My husband's Scottish family, for our children

[melva'sgirl]

Hi John!
I have also gotten a look at the 1911 census since my last post and have found the same thing. I don't have any idea who the Joad's are either. And I did search the 1911 for Darlington for any other family that I thought might be there, just going on names that I'm sure of. The only one I thought that may be a possibility is A William Stevenson that is listed as a boilermaker foreman on Cleasby Terrace. Robert was probably there for work with the railroad but maybe there was some other family member that he worked with or near? Anyway, I'll do some more checking today. Do you have any knowledge of who Robert Sr's brother John married? I haven't been able to find much information on him. Regards Sandy

[killiejok]

Hi Sandy

So far I only know that Robert (snr) had a sister Mary who was aged 12 in the 1911 census. Regarding the William Stevenson, it looks as though he moved to Darlington around the same time after 1903 - could he be Mary Stevenson's brother.

regards

John

[melva'sgirl]

Hi!
William Stevenson is not showing up on any of the searches I've done as a brother to Mary. The only ones I've found are Mary, Robert 1864, Catherine 1868, John 1866, Samuel 1870. Don't go by this however, I haven't verified this information. William could be another sibling but is not showing up as such. A Cousin maybe? And another thing, about Mary, the information on John Stevenson and Janet Campbell Mccoll gives her birth date as 4 March 1873 but her death certificate gives it as 4 March 1881. I found very little on her with the earlier birthdate, and I wonder where it came from. 1881 seems to be correct though and other information seems to match. She's buried in West Park Cemetery in Cleveland along with all the other members of the family also buried nearby. My mother-in-law is buried just a few feet away. Aunt Bella (Isabella Grant Williamson) and Uncle Bob also nearby. Aunt Bella and Uncle Bob had 5 children. 4 boys and a girl. Mary Margaret died as a todler. As of now there is only one of their sons still living. I talk to him on occassion. I hope to see him soon because I promised him the family information and haven't delivered it yet. He's very elderly but so far in good health. I have a picture of him and his wife. It's a very grainy, bad picture but I'll see if I can copy it. I'll also check with my sister-in-law. She has all Mom's pictures and may have a better one. John? Was it you who left information on William Grant and Margaret Hay and Tiendland? Very interesting! I'm going to pass that information along if it's alright. So long, for now. Sandy

[killiejok]

Hi Sandy

Do you know of a Hugh Stevenson? He was one of the witnesses at the marriage of Mary and Robert Williamson in 1898, the other witness was Jessie Williamson. This marriage extract also shows Mary's age as 25 which is consistent with an 1873 birth year, as is her age at the 1901 census.
I have posted info to other websites/contacts about William Grant and Margaret Hay of Tiendland. They are the grandparents of Bella.

John

[melva'sgirl]

Okay, so now more confusion, and I really hope someone can help. I posted before, stating that Robert Williamson the seniors father was Benjamin Williamson, which is stated on Robert's marriage record to Jessie Boyd in 1869. It says also Benjamin's wife Ann, ms Maxton. So naturally I've been looking hard for Ann Maxton. However, the only Benjamin I've managed to find is one on 44 Nelson Street in 1851, Lanarkshire. Both Benjamin and wife Ann,born ca, 1821 in Ireland. Their sons Robert and John are the exact ages our Robert and his brother John are. Okay, except that her maiden surname appears to be Watson, not Maxton. Marriage information in Govan says they married there in 1845. Again, it's Watson. And the 1861 census gives the widow Ann Williamson, sons John and Robert, daughters Mary (should be Mary Jane) and Ann, with grandmother Rose A. Watson. And back in 1851 at 42 Nelson Street is Robert Watson, Wife Rose Ann. Is it possible I have been looking for the wrong Ann all the years? Or am I mixing up 2 different families? Can someone help, please before I pull my hair out? I'm a chubby bubble, so I'd look real funny bald. Thank-you!!! Sandy

[melva'sgirl]

For killiejok,
John, I was just as puzzled by the different birthdates for Mary. Yes, it appears from all the census and birth information in Scotland that she was born in 1873, yet all her information here says she was born in 1881. Eight years is a pretty big leap. But I have a copy of her marriage to Simon Klyn and also of her death certificate and both say 1881. It's even on her tombstone. I can't really account for it, but I'm positive it's her. The only thing I can tell you is that mistakes made on records coming through Ellis Island were frequent and once an error was made the person involved was stuck with it. My stepdads family is a case in point. When his grandmother and some of his aunts and uncles came over here from Norway the surname of the family was transposed with the county in Norway they were coming from on the records. They were stuck with that as their "new" name. The following year when another uncle came over , no error. So now that part of the family has their original surname and the rest have the mixed-up one. For a long time we thought another family in another state was related because they had the same surname, it being a rare one here. It turned out the same thing had happened to them and they were not related at all.
I've been wondering if that may be what happened with another Williamson family member, but that's a long story and it can wait for another time. Regards, Sandy

[killiejok]

Hi Sandy

Although eight years is a bit of a difference, its not so significant when there is enough other evidence to show its the same person. At least now I can make the necessary adjustment when researching further depending on whether its UK or US records.

Regarding your other question about Robert Williamson snr and his mother's surname Maxton or Watson. The two two names may be similar enough when handwritten that someone has misquoted it. I have seen the marriage extract showing Maxton and seen the OPR index for the marriage of Benjamin Williamson and Anne Watson in 1845. I hope to visit my local family history centre in a few days and will try to explore this family further. You mention the 1861 census with Ann widowed and children Robert, John, Mary (Mary Jane) and Anne and it would help me if you could give the ages of Mary and Anne.

[melva'sgirl]

Hello John, I hope this lovely day finds you and your loved ones are all well.
Well, the page I was able to get on the 1861 census is this;
Registration# 644/9, District Tradeston, Civil Parish Glasgow Govan, County Lanarkshire, Address: 44 Dale St. Back, ED 51, Household # 74, Line 10, Roll: CSSCT1861_110
Ann Williamson age 70
John Williamson age 15
Robert Williamson age 12
Mary I Williamson age 6 (should be Mary J-ane)
Ann Williamson age 3
Rose A Watson age 78 (grandmother born Ireland)
This is just as the page reads but to get to the relationships and birth place needed to be pulled up each page at a time. I did that but only looked at them to be sure I had the right people. Then I made my own notes rather than printing it off. Probably I should go back for the printed copies while I can still get them. Maybe next week. The age for Ann is way off. It would make her eight years younger than her mother? (funny how 8 year differences keep sneaking in there!) She should be only 40 years old. I found someplace else with 1826 as her birthdate but the 1851 census has her and Benjamin the same age, born in 1821, doesn't it? One of these days I'd like to get an original copy to read. I hope you'll let me know if you find anything interesting.
In the meantime, Best Wishes, Sandy

[killiejok]

Hi Sandy

I managed to do a little research today based on the info you posted. The marriage extract for Robert and Jessie showed Benjamin and Ann Williamson (Maxton) deceased and the 1861 census has Ann widowed with daughter Ann aged 3. I found a death for Benjamin Williamson in 1860 at 49 Centre Street, Tradeston, informant Ann Williamson. I looked for the birth of Ann in 1858 finding one in Tradeston at 49 Centre Street Father Benjamin and Mother Ann ms Watson. In the death extract Benjamin was formerly a handloom weaver but in the birth extract he was a collier. Based on this I would say the Ann Maxton should be Ann Watson. Unfortunately that would mean your search for Ann Maxton was in vain, good news for me is that your work has saved me from making the same mistake.
Regarding the 1861 census record it looks as though Ann's age has been recorded as 70 when it should be 40. I also assume the relationship of Rose A to head (Ann) should be mother rather than grandmother.
Hope this helps.
regards
John

[melva'sgirl]

Hello All,
I'm sorry I haven't been around for a while, there have been a lot of changes going on in my life the last year or so. It's finally beginning to settle down some so I can get back to doing what I enjoy. Which is of course, the family genealogy. I recently joined the genealogy club at my local library. We'll see where that leads.
In the meantime, I've managed to acquire a few tidbits of information regarding my lovely Williamsons and Stevensons. I had posted before about John Stevenson Williamson. The last we found him in Darlington with a couple named Joad. The rest of his family were nearby in another household. The new information concerns Mary Stevenson Williamson and her third marriage to Simon J Klyn in Ohio, USA. It seems the families of Williamson and Klyn knew each other prior to their immigration to the US. On the ship's log upon John S Williamson entry it names Simon Klyn as the person he would be staying with. John labeled him as friend. Now Simon was from Utrecht, Holland. So how could they know each other? Now, in the 1930 census for Cleveland it references John S Williamson and his children Jean (born Hannah Jane) and infant James, and his sister Jessie Williamson as being boarders in the home of Simon J Klyn and his wife Marie. This would be after the death of John' s wife Tryphena McConkey. Four years later (1934) his mother Mary Stevenson Williamson marries Simon in Erie, Pennsylvania. Simon dies the following summer in 1935. Mary continues to live here and dies in 1953.
There are some interesting facts regarding all this. First, Mary lists her parents, John Stevenson and Janet McColl, but even though as a widow she states the death of her husband as occurring in 1922, she uses the name Williamson. It's her second husband Donald McPherson who died in 1922. Her first husband, Robert Boyd Williamson, died in 1910/11 in Darlington. Yet she's back to using the Williamson surname? Then, Simon lists his parents as James Klyn and Jacobmina Termaten. He's a grown man so I'm sure he knows who his parents were. In searching for more information to try and figure the connections between these families I've managed to glean that James Klyn, Simon's father AKA James/Jacobus Klijn and his mother AKA Jacomijntje Termaten/ter Maten. Both from Holland. Then I found on the 1871 census for South Shields, Durham England a J. Klyn, no other information. I'm trying to find out if this is possibly Simon's family. That would explain a lot.
Interestingly enough, I recently checked Find A Grave and found the burial of Simon and Mary Klyn. I had looked before but they weren't there. It has a lot of wrong information regarding them I'm trying to get corrected. It has Simon's parents as Simon and Mary Klyn and his wife as Mary Roomer. There is Simon Klyn of Holland in the 1916 census in Manitoba, Canada with a wife with the given name of Roomer. This may be his previous wife Marie, but it definitely not Mary, who is buried nearby. This would be West Park Cemetery in Cleveland, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio.
Simon's death certificate does say his parents are Simon and Mary but I believe someone confused or supplied the wrong information. The person listed as informant was David Williamson, son of Mary Stevenson Williamson McPherson Klyn and brother to John Stevenson Williamson. So!!!???
If any one has information that can tell me how this all came about, I would be extremely grateful!!
Sandy
By the By, Killiejok. If you google John Stevenson Williamson you can find the obituary of another John S. This is the nephew of the other and it mentions Aunt Bella Grant Williamson and a lot of other information you may be interested in.
Regards, Sandy