any info on a woman named Helen Knox Simpson

[ryan37]

hi i would like to ask if anyone knows any information on a woman born around 1870s at a guess, she had the name Helen Knox Simpson , she had a daughter in 1898 named Mary eliza Querie Simpson born at Lendrum terrace, stirlinghill, peterhead. the daughter mary appears illegitimate on birth cert but later in life on her second marriage to james smith (my great grandfather) her father is listed as william simpson,  i believe the parents both had simpson as surname but never married, on the 1901 census mary e simpson is living with her grandparents william and elspet simpson, they were born around 1852/3 i think the son william which is father to mary eliza left home to work on a farm , on mary elizas wedding certificate her mother is mentioned but not a witness , making the whereabouts of helen knox simpson hard to find as after the birth of mary eliza it appears the baby was living with the fathers parents. i think i have found that the dad william simpson ended up in canada around 1905.

any info would be excellent and well appreciated


ryan cordiner

[GR2]

Is this the family?

All in grave B316 at Peterhead cemetery:

Jane Catto Simpson, daughter of William Simpson, quarrier, Stirling Village, died 29-8-1877 aged 3 months, buried 1-9-1877

Charles Fowlie, labourer, Boddam, died of typhus fever 19-7-1884 aged 22, buried 22-7-1884

Elsie Ann Simpson, daughter of William Simpson, labourer, 7 Lendrum Terrace, Stirlinghill, died of congestion 12-1-1897, aged 4 months 14 days, buried 13-1-1897

William Simpson, 3 Stirling Village, died of "old age" 19-8-1931 aged 77, buried 22-8-1931

Elspet Fowlie or Simpson, widow of William Simpson, 3 Stirling Village, died of "shock" 20-2-1934 aged 77, buried 22-2-1934

[ryan37]

yes i believe this is

the last 2 names i believe is the grandparents of mary eliza simpson


ryan

[ryan37]

thanks for info

im trying to see if the son of william and elspet had a daughter illegitimate mary eliza to a helen knox simpson have found a birth cert for helen simpson 1876 not sure if its the right one also trying to establish why the illegitimate baby was left with the father william's parents  willaim and elspet


are you from peterhead?

[GR2]

I am not a Blue Mogganer myself.

Could Helen Knox Simpson be a daughter of William Simpson and Elspet Fowlie? Things that might point to that are the child being born at Lendrum Terrace in 1898 when the burial register gives that as the Simpsons' address in 1897. An unmarried woman giving birth for the first time often, if not usually, returned to the parental home for the birth. That would mean it is the maternal grandparents who are bringing up the child (again, probably more usual than the paternal grandparents). The William Simpson given as the father might have been "made up" for the certificate (did the marriage certificate claim that the parents were married?).

[ryan37]

thanks that is an interesting piece of information

on the marriage cert for mary eliza

the parents are listed as = father william simpson - labourer
                                       mother helen simpson  ms simpson

there is no mention of knox as mentioned in mothers middle name on mary elizas birth

thanks

[GR2]

I had a look at a transcription of the 1891 census and William Simpson and Elspet Fowlie have a son, William, and a daughter, Helen, living with them. William is 6 and Helen is 8. One of these must be a parent of Mary E. Q. Simpson.

I would say that Helen is going to be the mother. At a very young age.

You should have a look to see if William and Elspet's daughter, Helen, is registered as Helen Knox Simpson. Even if "Knox" doesn't appear on the certificate, it doesn't entirely rule her out as I have seen middle names appearing later in life when, for example, the Smiths' son has been named after John MacDonald, registered as John Smith, but appears later on as John MacDonald Smith.

[ryan37]

Thank you that makes a lot of sense and appreciate your help where can I see that census record would I find it on ancestry ?


Thanks again

[GR2]

Find My Past is giving free access to censuses just now. Scottish ones appear as transcriptions. The Peterhead censuses from 1841-1871 also appear as transcriptions on FreeCEN.