Wish 99

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]

Brick Wall - Scotland - Wish 99

99. (from Chris Wright) Looking for proof of where he was born to prove/disprove if the parents on Ancestry and FS are correct

G2G post: https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/1672303/wikitree-secret-santa-2023-wishes-accepted?show=1677012#a1677012

Profile: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Smith-127626

Primary Question Who were Francis Smith's parents? What is the proof?

Alleged parents

• From research notes: "There are researchers in FamilySearch, and on Ancestry trees putting him as Francis 'Cavendish' Smith, son of James Smith and Elizabeth Lyall of Angus, and having the marriage to Alison Young 7 Mar 1805 at St Cuthbert's Edinburgh."

• Francis Cavendish Smith born in Montrose, Angus, 1790, to James Smith and Elizabeth Lyall.^[1]

• Marriage record of Francis Smith & Alison Young transcription: "Francis Smith Labourer Pleasance and Alison Young residing there gave up their names for proclamation of Banns Matrimonial."

Secondary Questions

• What happened to Francis' wife Agnes after his likely death in 1824?
• If the alleged parents are correct and Francis moved from Angus to Wigtownshire, why? According to Kirk Session poor accounts of Mochrum at the time, Francis Smith was in significant financial trouble - was there a financial motivation for the move? Could he afford the move?
• How does the Agnes Young (b. 1831, Glasgow) from the 1851 census fit into the family, if at all?

Actions Completed

• Profiles created for Francis' children and some relevant info added to profiles such as spouses and census records
• Profiles created for the proposed parents and two siblings: James Smith (1761-), Elizabeth (Lyall) Smith (1771-), Margaret Smith (1792-), John Smith (1793-) - but couldn't expand them
• Searched census and BDM records of Mochrum and surrounding area - couldn't find any significant connections (such as any potential family) which does support the idea of Francis Smith and Agnes Young not being born in Wigtownshire, but isn't conclusive
• Searched census and BDM of Scotland for significant names and places, but couldn't find any leads aside from those mentioned below in the Potential Hints section

Occupations

• Francis Smith - weaver
• Daughters of Agnes (Smith) Black also had jobs listed as weaver, wool spinner and dressmaker in various census records

• John Smith, other son of James Smith and Elizabeth Lyall, is claimed to be a shoemaker (needs evidence)

• Most of Francis' children were farm labourers and/or servants

Weavers in Scotland 18th-19th centuries

• "Witnesses all agreed that the numbers entering hand-loom weaving should be reduced and those from Scotland said that where possible weavers were entering the army, emigrating to the colonies or returning to agriculture, but no industries were able to take up the excess labour force."... "Some Scottish witnesses were concerned that low wages had caused the splitting up of the family system in which the weavers' children worked with their parents and were educated at home. These children were instead sent to work on the power-looms where they received no education, were beaten and suffered a decline in morals."^[2]
• "The Calton weavers' strike of 1787 was the earliest major industrial dispute in Scottish history, when troops fired on demonstrators, killing six." ... "In the summer of 1787, the journeymen weavers of Calton marched in organized processions through the streets of Glasgow to protest a 25 percent wage cut and lockout. The dispute grew bitter, with the strikers cutting the webs from the looms of weavers who continued to work, and making bonfires in the street from the contents of warehouses." ..." On the following day more looms were wrecked, but the riots quickly subsided."^[3]
• "The importance of Glasgow in this kind of organisational structure was that it formed a nucleus of industrial activity from whence agents put out work to places as distant from one another as Perthshire to the north east and to coastal towns in Ayrshire, like Irvine and Maybole to the west."^[4]

Locations

• Francis, Agnes and children lived at least 1809 - 1824 in Mochrum.

• Agnes Young listed in Kirk Session poor accounts continuing to receive money until the end of the records in 1834.

1841

• Alexander Dunn Smith, Sarah Cherrie Smith, and Agnes (Smith) Black all still living in Mochrum

1851

• Alexander Dunn Smith and family living in Riccarton, Ayrshire
• Agnes and Robert Black living in Dalry, Ayrshire
• Sarah living in Knoltmire, Newton on Ayr, Ayrshire
• Robert Smith and Jane (Smith) Malcom both remained in Kirkinner, Wigtownshire - both had families with a focus on farming and remained there (most likely) for their entire lives, as evidenced by census records.

Mochrum, Wigtownshire

Francis Smith & Agnes Young had 7 children in the parish of Mochrum with confirmed birth records:

• Mary b. 1809
• Jane b. 1811
• Agnes b. 1813
• James b. 1815
• Sarah Cherrie b. 1818
• Robert b. 1820
• Alexander Dunn b. 1823

Francis likely died before 1841 and cannot be found in census records, but there is another Smith family in the census located in Mochrum: William Smith (shoemaker) b. 1787 m. Mary b. 1800

• David b. 1824
• Elizabeth b. 1826
• John b. 1830
• Agnes b. 1832
• Anna b. 1837
• William b. 1840
• James b. 1842

In 1794, the church in Mochrum parish was rebuilt after being destroyed by fire in the 1770s. In 1840, it was further expanded.

Potential Hints

• Francis' daughter Agnes (Smith) Black mistakenly listed birthplace as Montrose (instead of Mochrum) in 1861 census.
• Francis' daughter Agnes (Smith) Black had a visitor in the 1851 census, Agnes Young b. 1831 Glasgow.
• Francis' daughter Jane (Smith) McColm had a daughter Helen Anderson McColm born 1837. According to online family trees (connection still needs to be proven) Francis' brother John Smith married a Helen Anderson in 1827 who died in 1833. Francis' granddaughter might be named after Francis' late sister-in-law.^[5]
• The name Sarah is often interchanged with the name Marion in Scotland, meaning that Francis' daughter "Sarah Cherrie" may be named after a Marion Cherrie.

Sources

1. ↑ Birth or Baptism: "Church of Scotland: Old Parish Registers - Births and Baptisms"
   National Records of Scotland, Parish Number: 312; Ref: 50/107
   ScotlandsPeople (accessed 26 December 2023)
   Francis Cavendi Smith born or baptised on 13 Aug 1790, son of James Smith & Eliz Lyall, in Montrose, Forfarshire, Scotland.
2. ↑ http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/haynin/haynin0915.htm
3. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calton_weavers%27_strike
4. ↑ https://stax.strath.ac.uk/concern/theses/jq085k04k
5. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
   Find A Grave: Memorial #176358488 (accessed 29 December 2023)
   Memorial page for John Smith (1793-15 Dec 1872), citing Old Machar Churchyard, Old Aberdeen, Aberdeen City, Scotland; Maintained by GariochGraver (contributor 47469430).