Find Ancestors

Hi everyone
I'm afraid the trail on William Robertson has well and truly run cold. I checked the Death records and he died in Dec 1860 of consumption, aged 62. But the names of his parents are a huge disappointment - his father 's christian name is not recorded and his mother Elizabeth's maiden name is indecipherable! Copper plate may be nice to look at but not nearly as practical as block capitals. In any case, without the father's name and mother's maiden name, I reckon I've hit a brick wall on this one.
Elaine

Hi Flick
I do apologise for forgetting my manners. Many thanks indeed for the information you provided. In my original post, I did say what I knew and what I wanted, so I'm sorry if there has been a misunderstanding and you feel you wasted your time. I very much appreciate fellow members taking the time to help out with searches. It has certainly helped to fill a number of gaps in my tree especially in the years before the statutory register and the census.
Thanks again for your interest in my search.
Elaine

If you'd said you had census info, I wouldn't have bothered looking..............perhaps if you ask in future you'd be good enough to say what you know, and what you're actually trying to find out - to save unnecessary lookups

Also, it would have been polite to acknowledge -at least - the 1851 census I posted which gave you William's birthplace.............

Thread bookmarked.........

Hello again Rhona / John - we discussed Margaret Robertson a while back and you gave me some really useful info then. What I'm trying to do now is go back beyond William and Helen Robertson to establish whether their families had deep roots in the Falkirk area or whether they only arrived with industrialisation / the iron works. As Rhona also has a connection to the Robertson family, I'm sure she will share my dismay that poor Helen ended up on the parish, late in her life. Would be interesting if we could find out what Helen and William's fathers did for a living and whether they too were born in the Falkirk area. Cheers. Elaine

Flick - my info to date is largely from census returns and involves some calculations and working back the way! What I'm interested in is whether the Robertsons had lived in Falkirk for generations or whether they only moved there in the 1800s for the iron foundry works. But Potty's info suggests that William and Helen were born there around 1800, so maybe their families had always lived in that area, perhaps as farm labourers before industrialisation and the forth and clyde canal boosted the iron works in the Falkirk area.

Potty - thanks so much for all your digging around. How sad to see people falling on hard times especially poor Helen at the age of 73. Her daughter Margaret was my g-g-g grandmother and I'm glad she found a husband and didn't suffer the same fate as her brother John. That said, I think Margaret died at a relatively young age, maybe in her 40s, so life wasn't kind to her either. I cannot find either a birth or a death for her husband William Kerr, so I don't know if he was around to care for their children. What a hard life for them. Cheers. Elaine

Elaine, check out the post from Flick giving the census return for 1841.
Margaret is 11 years old and living at Bainsford West Side, Falkirk, with her father William, age 43, Moulder and mother Helen 40.
Her siblings John 13, Isabella 8,
An Agnes Spence, 62, is also in the household for the census.
Margaret's sister Isabella is Rhona's ancestor.

Oh dear, I wonder what happened between 1861 and 1871 when they are both on Parish Relief:

1871 Scotland Census
about John Robertson
Name: John Robertson
Age: 42
Estimated birth year: abt 1829
Relationship: Son
Mother's name: Helen Robertson
Gender: Male
Where born: FalkirkFalkirk, Stirlingshire
Registration Number: 479/1
Registration district: Falkirk Burgh
Civil Parish: Falkirk Burgh
County: Stirlingshire
Address: 96 Barnsford W Side
Occupation: Parochial Pelief
ED: 10
Household schedule number: 12
Line: 10
Roll: CSSCT1871_83
Household Members: Name Age
Helen Robertson 73
John Robertson 42

Have looked at Wills on Scotlands people but can't find one that fits.

If he died after 1855 his death cert should give his parents names. There are two deaths on scotlandspeople between 1855 and 1861 who could be him, if he died in Falkirk. There are several others in other areas.

Looks like William is dead by 1861 - he must have left a considerable sum as both Helen and John give their occupations as Fund Holder:

1861 Scotland Census
about Helen Robertson
Name: Helen Robertson
Age: 61
Estimated birth year: abt 1800
Relationship: Head
Gender: Female
Where born: Falkirk, Stirlingshire
Registration Number: 479/1
Registration district: Falkirk Burgh
Civil Parish: Falkirk Burgh
County: Stirlingshire
Address: 43
Occupation: Fund Holder
ED: 10
Household schedule number: 105
Line: 8
Roll: CSSCT1861_64
Household Members: Name Age
Helen Robertson 61
John Robertson 34

A possible for Helen's baptism:

HELEN MORISON :
Christening: 27 OCT 1799 Falkirk, Stirling, Scotland
Parents:
Father: JOHN MORISON Family
Mother: MARGARET HENDERSON

1841

Name: Helen Robertson
Age: 40
Estimated birth year: abt 1801
Gender: Female
Where born: Stirlingshire, Scotland

Civil Parish: Falkirk
County: Stirlingshire
Address: Bainsford West Side
Parish Number: 479
Household Members: Name Age
William Robertson 43
Helen Robertson 40
John Robertson 13
Margaret Robertson 11
Isabella Robertson 8
Agnes Spence 62

?? 1851

Name: Helen Robertson
Age: 51
Estimated birth year: abt 1800
Relationship: Wife
Spouse's name: William Robertson
Gender: Female
Where born: Falkirk, Stirlingsh
Parish Number: 479
Civil Parish: Falkirk
County: Stirlingshire
Address: Bainsford
ED: 1
Page: 49 (click to see others on page)
Household schedule number: 215
Line: 17
Roll: CSSCT1851_100
Household Members: Name Age
William Robertson 51 b. Bainsford Occ: Iron Founder
Helen Robertson 51
John Robertson 23

From the IGI - as above

HELEN MORRISON
:
Spouse: WILLIAM ROBERTSON
Marriage: 15 OCT 1824 Falkirk, Stirling, Scotland


Batch No.: M119706

Have you tried the IGI?

www.familysearch.org

No sign on 1851/1861 censuses of a couple matching your info.............

What are you hoping for in relation to Margaret?

What is the source of the info you have posted?

Margaret Robertson c1830- ? from the Falkirk area. She married Andrew Kerr in 1850 and her parents were William Robertson and Helen Morrison. Would like to know more about Margaret and her parents - with it being a common name, this is proving very difficult.
Thanks.
Elaine