Ross Village

Transcription

1 Ross Village The 1851 census is more expansive than the 1841 in that the correct ages were recorded and relationships of the household members to the head of the household were noted. There was also a column to record the person s marital status. The 1851 census was conducted on the night of the 30 th March. The enumerator for Mordington was John Logan the schoolmaster. He lived in the Schoolhouse in Mordington village close to the Manse. He was a widower, 45 years of age. One of his sisters kept house for him. Also living with him was his younger sister who was a washer woman and a farm labourer, his 85 year old father in law who was a retired farm labourer, and an 8 year old niece. Below is a photograph of Mordington school house and the adjoining school room. There were 13 households in Ross village in 1851, 54 inhabitants, 21 males and 33 females. Each household was given a schedule number which was not the street number of the house. There was a column in which to indicate whether an occupant was blind, deaf

2 or dumb. The Ross entries are numbered from 29 to 41. The households are not in the same order as the 41 census, maybe because there are three more houses, but many of the occupants are the same. Because there are so many people of the same name in the village it might be helpful to the family historian if some dates or approximate dates of birth and death are included in this account. 29. Alison Martin b, January 1775, maiden name Anderson, [widow of Alexander Martin, d, 23/4/1835], is listed as head of household schedule number 29. When the form was returned to the enumerator Alison s age was entered in the appropriate column as 74 and her occupation is listed as that of a grocer. Her son Robert was 46 still unmarried and a fisherman. Janet, his sister, was 39 and both were still living at home with their mother. It seems possible that Robert and Janet put the money they inherited from Adam Willis and Mary Martin [see Mordington Parish-Ross PDF] to good use and set their mother up in a grocer s shop. Alison died on the 15 th of March 1856 and she is described as a shopkeeper on her death certificate. She had 7 children although there is no trace of her first child, Alexander. He may have died in infancy. Her oldest surviving son William, [see schedule 41] who was now an innkeeper, reported her death. She was buried in Coldingham churchyard. 30. Alexander Spouse and Margaret Wilson are the subjects of schedule 30. Because the census carries more information we now know Alexander was born in the parish of Mordington but Margaret was born in the parish of Ayton and they were both born in All of their children were born in Ross in the parish of Mordington. Their oldest daughter, Mary, b, Abt 1823, was living at home with her parents. Their sons George 22 and William 16 were both fishermen like their father. Margaret Martin Spouse, Alexander and Margaret s youngest daughter was only 11. Their daughter Agnes, b, Abt 1824, was married to Mark Anderson but she and her two children, Mark and Alexander Anderson, were in her parent s house on the night of the census.

3 31. Schedule number 31 was the household of Elizabeth Martin, maiden name, Wilson b, 1875 in Coldingham. She is described as a fisherman s widow. Living with her were her married daughter Mary MacKay b, 1823 and her grand daughter, Elizabeth MacKay who was a year old. 32. Isabella Craig was the head of household number 32. She was born 27/6/1800 and was the widow of Joseph Collin. Her son, also called Joseph Collin, was now 22 and had a wife Isabella Paterson who was born in Eyemouth 30/6/ The occupant of this house was not listed in the Ross census of She was Helen or Ellen Martin but she was using her maiden name for the 51 census as a lot of Scots women did. She was the widow of William Aitchison. Ellen was 55 and had a grocer s shop. Her widowed sister Elizabeth Struthers was living with her. Elizabeth was 45 but although she had been born in Mordington she had three children all of whom had been born in England. They too were living in their aunt s house. William Struthers was 18 and a fisherman. The girls, Isabella and Elizabeth were 15 and 10. They were still at school. 34. John Spouse b, 1790 at Coldingham, one of the son s of William Spouse and Mary Martin, was in the next house. John s first wife died but he remarried. His 2 nd wife was Margaret Lindores [b, 13/1/1791] from Cockburnspath. Margaret s brother James was already living in Cowdrait. Margaret was working as a general servant in Ayton before she married John. They were married 25/11/1842 by the Rev. David Ure of Ayton. John and Margaret had a 20 year old live in servant, Isabella Thorburn, who was from Coldingham. 35. On the night of the census Robert Spouse, the subject of schedule 35, was alone in the house although his wife Mary Robertson was still alive [See No ]. Robert was the

4 youngest son of William Spouse and Mary Martin. He was born in 1796 in Ross. 36. Next door to Robert Spouse was his nephew, William Spouse b, 1821 at Ross. William was the son of John Spouse and his first wife Alison Anderson. William had married Isabella Richardson also b, 1821 from Swindon and the couple at the time of the 51 census had three children and a live in servant. The children were Isabella 7, John 5 and George William s brother James b, 1822 and his wife Mary Lindores were in the next house. James and Mary had been married at Lamberton Toll on the 1 st of October In the 51 census they were both 29. They had three children Ellen 7, Alison 3 and John who was a six month old baby. Margaret Fairbairn was their servant. Young girls, usually from another village, worked as fishermen s servants as a way of earning their keep until they married. 38. William Martin b, 1819 and Susan Kerr b, 24/10/1821 were the subjects of schedule number 38. He was the son of Elizabeth Martin, maiden name Wilson, in schedule 41. William and Susan had four children, William b, 1844, Thomas b, 1845, George b, 1848 and Catherine who was 4 months old. They had one more child, Elizabeth, but William was lost at sea on the 7 th of January 1852 before she was born. They had a servant, Alison Lindores. 39. Robert Spouse and Mary Robertson s [schedule 35] son William b, 1824 came next. He and his wife Elizabeth [Bessie] Martin b, 1828, had been married in 1848 at Burnmouth. They had a baby daughter, Ellen, born 19 th December They also had a servant, Elizabeth Martin. 40. William Spouse and Ellen Craig were both 65 in the 51 headcount but he was still working as a fisherman. They do not appear to have had any children. Ellen died on the 28 th of October

5 1858. She was 73. She was described as a pauper and had been suffering from palsy for several years with no medical attention. Her nephew, Joseph Collin, schedule 32, reported her death. She was buried in Mordington churchyard. 41. The subject of schedule 41, was Catherine Martin [b 1806 in Duns] maiden name Dunn. She had her unmarried sister, Margaret Dunn, living with her. Catherine is described as an innkeeper. Her husband William Martin b 26/4/1801, was still alive but he may have been away from home on business. The census enumerators were instructed to include a householder who was working overnight but was resident in the house. There is a problem with the 1851 census inasmuch as the enumerator responsible for the Cowdrait, Burnmouth and Partanhall schedules has listed the inhabitants of Cowdrait under the heading of Ross by mistake. Things are back as they should be by 1861 and even a quick comparison of the two shows that an error had been made. The 1861 census, unlike its predecessors, was conducted by the Registrar General for Scotland. It took place on the night of 7 th April. There is additional information in the 1861 census. There is a column showing how many children of school age there were in the household and another showing the number of rooms there were with one or more windows. John Logan, the schoolmaster at Mordington, was once again the enumerator. The office of the Registrar General for Scotland tended to use the local registrars as enumerators but John Logan was the Registrar for Mordington as well as the schoolmaster. There are house numbers on the 1861 census for Ross so using these in conjunction with the schedule numbers of the 1851 version it should be possible to plot the lives of the inhabitants of Ross. Dealing with 1861 and 1871 simultaneously should also highlight how much movement there was in the Village at this time.

6 Ross Village No. 1 [1851 Schedule 41] William Martin and Catherine Dunn 1861 William Martin is described as an Innkeeper and he and his wife Catherine Dunn were alone in the house. William s widowed mother Alison Martin maiden name Anderson had died 15/3/1856. William reported her death and she was buried in Coldingham Churchyard. Catherine s daughter Elizabeth Dunn had married Robert Page who had been born in Kirkcaldy but worked as a dairy man in Ayton. He had been a waiter and valet in a hotel but is described as a cow keeper on his death certificate. He died 14/3/1865 at the age of 37 and was buried in Ayton churchyard. Catherine reported his death and describes herself as his stepmother. She probably meant to write mother in law. She had very bad eyesight and her handwriting was laboured so she was probably nervous William was 69 and his wife Catherine was 67. The house is listed as a Spirit shop and William s occupation was Spirit Dealer. The house had seven windows and was not part of the row running parallel with the shore. Elizabeth Page, Catherine s daughter, now a widow was back living with her parents according to the 1871 census. She died 11/11/1875. William died on Christmas Eve The Inventory of his estate reveals that he had cash in the house, most of his neighbours would have had none or very little, his furniture and clothes were worth over 18, well over the value of most householders, his stock was worth over 27 and he had in excess of 350 in the bank. A score of local fishermen owed him money to the tune of over 20. The executor of his estate was Joseph Middlemas, a merchant in Leith. Elizabeth Page and Robert

7 Porteous of Catch-a-penny farm had previously been executors also but both predeceased William. Joseph Middlemas was a wine merchant and a partner in the firm Scott & Allan. This firm had two clippers which brought wine and brandy into Leith. William s premises in Ross were leased from Archibald Colin Campbell- Renton of Mordington. William had set up a trust in which he stipulated that his movable estate should be sold apart from the house furnishing and the stock. The proceeds were to be invested and his wife Catherine was to be paid a half yearly allowance. She was also to have free liferent of the premises at Ross and the stock in trade. Because Elizabeth Page had predeceased him her share of William s estate was divided between his brother Robert and his nephews Alexander Martin and William Martin, sons of Peter Martin and Mary Wilson and Mark Anderson, son of Thomas Anderson and Agnes Martin, as William stipulated in his will. Although he made one or two minor changes William always stressed that he wanted his business to be carried on by Alexander Martin, his nephew. William s widow, Catherine, survived for more than a year after his death. In that time she had her own will drawn up. Initially she wanted Agnes Martin or Lauder, her widowed niece, to have half her estate. The other half was to be divided equally between, her cousin Matilda Aitchison who was married to Arthur Johnston and living in Partanhall, her sister Jean Aitchison who was living in Burnmouth, Jane Lauder or Young living in Newcastle [Catherine doesn t say if she was related], and Mary Johnston or Lauder, widow of Robert Lauder. Catherine could not see to sign the document and the writer had to sign on her behalf. In December 1877 Catherine added a codicil to her will to the effect that Matilda Johnston and Jean Aitchison were no longer to benefit from her will and that their shares should go to Agnes Lauder, her niece. This was because of the great trouble and care her niece Agnes has had and is having with me. On the other hand Matilda Johnston and Jean Aitchison have not paid any attention to me whatever. Catherine was living with Agnes in Burnmouth when she died in February Agnes was the daughter of Alexander Martin and Margaret Johnston. It was William Lauder, Agnes s

8 late husband, who was a blood relative of Catherine s He was the son of Robert Lauder and Ann Dunn, Catherine s sister. William drowned, along with another four men, when their boat capsized on the 18 th of December The above example shows how a family s history can be traced and pieced together. There is more information available for some families than others. Although William and Catherine left no direct descendants they both had siblings whose descendants can be investigated and more importantly, inventories and wills. No 2 [1851 Schedule 40] William Spouse and Robert Anderson and Jane Collin There are two householders listed at number 2. William Spouse was still alive but in the 1861 census John Anderson and his wife and 3 children were also living in the house. William was 75, a widower with no offspring. He is described as a pauper. From the earliest census records he and his late wife Ellen Craig had lived in Ross. He told each census enumerator he had been born in Mordington whereas in actual fact he was born in Coldingham, the oldest son of William Spouse and Mary Martin. It seems towards the end of his life he shared his house with the Anderson family. William died on the 23 rd of December The cause of his death was general debility. His sister in law, Ellen s sister Isabella Craig later Collin, reported his death. John Logan, the registrar was witness to her X mark because she could not write. Robert Anderson and his wife Jane Collin who shared the house with William until his death may have been related to him but so far there is no evidence of that. Before his marriage Robert had lived with his parents John Anderson and Isabella Collin in Burnmouth. Robert went to sea when he was 12. He married Jane Collin, an Eyemouth girl, at Lamberton Toll on Christmas day The couple lived with Robert s parents when they were first married. By the time of the 1861 census they had three children. Joan, the oldest was born in 1853 and John on the 1 st of July 1856 in Ross. Isabella was born on the 9 th of December She was

9 the last birth to be recorded by John Logan in the Mordington Register for that year. On the following page of the Register all the names are listed in alphabetical order and Isabella Anderson is first on the list. The family had a female servant, Isabella Spouse, aged 17, the daughter of William Spouse and Isabella Richardson, the subjects of schedule 36 in the 1851 census. 1871, Robert and Janet Martin had moved from no 4 to no 2. No3 [1851 Schedule 39] William Spouse and Elizabeth Martin William and his wife Bessie had 5 children by 1861, 3 of school age. The oldest girl Ellen was 11, Robert was 9 and Mary was 6. Alison was 4 and the youngest, Jane, was a year old. William was a white fisherman. The little house they lived in had only one window. Between 1861 and 71 William and Bessie moved to no 13. In 1871 Agnes Anderson and her son Mark were in no 3. Agnes had previously lived at Stonefaulds with her husband Thomas Anderson but by 1871 she was a widow. She has moved into the house next door to her brother Robert and twin sister Janet who were in no 4. Agnes s son Mark was 24. Mark was a fisherman but by 1871 would already be suffering from chronic myelitis, an inflammation of the spinal cord. No4 [Schedule 29] Robert and Janet Martin In the 1861 census Robert is described as a grocer and Janet is listed as her brother s housekeeper. Robert must have given up the fishing when his mother died in order to carry on the grocery business. The building had 2 windows. In 1861 Robert was 49 and Janet was 56. Janet had a twin sister, Agnes [see no 3]. Both were born in November 1804 and both survived. Janet and her brother Robert remained unmarried.

10 By 1871, Robert and Janet were in number 2 Ross cottages and the house only had one window. It is difficult to tell whether the house numbers have changed or people have moved. It does appear that there has been a bit of a shuffle round between 1861 and The need for Agnes, Janet s twin sister, to be near her family may have been the reason for some the disruption William MacKay and his wife Mary Martin had moved to no 4 by Mary had been living with her mother Elizabeth Martin maiden name Wilson in the 51 census [Schedule no 31]. Elizabeth had died in William MacKay was born in Farr Sutherland. He married Mary Martin on the 19 th November 1848 at Ayton Manse. Their oldest daughter, Elizabeth was working as a general servant at Mordington Mains Farm House in Her brother in law Peter Hughes was a groom and lived at Mordington Mains. Peter s wife Ann Mackay and their baby daughter Mary were living with Ann s parents William and Mary at No 4 Ross. Two of William s other daughters Mary and Janet were working as general servants in Cowdrait. Daughter Isabella was 18 and still at home with her parents. The other children John 12, Ellen 10, Thomas 7 and James 5 were all of school age. No 5 [Schedule 30] Alexander Spouse and Margaret Wilson 1861 Alexander was 69 and described as a pauper. Margaret was 67. Alexander had TB for two years and the couple were obviously in dire straits. When Alexander died in 1862 Margaret went to live with her daughter Agnes and her son in law Mark Anderson at Stonefaulds. Mark and Agnes had a large family, all boys. The older boys were all fishermen but in 1871 two were still at school and Peter, the youngest was only three. Their grandmother Margaret Spouse lived until she was After Margaret moved to Stonefaulds Joseph Collin and his wife Isabella Paterson moved in to No 5 Ross. Their son Joseph 17 was a fisherman. Their other son George Paterson Collin was 15 but does not appear to be working. Their daughter Margaret had

11 died when she was three. Alison, their only surviving daughter was 11 and at school. Isabella Craig, Joseph s mother, was living with them. She was 71. Throughout her life Isabella lived in the same house as her son. She died in 1880 at the age of 80 and never had to endure the indignity of being described as a pauper. No 6 [Schedule 31] William MacKay and Mary Martin William MacKay and Mary Martin and their children, Elizabeth 11 and Ann 9 were in no 6 but had moved to no 4 by William Struthers [see no ] remarried on the 17 th of February 1862 at Lamberton Toll. He and his new wife Elizabeth Chrystal and their four children were in No 6 at the time of the 1871 census. No record of the death of William s mother can be found but it must be assumed she died between 1861 and 71. The children in the house were William 8 John 5, Elizabeth 3 and Margaret 10 months. No 7 [Schedule numbers 32] Joseph Collin then Andrew and Elizabeth Aitchison In 1861 Joseph Collin and his wife Isabella were in no 7 but by 1871 had moved to no Elizabeth Struthers [See no 8 below] was in no 7 in the 71 census. She had married Andrew Spiers Aitchison in April Her son James Anderson Struthers now 12 was living with them and described as Andrew s stepson. The couple had three children of their own John 5, William 3 and Andrew 7 months. John died in 1877 when he was 12. No8 [Schedule 33] 1861 Elizabeth Struthers In 1861 the Struthers family was in No 8. This was quite a complicated household. The head of the house was Elizabeth

12 Struthers maiden name Martin. She is described as a red fisherman s widow. This was what salmon fishers were called in the census records. It was considered bad luck to say salmon in some fishing communities. Elizabeth was 55. Her son William Struthers was 28 but already a widower. William had married Janet Lauder but both Janet and her baby daughter Ann died in [See no ]. Elizabeth s daughter, Elizabeth was 20 and unmarried but she had an illegitimate son James who was 2 years old. Although he was illegitimate James was given his father s name which was Anderson. Also in house was Ellen Aitchison, Elizabeth s sister. Ellen was a 65 year old widow and described as a pauper. She is the subject of Schedule 33 in the 1851 census. Ellen died on the 7 th of September John Spouse was a pauper. He had moved from no 9 to no 8. He died 23/4/1875. His son James reported his death but made a mistake with his stepmother s surname, telling the registrar her maiden name was Craig rather than Lindores. No 9 [Schedule 34] John Spouse and Margaret Lindores John and Margaret were both aged 70 and described as paupers. Margaret died on the 30 th of July Her stepson James reported her death [Schedule 35] Mary Spouse s absence in the 51 census has been explained. She was in Gorebridge with her daughter Elizabeth and appears in the census return there. She has used her maiden name, Mary Robertson. Her daughter Elizabeth was now a widow and had come back to Ross with her three children. Elizabeth [Betty] Spouse married Edward Kelly, an Irishman, on the 28 th of September 1845 at Mordington Toll when she was 16. He was 12 years her senior. Edward was a railway labourer and the couple lived in Gorebridge in Midlothian. According to the 1851 census for Gorebridge Edward s brother John was living with them. At that time there were no children in the house. Elizabeth had several children who did not survive. John and Mary both died in 1855 of

13 scarlet fever, Elizabeth Spouse Kelly died at the age of 17 months in Twins Mary Ann and Elizabeth were born in Mary Ann died in 1863 and there is no further record of Elizabeth. The three children who survived were, Margaret born 1857, Edward born 1860 and Robert born June Their father, Edward, died on the 17 th of November 1864 at the age of 46. He had phenomena. When the Kelly family were in Gorebridge their name was spelt Kelly but in all the Berwickshire records it appears as Kellie. Betty could not write but her late husband could so it must be assumed that his spelling was the correct one. In the 1871 census Mary Spouse [Robertson] was no longer listed as a pauper. She was 68. Her widowed daughter, Elizabeth Kellie was 41 and her grandchildren were all still at school. Margaret was 13, Edward was 11 and Robert was 6. At least at Ross they has a roof over their heads and were among friends and relatives. No 10 Schedule no 29] Agnes Anderson and her son Mark 1861 Agnes was the daughter of Alexander Martin and Alison Anderson. In 1861 she was living at No 10 but by 1871 had moved. See no Isabella Spouse [Richardson] had moved from no 11. She was no longer a pauper. Her sons John and George were both at the fishing, neither of them was married and they were still living at home. Her daughter, Alison was 14. The oldest girl Isabella and her husband Robert Johnston were living in Burnmouth. No11 [Schedule 36] Isabella Spouse 1861 Isabella Spouse maiden name Richardson now a widow was in no 11 and is described as a pauper although one of her sons, John was a white fisherman. He was only 15. Isabella s two youngest children George and Alison were still at school. The oldest girl, Isabella, was 17 and working as a general servant for Robert and Jane Anderson in no 2. On the 23 September 1864

14 Isabella married Robert Johnston at Lamberton Toll. The couple s first child Robert was born at Ross in Maybe they lived with Isabella s mother when they were first married although girls often went home to their mother s house to have their babies, especially the first. Mary Spouse maiden name Robertson was also in no 11. She was a widow and a pauper. She appears to have lived in a room of Isabella s house for a while see no Susan Martin [Schedule no 38] see also no 13 below had moved to no 11. Susan s sons William and George were fishermen and the girls Catherine and Elizabeth were general servants but were still living at home. Thomas had married Isabella Havery in 1870 and was living at Cowdrait in Thomas and Isabella had a son, Robert who died at 7 months old. Thomas was drowned on the 1 st of September 1877 at the age of 33 but the only record of this found so far is in the Ayton Memorial inscriptions book published by the Borders Family History Society. No 12 [ Schedule 37] James Spouse and Mary Lindores James Spouse and Mary Lindores were in no 12 in 1861 and 71. In 1861 their oldest daughter was working as a servant in Cowdrait. Daughter Alison, although 13, was not listed as a scholar. Sons John, William and James were all at school. James and Mary had another child Alexander in Helen, their eldest daughter, married John Aitchison at Lamberton Toll in No 13 [Schedule 38] Susan Martin 1861 Susan Martin maiden name Kerr was in no 13. She was a widow with 5 children although the two oldest boys, William 17

15 and Thomas15 were white fishermen. The other children, George, Catherine and Elizabeth were still at school. The family had moved to no 11 by the time of the 71 census William and Bessie Spouse had moved from no 3 and were living at no 13. The house had 2 windows in The couple also had two more children, William Alexander born in 1864 and Elizabeth born Ellen was 21 and as yet unmarried. In one document she is described as a fisherwoman. Ellen had an illegitimate baby in 1874 but very little else is known about her. Robert was 19 and working as a fisherman. Of Mary there is no further trace so she may have died in childhood. Alison was 13 and working as a general servant for a Partanhall family. Jane and William Alexander were at school and Elizabeth was still a baby. There were four adults, two children and a baby in the little house. One of these houses still had some of the furniture in it in the 1950s. There was a built in wooden bed with curtains around it in the tiny bedroom. It is difficult to imagine how so many people lived in such a small space. No 14 Robert Anderson and Jane Collin 1871 There were 14 houses listed in the 71 census and the Andersons had moved from no 2 to 14 Ross Cottages as they were now called. Their oldest daughter Joan, now calling herself Joanna, was working as a general servant in Chesterbank farmhouse. Robert and Jane had two sons who died, Joseph Collin Anderson who died in 1863 when he was 5 and Robert who was born on the 7 th of February 1862 and died 15 th of January 1865 of croup. Their son John was 14 in He was a pupil teacher. At the age of 13 pupils could become pupil teachers and help to teach the younger children. They were paid a small wage for doing this. So it was possible that John taught his sisters Isabella who was 11, Jane who was 8 and Ellen 5. The Andersons had another two children, Elizabeth born 1868 and another Robert born July Pupil teachers could stay on at school and later go to college. It seems John did this because the next time it has been possible to

16 trace him is the record of his marriage. It might be wise at this point to interrupt the Ross census information to follow the career of John Anderson. He was born in Ross on 26/7/1856 and was educated at Mordington School by John Logan. There is a gap where we lose track of him until his marriage to Marion Russell on 28/8/1883. He was 27 when they married. He was working as a Schoolmaster at Bishop Wearmouth in Sunderland. Marion was the schoolmistress at Burnmouth. It was a double wedding. Marion s sister Margaret married Andrew Taylor an Edinburgh schoolmaster on the same day. The next time John can be traced is as Superintendent of the Bombay Scottish Orphanage in Mahim. He was there from 1884 until he retired in At the foot of the page is a photograph of the orphanage. More information about the school can be found on line. John was married twice. His second wife was Anne Elizabeth Edge. Little is known about her except that her father was a chemist. John came back to Burnmouth when he retired and died in Nulla Ghar on 22/2/1927 aged 70. Can anyone add to this story? We really would appreciate any comments you may have, any information to add to any of the PDFs or family trees or just your reminiscences of Burnmouth past.