Maraget McCallum - MMFMF

[Shona]

Name:
Margaret McCallum

Date and place of birth:
Born 26 March 1837 in Dundonald, Ayrshire

Note: Marriage cert to Robert Steven says she was born in Kilmarnock. However, Dundonald isn't far from Kilmarnock. On marriage cert, her father is a seaman

Name of parents:
John McCallum and Margaret nee Brown

Marriage:
Married Robert Steven at the age of 24 on 22 January 1864 at Sandbed, Kilmarnock - recorded as a widow

Is this an error? There is no reference to a former husband on her death certificate. Haven't been alble to confirm any marriage before her marriage to Robert. There is a tree on Ancestry which says she was married to David Frame

Occupation:
On marriage record - bleacher

Lived in:
1841 Possibly at Drakemyre, Dalry with parents and a younger sister, Christina. If this is her, then her father was a mason. Lots of families listed in the same entry. Not sure what Drakemyre was
1851 ?
1861 ?
1871 23 Sandbed Street, Kilkmarnock

Date, place and cause of death:
Died at the age of 37 on 18 May 1877 at 23 Sandbed Street, Kilmarnock. Wife of Robert Steven, engine agent. Parents: John McCallum (dead) -- can't make out occupation - and Margaret McCallum MS Brown (dead). Cause: Consumption. Informant: Robert Steven

[kiterunner]

Have you viewed the OPR marriage entry for John McCallum and Margaret Brown to see whether it states John's occupation on there, Shona?

[kiterunner]

FamilySearch has a baptism for Christina Maitland McCallum 7 Oct 1838 at New Kilpatrick, Dunbarton, Scotland, dob 30 Aug 1838, parents John McCallum and Margaret Reid. Also Lilias McCallum born 2 Mar 1841 baptised 11 Apr 1841 at Dalry, Ayr, parents John McCallum and Margaret Reid, Margaret born 27 Dec 1835 baptised 14 Feb 1836 and John born 12 Apr 1833 baptised 9 Jun 1833 at New Kilpatrick or Old Kilpatrick, parents of both of these children are also John McCallum and Margaret Reid.

The family who are at Drakemyre on the 1841 census match the above baptisms with all except the youngest born out of county. So this isn't your Margaret's family.

[Shona]

The OPR gives their names and says they are in the parish, but that's all - no occupation and no info on parents.

They did manage to marry on 1 May - a month after Margaret was born and three weeks before she was baptised. Three for the price of two at the church?

[Shona]

The family who are at Drakemyre on the 1841 census match the above baptisms with all except the youngest born out of county. So this isn't your Margaret's family.

*sighs* This lot have evaded me for a while. It irks that I can find her in one census.

[kiterunner]

Looking at the possible first marriages for Margaret McCallum in Ayrshire, they all go on having children after 1864 except for the Margaret who married Henry O'Neil in Kilmarnock in 1856 - they only seem to have had one child, Margaret O'Neale born 1856 Kilmarnock.

[kiterunner]

Oooooh, now looking at ancestry's transcription of the 1871 census entry for Robert Steven and his family, they have a daughter Margaret N Steven age 14! She looks very likely to be Margaret O'Neale, don't you think?

[kiterunner]

Yes - again, looking at ancestry, they have a household on the 1861 census at 37 Low Glen St, Kilmarnock:
Margaret Brown 46 head silk sewer Irvine, Ayrshire
Margaret O Neil 23 daughter printfield worker Irvine, Ayrshire
Margaret Neil 4 daughter Kilmarnock, Ayrshire
Peter Donnelly 42 boarder pit head man Ireland
John Donnelly 11 son tearer Kilmarnock, Ayrshire

Obviously Margaret Neil is the daughter of Margaret O Neil, not of Margaret Brown, and I guess that John Donnelly is the son of Peter but not of Margaret Brown, but would really need to view the image to check what order they are listed in to be sure of this.

[kiterunner]

Okay, looks like I was wrong about John Donnelly!!

This is from ancestry's transcription of an 1851 census entry in Kilmarnock:
Margret Burin Head 34 sewer Frimel Parish, Ayrshire
Margret McAllum daughter 14 sewer Dandowal, Ayrshire
John Donnolly son 2 Kilmarnock, Ayrshire

[Shona]

It's looking good. I had wondered if Margaret, the 14-year-old bonnet maker (1871 census), was from his first marriage to Sarah Murdoch. Sarah and Robert had a son named Alexander (born c1854) and another named Gilmour (born c1858).

Played around with the dates on SP and there is one match for the death of Henry O'Neill in Kilmarnock - 1856. So it's looking better.

Mind you, Henry O'Neill is looking likely to be Irish, so I'm breathing a sigh of relief that he isn't my direct ancester.

[kiterunner]

This looks like them in 1841, from FreeCEN:
Eglinton Street East Side, Irvine, Ayrshire
McCallum Margt (Mrs) 25 Muslin F Ayrshire
McCallum Margaret 4 Ayrshire

[Shona]

I can't thank you enough - brilliant detective work. Will sort all this out tomorrow.