James Reid, born around 1804, Old Deer

[Mojo47]

I am searching for my ancestor James Reid, born about 1804, Old Deer.He appears in the 1841 census as a tailor and then in the 1851 census as a bookseller and stationer.His wife Helen Abel appears in 1841 but must have died about 1850. I cannot find a birth or death for her either.
One possible I do have as parents for James are Alexander and Ann Henry, but I can't be sure as there seems to be other James' born around this time in Old Deer.
I'd really really like to get back further with this family line but have hit a brick wall. Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.

[ev]

Hi ,

Are James and Helen in Peterhead in 1841 ?
SP has a death(OPR) for a Hellen Abel , age 42 , 14 March 1850 , Peterhead Aberdeen.


ev

[themonkeymonkey]

James Reid had died before 1867 when his daughter Helen died but seems to be alive in 1858 when his son John Gill Reid died.

[Forfarian]

In the 1851 census James is head of the household, and he has his sister-in-law Eliza Able with him and presumably keeping house for him.

In 1861 Eliza Abel is head of the household with four of James' children, so it looks as if he too had died by 1861.

But the Aberdeen Free Press of 20 April 1855 still lists among it agents James Reid, Bookseller, Peterhead. On the other hand there are no more mentions of him in that context.

One snippet that should help. "At Peterhead, on the 10th instant, Helen Abel, wife of Mr James Reid, bookseller, aged forty-two years. A young and affectionate family, along with a wide circle of friends, deeply mourn their bereavement". The Aberdeen Press and Journal, 20 March 1850.

[Forfarian]

Aha!

"At Peterhead, on the 25th ult, Mr James Reid, Inspector of Poor, aged fifty-four". Aberdeen Herald and General Advertiser, 7 August 1858.

Death certificate on SP - Peterhead Burgh, 1858, No 89.

The Peterhead Sentinel and General Advertiser for Buchan District published a long, wordy and spectacularly uninformative article on the late James Reid on 21 January 1859.

It says that he was born in Peterhead about the beginning of the 19th century, and that he was educated at the parish school, and then served an apprenticeship under Mr Abel, tailor. After that he went to the south "to perfect himself in his trade, visiting, while there, the principal towns, and seeing all the wonders which were at that time almost a sealed book to the people of Peterhead". He returned and set up in business as a tailor, and "with him the greater part of our master tailors in the neighbourhood served their apprenticeships". He then became a bookseller and stationer, and then Inspector of Poor. The article then waxes lyrical on James Reid's endeavours to promote education in Peterhead, his good works in general, and finishes with a long rambling account of a sermon by Edward Irving which James Reid had attended. It contains no information whatsoever about his family, not even that he had married Helen Abel, and it does not mention his date of death.

[ruthhelen]

"At Peterhead, on the 25th ult, Mr James Reid, Inspector of Poor, aged fifty-four". Aberdeen Herald and General Advertiser, 7 August 1858.

Death certificate on SP - Peterhead Burgh, 1858, No 89.

Unhelpfully, the death registration contains practically no information about James Reid, other than date: 25 July 1858 - no parents, no age. It looks like he may have died suddenly, and not at home. Place of death just says 'in Peterhead'. In the Informant column, we just have: "Registered with information from Andrew ??, Procurator Fiscal".

Cause of death was determined by post-mortem as "Rupture of a blood vessel in the brain... (plus some other detail that's difficult to read)... ?? and ??, surgeons in Peterhead, who made a post mortem examination of the body."

Ruth

[Fogmoose]

Aha!

"At Peterhead, on the 25th ult, Mr James Reid, Inspector of Poor, aged fifty-four". Aberdeen Herald and General Advertiser, 7 August 1858.

Death certificate on SP - Peterhead Burgh, 1858, No 89.

The Peterhead Sentinel and General Advertiser for Buchan District published a long, wordy and spectacularly uninformative article on the late James Reid on 21 January 1859.

It says that he was born in Peterhead about the beginning of the 19th century, and that he was educated at the parish school, and then served an apprenticeship under Mr Abel, tailor. After that he went to the south "to perfect himself in his trade, visiting, while there, the principal towns, and seeing all the wonders which were at that time almost a sealed book to the people of Peterhead". He returned and set up in business as a tailor, and "with him the greater part of our master tailors in the neighbourhood served their apprenticeships". He then became a bookseller and stationer, and then Inspector of Poor. The article then waxes lyrical on James Reid's endeavours to promote education in Peterhead, his good works in general, and finishes with a long rambling account of a sermon by Edward Irving which James Reid had attended. It contains no information whatsoever about his family, not even that he had married Helen Abel, and it does not mention his date of death.

Wow. Talk about getting your hopes up for nothing! All that info and none of it useful...not even a year of birth! And not even surviving children listed. Unbelievable!

[Forfarian]

Indeed.

In the 1851 census James says he was born in New Deer, but the obituary article, such as it is, says he was born in Peterhead. Given how vague the rest of the obituary article is, I reckon that he is more likely to be right about his birthplace than the writer of the article.

There is a James Reid, baptised in Old Deer on 11 March 1804, parents Alexander Reid and Ann Henry. Also a James Reid, baptised in Peterhead on 30 May 1805, father Alexander, no mother's name.

It's very tempting to think that this is his baptism record, because it fits exactly, but it is not an assumption I would make, not least because there is no record of James and Helen having named a son Alexander.

James Reid and Helen Abel were married in 1828 and the first recorded child was Ann, born in 1833. But there could have been one or two before that, and in the absence of any information about that gap I am not going to jump to any conclusions.

I note with interest an almost complete absence of Abel baptism records in Peterhead. Just one baptism, a nameless child of unspecified sex in 1814, father William Abel, but there are half a dozen marriages of Abel daughters between 1828 and 1845.

One of those was Mary, who married John Gill in 1836. I deduce (a) that James and Helen's son John Gill Reid was named after Helen's brother-in-law and (b) that Mary Gill, the 42-year-old grocer's wife listed as a visitor in the household was Helen's sister.

Mary Gill or Abel died in Aberdeen on 26 March 1855 aged 46. She was the wife of John Gill, spirit dealer and daughter of William Abel, master tailor, no mother listed, had been 12 years in Aberdeen. No children listed. She was buried at Belhelvie.

Amelia Abel or Milne died in Peterhead in 1872, aged 59. She was the wife of James Milne, seaman, and her parents were William Abel, tailor, and Jane Gillan. There are baptism records of three children: John 1847, Alexander 1847; Jane Leyden 1853; and in the census are James, born 1838 or 1839 and Harvey, born 1840.

So I think it is likely that Helen, Elizabeth, Mary and Amelia were all sisters. The other Abels were
Isabella, married George Ogilvie 1845
Jean, married George Mitchell 1833
Martha, married William Lockie 1830 but I have found neither deaths nor baptisms nor census records for any of them. Nor have I found a death for Elizabeth.

[Archivos]

It may be worth taking a look at the Peterhead Parochial Board minutes which are held at Aberdeen City & Aberdeenshire Archives.  They begin in 1857, and I'd imagine they would mention their Inspector's death.  Contact details for the archives can be found at www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/archives