Ewing Family of Renfrewshire/Greenock/Paisley

[davieboy]

John Ewing (age 20) & Mary MCKinnon (age 21)were married in 1855 in Glasgow on 27th November. Mary's parents were listed as Donald McKinnon & Rebecca McKinnon (ms McKinnon). Both parents are deceased at this point. It also states the parents were married in 1834 at Ailsa on the island of Mull. Witnesses were D McDonald & James Ewing.

[OZScot]

Wow, That is unbelievable.

Never in my wildest dreams would I think that this would or could happen.
I'm over the moon and beyond. I'm going to visit his son's grave [my hero]
the Scottish Aussie pioneer on Monday the 20th April and take some photos
of the family that started it all.

Hopefully I can post them here or send them privately. I'll try and work it out
somehow. Maybe others would like to see them?

I guess it's done via the Attachments and other options button.

I'm so glad I found RootsChat and especially you and your wife.
Cheers.

[OZScot]

Blimey !. You have put that to rest for me as well.

I guessed correct but had the wrong parents it seems. I had her born at Isle of Mull,
and married at Blythswood, Glasgow, Lanarkshire 27th November 1855.

I had her parents as Donald McKinnon and Peggy, so I'll correct that for sure.

Many Thanks again.

[Annette7]

Afraid you got it slightly wrong, davieboy!   It doesn't state her parents married in 1834 - it actually states that Mary herself was born and registered Ailsa, Isle of Mull in September 1834 (may well have been born September but it was 1832!).

Her father was indeed deceased and formerly a farmer I thought (hard to read) but now I think it says pensioner.

Scotlands People has these baptisms:

Neil and Mary McKinnon, lawful twins, bp.11/10/1832 Kilninian & Kilmore, Argyllshire, dau. of Donald McKinnon and Rebecca McKinnon.

Noted some siblings:

Lachlan McKinnon, bp.31/7/1830 Kilninian & Kilmore, son of Donald McKinnon and Rebecca McKinnon.
Another set of twins:
Allan (must have died) and Sally McKinnon, lawful twins, bp.17/5/1835 (Donald shown as pensioner)
Allan McKinnon bp.8/2/1837

Cannot find the marriage of Donald McKinnon to Rebecca McKinnon which one would think to find late 1820's.   However, looks like Rebecca died must have died 1837 as he swiftly appears to have remarried (with 3 children he'd have needed another wife - his youngest three all died I think):

Donald McKinnon, Pensioner, and Catherine McDonald were married 16/5/1837 Kilninian & Kilmore. No status given for any couples on the page.

1841 Census (per FreeCen): Abbass, Ulva Qs, Kilninian and Kilmore, Argyll

Donald McKinnon  65   Army Pensioner      born Argyll
Catrine McKinnon  40                                  ditto
Catherine McKinnon  14                               ditto
Lauchlan McKinnon  12                                 ditto
Niel McKinnon  8                                         ditto
Mary McKinnon 8                                         ditto

Spellings are as have been transcribed.   Cannot find a baptism for Catherine McKinnon and wonder whether she might have been the daughter of second wife Catherine (??)

I decided to check for a military record for Donald McKinnon and think this could be him:

Donald McKinnon, private 92nd Highland Infantry, born Kilfinnichan, Argyllshire served 20years 207 (?) days having enlisted 25/5/1794 and discharged 15/12/1814 due to being worn out in the service, was wounded through the left ancle (as spelt) in Holland in October 1799 and the calf of the right leg in Egypt in ye.......(runs off the page).   He was 42 when discharged (bc.1772 - this ties in with 1841 census which although states age as 65 (b.1776) aged were rounded down for the 1841 census).   He was 5' 4.1/2", brown hair, hazle (as spelt) eyes, swarthy complexion.  By trade a Labourer. (Army record is on FindMyPast).

Think Donald must have died between 1841 and 1851 as can't see him after 1841.

So Mary was a little older than she thought and was in fact a twin.   Looks like the other twins and last child Allan must have died pre 1841.

Hope this helps.

Annette

[OZScot]

Hope this helps, Annette ?

Too right it does ! Mary a twin ?!! and two lots of them ! My brother's son
had twin girls and we said 'how did that happen? there's no twins on either side'
when it happened. Of course that was the immediate family as we knew it then.

Wait until I tell them. Does it say that 'they behaved like a bag full of monkeys for many years?'
I'm sure they have been tamed since I saw them last [8yrs?]

So I can lock it in that Mary was born 11/10/1832? and she never really knew her Mother?
If that's the case there is some very sad similar cases that continued over here as well.

My father Kevin James Ewing never really knew his father James Ewing dying accidently we
have been told in Townsville and yet to establish that fact. James' father James Alexander Ewing
[another hero of mine] first born Aussie had seven children to Elizabeth Anne Sanderson and
was tragically killed when run over by a train at work. Death certificate won't be read here as you can imagine the injuries. The youngest was only 7 months, so again the siblings would never remember or know their father either.

But worse was to come. After seven years of struggling with the loss and probable management of the children and finances, their mother was to take her own life in the most dreadful way possible
for the children to see her. Poor soul. She must have been in a terrible place in her mind to do that.

The children grew up to be great Uncle's and Aunt's and the youngest Stewart who was the 7 month-year-old, went on to be a 'Rat of Tobruk', where the Australian Forces were pounded relentlessly by the far superior German fire power and they dug themselves in and failed to submit [must have been that Scottish blood most of them had] hence they were called 'Rats' of Tobruk.

Thank you Annette.

[OZScot]

I just want to thank both Davieboy and his wife, my newest relation,
and Annette for all their help and good work so far.

It's been brilliant to say the least and I'm fitting a lot of missing pieces to the puzzle.

If anybody needs some help from when they came over, I can surely fit a lot of pieces.
My last missing pieces that are when they left, landed and what ship. ? I think I've looked
everywhere possible here. There's a possibility that it doesn't exist.

Cheers.

[davieboy]

Ozscot,

I went to Woodside today and spoke to someone in the office. Unfortunately there are no grave markers or headstones for them. I went to that part of the cemetery and took a photo but its impossible to see exactly where they are interred without someone physically marking it out.

[OZScot]

Davieboy,

I didn't see that coming and I expected all the usual grave markers,inscriptions etc., and at first a little disappointed, but that's where they rest and now we know. I like how it's a bit overgrown, peaceful, serene and rural looking and at one with the fertile earth.

That photo you took will be put straight into the tree with pride for us to look at and future generations I hope.

Can't thank you and your wife enough. You have been a great help and we won't forget it as it will be put into out tree notes, of how we were assisted by friends and family from across the waves in Scotland.!

Cheers for now, and let's hope we can discover some more hidden family treasure.

[OZScot]

I forgot to mention that I'll post a photo next week on here of where John & Margaret Ewing's son, John Ewing aged 72yrs, who left Scotland [unknown date] is buried in Warwick, Queensland. From where I live in Hervey Bay, it's a 4.5 hr drive to Toowoomba to pick up my brother [Eric] and his wife [Gwendolyn] and then another hour to Warwick. It's a BIG country. 

I'll try to 'drag' his two sons [Glen & Ryan] down there as well to take some happy snaps of the Aussie generation first to last of our line.

John and Mary [McKinnon] Ewing had to have left Scotland sometime after their last born Jane there in 16/12/1864 and first born here James Alexander 28/07/1867. That's an approx 31 month timeframe that's still in the dark for us. I don't know how long a voyage from there to here would have taken back then, guessing maybe up to 6 months ?. So I have maybe a missing 24-25 months.

I'll be thinking as I stand beside his grave what an incredible trip they made to the other side of the world and how his wife and their children and their families would have been standing there in terrible grief at the loss of their Patriarch and that their son James Alexander Ewing [41yrs] who would have stood there where I'll stand 108 years later, would join him just 10 months later that same year after a horrific accident that would later have a devastating effect on the rest of their families.