Thomas Meikle Clyde and Jeannie Meikle

[tomclyde]

Hi,
I am trying to trace any any information on my late father's early life between his supposed date of birth of 7th December 1901 in Durham and the first entry in his seaman's discharge book in 1922.
He always insisted that he was born in Durham on 07/12/1901 but I cannot find any referen
ce to his birth anywhere. The GRO have also been unsuccessful in finding any registration of his birth in England.

Family oral history tells me that his mother was Jeannie Meikle and we know that his 'father' was William Clyde born in Lesmahagow Lanarkshire in 1873. From that information I have traced previous to my Gt gt gt Grandfather John Clyde who was born in Down Ireland around 1810 and travelled to Scotland via Wigton in 1830/31 to Lanarkshire.

Having watched my Grandfather William Clyde through census reports 1891,1901 and 1911 without any trace of his 'son' Thomas I am beginning to wonder whether my father was informally adopted by William Clyde sometime after 1911 census and that his surname Clyde was taken up at that stage. I have traced a Thomas Meikle  who was born in 'England' and who lived with his 'Parents' Thomas and Janet Meikle and is shown in the 1911 census as being their son even although they would have been in their late 40's when he was born in 1901.

I am wondering whether this 'son' was their grandson or some other relative and had been taken in on, say, the death of his mother and, as was quite common then, named as their son on the census.

I would like any information on Jeannie Meikle and Thomas Meikle Clyde between 1901 and 1922 if at all possible. any suggestions would be gratefully received.

[GR2]

In the 1901 census, at Bellfield Row, Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, Hugh Meikle, coal miner, and his wife, Agnes, have other children including a two year old son Thomas. The family has two visitors, Thomas Clyde, a coal miner, born Airdrie, and Mary Clyde, a housekeeper, born Ireland. Both the visitors are single and both aged 56.

[tomclyde]

Thanks for your reply - I had already found this census entry and from it discovered that Agnes Meikle was Agnes Clyde before her marriage to Hugh Meikle, and was the daughter of Thomas and Mary Clyde who were noted as 'visitors'in that census return. I have assumed that the Clydes were visiting their married daughter.
The child listed as Thomas was , curiously, Thomas Clyde Meikle, the son of Agnes and her husband. That child died in Derby in the 1970's and, although having a similar name to my father, (Thomas Meikle Clyde), was not, I believe, related.

I have actually got photograph of Thomas and Mary Clyde my great grandparents which was taken sometime in the period shortly before Thomas died in 1925, probably around 1920. and taken in the Newcraighall area of Edinburgh where they lived at that time. My great grandmother Mary Clyde nee Ross died in 1930.
Many thanks for the contact and information

[mg35]

Hi Tom

Did you ever manage to find out any information about your father?

My great x 3 grandparents are Thomas Clyde and Mary Clyde (maiden name Ross). My family line is through their son Robert Clyde, born in 1865. I would love to see the photo that you have of Thomas and Mary Clyde. Have you been able to research further back in the Clyde family line?

Thanks

[tomclyde]

Haven't been able to trace my father any further back than his age 10. His birth certificate/registration remains hidden somewhere.

Thomas and Mary Clyde(nee Ross) were married in 1865 and eventually had a family of twelve children. Your Robert Ross Clyde, born in 1865, was their second child. His elder brother John was born in 1864 but died in infancy in 1867. His sibling, David, was born in 1867 and died in 1868. The remaining 10 children all survived into adulthood and had their own families.

Thomas Clyde was the son of John Clyde and Mary Clyde, (nee McMurdo).They had five children the oldest of which was William who was baptised in Wigton in 1830. John and Mary Clyde were married in County Down in 1820 according to the information on the 1851 Substitute Census of Ireland. They had apparently returned to Ireland sometime between the baptism of their first child William in Wigtonshire, and 1841 but, presumably, returned to Scotland with their family including my great grandfather Thomas who had been born in 1846 in the miner's rows in Rosehall near Coatbridge, Lanarkshire.

Mary Ross was the eldest daughter of Robert and Agnes Ashwood both born in 1819 in Ireland.
Robert Ross died in 1889 and Agnes died in 1904.

Researching further back in Ireland is notoriously difficult and I have not made a serious attempt yet to take matters further. i will need to do something since both my paternal and maternal lines seem to end up in Ireland. I will probably start to look at this sometime later this year.

The photograph of Thomas and Mary seemed to have been taken sometime in the early 1920's when they were living in Newcraighall outside Edinburgh and includes what I believe to be their daughter Elizabeth and her Husband Lancelot Collins plus a small child who might be the son of Elizabeth and Lancelot. The photo is on Ancestry.co.uk and if you would like to see it you need to let me have your name and email address which will allow me to list you as a Guest on my Ancestry account and let you view the photograph.

Hope you found this information useful.

[mg35]

Thanks so much for your informative post. The details are really useful.

[mg35]

I will try to send you a PM with my email address so that you can add me onto your tree. Thanks for the offer of doing that.