Shanks family of New Monkland

[andrew shanks]

I am seeking any information about George Shanks and his wife Jane/Jean who may also have been a Shanks.  I believe that they were married in 1871 at New Monkland.

Known children are:
Margaret Hamilton Shanks b20 May 1872 at New Monkland
Christina Keir Shanks b12 Feb 1874 at New Monkland
David Thomson Shanks 11 Apr 1894 at Muirhead Farm by Airdrie, Lanarkshire

David may have emigrated to Australia but I am not sure about this.

I would be grateful for any assistance with this - in particular census details for 1871, 1881, 1891 & 1901.

 

[RJ_Paton]

The 1901 census has a George Shanks aged 53 and wife Jane aged 50 living at Muirhead farm in New Monkland, george is described as the farmer.

With them are children :-

Sons,
Robert Shanks,21
Thomas Shanks,13
George Shanks,10
and David Shanks,6,

with daughter
Christina S Wilkie aged 26
and (presumably her son) - grandson James Wilkie, aged 3

Also present at the time of the census and described as a visitor
William Cormawly ,62, a pedlar

[RJ_Paton]

1891 has the family also at Muirhead farm

George Shanks,46 , Jeanie Shanks,42

Children
Maggie aged 18
Jeanie aged 14
Robert aged 10
Annie aged 8
Thomas aged 3
and george aged 6 months
Also present was
James Wilson,32, farm servant

[RJ_Paton]

The 1871 has George aged 26 at Muirhead farm, a farmer of 50 acres
also present here is Agnes Cummings aged 28 a Farm Servant

[hume]

The family in 1881:
Residence: Muirhead Farm, New Monkland
George Shanks, m, head, 37, farmer of 60 acres (arable), emp. 1 boy and 1 girl, New Monkland, Lanarkshire
Jane ", f, wife, 31, -, New Monkland, Lanarkshire
Margaret, f, dau., 9, scholar, New Monkland, Lanarkshire
Christina ", f, dau., 7, scholar, New Monkland, Lanarkshire
Jane ", f, dau., 5, scholar, New Monkland, Lanarkshire
Robert ", m, son, 1, scholar, New Monkland, Lanarkshire
Robert ", m, grandfather, 73, annuitant, New Monkland, Lanarkshire

hume24

[RJ_Paton]

In the 1881 census the farm has gone to 60 acres

George aged 37 is with wife Jane aged 31

Margaret, 9
Christina , 7
Jane , 5
and robert aged 1

Also present were

Robert Shanks aged 73 an annuitant and described as grandfather
and two workers
Daniel Dick,aged 15 farm servant
Catherine Wilson,16, domestic servant

[hume]

Seems we were posting at the same time, Falkyrn. I had copied the 1881 out earlier and had just got around to posting it.

hume24

[andrew shanks]

Thanks to all for this census data.  This is where things start to get really interesting - or confusing!

What I need to find now is whether David Shanks emigrated to Australia and, if so, was he the David Shanks that married Elizabeth Irvine (not sure if Irvine was a middle name or maiden name).

This David Shanks and Elizabeth had a daughter named Betty who was born in 1929 in Australia.  Betty was murdered in Brisbane in 1952 and this remains one of the longest running unsolved murder inquiries in Australia.

My thinking hat has got a sore head with betty's ancestry, so I am hoping that someone might be able to provide some info here.

 

[RJ_Paton]

The problem here is that we are into the "grey" period where records in the UK are unavailable although a quick check of Scotlands people showed that in Lanarkshire only 7 individuals named David Shanks married between 1910 and 1931 (the latest date available) but none of them were David Thomson Shanks and nor were any of them in New Monkland.

Widening the search further does however throw up one David Thomson Shanks who in 1919 in Kilsyth married Jean Macpherson Miller (The GROS Reference is  483/00 0015)

Unfortunately I had insufficient credits left to check that one further.