Henry/Hendry/Hendrie Kiimaurs Family Disappears

[Shuggie B]

William Hendry (b 1824, Dundonald) married Helen McFarlane (16 Aug 1845 in Kilmaurs) and had children Marion(c1846), Helen (c1846), Agnes(c1848), Helen(c1850), all born in Kilmaurs. Data from 1851 Census.

Even though I've searched the Henry/Hendry/Hendrie alternatives I can't find any trace of these family members in the 1861 Census.

I suspect that they may have emigrated but don't know how to go about investigating this.

Any help would be much appreciated.

[Shuggie B]

Over three years have passed and I've come back to genealogy and this problem.

I now know that there was another daughter Jemima (b 1854, d 22 Feb 1856 Kilmaurs) but there remains no trace of the family in the 1861 Census in Ayrshire.

FamilySearch.org has had an American contributor who has moved the family to Virginia, USA apparently on rather flimsy grounds. The husband has become WILLIAM LEWIS HENRY and his wife is now ELLEN. Also, there may well be a problem with the names of the children.

Without evidence I am not going to accept this emigration and name change.

Are there emigration records for the period 1855-70?

[MonicaL]

Hi Shuggie B

I think it might be the correct family....

You have the family in Scotland in 1851:

William Henry 27 coal miner b. Dundonald, Ayrshire
Helen Henry 23 b. Muirkirk, Ayrshire
Marion Henry 5 https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XYWN-3WL
Agnes Henry 3 https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XTVR-G2B
Helen Henry 5 months
Address: Toll, Gatehead, Kilmaurs

You mention that they also had a daughter Jemima 1854-1856 (death in Kilmaurs).

They also had a son David https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XTVR-1FX

The family in Virginia seem well researched. Lots of family trees on this group on a/try for example. This is their 1860 census entry:

William Henry 37 coal miner
Ellen Henry 34
Mary Henry 14
Agness Henry 11
David Henry 7
Margareth Henry 3 b. Virginia
John Henry 1
Address: Oral Coal Mines, Preston, Virginia

Regarding names, I think they fit very well with the family you had in Scotland.

Ellen is a common name variant of Helen, see www.whatsinaname.net/php/search.php?action=search2&search_name=helen

Marion can show as Mary, see some other variants here www.whatsinaname.net/female-names/Marion.html

David, you have his birth entry linked above.

The last two children showing above, Margaret and John both born in Virginia.

You very often don't find shipping manifest entries sadly. I cannot see one for this family. You would think, given the ages of the children, likely left anytime from 1856-7 given the US census was in 1860.

Monica



Ages always a bit all over the place, but not by much here really.

[MonicaL]

The death cert for son David, 26 Jan 1921 in Wellsburg, Brooke, West Virginia, gives his birth date as 14 December 1852...pretty good match  to https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XTVR-1FX

David's 1900 census entry gives him immigration year as 1856 which fits well with what we are seeing here.

Monica

[Shuggie B]

Thanks very much for taking the time to produce such detailed replies Monica. The son David certainly seems to clinch it along with the name variations and the death certificate.

Now I've got to work out if this William Henry from Gatehead was my gg grandfather as a result of fathering two illegitimate children by one Mary Mathieson in 1850/1 and 1853 or if my gg grandfather was a randy coal miner living in Riccarton who was still fathering children at the age of 67 (with a much younger wife I hasten to add).

Apart from the name and occupation I have very little to go on but now I've returned to this genealogical puzzle I'm determined to crack it. DNA testing here I come.

[Rossann]

This is my family.  David Henry was my great grandfather.  His parents came to Preston County from Ayrshire when David was approximately 3 years old. David married Isabelle Lathem Henry and moved to Brooke County.  He was a mine supervisor, served on the school board, the West Virginia legislature, and owned a general store.  I have quite a bit of info on the family history going back several generations and would be happy to share or answer specific questions.

[Rossann]

Correction. David married Margaret Robertson Winning.  Isabelle was his daughter, my grandmother.

[Shuggie B]

Hi Rosann
Nice to hear from you. I would be very pleased to have more information about your family - in particular anything you know about the William Hendry, born in Dundonald around 1823, who was a coal miner - if only to eliminate him from my list of suspects as the father of illegitimate great grandfather who was born in Sornhill, Ayrshire in 1850. The father was apparently a William Henry and his occupation a coal miner. The mother was Mary Mathieson. A second child to this couple was born in 1853 so the date at which your William Henry emigrated might eliminate him.
I'm not a frequent user of this site and am unfamiliar with the best way of transferring information between us. It looks like we can send private messages but I haven't tried that yet.
Regards
Shuggie

[Shuggie B]

Reading the posts more carefully I see that emigration occurred in 1856 or thereabouts.