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I am following up my great grandfather's eldest brother George Gordon Hardie. He was born in Ordiquhill, Banff, Scotland in 1833, the son of William Hardie and Jane Wight. He had a colourful life to put it politely.

We know that he worked as a jobbing gardener on several estates in the Scottish Highlands including Auchlun Park, Belhelvie Lodge and Kinnettles House during the 1850s. He married Marie Thorp or Thorpe in 1853 when still only 20 (unusual at that time). They had 4 daughters Anne or Annie Jemima (b 11.1.1854), Eliza Georgina (b 27.4.1855, Maria (b 30.10.1856 and Lizzie (b 1859-60). However the marriage doesn't seem to have been happy and was over long before Marie's death in 1871. The children seemed to have been farmed out. Lizzie was living with her grandparents in the 1861 census while her mother was working as a nurse in Aberdeen..

George Gordon is believed to have cleared off to the USA and probably remained there until 1881. I can't trace him in the Scottish censuses for 1861, 71 or 81. I have no idea which city he was in or what he was doing there. He returned to Scotland, probably in early 1882 apparently penniless, with an illegitimate child in tow and already nearly 50. Nevertheless he married a fairly prospoerous retail tobacconist Christina Munro (aged 31 or 33), from Edinburgh on Dec 12th 1882. He lied about his age (40 on his marriage certificate), repeatedly abused her and tried to kill her at least once. She finally left him in 1883. He then seized all her assets and returned to the USA; probably arriving in Boston sometime in 1883. She formally divorced him in 1888 in a bitter and messy case which also involved two of George Gordon's brothers and two of the daughters of his first wife.

There the trail goes cold. Christina employed a private detective to trace George Gordon in the USA but he failed. So have I. He may have used a false name but does anyone in the USA recognise him from either of his periods in the USA?

There were no children of his marriage to Christina but what about the daughters of his first marriage? Annie Jemima was living in Dulwich, London at the time of the divorce but I don't know how she got there or if she was married. Can anyone help?

Eliza Georgina was living in Edinburgh at the same time and and probably married there in 1893 but nothing else is known. Again does anyone have her in their family tree?

Marie disappears completely after her birth.

Lizzie married George Henderson and moved back to the Highlands settling in Tain, Ross and Cromarty. She was still there in 1905 when the grandmother who had brought her up, Jane Hardie (nee Wight) died in her home. Does anyone recognise Lizzie?

Incidentally I also know very little about Jane Wight either and if anyone can help fill in her background I would be grateful.

I know these are longshots but these boards have worked before so here's hoping.

Thanks

Neil

Annie 1891?

1891 England Census
about Annie Hardie
Name: Annie Hardie
Age: 36
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1855
Relation: Servant
Gender: Female
Where born: Scotland

Civil parish: Camberwell
Ecclesiastical parish: St Stephen
Town: Dulwich
County/Island: London
Country: England

Street Address:

Occupation:

Condition as to marriage:

Education:

Employment status: View image

Registration district: Camberwell
Sub-registration district: Dulwich
ED, institution, or vessel: 1
Neighbors: View others on page
Piece: 461
Folio: 22
Page Number: 41
Household Members: Name Age
James Wilson 52
Mary Wilson 44
Robert Wilson 16
Alexander J Wilson 15
Annie L Wilson 5
>>>>Annie Hardie 36
Mary A Mgay 29
Annis Mineo 28
Eliza Cox 52
James Burnett 18
Emily I Burnett 36
Ida Burnett 11
Eliza Peckham 37
Catherine Philips 22
Rosetta Elliott 31
Margaret Jones 27

Andy

George Gordon Hardy
Scotland, Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950
birth: 17 Mar 1833
christening: 04 Apr 1833 ORDIQUHILL,?BANFF,?SCOTLAND
parents: William Hardy,? Jane Wight


name: George Gordon Hardy
gender: Male
baptism/christening date: 04 Apr 1833
baptism/christening place: ORDIQUHILL,BANFF,SCOTLAND
birth date: 17 Mar 1833
father's name: William Hardy
mother's name: Jane Wight
indexing project (batch) number: C11163-4
system origin: Scotland-ODM
source film number: 990990

William Hardie
Scotland, Marriages, 1561-1910
marriage: 11 Nov 1832 Fyvie,?Aberdeen,?Scotland
spouse: Jane Wight


groom's name: William Hardie
bride's name: Jane Wight
marriage date: 11 Nov 1832
marriage place: Fyvie,Aberdeen,Scotland
indexing project (batch) number: M11197-4
system origin: Scotland-ODM
source film number: 993186

William Hardie
Scotland, Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950
spouse: Jane Wight
child: Francis William Hardie



William Hardie
Scotland, Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950
spouse: Jane Wight
child: Alexander Hardie



William Hardie
Scotland, Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950
spouse: Jane Wight
child: Eliza Isabella Hardie



William Hardie
Scotland, Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950
spouse: Jane Wight
child: Jane Hardie



William Hardie
Scotland, Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950
spouse: Jane Wight
child: Margret Hardie



William Hardie
Scotland, Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950
spouse: Jane Wight
child: Gordon Hardie



William Hardie
Scotland, Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950
spouse: Jane Wight
child: James Hardie

Neil, the best way to find out if anybody on here has any of them in their tree is to put the names in Search, Search all Trees at the top of the screen. Andy seems to have found Annie in 1891 so she may have stayed in England.

??

Surname First name(s) District Vol Page

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marriages Dec 1891 (>99%)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hardie Annie Camberwell 1d 1481


on, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921
about Annie Hardie
Name: Annie Hardie
Spouse Name: Robert Spence Matheson
Record Type: Banns
Event Date: 11 Oct 1891
Parish: South Dulwich St Stephen
Borough: Southwark
Register Type: Parish Register


See 1911 census posted below.




Andy

Gordon G. Hardie
Massachusetts, Marriages, 1841-1915
birth: 1839
marriage: 04 Jun 1870 New Bedford,? Massachusetts
parents: William,? Jane
spouse: Ruth M. Andrews


name: Gordon G. Hardie
event: Marriage
event date: 04 Jun 1870
event place: New Bedford, Massachusetts
gender: Male
age: 31
estimated birth year: 1839
father: William
mother: Jane
spouse: Ruth M. Andrews
spouse's father: Christopher
spouse's mother: Ruthe
record number: 638
digital folder number: 4332358

Annie 1911??

Date of birth slighty wrong, but place of birth OK

1911 England Census
about Annie Matheson
Name: Annie Matheson
Age in 1911: 52
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1859
Relation to Head: Wife
Gender: Female
Birth Place: Banff, Scotland
Civil parish: Lambeth
County/Island: London
Country: England
Street Address: 111 Helix Road, Brixton Hill, Brixton, London SW
Marital Status: Married
Years Married: 19
Estimated Marriage Year: 1892
Registration district: Lambeth
Registration District Number: 25
Sub-registration district: Norwood
ED, institution, or vessel: 11
Piece: 2110
Household Members: Name Age
Robert Spence Matheson 52
Annie Matheson 52

Married 19 years, no children.


Andy

Possible marriage for Annie:

Marriages Dec 1891 (>99%)
Hardie Annie Camberwell 1d 1481
Matheson Robert Spence Camberwell 1d 1481

These are the banns for that marriage but the marriage (which would confirm her father's name) does not seem to be in the parish records. The marriage cert would be needed for that:

Name: Annie Hardie
Spouse Name: Robert Spence Matheson
Record Type: Banns
Event Date: 11 Oct 1891
Parish: South Dulwich St Stephen
Borough: Southwark
Register Type: Parish Register

Robert is shown as a batchelor of St Pauls Parish, Deptford.

Just seen Andy has already found this. The banns for St Pauls Deptford are also on Ancestry and in the margin is written "Certificate Oct 12"

Annie death??

Surname First name(s) Age District Vol Page

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deaths Mar 1924 (>99%)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matheson Annie 70 Kensington 1a 233


and Robert?

alia Death Index, 1787-1985
about Robert Spence Matheson
Name: Robert Spence Matheson
Death Date: 19 Jan 1934
Death Place: South Australia
Registration Year: 1931-1935
Registration Place: South Australia
Page Number: 463
Volume Number: 555




Andy

Robert in 1901 - No Annie but is is shown as a Commercial traveller in 1911:

Name: Robert Spence Matheson
Age: 41
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1860
Relationship: Visitor
Gender: Male
Where born: Forgue, aberdeensh
Registration number: 168/2
Registration district: St Machar
Civil parish: Aberdeen Rubislaw
County: Aberdeenshire
Address: 32 Desswood Pl
Occupation: Grocer Merchant
ED: 43
Household schedule number: 136
Line: 4
Roll: CSSCT1901_59
Household Members: Name Age
Michie F G Cumming 31
Sarah Wood Cumming 27
Robert Spence Matheson 41
Annie Simpson Curran 17

Annie in 1901 - could Elizabeth Henderson be her sister Eliza?

1901 Scotland Census
about Annie Matheson
Name: Annie Matheson
Age: 45
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1856
Relationship: Sister-in-law
Gender: Female
Where born: Boharm, Banffshire
Registration number: 82
Registration district: Tain
Civil parish: Tain
County: Ross and Cromarty
Address: 1 Lamington St
ED: 2
Household schedule number: 27
Line: 23
Roll: CSSCT1901_21
Household Members: Name Age
George Henderson 40
Elizabeth Henderson 42
Violet Henderson 6
Annie Matheson 45
Jane Hardie 92 Grandmother-in-law, Old Meldrum, Aberdeenshire
Janet Henderson 69
Annie Campbell 21

Edit: looking at Elizabeth's DOB, she is probably Lizzie.

Could be Annie 1901

EDIT. Sorry Potty, we seem to be doulbe posting the info!

1901 Scotland Census
about Annie Matheson
Name: Annie Matheson
Age: 45
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1856
Relationship: Sister-in-law
Gender: Female
Where born: Boharm, Banffshire
Registration number: 82
Registration district: Tain
Civil parish: Tain
County: Ross and Cromarty
Address: 1 Lamington St
ED: 2
Household schedule number: 27
Line: 23
Roll: CSSCT1901_21
Household Members: Name Age
George Henderson 40
Elizabeth Henderson 42
Violet Henderson 6
Annie Matheson 45
Jane Hardie 92
Janet Henderson 69
Annie Campbell 21




Andy

Great minds think alike, Andy!

Thank you very much everyone. Some of this information I already knew but George Gordon's second marriage in the USA is a breakthrough. Brilliant!

it's on the free Mormon website - www.familysearch.org

Thanks to AnnCardiff's discovery of George Gordon Hardie's second marriage I have now been able to make sense of a reference in the divorce papers relating to the ending of his third marriage. His third wife Christina Munro complained about a child George Gordon had foisted upon her whom he had brought back from America. Presumably this was a child by his marriage to Ruth M Andrews in Massachussets. Unfortunately the divorce papers give no further details and without an age or sex for the child I have been unable to trace a birth certificate in America. George Gordon was a wanderer and it does not follow that he and his wife stayed in New Bedford even though they married there.

As an alternative I am wondering if there is any way of tracing his return to Scotland with the child. I am familiar with emigrant passenger records from Scotland but does anyone know if there are inbound records and if so where I could find them online?

I have no idea what happened to the child but I would like to find out. Possibly he/she returned to the USA with George Gordon in 1883. But given his previous history of abandoning the four daughters of his first marriage it is more likely that the child was left in Scotland to be fostered, adopted or put into some kind of care. Is there any way of tracing children in this unfortunate position in Scotland in the 1880s?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Possible for George US census 1870

1870 United States Federal Census
about Geo G Hardy
Name: Geo G Hardy
Age in 1870: 32
Birth Year: abt 1838
Birthplace: Scotland
Home in 1870: Taunton Ward 6, Bristol, Massachusetts
Race: White
Gender: Male
Post Office: Taunton
Value of real estate: View image
Household Members: Name Age
Lemuel Talbot 53
Mary N Talbot 49
Polly Williams 77
William Walker 25
Owin Atwood 19
>>>>Geo G Hardy 32 Gardner
Maria Hardy 26
Catharine Lyons 29

Andy

On the original image of his 1870 marriage it looks like he's living Poston?

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11029-17256-69?cc=1469062&wc=6961510

Cheeky blighter, saying it's his first marriage!