Searching for fishing boat owner

[hdw]

I don't know what any of these people looked like so can't argue. In my boyhood days growing up in Cellardyke I only knew, by sight, one individual called Keay, who was an elder of Cellardyke kirk.

Harry

[hdw]

The 1901 census shows two households at 8 Shore Street:

David Keay 42 Fisherman b. Cellardyke
Jane S Keay 40 wife b. Cellardyke

The other household:

Jessie Lawson 43 fishworker b. Cellardyke
John Lawson 16 son cooper b. Pittenweem, fifeshire

Monica

I did a quick check on Scotlandspeople, wondering if maybe Jessie Lawson was a concealed Keay. No, she was originally Jessie Gardiner of Cellardyke, who in 1879 married Thomas Lawson in Pittenweem. Neither of them had a Keay in their immediate ancestry. But families living in the same house in Cellardyke weren't always related, so maybe Jessie and her son John were just living with the Keays at 8 Shore Street in 1901 because they got the chance of an apartment there.

Harry

[broofer]

Yes I was wrong, but maybe not that far away. But thank you again Harry and MonicaL for setting me off again.

Anyway re David Keay - David Keay fisherman 43 of Fowler Street Cellardyke, son of Alex Keay and Ann Birrell  m  at  528 Springburn Road,  Denniston, Glasgow,  Jean Smith 41 of 53 John Street, Cellardyke, dau of William Smith fisherman and Jean Wallace. [ GLASGOW ! ]

And yes by the Valuation rolls, David takes over at no 8 for many years after his father dies [ and when he dies it is John Robertson ( Annie's Husband ) who takes over - which I expect will lead to Annie until she died inn 1954, and my mother, Annie's niece, sold, as she couldn't cope with the damp ]. David was not the eldest son, but was still at home when his father Alex died.

David and Jean appear as KEDY for Keay in 1911 census. I  have told scotlandspeople, and suggested they reimburse me for pointing this out ( I am an Aberdonian ).

They don't appear to have any children. [ or are keeping it quiet ]

There are more Keays born around this time -
1902 Robert Andrew Keay b [ possibly illigit ] to xxxx and Agnes Keay
1902 Mary Ann Tarvit Keay b to John and Mary Ann Keay [ Wilson ]
1903 George Barclay Keay  b to Walter and Janet Keay  [ Barclay ]
1904 Helen Heugh Keay     b to John and Mary Ann Keay

I reject the illigit one.
It may be that which are the parents can be solved if any sharp-eyed baby lover can spot if we are looking at a male or female baby, please.

And as Harry politely suggests - it doesn't matter.

[ John Boyter Keay was b 31/12/1879, son of Andrew Keay and Isabella Boyter ( they m 1854 ) John m 1900 Mary Ann Wilson ]
[ Walter Keay  was b 1871, son of Andrew Keay and Isabella.
Walter m 1899 Janet Barclay ]

But it really doesn't matter who the baby is. The group could still be as I suggested, largely Keays.
John and Annie Robertson on the left, David and Jean in the doorway, Young Alex at back right, the baby's mother holding the baby, and the father on the right.

The one who might have come down from Aberdeen but didn't was Janie ( with her brother Alex and sister Annie ), but she had a baby in 1903, and married in 1905, so was ' busy '.
Having known Annie, I expect she was behind the family event. As my own granny died youngish, and Annie had no children, then Annie was like a 'granny' to us. And she had  great affection for Cellardyke.

[hdw]

Here's a nice photo of the former Watson houses at 6 and 7 Shore Street with your ancestral Keay house at no.8 on the right of the pic., and Dove Street behind.

https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/200380739-6-shore-street-cellardyke-kilrenny#.XjQaNOvgr1w

These houses as they stand at present are late 18th c. and listed, but would have replaced older houses. And where nos. 9-10 stand now used to be a Bishop's palace. Knocked down in the late 19th c. to build the present house. Apparently they found frescoes behind the plaster on the walls.

Harry

[MonicaL]

David and Jean appear as KEDY for Keay in 1911 census. I  have told scotlandspeople, and suggested they reimburse me for pointing this out ( I am an Aberdonian ).

They don't appear to have any children. [ or are keeping it quiet ]

Their 1911 census entry should let you confirm whether they had children (number and alive/deceased is normally included in the original entry).

Monica

[broofer]

Thanks, MonicaL, yes I had checked that - its the page ( 1911 ) on which s'people have them  as 'Kedy'. They are on their own in no 8. If you want any detail in Shore St then, I've got the whole page.

[MonicaL]

Thanks for the offer, broofer  Sadly, no family in the area.

Monica

[deebel]

http://www.angelfire.com/de/BobSanders/81Intro.html

1881 census Ships in Port database. Maybe worth a browse

deebel

[broofer]

Joseph and Margaret Robertson in Aberdeen had a daughter Jessie Robertson, born 1880 who married on 2nd April 1904 a Peter Thomson who was born 1872 in Kilrenny, and whose mother's name was Keay.

I remembered that I had seen that name before, and sure enough he appears in the 1881 census in Cellardyke at 8 Shore Street -

Alexander Keay 57 fisherman, his wife Ann [ Birrel ] 58 [ my gt-gt-grandparents ]
Alexander 31 fisherman, his wife Mary [ Watson ] 33 [ my gt-grandparents ]
Annie 6 [ future wife of John Robertson a  brother of Jessie ], Alexander 1, Mary Jane 2mo [ my granny ]
David 23 [ brother of Alexander 31 ]
and
Peter Thompson 8 [ described as 'grandson' of Alex 57 ]

I had kind-of-ignored this laddie in the past, but seeing him again set me off

Peter's mother was Helen Keay, a sister of Annie. Peter was born in 1872 in Kilrenny
Helen Keay 1852-1930 was a daughter of the older Alex Keay and Ann Birrell
In 1861 and 1871 she was still at home in Cellardyke
In 1881 she is East Green, Anstruther, the 28-y-o wife of David Thompson 30, with children Ann 6, Alexander 5, David 2 and Robert 4mo

( and as above, in 1881 their eldest son Peter Thomson 8 was in Cellardyke )

David Thomson and Helen Keay had married in 1872 in Cellardyke

Around 1900, the Keays moved to Aberdeen

Going back to the 1904 Thomson/Robertson marriage - look closely and you will see that my granny Mary Jane ( Janie ) was one of the witnesses, and the other was David Thomson

I like these 'circles', but this one is very small, yet involves people living 100+ miles apart.
I've tried to make it clear to myself with this wee diagram ( Tinny is the nickname of John Robertson )

--------------------------
Now I'll throw in some more confusing info. I mentioned on 41 Jan 2012 that
" re David Keay - David Keay fisherman 43 of Fowler Street Cellardyke, son of Alex Keay and Ann Birrell  m  at  528 Springburn Road,  Denniston, Glasgow,  Jean Smith 41 of 53 John Street, Cellardyke, dau of William Smith fisherman and Jean Wallace "

Well the 19091 census has
David Thomson
Age   50
Estimated Birth Year   1851
Spouse's Name   Helen Thomson
Where born   England
Address   528 Springburn Rd
Occupation   Fish Curer

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btw -  I don't know about apartments in 8 Shore Street - its only 2 up and 2 down and an attic, where we slept with the lighthouse shining through that 18" square at floor level ( now has two big windows, replacing the one which was over the head of the stair )