The Allans of Old Monkland.....

[bobj-kirk]

Hello Everyone,

I have another problem that I am hoping to get some help on. This one concerns my great great great grandparents James Allan and Jane Russell. I know very little about them, but I know a fair amount about their family. Here are their children:
Ann – b 1818 in Shotts.
Janet – b 1820 in Shotts: m John Smellie 1841; d 1880 at Langloan.
John – b 1822 in New Monkland; m Elizabeth Craig 1849.
Robert – b 1824 in Old Monkland; m Jean Langmuir 1850.
Mary – b 1827 at Old Monkland; m Robert Paterson 1849; d 1878.
Jane – b 1829 at Old Monkland; m James Paterson 1849; d 1901.
Thomas – b 1831 at Old Monkland.
James– b 1832 at Coatdyke.
Alexander – b 1834 at Old Monkland.
Margaret – b 1837 at Old Monkland.

I now have a copy of the Lanark FHS 1851 Census index on CD, so I used it to try to find the family. I found James Allen without his wife living with sons Thomas and James and his married daughter Jane (Jean):
PATERSON JAMES, Born SHOTTS, Age 22.
PATERSON JEAN, Born OLD MONKLAND, Age 22.
PATERSON JEAN, Born OLD MONKLAND, Age 11months.
ALLEN JAMES, Born CLK DEVON, Age 54.
ALLEN THOMAS, Born OLD MONKLAND, Age 19.
ALLEN JAMES, Born OLD MONKLAND 17, Age 17.

There are other census entries for the other married children as well.

The births of the children seem to indicate the family started out in Shotts and then moved to Old Monkland after a possible short stop in New Monkland. Contributed IGI records place the birth of Ann at knownoblehill, Shotts, and several later IGI records place the Old Monkland births at Coatdyke.

So, my main problem is to find the parents of James Allan and Jane Russell. In the death registries for his children, James is listed as a “Mining Contractor”. I am not sure if this is a business with employees or simply a name for a piecework miner. In one death registry, he is listed as a “Works Labourer”. There are clues to James Allan in the 1851 census above. According to the census, he was born circa 1796 in Devon, Clackmannanshire. I have tried to find a death registry for him with no luck. He may be dead by 1855, or possibly moved. Jane does not seem to appear in the 1851 census, so presumably she is already dead. Looking at the ages of her 10 children, she would have to be born between roughly 1790 and 1800. So, she was probably close to James in age.

Jack volunteered to do some census lookups for me, so I think the most important would be to find the family on the 1841 census. Presumably, they are a single family in Old Monkland. All the known marriages of the children take place after that census. Hopefully, Jane will still be alive and we will have a better idea of her age.

Apart from the census lookups, I am not sure how to proceed here. Suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks for any help.
- Bob

[Jack]

Hi Bob,

The 1841 has ALLAN, and James was as born IN the County - but errors, as you know, do occur, which annoyingly means you won't really know if wife Jean's is correct....
--
1841 cens 652 Ed 26 p 10 (Old Monkland)
Coatdyke, Gartsherrie.
James ALLAN, 40, iron contractor, b LKS [sic]
Jean ALLAN, 40, ------- b LKS
John ALLAN, 15, ------- b LKS
Robt., ALLAN, 15, ----- b LKS
Thomas ALLAN, 10, --- b LKS
James ALLAN, 8, ------ b LKS
Margt., ALLAN, 4, ------ b LKS
Mary ALLAN, 10, ------- b LKS
&
1851 cens 652 (639) Ed 50 p 11 (Old Monkland0
Coatdyke, Gartsherrie.
James PATERSON, head, marr, 22, engine keeper? b Shotts
Jean PATERSON, wife, 22, ------------ b Old Monkland
Jean PATERSON, daur, 11mos ----- Old Monkland
James ALLEN, lodger, widower, 54, mine ????? , b Devon, CLK
Thomas ALLEN, lodger, u/m 19, miner, b Old Monkland
James ALLEN, lodger, u/m 17, shop bot, b Old Monkland
--
I just couldn't make a guess on the 2nd part of James' occupation - it looked like 5 letters (but nothing to compare it against). The enumerators' writing changed like the wind - sometimes fairly clear (but florid), other times not. A few different hands were writing this enumeration district.
--
Only managed to get these today because my dental check up was cancelled just as i was going out the door - so went to the library instead.

Jack

[bobj-kirk]

Jack,

Thanks for the lookup.

Wouldn't it be nice if these could all be consistent? I have to think that the 1851 census has a lot better chance of being correct about James Allan's birthplace than the 1841 census. On the 1851, it is between two people born in Old Monkjland, so the enumerator had to take the trouble to write out the place instead of just dittoing it like seems to have happened on the 1841 census. But, as you say, the LKS for Jean Allan is pretty questionable.

Well, at least now we (hopefully) know Jean was the same age as James within 5 years anyway (ca 1795 to 1799).

Well, I haven't made much progress with the census, I am hoping someone else has some ideas on this one.

-Bob