Alexander family of Mount Pleasant, Belfast

[Gilby]

Ok, I have dug up the will of "Jane Ferguson of 7 Mount Pleasant" written in 1954 and 1955 (two versions with little difference).  I found this over Christmas, but I hadn't realised until I re-examined it that she was living at Mount Pleasant, or that she mentions an Alexander in her will.

These are the people she mentions:

My nephew John Ferguson Stevenson and his wife Cis Stevenson [my g grandparents]

Mrs. Helen Stevenson widow of my late nephew S.B. Stevenson [S.B.S. was the brother of John F.S. above]

My niece Mrs. Ellie Alexander of 10 Derryvolgie Avenue, Belfast [!!!]

My niece Evelyn M. Gault of 10 Derryvolgie Avenue, Belfast

My nephew Robert Murdoch Gault and his wife Adele Gault

My niece Mrs. Lisa Byre (?) Evans of 16c Elvaston Place, London


The list goes on to include several grandnieces and nephews and a couple of great grandnieces/nephews some of whom are still alive (and others I don't know, so may be alive).  The will also mentions Canon Lindsay of Mountpleasant, and maids, nurses etc.

[Gilby]

Time for some family tree stuff to try and explain the names mentioned above.  This is what I have so far:

James Ferguson (1826-1885) m. (in 1860) Elizabeth Wylie (1837-1916)

• Jane Ferguson (b. 1861) ... presumably died young??
• Margaret Ferguson (b. 1862) m. James Gault (b. c1848) and had issue:

•      Ellen Gault (b. c1882)
•      James Ferguson Gault (b. 1883)
•      Elizabeth Gault (b. c 1886)
•      John Gault (b. c 1888)
•      Evelyn M. Gault (b. c1893)
•      Robert Murdoch Gault (b. c1898)

• Mary Ferguson (b. 1864) m. Samuel Brown Stevenson (b. c1851) and had issue:

•      John Ferguson Stevenson (c1890-1962) m. Cis McCausland
•      William King Stevenon (b. c1892)
•      Samuel Brown Stevenson (b. c1899) m. Helen
•      Mary W. Stevenson (b. c1900)
•      At least one other daughter (will of S.B.S. senior refers to "Daughters")

• Jane Ferguson (b. 1866)
• Sophia Ferguson (b. 1869)
• John Ferguson (b. 1871)  m. Anna Cunningham (1872-1956), but had no children.

I'm assuming Jane (b. 1861) died young because having a younger sister also called Jane makes no sense.  The second Jane is the Jane Ferguson of 7 Mount Pleasant in the above will.  I don't know whether or not Sophia (b. 1869) ever married.

So I can explain most of the names mentioned in the will apart from Mrs Ellie Alexander and Mrs Lisa Evans.  Given that Evelyn M. Gault is living with Mrs Ellie Alexander, I'd guess they're probably sisters, which means the latter is presumably "Ellen Gault" born about 1882.

Until I saw the will I did not know Samuel B. Stevenson had married someone called Helen, but I know he was in England during WW1 (based on letters in the family papers), and he may have stayed there, so my guess is that Mrs Lisa Evans is the daughter of Helen and Samuel Brown Stevenson.  I just need to find the birth records now...

[gaffy]

I looking at my 1920 map for that area of Belfast and I can see the word "Mountpleasant" next to the terrace sitting end-on to the Stranmillis Road (as it does today) but also a large adjoining property (on the Belfast side) with two houses set back from the Road in a field / garden, this property seems to be where St. Bartholomew's Church currently is.

St. Bartholomew's Church was designed by a man called William Taggart in the period 1928 - 1930, so  presumably the adjoining property with two houses in the 1920 map made way for the church in that approximate time frame.

Then I looked up Arthur Alexander in Griffiths Valuation (even though the website says it is under maintenance, it worked for me this morning):

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/


I found him in Shankill civil parish, Malone Lower townland occupying a property (house, offices, and land) of just over 4 acres and when you look at the accompanying map, it is clearly marked "Mountpleasant", covers the same footprint as the terrace and two houses (+field/garden) in my 1920 map, but the terrace and one of the two houses isn't there (ie. it is a single house in a 4+ acre plot). There is a clever "slider" in the top right hand corner of the map in that website that allows you to superimpose the old map with a current map.

I reckon that is Mountpleasant house, see what you think.     

[Gilby]

This is so cool!  I didn’t know you could view this for free online.  I’ve found the Mount Pleasant House, and I agree – it’s a perfect fit.  The house looks unaltered judging by google maps, I’d assumed the bits at the back were recent extensions, but that is how it’s shown on Griffith’s.

Is there any way we can tell what date the maps are?  Sometime between 1825 and 1844 wikipedia tells me.  Also, what do all the numbers ("14", "3B") etc correspond to - and is there a way to search them to see who owned a plot of land, rather than the other way around?

I wasn’t quite sure how your 1920 map shows it... does it have the original house, with a terrace, and opposite the terrace where there are now three houses + church there are two houses.  So those two houses were knocked down between 1920 and 1928 to be replaced by three houses and a church as it is now...?

The 4 acres matches what Arthur Alexander talks about in his will (1879).  He also seems to talk about two tenants: Rev. William Johnston and Robert Meharry/Mcharvy – maybe these two lived in the two other houses on your 1920 map.  The terrace may have been built after the extra two houses (between 1879 and 1920)?

That all seems to make sense, unless I’m getting it all arse about face...

Thanks very much again Gaffy 

[David_Blanchard]

Hi

I am researching Lieutenant John Ferguson Stevenson.

I am not sure but you may have posted on the Great War Forum about him.

There are a series of extracts from his letters. He was made POW in May 1918.

David

[scotmum]

From marriage notice in the Dublin Freeman's Journal of 21st April 1862, it would seem that Samuel M Alexander's wife, Mary Wiley [stet], was the youngest daughter of the then late E. D. Wiley of Ballycushan House, County Antrim.

Certainly, there were Wileys in Ballycushan at time of 1901/11 census. One with name E Davis Wiley, perhaps a descendent of the aforementioned E D Wiley.

And mention of a Wiley at Ballycushan in an old post on Rootschat:

 http://www.rootschat.com/links/0xtn/

[Gilby]

Scotmum – thank you very much.  That has led me to a little breakthrough.  I followed the link and found Mary Wylie had exactly the right D.O.B. to be the one who married Samuel Millar Alexander.  Then at the weekend I finally found this notice in the Belfast Newsletter April 28th 1860:

“April 26, in Templepatrick Trinitarian Church, by the Rev.H. M. C. Hamilton, assisted by the Rev. U. J. Gillespie, Donegore, Mr James Ferguson, Four-mile-burn, to Elizabeth, eldest daughter of the late Mr E. D. Wiley, Ballycushion, Templepatrick.”

So there we go – that answers one of the main questions I had in mind when I created this thread.  Now I know how the Alexander family were related and why some relative wrote down the family tree.  By the way, where does one access the Dublin Freeman’s Journal – is it available online?  (I couldn’t find Mary’s marriage in the Belfast Newsletter.)

I’ve started to realise how useful the Belfast burial records are... Grave K 343, City Cemetery, Belfast:
   
Mary       Alexander    NK             11 January 1949    13 January 1949    
Mary       Alexander    71 Years   20 July 1913    22 July 1913    
Samuel M  Alexander    39 Years   6 August 1880    9 August 1880
Jane       Wiley            76 Yrs       13 June 1884    16 June 1884

I reckon Jane Wiley (b. c1808) was the wife of Ezekial Wylie (b. 1805). 

Also, the grave next to this (K 342) is Ann Morrow (died 12 April 1924, aged 83), who was mentioned in the family register as a long-standing servant of the family (she also shows up in the census).

[Gilby]

I’ve been to visit the old Donegore graveyard where I found the grave of James Ferguson and Elizabeth (nee Wylie) and James’ parents.  The first Jane Ferguson, born in 1861 did indeed die young (that year).  Elizabeth Wylie was born in 1830, not 1837 (I don’t know where I got ’37 from).

I now have more information on Samuel Brown Stevenson.  His wife was Helen Isabella Reid.  They had a daughter called Elizabeth Finlay Stevenson (1915-1999), who married Frederick Arthur Bishop who was principal private secretary to two prime ministers; Anthony Eden and Harold Macmillan.   They also had a son, again called Samuel Brown Stevenson (at least 4th in a line), who was born in 1922 in Letterkenny, Co Donegal.  Unfortunately he died during the Second World War on the 14th January 1944.  He was an RAF navigator, and he’s buried in the Netherlands, so I’m guessing they were shot down. 

I no longer think the Lisa Evans mentioned in the will of Jane Ferguson was a daughter of Samuel B and Helen I Stevenson.  For a start, she was just a niece, not a grandniece – which puts her in the same generation as Samuel.  Also, I now know they had a daughter called Elizabeth (or Betty), so I doubt they’d have had a Lisa too.  So, I think Lisa Evans must have been Elizabeth Gault.

I still need to find a few marriage records to confirm that.  I would update (and correct) the family info I posted at the top of page two, but I can’t edit the post, so I’ll have to post it again below...

[Gilby]

James Ferguson (1826-1885) m. (in 1860) Elizabeth Wylie (1830-1916)

•   Jane Ferguson (1861-1861)
•   Margaret Ferguson (b. 1862) m. James Gault (b. c1848) and had issue:

1.        Ellen Gault (b. c1882) ... possibly married --- Alexander?
2.        James Ferguson Gault (b. 1883)
3.        Elizabeth Gault (b. c 1886) ... possibly married --- Evans?
4.        John Gault (b. c 1888)
5.        Evelyn M. Gault (b. c1893)
6.        Robert Murdoch Gault (b. c1898)

•   Mary W Ferguson (b. 1864) m. Samuel Brown Stevenson (b. c1850) and had issue:

1.   Unknown Stevenson (1887-1887) stillborn
2.   Samuel Brown Stevenson (c1888-1926) m. Helen Isabella Reid
3.   John Ferguson Stevenson (c1890-1962) m. E.F. McCausland (b. 1894)
4.   William King Stevenson (c1891-1932) m. Grace --- (b. 1895 in Canada)
5.   Mary W. Stevenson (b. 1899) m. --- Brown

•   Jane Ferguson (b. 1866)
•   Sophia Ferguson (b. 1869-1935)
•   John Ferguson (1871-1922)  m. Anna Cunningham (1872-1956), but had no children.


According to the gravestone in Donegore, Sophie Ferguson died “at her residence, 7 Mount Pleasant Belfast.”  So she was living with (or next door to) her cousins, the Alexanders of Mount Pleasant.