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Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => Orkney => Topic started by: malmakenzie on Tuesday 03 January 06 20:16 GMT (UK)
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I am looking for any info on William Baikie Scarth. He was born in Kirkwall, Orkney in 1834.
His father was John Scarth & mother was May/Mary? Linklatter.
William was in London in 1861 and Liverpool in 1884. I cannot locate him in either the 1871 or 1881 census in England and was wondering if some kind soul could check these censuses for Orkney for me to see if he had returned.
Many Thanks
Malcolm Mackenzie
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Hi Malcolm
There is only one William Scarth*, age range 40-50, showing on the 1881 index who happens to be in Orkney and born there! Unfortunately he is single, age 40 and living with his father James and mother Eliza, i.e not yours.
Regards.
Monica
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Many thanx for trying for me.
regards
Malcolm Mackenzie
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hi pal, wonder if you have this yet?
1841 census; main street, stromness
john...age 30...priunton & tailor
may...age 35
children
john baikie...age 9
william baikie...age 7
maria louttit...age 5
may linklater...age 2
looks like mother-in-law in house
christiana linklater...age 65
1851 census; victoria street, kirkwall
john...age 42...teacher of music & Singing & Tailor...born potugal (brit subj)
may...age 44...born evie, orkney
john...age 18...solicitors app...born kirkwall
william...age 16...app to clerk of supply...born kirkwall
maria...age 15...born stromness
may...age 12...born stromness
mary...age 9...born stromness
1861 census; victoria street, kirkwall
john...age 52...sailor 9 seader of manie...born (brit subj) portugal
may...age 58...born pauth of oure
marion...age 25...dressmaker...born stromness
mary S...age 19...bonnet maker...born stromness
john...grandson(son of mary s)...age 2...born kirkwall
you will find linklater's in the shetland board, dawn.
happy hunting
Joe
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Many thanx for the census information
Regards
Malcolm Mackenzie
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your welcome my friend, do you need anything else?
Joe
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Dear Mr. Mackenzie:
The William Baikie Scarth to whom you refer was the son of John Stuart Scarth and May (not Mary) Linklater (pronounced Linklatter). May L. was known as 'the Scandinavian Lily'. His father John was at one time precentor of St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, and was born 'on the line of march' in Portugal c1809, with the British Peninsular army fighting Napoleon there. May L. may have been born in 1791.
William Baikie Scarth went to India where he served in the British army (or British East India Company army before the Mutiny/Indian war of independence in '57); this presumably c1855 or so. I did not know he was in London in 1861; I thought his service in India lasted til the 1870s. Perhaps he returned temporarily to London. He was reputedly married in India, but I have no information on his family life there. He was in Liverpool by 1875, because our records indicate that he brought both his parents May and John to live with him there, and that one of them was dead by 1875. He remarried in Liverpool, to two sisters successively (Elizabeth Ann and Sarah Beynon I think, from South Wales), and had perhaps 8 children, some of whom were sent to Chicago c1893. (One of them later became a Mrs. Stryker there, and had a son named Russell.) His two youngest children, Harold Linklater Scarth (b. 1892) and Ronald Stuart Scarth (b. 1902), came to Winnipeg, Canada in 1913 and 1920, respectively. Ronald as a youth wanted to go to sea, but his parents were grieved at the thought and he refrained from doing so.
William Baikie Scarth died in November 1918, aged 84, two weeks after retiring from his job as an estate manager in Liverpool.
He had a sonorous voice with a lovely Orcadian accent. He was a lay reader in church and at one time lectured in Liverpool on life in Orkney, composing a short monograph called 'Life in the North'.
Speculation: Given his middle name, it seems plausible that his father's mother or his mother's mother might have been a Baikie. There was I believe a notable William Baikie at Kirkwall about that time (I think he built Tankerness House). Incidentally, another William Baikie I believe founded the first Scottish public library, the Kirkwall Bibliotheck, about 1653 (an ancestor?). (Please check Linklater's 'Orkney and Shetland' for this.)
Possible lead: Is there a list of precentors of St. Magnus? If so, might this be a clue to some ancestors of John Stuart Scarth and William Baikie Scarth?
Hope to post some more info. in the future.
Happy hunting,
Azurewood
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Dear Mr. Mackenzie:
We have some photos of William Baikie Scarth, and samples of his handwriting. Maybe I can get these on the screen somehow (they're not in digital format just yet).
Best regards,
Azurewood
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I cannot locate him in either the 1871 or 1881 census in England and was wondering if some kind soul could check these censuses for Orkney for me to see if he had returned.
I don't know about 1871 but in 1881 he is at 37 Roseberry Street, Toxteth Park, Lancashire, aged 46 and working as a book keeper.
The reason you'll have had problems finding him is that the census has mistranscribed him as "Searth".
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Azurewood,
Is Robert Scarth, the 19th C Kirkwall solicitor, who was factor of the Traill Estates on Rousay, when the infamous Rousay Clearances took place, related to this family?
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Azurewood,
Is Robert Scarth, the 19th C Kirkwall solicitor, who was factor of the Traill Estates on Rousay, when the infamous Rousay Clearances took place, related to this family?
Spittalhall, the Robert Scarth you're speaking of is my Great Great Grandfather.
Robert wasn't a solicitor; he was an agent of the Union Bank, a factor and a landowner.
Robert was the factor for the Laing family and also the Traills of Woodwick between 1852 and 1873. I understood that the main clearances on Rousay were in the 1820s (before Robert was factor) and again later under General Burroughs after Robert had retired.
I have not managed to link William Baikie Scarth's ancestor into the Binscarth Scarths but given that Orkney is relatively small it is probable that he does link in somewhere.
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hi ,azurewood I would be eternally grateful if you could send me photo copies of the photo you have of William Baikie Scarth,he is my,great ,great great grandfather I would re emberse any costs incurred.
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Azurewood,
Is Robert Scarth, the 19th C Kirkwall solicitor, who was factor of the Traill Estates on Rousay, when the infamous Rousay Clearances took place, related to this family?
Spittalhall, the Robert Scarth you're speaking of is my Great Great Grandfather.
Robert wasn't a solicitor; he was an agent of the Union Bank, a factor and a landowner.
Robert was the factor for the Laing family and also the Traills of Woodwick between 1852 and 1873. I understood that the main clearances on Rousay were in the 1820s (before Robert was factor) and again later under General Burroughs after Robert had retired.
I have not managed to link William Baikie Scarth's ancestor into the Binscarth Scarths but given that Orkney is relatively small it is probable that he does link in somewhere.
Hi Hevsih,
This entry on rootsweb suggests that your Robert Scarth was indeed responsible for the Rousay clearances:
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=kosmoid&id=I11239
Regards,