Physically and mentally challenged in the 19th century 2: Alex Matheson (1880-1946)

I first wrote about my great grandfather's efforts to get assistance for his 15 year old son and my great uncle, Alex Matheson here.

I've just found a second story reporting the outcome of those efforts, this time in the 22 Feb 1896 issue of the Northern Scot and Moray & Nairn Express. The facts are the same, but the opening paragraph gives a bit more background about past efforts by my great grandfather to seek relief and where my great grandparents lived and for how long.

I can't say this enough: I know it was the language of the time, but how cruel our forebears were to label anyone an imbecile.

The never ending story continues....




© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2019 All rights reserved

Was Donald Matheson estranged from his family?

The 1841 census of my 2nd great grandparents' household at the Bog of Ord in Urray, Ross-shire, lists just four of the nine children born to Donald Matheson (abt 1794-1859) and Margaret McKenzie (abt 1798-1865):

• Isabella, aged 14

• Duncan, aged 9

• Francis aged 7

• Donald aged 2

My 3rd great grandfather, Donald, reports his occupation in 1841 as overseer.

1841 census, Bog or Ord, Urray, Ross-shire Scotland

Except for this 1841 census, Donald doesn't appear in any other census before he died in 1859. Censuses between 1801 and 1831 were statistical only, and incomplete. In hindsight, I realize that of Donald's three children whom I've found, in a rather obvious deviation from the Scottish naming pattern, none named a son after him, whereas, each named a daughter Margaret, after their mother, Margaret McKenzie. I'm leaning more towards the family estrangement theory than ever. For those who haven't heard about the Scottish naming pattern, here it is:

• 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.

Margaret appeared in the 1851 census  with three of her children, and in the 1861 census, which she was living with her son (my great grandfather), Frank, both years in Inverness, and as I reported here, she was living with her son, John, in Moray, when she died in 1865. Like all good sons, they looked after their mother. But what of the rest of Donald's and Margaret's children? I've bolded the names of those whom I've found, but mysteries about the rest remain unresolved.

• Janet b 9 Jul 1821
• Alexander b 24 Jan 1824
• Isabel b 3 Jul 1827
• John b 30 Oct 1829
• Duncan b 11 Dec 1331
• Francis b 19 Dec 1833 (my great grandfather)
• Elisabeth b 29 Jun 1838 (AKA Margaret)
• Donald b 29 Jun 1839
• Ann 12 b Jul 1842

There is no trace of Isabel or Duncan after the 1841 census. What happened to them? I have nothing at all about Janet or Alexander except for their baptism dates. All of these are common names in Scotland, which has made for a frustrating search.

Donald died alone at Erbusaig on 1 May 1859, with a sister-in-law reporting his death. But did his family think he was already dead when his son and namesake died in Inverness two weeks earlier? Or was it just easier to sat that he was deceased?

What happened that the family seem to have turned their backs on Donald?

The never ending story continues....


© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2019 All rights reserved

Found! And then there were four: Donald Matheson 1839-1859

Slowly, I continue to find the siblings, my 2nd great aunts and uncles, of my 2nd great grandfather, Frank Gillanders Matheson. I first found Frank's older brother, John Mathieson 1829-1908, followed by their youngest sister, Ann Mathieson Hossack (1842-1873).

As a refresher, I first listed Frank and all of this siblings in this 2016 blog post.

The latest discovery is that of the last born Matheson son, Donald, who was born in 1839. I found him in an indirect way, when I recently found the 1851 census record where he is listed with his mother and two sisters.

1851 Census, 12 Grant's Close, Inverness, Inverness-shire, Scotland

This census shows that in 1851, my 3rd great grandmother, Margaret McKenzie Matheson, was living in Inverness with her three youngest children:

• Elisabeth (misidentified here as Margaret), aged 14
• Donald, aged 9
• Ann, aged 7

Margaret is listed as a pauper. Her 14 year old daughter is a servant, and the only one in the household bringing in income. A visitor was staying with them, but I wonder if he was living with them, and therefore contributing to household expenses as a tile maker.

I went looking for more documentation, and came across a death registration for Donald Matheson at 11 Grant's Close. It had to be this Donald, since the address was on the same street as the 1851 census, and it was, correctly listing his parents as Donald Matheson and Margaret McKenzie.

Donald Matheson 1839-1859 death registration

You'll see here that Francis (Frank) Matheson reported his younger brother's death. I can't imagine being just 19 years old and dying from consumption. Donald had his whole life ahead of him. How sad.

What's intriguing to me is that on Donald the younger's death registration, it is stated that his father, also a Donald, was deceased, when he in fact died two weeks after his son, on 1 May. This suggests to me that Donald senior was estranged from his family. Or perhaps I'm reading too much into this. I wrote about the deaths of my 2nd great grandparents here.

I've come a long way in my research in just three years, but discoveries are still slow to come.

The never ending story continues....



© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2019 All rights reserved

Roderick Mathieson (1868-1902)

Updated 26 Aug 2019

When I wrote this 2018 blog post about my 2nd great uncle John Mathieson and his family in Kinloss, Moray, Scotland, I had lost track of his son, my first cousin 2x removed, Roderick Mathieson, whom I speculated must have been a very strong man, as he was an iron forger.

1893 Toronto city directory

Recently, I discovered what happened to him. Roderick came to Canada, and while I haven't found exactly when, he first lived in Toronto, and by 1893, worked as a drop forger at Massey-Harris, which had massive facilities employing hundreds at that time in the west end of downtown.

He may have been in Canada before the 1891 census, as I've found an 1889 Toronto city directory entry, but he was not included in the 1891 Canada census.

source: City of Toronto Archives

On 7 Jun 1893, in a Presbyterian
ceremony, Roderick married Annie Mary McEachern of Eldon Township, in what was then Victoria County, Ontario. Eldon was settled by Scots, mainly from Argyll, in the late 1820s. Today, Victoria is part of the City of Kawartha Lakes. Annie's parents had emigrated from Scotland in 1861.

I don't know how they met--Annie was still in Eldon in 1891 when the census was done. She and Roderick don't appear to have had any children. Neither appear on the 1901 Canada census in Toronto or Eldon.

But, Roderick was at his father's in Kinloss when the 1901 census was conducted in Scotland, England and Wales, and was included in that census there. But by 2 May 1902, he was back in Canada, where he died from consumption. Did he go back to Scotland for a final visit with his family?

Roderick's death registration notes that he had consumption for up to four years. Perhaps as his health worsened, he was no longer able to work. As I said earlier, he must have been a very strong man to have been an iron forger. But he was no longer strong, and so he and Annie moved to Eldon, where she had a very large family for support. Did Annie go to Eldon when Roderick returned to Scotland for a final visit? Roderick's death was reported by one of Annie's brothers. I haven't found any burial information for Roderick. He was just 34 years old when he died. He and Annie were childless.

In all of the records I've found for Roderick in Canada, the spelling Matheson, with no "i", is used.

And what became of Roderick's widow, Annie? There was no trace of Annie after his death.....well, until, a few days after first writing this, I found that she remarried in 1912, in Victoria to William Clark Thompson, aged 50. And after that, there is no trace of either.

The never ending story continues....


© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2019 All rights reserved

When Matheson brothers and McKenzie sisters married

Before he married my great grandmother, Annie Ross, in 1878, Frank Gillanders Matheson first married Isabella McKenzie (abt 1838-1871) on 20 Apr 1866 in Inverness. I wrote about their marriage and family here.

Frank's and Isabella's marriage registration names her parents as Roderick McKenzie, wood sawyer, deceased, and Margaret Finlayson. Isabella died on 29 Mar 1871 from rheumatic fever, just four days after giving birth to her third daughter, and namesake. Her death registration confirms her parents' names and other information.

Last year, I found Frank's older brother, John Mathieson, and wrote about his life and family here. Yes, like my Doughertys, the Mathesons are another family where different spellings were used by different siblings in the same generation. This is something that definitely keeps genealogists on our toes.

John married Catherine McKenzie in Inverness on 16 Dec 1864.  While the image of their marriage registration on Scotland's People and while it's not the best reproduction, it is clear that Catherine's parents are also Roderick McKenzie, wood sawyer, deceased and Margaret Finlayson.

John Mathieson & Catherine McKenzie marriage registration, Scotland's People

Frank witnessed their marriage, together with Catherine's and Isabella's brother, Alex.

The 1871 census, conducted a few months after Isabella died, shows that Catherine was then living temporarily at Frank's home at Clash Dhu in Rafford, Moray, caring for Frank's and Isabella's two young daughters, Margaret Finlayson b 1868 (named after her grandmother), and Catherine (yes, named for her aunt), b 1869.

Sadly, Isabella's namesake had died on 4 May. Catherine's nine-month old daughter, also a Margaret, was included in that household census. By that time, Catherine and John had two young children of their own. Their daughter was with Catherine, but what of her son? Well, the 1871 census of John's household at East Grange in Kinloss, Moray shows that Catherine's mother, Margaret was living there.

Catherine died at East Grange in Kinloss on 5 Nov 1873 from pneumonia. In her registration, her father's occupation is given as agricultural labourer. I think a wood sawyer would fall into that broad category.

Catherine McKenzie Mathieson death registration, Scotland's People

Margaret Finlayson McKenzie remained in her son-in-law John Mathieson's household the rest of her life, even after John remarried in 1879. She appears in the 1881 census there, and John reported her death from old age on 19 Sep 1888.

Margaret Finlayson McKenzie death registration, Scotland's People

And what about Roderick McKenzie, Catherine's and Isabella's father? He died in Urray on 30 Oct 1858 aged 57. No cause of death was recorded, but yes, his occupation was sawyer.

Roderick McKenzie death registration, Scotland's People

John, Catherine, Frank and Isabella were all born at Urray in Ross-shire, their baptismal records between 1829 and 1838 show. The Mathesons and McKenzies were neighbours it seems. Since statutory records were collected starting only in 1855, these baptismal records don't offer much more in the way of detail, but I'm quite certain based on the records I've found that Catherine and Isabella were both daughters of the same Roderick McKenzie and Margaret Finlayson. This represents one of those a-ha! moments genealogists love.

Was Roderick McKenzie a cousin to my 2nd great grandmother Margaret McKenzie (abt 1798-1865)? I know they weren't siblings, as other records show they had different fathers.

The never ending story continues....





© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2019 All rights reserved

Found! And then there were three: Ann Mathieson 1842-1873

I'm on a roll finding out more about the lives of my great grandfather Frank Gillanders Matheson's eight siblings. It was only a few months ago that I found details of my 2nd great uncle John Mathieson's life. Now, I've found out about their youngest sister, my 2nd great aunt, Ann Mathieson (1842-1873).

This came about after I spent time recently looking closely at some of my AncestryDNA matches with either no trees or private trees, and comparing shared matches. I contacted one of these predicted 4th cousins, who confirmed after looking at my tree that she descends from Ann, and gave me her husband's name along with their marriage date. Ann married Robert Hossack in Edinburgh on 15 Dec 1865. That started my latest search down the genealogy rabbit hole.

Annie Matheson & Robert Hossack marriage record, Scotland's People

Now, Annie's mother, my 2nd great grandmother, Margaret McKenzie had died earlier in 1865 (on 5 Mar), and is listed as such above. But look at that witness name: Margaret Matheson. Who can this be? I've not found any record of yet another long lost sibling. Perhaps this Margaret was a cousin.

Annie used the "ie" spelling in her last name like her older brother John Mathieson (1829-1908).

Robert was a tailor from Alves in Moray, and it was to Moray he and Ann returned by 1870. They had four children between 1866 and 1871, the two eldest born in Edinburgh and the two youngest in Elgin.

• Margaret Mathieson McKenzie Hossack (1866-1921)
• Robert Hossack (1868-1929)
• Christina Hossack (1870-1890)
• William Hossack (1871-1871)

Here they are in the 1871 census, living in Elgin:

Annie's birthplace reported here is incorrect. She was born in Urray, Ross-shire -- as noted in her baptismal record that I found several years ago on FamilySearch. Thanks to having a common name, I've not been able to find her on the 1851 or 1861 censuses, so far.

Sadly, Annie died aged just 31 from diabetes, a disease that my grandfather John Matheson (1884-1964) also had, so now we know that diabetes definitely ran in the family.

Ann Mathieson Hossack death registration, Scotland's People

My hunt for the six other Matheson 2nd great uncles and aunts continues. I won't be surprised to find at least one who migrated to Canada, Australia or America. Meanwhile, I know I've got yet more Matheson/Mathieson DNA cousins out there.

The never ending story continues....





© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2018 All rights reserved

John Mathieson of Kinloss (1829-1908)

UPDATED 30 December 2019

The informant listed on my 3rd great grandmother Margaret McKenzie's death registration that I wrote about here was her son, John Mathieson. Yes, the surname spelling has the "i", but genealogy research is fun that way.

This was yet another exciting find. John was an older brother of my great grandfather, Frank Gillanders Matheson. Apart from birth and baptismal records, I'd never found any other solid information about my great grandfather's eight other siblings.

Off I went back to Scotland's People, now knowing that John had been in Kinloss, a small village then and now, in Moray, in 1865 when his mother died. While the floodgates didn't open, I did make more finds, starting with his own death registration, which confirms his parents' names and gave me new clues: a wife and a son-in-law, the latter who reported the death.

Scotland's People death registration at Lesliefield, Rothes, Moray

In the 1841 and 1851 censuses, John was boarding away from home and was a painter. He was only 12 in 1841 and already working, as was the custom of the era. In subsequent censuses, as the railways were built, he was a railway platelayer, like his brother, Frank.

While my great grandfather could read and write, when John registered is mother's death, an X sufficed as his signature. I wonder how it happened that not all of the family could read and write.

More research revealed that John married Catherine McKenzie in Inverness on 16 Dec 1864, and he was by then living in Kinloss. Sharp eyes will tell you that is not the name of his wife recorded in his death certificate. More to come on that. My great grandfather Frank was a witness to the marriage. Coincidentally, Catherine had also been born in Urray, where my great grandfather and his siblings were all born. I wonder if she was related to my 3rd great grandmother Margaret. Early Highland records being what they are, I doubt I'll ever be able to determine that. But I would say it's likely.

Scotland's People marriage registration, Inverness

John and Catherine had two children, Roderick, born in 1868 and Margaret (or Maggie), born in 1870. By the 1871 census, John's widowed mother-in-law, Margaret Finlayson McKenzie, had joined the household. Sadly, Catherine died in November 1873 from pneumonia, aged just 43.

UPDATE: A few days ago, I connected with my latest cousin discovery, John's great great granddaughter, who lives in Scotland and has inherited a family bible with the details of family members' births, marriages and deaths. What a find! I learned that John and Catherine had a third child, a daughter, Janet, who lived from 1867 to 1882. Records confirm this. Yet, Janet doesn't appear on either the 1871 or 1881 household census. In fact, she died at Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin. Did she live institutionally all her life? The hospital opened in 1819 and still stands and is operating today.

In 1879, John remarried, to Jane Moir (1836-1901). It was Jane's first marriage. They had no children. Catherine's mother remained part of the household in Kinloss until she died in 1888.

John's daughter Maggie married in 1896 to James Robertson (1868-1934) of Rothes. By the 1911 census, they had four children: two sons and two daughters. From John's death registration, we know that he died at James and Maggie's home in Rothes. Likely after his second wife died in 1901, Maggie took her father in. Maggie lived until 1950 or 1951. Her sons both served in the First World War, joining up in 1917 and 1918 as soon as they were old enough. Thankfully, both survived. One daughter came to Canada. I'm starting to look for her story.

I've not found any record of John and Catherine's son, Roderick, after the 1901 census, when he was 32, unmarried and working as a hammersmith at a forge. He must have been a very strong man. I found Roderick in August 2019 and tell his story here.

Will my discovery of a sibling of my great grandfather lead to finding more of his siblings and learning their stories? I think one emigrated to New Zealand or Australia, but I'm not sure. Yet.

The never ending story continues....


© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2019 All rights reserved