On April 7, 1861, the Durie family resided at 62 Brown Street in the District of Clyde, St. George civil parish, Glasgow. Elizabeth’s father, an engine smith, specialized in making and repairing engine parts, similar to the work of a blacksmith. At that time, the family included six children: Mary (11), Elizabeth (10), George (8), Jemima (4), Andrewina (2), and John (3 months). One sister, Agnes, born around 1851, had likely passed away. Elizabeth, Mary, and George were scholars, attending school.
 |
1861 Scotland census |
Just a week after the census was taken, Elizabeth’s sister Andrewina contracted dothinenteritis, also known as typhoid fever. She passed away at home on May 26, 1861, after enduring the disease for six weeks. In addition, Andrewina suffered from “water in the head” (hydrocephalus) for two weeks before her death. She was laid to rest at Eastern Necropolis Cemetery in Glasgow.
By 1871, Elizabeth and her family had relocated to 22 Pitt Street in the Blythswood District of Barony, County Lanarkshire, Scotland. The 1871 census record lists six children in the household: Mary (21), Elizabeth (20), George (18, listed as “Gane”), Jemima (14, listed as “Lemma”), John (10), and Robert (8). Elizabeth was unemployed, while her father worked as an engine fitter. Her sisters Mary and Jemima were employed as warehouse girls, and George worked as an iron turner. Both John and Robert were scholars.
 |
1871 Scotland census |
Elizabeth married John Alexander, the son of James Alexander and Isabella Wallace, according to the banns in Scotland. Their marriage took place on February 21, 1873, in Tradeston, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland. John, a journeyman baker, and Elizabeth both resided at 22 Pitt Street in Glasgow, likely a tenement-style home. At the time of their marriage, Elizabeth was 20 years old and John was 24.
 |
Elizabeth Durie and John Alexander’s marriage record |
Elizabeth and John had eight children: Jane Braidwood Alexander, John Alexander, George Alexander, Robert Alexander, Mary Alexander, James Alexander, William Alexander, and Alexander Alexander. Jane was born in 1874 and John in 1879, both in Partick, a village in Glasgow. George was born in 1881 in Rosneath, Dunbartonshire. Robert was born in 1883 and Mary in 1886, both in Kilcreggan and Cove, County Dunbartonshire. James was born in 1889, William in 1891, and Alexander in 1896, all in Anderston, County Lanarkshire. Anderston was a village in Glasgow.
In 1881, Elizabeth, John, and their children Jane and John lived at Clachan House No. 13 in the civil parish of Rosneath, County Dumbartonshire, Scotland. John was employed as a baker.
 |
1881 Scotland census |
By 1891, the Alexander family had grown substantially, adding five children since the last census. They resided at 194a Main Street in Anderston. John continued his work as a baker, while their daughter Jane worked as a seamstress. Sons John, George, and Robert, along with daughter Mary, were all attending school. Their youngest child, William, was just seven months old. The census also noted that two rooms in their house had one or more windows, a detail used to assess housing conditions and public health at the time.
 |
1891 Scotland census |
On December 14, 1900, Elizabeth’s daughter, Jane, married Alexander Bilsland, the son of Robert Bilsland and Margaret Semple. The wedding took place in Anderston, following the publication of banns according to the Forms of the United Free Church of Scotland. At the time, Robert worked as a carter, responsible for transporting goods using a cart and horse, while Jane was employed as a laundress. One of the witnesses to the marriage was John Alexander, who could have been either Elizabeth’s husband or her son.
By 1901, the Alexander family had moved to 7 North Street in the Sandyford ward of Anderston. Their new home, now with three windows, was apparently larger than their previous residence in 1891. Elizabeth’s husband, John, continued his work as a baker. Four of their children were now employed: John worked as a grocer’s shopkeeper, George as an apprentice house painter, Robert as a bonded storekeeper, and Mary as a paper bag maker. James and William were both attending school, and the family had welcomed another son, Alexander.
 |
1901 Scotland census |
Elizabeth passed away at their home at 40 Overnewton Street in Anderston on February 23, 1911. Her death was attributed to hemiplegia, a form of paralysis affecting the right side of her body, which she had endured for three years. This condition was likely caused by a stroke.
 |
Elizabeth Durie Alexander’s death record |
Elizabeth was laid to rest in lair 384 at Eastern Necropolis Cemetery on February 25, 1911. The lair holder was her brother, John Durie.
 |
Eastern Necropolis Cemetery interment record for Elizabeth |
A month and a half later, Elizabeth’s widowed husband, John, was recorded in the census along with six of their eight children, the youngest being 14 years old. Everyone in the household was employed. John worked as a bread maker, George as a house painter, Robert as a bonded storekeeper, James as a sheet metal worker, Mary as a paper bag maker, William as a storekeeper, and Alexander as a messenger.
 |
1911 Scotland census |
In 1912, John married his second wife, Margaret Cockburn Brown.
 |
John Alexander and Margaret Cockburn Brown’s marriage record |
The witnesses to the marriage were Andrew Lane Wark and Eleanor Wark. Interestingly, Elizabeth’s sister Mary Durie married Robert Wark in 1892. There might be a connection between the Wark families, but I have not been able to confirm this in my research so far.
References
- Alexander Alexander, Statutory registers Births 644/10 1394, National Records of Scotland, 1896.
- Andrina Durie, Statutory Registers Deaths 644/5 442, National Records of Scotland, 1861.
- Andrina Durie, Weekly interment book, nos. 1–8950, 1855–1861, Weekly installments paid on lairs, 1901–1963, Eastern Necropolis Cemetery, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, image 236, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSH8-P972-9?i=235&cat=1323530.
- Diseases on Scottish death certificates from 1855, Diseases and Medical Terms; http://www.scotlandsfamily.com/medical-diseases.htm.
- Elizabeth Alexander, Daily interment books, December 1897–August 1912, Eastern Necropolis Cemetery, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, image 759; https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-N3ZK-147Z?cat=1323530.
- Elizabeth Alexander, Scotland census 502/12/18, National Records of Scotland, 1881.
- Elizabeth Alexander, Scotland census 644/10 37/3, National Records of Scotland, 1901.
- Elizabeth Alexander, Scotland census 644/10 46/21, National Records of Scotland, 1891.
- Elizabeth Durie, Statutory registers Deaths 644/11 103, National Records of Scotland, 1911.
- Elizabeth Durie, Statutory registers Marriages 644/9 127, National Records of Scotland, 1873.
- George Alexander, Statutory registers Births 502/1 8, National Records of Scotland, 1881.
- James Alexander, Statutory registers Births 644/10 202, National Records of Scotland, 1889.
- Jane Alexander, Statutory registers Marriages 644/10 395, National Records of Scotland, 1900.
- Jane Braidwood Alexander, Statutory registers Births 646/3 1117, National Records of Scotland, 1874.
- John Alexander, Scotland census 644/11 23/14, National Records of Scotland, 1911.
- John Alexander, Statutory registers Births 646/2 646, National Records of Scotland, 1879.
- John Alexander, Statutory registers Deaths 644/22 179, National Records of Scotland, 1920.
- John Durie, Scotland census 644/69/19, National Records of Scotland, 1871.
- Mary Alexander, Statutory registers Births 502/2 2, National Records of Scotland, 1886.
- Robert Alexander, Statutory registers Births 502/2 22, National Records of Scotland, 1883.
- Smith, Sarah, Genealogy, Old Occupations, Scotland, What is a Carter?, Unlock Your Past, June 21, 2024; https://www.unlockyourpast.co.uk/old-occupation-carter/.
- William Alexander, Statutory registers Births 644/10 272, National Records of Scotland, 1891.
No comments:
Post a Comment