I have recently started searching the family tree and I stumbled upon your posting. I know exactly what became of the James Henderson who married Elizabeth Lachlan Kerr - he is (was) my grandfather!
Joekar has set out the information that I too had gleaned from the census records. I've also found a little further information from death and marriage records.
Following my particular lineage, this is the information I have gathered so far:
Robert Henderson was born in Glasgow in 1805 and died in Kilbirnie in 1888. His death certificate showed his parents as Robert Henderson (doctor of medecine) and Ann Hamilton. As yet I have found no records of these two - maybe Glasgow medical records of the day might shed some light. Robert junior (gets confusing when these guys switch between the names Robert and James each generation - and they all seem to marry Janets) married Janet Orr on 6/12/1836 in Kilbirnie.
Janet appears on the 1841 census as Robert's wife but she doesn't appear in the household in 1851 ( joekar has found a Janet Orr in a neighbouring household but, as she is not shown as Janet Henderson, I suspect this is a different person). My guess is that Janet died between the 1841 census and the birth of the youngest child, James, in 1844 but,as yet, I can find no record of her death ( difficult before official registration came into force in Scotland in 1854). It seems that Robert married again to another Janet (nee Taylor) between the 1851 and 1861 censuses. The Janet Kennady shown as a boarder in the 1861 census was probably her daughter from a previous marriage - she is shown as Janet Henderson in the 1871 census.
James Henderson was born in Kilbirnie in 1844 and died there in November 1906 from gastro enteritis leading to heart failure (actually, this was a month after his son James' wedding not a month before). He married Janet Moffat, born 1847 (father: David Moffat/ mother: Elizabeth Knox) in her home town of Beith on 29 Dec, 1865. Janet died of apoplexy in 1918 aged 70 at the family home (5 Avils Place, Kilbirnie). James was a Millworker all his working life, specifically a Linen Thread Dyer, although he was listed as an apprentice shoemaker at age 17. It is interesting to note that Janet's father was a master shoemaker - could be that he was young James' master and that's how he met Janet!
James and Janet were very productive, having 10 children (5 boys and 5 girls). Their names and ages are as listed by joekar from the 1891 census, plus there was the eldest, Robert, who was 26 then and had obviously left the household by then.
My interest is their son James, my grandfather, who was born at home in Dennyholm St, Kilbirnie on 29 August 1880. James was an Iron Moulder all his working life. He married Elizabeth Lauchlin Kerr ( born 25 March 1883, father: Robert Kerr, mother: Sarah Davidson) in her home town of Dalry on 26 Oct 1906. On 28 Dec 1907 Elizabeth gave birth to her first child, a boy James Davidson (these names become rather predictable after a while).
James and Elizabeth migrated to Sydney, Australia with young James around the 1912 mark (I still have to track down their travel details). They had two more children in Sydney, my father Robert Kerr Henderson (1914 - 2002) and Sarah Elizabeth Henderson (later Porter, 1918 - 1952).
Elizabeth died in childbirth in September, 1925. James remarried in 1928 to Lilian Mary Wilkins. James worked as a moulder at Clyde Industries in Sydney. He and Lilian lived in the Sydney suburbs of Granville and Newtown until his death in 1955.
Neither his son James nor his daughter Sarah (always known as Peggy) had any children. However, Robert (who married Irene Hartley in 1938) had two children, Robyn Irene Elizabeth (born 1942) and my good self Garry James (born 1945). Robyn had three boys and I had a boy and two girls, so the line continues - just.
KarieK, I hope this has been helpful. I would be interested in learning of your connection to the family and whether you have been able to come by any further information. I'd be happy to post any other relevant information I manage to acquire.
Garry H.
