Project Info: Earthenware Dealers and hawkers of pots

[Jack gray]

I have Adam being born approx'1836 and at 1834

[River Tyne Lass]

Is this Ann your ancestor?  That would be incredible if you are also a descendant!!  I have always wondered if I might come across another descendant on here.   

I think the age of that Adam might sound right .. I have to go off now.  However, I will be back on here later this evening and will post the marriage details I have for them.  They married in Hexham at a parish Church even though Ann's family background was Catholic.  She was also baptised at a Anglican Church.

[Jack gray]

I have the marriage dated at 8th may 1962. But I've had problems with Adams since I started my family research, every son had an Adam in the family. But I believe this is the right one.his family are Robert born 1831. Andrew my 4x ggf born 1840. John born 1833
 Eve born 1839 died 1yr of smallpox. Ann 1846. And jane 1850.

[River Tyne Lass]

Hi Jack,

To start this is Ann's baptism:

Holy Cross, Chatton
18 February 1834
Daughter of James & Mary Conroy
Abode: Lock Gilley, Ireland (I believe this is really likely to be Loughgilley but it is pronounced as like Lock Gilley.)
Travelling Besom Maker
By Henry Parker, Curate

This is what I have for their marriage:

St Andrew, Hexham
Entry 341
8 May 1862
Ann Conroy & Adam Drummond
His age 25  Her age 28
Bachelor & Spinster
Labourer
Both had residence as 'Hexham'
Fathers:
Andrew Drummond - Cooper
James Conroy - Labourer
Witnesses:  Ann Canigan - her mark & John Robson
Both Ann and Adam signed with their marks
By Banns

Now this part I am unsure of but I did try to find something for Adam's background a good while back.  I did come across an Andrew Drummond who was a Cooper living in Whitley (today known as Whitley Bay) in the Tynemouth registration district in 1861.  His wife was Mary, who was a hawker & also
30 Robert - son
21 Andrew - son
19 Ann - daughter in law
15 Ann - daughter
11 Jane

It might be that Andrew's daughter Ann married Henry Johnson at St Stephen in South Shields on 1 October 1866.  It might also be that they had a son John who married in 1858 to Catherine Smith Tynemouth reg district.  However, I never got around to chasing all this up as I was not completely sure that this family might have been  Adam's father and siblings.

Now going back to Ann & Adam I believe their daughter might have been this girl:
Mary Drummond
Parents Adam Drummond & Ann Conroy
Born 25 August 1854
Baptised 10 September 1854 St Francis of Xavier RC, Cheeseburn Grange
She is recorded as having been born at 'Waterloo'
(Incidentally my great x 2 Grandparents James & Elizabeth were living at Waterloo Cottages in 1855 and a couple of their children were also baptised at this Church.  Their landlady was known as 'Dolly of Waterloo' Dorothy Bewick)

Now I believe this Mary Drummond turns up again in 1871 age 16 as the niece of Peter Conroy and Ann Conroy and living in Bedlington with Ann's children from other relationships (Jane Smith and Conroys although some really the children of Daniel McBride) and also her children by Peter.
Just briefly for now - I believe this Ann was originally Ann Miller whose father was Jacob Miller.  The Millers and Conroys were friends and there were marriages between them down the years.  I believe this Ann had her illegitimate daughter 'Jane Smith' baptised at Christ Church Tynemouth when she was residing in the workhouse.  She then went on to marry Daniel McBride then Peter Conroy. 

I wonder what you think of this so far?  For instance, do you think that the Andrew at Whitley might have been Adam's father or do you think I have gone off track there?

I would be interested if you know what became of Ann Drummond nee Conroy after she married Adam if you know of this.  Did she have more children?  Where might they all be on the census?  Also, do you happen to know where, when  she and Adam died? 

[Jack gray]

Yes that is my 3 x ggf's brother Adam right enough who married Ann Conroy. I found a Ann Conroy Drummond on family search.org for the birth of Mary. The thing is there was 4 other Adams all born around the same time, all cousins. And I'm making progress with those but not with the Adam who married Ann unfortunately. Now there was 2 marriages that I'm aware of between Drummond's and Millers, I speak to a descendant of theirs from alnwick quite regularly. I will keep trying to dig more up about Adam and Ann though.
 

[River Tyne Lass]

Now that is very interesting, that there were four Adams who were all cousins.  I am wondering now if there may have been more than one Adam Drummond with a wife called Ann Conroy.  The one who married in Hexham and whose Father was James is my Great x 2 Grandfather's sister.  However, I am now wondering if the couple who had Mary as their daughter may have been other people.  I really think this daughter is the one on the 1871 census as Peter Conroy's niece as if you look on freebmd Ann and Adam's daughter's birth fits in with this Mary.

However, Peter has been a puzzle  in his relationship as Uncle to this Mary - on his marriage entry to Ann - her Father is Jacob Miller but his Father is John Conroy who was a distiller.  My great x 3 Grandfather James, who was Ann's Father goes missing after 1851.  I have wondered in the past if he might have gone back to Ireland and died there, or if he died using the family alias of Gilroy - there was one who died somewhere in Newcastle - or even if he might have become changed his name to John, far fetched as that might seem.  I do think this Peter will be some connection but I don't know what this was as yet.

I wonder if your Alnwick friend also knows about the connection of Millers and Conroys with the Allen/Anderson family too? 

I am not on Ancestry but I would be interested to see your tree if you have one on there.  If you do have one I would likely be able to look at it next week when I can get to the library - I am just heading home from nightshift now.

That would be great if you ever find out anything about what became of my ancestor Ann after her marriage to Adam in Hexham. 

[Jack gray]

I have all the wives names for all the Adams, as far as I can tell the Adam we are concerned with was the one who married Ann, but I was looking on two sites last night and they do seem to drop off the map. My great aunt Ann Drummond was married to Thomas Anderson so I will have a walk up to my cousins on Monday as I have heard him talking about his older brother who used to knock around with the Conroy's of Newcastle in the 1960s. I will keep trying to get to the bottom about Adam and Ann, the name Adam has cursed me for five years now haha.

[River Tyne Lass]

Well, I must admit I am not very up to speed with whose who and what links there might have been by the 1960s.  My forays into researching tends to be focussed on much earlier periods of time than that, I find this keeps me busy enough.   

There seems to have been links forged between the Conroys, Millers, Drummonds, and Anderson/Allens in the Northumberland area, particularly around Morpeth between the 1840's to 1870s. 

I have found that there is a grave stone at St Albans, Earsdon which has an inscription for, Michael, Sarah, Jacob and wife Jane Miller nee Anderson.  There are some Campbells named too.  I do not know how/why they came to be named/buried in this Miller grave.  I think that is what so tantalising, sometimes frustrating about family history research is that the question very often outweigh the answers.

Anyway, I digress - if you have the names of the wives of all four Adam Drummond, could you let me know if there were two Ann Conroys amongst them? 

[Jack gray]

I have been through all the Adams again and have narrowed it down to two one born in 1836 who married ann, and one born in 1837 who  was  either born in eglingham or beanley who shows up on the census as living with his father well into his thirties, he married a lass named jane who was 20 years his junior. This Adam was the son of the other Adams uncle Thomas if that makes sense. There is one more who married a Joanna miller but he wasn't from my branch of the family.