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Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => Lanarkshire => Topic started by: tazzy on Sunday 03 December 17 22:24 GMT (UK)
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Can anyone help find a death for William,
William married Janet Wotherspoon / Muirhead on 9th July 1863 in Edinburgh.
He was actually Janet's nephew through marriage and this has been proved beyond doubt with certificates. Possibly this is why they wentto Edinburgh to marry out of the area. The marriage certificate shows Janet as a spinster when in fact she was a widow!!
The spelling of his name differs on the census records. Sometimes it is Summerville / Somervill etc
The last trace I have of him is on the 1881 Census living with his Mother, Mary Muirhead in Carmyle, Old Monkland, Airdrie.
1881 Census for Janet is at 8 Anderson Street,New Monkland, living with her daughter Mary Muirhead (to her first husband James Muirhead) and William & Janet's son Ebeneezer Summerville and also Mary Wotherspoon(Janets sister)
Janets death was regstered by their daughter Annie.
Would dearly love to find out what happened to William.
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No birthyear given in post
Have you looked on SP?
https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/search-our-records
Janets death was regstered by their daughter Annie
What year and is she shown as a widow?
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The last trace I have of him is on the 1881 Census living with his Mother, Mary Muirhead in Carmyle, Old Monkland, Airdrie.
Is there some confusion here? His daughter was Mary Muirhead living with her mother Janet in 1881
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Is this the 1881 entry you are referring to?
Address - Carmyle
William Sommerville 44 occ Millar b Carluke - shown as head of household
Mary Sommerville - 68 mother b Whitburn, Linlithgowshire
Old Monkland Western District ED 3 Page 3 Line 9
The 1881 for Janet shows her as 51 and daughter Mary Muirhead as 31
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1891 census entry for Janet ( shown as Jessie Sommerville) describes her as married rather than widowed, but no sign of William ( per FindMyPast).
Isobel
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Something does not add up here
William married Janet Wotherspoon / Muirhead on 9th July 1848 in Edinburgh.
Janet was 51 in 1881 so b 1830. William was 44 in 1881 so b 1837. An 1848 marriage makes no sense as william was only 11yrs old. You say Janet was previously married yet she was only 18 in 1848 and her daughter Mary Muirhead was born 1850??
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Janet married James Moorhead in Aug 1848 Bothwell and William Sommerville in 1863 in Newington from Scotlands People
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See reply 1 re info requested from Janet’s death cert
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I'm afraid that I am totally muddled by your initial post.
William married Janet Wotherspoon / Muirhead on 9th July 1848 in Edinburgh.
That marriage was in 1863, not in 1848. It was James Muirhead whom she married on 9 July 1848, in Carluke.
He was actually Janet's nephew through marriage and this has been proved beyond doubt with certificates.
Can you expand on that? Who were his parents, who were her parents, and what was the connection?
The marriage certificate shows Janet as a spinster when in fact she was a widow!!
Not unheard of.
The spelling of his name differs on the census records. Sometimes it is Summerville / Somervill etc
Nothing remarkable about that. Spelling was a very inexact science until about the end of the 19th century.
The last trace I have of him is on the 1881 Census living with his Mother, Mary Muirhead in Carmyle, Old Monkland, Airdrie.
Airdrie is in New Monkland, not Old Monkland. I think Carmyle probably belongs to Old Monkland.
1881 Census for Janet is at 8 Anderson Street,New Monkland, living with her daughter Mary Muirhead (to her first husband James Muirhead) and William & Janet's son Ebeneezer Summerville and also Mary Wotherspoon(Janets sister)
So you are saying that William and his wife were living apart in 1881?
Is this a correct timeline? A couple of questions in bold.
1820/1 James Muirhead born in Carluke
1826 Mary Wotherspoon, (daughter of James W and Janet Sword?), born in New Monkland
1829 Janet Wotherspoon, (daughter of James W and Janet Sword?), born in New Monkland
1837 William Somerville, son of Eben(ezer) S and Mary Muirhead, baptised in Old Monkland
1848 James Muirhead and Janet Wotherspoon married in Carluke
1849 Mary Muirhead, daughter of James M and Janet Wotherspoon, baptised in Wishaw
1851 Margaret Muirhead, daughter of James M and Janet Wotherspoon, baptised in New Monkland
1853 Thomas Muirhead, son of James M and Janet Wotherspoon, baptised in New Monkland
1854 James, son of James M and Janet Wotherspoon, baptised in New Monkland (NB this is from the 'Community Contributed' IGI therefore not to be trusted)
1856 John and Christina Muirhead, twin son and daughter of James M and Janet Wotherspoon, baptised in New Monkland
1859 Janet Muirhead, daughter of James M and Janet Wotherspoon, baptised in New Monkland
1860 James Muirhead dies in Old Monkland
1863 William Somerville and Janet Wotherspoon or Muirhead married in Edinburgh
1863 Ann Somerville, daughter of William S and Janet Wotherspoon, born in Old Monkland
1866 Ebenezer Somerville, son of William S and Janet Wotherspoon, born in Old Monkland
?--? Death of Mary Muirhead or Somerville - who registered her death?
?--? Death of Janet Wotherspoon or Muirhead or Somerville - was she described as a widow in her death certificate?
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My apologies for entering wrong marriage date for William and Janet. I have since amended the marriage date.
In answer to Forfarian, I already had all this information but Janets parents were JOhn Wotherspoon and Christina Neilson not Sword
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Dear Carole
Yes, that's the census I was speaking about.
Janet died in 1897 and her parents are John Wotherspoon & Christina Neilson and same parents on marriage to William.
William's mother was Mary Muirhead, sister of James Muirhead who was married to Janet Wotherspoon
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In answer to Forfarian, I already had all this information but Janets parents were JOhn Wotherspoon and Christina Neilson not Sword
Another time, I recommend that you include all the information you already have, so that folk can see what you have already done, and avoid duplication of effort.
Back to the questions in my previous post. Does the death certificate of Janet Wotherspoon or Muirhead or Somerville say that she was married, or that she was widowed?
Do you have the death certificate of Mary Muirhead or Somerville? If so, who was the informant?
The answers to these questions will help to narrow down the search for William's death.
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It looks like I will have to do more research myself in Mary's death. She wasn't registered as a widow at the time of her death in 1897. Maybe he re-married as he was younger than her.
I'll do some more checking
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It looks like I will have to do more research myself in Mary's death. She wasn't registered as a widow at the time of her death in 1897. Maybe he re-married as he was younger than her.
I'll do some more checking
I thought you said that it was Janet who died in 1897, and that her daughter Annie was the informant?
If so, the certificate ought to say something like 'Janet Somerville, married to (1) James Muirhead (2) William Somerville' or it should say 'Janet Somerville, widow of (1) James Muirhead (2) William Somerville'. This tells you whether he died before her (in which case you only have to search from 1881, when you know he was alive because he is in the census, to 1897) or survived her (in which case you can start searching at 1897, when he was at least 59 years old). This will cut down the number of deaths you need to check.
So what, exactly, does that 1897 death certificate say?
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Hello Forfarian
You asked me if I had checked Mary's death certificate in your previous message.
William's Mother was Mary Muirhead who he was living with on the 1881 census in Carmyle.
He also had a stepdaughter called Mary Muirhead who was Janets daughter to James Muirhead.
I too am confused..
I'm beginning to think that they maybe split up if he was staying with his Mother as Head of the house.
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You asked me if I had checked Mary's death certificate in your previous message.
No he didn't and nor did I in my earlier reply
This is what you said in your opening post
Janets death was regstered by their daughter Annie.
My reply dated 3rd Dec asked
What year and is she shown as a widow?
Forfarian has asked the same question twice but we still have not had a reply. We are not interested in when William's mother died etc etc - it is his wife JANET's death cert that will say whether she was a widow
Please read all the replies again as this post is causing a great deal of confusion due to the amount of incorrect information given
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I was replying to this and thought this is what you meant. My apologies!!
I have Janets death certificate but it doesn't say she was a widow only that she was married to James Muirhead and William Sommerville. The death was registered by her daughter, Annie Reynard (m/s Sommerville).
I'm sorry for all the confusion
Posted by: Forfarian
« on: Yesterday at 10:13 »
Another time, I recommend that you include all the information you already have, so that folk can see what you have already done, and avoid duplication of effort.
Back to the questions in my previous post. Does the death certificate of Janet Wotherspoon or Muirhead or Somerville say that she was married, or that she was widowed?
Do you have the death certificate of Mary Muirhead or Somerville? If so, who was the informant?
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So neither the 1891 entry or the 1897 death cert show Janet as a widow which could mean that William was still alive at that time and didn't die until after 1897
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That's right CaroleW.
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You asked me if I had checked Mary's death certificate in your previous message.
No he didn't
Actually, I did ask that too, and tazzy has not answered that question.
What year and is she shown as a widow?
Forfarian has asked the same question twice but we still have not had a reply. We are not interested in when William's mother died etc etc - it is his wife JANET's death cert that will say whether she was a widow[/quote]Indeed.
But I also asked if tazzy has the death certificate of William's mother Mary Muirhead or Somerville, so that we can see if William was the informant, and if so perhaps give us another date when he was known to be alive and an address where he was living.
William's Mother was Mary Muirhead who he was living with on the 1881 census in Carmyle.
He also had a stepdaughter called Mary Muirhead who was Janets daughter to James Muirhead.
Yes I read and understood that from further up the thread.
I'm beginning to think that they maybe split up if he was staying with his Mother as Head of the house.
Several messages ago, I asked the question, "So you are saying that William and his wife were living apart in 1881?". Have you found William in the 1891 census? And have you looked at Janet in the 1891 census to see who else was living with her?
Anyway, we now know that William was known or believed to be alive in 1897 when his wife Janet died. SP indexes 12 deaths of w*m s*m*r*v*l* born 1835-1839. Two of them (the ones who died in Edinburgh and in Carstairs) can be discounted because the census index shows them in those places in 1881, 1891 and 1901. That leaves ten.
Did William's daughter Mary Somerville get married after 1897? If so, her marriage certificate will say if William was deceased, which might help to eliminate some of the other ten. (It would have been easier if it had been Ebenezer, but it looks as if he died in Cambuslang in 1893.)
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Many thanks everyone for all your help, especially Carole and Forfarian although I confused them.
I think I'll pay a visit to the archive centre and go through everyone.
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I'm trying to find a death for William Summerville (spelt various ways on census). Sommerville, Somerville, Somervail etc. born in 1836 in Carluke
He was married to Janet Wotherspoon on 2 june 1863 in Edinburgh. I can't find a trace for him after 1881. Janet died on 9 April 1897 at Clydeford House, Cambuslang.
His parents were Mary Muirhead and Abel/Eben Sommerville.
I've tried all avenues and searched all records in Scotland for him but unable to trace him.
His occupation was a meal miller. I found him in 1885 in Carmyle on a valuation roll but no trace of him after that.
Can anyone help??
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Does Janet's d/c specify her condition? (eg 'widow of' or 'wife of')
Do you have Janet in the 1891 census? Does she say she a widow?
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Age out but a maybe depending on who registered the death, a guess of age possibly?
SOMERVILLE WILLIAM 46
1892
627/ 121 Cambuslang
Annie
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Not the one on Cambuslang. I've already checked that one as it was the most obvious. I checked every William Summerville up until 1936 (he would be 100) but there's nothing.
Janets death certificate only says that she was married to him. Her 2nd marriage. It doesn't say if she was a widow.
Its all very strange as Janet was actually his Aunt in Law and I have checked all this out. I know that this wasn't against the law. It seems he did a disappearing act. Maybe went to England.
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Do you know what happened to his mother Mary Muirhead after 1881? I can’t immediately see a death for her either.
Isobel
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Isobel
She died in 1884 in Carmyle. William signed her death certificate
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Thanks, not sure how I missed it.
Isobel
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Her 2nd marriage. It doesn't say if she was a widow.
Can you tell us what it says, was she 'single'?
Did William & Janet have any children & what's on their marriage certs. about William & when?
Annie
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Previous post...
Threads merged.
Annie
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It seems to me William had no idea who his mother was or even when he was born or perhaps he was not completely honest about his age for a variety of reasons.
On her death registration she is listed as Mary Muirhead daughter of Thomas and Margaret Falconer born in Linlithgow. Informant, William. Yet there is no Thomas Muirhead/Falconer marriage and no children of this combination in Scotland.
In the 1881 Census he an "Mom" are living together, she is a Sommerville, he is listed as 44 and a miller, no spouse in Old Monkland, exactly the place she died.
After looking through the Carluke births I am betting William's mother was likely Margaret Muir not a Muirhead married to Alexander not Abel/Ebenezer and, William was b 1845 in Carluke not 1836.
Don't fret lots of women changed their given names for a host of reasons all which are beyond the mental capabilities of man. Am I not right ladies?
Don
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Dear Don
Williams baptism states that his mother is Mary Muirhead - not Muir -. He was born in 1836 not 1845
The information I provided is correct,
I know what his Mothers death certificate says as I have that information. I also have the 1881 census saying that his Mother is calling herself Somerville. I also know that if they considered themselves married even though they just lived together, just like today
The addresses all fit in with William as my Muirheads all lived at Gillhead so I thank you for your help but it's wrong
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Tazzy - out of interest, where did you get the information that his father was called Abel/Ebenezer?
Isobel
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On his baptism record
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I've looked up every single William Summerville from 1881 onwards at Scotlands People centre today and found no trace so it looks like he either went to England or went abroad.
I checked up until 1936 ( he would have been 100).
Just asking if anyone could check English Census from 1891 onwards as he was on 1881 census living with his mother in Scotland