Death of Three Athya Siblings

Two weeks ago, I wrote about James Athya who a fellow researcher recently discovered was buried at the Southern Necropolis Cemetery in the Gorbals district of Glasgow, County Lanarkshire, Scotland. She shared a link with me to the cemetery internment register—842 images, with no index. With nothing better to do during the COVID-19 pandemic, I spent several hours perusing the images, looking for anyone with the surname Athya. During my search, I found three siblings who died in 1903—George Dempster Athya, Sarah Athya, and Mary Glen Athya—children of John D. and Helen (Dempster) Athya. John was the brother of James Athya, my husband’s great grandfather. George, Sarah, and Mary are 1st cousins 2x removed of my husband. Their nearest common relatives are James Athya and Jane Wylie.

From my research to date, I can document four other children in the family—John D. Athya Jr., Nellie (may be a nickname) Athya, Hannah Quinn Athya, and James Athya. 

George Dempster Athya was born in Glasgow, County Lanarkshire, Scotland in 1900. At age 3, he died of bronchitis on June 12, 1903. George was buried on June 13. 

Sarah Athya was born in Glasgow, County Lanarkshire, Scotland in 1902. At age 11 months, she died of measles on October 15, 1903. Sarah was buried on October 17.

Mary Glen Athya was born in Glasgow, County Lanarkshire, Scotland about May 1901. At age 2 years, 5 months, she died of measles on October 20. Mary was buried on October 22.

All three children died at 65 Dunn Street in Bridgeton, Glasgow, Scotland, most likely their home. All three were buried in Lair (plot) 860 at Southern Necropolis Cemetery in Glasgow. What a sad year it must have been for this Athya family.

References

• 1901 Census, Bridgeton, Glasgow, County Lanarkshire, Scotland.
• Cemetery records for Southern Necropolis Cemetery, Glasgow (image 704); https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSRF-VSK4-3?cat=1322281. You’ll need a free FamilySearch account to sign in.
• Cemetery records for Southern Necropolis Cemetery, Glasgow (image 708); https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSRF-VSKQ-L?cat=1322281.
• Flag of Scotland, none known, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Scotland.svg.
• Hannah Quinn Logan, U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. 

Mary Ann Athya, long lost first wife of George Durie Athya

Mary Ann Athya, daughter of Isaac Athya and Elizabeth McClelland, was born in Bellshill, County Lanarkshire, Scotland about 1896. She had at least 10 siblings—Elizabeth Athya, Isaac Athya, Andrew Athya, James Athya, Jeannie Wylie Athya, William McClelland Athya, Robert McClelland Athya, (Mary Ann Athya), John McClelland Athya, Margaret Athya (twin), and Hugh Athya (twin). 

In 1901, the Athya family lived in Bellshill at New Orbiston Rows, apartment housing built in 1892 for the coal miners. According to the Scottish Mining Website, the housing community consisted of “1 three-apartment house, 74 two-apartment houses with rental of £9 19s, one storey [sic], stone built, brick back, erected about 18 years ago – no damp-proof course – walls strapped and lathed – wood floors, ventilated – condition of walls generally good; no overcrowding – apartments large; no garden ground – wash houses – coal cellars; 4 ashpits and 8 privies, between front and rear row; outside sinks for front row – one for every 4 house; surface channels for back row; gravitation water from 4 standpipes; and was scavenged daily – within a special district.” Her father’s occupation was “Cothery Lampman.” Mary was a scholar.

On May 27, 1918, Mary married George Durie Athya (pictured left), son of James Wylie Athya and Jemima Durie, in an “irregular” marriage by declaration that took place at 50 Wellington Street in Blythswood, Glasgow, County Lanark, Scotland. In an irregular marriage, the couple would make a declaration in front of two witnesses, in this case, George’s sister Elizabeth Durie (Athya) Anderson and her husband Alexander Anderson. Once they provided proof of the marriage to a sheriff or sheriff-substitute, they could obtain a warrant “to have the marriage registered by the local registrar.” According to ScotlandsPeople, “Churches disagreed with these marriages in principle, but accepted them for fear that couples would otherwise ‘live in sin’.” Mary and George’s marriage was registered at Glasgow on May 29, 1918 after obtaining a warrant from a sheriff-substitute. Mary was a 22-year-old spinster; George a 25-year-old bachelor, riveter, and Corporal with the Cameron Highlanders. Mary and George were first cousins—their fathers Isaac and James were brothers. I don’t know, but this may have been a common practice at the time.

On October 30, 1920, George sailed from Bellshill, Glasgow aboard the S.S. Columbia headed for Steubenville, Ohio in the United States of America. He declared his wife Mary, who he left behind in Scotland, as the “nearest relative or friend in country whence alien came.”

S.S. Columbia manifest (click to enlarge)

On June 24, 1924, Mary set sail aboard the S.S. Montlaurier headed for Canada. A passenger declaration form showed that Mary was 28 years old, single, and unaccompanied by a husband. She traveled 3rd class, planning to settle permanently in Canada and look for suitable work as a domestic. She declared her religion as Baptist. Mary paid her own passage at £5, spoke the English language, and had never been to Canada. Mary’s sister Jeannie (Athya) Lay lived in Montreal, which was where Mary was going. She listed her father Isaac Athya of 13 Mauldslie Street in Crossgates, Bellshill, Scotland as the nearest relative in the country from which she came. Mary further declared that she had no mental, tubercular, or physical detects. 

Ten days prior to Mary leaving Scotland, George married Bertha Edna Smith in the Ingram Borough of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania on June 14, 1924. George and Bertha are my husband’s grandparents. 

So, the big question for our family is—what happened to George and Mary’s marriage. Did they divorce? Was the marriage dissolved? We don’t have a clue. When my mother-in-law shared her father’s immigration papers with me years ago, I remember asking her if she knew what happened to Mary. She didn’t. Now thanks to a hint another researcher posted on her ancestry.com tree and who then shared where she got the information when I contacted her, I’ve been able to solve the mystery of the wife George left behind in Scotland. But there are still questions to answer so the search isn’t over. By the way, George and Bertha named their only daughter Mary.

References

• 1891 Scotland census, registration district Bothwell, civil parish Bothwell, County Lanarkshire.
• 1901 Scotland census, registration district Bellshill, civil parish Bothwell, County Lanarkshire.
• Athya-Smith marriage license no. 20342, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 
• Flag of Scotland, none known, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Scotland.svg.
• George Athya, List or Manifest of Alien Passengers for the United States Immigration Officer at Port of Arrival.
• George Durie Athya/Mary Ann Athya marriage, Statutory Registers Marriages 644/10 1036, National Records of Scotland.
• John Athya, Canada, Ocean Arrivals (Form 30A), 1919-1924.
• John McClelland Athya, U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947.
• Mary Athya, Declaration of Passenger to Canada, Ocean Arrivals (Form 30A), 1919-1924.
• New Orbiston Rows, Housing Conditions of Miners, Scottish Mining Website; http://www.scottishmining.co.uk/236.html.
• Our Records: Irregular Marriage in Scotland, ScotlandsPeople; https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/article/irregular-marriage-scotland.
• William McClelland Athya, Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950. 

James Wylie Athya

It’s been a while since I learned any new information on our direct Athya line. James is a common Athya name so I tread lightly when doing research on this line. But thanks to an accidental find of the unindexed Southern Necropolis Cemetery internment records in Glasgow, Scotland by another researcher I periodically correspond with, we now know the death date and burial location of my husband’s great grandparents, as well as several other family members. This was an exciting find!

James Athya, son of James Athya and Jane Wylie, was born at home at 117 Hospital Street in Glasgow, County Lanarkshire, Scotland between 1854 and 1856 (I’ll note how I come up with these dates below, with the records). His middle name may be Wylie, his mother’s maiden name, but I can’t prove that at this point. I can document five siblings—Isaac Athya, David Athya, Margaret Athya, John Athya, and Hugh Wylie Athya. James is my husband’s great grandfather.

Note since posting this on August 13, 2021 -- James' middle name was in fact Wylie. On August 15, I downloaded a copy of Jemima Athya's (his wife) death certificate. It listed his full name as James Wylie Athya.

On March 23, 1877, James married Jemima Durie, daughter of James Durie and Jane Braidwood, on Lancefield Street in the Gorbals District of Glasgow. Lancefield Street, today an industrial district, is a short street that runs into Lancefield Quay, a road that runs parallel to the south bank of the River Clyde. Having never seen the word Quay before, of course I had to google it and learned that “A quay is a concrete platform running along water.” That's exactly what I found to be the case on Google Maps.

James and Jemima had at least nine children—Jane Athya, Margaret Wylie Athya, Elizabeth Durie Athya, Isabella Gilchrist Athya, Robert Durie Athya, John Athya, George Durie Athya, David Athya, and Mary Athya. My husband’s uncle once told me he thought there may have been 13 children, but I can only document these nine at this point. Like several of the siblings, the middle name for Jane, John, David, and Mary may be Durie, their mother’s maiden name, but that’s another thing I can’t document yet. In both the case of Durie and Wylie as middle names, other researchers show these as middle names, but I haven’t found any records myself that provide a middle name so note it here for future reference.

Note since posting this on August 13, 2021 -- I discovered one additional child for James and Jemima—their first born, James Athya, who only lived two weeks.

Other than a four-year stay in Liverpool, England where Margaret and Elizabeth were born, James kept his family in the Glasgow area. They moved often, living in Glasgow and several parishes, towns, and districts within County Lanarkshire—Bothwell, Wishaw, Mossend, Killin Perthshire, Springburn, and Cambusnethan. They may have lived in Cambusnethan on November 30, 1886, when Jemima submitted an Application for Parochial Relief there. Parish inspectors visited the home at 10:35 a.m. on December 1, 1886 at which time Jemima told them her husband had “left her four days ago to look for work.” Jemima also noted that James was 31 years of age and worked as a joiner. As noted above, if James was 31 years old in 1886, he would have been born about 1855.

Application for Parochial Relief submitted by Jemima (Durie) Athya

James (age 35), Jemima, and five children (Margaret, Elizabeth, Isabella, Robert, and John) lived in the Bothwell district of Glasgow in 1891. If James was 35 years old in 1891, he would have been born about 1856. James worked as a joiner, “an artisan and tradesperson who builds things by joining pieces of wood, particularly lighter and more ornamental work than that done by a carpenter, including furniture and the ‘fittings’ of a house, ship, etc.” according to Wikipedia.

In 1901, James (age 45), Jemima, and four children (Robert, George, David, and Mary) lived at 50 Hope Street in Motherwell, located in the Dalziel Parrish of County Lanarkshire. If James was 45 years old in 1901, he would have been born about 1856. His son John was no longer in the home and I find no further records for him so it’s possible he had died by the time this census was taken. James was still working as a joiner. A couple in their mid-30s named John and Rosina Beck lived with them. John Beck was a draper, a retailer in the clothing business. On June 21, 1902, James’ 17-year-old daughter Isabella died of a weak heart at 155 Campsie Street in the Springburn district of Glasgow. Isabella was buried on June 24 in Lair (plot) 859 of Southern Necropolis Cemetery in the Gorbals district of Glasgow. Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland electoral registers record a James Athya who worked as a joiner living at 135 Campsie Street in 1903. The same registers also record a James Athya living at 111 Petershill Road and working as a “waggon builder” from 1908 to 1912. As you’ll see below, based on the death location, this James is probably the subject of this sketch. I will note that I didn’t find a record for 1913, but did for 1914, and then nothing after that. James’ work as a joiner would have given him the skills needed to build wagons.

On May 8, 1912, James’ daughter Margaret (Maggie) and her family left Glasgow aboard the S.S. Grampian, headed for Quebec, Canada. Maggie’s husband John Close was a miner. Upon arrival in Canada, they settled at Joggins Mines in Nova Scotia for two years before eventually settling in Steubenville, Ohio.

James died at the age of 59 at 111 Petershill Road in Glasgow on August 13, 1913—108 years ago today. James was buried on August 16 in Lair 860 at Southern Necropolis Cemetery in Glasgow. If James was 59 years old in 1913, he would have been born about 1854. It was good to finally learn his final resting place.

NOTE on 9/28/2024: James' death certificate records his death date as August 12, not the 13th. The register of interments records it as the 13th.

Southern Necropolis Cemetery internment record for James Athya
(click to enlarge)

On a side note, researching the Athya surname can be difficult. In our family’s case, I find a lot of men named James, John, George, Hugh, Isaac, and Robert. If you don’t have specific information, it can be hard to keep track of who is who. At some point, I became curious about naming patterns so went to old faithful, Google. What I found was a FamilySearch web page that details Scottish naming patterns. I thought I’d share this information in case anyone reading this is curious as well (attribution for Scotland Personal Names/Naming Patterns in references below).

Naming Patterns

The Scots, for the most part, had a naming pattern which can be seen in many families. The pattern generally went as follows:

• The first son was named after the father’s father.
• The second son after the mother’s father.
• The third son after the father.
• The first daughter after the mother’s mother.
• The second daughter after the father’s mother.
• The third daughter after the mother.

References

• Bothwell, County Lanarkshire, Glasgow, Scotland census, 1891.
• Close, Margaret, Union Cemetery Association Interment Directory.
• Flag of Scotland, none known, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Scotland.svg.
• Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, Electoral Registers, 1857-1962 (1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912).
• Google Maps; https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lancefield+Quay,+Glasgow,+UK/@55.8579315,-4.2780634,17.75z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x48884680914e6bc7:0xf2425edbafbf9ff7!8m2!3d55.85736!4d-4.2786692.
• James Athya, Register of Internments, Southern Necropolis Cemetery, p. 20 (you'll need a free FamilySearch account to view); https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS5Q-V37L-G?i=19&cat=1322281.
• Joiner; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joiner.
• Maggie Close, manifest card.
• Motherwell, County Lanarkshire, Glasgow, Scotland census, 1901.
• North Lanarkshire, Scotland, Poor Law Applications and Registers, 1849-1917.
• Scotland Personal Names, Naming Patterns; https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Scotland_Personal_Names. Free use via Creative Commons, no changes made to text; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. 
• Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950.
• Scotland, Select Marriages, 1561-1910.
• Southern Necropolis: Gorbals City of the Dead; https://www.southernnecropolis.co.uk/. 
• What’s the difference between an Ave, Rd, St, Ln, Dr, Way, Pl, Blvd etc.?, Kickass Facts Fact Encyclopedia; https://www.kickassfacts.com/whats-the-difference-between-an-ave-rd-st-ln-dr-way-pl-blvd-etc/. 

Dawson Grays, Co. C, 3rd Georgia Regiment

Penfield, Greene County, Georgia is the ancestral home of many of my ancestors—Lankford, Hobbs, Janes, and Wilson to name a few. All were prominent families who lived there during the mid-1800s. I have been researching these families for years and in my quest to learn more, often research their neighbors, hoping to find new information.

When the Civil War started in 1861, my 3rd great grandfather, James Meriweather Lankford, answered the call to arms. On April 24, 1861, he enlisted in Penfield as a Private with Company C of the Third Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment, also known as the Dawson Grays. In 1862, he transferred to the Georgia State Troops, leaving behind a group of soldiers that included his brother, cousins, and neighbors. As part of my research, I started tracking some of these soldiers and that eventually led to a complete review of the Company C roster. During my research, I found tidbits of information directly related to the Dawson Grays so started a timeline specific to Company C. In November 2020, I compiled my Penfield research onto one page of this blog for a one place study. It only made sense to add this research, gleamed from books, historical newspapers, other published rosters, and a review of military records for every soldier I could find who served with Company C, to this study. To see the results of that work, click on the link below. If I’m lucky, someone will find this information and be that person who holds a missing link or photo. It’s happened before … it could happen again.

Company C,
Third Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment
also known as the Dawson Grays

Photo: Henry House, Manassas Battlefield, Manassas, Virginia

© Denise Murphy