Coatbridge..
The 1881 census at first failed to reveal John and Margaret Rouse and their children, but it did reveal their son James, my great grandfather, was lodging with his older sister Susan and her husband John Johnstone and their 4 children, John 8, Susan 6, Maggie 4, and Francis 2. They were living at "Whitehouse, Drumpelier Pit, Coatbridge".
James was listed on the census as being 22 whereas he was in fact only 19.
Living next door to James and the Johnstones at "North Pit, Drumpelier" were James and Marion Brown and their children, but they had an Irish pit labourer named John Rouse aged 26, who was lodging with them and I suspect he was either a cousin or uncle of James and Susan.
After much searching I finally located John and Margaret and their kids living at No.11 Ironworks Row, under the name of House. It appears they had been enumerated incorrectly or the census taker made a slip of the pen.
Living with John and Margaret were their children, Patrick 21, Margaret Ann 15, William 14, and John aged 8. The ages recorded in the census were not all that accurate as Margaret was actually 17 and John was actually 11 and not 8 years old.
Lodging with them were two other Irish Rouses’ William aged 40 who was married and a furnacekeeper, and Daniel aged 39 who was single and a furnacefiller.
I have assumed that these two were brothers and perhaps a brother to John Rouse who was living next door to Susan Johnstone. I would also assume that they were all nephews of John Rouse senior, and had only recently come over from Ireland.
1883~1900
On the 20th of April 1883, Patrick the oldest son of John and Margaret was killed in a railway accident near the Whifflet Railway Station. Patrick was 22 years old, single and living in “digs” at No. 6a Drumpellier Bridge Coatbridge. The cause of death was recorded as being “laceration to the abdomen, caused by railway accident”. There was an accident report recorded for this event, but I haven’t seen any details from it.
At the time of Patrick’s death his parents were recorded as living at Railway Row.
Sometime over the year following Patrick’s death, John senior, who was aged 55-56, decided to change his job. After working in the Iron Industry as a Furnaceworker for at least 30 years, he became a miner! John was working in No. 4 Pit Drumpellier Colliery on the 4th of April 1884 when he was killed when a roof fell down on him. He was aged 56. His death certificate showed that both his parents were dead at this time. The death certificate was witnessed by his oldest surviving child Susan, but she was unable to sign the certificate (assuming she was unable to write) but made her mark (X).
On the brighter side, later that same year of 1884, my great grandfather James, the oldest surviving son, married Catherine Cook on the 16th of August in Coatbridge.
Catherine was a 20 year old brickyard worker on the day she married James, her birthday being the next day the 17th of August.
She was one of four daughters born to Michael Cook coalminer and Mary Cairns, both Irish immigrants, Catherine was born in Cowdenbeath in Fife, her sisters were Bridget, Ann and Mary.
James and Catherine had their first child Michael on the 20th of June 1885. At this time they lived in No 31 Merryston Square Coatbridge.
They had a second son whom they called John, on the 14th of March 1887 at No 24 Merryston Square as they’d changed address.
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Merryston Square, was situated close to Summerlee. At the time of the 1881 Census there were 94 dwellings (difficult to call them houses) which recorded either the head of household or spouse as having been born in Ireland. It would appear that Merryston Square was quite an Irish enclave, as the vast majority of occupants were either Irish born or of Irish parents. Also evident throughout the area was a sizeable number from Clackmannan and Fife. Two other areas in Scotland noted for coal and mining industries |
Tragedy struck the family once again when 23 year old Margaret Ann (the second oldest daughter of John and Margaret) died of Tuberculosis. Margaret had married Irish coalminer John Rotch (or Roche) and they had lived at Alderfort Place Coatbridge. I don’t know if Margaret and John Rotch had any children. She died on June the 8th 1887.
In early 1888 William Rouse married Mary Bridget Donnelly in Coatbridge, later on in the year they had their first child whom they named John.
| A Furnace Crew photographed at Summerlee Iron Works in the 1900's. These crews consisted of Furnace keepers & Furnace fillers |
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In December of 1888, my great grandparents James and Catherine had a daughter, their 3rd child, whom they named Mary after Catherine’s mother. In 1890 James and Catherine had yet another child, a boy this time they called James, he was born on the 2nd of December.
The beginning of 1891 saw yet another tragedy when James and Catherine’s daughter Mary died of Diphtheria on the 16th of January. The very next day James bought a Lair at the Old Monkland New Burial Ground (No. 56-26), this suggests that they buried Mary in Coatbridge instead of Cambuslang. This same year William and Mary had another child, a wee boy whom they called Francis.
1893 was a happier year as James and Catherine had another daughter, Annie. Annie was born on the 2nd of January in Coatbridge. In Coatbridge William and Mary had a third son they called William. Later on in the year James’ youngest brother John married Margaret Dornan in Coatbridge. John worked in the Iron Works as his father had.
James and Catherine had another daughter in 1895, by which time they’d moved to Newton, halfway between Uddingston and Cambuslang. This wee girl was called Katie and she was born at No 7 Spittal Rows in Newton. James was working in one of the nearby mines at this time..
Another birth was recorded in 1895 this time for John and Margaret who had a son born in March of that year, they called him William John. They had a second son born in 1896 he was called Patrick.
1897 was a year which brought further tragedy in the death of 22 month old William John, first son of John and Margaret. William John died on the 26th of January from chronic broncho-pneumonia which he had suffered from for 3 months. At that time they were living in Summerlee Street in Coatbridge where John was working as a Furnace Labourer.
Also in 1897 James and Catherine had another daughter, they called her Bridget, she was born on the 5th of February at 58 Spittal Rows in Newton. 2 months later James suffered a serious accident at the pit he was working in, which resulted in his leg being fractured (“splintered”) and his being totally incapacitated.
James made an application to the Cambuslang Parish for Parochial Relief ("The Parish") on the 22nd of May. This application states that James was employed as a coalminer and that his usual earnings were 24 shillings per week. His rent at that time was 6 pounds 6 shillings per annum.
The parish granted James 10 shillings per week to keep him and Catherine and their six young children. I’ve been unable to discover how long he was incapacitated…
Over the next few years there were more deaths and births in the family, as far as I know Bridget died in 1899 aged 2 years old.
They had a son called Patrick who died aged only 11 weeks old, most probably a "cot death", as he was found dead in his bed at 53 New Orbiston Bellshill on the 22nd of April 1899.