Hi all,
I posted recently in the Ayrshire board about a Charlotte McPhail, and after making a lot of progress with her, I promptly got very stuck on her husband. I have their marriage register, I have some census information, and I have some poor law applications. Here's what I know:
Henry and Charlotte married November 1866, and listed his age as 24, giving him a birth year of 1841/42. His parents are listed as David Dickson, an agricultural labourer, and Elizabeth Clark, both dead. His usual residence is 'Wishaw station'.
Their daughter Jeanie was born April 1867. Charlotte had an illegitimate child before this marriage, Archibald, who later took Henry's name of Dickson. They had several more children, ending with George in 1886. Henry's job is described as an engine keeper and engine man throughout this time.
Most of their children are born in Cambusnethan, but their second son, David, was born in Blackburn, West Lothian, in 1869. They were, however, back in Lanarkshire for the birth of their next child James, born in Shotts in 1872. I know there was a strong mining presence in Blackburn, so they could have moved for Henry to find work.
There are then a number of poor law applications, both by him and by his wife. The first I can find was made by wife Charlotte in August 1877. She lives in Knownoble and Henry is "in jail for assault" and is recorded as being born in Old Monkland. I can't find anything about this jailing.
The next is May 1884, made by Henry, rendered fully disabled by "retention of urine". He lives at Muirhouse Pit, and was again born in Old Monkland. His job is engine keeper, and his age is given as 43, making him born 1840/41. His parents here are David Dickson and Betsy Bark (not Clark) - still both dead. It includes a note of a prior residence being "Knownoble Cleland, paid rent to Mr Dick & Donald McQueen O'Haetur [?], wrought to Mr Dick no 1 + 2 pits, refer to the books of Mr Dick". I don't understand what "wrought to" means here.
After that is another application by Charlotte in December 1889. Her address is 78 Berryhill Rows, Wishaw, and she's applying because "her husband Henry Dickson, miner 50 born Old Monkland, went away to look for work eight days ago - has not heard of him since". This would give him a birth year of 1839, but considering their length of time being married is given as 20, which is off, I think she could have just been rounding his age.
I have the family in the 1871, 1881, and 1891 censuses. The 1871 and 1891 census give him an estimated birth year of 1845, whereas 1881 gives it 1843. In 1871 they're living in Dalziel, in 1881 in Cambusnethan, and in 1891 in Cathcart, Renfrewshire. Charlotte dies in 1892, in her hometown of Campbelton, Argylshire. Her death is registered there, but the informant is her son David, who gives his address as Berryhill Rows, Wishaw.
He died in 1900 still living in Wishaw, though the register gives his birth year as ~1836. His younger children are living with siblings by the 1901 census. Here his mother is given as Agnes Clark (Thanks Rosinish for the help there).
I may have found him in the 1861 census - a 19 year old Henry Dickson, working as a collier, born in Lanarkshire circa 1842, a boarder with an Irish family in Stevenson, Ayrshire. I'm still not sure if his wife Charlotte left Campbelton with son Archibald, moved to Wishaw and met Henry there, or if Henry was in Campbelton and met her there, moving back to Wishaw to get married a few months before their daughter came along.
It may seem that I know a lot about him, but I can't actually find much in the way of concrete evidence about his life before he married Charlotte, and what happened to him after his wife died. I can find nothing about his parents beyond their names in his marriage register and poor law application, and they were dead by those events.
His children have sons called "Hendry" popping up, so I wonder if he actually went by Hendry rather than Henry, but I have no documents to back that up beyond grandsons' names.
So what I do know:
Born between 1840 and 1845, in Old Motherwell.
Parents are David Dickson and Elizabeth (Betsy) (possible Agnes) Clark (or possibly Bark), both dead by November 1866
Married to Charlotte McPhail in 1866, in Wishaw
He moved at least once to other parts of Scotland, West Lothian, possibly looking for work.
His wife's illegitimate son took his name, becoming Archibald Dickson, and he had a further eight children with Charlotte
He went to jail for assault in 1877
His wife pre-deceased him in 1892
Died in 1900, living in Wishaw
By this point I can't think of anything else to pursue. I find it strange I can find neither birth nor death for him, nor anything at all about his parents. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, I'd love to hear them!