Missing Maxwells

[morgano]

Hello.
I'd really appreciate a little help with a couple of missing ancestors, please. I'd like ideas as to why certain ancestors of mine failed to appear, again and again, on census returns and, in at least one case, on a registration of death.


KNOWN FACTS:
Henry Maxwell (place and date of birth unknown) was a watchmaker in Edinburgh in 1825.
Catherine Mackenzie was born in Edinburgh in 1805 (OPR). Much later, she clearly could not recall her year of birth).
Henry and Catherine married in Edinburgh in 1825 (OPR).
Their first child, Henry, was born in 1826, in Edinburgh (OPR).
Another child (the second, as far as I know), Peter, was born in 1829, in Edinburgh (OPR).
After that, I know of no records relating to any member of the family before 1845, when Henry Maxwell (junior), a labourer, was planning to get married in Dundee (OPR; also an OPR, early 1846, for the actual marriage). I am confident that this Henry Maxwell is the one born in Edinburgh in 1826. He was very young to get married, but his wife was even younger.


MYSTERY:
This means that I can see no 1841 census record for any member of the Maxwell family. I have checked English records, too. I know for a fact that Catherine was still alive (see below), as well as the younger Henry.

I generally hypothesize that Henry (senior) died young, without ever sharing his watchmaking skills with his elder son. Peter, I fear, died in infancy. The lives of Catherine and her surviving son, I suppose, then fell off a cliff.

In 1851, there is a census record that mentions a Catherine Maxwell, born in Dundee, recorded as a visitor in Dalkeith, a "hawker of small wares", who is married. I suspect that, despite the inconsistencies, this could actually be my ancestor, supposing her host asks, "Where are you from?" rather than "Where were you born?". Henry Maxwell (junior), by now settled in Dundee, has a largely conventional 1851 record, including his wife, first children and mother-in-law.

In 1861, Henry and Isabella Maxwell are easy to find, again, with their expanding family. Sadly, they lose their oldest son, also Henry, the same year. There is no persuasive record of Catherine Maxwell for 1861, that I can see.

In 1871, Catherine finally re-appears on the radar, living in Dundee. Isabella Maxwell and her children are also in the census, at a different address. There is no reference to Isabella's husband, Henry, except that Isabella is described as "married", implying that Henry is still alive.

The deaths of Isabella (1872) and Catherine (1880) are officially registered, but I have found no record of Henry's death. When Isabella died, only one year after the 1871 census, she was described as a widow. Henry registered the birth of his youngest daughter, Ann, in 1867. That is the last record of Henry Maxwell that I have found.

The Catherine Maxwell who died in Dundee in 1880 was, beyond doubt, my ancestor. The relative who registered Catherine's death was my great-great-aunt. Because of that, I am confident that the Catherine Maxwell in the 1871 census was my ancestor, too. Without the 1880 record, though, I should have no solid reason to believe that Catherine was alive at any time beyond 1829.

As far as the 1841 census is concerned, my suspicion is that people in bad circumstances could drop off the radar of the census-takers and that Catherine and Henry did just that in 1841. The census probably overlooked Catherine in 1861, too, and possibly in 1851. If Henry was alive in 1871, however, where is his census record? Is it possible that he had died, but the news hadn't reached Isabella, perhaps? Even if that is what happened, I can see no record of the death of Henry Maxwell. In which circumstances would a man's death fail to be registered in 1867-72?

All ideas appreciated, with thanks,


Morgano

[nelmit]

I don't know if it's worth gambling £5 to see if this is your Henry's will
Being a Jute Mill Overseer may have sent him to India although I would have expected his wife's name to be listed in the index and the date's putting me off a bit.

8 Maxwell Henry 25/12/1873 of Barnagore, East India Dundee Sheriff Court SC45/31/24 VIEW (£5.00)
(5 pages)

I see somebody has a wee bit about their daughter Susan here.

I take it there was no other marriage shown for Catherine on her death entry. Out of interest what was her father's name?

Regards,
Annette

[JustJean]

I'll jump in with DC details....

Catherine Maxwell age 70 died 17 June 1880 at the Dundee Poorhouse on Blackness Rd. Her parents are given as Alexander McKenzie (tailor dec'd) and Margaret McKenzie ms Kelly (dec'd). She was widow of Henry Maxwell, watchmaker. No other marriages indicated.

I have to agree that yes it's very possible for folks of lesser means to fall between the census cracks. I have a family in Glasgow that managed to dodge the census taker most of their lives. From poor relief filings I was able to paint a somewhat sketchy image of their life on the move.

Best wishes
Jean

[nelmit]

Thanks Jean. It's a shame the indexes for Dundee poor relief only go as far as 1878 but it might be worth contacting them in case a record exists.

Regards,
Annette

[grannysrock]

Hi Morgano
Not having much luck but::

A bit of googling found " Old Scottish Clockmakers from 1453 to 1850" by John Smith which mentions:
MAXWELL, HENRY. Edinburgh, 1822. Apprenticed to Robert Bryson, 6th May 1822
Maybe you have seen this already?
Robert Bryson was quite famous in his trade I think ( perhaps I just think that because I keep running into him whilst looking for my less famous but more mysterious Robert Bryson ! ) If this was your Henry ,and he died young, he may not have finished his apprenticeship , which might explain why the trade did not get passed down.
I wonder if there are records of apprentices for this time period ? Up till 1800 are on www.scotsfind.org I believe , and sometimes they give you a parent's name .
Ancestry has Edinburgh directories till about 1830, but I didn't spot your Henry there - just a pawnbroker, a merchant and and a Wine Company Director.

In 1851 , according to Ancestry there is a Catherine Maxwell aged 43 , born Edinburgh, living at 268 Canongate on her own. Occupation coster monger .

Will have another look.

Sally

[paddyscar]

The two occupations are not far apart, even seem to overlap in meaning

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Vall ... /occs.html

COSTERMONGER

A person who sold fruit and vegetables in the street or market.

HAWKER

[1] Street seller who cried his wares in town,
[2] Often applied to country peddlers as a term of abuse,
[3] Itinerant dealer who carried his wares on his back.

http://rmhh.co.uk/occup/c2.html

Costermonger / Coster Wife 1) Peddler of fruits and vegetables 2) Ditto, female

Hawker / Huckster Peddler or street seller. Itinerant street dealer who carried his wares with him. Often used as a term of abuse.

[morgano]

This is amazing. Many thanks, indeed!

These matters have baffled me for months, but your researches have shed a lot of light.

nelmit, I am definitely going to gamble a fiver, to see if that is my great-great-grandfather's will. I knew that Dundee exported jute overseers and I had wondered if Henry had gone abroad, but I had never managed to find a Henry Maxwell among them. That Susan Maxwell, later Susan Walker, that you linked to, was Henry and Isabella's oldest child. She registered Catherine Maxwell's death in 1880.

JustJean, that is definitely my Catherine Maxwell. Her father was called Allan McKenzie. He was a printer in Edinburgh. In the OPR for Catherine's birth, her mother was Margaret "Kelly", but, when Allan McKenzie and Margaret married, in 1801, Catherine's mother was "Margaret Kello", from Ross Shire. I think "Kello" was right, but it was such a rare name that "Kelly" tended to replace it, even within the family. In 1880, Susan Walker, Catherine Maxwell's granddaughter, slightly misremembered the details, so that "Kello" became "Kelly" and "Allan" became "Alexander" and a printer became a tailor. Susan was probably named after Isabella Maxwell's mother, Susan Ferguson (later McKay). Susan Ferguson's father, Peter, was a tailor.

nelmit, I agree about the records for the West and East poor houses, but I suspect that what is available through FDCA is all that there now is. By a somewhat sad coincidence, two ancestors of mine, Catherine Maxwell and Susan (Ferguson) McKay, ended their days in the two Dundee poor houses, one in the West and the other in the East, in 1880 and 1887. Catherine outlived her only adult son, Henry. Susan outlived her only child, Isabella.

grannysrock, I had definitely NOT seen that reference to Henry Maxwell. It is fascinating. I had found that Catherine Maxwell in the 1851 census on SP, although I am not sure I had deciphered that she was a coster monger (seems obvious, now, thanks!). I THINK I can connect that Catherine Maxwell to one who is in the 1841 census and who isn't connected to me.

paddyscar, I don't know how a hawker would have operated. This one didn't live in, or near, Dalkeith, obviously. That probably suggests that her wares were not perishable. Even so, it's hard to imagine that she had started out from Dundee.

Many thanks, again. You have been immensely helpful.

Morgano

[morgano]

nelmit, the will you found is very interesting, as well as very sad.

It is certainly my great-great-grandfather's, as references to his daughter, Susan (Maxwell) Walker, confirm. Henry Maxwell died on the 19th of August, 1872, in India. With telegraphy, I suppose, Isabella will have heard the bad news quite quickly. She must already have been seriously ill, as it was a form of TB that killed her on the 5th of December, 1872.
Many thanks for your detective-work,

Morgano

[nelmit]

Glad the gamble paid of morgano.

Being the obsessive I am I wonder what became of the 2 yougest children Ann and John.

I can see Robert did well for himself from census records and he had Henrietta with him in 1881. I assume Isabella married and we know what happened with Susan. But do you know who raised Ann and John?

Regards,
Annette

[morgano]

I think Ann is the "Annie Maxwell", aged 14, at 273, Hawkhill, in the 1881 census. Where she was brought up, though, between 1872 and 1881, I haven't worked out. I haven't found John yet, either, but I shall keep looking.
Regards,


Morgano