwood that was married to Mary Ann Doran, as they both settled in Arthur, Wellington county, Ontario, Canada and the families appeared to interact while there, and possibly before in Scotland as well. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
As stated in an earlier post, Thomas married Marion Mackay on March 13, 1835 in Barony parish, Glasgow, Scotland. They had eight children, the first 6 of which were born in Scotland. I will get into Marion’s parentage in just a bit, but for now will deal with her children.
The children born in Scotland were: first, Joseph R. Wellwood (his middle initial is from a later document) born Sept. 6, 1835 in Glasgow. James Wellwood and Daniel McNaught were witness to the birth record; second, Catherine was born on May 3, 1837 but evidently died prior to the 1841 census, as she does not appear in it. Witnesses to Catherine’s birth record were James Wellwood and William Henderson; the twins came next on Oct. 20, 1839 in Barony and named Daniel McNaught Wellwood and Helen Wellwood. This time James Wellwood and Daniel Robertson were witnesses; the fifth born was Agnes Robertson Wellwood. She was born on Nov. 17, 1842 in Glasgow and witnesses were James Robertson and Daniel Robertson; the last child born in Scotland was James Robertson Wellwood, born Oct. 26, 1844 in Glasgow. Witnesses to his birth record were Daniel Robertson and David Low. The reason I have included the witnesses names is because there appear to be very strong ties to James Wellwood, Daniel and James Robertson, and Daniel McNaught – in fact several of the children appear to take their middle names from them. I had not been able to locate a genetic or marriage relationship between the families, excepting perhaps James Wellwood, so believed they must have been good friends. The James Wellwood, though, is the problem. If Thomas is indeed a sibling of Isabella, I would expect this James to also be her sibling – but her sibling James is still resident in Glasgow for the last two births – which were the only ones that were NOT witnessed by James. The James Wellwood married to Mary Ann Doran, however, emigrated to Canada with his family between the births of his and Mary Ann’s children Joseph in 1840 and Margaret Jane in 1843, so could not have witnessed the births of Thomas’ last two children as he did all the others. In no other case I have found has there been a Wellwood who was witness to a vital record for another Wellwood if they were not related (Matthew Wellwood was, but I believe him to also be a sibling, based on his listing as Uncle on Francis Dickson’s birth record – see earlier post). You can see why I would have placed Thomas as Mary Ann Doran’s brother-in-law instead of Isabella’s brother if not for that journal entry, and I have found no other possible Thomas Wellwood who might have been Isabella’s sibling. Nor have I located any blood relationship between the two Wellwood families, though goodness knows I’ve tried. Both were originally from Ireland, though different areas, and I haven’t found any common ancestor that I can document. So there we are. I will continue to treat Thomas as Isabella’s sibling for the sake of her daughter’s journal, though I can certainly understand if others take the other point of reference and list him as being in the other Wellwood clan.
Now back to Thomas and Marion. Their next child was named Marion and was born in Ontario, Canada in 1847. Births were not registered with the government in Ontario until after 1869, but I was able in a later document to learn that she was born in Nassagaweya, Ontario, which is not too distant from Guelph. The last child born was also named Agnes, by which means I learned that the earlier Agnes must have died prior to this Agnes’s birth in 1850, also in Ontario, presumably in the same general vicinity as little Marion. These birth dates mean that Thomas and his family must have immigrated to Canada from Glasgow between 1844 and 1847. And this is when history once more becomes a factor…
Beginning in 1845, there was a terrible famine in Ireland, caused by a blight that destroyed almost their entire potato crop, which was a staple of most poor people’s diet as it was affordable and took away their feelings of hunger. The famine lasted five years. Some accounts estimate the death toll at more than 2 million people out of a population of about 6 million. By the hundreds of thousands, they left Ireland and travelled to other countries – including the U.S. and Canada – with their families in search of a hard life instead of a painful and protracted death. The near-coastal cities of Glasgow and Liverpool were flooded with refugees and those cities changed as a result – the new arrivals changed the economy for the working poor, and not in a good way. Crime soared, as new arrivals sought a means to live. So many sought passage to North America that there were not enough regular passenger ships going across the Atlantic, so some less reputable shysters took advantage of their desperation and offered passage in floating cattle cars at inflated prices and then withheld proper food, water, and ventilation on the passage while pocketing the profits. The results were disease and death by the thousands at sea and upon landing. Add to this the usual hazards of navigation – some ships tried to leave earlier in the season to get in more trips and were challenged by large bergs of ice upon nearing Canada as winters lasted much longer there – and the voyage became riskier than normal. James Wellwood, it was noted earlier, left before the potato famine. Thomas, on the other hand, must have been travelling at that time. One can imagine the changed character of Glasgow aiding his decision to move his family across the Atlantic. An excellent account of the famine and its effects can be found at http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/famine/introduction.htm.
I assume Agnes Robertson Wellwood must have died either on the voyage, or shortly after the family’s arrival in Canada. She must have been a toddler on the voyage, and old enough to get into all sorts of trouble, but not so young as her brother James who as an infant was likely not so adventurous yet, or as old as the twins who being about school age were more likely to listen to their parents. Or she may have died of disease contracted on the voyage or after her arrival – with no record of her death I’ll never know for certain.
I have not been able to locate the Thomas Wellwood family in the Ontario 1851 census – they should be somewhere in the vicinity of Guelph to the west of Toronto, but try as I would, I’ve had no success. In 1861, Marion and all the children still living are in Arthur, Ontario, and she is listed as a widow. Arthur is a farm region north of Guelph, and a search shows that James Wellwood, the widower of Mary Ann Doran, also lives there along with one of his sons. I lucked out searching for a grave for Thomas – but was not so fortunate with the date of death. A search of the Ontario Cemetery Finding Aid website (http://www.islandnet.com/ocfa/search.php) showed that Thomas, Marion, and Helen their daughter are buried in Bethel Pilgrim Cemetery in Arthur, Wellington County, Ontario. By this means I discovered that Helen never married. After the snow melts, I intend to take a drive there to see if I can locate a headstone for them, and possibly glean more information that way. For now, I know only that Thomas died in Arthur after 1849 (when Marion became pregnant with little Agnes) and before the 1861 census.
In the 1871 census, Marion is with Daniel, James, and little Agnes in the same county, in a town called Maryborough, just to the west of Arthur. As Helen never married – the cemetery aid gave only her maiden name – she must have died between 1861 and 1871. Joseph and young Marion I will come back to in a moment, but for now suffice to say they are both married at this time. This is the last appearance of Thomas’ wife Marion. She evidently died between the 1871 and 1881 Ontario census reports, and was evidently buried with Thomas at Bethel Pilgrim Cemetery along with their daughter Helen.
By this time, there is more information available in the form of vital records in Ontario, and a search locates the marriage of young Marion to Allan Ferrier on Dec. 22, 1870 in Wellington County, Ontario. In the 1871 census they are living in Garafraxa West, Wellington County, Ontario which is south-east of Arthur, Ontario and to the east by a good bit from her mother Marion in Maryborough. Allen and his wife Marion have 3 children: William T., born in Jan. 1872; Agnes L.M. Ferrier, born in 1874; and Herbert Roland Ferrier, born Feb. 13, 1875. The last record I have of Allan is the 1881 census, where they are living in Mara in Ontario North, Ontario, Canada. At some point after this, Allan moved the family out to the northern plains, as his son Herbert married and had two children there. I can find no record of the family in the 1891 Canada census, so assume they were in the U.S. by then – the records of the 1890 U.S. census were all but destroyed in a fire.
The 1900 U.S. census shows Herbert, his Norwegian-born wife Anna E., and their daughter Mary E. (age 9 months) living in Kingston, Sargent county, North Dakota – and indicates they were married in 1899. Herbert’s birth is given as being in New York. William is living in Missoula, Montana where he also claims to have been born in New York – and it’s possible that he was as I have found no birth record in Ontario for any of the children of Allan and Marion. It is this census that gives William’s birth as January 1872. Their sister Agnes is a mystery – she would have been 26 in 1900, and was likely married but I can find no record. As half the family is in the plains, I also can’t narrow the search to look in a single region. Agnes just simply vanished, as did her parents. For all I know they could have died on the trek west.
By the 1910 census Herbert and his family – now 3 children – are living in Whatcom county in Washington state. His children are named as: Marion E., age 10 (born July 25, 1899 in North Dakota); Archie H., age 9 (born Feb. 12, 1901 in North Dakota); and Burt R., age 2, born in Washington state. Anna is age 31, born in Norway and Herbert is 34, born in New York – but his parents are now from Scotland (father) and the U.S. (mother) instead of both being born in Canada! In 1920 I find William living in Washington also, in Olympia south of Tacoma, and living in a hotel. His age is 47 and he was born in Canada, lived in the U.S. since 1869 and became a naturalized citizen in 1906. His father was born in Canada, his mother in Scotland, and he worked in a local shingle mill. Herbert, his wife, and 3 children live in Grays Harbor, also on the Olympic peninsula. His place of birth is New York, father born in Canada and mother born in Scotland. Herbert’s daughter Marion is a nurse, and in 1920 is also listed by the hospital in Grays Harbor as well as at her home – though at the hospital her father’s place of birth is given as Michigan! Arch is also listed twice – the second time he is boarding in Seattle. You can see by now that census records are not particularly accurate – but you can use them as a guide to get to the truth. After all, his mother did have siblings who were born in Scotland, and his mother’s mother was also born there. And it’s likely the Ferriers travelled west via Michigan – who knows? The Niagara Falls area was a common border crossing, as was Detroit, from Ontario. Maybe Agnes married in Michigan, or Allan and/or his mother Marion died there.
By 1930, Herbert is a patient in a hospital in Steilacoom near Tacoma, his daughter Marion is a student nurse in a Seattle hospital. Arch, age 29, is married to Hazel, age 24 with a son Mark, age 8 and living in Grays Harbor. Burt, age 22, is living in Seattle with Elizabeth Loar, listed as his aunt – she must be his mother’s sister or sister-in-law – and he works at a lumber mill. William died on Mar. 31, 1929 in Hoquaim in Grays Harbor. His death record gives his father’s name as Allen. Herbert died on Oct. 14, 1956 in Seattle. His death record gave both parents’ names – Alan Ferrier and Marion Wellwood. Burt died on Dec. 21, 1939 in Seattle. His father’s name is erroneously given as Albert C. Instead of Herbert R., but there can be no other Burt R. Ferrier – his mother’s name is Anna Johnson. Arch and his wife Hazel witnessed the marriage of his sister Marion to George S. Murch when she was 68 years old, on July 29, 1961 in Seattle. Arch died in Nevada in Jan. 1969 and Hazel died in Oregon on Nov. 21, 1981. Marion died in Olympia, Wa. in June 1982.
Going back in time to the 1870’s, when Marion (Wellwood) Ferrier and her family were living in Ontario, I located a death record for Daniel in Mara, where his sister Marion and her family were living in the 1881 census. Daniel died on Sept. 27, 1877 – I can find no marriage record for him, so assume he left no descendants. He was age 37 at his death, although the transcription – the only record I have found – states his age as 31. Given the ease at which a 7 can be mis-read as a 1, and the fact his sister also can be found in Mara, I have no doubt this is the son of Thomas and Marion.
I have found no reliable information for James after the 1871 census. I assume he must also have died in Ontario prior to the 1881 census.
Little Agnes married on Dec. 13, 1872 in Orillia, Ontario to Nelson Mitchell. She was his second wife, and he had children from his first marriage who were very young when he married Agnes. Nelson remarried in 1878, so it appears as if Agnes died before then. There is a cemetery record for her in Lanark Village Cemetery – the headstone, if there is one, may have more information – I will check when the snow melts. In the 1881 census, there is a child Maggie who would have been born between Nelson’s marriage to Agnes and his 3rd marriage in 1878, so this is most likely Agnes’ daughter. Nelson moved his family to Michigan in 1889, and it appears Maggie married there. I believe she married John Lierman in 1889, but do not yet have documentation.
This leaves only the firstborn, Joseph, to discuss – and following this, his mother Marion’s parentage, as promised earlier.
Joseph can be found in the 1870 U.S. census in Onondaga, New York working as a farm labourer and boarding at the home of John and Elizabeth Rayner. His age is given as 30 instead of 35, but it wouldn’t be unusual to have an age discrepancy if the information was given by a landlord and not a relative. Also living at the residence is a domestic servant from Germany named Elizabeth Bates, age given as 21, who becomes Joseph’s wife. By the 1880 census, they have settled in Danby, Vermont and have 4 children. In the 1900 census, Elizabeth has had 8 children, but only six are listed as still living and only 2 are living at home. From these two census reports, I know of the following children: George, born about 1872 in New York; Marion, born 1873 in Vt.; Daniel, born 1877 in Vt.; John, born 1879 in Vt.; Joseph A., born May 1886 in Vt.; and Jennie, born in Vt. in Aug. 1890. I also learn from the 1900 census that Elizabeth has the first name Katherine and was born in April 1852. For the first time since he left Canada, Joseph’s real age and birth date are given as well, showing there is actually 14 years between them instead of 9. As Elizabeth has had eight children and I know of only 6 at this point, I resolve to hunt out the other two!
First I looked to see if all the children I know of were still living. My search for George came up empty, and I considered that he may be one of the two that died. As the death records in Vt. begin with the year 1909, I may never find the place or date of his death beyond a reasonable guess that it was in Vermont, as he lived there in 1880.
Next I searched for Marion and found Marion B. Wellwood, born April 1873 in Danby, Vt. living in the home of Charles and Ida Phillips in Rupert, Vt. She is listed as their niece, but I have not been able to discover the connection. Ida’s maiden name was Paddock and I could find no Phillips or Paddock in Joseph or Elizabeth’s family. It’s possible this was just an error, as the girl directly above Marion in the record was also listed as a niece, and Marion may have been a maidservant in their home. At any rate, Marion married Horace Elbert Winchester in 1901. They had 2 daughters: Lila Evetta, born on Dec. 12, 1901 in Rupert, Vt., and Ada E., born on Feb. 21, 1905. Marion died on June 28, 1949 in Springfield, Vt. and her death record gives her birth as Apr. 19, 1873 in Danby, Vt. and her parents’ names as Elizabeth Bates and Joseph Wellwood. Lila married Kenneth Piper Doe in Rutland on Aug. 12, 1930. Lila died in Kennebunkport, Maine on October 13, 1994 – I have no record of children for her. Ada married Frank A. Chromec who was born in Czechoslovakia also in 1905. Ada died on Jan. 15, 1992 in Springfield, Vt. five years after Frank. Her father Horace died in Rutland on April 15, 1931.
Joseph and Elizabeth’s next known child was Daniel. Like George, I could find no further record for Daniel, and assume he must be the second child that died. So, there have to be two other children of Joseph and Elizabeth still living in 1900, but not living at home. I will come back to them later.
The fourth child is John Christopher Wellwood. He was born on Dec. 30, 1878 in Danby, Vt. As Marion was also born in Danby, I conclude that his sibling Daniel was likely born there as well. John married May Grace Cone in Rutland in 1899 – she had been born on Aug. 18, 1883 in Wells, Vt., so was only 15 or 16 at the time. As far as I can tell, they had no children. May died in Rutland on April 29, 1961 after more than 60 years of marriage and John Christopher died on Aug. 2, 1963 also in Rutland.
It is evident from the 1900 census that Joseph A. Wellwood and Jennie were the last two children, and the missing siblings were after John and before Joseph in age. So I go next to Joseph, who I know to be a child of Joseph and Elizabeth.
Joseph Andrew was born in Dorset, Vt. on May 31, 1886. In 1910 he was working as a bookkeeper in a furniture store in Rutland and was still single. In 1918 he registered for the WWI draft, listing his mother Mrs. Joseph R. Wellwood as his next of kin, and thus informing me of his father’s middle initial! By 1920, he must have been married to Veda Ruth Bloomer (though I haven’t located either on the census) as their first child Sylvia Elizabeth was born on July 28, 1921 in Springfield, Vt. Jane Barbara was born in Springfield on Jan. 10, 1923, and Marjorie Anne was also born there on March 14, 1935. I have no record of other children in the 12-year gap between Jane and Marjorie and cannot locate the family in the 1930 census. The 1924 directory for Bellows Falls lists Joseph A. Wellwood as being the manager of a Springfield furniture store, but I can find no other record of this family until 1932. In the 1932 Bellows Falls directory, Joseph had opened his own furniture store in Springfield – his daughters Jane and Sylvia are also listed in that directory, Sylvia as a student. Sylvia is again listed as a student in the 1938 directory. Jane married Harold Glenn Martin on Sept. 10, 1949 in Springfield. Marjorie married Ross Alan Johnston on May 17, 1958 in Springfield. I have nothing further on Sylvia. Jane died on June 4, 1994 in New Mexico. Her father Joseph Andrew died in Springfield on July 8, 1962 and Veda died in Springfield on Dec. 24, 1975.
Jennie Christina Wellwood was born in Bennington, Vt. on Sept. 30, 1889. She married Henry Jay Chapman in Dorset on July 7, 1913 and they had 5 children. The first was a premature (3 months early) stillborn son born on Feb 21, 1914 in Manchester, Vt. and was not given a name. The other 4 children were: Doris Elizabeth, born Apr. 3, 1921 in Pawlet, Vt.; Donald Merritt, born Feb. 5, 1923 in Pawlet, Vt.; Esther (or Ester) Pearl, born Dec. 4, 1927 in Springfield, Vt.; and Norma Louise, born June 18, 1930, also in Springfield. I have no further information on Doris, but the other children of Jennie and Henry all married. Donald and his wife had at least 3 children, Esther and her husband had at least 7 children, and Norma and her husband had at least 5 children. Henry Jay Chapman died in Perkinsville, Vt. on Dec. 18, 1961 and his wife Jennie died the following year on June 8, 1962 in North Springfield, Vt.
This brings us back to the two missing children of Joseph R. Wellwood and his wife Elizabeth Bates, as recorded in the 1900 census. First, I assumed a birth date between 1880 (after the census) and 1885 (before Joseph’s birth). As marriage records were recorded only after 1909 in Vermont, I checked those first for an unknown Wellwood and held my breath. No luck, so I figured they must both have married before 1909 or remained unmarried – though I felt this was unlikely as they didn’t show up in later census records, and had to have been living in 1900. So I next checked the 1900 census and came up with a Georgia Wellwood age 16 boarding in Dorset, Vt. who was also born in Vermont. This had possibilities. And her father was listed as being born in Scotland and her mother in New York – as did all Elizabeth and Joseph’s known children. Georgia’s date of birth was given as Sept. 1883, which also fit. So, then, this had to be one of the missing children – Georgia, born Sept. 1883 in Vermont. As I couldn’t find Georgia Wellwood in the 1910 census, I looked for Georgia born in Vermont within a year of 1883 and came up with several possibilities. There was only one, though, whose father was born in Scotland and mother in New York, so I knew I had her! Georgia Wellwood had married Phil Roberts and was living in Rupert, Vt. They had been married for a year (so likely married in 1908) and had no children. Further searching revealed Phil’s full name was Phillip Brooks Roberts and that they had a son Brooks H. Roberts born in Rupert on March 18, 1918. Brooks died on Aug. 9, 1997 near Albany, New York. Georgia also died in the Albany area in Sept. 1967, but I have no death record for Phil.
Now for the remaining child of Joseph and Elizabeth, who proved to be more elusive. Having no luck wherever I turned, I decided to search the 1910 census, which allows a search based on the parents’ places of birth. So I plugged in Scotland for father’s birth and New York for the mother’s. Then I figured she (it had to be a she, or I’d have found him by this point) had to have been born in Vermont so put that in too. For birth date, I figured it had to be within 5 years of 1883, which allowed a little wiggle room for lying about her age. Leaving both her first and last names blank, I ran the search. Along with pinging some of the other siblings – Joseph, J.C., and Georgia were all there as expected, there were only four other strong possibilities, as they were living in Vermont, and only one of the four was living in Rupert – so I started with her. Her name was listed on the census as Marie Gulley, married to George, with two children. The original digitization was VERY difficult to read, but on the very same page were Joseph and Elizabeth Wellwood, along with Marion (Wellwood) Winchester and her family, and Charles and Ida Phillips, who Marion had lived with in 1900! I was SURE this was the remaining missing child! Now I just had to find documentation that proved it. First I tried to find her in the 1900 census. I figured they’d be living in Rupert, so used that plus Marie plus birth within 3 years of 1883. No luck. So I took out Marie and added Gulley. Still no luck. So I used George and his birth year from the 1910 census, plus or minus 3 years, living in Rupert. And I found George R. Gallop and his wife Martha E. living right next door to Charles and Ida Phillips and their “niece” Marion Wellwood! Martha’s father and mother were born in Scotland and New York, respectively, Martha was born in Aug. 1881, and they had been married less than a year (so married in 1899) and had no children. And this digitization was much easier to read, so I trusted the name more. But this still wasn’t proof – for that I’d need some documentation. So I went back to the birth records and looked for the record of one of their children’s births – last name Gallop and mother Martha – and found nothing. How frustrating! Never one to give up when I think I’m on the verge of a breakthrough, I checked the 1920 census and found the children’s names where it was actually readable, as it hadn’t been on the 1910 census. It took some doing, but I finally found George, Maude and their two daughters living in Granville, New York, with their last name transcribed as Gallup. The girls’ names were Vera age 18 and Thyra age 16. So I went back to the Vermont birth records, and figured Thyra’s was the better bet, but STILL had no luck! Back to the census records, then, to find them in 1930. I looked for Thyra, of the unusual name, and found her as Gallup rooming in Granville and working as a stenographer, which didn’t help prove her ancestry one bit. Then I located George and Maude Gallup living back in Pawlet, Vermont! This was VERY good news, so I checked the death records, and had no luck with Maude, but her daughter Vera’s death popped up, and that’s how I discovered Vera had married Chandler Hopson and that her mother Maude’s maiden name was indeed Wellwood! So Maude was the missing child of Joseph and Elizabeth, had been born in Vermont in Aug. 1881, had married George Robert Gallup in 1899 in Vermont, and had a daughter Vera and another daughter Thyra. From the SSDI I discovered Maude was born on Aug. 9, 1881 and died in April 1871 in West Pawlet, Vermont. From the Vermont death records, I discovered George Robert had been born in Rupert, Vt. on April 24, 1877 and died on April 7, 1954 in Wells, Vermont. Vera Marion Gallup had married Chandler Lorenzo Hopson in Wells, Vt. on Oct. 23, 1923. They had no children living with them in the 1930 census. The SSDI gave her birth as July 1, 1899 and the Vermont death records give her death as Jan. 5, 1968 in Rutland, Vt. Thyra also returned to Vermont, and married H. Glenn Nelson in Pawlet on July 1, 1933. Thyra died on July 23, 1991 in Rutland – her birth is listed on her death record as being in Rupert, Vt. on Nov. 21, 1903. H. Glenn Nelson was born May 11, 1904 in West Pawlet and died on Jan. 6, 1992 in Rutland, less than 6 months after his wife.
With all Joseph and Elizabeth’s children accounted for, I then wrap up – or so I think – with their deaths. Elizabeth’s death gives her place of birth as Syracuse, New York on Dec. 28, 1848 and her death as Dec. 28, 1940 – her 92nd birthday – in Rutland, Vt. Her father is listed as Joseph R. Baites (close enough). Joseph’s death was on June 29, 1912 in Rupert, Vt. and his age is given as 77 years, 9 months, and 28 days, which puts his birth at Sept. 1, 1834 – not that far off from his actual birthdate of Sept. 6, 1835 – and his place of birth as Scotland. His father’s name is correctly given as Thomas Wellwood, but his mother’s name is given as Herrion McCauly. And therein lies the problem. Marion could easily have been written as Herrion in a moment of stress, but that McCauly part just screams at me to be investigated. It wouldn’t be the first time someone in my family fibbed for years about what their name was – my own paternal grandfather told a good many fabricated stories along that line, even inventing a middle name, taking a new, but similar, first name from the one he was born with, and inventing a new life for his father. My dad went for years using one first name thinking it had been legally changed when it hadn’t been, as he discovered late in his life. But a completely different LAST name might mean she and Thomas married without the blessing of her family, so I was understandably consternated at this information on Joseph’s death record. Surely in 1912 someone knew his mother’s maiden name! Or maybe not…
There was no help for it – I’d just have to go back in the records to see what I could find. First, I went to the ScotlandsPeople web site (see above link) with the information I had – Marion MacKay or McCauly born about 1811 or so in Scotland, most likely in Glasgow or the surrounding area. I found 2 strong possibilities: Marion Mackay born to William MacKay and his wife Ann McFie in Glasgow on May 24, 1810 and Marrion McCaulay born to James McCaulay of Anderston and his wife Agnes Balfour on Sept. 16, 1812 in Barony, Glasgow. As two of Thomas and Marion’s daughters were named Agnes, I was leaning towards that birth as being my Marion’s, but I needed to check further to be sure. After exhaustive checking, even for me, I still had no definitive proof one way or the other – and there was always the possibility with early records such as Marion’s birth that they were never even documented. So, as she had been MacKay (or McKay) for the births of her children, and the census records in which she appeared all seemed to give her birth as being in 1810 – except for 1841 where the ages were rounded down – I decided to go with that, even though the MacCauley birth seemed to have a strong name tie-in. And JUST as I was about to give up, I got a BRILLIANT idea – why not check the people who signed as witnesses to see if there was something there? So I pulled up all the records again – including the two possible births I’d found for Marion – and started checking the witnesses lives. I figured they had to be contemporaries, so started with David Low’s marriage. Nothing. On to William Henderson, and again nothing. Daniel McNaught and still nothing. I started questioning my sanity. But I was halfway done so decided to plow on through. Daniel Robertson – nothing. Last one. James Robertson. Whose wife turned out to be Catherine McKay!! Could she be a relative of Marion? So all excited now, I pulled her birth record. Catherine was born in Glasgow on July 22, 1815 to William MacKay (!) and MARY, not ANN, McFie – pretty darned close, so I looked further. Witness to Marion Mackay’s birth were James Sutherland and John McFie – and to Catherine’s birth were James Sutherland and James Murray! Mary McFie HAD to be Ann McFie! Just to be sure, I checked for any other siblings, and the marriage of William MacKay. The marriage, on Nov. 11, 1806, was definitely with Ann McFie. All other births between a William MacKay and a McFie in Glasgow after 1806 and before 1824 (a reasonable window) were with Ann: witness to Margaret MacKay’s birth on Sept. 28, 1807 were John McFie and James Sutherland; to Alexander MacKay’s birth on Aug. 6, 1812 were George and Hugh Murray (!); and to Ann born on Feb. 1, 1822 were Alexander McKay and George Mackay. Given that James Sutherland witnessed the birth records of Marion, Margaret, and Catherine – and there was no marriage for William and a Mary McFie – I have concluded that Mary is really Ann and that James Robertson was Marion’s brother-in-law. It would certainly explain the use of the middle name Robertson for at least two of Marion’s children – there is no record of what the R. in Joseph Wellwood’s (her firstborn) name stood for – and the name Catherine for her first daughter. Given the overwhelming documentation, I have concluded that William and Ann are in fact the parents of Thomas Wellwood’s wife Marion, and that she was the child Marion born to them on May 24, 1810. Perhaps I’ll find more details when I go to the cemetery in Arthur, Ontario – IF I can find a headstone – but for now, I’m satisfied with my research.
© Deborah Ray and archivecookie.com, 2011.
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