Arthur Bothwell (1859 - 1898)

Born Mar 1859 in Dromara, County Down, Ireland

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Ann (Irvine) Bothwell — married 25 Sep 1885 in Ballynahinch, Magheradrool, County Down, Ireland

Descendants

Died 14 Nov 1898 at age 39 in Belfast, Ireland

Problems/Questions Profile manager: E. Bain [send private message]

Biography

Arthur Bothwell was born in Ireland.

Arthur was a carpenter

Birth
Arthur Bothwell was born in 1859 in Dromara, County Down, Ireland. ^[1] He was the son of Arthur Bothwell, a carpenter, and Agnes Peel. His father was a carpenter in the village of Dromara.

Dromara is a village, a townland and a civil parish in County Down.

Arthur's mother appears to have passed away before 1865. Arthur's father was a widower at the time of his death, so Arthur's mother must have died before him. However, no matching death record has yet been found. This suggests that Arthur's mother died before 1865 when civil registration became mandatory. Arthur would have been a baby or a young child, at the time of his mother's death. His father did not remarry.

In 1884, Arthur’s younger sister Mary Jane Bothwell died from phthisis (tuberculosis) at Dromara. On his sister’s death record, she was listed as age 22, unmarried, daughter of Arthur Bothwell, a carpenter, who was present at her death.

Marriage
On 25 September 1885, Arthur, a full age bachelor carpenter from Dromara village, married Mary Ann Irvine, a full age spinster from Begny Dromara. They were married in the Second Presbyterian Church of Ballynahinch in the Parish of Magheradroll by the Rev. William J. Patton (who ministered at the 2nd Dromara Presbyterian Church). Arthur's father was listed as Arthur Bothwell, a carpenter. Mary Ann's father was listed as John Irvine, a farmer. Their witnesses were John Mathews and Mary Scott. Their marriage was registered in the Downpatrick registration district. ^[2]

Arthur and Mary Ann had six children, most of whom were born in Dromara where Arthur continued to work as a carpenter:

1. Arthur James Bothwell, born 21 July 1886 ^[3]
2. Mary Jane "May" Bothwell, born 15 January 1888 ^[4]
3. Thomas Henry "Harry" Bothwell, born 6 May 1890 ^[5]
4. Agnes "Aggie" Bothwell, born 16 June 1893 ^[6]
5. Charles Bothwell, born 28 December 1895 ^[7]
6. Sarah Helena Bothwell, born 22 January 1898 ^[8]

Arthur was a firefighter

Belfast Fire Brigade
In December 1896, Arthur obtained a position as a fireman with the Belfast Fire Brigade. ^[1] Family recollections state that he was a "fireman of a horse drawn engine." ^[9] The Bothwell family moved to Belfast where they lived at the new Belfast Fire Brigade headquarters and fire station on Chichester Street. The premises incorporated the fire station, offices and dwelling houses that were accommodation for the firemen and their families. Arthur and Mary Ann's last child, Sarah Helena Bothwell, was born at the Chichester Street Fire Station.

Death
Tragedy struck two years later in November 1898 when Arthur, age 39, died from “an internal complaint.” ^[1] His wife Mary Ann was left a widow with six children aged 10 months to 12 years old. They likely had to vacate their home at the Chichester Street Fire Station following Arthur's death. The family returned to live in County Down and may have lived for a while at the home of Mary Ann's parents in Begny, Dromara. Sadly, Mary Ann died from a stomach disease five years later. Their children were orphaned.

Arthur was buried in a grave at the 2nd Dromara Presbyterian Church graveyard (3 Begny Hill Road, Dromara) in a grave whose headstone is marked "The Family Burying Place of Arthur Bothwell."

Arthur was mentioned in the marriage records for his children.

• Harry Bothwell married Nellie Townsend on 9 May 1922 in Pennsylvania. ^[10]
• Arthur Bothwell married Jennie (Forgrave) Sinclair on 29 December 1924 in Pennsylvania. ^[11]

Research Notes

Information provided by authors of the history of the fire brigade in Belfast - Harry Welsh and Bill Broadhurst:

"My name is Bill Broadhurst and I have been contacted by a friend Alan Frost who came across your search for information on Arthur bothwell. The information which I have at present on disc is limited. But I can tell you that Arthur bothwell was a joiner by trade and was born in Dromara on 3/1859. He joined the Belfast Fire Brigade on 12/6/1896 and served for just two years and five months before he died of an internal complaint on 14/11/1898. I along with another friend Harry Welsh have compiled a history of the fire brigade in Belfast. Harry has a book which might give a better detail of Arthur's brief service in the BFB. I shall try to find out more information for you if possible and pass it on. Unfortunately it would only be that information during those couple of years he was with the fire brigade."

Death record
Cannot find a death record on either the website for Irish Genealogy (https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/) or the website for the General Register Office of Northern Ireland (https://www.nidirect.gov.uk). This seems odd.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Authors of "The Flaming Truth": Information provided by authors of the history of the fire brigade in Belfast - Harry Welsh and Bill Broadhurst: The Flaming Truth - A History of the Belfast Fire Brigade, Publisher: ‎ Flaming Publications (January 1, 2001), ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0954159705, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0954159702.
2. ↑ Marriage Registration: "Civil Records of Irish Births, Deaths and Marriages", database
   General Register Office, Ireland; Group Registration ID: 2336880; SR District/Reg Area: Downpatrick
   IrishGenealogy.ie Image - IrishGenealogy.ie Record (accessed 9 October 2023)
   Arthur Bothwell marriage to Mary Irvine on 25 Sep 1885 in the Downpatrick Superintendent Registrar's District.
3. ↑ Birth of son Arthur James Bothwell: "Civil Records of Irish Births, Deaths and Marriages", database
   General Register Office, Ireland; Group Registration ID: 11134367; SR District/Reg Area: Lisburn
   IrishGenealogy.ie Image - IrishGenealogy.ie Record (accessed 10 October 2023)
   Arthur Bothwell, father in entry for Arthur Bothwell birth 1886 in the Lisburn Superintendent Registrar's District.
4. ↑ Birth of daughter Mary Jane Bothwell: "Civil Records of Irish Births, Deaths and Marriages", database
   General Register Office, Ireland; Group Registration ID: 8422778; SR District/Reg Area: Lisburn
   IrishGenealogy.ie Image - IrishGenealogy.ie Record (accessed 10 October 2023)
   Arthur Bothwell, father in entry for Mary Bothwell birth 1888 in the Lisburn Superintendent Registrar's District.
5. ↑ Birth of son Thomas Henry Bothwell: "Civil Records of Irish Births, Deaths and Marriages", database
   General Register Office, Ireland; Group Registration ID: 11515163; SR District/Reg Area: Lisburn
   IrishGenealogy.ie Image - IrishGenealogy.ie Record (accessed 10 October 2023)
   Arthur Bothwell, father in entry for Thomas Bothwell birth 1890 in the Lisburn Superintendent Registrar's District.
6. ↑ Birth of daughter Agnes Bothwell: "Civil Records of Irish Births, Deaths and Marriages", database
   General Register Office, Ireland; Group Registration ID: 11092081; SR District/Reg Area: Lisburn
   IrishGenealogy.ie Image - IrishGenealogy.ie Record (accessed 10 October 2023)
   Arthur Bothwell, father in entry for Agnes Bothwell birth 1893 in the Lisburn Superintendent Registrar's District.
7. ↑ Birth of son Charles Bothwell: "Civil Records of Irish Births, Deaths and Marriages", database
   General Register Office, Ireland; Group Registration ID: 8835190; SR District/Reg Area: Lisburn
   IrishGenealogy.ie Image - IrishGenealogy.ie Record (accessed 10 October 2023)
   Arthur Bothwell, father in entry for Charles Bothwell birth 1896 in the Lisburn Superintendent Registrar's District.
8. ↑ Birth of daughter Sarah Helena Bothwell: "Civil Records of Irish Births, Deaths and Marriages", database
   General Register Office, Ireland; Group Registration ID: 11412749; SR District/Reg Area: Belfast
   IrishGenealogy.ie Image - IrishGenealogy.ie Record (accessed 10 October 2023)
   Arthur Bothwell, father in entry for Sarah Bothwell birth 22 January 1898 in the Belfast Superintendent Registrar's District, mother's maiden name Ervine.
9. ↑ Family recollections: Notes on family tree chart from March 1982 for Arthur Bothwell state"Fireman of horse drawn engine. Lived on Roden Street, off the Ormeau Road, Belfast." Chart was created by Eric Bain, great grandson of Arthur Bothwell: "Not sure who gave this information or when I received it (e.g. during 1982 trip to Ireland or from information Auntie May gathered from relations)."
10. ↑ Marriage of son Harry Bothwell: "Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950", database with images
    citing Marriage, Pennsylvania, United States, multiple County Clerks, Pennsylvania
    FamilySearch Record: Q2Z4-DD4C (accessed 9 October 2023)
    FamilySearch Image: S3HY-6FFQ-38K Image number 00166
    Arthur's son Harry Bothwell marriage to Nellie Townsend on 9 May 1922 in Pennsylvania, United States.
11. ↑ Marriage of son Arthur J Bothwell: "Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950", database with images
    citing Marriage, Pennsylvania, United States, multiple County Clerks, Pennsylvania
    FamilySearch Record: Q2C1-TS4F (accessed 9 October 2023)
    FamilySearch Image: S3HY-DZVZ-DS Image number 00034
    Arthur Bothwell's son Arthur J Bothwell marriage to Jennie W Sinclair on 29 Dec 1924 in Pennsylvania, United States.

See also:

• FamilySearch Person: G46B-L1Y