Mary (Ferguson) Hamilton (abt. 1837 - bef. 1920)

Born about 1837 in Scotland

Wife of John Hamilton — married 6 Nov 1863 in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died before 1920 before about age 83 in New South Wales, Australia [uncertain]

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Biography

Mary Ferguson was born in about 1837, the daughter of Catherine and her husband Dougald Ferguson, a weaver. Mary appears in census records for 1841 in the household of her parents^[1] but not in the corresponding records for the 1851 census.^[2] By 1851 Mary, aged 14 or 15, may have been a servant in another household or simply been absent from home on the day the census was taken.

In November 1863 Mary Ferguson, a millworker already widowed, married John Hamilton (a sailor serving in the Royal Navy aboard HMS Hogue) at the Middle Parish Manse in Paisley by the River Clyde. ^[3] As Mary gave her age at the time of this marriage as 26 years, it is probable that she was born between November 1836 and November 1837.

At the birth of her daughter Elizabeth in 1868, Mary recorded that her marriage to John occurred on 5 October 1863.^[4] It is reasonable to prefer the date 6 November 1863, which was entered at the time in the marriage register.

At her marriage Mary gave her address as 31 St James Street, Paisley and it appears she and John resided there for some years after their marriage. Elizabeth's birth certificate issued in Paisley in 1883 records that Mary and John were living there when Elizabeth was born in 1867. As Elizabeth married John Pearce at Sydney in the Colony of New South Wales in December 1888, an event that John Hamilton witnessed,^[5] it is likely that Mary, John and Elizabeth emigrated from Scotland in the mid-1880s.

Mary was known to her grandchildren as Granny Hamilton and she played a role in caring for them after Elizabeth's untimely death at the age of 27. Her date of death is unknown but is presumed to be before 1920.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ Dougald Ferguson and household in UK Census taken on Sunday, 6 June 1841. National Records of Scotland, 1841 Census: census enumerator's book p. 30. Digital image at Scotland's People, ref. no. 572/13/29 accessed 13 January 2021.
2. ↑ Dougald Ferguson and household in UK Census taken on Sunday, 30 March 1851. National Records of Scotland, 1851 Census: Abbey Parish, Paisley, census enumerator's book p. 1. Digital image at Scotland's People, ref. no. 559/51/1 accessed 13 January 2021.
3. ↑ Registration of marriage of John Hamilton and Mary Ferguson, 6 November 1863. General Register Office for Scotland, Statutory Marriages number 573/03 0071. Scotland's People online database, digital copy downloaded 2 January 2014 in the files of Rick Nelson
4. ↑ Registration of birth of Elizabeth Hamilton. Register of Births, Burgh of Paisley, number 325, certified extract issued 29 August 1883, original document in the files of Rick Nelson
5. ↑ Marriage Certificate for John Hammond Pearce and Elizabeth Hamilton, dated 24 December 1888. Original document in the files of Rick Nelson
6. ↑ Personal recollections of Rick Nelson