whitevale mission

[poppysmum]

Hi
A very kind person got me a copy of a relatives poor relief in 1897 in govan.

There is lots of information but i have lots i want to find out moe about so i was hoping for some help!

It says she "was in Whitevale Mission" for 1 year.
By looking at the 1891 census i see that the people who lived there where called 'inmates'.

i have tried googling but no luck in finding out what this place was and why she would have bee in there.

does anyone know this and also if there might be records that are kept in archives?

thanks, caroline

[apanderson]

Hi Caroline,

I haven't heard of it personally but I wondered if it had anything to do with Whitevale Church?

The following is a link to The Historical Directory to Glasgow Presbytery - a pdf containing many references to Whitevale and Bluevale Churches. With a bit of luck you might find something.

http://www.glasgowkirks.org.uk/resources/communication/historical_directory.pdf

Good Luck!

Anne

[M.R. Dien]

The Whitevale Mission House was at 13 Whitevale Street and checking the 1912/13 valuation roles shows that 13 Whitevale Street was an "industrial school"  a type of reformatory which may explain the term "inmates" being used.

The owners are listed as "The Directors of Houses of Refuge and Reformatory and Industrial Schools in the City of Glasgow"

[poppysmum]

thanks very much!!

what does that mean, she was married with a daughter by the time she was in there, she must have been between 40 and 45.

what would she have been doing in there and why?

caroline

[M.R. Dien]

Although it was listed as an industrial school the part of the title which refers to "Refuge" may give a clue and its possible that it was some kind of workhouse facility.
Given that she was claiming poor relief at one point it is entirely possible that she was placed in the Mission "for her own good" as the worthies of that day would have considered (although I doubt if any of them would like to stay in their own establishments)

[Maggie1895]

This is going to sound a little mad to reply to a post over 2 years old, but I was googling 'Whitevale Mission, Glasgow' and found this chain.
My great grandfather (my grandfather's father)was the City Missionary here - his 'patch' was Brickfield Open, attached to Whitevale Street and Sydney Place Churches.
My great aunt, (my grandmother's elder sister) was a qualified Nurse who was the matron at Whitevale Mission in 1891 (and probably for longer, the only official record being the 1891 census).     
She later became the Matron at the Magdalene Asylum in Edinburgh, but that does not mean that the Whitevale was an asylum, it is listed as an institution and I think it was far more about helping the poor and needy of the area; that is certainly what my great grandfather James spent his life doing.
Almost certainly her taking up this post at the mission was how my grandparents met as the two families came to be friends.
If anyone has any further information on the Whitevale mission I'd love to hear it.
Thanks,
Maggie

[warrender]

This is even more mad ! I'm replying to your message of two years ago and likewise found it by googling Whitevale Street Mission
I'm actually researching the same woman (your great-aunt) who worked at the Whitevale Mission and the Magdalene Mission. She''s not a relative of mine but I'm interested in her qualifications as a nurse, but I know also of other qualifications she took, if that's of interest to you.
Have just joined Rootschat so that I can get in contact - do you know if there's any way we can do pm about this ? - although I'd be quite happy to put information up here if necessary.
Hope to hear from you after all this time.

[Maggie1895]

Warrender, may I first say Welcome to Rootschat? (don't want to forget my manners in the excitement...)
Seriously, your post is not mad, but is quite wonderful.   That's Rootschat for you, as I hope you will discover for yourself now you have found us.
To be able to send a PM (Personal Message) you have to had made 3 posts.  If you reply to this and then post one more comment that will be your 3.
After that you can click on the scroll under my name (little thing that turns green when someone is on line) and I'll get your message and be able to reply.
I'm caught up in a work project on a 6 day week at present so may not be back on line immediately - but I will be back.
I'm sure the Mission must have had more than one Matron, but hopefully we are talking of the same lady.  If we are I have a cousin who is very much the keeper of the flame for that side of my family so if you have questions I can't answer he probably can, though from what you say the boot may be on the other foot and you have information for me.
I really appreciate your post and hope we can be in contact in the not too distant..

[warrender]

Hello Maggie1895
Thankyou for your kind welcome - I'm really thrilled to have heard from you and so soon. Please don't worry if you don't get to reply for a bit - it's all a bonus for me, anyway.
I'm pretty sure we are talking about the same person as she (Jane Paterson) has a surname which appears on your list of interests and was at both the Whitevale and the Magdalene. She's an interesting lady altogether and must have been very talented, but more of that later.
Thanks again and I'll try to get myself into a position to pm soon.