Gramsley surname

[aling]

Thank you all for the interesting Gramsley/Grahamslaw history.

The Hugh Collins/Margaret Bell marriage we do know about and it is the same Hugh Collins who was married to Mary Gramsley. They had one child, John, and Hugh must have died between 1841 and 1851 although have not found any record of this. Family story goes that his family were Roman Catholic, and I have found some Catholic church records of  a Collins family in Glasgow with a son Hugh born 1800 and a Hugh Collins widowed in 1831, and a Hugh Collins who died of an accident in 184? but no proof that it is the same Hugh.

Someone pointed out to me that in the 1841 census Hugh Collins (Colins) birthplace is hard to read but actually says "at sea". This could well be true as his father was apparently an officer in the British (Indian) Army.

George Collins (aged 14 in 1841 census) also joined the army so the story goes and died in 187? while stationed in Ireland.

As far as we know Mary Gramsley Collins moved away to London and married and was the only one of the family who emigrated ,to NZ anyway, and we have never been able to find any trace of the others in the family after 1851, but it would be interesting to find out.                                     

[annie2347]

Hi, the records I have on my Grahamsley ancestors show the spelling changes a few times - Graemsley Grahamsley and Grahamsly.  I have a Thomas Grahamsley born 1770 in Morpeth his son  William Grahamsley Born 1792 who married a Sarah Hope,  William was a Tailor.  His Son William Grahamsley  b. 1826 was also a Tailor living in Newcastle.  He married a Sarah Brown and as far as I know had three daughters Sarah b 1854 Elizabeth b. 1856margaret b 1863.  Elizabeth worked as a dressmaker before her marriage.   

annie

[AndreaCandy]

Hi Ali

My ggggrandmother was Mary Gramsley too! Most of the information I have about her comes from James Dearsly, her grandson and my great-grandfather. The story in my family is that Mary Gramsley was the niece/ward/possibly illegitimate relative of the Duke of Roxburgh who was so outraged that she wanted to marry the gardener that he disinherited her.

Hugh Collins was said to be a handsome 6'1" man, possibly something more than a gardener because he was proficient in sciences, botany and languages and became curator and and horticulturalist to the Duke at Floors Castle. "He was capable of describing the home habits, etc., of every tree, shrub and flower in four different languages."

Hugh Collins' first marriage was to Agnes Balmer who had a daughter, Ann Collins in 1826. He then married Mary Gramsley who gave birth to a son, George John, in 1828. Twins were born in 1831 but Mary and one twin died during the birth, leaving the surviving twin Mary Gramsley Collins.

Mary G. Collins married Ebenezer Dearsly, a goldsmith, and they had five sons (James, George, Herbert, Thomas and Hugh) and two daughters (Mary Ann 'Polly' and Elizabeth 'Bessie'). The oldest, James, was born in Stepney, London in August 1856. A few months later, the family emigrated to NZ, arriving in Wellington on the 'Ann Wilson' on 30 March 1857. James, as I said, was my paternal grandmother's father.

I would love to know more about Hugh Collins, and especially the circumstances of the accident he died of c1851, and also about Mary Gramsley's relationship to the (6th?) Duke of Roxburgh. I did find a fascinating article in the "Who Do You Think You Are" magazine about gardeners on large estates in Victorian and Edwardian times. It said,“Gardeners on Scottish estates during the late Victorian and Edwardian periods were often expected to wear a kilt at work and received a ‘kilt allowance’ to compensate for the discomfort suffered from midge bites.” How about that?

I hope you're still active on this site so we can be in touch some more about our common ancestor, especially as I see you are in NZ too.

Andrea
New Zealand

[aling]

Hi Andrea
I have just come across your post from last year and am hoping you see this.
I am related through Mary Ann Dearsly who married Frank Budd - they are my great grandparents - and I have most of the same information that you have. My mother has copy of this family story about Hugh Collins and Mary Gramsley. We are beginning to have some doubts about it because - despite much searching! - we and others have not been able to find any actual records whatsoever to prove that Mary Gramsley ever existed. It would be very disappointing as it is such a good story!
I have been in touch with some others who I think must be your closer relatives. I would be very interested to hear from you and know if you have managed to solve this family mystery 
Alison