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Category Archives: Muir Family

Tangled Web of Family Relationships

19 Sunday Jan 2014

Posted by theirownstories in Muir Family, Watson Family

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Agnes (Nancy) Elizabeth ACTON (1892-1981), Helen McNab WATSON (1890-1967), James Muir WATSON (1888-1965), Jane MUIR (1865-1933), Janet WALKER (1859-1948), John McConnell Muir WATSON (1903-1994), Joseph Francis ACTON (1886-1972), Richard Arthur ACTON (1894-1984), Richard William ACTON (1916-1990), Richard William WATSON (1916-2000), Samuel Acton WATSON (1920-2002), Thomas WATSON (1854-1932), Thomas Watson ACTON (1917-1991), William Watson Muir WATSON (1892-1973)

[Please keep checking this space, additional material and photos will be added as they become available, additional tags will be added as dates are clarified. The last information and / or images added 20 May 2014]

Family history often a confused mixture of relationships; the story of the WATSON (including MUIR) – ACTON  families is no exception. The photo below was taken about 1938-39 in Saskatchewan at one of the many family picnic get-to-gethers of the WATSON-ACTON families. The location of the photo is likely beside the Qu’Appelle River, near Ellisboro, probably just beside the old bridge.

After Thomas WATSON and his wife Jane MUIR immigrated to Saskatchewan in 1910, their sons (James (#15 in the photo), William (#4), Alexander (deceased at the time of the photo), and daughter Helen (Nell) (#40) married members of the Acton family. The resulting combined and extended families led to a tangled web of relations and cousins. While Thomas (d. 1932) and Jane Watson (d. 1933) are not in this photo, many of their descendants are.

 ACTON1937-004a-names

Names of people in picnic of Watson – Acton families and their relationship to Thomas and Jane (Muir) Watson. Names of persons still living have been left blank(__).

1. Joseph (‘Joe’) Francis ACTON (1886-1972): husband of Nell (#40); father of Dick (#12) and Tom (#8); son-in-law of Thomas WATSON and Jane MUIR.

2. [Living son] WATSON: step-son of Bill (#4); brother of Janet (#23); grandson of Thomas WATSON and Jane MUIR

3. Samuel (‘Sam’) Acton WATSON (1920-2002): son of Jim (#15) and Nancy (#38); brother of Doris (#29), Bill (#13), Muriel (#37), and __ (#28); grandson of Thomas WATSON and Jane MUIR.

4. William (‘Bill’) Muir WATSON (1892-1973): step-father of Bob (#2); brother of Nell (#40), Jim (#15) and John (#35); son of Thomas WATSON and Jane MUIR.

5. Jeff PARKER: husband of Edith (#20)

6. Robert WALKER (Sr.): nephew of Janet (#16); married to Lilly BAKER (not in photo), sister of Bill Sharpe’s wife Priscilla BAKER.

7. [Living son] ACTON: son of Dick (#21) and Annie (#27); brother of __ (#39), __ (#36), __ (#19), __ (#18), __ (#26) and __ (#22).

8. Thomas (‘Tom’) Watson ACTON (1917-1991): son of Joe (#1) and Nell (#40); brother of Dick (#12); grandson of Thomas WATSON and Jane MUIR.

9. William (‘Bill’) SHARPE: Husband of Priscilla BAKER (#25);

10. Robert WALKER (Jr.): son of Robert WALKER (Sr.) (#6)

11. Anne (Gompf) McKINNON: wife of Alex (#14); mother of Vi (#30)

12. Richard (‘Dick’) William ACTON (1916-1990): son of Joe (#1) and Nell (#40); brother of Tom (#8); grandson of Thomas WATSON and Jane MUIR

13. Richard William (‘Bill’) WATSON (1916-2000): son of Jim (#15) and Nancy (#38); brother of Doris (#29), Muriel (#37), Sam (#3) and __ (28); grandson of Thomas WATSON and Jane MUIR

14. Alexander ‘Alex’ McKINNON: husband of Anne (#11); father of Vi (#30); brother of Annie (#27)

15. James (‘Jim’) Muir WATSON (1888-1965): husband of Nancy (#38); father of Doris (#29), Bill (#13), Muriel (#37), Sam (#3) and __ (28); brother of Bill (#4), Nell (#40) and John (#35); son of Thomas WATSON and Jane MUIR

16. Janet (Walker) ACTON (1859-1948): (widow of Samuel ACTON; Samuel died in 1927 therefore not shown in photo); mother of Nancy (#38), Dick (#21), Bob (#32) and Jenny (#17).

17. Janet (‘Jenny’) Ethel ACTON: daughter of Janet (#16); sister of Nancy (#38), Dick (#21), and Bob (#32).

18. [Living son] ACTON: son of Dick (#21) and Annie (#27); brother of __ (#39), __ (#7), __ (#36), __ (#19), __ (#26) and __ (#22).

19. [Living daughter] ACTON: daughter of Dick (#21) and Annie (#27); sister of __ (#39), __ (#7), __ (#36), __ (#18), __ (#26) and __ (#22).

20. Edith (Allen) PARKER: wife of Jeff (#5)

21. Richard (‘Dick’) Arthur ACTON (1894-1984): son of Janet (#16); husband of Annie (#27); father of __ (#39), __ (#7), __ (#36), __ (#19), __ (#18), __ (#26) and __ (#22); brother of Nancy (#38), Bob (#32) and Jenny (#17).

22. [Living son] ACTON (back of head): son of Dick (#21) and Annie (#27); brother of __ (#39), __ (#7), __ (#36), __ (#19), __ (#18), and __ (#26).

23. Janet Mae WATSON: step-daughter of Bill (#4); sister of Bob (#2); granddaughter of Thomas WATSON and Jane MUIR

24. [Living daughter] ACTON: daughter of Bob (#32) and Sarah (#31); sister of __ (#34) and __ (#33).

25. Priscilla (Baker) SHARPE: wife of (Bill (#9)

26. [Living son] ACTON: son of Dick (#21) and Annie (#27); brother of __ (#39), __ (#7), __ (#36), __ (#19), __ (#18), and __ (#22).

27. Annie (McKinnon) ACTON: wife of Dick (#21); mother of __ (#39), __ (#7), __ (#36), __ (#19), __ (#18), __ (#26) and __ (#22); sister of Alex (#14)

28. [Living daughter] WATSON: daughter of Jim (#15) and Nancy (#38); sister of Doris (#29), Bill (#13), Muriel (#37), and Sam (#3); granddaughter of Thomas WATSON and Jane MUIR

29. Doris (‘Doris’) Janet WATSON (1915-ca 1985): daughter of Jim (#15) and Nancy (#38); sister of Bill (#13), Muriel (#37), Sam (#3) and __ (28); granddaughter of Thomas WATSON and Jane MUIR

30. Viola (‘Vi’) MCKINNON: daughter of Anne (#11) and Alex (#14); niece of Annie (#27)

31. Sarah Hastings (Johnston) ACTON (1896-1986): wife of Bob (#32); mother of __ (#34), __ (#24) and __ (#33), sister of Mary (#41)

32. Robert ‘Bob’ Walker ACTON (1896-1966): son of Janet (#16); husband of Sarah (#31) father of __ (#34), __ (#24) and __ (#33); brother of Nancy (#38), Dick (#21), and Jenny (#17).

33. [Living daughter] ACTON: daughter of Bob (#32) and Sarah (#31); sister of __ (#34), and __ (#24).

34. [Living daughter] ACTON: daughter of Bob (#32) and Sarah (#31); sister of __ (#24) and __ (#33).

35. John (‘John’) McConnell Muir WATSON (1903-1994): brother of Bill (#4), Jim (#15) and Nell (#40); son of Thomas WATSON and Jane MUIR

36. [Living daughter] ACTON: daughter of Dick (#21) and Annie (#27); sister of __ (#39), __ (#7), __ (#19), __ (#18), __ (#26) and __ (#22).

37. Muriel Mae WATSON (1919-2000): daughter of Jim (#15) and Nancy (#38); sister of Doris (#29), Bill (#13), Sam (#3) and __ (28); granddaughter of Thomas WATSON and Jane MUIR

38. Agnes ‘Nancy’ Elizabeth (Acton) WATSON (1892-1981): daughter of Janet (#16); wife of Jim( #15); mother of Doris (#29), Bill (#13), Muriel (#37), Sam (#3) and __ (28); sister of Dick (#21), Bob (#32) and Jenny (#17); daughter-in-law of Thomas WATSON and Jane MUIR

39. [Living daughter] ACTON: daughter of Dick (#21) and Annie (#27); sister of __ (#7), __ (#36), __ (#19), __ (#18), __ (#26) and __ (#22).

40. Helen (‘Nell’) McNab (Watson) ACTON: wife of Joe (#1); mother of Dick (#12) and Tom (#8); sister of Bill (#4), Jim (#15) and John (#35); daughter of Thomas WATSON and Jane MUIR

41. Mary JOHNSTON: sister of Sarah (#31)

The picnic was likely held on a Sunday afternoon, after the 11 AM church service in the rural Rosewood United Church. After attending church, the families would briefly return to their farm homes. All family members remained dressed in their Sunday best; they would not change after attending church. Quickly tying on an apron, the women would pack food that had been prepared the day before. The men would conduct a last minute check of any farm animals that might require food and / or water before evening; if this necessitated a change into ‘chore clothes’ the white shirts, ties and dark suit trousers would be put on again before leaving for the picnic. Cars were quickly packed with excited children and delicious and plentiful home cooked food.

ACTON1938-052ACTON1938-051Each housewife would pack more than enough for her own family, but once at the picnic site, all food would be placed on picnic tables or blankets for a large ‘pot-luck’ feast including jellied salads, potato salad, canned chicken, hams, sandwiches (canned salmon, roast beef and pork, chicken, ham), pickles (dill, mustard, sweet, bread-and-butter), homemade buns and bread, cakes, ‘squares’, pies and cookies. Large jars of homemade lemonade would be available for the children, multiple thermos of hot tea would be provided for the adults. Several families would also bring a ‘cream can’ of cool drinking water.

The afternoon’s entertainment was informal: the woman would gather and discuss children, gardens, recipes.

The men would discuss cattle, crops, weather, the price of grain, the lack of railway cars to ship the grain, the cost of farm machinery, the state of the roads, and the other constant challenges of farm life. The young children would dash amongst the trees involved in their own games of tag, or games of, the now politically incorrect, ‘war’ with pretend guns made from tree branches.ACTON1938-054

 

 

 

MUIR, James (1842-1924)

09 Friday Aug 2013

Posted by theirownstories in Muir Family

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Agnes Wilson RUSSELL (1875-1945), Helen MCNAB (1844-1929), Helen Ramsay MUIR (1874-1951), James MUIR (1843-1924), Jane MUIR (1865-1933), John MUIR (1872-1921), John ORMSBY (1856-1927)

WATSON1900-006a

James MUIR b: 26 January 1843 in Maybole, Ayrshire, d: 26 December 1924 in Dean Cottage, 11 Maybole Road, Ayr, Ayrshire. (Photo from the author’s collection)

Places lived:

  • 1843 January 26 born in Craigokean /Craigenroy [?], Maybole, Ayshire
  • 1865, November 21 in Tunnoch, Maybole, Ayrshire – Farm Servant, (married Helen McNAB b: 1844 October 21, in Glenhouse (Glenluie), Kirkoswald, Ayrshire)
  • 1865 December 19, in Crosshill, Kikmichael, Ayrshire – Farm Steward, (daughter Jane MUIR born here)
  • 1867 February 28 – grandfather James MUIR died at Craigenroy, Maybole, Ayrshire (family lived there since James birth in 1843?)
  • 1868 June 06, in Damside, Sorn, Ayrshire – Coachman (Domestic) (son William MUIR born here)
  • 1870-1872 in Beoch, Maybole, Ayrshire – Farm Overseer, (1870 June 13, son James MUIR born here), (1872 April 30, son John MUIR born here)
  • 1874 February 19, in Knockton Cottage, Maybole, Ayrshire – Shepherd (daughter Helen Ramsay MUIR born here)
  • 1876 June 03, in Low Milton, Maybole, Ayrshire – Bower, (son David MUIR born here)
  • 1878 – 1882 in Slaphouse by Ayr, Ayrshire – Dairyman (1878 May 18, daughter Mary MUIR born here)  (1880 August 6, son George Kennedy MUIR born here)  (1882 October 23, son Gilbert MUIR born here)
  • 1882 – 1886 in Slaphouse or Robbsland?
  • 1886 – 1889 in Robbsland by Ayr, Ayrshire – Dairyman  (1886 January 7, son Thomas MUIR born here)  (1887 January 20, daughter Jane married Thomas WATSON here) (1889 June 03, father William MUIR died here)
  • 1890 – 1906 in Mainholm Farm, St. Quivox – Farmer,  (1890 May 05 – mother Elizabeth MANSON died here)  (1894 December 12, daughter Helen married John ORMSBY here)  (1902 December 12, son John married Agnes RUSSELL, John’s address Mainholm)  (1903 August 27, daughter Mary married Duncan GRANT here)  (1906 December 04, son George Kennedy married Helen DICKSON, George’s address Mainholm)
  • 1907–1924 in Mainholm Farm or Dean Cottage?
    (1907 February 8, son Gilbert married Alison GILMOUR, Gilbert’s address Beresford Lane, Ayr)
  • 1924 December 26, died at Dean Cottage, 11 Maybole Road, Ayr, Ayrshire – Farmer (Retired)

Photos from the author’s collectionIMG_0081

  • IMG_0075IMG_0076

MUIR, James (1870-1947?)

20 Saturday Jul 2013

Posted by theirownstories in Muir Family

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Helen MCNAB (1844-1929), James MUIR (1843-1924)

[this post last edited, new information and / or images added 09 August 2013]

James MUIR was born 13 June, 1870 at Beoch Farm, Maybole, Ayrshire, Scotland. He was the third of the ten children of James MUIR and his wife Helen McNAB. WATSON1900-007At the time of James’ birth, his father James was the farm overseer and was home to register the birth. As the second son, James’ name broke with the Scottish naming pattern for children as his mother’s father’s name Kennedy McNAB was not repeated.

Photo right: James’ parents James Muir and Helen McNab, photo portraits hanging in the author’s home. The portraits are large as can be seen by the 6 foot bookcases.

During James’ childhood the Muir family frequently moved as his father continued to seek out employment opportunities that would support his growing family.

The 1871 census found the Muir family still at Beoch Farm. In the 1881 census, James, and an additional five siblings, lived at Slaphouse Farm, by the Slaphouse Burn on the outskirts of Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland. James’ father James was now a ‘bower’ (probably a farmer who tended cattle). James was a ‘scholar’, the normal term for schoolchild. After Slaphouse Farm, the Muir family moved to Robbsland Farm, where on 20 January 1887 at James sister Jane MUIR, 21, married local tenant farmer Thomas WATSON, aged 32. (Although James had nine siblings, Jane is mentioned specifically here as I believe James kept in touch with her, at least initially.)

James, 17 at the time of his sister’s marriage to Tom Watson, would have completed his schooling and would have either found work off the farm, or perhaps was expected to now spend full days as a farmer.

In the 1891 census, James, now 20, was not with the family. Where was he? And where to start searching for him?

The only clue I had was cryptic note left by my deceased father Thomas Watson ACTON, which said “James (Jimmy) Muir went to England?” My father’s note, including the question mark, was all I had to go on. What had been my father’s source? It would have been his mother Helen McNab WATSON who was James’ niece and who had lived in Scotland during the period of this story.

I had another corroborating piece of information, slight as it was. A cousin, Donald SLATER who had been researching independent of my efforts, had produced a family tree that said “Home: England for James MUIR”.

Using the theory that there just might be some truth in family stories, I searched the 1891 census for England. This search was more fruitful than I could have imagined. While ‘James Muir’ is an extremely common name in Scotland, it didn’t prove so much so in England. A search yielded several hits for James Muir, however only one was born in 1870 in Ayrshire, Scotland. This James Muir was a greengrocer, who lived at 13 Butcher Row, Holy Trinity Parish, Coventry, Warwickshire, England. This James, although only 21 years old, was married to a Margaret Helen [surname not given in the 1891 census] with a family of two children: Margaret Helen MUIR (3) and James William MUIR (2).

Was this the correct James Muir? And how to tell? Although was not solid proof, I had several pieces of evidence. This James was the correct age and had the correct birthplace. And, if he followed the naming pattern for his children, he would name his first son ‘James’ after his father – which this James had done. This would seem to help point to his parents being James Muir and Helen McNab.

However, the James I wanted had grown up on farms. What was he doing as a ‘greengrocer’? Perhaps he had had enough of farming and had decided he wanted to go into business. Perhaps he had never wanted to be a farmer and left the farm as soon as he could. He had at least one Watson nephew (son of his sister Jane married to Tom Watson) who had vowed that he would not “spend his life following the rear-end of a horse that was pulling a plow” with all the inherent dust, flies and horse manure. If James felt this way it may have caused a rift with his father who would have expected him to follow in his farming footsteps. As a result, James may have left Ayrshire for England and the perceived greater opportunities.

Seeking irrefutable evidence that this was the correct James in Coventry, I ordered his marriage registration to Margaret Ellen McCUTCHION from the English General Register Office in the anticipation that his parents would be named. No such luck, however several other corroborating pieces of evidence were identified. The marriage, which occurred on 17 January 1888 at the Church of St. David, Parish of St. David, Birmingham, County of Warwick was between 18 year old James Muir, a fishmonger, and 19 year old Margaret Ellen McCutchion. This was the correct age for James (born in 1870), and as a somewhat early age for marriage, it was not likely that the registrar would have made that up. [parental consent was still required for marriages between the ages of sixteen and eighteen; James obviously convinced the registrar that he was eighteen – although technically he wasn’t for another six months]. Also, the groom’s father’s name was listed as ‘James Muir’, which was correct.

However, just when I thought the evidence was falling into place, a wrong note; the occupation of the groom’s father, James Muir, was listed as ‘publican’ and I knew that James’ father was variously a farmer, land overseer, bower, retired farmer – but never publican. However the registrar also indicated that Margaret’s father Samuel McCUTCHION (who lived in the same Parish and would have been known to the registrar) had no occupation. Perhaps the registrar: had placed the occupation opposite the wrong name; had not understood James’ accent; or was worse the wear for drink. Or, perhaps James, in order to look more presentable to his future father-in-law, had not mentioned that his father was a farmer, but instead enhanced his father’s occupation to that of a business to make himself a more suitable son-in-law. All these are possible.

I had one other piece of evidence that now fell into place. I have mentioned throughout these stories the box of unnamed photos that I had inherited. As explained in an earlier post, I knew from the provenance of the box that it had belonged to my great-grandmother Jane (Muir) Watson, and that no photos had been added that did not relate to the MUIR or WATSON extended families. Some of the most puzzling ones had been taken by a photographer in Coventry, England. I also knew from the considerable research that I had done to that point in time that I had not identified any families had connections to ‘Coventry, England’.

WATSON_unkn_0011 WATSON_unkn_0010 WATSON_unkn_0009WATSON_unkn_0012

Photos above: from the author’s collection

Are these photos sent by James of his family to his sister Jane? Are the top two photos of Margaret and James on their wedding day, dressed in all their finery? I hope that someone who reads this story will have a similar photo, or one that can be used for comparison for identification purposes.

James continued to live in Coventry for the rest of his life. In the 1901 census, James, 30, born in Scotland (right age, right birthplace) was now a cab proprietor. He and his wife Margaret Ellen and their four children lived at 17 Chapel Street, Coventry, Warwickshire. As well as the two children identified in the 1891 census, Margaret Ellen (12) and James William (10), Harold David MUIR (2) and Evelyn Victoria MUIR (2 months) had joined the family. James in-laws also lived with them: Samuel McCutchion, 56, fish merchant and his wife Sarah, 47.
In the 1911 census, James, 41, born in Ayr, Scotland (right age, right birthplace), still lived at 17 Chapel Street, Coventry. He was a widower. He was a motor mechanic, as was his son, 21 year old James William. His eldest child, 22 year old Margaret Ellen was a fish saleswoman. His other children Harold David, 12, Evelyn Victoria, 10 are identified, also Reginald Gilbert MUIR, 7 had joined the family since the 1901 census. His birth in 1904 places the death of James’ wife Margaret Ellen to the 1904-1911 period.

I have not identified James’ date of death, however a search of Coventry records (since James showed no signs of leaving Coventry) on Ancestry.com free BMD index has a James Muir, died 1947, 77 years old (right age for birth date of 1870) (Source: Registration District Coventry, Warwickshire, volume 9c, Page 634) Hopefully someone will have a copy of his death registration with both his parents identified.

Although the following has not been proven, the children of James and Margaret Muir appear to be:

Margaret Helen MUIR b: Bet. July–September 1888 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, d: Aft. 1914 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England? married Walter H. WOODROFFE m: Bet. January–March 1914 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England.

James William MUIR b: Abt. 06 December 1889 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, d: Bet. October–December 1971 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England? married Sarah E. HUGHES m: Bet. October–December 1912 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England.

Harold David MUIR b: Bet. July–September 1898 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, d: Aft. 1924 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England? married Drusilla HOLLICK m: Bet. April–June 1924 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England.

Evelyn Victoria MUIR b: Bet. January–March 1901 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, d: Aft. 1922 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England? married David ALLUM m: Bet. July–September 1922 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England.

Reginald Gilbert MUIR b: Bet. April–June 1904 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, d: Bet. July–September 1968 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England. married Margaret V. S. HIRD m: Bet. July–September 1927 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England

MUIR, John (1872-1921)

01 Saturday Sep 2012

Posted by theirownstories in Muir Family

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Agnes Wilson RUSSELL (1875-1945), Helen MCNAB (1844-1929), James MUIR (1843-1924), Jane MUIR (1865-1933), John MUIR (1872-1921)

(see page ‘James and Helen (MCNAB) MUIR Family’ under heading ‘MUIR’ top of screen)

(post edited 14 September 2012, 14 December 2012, 06 April 2018)

Help needed – is John MUIR one of the unknown people in the photo used in the banner of this blog?

Since my last post I have been to Ayr Scotland, home of many of my ancestors. A trip to the Ayr Cemetery on Holmston Road brought to light this little gem about my great-uncle John, the brother of my great grandmother Jane MUIR:

“In Loving Memory of my dear husband John MUIR, [died] Dean Cottage, 9 December 1921 aged 49 years. Also his wife Agnes W. R. MUIR 30 December 1945, aged 70 years”

I was surprised to see this Memorial Inscription as my deceased father had left a note saying that John had ‘gone to Kenya’. I had been able to locate the dates of John’s birth and marriage, and some census records, but then had lost him, I presumed to ‘Kenya’.

Clearly John had not died in Kenya. What was the story here?

John was born at 6:30 AM, on 30 April 1872 in Beoch, Maybole, Ayrshire, Scotland. His father, James MUIR, was a farm overseer at the time of John’s birth. John was the 4th child and 3rd son of James and his wife Helen MCNAB. Eight year old John was with his family at Slaphouse Farm, Ayr in the 1881 census. He attended a local school, likely Alloway, with the rest of his siblings. His father James occupied the position of ‘bower’ (probably a farmer who tended cattle) at Slaphouse Farm. (photo below).

Slaphouse Farm, Ayr, Scotland.

Photo taken by the author November 2010

By the time of the 1891 census John lived with his family at Mainholme Farm, just outside Ayr. James, John’s father was the tenant Farmer of Mainholme. Unmarried, John was 18 years old, had completed school and worked as a ‘farmer’s son’ full time at Mainholme. Ten years later, in the 1901 census John, 28 years old, still lived with his family at Mainholme Farm and worked full time on the farm. By this time several of his nine siblings had left home, married and started their own families.

The 1901 census also lists Agnes Wilson RUSSELL, whom John married  on 12 December 1902. The marriage took place at the Athole Arms [Hotel] in Ayr. John was 30 yrs old and Agnes 27.

It is possible that John and Agnes appear in the family photograph used in the banner of this blog, which was taken about 1900 outside Mainholme Farm where John’s parents still lived. No photograph of John or Agnes has yet been found or identified for comparison.

Agnes, was born 8 November 1875 at New Barns, St. Quivox, Ayrshire to James RUSSELL, labourer, and Isabella WILSON. In the 1901 census Agnes is living with her 65 year old father James (woodman (estate)), mother, brother David RUSSELL, 27, woodman (estate), and 25 year old sister Anna Bella RUSSELL. Place of residence is New Barns, St. Quivox where they had lived at least since the time of the 1881 census.

For 20 years after the marriage of John and Agnes, they disappear from normal documentary evidence. They do not appear in the 1911 census in Scotland – at least I haven’t found them yet.

The next thing known for certain about John is that he died at Dean Cottage in Ayr on 9 December 1921. He was only 49 years old. Cause of death was ‘tuberculosis of bladder and prostate’ which had been diagnosed for at least 12 months. His occupation was listed as ‘farmer’. Dean Cottage, where John died, was the home of his parents, James and Helen (MCNAB) MUIR, retired famers, both of whom were still living.

John’s wife Agnes was the informant of his death so we know that she was also in Ayr at that time.

Agnes, who lived for another 24 years, died on 30 December 1945 at 82 Brownside Drive, Glasgow. Her usual residence was 45 Loudon Road, Newmilns.

Did John and Agnes go to Kenya? John had worked all his life on farms; did he use this experience to branch out in a new country? This is possible as others from Ayr, including possibly at least one of John’s brothers, had gone to ‘Africa’ to work as farm managers or labourers. With John’s agricultural experience was he a farm manager on one of the big Kenyan estates? Did John and Agnes go to Kenya shortly after their marriage and come back to Scotland when they learned that John was seriously ill? If so, is that why John died at the home of his parents? This might be the case if they returned to Scotland without the resources, or time, to acquire their own living arrangements before John’s death.

A thread of a clue about John and Agnes’ location between their marriage in 1902 and John’s death in 1921 is offered in Agnes’ 1945 death registration and ship passenger records. At time of Agnes’ death she was identified as the widow of John MUIR, Farm Manager. A search to date of passenger records both leaving and returning between the UK and ‘Africa’ in the 1902-1921 period has produced only one clue, but it may be significant: On 1 March 1913 the ship ‘Goorkha’, arrived in London, England from Mombasa, East Africa. Two of the passengers are “Mr. J. MUIR, 40, Farm Manager’ and Mrs. A. MUIR, 35”. The names, ages, date, occupation, and place of departure fit. Is this John and Agnes?

The informant of Agnes’ death in 1945 was a niece with the surname GRAY.  Hopefully more research will turn up information about the missing years in John and Agnes life, and whether or not they were in Kenya. And whether John is one of the people in the photo used in the banner of this blog. With this information we could help John and Agnes tell TheirOwnStories.

Watson Family Moves to Canada

24 Thursday May 2012

Posted by theirownstories in Muir Family, Watson Family

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Alexander Hunter WATSON (1895-1934), Helen McNab WATSON (1890-1967), James Muir WATSON (1888-1965), Jane MUIR (1865-1933), Jane Muir WATSON (1899-1988), John McConnell Muir WATSON (1903-1994), Thomas WATSON (1854-1932), Thomas WATSON (1887-1951), William Watson Muir WATSON (1892-1973)

(see ‘Thomas & Jane (MUIR) WATSON Family’ under heading ‘WATSON’;  for photograph of WATSON family see post 29 April 2012)

[this post last edited, new information and/or images added 12 March 2013. Unless otherwise indicated all photos are from the author’s collection]

[For more Watson family photos also check out Donald Slater’s family history Flickr account www.flickr.com/photos/palaeoecogeek]

The Thomas and Jane (MUIR) WATSON family came to Canada in four stages.

First to arrive was 17 year old James Muir (Jim) WATSON, who arrived in Montreal on the 19 June 1906, after a ten day sea journey from Galsgow, aboard the ship ‘S. S. Corinthian’. He travelled to Winnipeg by train and worked for a Manitoba farmer as an agricultural labourer.

The second of the Watson family to arrive in Canada was 17 year old William (Bill) Watson Muir WATSON who sailed from Glasgow on the ship ‘S. S. Hesperian’ and arrived in Quebec City on 19 July 1909. His eventual destination was Rapid City, Manitoba.

The main group of the WATSON family (father Thomas WATSON, mother Jane MUIR, Nell, 20 [Helen McNab WATSON], Alex, 15 [Alexander Hunter WATSON], Jane, 11 [Jane Muir WATSON], and John, 7 [John Mcconnell Muir WATSON]) left Glasgow, Scotland on 2 April 1910 on the ship ‘S. S. Hesperian’, which docked in Halifax on 11 April 1910.

Thomas (Tom) WATSON, 25, the last of the family to move to Canada, sailed from Glasgow on 17 June 1912 on the ‘S. S. Pretorian’, and arrived in Montreal about eight days later.

The Sea Voyage 

The Watson family (Thomas, Jane, Nell, Alex, Jane, and John) boarded the ‘S.S. Hesperian’ in Glasgow on 2 April 1910 with all their worldly possessions. The next day the ship stopped in Liverpool to pick up additional passengers. The sea voyage from Liverpool to Halifax took eight rough, sea sick days.

 S. S. Hesperian, Allan Line, Glasgow, Launched 1907, torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine 4 September 1915

The S. S. Hesperian’s Manifest listed the ‘Number of Souls’ on board as 1,416. Of that number 1,150 souls were housed in the bowels of the ship in 3rd class or ‘steerage’ even though the allowed legal limit was 1,000 people. In this overcrowded, cheap and substandard accommodation, hundreds of immigrants were housed in one large room, with shared sleeping, eating and bathroom facilities. One can only imagine the claustrophobia of bouncing over the Atlantic Ocean during the April storms, enduring sea-sickness in the dimly lit area, surrounded by hundreds of other sea sick passengers.

Newspaper headlines of the time gave some indication of the situation “Steerage conditions called appalling”, “Abuses among emigrant passengers” and “Horrible conditions endured by emigrants in steerage”.

The six Watson family members were among the miserable steerage passengers. My grandmother Nell [Helen McNab Watson], would speak only rarely and reluctantly about the trip, and never wanted to return to Scotland. And she never did.

However, for the Watson family and hundreds of thousands of other immigrants, however horrible the conditions in steerage, the price was right and this was the way to the promised land and a new start on life. The total fare for the six Watson family members was $25, covered by ‘British Bonus Allowed’. This was a commission paid by the Immigration Branch of the Canadian Government to steamship booking agents in the United Kingdom to encourage immigration of desirable settlers, mainly farmers, who were prepared to move to Canada. It encouraged steamship companies to recruit settlers and was a marketing tool of the Canadian government.

The family landed in Halifax on 6 April, 1910 at 6:45 a.m. I have always imagined that it was a cold, dreary, rainy April morning. Port of entry was not the now famous Pier 21, but Pier 2, which combined a deep water shipping terminus with a Canadian Pacific Railway terminus. [Pier 21 was not opened until 1923].

Once landed in Halifax the travails of the passengers were not over as all had to pass medical inspection. The ‘S. S. Hesperian’s’ Manifest for this voyage noted that the medical inspection of the steerage passengers commenced at 8:05 a.m. and was not fully completed until 4:00 p.m.; two passengers were detained. Connecting trains left at 2:00 p.m., 5:00p.m., 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.

Arrival in Wolseley

After several days the train reached Wolseley, Saskatchewan. It is not known how Wolseley was chosen as a destination, however Thomas had probably answered an advertisement for a farm labourer through a newspaper in Scotland. Once they arrived in Wolseley, the six Watson family members received a terrible shock. When the farmer who had hired Thomas showed up with his horse and cart and found out that there were six family members and not just one man, he turned around and left them standing at the railway station. In Scotland when a tenant farmer was hired it was understood that the whole family was included and all were expected to work. In Canada this was not the case. Although the misunderstanding was easily explained it did not make it any less serious for the Watsons. The Watson family was devastated, they had come all the way from Scotland and had nowhere to turn.

Fortunately for the Watson family, Mr. G. P. Campbell heard of their situation, picked up the family and took them home. Several Watson family members worked as hired help for the Campbell family until they were able to establish themselves on land.

Gradually the family established themselves, bought land, married, raised families and became involved in the community. For the Watson family members Canada was indeed the start of a new life, and provided opportunities they would never have had in Scotland.

MUIR, Jane (1865-1933)

10 Thursday May 2012

Posted by theirownstories in Muir Family, Watson Family

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Helen MCNAB (1844-1929), Helen Ramsay MUIR (1874-1951), James MUIR (1843-1924), Jane MUIR (1865-1933), Thomas WATSON (1854-1932)

(see ‘Thomas & Jane (MUIR) WATSON Family’ under heading ‘WATSON’ )

[this post last edited, new information and/or images added 12 March 2013. Unless otherwise indicated all photos are from the author’s collection]

[For more Watson family photos also check out Donald Slater’s family history Flickr account www.flickr.com/photos/palaeoecogeek]

Photo below: Jane (MUIR) WATSON, 10 June 1914, Rosewood District, Lemberg, Saskatchewan, Canada

Jane MUIR was born 19 December 1865 in Crosshill Village, Kirkmichael, Ayrshire, Scotland, the first child born to James MUIR and Helen McNAB.  From an early age Jane, as the eldest child, was likely given responsibility for her younger siblings. She seems to have had a particular bond with her younger sister Helen Ramsay (MUIR) ORMSBY who remained in Scotland. It was a bond that these sisters shared throughout their lives, even though geographically separated by an ocean at the time of their deaths.

The family moved frequently as James changed employers and jobs in an effort to support the growing family. By 1878 the family had established some degree of permanency when James, now a ‘Bower’ (probably a farmer who tended cattle) moved his family to Slaphouse Farm, by the Slaphouse Burn on the outskirts of Ayr. Three more children, Mary, George Kennedy and Gilbert, were born between 1878 and 1882 while the family lived at Slaphouse.

On 20 January 1887 at Robbsland, Jane, 21, married local tenant farmer Thomas WATSON, aged 32. The eleven years difference in their ages was normal for the time when men often delayed marriage until they could afford to have a family. The marriage, conducted by William Granger the Minister of St. Leonard’s Parish Church in Ayr, took place in the bride’s home of Robbsland as was common at the time.

(story continued in posts 14 May – 22 May 2012)

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