Author Topic: Speirs/Watson help please.  (Read 8375 times)

Offline Anderson

  • RootsChat Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 242
    • View Profile
Speirs/Watson help please.
« on: Tuesday 04 January 11 10:47 GMT (UK) »
I have the marriage & death cert. for husband & wife William SPEIRS & Jane WATSON who married 29 April 1870 at 25 Gauze Street Paisley. William died 24 June 1884 at Thorn Johnstone & Jane died 8 Nov 1911 at The Cottage ? Hosp. Johnstone. William's father was John SPEIRS & mother Jane FILLANS. Jane's father was William WATSON & mother Helen BUCHANAN. From the death cert. William should be born abt 1844 Johnstone & Jane abt 1848 at Thorn.Knowing an approx. year of birth of both William & Jane, I have searched Scotlands People for William in all parishes from a rediculous 1792 till 1854 & Jane from 1842 till 1854 with no result. Any idea's why they do not come up in any parishes at all.  Not sure what the Thorn is. ( a street, road or an area) I tried on google earth but nothing with Thorn came up. 
Scotland - Stirlingshire area:
Anderson - Moffat - Comrie - Rankin - Reid - Sneddon-Snaddon

Scotland - Renfrewshire - Thorn - Johnstone:
Speirs - Watson - Fillans - Logie

England - Leeds - Yorkshire:
Oddy - Littlewood

England - Sudbury - Suffolk
Hempstead - French - Newell - Healey - Cole - Andrews

England - Staplehurst - Kent
Alchin - Waters

England - Birmingham
Bayley - Baker - Barford

Offline weemary

  • RootsChat Senior
  • ****
  • Posts: 407
    • View Profile
Re: Speirs/Watson help please.
« Reply #1 on: Tuesday 04 January 11 13:15 GMT (UK) »
 this is the 1861 census no mention of Jane's mother Helen and this is in Paisley -  Father wm house fainter ( painter)

William Watson   41
Christina Watson   15
Jane Watson   13
Robert Watson   10
William Watson   6



1881 census Paisley

William Speirs   42
Jane Speirs   33
Hellen Speirs   10
John Speirs   8
William Speirs   5
George Speirs   2

Beaton Bethune, Campbell -  ROC
Mitchell Leslie - Aberdeen
Mackintosh, Anderson (Provost) -  Inverness
Boyle, Mckechnie, McPhail, Fulton  - Ireland, Greenock, Kilbrachan
Pearce, Curnoe/Curnow -  Cornwall
Patterson, Robson, Sloan, Campbell, Dixon, Wilson, Ritson, Hedley, Vipond, Coulson -  South Shields, Sunderland, Northumberland, Cumberland
Kitcheham/Kitchingham, Gage -  Kent

Offline Ann Baker

  • RootsChat Aristocrat
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,821
  • Truth will out! (Finding it another matter!)
    • View Profile
Re: Speirs/Watson help please.
« Reply #2 on: Tuesday 04 January 11 17:48 GMT (UK) »
Hi

Thorn is in Johnstone. It's a road. It goes uphill where the railway station is and ends at the road Junction where Elderslie starts (Elderslie is the village between Johnstone and Pailsey - where yours truly was born!)

Hopes this helps

Ann :)
Torrens, Thompson - Tyrone & Fermanagh,Connolly, Campbell - Monaghan & Cavan, McGovern, Carroll, Orr - Ireland <br />Connolly, Fulton, Stirling, Cameron, McKellar, Robertson, McGovern, Torrance, Bisland, Fraser, Hamilton, O'Hara, McAusland, McTaggart , Lambie, Twedale, Hart, Clark(Paisley/Barrhead/Glasgow)<br />McGovern, Liddell - Falkirk<br />Mair, Muir, Carroll, Stewart, Law, Orr - Lanarkshire <br />Torrance - Brisbane<br />Connolly , Robertson- NSW<br />McGovan(?), Robertson , Agnew-

Offline Anderson

  • RootsChat Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 242
    • View Profile
Re: Speirs/Watson help please.
« Reply #3 on: Thursday 06 January 11 04:29 GMT (UK) »
Hi Weemary & Ann,   
Happy New Year to you both & thanks for your replies.
Weemary, the 1861 census would be another family as William was born abt 1840. The 1881 census is the correct family. Still wonder why I can't pick up their birth through Scotland People.
That tell's me why some of the census say's Thorn Hill Ann. Wonder why Thorn Rd doesn't come up on Google Earth.?
Anderson
Scotland - Stirlingshire area:
Anderson - Moffat - Comrie - Rankin - Reid - Sneddon-Snaddon

Scotland - Renfrewshire - Thorn - Johnstone:
Speirs - Watson - Fillans - Logie

England - Leeds - Yorkshire:
Oddy - Littlewood

England - Sudbury - Suffolk
Hempstead - French - Newell - Healey - Cole - Andrews

England - Staplehurst - Kent
Alchin - Waters

England - Birmingham
Bayley - Baker - Barford


Offline seekthem

  • RootsChat Senior
  • ****
  • Posts: 261
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Re: Speirs/Watson help please.
« Reply #4 on: Thursday 06 January 11 18:31 GMT (UK) »
On Freecen there is an 1851 census Helen Watson age 40 widow at the Thorn with
daughter Janet age 11 and siblings.   Think this may be a strong possibility.  I've just also noticed there is also a daughter Jane age 5 as well as Janet, now that confuses things.
Liz

Offline Ann Baker

  • RootsChat Aristocrat
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,821
  • Truth will out! (Finding it another matter!)
    • View Profile
Re: Speirs/Watson help please.
« Reply #5 on: Thursday 06 January 11 23:51 GMT (UK) »
Hi Anderson

I don't think Thorn Rd is there these days. Thorn Hill certainly is. Thorn Rd tho I'm sure would have been nearby when it existed. That particular part of Johnstone is at a fairly major road junction but it has been signficiantly redeveloped in recent times - a lot of the building now is 1960s mingled with tenements which would certainly have been built very late 1800s.

Next time I am home I will get some photos of it as it is now as makes it a lot easier to explain looking at it. But as you come out of Paisley thru Elderslie and you get to the Thorn pub the road splits into a V (in the V is the Thorn pub). To the left is the road which goes out thru Johnstone and Cochrane Castle towards the coast (Largs etc) and to the right the road goes downhill past the railway station into Johnstone town centre. the housing on the right hand side is a lot older than the left which is a 60s estate built for Glasgow overspill.

re the names Jane/Janet/Jean/jeannie/Jessie - all interchangeable just to confuse it even more!

Ann :D
Torrens, Thompson - Tyrone & Fermanagh,Connolly, Campbell - Monaghan & Cavan, McGovern, Carroll, Orr - Ireland <br />Connolly, Fulton, Stirling, Cameron, McKellar, Robertson, McGovern, Torrance, Bisland, Fraser, Hamilton, O'Hara, McAusland, McTaggart , Lambie, Twedale, Hart, Clark(Paisley/Barrhead/Glasgow)<br />McGovern, Liddell - Falkirk<br />Mair, Muir, Carroll, Stewart, Law, Orr - Lanarkshire <br />Torrance - Brisbane<br />Connolly , Robertson- NSW<br />McGovan(?), Robertson , Agnew-

Offline seekthem

  • RootsChat Senior
  • ****
  • Posts: 261
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Re: Speirs/Watson help please.
« Reply #6 on: Friday 07 January 11 11:15 GMT (UK) »
If you google on old-maps co. uk you can see a map for the Thorn 1850s.  Don't think there was ever a Thorn Rd.  Thorn was at one time more a hamlet.  On the 1851 Census most of the addresses just state address Thorn or Thorn, Overton or Thornhill.   Old Road in Elderslie which still exists comes under the Thorn also in 1851 census.  On the map where Thornhill House is now where
Thorndene is.

Offline Anderson

  • RootsChat Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 242
    • View Profile
Re: Speirs/Watson help please.
« Reply #7 on: Friday 07 January 11 21:16 GMT (UK) »
I see what you mean about the Thorn. There is a lot on Google Earth of Thorn this and Thorn that. In 1851 shows John Speirs and family living at Thorn Hill House. In 1861 at Thorn Symingtons Ld (whatever that is) & in 1841 they were in High St. So they didn't move too far. In 1841,51 John was a coal miner. In 1861 a coal agent. Do you have any idea where the coal mine (s) would be from where they lived?
Anderson
Scotland - Stirlingshire area:
Anderson - Moffat - Comrie - Rankin - Reid - Sneddon-Snaddon

Scotland - Renfrewshire - Thorn - Johnstone:
Speirs - Watson - Fillans - Logie

England - Leeds - Yorkshire:
Oddy - Littlewood

England - Sudbury - Suffolk
Hempstead - French - Newell - Healey - Cole - Andrews

England - Staplehurst - Kent
Alchin - Waters

England - Birmingham
Bayley - Baker - Barford

Offline Ann Baker

  • RootsChat Aristocrat
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,821
  • Truth will out! (Finding it another matter!)
    • View Profile
Re: Speirs/Watson help please.
« Reply #8 on: Friday 07 January 11 22:15 GMT (UK) »
Local knowledge and painful experience comes in handy! (Little did I know this when was having the agony 25+ years ago! More re the agony below)

The pits were looking at the V junction where the Thorn pub sits in the middle as described previously to the left hand side of the road (with Paisley and Elderslie behind you)

The pain? I lived in a house built in the 1930s which was over old mine workings and potential subsidence became an issue when I wanted to sell up and go to London to live and there was a lot of umming and ahhing when I came to sell it in 1984 about mine workings underneath. It all got sorted! It was fine!

But Paisley central library has very good maps of all the old mine workings - I made very good use of them at the time!

Just before you get to the V junction (about 100yds before) on your left the road goes up a hill that was the mining area (basically where Johnstone Castle housing estate is and the top part of Elderslie. Closest I can think of as the roads are now is check out Auchenlodment Road on google maps and that was kind of the nub of it.

Ah happy days!

Ann ;D
Torrens, Thompson - Tyrone & Fermanagh,Connolly, Campbell - Monaghan & Cavan, McGovern, Carroll, Orr - Ireland <br />Connolly, Fulton, Stirling, Cameron, McKellar, Robertson, McGovern, Torrance, Bisland, Fraser, Hamilton, O'Hara, McAusland, McTaggart , Lambie, Twedale, Hart, Clark(Paisley/Barrhead/Glasgow)<br />McGovern, Liddell - Falkirk<br />Mair, Muir, Carroll, Stewart, Law, Orr - Lanarkshire <br />Torrance - Brisbane<br />Connolly , Robertson- NSW<br />McGovan(?), Robertson , Agnew-