Melvilles - shipowners of Dundee

[jennywren001]

Strikes me as a bit odd, age 70 and skippering in the North Sea in winter I'm not saying it's impossible but perhaps it was his son doing the skippering. At the National Archives did it not give an age?

Parkman the name...either very prone to variation in spelling or very unique. If very unique have you looked at the family of Parkmans from the Isle of Wight - mariners.

Lots to follow through with young James marrying into the Ireland family but I'm presuming you have made all those connections.
Jen
Edit -duh should have noticed before you have the Isle of Wight Parkmans in your list already. You must also know why James Parkman (the bank teller) born around 1881 lives with is Uncle in Dundee

[Winterbloom21]

You're absolutely right, Ev.  I'm beginning to think that it is.     The age of PP has fluttered all over the place according to which document you look at, and there are some mistranscriptions, but I'm more and more convinced that it is the son.        Bearing in mind that the Dundee Courier in May 1844 is talking about the 'late Mr. Philip Parkman' and I have a death certificate for August 1842 for Philip Parkman, aged 39, Gentleman, (who was shown in the 1841 census in London as a mariner) it looks like more than a coincidence.    His sister notified the death, which was as a result of consumption.

Ever since I got that certificate, I have been wondering about his previous history, and maybe now I have it.     I do wonder whether he might have separated from his wife and maybe that is why she was still using the name Ferguson in the 1841 census even though they were apparently married since 1830.      And I know that he was away a lot, but they do seem to have had only one child, the son James.     James grew up to be a master mariner himself, but he seems to have had time to pop home now and again because he had about six kids that I can find!

So if this is the case, I'm back to square one with his Dad!

[Winterbloom21]

Second post:   Have only just read the rest of your post Ev - missed it first time.

Yes, those Isle of Wight Parkmans are all mine.     Re James Parkman, the bank teller - I haven't seen that census yet, but I did find a James,  one of James Parkman Snr's kids,  on somebody else's tree and they had him down at 1871, though I think that's a mistake and it should be 81.   There was a daughter Isabella born in 1871.

Also, I'm wondering if the family emigrated.  I can't find any of them in the Scottish or English census in 1891.   There is a mention on the other tree of Mary Ireland Parkman dying in 1916, but it doesn't say where.

This is amazing; I'm surrounded with bits of scrawled on paper again, years after I thought I'd exhausted all there was to find about the Parkmans!      Oh, and re the National Archives and the age thing, the image quite clearly shows an entry for 1835/6 as him being 50, though the transcription says 30.    That's what led me off on the wrong track.  Maybe what I took for a 5 really is a 3.

[jennywren001]

From the marine records the 'Parkman' sailing on the Mary Ann Melville and the Flower around 1837 was from Cowes, born around the early 1800s. (age 36 on the snip) Have you had a look at the will for this chap below?
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D7203560
father to the above?
Jen

[Winterbloom21]

Thank you very much, Jenny.  I do indeed have a copy of that will from 1802, which is actually Philip Parkman's grandfather (1743-1802).     The man I am still looking for is the one in the middle, his father, born 1772, married 1793 to Jane Blandford.   This Philip (the second) must have been still alive in 1803, since that is the year the younger Philip (the third) was born according to his death cert in 1842, which shows him as 39.   This three in a row business all with the same name makes hard work of it; I keep getting my wires crossed.                 I hadn't seen that document about the Flower, though, or the 'Mary Adelaide'.  I shall go back to the Lloyds Register now and see what that has to say.  Many thanks.

[Winterbloom21]

Hmm.  No trace of any Parkman on the Flower and no trace of a Mary Adelaide at all.

[Forfarian]

I do wonder whether he might have separated from his wife and maybe that is why she was still using the name Ferguson in the 1841 census even though they were apparently married since 1830.

It's not unusual to find a married woman in the Scottish census under her maiden surname. This is because legally a woman does not lose her maiden surname on marriage in Scotland, which is also why you get mothers' surnames in most baptism records, and the mothers' full maiden surname on marriage and death certificates. Also in legal documents including wills and sasines.

So unless you have other evidence to suggest an estrangement, using a maiden surname in the 1841 census is not evidence for one.

[Winterbloom21]

That's true, I know.    But I did wonder why he was living in London as well, and also why the marriage had only produced one child.    Of course, there are always going to be other reasons that might be the real ones, but still.    It might just be secondary infertility.    He might not have wanted to go home knowing he had TB and not wanting to infect his family.      Though that didn't stop him living with his 'birth family'.   Just wondered.

[jennywren001]

Hmm.  No trace of any Parkman on the Flower and no trace of a Mary Adelaide at all.

I think if you have another look at the clip it actually says 'M A Melville'. It would have been brilliant if it had said Mary Ann Adelaide as one of the Island of Wight Parkman's calls his daughter that!

Wife, Elizabeth looks to be still alive in 1851 she is living with her father James Ferguson and is listed as Betsy Ferguson, 40, married, Shipmaster's wife. You'd think she's be showing as a widow?  There is an Ann White age 15 showing born 'Lernekilens' (Limekilns?) Fife, down as granddaughter. All living Ferry-port-on-Craig.

Now way back at the beginning of this thread Ev posted a link to this Dundee directory:
http://www.archive.org/stream/dundeedirectory183738prin#page/108/mode/2up

If you look at the ships called Mary 'something' you'll find Parkman master of the 'Mary Ann Melville', James Ferguson (Elizabeth's father) master and owner of the 'Mary Ann' and James Ireland (father to Mary Ireland who marries James Parkman in 1863) owner and master of the 'Mary'. Just struck me as a bit coincidental?

If that's Philip on the 1841 census in London it could make sense if he was by then doing regular London to Sligo runs.

Dundee's number is 38 - so, from the clip it looks like he has a trip to Dundee in 36 and at the end of 37.
For all the port numbers see:
http://www.mariners-l.co.uk/ukportnos.html

Jen

Edit:ahhh just to complicate things further it looks like Elizabeth Ferguson MAY have remarried in 1843 a Thomas Whyte.