The story of my maternal great grandaunt – Charlotte Milne born in Scotland 1854

 

I don’t know about you, but sending for and receiving vital records by mail is still one of my special joys. 

With so many records available online, we don’t have to send for records as often as we did 10 or 20 years ago, but, it’s still sometimes necessary.

While I was at Rootstech this year, working away at the Family History Library, I decided to order a record from the General Register Office of the United Kingdom.  It’s a record I’d been wanting to order for several years.  The death certificate for my maternal great grandaunt, Charlotte Milne. 

I know that Charlotte was born 10 Jan 1854 in Aboyne, Aberdeen, Scotland to Charles Milne and Margaret Ritchie.

This is her baptismal record that I located on microfilm at the FHL a few years ago. Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950

(Click on any image to enlarge it)

Baptismal records from microfilm #991253 located in 2011 at the FHL. 

A close up of the entry for Charlotte Milne - born 10 Jan 1854, daughter of Charles Milne, Labourer at Mill of Dess and Margaret Ritchie, his spouse. Father's information matches what I see on the death certificate.

Charlotte was the 3^rd child born to Charles & Margaret.  She had two older sisters, Margaret Ewen Milne and Mary Elizabeth Milne.  Two years after Charlotte was born her parents had a baby boy, Andrew Charles Milne, who became my great grandfather.

My Milne line has always been of great interest to me because Milne was my mother’s maiden name.  I knew both of her parents.  Over the years I have tried to learn as much as I can about my Milne’s from Scotland.

I have not been disappointed in my research.  To read the story of Charlotte’s sister’s husband, who had a very sad ending, you can click here FOLLOW UP ~ William Beechey, his wife and 3 children killed in WW I Bombing - 1915

Two records I had located indicated that Charlotte died in Wales in 1935.  She had never, to my knowledge, married.  She often worked as a domestic and sometimes a nurse.  The last I know of her she was living in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan with her nephew Joseph A. Milne and his family, which included my 6 year old mother.  When I asked my mother about Charlotte, she did not remember her.

Charlotte never married, but it seems she hopped back and forth from the United Kingdom to the United States more than once.

I have the following Events in my Legacy program for Charlotte:

• 1861 & 1871 UK census – living with her parents in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

• 3 Nov 1882 -  Immigration to the United states with her mother Margaret

• 1885 and 1895 Detroit city directory listing – boards 236 3^rd with her mother Margaret

• 1911 – Back in the UK living in Wimbledon, Surrey, England working as a servant/housekeeper in the Henry Rayne household.

• 1917- 1922 – Back in the U.S. living in Toledo, Ohio working as a Nurse.  I wasn’t sure this was her until I read her niece’s wedding announcement in the newspaper.  They mentioned family and included Charlotte Milne of Toledo, Ohio.

• 8 Nov 1921 – Listed on the passenger record for the ship Scythia coming to the United States, arriving in New York.  Did she leave Ohio and travel back to the UK and then return?

• 1930 – Enumerated in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan living with her nephew, Joseph Milne and family.

Now, given that Charlotte was 76 by the time of the 1930 census, I would have expected she died either in Michigan or somewhere in the U.S. close to family.  Of course I looked and looked for any records for her after 1930. 

I came up empty until in May 2011 I got a shaky leaf on Ancestry with reference to the England & Wales, National Probate Calendar(Index of Wills & Administrations), 1861-1941

MILNE Charlotte of 40 Wyndham street Cardiff Spinster died 24 December 1935 Probate Llandaff 20 January to Florence Ann Geen (wife of George Henry Frank Geen). Effect £294 18s 4d

 

 

Could this really be “our” Charlotte?  A probate in Wales? 

Further research revealed a Death Index for England & Wales, 1916-2005 listing Charlotte Milne, age 83 died in Cardiff in 1935.  That is consistent with the probate record.

And there my search ended until I could decide whether to order the record referenced in the death index.  Might it reveal enough information to verify that this is the correct Charlotte Milne?

Fast forward 12 years and I finally decided to bite the bullet and order this death record.  Believe me, I had hoped it might show up online and I did check periodically.

After nearly a month, my record came in the mail.  Will it have the information I need to confirm Charlotte’s date and place of death?

And, here it is!  A death certificate for the Charlotte Milne who died in Cardiff, Wales on 24 Dec 1935.

Death certificate for Charlotte Milne

I immediately see the following significant details……….

·       Place of death – Marwolaeth, Cardiff West in the County Borough of Cardiff

·       When and Where died – 24 Dec 1935 at 40 Wyndham St. UD

·       Name and surname – Charlotte Milne

·       Sex – female

·       Age – 83 years

·       Occupation – Spinster, companion help (domestic)

·       Daughter of Charles Milne Farm labourer (deceased)

·       Cause of death – Syncope, cardiac dilation, haemoplegia

·       Signature and residence of informant – F. Geen, present at death 40 Wyndham St., Cardiff 

One of these buildings is the place where Charlotte died.  

40 Wyndham Street, Cardiff (courtesy of Google Earth)

I am now convinced based on this evidence that this is “our” Charlotte Milne.  The death index and probate record refer directly to this same person.

It’s nice to finally know.  I have always wished that death records from the U.K. listed the burial location, but they don’t. 

Since Charlotte never married or had children, it’s up to us, as family members to remember her and honor her life.  I’ve looked through the family photos I have from my Milne side and don’t see any photos that could be her.

That’s the end of Charlotte’s story for now.  I may never learn more, but if I do I would be delighted.

What journey's have you taken in finding a particular ancestor's information?  I'd love to hear about in your comments or on your own blog post.

If you are related to or connected to anyone in this blog post, please get in touch.  Let’s exchange information.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2022   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

 

 

CENSUS SUNDAY~The 1921 Scottish census for the George, Isabell & Euphemia Fitzcharles

 

As promised here is the follow up post regarding the 1921 Scottish census records I talked about in How to Locate New Information on My Scottish Ancestors ~ Using the 1921 census

Let’s begin with 11 yr old Euphemia Anderson FITZCHARLES.

Here is the 1921 Scottish census record for this family

(Please click on any image to enlarge it)

1921 Scottish census for Isabella, Euphemia & George Fitzcharles

In this record we see her mother Isabella, Euphemia and her brother George living in the parish of Arboath & St. Vigeans, in the burgh of Arbroath in the Quoad Sacra Parish of Invenbrothock in the First ward.  They are enumerated on the schedule in the schedule as #69.  The road or street is Lindsay Street and they are at No. 35.  There are 2 rooms in the house with 3 persons.

How interesting that they live on LINDSAY Street.  My paternal grandmother’s surname is Lindsay and this family is part of that line.

Isabella is head of household, age 35 and widowed.  She born in ____ (I cannot make out the location).  Euphemia is 11 yrs. 5 months old and born in Sterling.  Her brother George is 8 yrs. 6 months old and born in Forfar. Isabella’s occupation is abbreviated as H.D.  I wonder if that means Keeping house or household domestic?  There are 2 minor children in this house.

I don’t see anyone else with the same surname or any familiar family names on this census page. 

When we view pages on a website like Ancestry or Family Search, we can scroll to the next or previous page looking for family members who may live close by.  However, since each page view on Scotland’s People website costs me 6 credits, I don’t do that.

This census provides plenty of information to assist me in furthering my research on this family.

·       I have specific birthplaces and not just ages in years, but also months.

·       Isabella is listed as widowed.  If I didn’t already know this, I could then search for her husband’s death record.  However, I do know that her husband and father of her two children, was killed in action in World War I on 27 Mar 1918 in France.  Here is a blog post about him MILITARY MONDAY–Killed in Action–A Tribute to George Briggs Fitzcharles 1886-1918

     ·     In further research for this family it will be helpful to have         the details of their ages and birthplaces.

QUESTIONS:  Isabella is widowed at age 32 with two young children to raise.  How was she supporting herself?  Based on her death record from 1955, she never remarried.  

Of course I had to go looking for more records.  In doing so I may have answered the question about how Isabella was supporting herself and her children.

In Euphemia’s hints on Ancestry there is a link to UK, World War I Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923.  The image can be viewed on Fold3, which I do not currently have a subscription to.

However, I do have a Carlsbad Library card which may give me access to this website.

Sure enough I was able to sign into the library and use my membership number and view the website for Fold3, right here from home.  I found this image of a pension card for Isabella Fitzcharles for her deceased husband’s service in 1^st Royal Scots.  Certainly not as much information as I’d like to have, but this still gives me information about what income Isabella had.  How much was it?  Good question.

Well, I was going to write about the other 1921 Scottish census record I uncovered.  However, this post is already long enough, so I’ll cover that one in a future post.

Do you have Scottish ancestry?  Have you used Scotland’s People to find records?  If so, I’d love to hear your stories. 

If you are related to or connected to anyone in this blog post, please get in touch.  Let’s exchange information.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2022   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

 

HOW TO LOCATE NEW INFORMATION ON SCOTTISH ANCESTORS~USING THE 1921 CENSUS

 

It’s always fun when a new record set is released.  Many of us are still discovering family in the 1950 census.

When Scotland released the 1921 census on November 30th, I was sure I’d find family in it.  To learn more about this latest record release you can read here 1921 Scottish Census Released

I created a list, using Legacy, for ancestors who “might” appear in that particular census.

I did this by going to the Search tab, then to the Census List and choosing the criteria, then Create List

(Please click on any image to enlarge it)

This produced a list of 90 individuals from my Legacy tree.

When I view the list it gives me options to view all the tabs and information I have entered for that particular person.  Because of that, I was able to choose the candidates who would likely be found in the 1921 census, based on their timeline.

By viewing their Detail and Events tabs I could easily see who may have already moved from Scotland prior to 1921 and not bother to look for them in this census.

I selected two ancestors.

They were:

·       Euphemia Anderson FITZCHARLES born 12 Feb 1910 in Grangemouth, Stirling, Scotland, probably living with her parents and

·       Alexander DALE born about 1878 and possibly his wife Clara LINDSAY.

I went to the Scotland’s People website, which I have used very often in the past, and conducted my search.

Because Euphemia would have only been 11 years old, I included her mothers name, Isabella, in my search.  I was immediately able to select the correct record from my list of choices, based on Euphemia’s age.  Fortunately, there were only 2 choices and I knew she was not 64 years old at the time.

Viewing this image costs 6 credits on the website.  I usually have credits saved from my prior searches.  In this case I had 12 credits, which is perfect since I’m trying to view 2 census records.

How much does viewing these records cost in U.S. dollars you might ask? Good question.  I purchased an additional 40 credits today at a cost of £10 UK pounds.  At today’s exchange rate that is $12.17 U.S.

Let’s do some quick math.  $12.17/40 credits = .30 per credit. If viewing one record costs me 6 credits, that equals $1.80.  Pretty reasonable when you think of the cost of ordering birth, death and marriage records from repositories or traveling to find them. 

Next, I went searching for the 1921 census record for Alexander & Clara Dale.  I used Clara’s name, as it would be less common than Alexander.  Again, I was rewarded with only 2 results.  In this case they appeared to be duplicates so I chose the first one.  I was able to ascertain from the record, because of ages and his occupation, that this is the right couple.

This record gives me more evidence to add to the timeline for these ancestors.  I have downloaded the images and will be adding them to Legacy and adding the source etc.

Stay tuned for Sunday's blog post and I’ll be sharing the images with you.

If you are related to or connected to anyone in this blog post, please get in touch.  Let’s exchange information.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2022   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

 

SEPIA SATURDAY ~ Who are the people in these unknown photos? They were in my maternal grandmother’s photo collection

We all have pictures in our collections that we cannot identify.  I have found, over the years, that sometimes the identities are revealed as we gain more knowledge of the family and connect with more cousins.  Those new cousins may have knowledge that we don’t have.

I never throw away old photos for just that reason.

My maternal family on my grandfather’s side (Milne) are from Aberdeen, Scotland.  The fact that one of the photos is from an Aberdeen studio and another from a MILNE Aberdeen studio certainly leads me to believe these may be ancestor photos.  These photos were among those belonging to my grandmother, Florence Bowden who married Joseph A. Milne.  Joseph’s father Andrew Charles Milne was born in Aboyne, Aberdeen, Scotland in 1856 and immigrated to the U.S. through Canada in 1868.
 
Today I’d like to share some pictures that I haven’t been able to identify……yet.  Perhaps someone out there can shed some light on them?

Who is this lady?  The photo is from Milne studios in Aboyne, Aberdeen, Scotland - my Milne family is from Aberdeen and this photo was from the collection of a Milne descendant

Who is this man? - the photo is from an Aberdeen, Scotland studio - no markings on the back

Another photo found among my Milne group but I don't recognize this lady

There is some speculation that this is a photo of Edna Bowden (my grandmother's only sibling) - but I cannot say for sure

This young lady has some of the same facial features as other Milne or Bowden women in my family - but who is she?

I found this photo today while going through my grandmother's pictures - this lady looks very much like my grandmother, Florence Bowden Milne - but it is not her.  Could this be her sister Edna?

If anyone reading this can help identify these people, I’d love to hear from you.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION