William BLACK and Ada Beatrice DUFF married at Banbury Parish Church, Oxfordshire on 15th April 1939. The bride’s father was James Robertson DUFF and the groom’s father is recorded as being Robert BLACK (deceased), a Bank Teller. William is aged 50 and Ada aged 21. The 1939 Register shows William and Ada living at 8 Westbury Close, Ruislip, Middlesex, where William is a Dyer & Cleaner with a date of birth of 25th December 1881. There is a newspaper article about the wedding, complete with an extensive list of whom gave what as a wedding present, which states that William was the son of Mr and Mrs Robert BLACK (deceased) of Muirkirk, Ayrshire. The marriage certificate also states that Robert was deceased and his occupation was that of Bank Teller. So far, so good. A delve into Scotlands People was called for to see what could be discovered about William and his father Robert. Surprise time! I could find absolutely no trace of Robert but did come up with the following birth: William BLACK, born 26th December 1881 at 3:50pm in Wellwood Row, Muirkirk to Margaret BLACK, domestic servant. The birth date is just one day out from that noted in 1939. But…. Recorded as illegitimate and no father listed! Tuh! Go back a couple of censuses and there is a Margaret BLACK living in Wellwood Row, Muirkirk, who turns out to be the mother of William’s mother Margaret (so William’s grandmother). My theory is that, wherever William’s mother was working at the time (I have yet to find her in 1881), she returned to her mother in Wellwood Row to have her baby. I would be interested in your views and also if you would be able to nail down Margaret in 1881 and Robert BLACK. However, he may well be completely fictitious….. Thank you. Edited to add: Margaret's mother Margaret was living at 51 Wellwood, Muirkirk in 1881 with several sons and a grandson.
Have you seen the 'tree' on Ancestry which seems to include a lot of what you have recorded above, but also a lot which doesn't fit It's too complicated to go into detail, but if you haven't seen it, take a look and see what you think. You need to search for William with Black Wardrop in the surname box
Yes @AnnB I saw that last week and was somewhat sceptical. If memory serves me right, they had no sources noted, but I need to double check... Thanks.
There are quite a lot of sources including an 1881 census for Margaret Black as a 19 year old servant with a Smith family, Glenside Farm, Auchinleck, Ayrshire.
Okay. Leaving Margaret, William's mother for the moment, I have followed back Margaret, Margaret’s mother – William’s grandmother. A bit long, but please stay with me… 1881: 51 Wellwood, Muirkirk. Says she was born about 1824 in Kilwinning, Ayrshire and is widowed. Has sons James (1854), John (1857) and Alexander (1859) and grandsons George (1871) and James (1872) This is where I reckon her daughter came to have William in 1881. 1871: Old Cronberry, Auchinleck, Ayrshire This time, she has a husband, James (b Ireland) with her, plus sons James, John and Alexander and grandson George. 1861: Island House, Auchinleck Husband James is there plus: Margaret b 1849 in Dreghorn, Ayrshire Elizabeth b 1851, in Sorn As well as James, John & Alexander as above. 1851: Village, Sorn, Ayrshire As well as husband James, there is Margaret b 1849, Stewarton and Elizabeth (1851 Sorn). Now, a bit of digging on Scotlands People has discovered that George (b 1871 and the grandson of Margaret in the 1881 census) is actually the son of Margaret, the daughter – William’s mother. James (1872) was also hers. It seems that William’s mother played fast and loose with her affections, which could be why William named his parents as Mrs & Mrs Robert BLACK (deceased). There could well be some truth in the name of Robert being his father, but not married to his mother…. The tree on Ancestry has the marriage of Maggie BLACK taking place on 27th November 1885 in Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire. However, Maggie’s “reputed father” is recorded as William BLACK and not James. Along with her place of birth as being England, I am not convinced that this is the correct person. I now need a lie down…..
You and me both I think I agree with you - another of the tangled webs which get thrown up all too often
These two get a mention on the Old Scottish website, one of the main features of which is tracking down unknown fathers: Code: https://www.oldscottish.com/auchinleck.html#Fathers I couldn't see William there or in Muirkirk, but there's an all-Scotland list (by mother's name) of Sheriff Court Paternity Decrees: Code: https://www.oldscottish.com/sheriff-court-paternity-decrees-barr-brown.html Could Margaret be one of those? The whole site is probably worth a good browse; there's some free information, but a fair bit has to be paid for.
I think the Margaret Black in Lochwinnoch in 1871 could be her as dob is 1849 and POB Cunninghamhead which is in parish of Dreghorn. However the Margaret in Lochwinnoch in 1881 has dob 1862 and POB Rothesay so a different Margaret
Yes, this definitely looks like her. Thank you Interestingly, there is a chap by the name of Robert PATTERSON in the household. I wonder if he might have been the Robert "BLACK" referred to in William's marriage. Okay, I know that William was born 10 years later (in 1881), but if this Robert could be found in 1881, it might throw some light on the subject. According to the 1871 census, he was born about 1853 in East Kilbride. Off to rummage.
Tuh! It looks like he is the chap at Belcraig Farm, East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, and married to another Margaret (McNEIL b 1859) with Margaret BLACK nowhere to be seen.
I don't know what you know (or want to know) about William Black after his marriage, but I've been looking through the papers in the hope of finding any clues about his parentage, and come across him being mentioned several times when living in Banbury. The most notable one is when he was charged with stealing £14 from a suit of clothing taken in to his dry cleaners. He was convicted, but exonerated on appeal. You'll find the main report in the Banbury Advertiser of the 13th October 1943, I loved this paragraph - Mr Black was then called to the witness-box. He appeared in Court wearing the Tartan kilt and sporran of the Scottish clan from which his family descends, and said he had been the proprietor of the Cleaners for some three years and had been in business for over thirty years, during which time there had never been anything against him. I'll leave you to decide if he was guilty or not His wife, Agnes Beatrice (nee Duff) was known as Betty and seems to have won prizes for her photographs at the local Arts and Crafts Festivals. None of this helps, but you know me, I'm not happy until I've found something in a paper
Wonderful @AnnB thank you! Yes, I have found a number of newspaper entries for him in Banbury, but not that one! He and Ada divorced at some point (I think, in the 1950s) and then he disappears off the map....
William's link with the BLACKs and BARRS now appears to have been a bit of red herring. His mother (Margaret/Maggie) married a James WARDROP in 1885 and William can be found with them. There is now a whole new line to follow... It does on the subsequent censuses as well @Chimp but no indication as to where in England... Thank you to all of you who got your teeth into this.
