James STEELE & Mary YOUNG 1820s-1850s

ndhubbard

New Member
Hello, I'm looking for help with info on an (assumed) emigrant from Berwick-Upon-Tweed in the mid-1800s.

James STEELE was born about 1827. The first record I've found for him is from 1861, when he shows up in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. That's where he is buried along with his wife whose name is Mary YOUNG, born about 1827 as well. His obituary says he was from Berwick-Upon-Tweed, which makes sense because the records are confused about whether he is from England or Scotland. Records seem to land on the family being Church of England, though some children married Presbyterians. His main profession was as a blacksmith building railway cars or locomotives.

One child born in the UK, Jane STEELE, dob 8/5/1853.
Next child born in 1855 in Hamilton which tracks with 1854 emigration.

Names of other children in case they relate back although none are out of the ordinary:
Jessie, Mary, Eliza, Elizabeth, James, Isabella.

Perhaps a couple of other names worth mentioning are GORDON and HAMMOND which are middle names given to grandchildren. Other grandchildren have family surnames so perhaps this is one from the STEELE/YOUNG branch?

My goal is to find parents and families for James and Mary to begin tracing their lines in the UK and learn more about their families and the lives they led.

Any leads (records, family knowledge, resources) would be much appreciated!

-Nick (USA)
 
Hello Nick and welcome to the forum.

A possible for James on the 1851 census is a James Steel born c 1831 Norham, Berwick on Tweed. This James is an unmarried apprentice to Alexander Jaffrey at Twizel Smithy, Berwick.

In the 1841 census at Whiteburn Norham there is a James Steel , son of William and Elisabeth who is possibly the same James. William is a farmer.
 
Could this be their marriage?

Marriage date - 27 Dec 1846, Haddington, Haddingtonshire (East Lothian)

James STEELE
Residence Haddington

Maria YOUNG
Residence Haddington

Witness 1 - James YOUNG

Witness 2 - David MORTON

Haddington to Berwick on Tweed is about 40 mile
 
The DOB is August. August 5, 1853 from the 1901 Canadian census. It’s the most specific date I’ve seen. However, I don’t have a birth or death record to confirm the date for sure.

DOB is variously listed as:
1851 (1861 Canadian Census)
1853 (1871,1881 Ca Census)
~1854 (1891 Ca Census)
Mar 1854 (1911 Ca Census)
~1856 (1921 Ca Census)
~1852 (1931 Ca Census)

Records list her birth as either England or Scotland.
 
Hello Nick and welcome to the forum.

A possible for James on the 1851 census is a James Steel born c 1831 Norham, Berwick on Tweed. This James is an unmarried apprentice to Alexander Jaffrey at Twizel Smithy, Berwick.

In the 1841 census at Whiteburn Norham there is a James Steel , son of William and Elisabeth who is possibly the same James. William is a farmer.
I must correct this post. Looking at the original image James is a carpenter's apprentice living at Twizel Smithy, Alexander Jaffrey being a carpenter.

However John Tait (blacksmith) and family also lived at Twizel Smithy.

Also note that Twizel Smithy is a few miles inland from Berwick on Tweed.
 
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Now this may be a red herring but there was a John Young, blacksmith's apprentice b 1823 Norham, at Twizel Smithy in 1841.

Looking at Norham census for 1841 there seem to be a couple of Mary Youngs about the right age.

Will look some more...
 
So far I cannot see a marriage for James and Mary or a birth or baptism for Jane, either as Steel/e or Young. It is possible they did not marry, or register or baptise Jane.

I haven't yet been able to find a definite connection between James and any of the Norham Mary's. However if the Norham/Twizel James is indeed the James who emigrated it would not be surprising if Mary was from his local area and possibly related to John Young the blacksmith in Twizel in 1841.
Hard to prove though!
 
I did wonder about the Jane Steel bp Oct 1851 Tweedmouth, daughter of James and Mary. GRO has mother's maiden name Morton though. I wondered because there seem to be some Mortons living in Northam with one of the Mary Youngs. Somewhat tenuous!

Family search do have a burial in Tweedmouth of a Jane Steel daughter of James, but no date.

There seems to have been a son Thomas born to this couple in 1853 but it looks as though he died the same year.
 
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Here's one other possible red herring that I didn't mention before.

One of the Steele children lists "Mary Grey" as their mother on their birth certificate. Considering that her tombstone reads Mary Young and that multiple descendants have Young as a middle name...I would think it's legit. But maybe there's something to the Grey surname? Lots of Mary Gray's in the area. Haven't found a link to a James Steele that way either.
 
Is it possible that Mary was married previously & that accounts for the 'Grey' & possibly why there is no marriage of James & Mary, if she just left the first husband?

Where in the pecking order of the child with Mary Grey listed as their mother?
 
“Mary Grey” is listed on the death certificate of Elizabeth Steele Jackson (1864-1936).

Elizabeth was #5 (a twin) of 7 children. She was #4 of the siblings to die.

The info was provided by Elizabeth’s niece, though. I’m trying to figure out which niece she is. Maybe that is important, maybe not!
 
OK! So yes the niece detail is potentially relevant.

The name “Mary Grey” was provided for Elizabeth’s death certificate by Elmina Cherrier nee Crysler (1874-1941), the eldest child of Jane Steele & Benson Crysler.

So she was:
1. the closest to the prior generation 2. her mother was the eldest child of James & Mary and born in the UK before the family emigrated

Not clear of course why she gave the info, could just be that she was close to her aunt, but she also may have had more family knowledge? I’ll see if I can find a way to contact any of the Crysler branch.
 
OK! So yes the niece detail is potentially relevant.

The name “Mary Grey” was provided for Elizabeth’s death certificate by Elmina Cherrier nee Crysler (1874-1941), the eldest child of Jane Steele & Benson Crysler.

So she was:
1. the closest to the prior generation 2. her mother was the eldest child of James & Mary and born in the UK before the family emigrated

Not clear of course why she gave the info, could just be that she was close to her aunt, but she also may have had more family knowledge? I’ll see if I can find a way to contact any of the Crysler branch.
Well, I was really hoping that the John Young Grizel found in the census would turn out to be Mary's husband, and then somehow it would make sense. But...no luck, can't find an obvious Young-Grey marriage.

I also looked into whether maybe Jane Steele was born Jane Young instead - maybe she was the child of Mary and a first husband - but also nothing 100% conclusive there. I did find a Jane Young in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915 born 1853 during Jul-Aug-Sep, but can't be sure of that.

I'll keep looking, hope others do too! Feels like we're getting closer.
 
@ndhubbard for birth, marriage and death registrations from 1st July 1837 onwards for England and Wales do check out the GRO (General Register Office) website.

Once registered with them, when checking births, for example, it will bring up the mother's maiden name. :) Not only that, when ordering copies of certificates, you have the option for some of them to have an online digital copy for £2.50. Go to the Frequently Asked Questions section of their website for full details.

I also looked into whether maybe Jane Steele was born Jane Young instead
If this is the Jane YOUNG that you have found, the mother's maiden name is recorded as BURGON:
upload_2024-1-27_8-11-40.png

That might be just muddying the waters, though... :rolleyes:

Meanwhile, do you have copies of any of the birth certificates for the other children? If so, what is the mother's maiden name there? :)
 
It is really no help but tracing John Young - he is unmarried in 1851 census, still a blacksmith. Has first child Robina in 1851 with a Mary whose maiden name is Scott. Second child Mary Ann in 1854. I haven't found a suitable marriage with Mary Scott so far.
 
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