Some missing Strathearns!

[garibaldired]

Hannah Strathearn (1854 - 1896) had 3 illegitimate children (all unknown fathers) in the Borthwick, Midlothian area:

Maggie Jane Strathearn 10 March 1883
James Strathearn 21 January 1885
Lizzie Strathearn 19 December 1886.

In 1891 they were together with Hannah and her husband Peter Leyden/Layden (married 31 Dec 1889) and a further child (of the marriage), Thomas (born 31 July 1890) in North Middleton, Borthwick. These 3 are indexed as Strathearn Laden.
Hannah died of TB in April 1896 in Cairnie, Inveresk.

In 1901, the 2 girls, plus the 3 children of the marriage, Thomas, Mary and Hannah, are with Peter at Shawfair Farm, Newton (he is a ploughman here).
I haven't found James yet but 31 Dec 1908 he married Agnes Nisbet in Beath Manse Fife. He's a miner and they are living at 6 Kirkford St Cowdenbeath in the 1911 census and are still there in April 1912 when their daughter Mary Rainey Strathearn is born. After this I can't find any trace of these three except notice of a death for Agnes Nisbet Strathearn in Bulli Australia in 1958, and a possible death for James in Bulli in 1962 (there may be a reference to him too in an island evacuation during WW2).

Of Maggie Jane and Lizzie I can find no trace at all after 1901; no marriage or death in Scotland (the one in 1949 in Angus is not my Maggie Jane) and no travel record. If James did travel to Australia I wonder if the girls went too?

Peter Leyden died in Edinburgh in 1949 (the informant was his son in law) and all his 3 children seem to remain in that area. I have traced them.
If anyone can come up with any other information I would really appreciate it.

Many thanks,
Meg

[trish1]

Newspaper notice Sydney Morning Herald Jul 31 1962 Page 18
Strathearn James - July 27 1962 of 3 Park Rd Bulli, husband of the late Agnes Nisbet Strathearn and dear father of Mary (Mrs Ferguson, deceased) aged 77 years

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid= ... page&hl=en
Funeral Notice - Rookwood crematorium
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid= ... page&hl=en

Bulli is part of the Greater Wollongong area and just south of Sydney. The SMH death notices are indexed here (complete post 1970).
http://ryersonindex.net/search.php

Agnes died 15 Feb 1958 and although not indexed in the ryerson, a notice is in the SMH on 17 Feb 1958 but it doesn't provide additional family information. She was also cremated at Rookwood.
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid= ... page&hl=en

[trish1]

This is probably the death of their daughter

4477/1947 FERGUSON MARY JAMES AGNES BULLI - if you change the search dates you can find the actual date
https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/li ... /search?40

Death notice
FERGUSON Mary Death notice 18FEB1947 Death 34 at Bulli District Hospital, late of Bulli Sydney Morning Herald 19FEB1947

SMH up to 1954 can be searched here
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/search?adv=y

Trish

[garibaldired]

Trish,

Thank you so much for all those links.
I'm obviously not that great at searching in Australia - I needed an expert!

Many, many thanks again.

Best wishes,
Meg

PS That's my morning taken care of!

[speleobat2]

Hi Meg,

There is a Maggie Leyden on the 1911 Scotland census. She is in St. George, Edinburgh and gives her place of birth as Borthwick. Her age is off by 2 years but that's not unusual in the census records.

Carol

[trish1]

Nothing like a weekend of genealogy

Using the NSW bdm index you should find a marriage for Mary - there don't seem to be any children (although the birth index only go to 1914)
https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/li ... y/search?1

The sisters aren't mentioned in the death notices so it seems unlikely they came to Australia (but that is not such a good researcher's proof.)

Slight spelling mistake on the BDM record for James death - also indicates the informant did not know the name of his parents
26770/1962 STRATHERAN JAMES DISTRICT HOSPITAL BULLI NOT KNOWN BULLI ( where father should be listed is place of death "District Hospital Bulli" & mother "not known")

Bulli was/is a coal mining area (fits with James' employment) - large steelworks in Wollongong - the area employed thousands of immigrants in times past - especially post WWII
All war records are found here
http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/search/index.aspx (use record search). James not mentioned - other than the possible PNG record which you mentioned.

Electoral Roll (earliest online NSW is 1930)
1930 Agnes & James living at Berrima NSW
1936 Agnes and James living 15 Fowler Street Camperdown (Sydney suburb)
1943 onwards at 42 Park Road Bulli

Not easily finding immigration record - closest match
Jas Strathearn 175 Foulford Rd Cowdenbeath miner aged 41 travelling to Auckland New Zealand 1926
NZ/Australia travel much like Scotland/Ireland - not a lot of records available

Trish

[speleobat2]

Hi again,

There is a marriage for an Elizabeth Leyden and Patrick Sweeney in Morningside, Edinburgh, Sept. 21, 1907. Elizabeth's father is shown as Peter Leyden, Ploughman. Her mother is Ann which could be short for Hannah. Can't read the maiden name for her mother, but she is deceased. Mary Leyden is the witness. Patrick Sweeney was a coal miner. This one might be worth checking further on.

Carol

[garibaldired]

Thank you, Carol. =D>
I can't believe I missed that marriage; I suppose I was too focused on the Strathearn surname as James retained it and that she was Lizzie not Elizabeth.
And it looks like you've found Maggie as well.

Off to spend some credits on SP.......

Best wishes,

Meg

[garibaldired]

And more thanks to you, Trish, for adding to what you'd already found =D>

My gut feeling is that it is James' travel record; Foulford Rd Cowdenbeath is very close to where they were in 1912.

Best wishes,
Meg

[garibaldired]

Just to let you both know I have also found a marriage for Maggie (oops, sorry, Margaret!) too in Morningside in 1916.

Meg