Parents of Ann Henderson (abt 1853 -1923)

[RedMystic]

Oh my goodness!!! You've very likely found the right family!!! 

I kept running the Prosser name through my memory banks & it kept pinging!

I've pulled out one of my Saskatchewan history books and low & behold, the 2nd son of Ann & Robert is none other than: John PROSSER Bain.

Sooooooo, the plot thickens.

Thank you.  Thank you. 

[RedMystic]

There is an Ann Henderson born c 1854 in  leochel-cushnie on the 1861 census. She is living with grandparents William and Ann Dewar

and in the 1871 census there is an Ann Henderson stepdaughter to a James Procer?

Norma

Am I'm following this correctly?

John Prosser was Ann's step father. Isabella Reirie was John's 1st wife. They married in 1835 & she died before 1856.

Ann was born in 1853 or 1854.

John remarried in 1856 to to Innes Berry.

Given this, I don't see how either Isabella or Innes could be Ann's mum as neither appear to have been married before or brought a child into the marriage. 

OR could it be that the 1871 census reference to Ann as a step daughter refers to her relationsip to Innes (making her daughter to Isabella)?  If that's the case, where did the name Henderson come from?

[MonicaL]

I think the best verification now will be Ann's marriage and/or death cert to confirm her parents' names. Possibility that she might have been illegitimate (just a guess on my part!), but at least, with confirmation of mother's name you should be able to firm things up at least on Ann's maternal side.

Some bits for you to consider. I think this might be Innes in 1841 (names all connect with her later life!):

Ann Berrie 37, pauper
Arthur Berrie 7
Innes Berrie 6

Address: Cairnrorie, Leochel-Cushnie

So, Ann (Henderson) likely called after her mother and Innes' first born son with John Posser, called after her brother Arthur?

One possibility with the names that Norma found from 1861, the Dewars, as grandparents to Ann Henderson, is that Ann Berry, grandmother to Ann Henderson, went on to marry a William Dewar perhaps?

From 1861:

Williams Dewar 65, sawmiller b. Cleny (Cluny?) Aberdeenshire
Ann Dewar 55 b. Leochel Cushnie
Ann Henderson 7 granddaughter b. Leochel Cushnie

Address: Millnewks (?spl) Leochel Cushnie

[MonicaL]

Have a look at the transcription on FreeCen 1851 http://freecen.rootsweb.com/cgi/search.pl for Innes Berrie in Aberdeenshire (a better and more accurate transcription than Ancestry's which has gone a bit messy!).

She does show as a stepdaughter, along with a brothers James and Arthur, to a William Dewar (Wllm Deur) and mother Ann is down under her maiden name of Smith (quite common in these early censuses for married women to show under their maiden names).

[MonicaL]

Innes' parents' marriage or banns entry showing on IGI:

Ann SMITH and Alexr. BERRY Marriage on 25 FEB 1826 in Leochel-Cushnie

Innes Berrie's 1856 marriage entry or her death certificate will let you confirm properly her parents' details.

[RedMystic]

Absolutely fascinating & much appreciated.

Thank you for the link on the Prossors. It appears that John was 52 & Innes 21 when they wed. It  appears that they had only one child together. Does it strike you as odd that the Prossor link would mention the son they had together, but not Innes' daughter.

Somewhat of a rhetorical question. As you've indicated, now I have to get that Scotlandspeople site to work for me.

I can't thank you enough.

[MonicaL]

I don't think that Innes' daughter Ann was the daughter of John Prosser...otherwise she would have gone by the surname of Prosser rather than Henderson. Likely Ann's father was a Henderson. If she was born illegitimately, her marriage/death certs may or may not mention him by name.

Quite normal for illegitimate children to go by the name of their reputed father in later years.

We might be making assumptions here that she was born illegitimately. Innes may have been married when she gave birth to Ann. Her marriage cert to John Prosser should show her marital status (widow or spinster).

Monica

[RedMystic]

Thanks Monica,

I had followed the train of thought that Ann wasn't John's, but was Innes'. I was just musing as to why the Prosser link wouldn't mention the step daughter, although, at least for part of her life, if higgsy's 1861 census is an indicator, Ann didn't live in the Prosser family home.

What is a complete surprise to me is the emergence of the possibility that Ann Hendeson had a daughter, Elizabeth.  That will be a complete stunner for my elderly great aunt.  (And, Elizabeth means another twig for me to explore another day. )

Many thanks again. I'm now very much looking forward to wrapping my head around today's findings and wending my way around Scotlandspeople to capture the missing bits of verification.

You have been incredibly generous with your time & expertise. Thank you once again.

[MonicaL]

One of the reasons that there may have been no future mention of Ann's daughter Elizabeth is if she died young. I have just been trying to find her in later censuses post 1881 and can't see her. There is a possible death entry in Skene in 1890 on SP for an Elizabeth Henderson b. 1870. I wonder if she died young