last updated 25 April 2010
Chapter 1 The Scottish connection p2
Chapter 2 The Irish Burns and their emigration to Clydeside p5
Chapter 3 The family’s origins in Donegal p6
Chapter 4 The 1841 census and the Burns’ lodgers – more Donegal connections p8
Chapter 5 Anderston, the 1851 and 61 census. p8
The Scottish connection
The history of the Burns side of the family was always shrouded in a little mystery, as my Granda, John Burns was sent to stay with relatives when he one year old, after the death of his mother. He was, as it went in the family, ‘virtually an orphan’. However there was the mention of a Scottish connection, which my dad thought raised the possibility of a connection with our famous namesake ‘Rabbie’.
My Granda told me his father was John Henry Burns and that his grandfather was William Burns, John Henry must have been born about 1872. This allowed me to find the family in Newcastle on the 1881 Census, the first census information to be available on computer, in indexed form on CD-ROM. William’s birthplace is recorded as Scotland. I then found the family in Newcastle on the 1871 census. William’s mother in law was in the family group, her surname, mis-transcribed as Gasley on the 1881 CD-ROM, I later found, was Garvey. With this information I found William and Mary’s birth certificate, Gateshead 31 Dec.1867. The certificate showed that William’s father was Charles Burns, a jobbing labourer, and that he was dead by the date of William’s wedding.
So I was looking for Charles Burns, a jobbing labourer, living in Scotland at the time of William’s birth (C1846), presumably Catholic like his son William, and so likely Irish. (The vast majority of Catholic Scots were of Irish ancestry, with a smaller group of Scots Highlanders and Islanders; a religious survey of Glasgow in the 1780s found no Catholics in the city at all –Michael Gandy Catholic Missions in Scotland). Civil registration of Births, deaths and marriages was only introduced in Scotland in 1855, after William’s birth, so the usual means of finding a birth were ruled out.
I came across a fiche index of the 1861 census for most of Lanarkshire (the most populous county in Scotland, and the one that includes Glasgow) and Midlothian (including Edinburgh). Between them these two countries account for the bulk of industrially developed Scotland, and a large proportion of the total population of Scotland. This central belt also accounts for most of Catholic Scotland. On the 1871 English census the family name was recorded as Barnes, so I checked for Barnes, Burns and Burnes; there were surprisingly few entries. As Burns is of one of the most famous of Scots names, I had assumed that it was a common Scottish name. In fact the vast majority of Burns entries on the 1881 census of Newcastle relate to families of Irish origin, and this also applied to a significant proportion of Burns families on the 1861 census returns from central Scotland*.
*There were 1,480 Burns in Lanarkshire in 1861. After the peak immigrations years of the 1840s and early 50s, 393, over 25% of the total, were born in Ireland. The number of children born to Irish parents in Scotland cannot easily be quantified, but I suggest these numbers would easily double the number of Burns of Irish origin, to over 50% of the total.
In the whole of Lanarkshire and Midlothian, in 1861, there was only one Burns family headed by Charles, with a William of the right age as a son: Charles Burns of 16 Maitland Lane in the Milton district of Glasgow. However this man was described as a coal dealer, which sounds rather grander than a jobbing labourer. I also found the family at the same address in 1851 when Charles was working as a Carter.
From the Mormons’ CDRom, I printed off a list of 16 William Burns, born in Lanarkshire, and alive in 1881, to see how many others had a claim to be the son of Charles Burns of Maitland Lane. Most could be easily and definitely eliminated, and William Burns of Newcastle was the only candidate with evidence in his 1881 family group consistent with him being the William Burns born in Glasgow Milton. I also checked the on-line deaths index for Scotland and could not find a William Burns who died between 1861 and 1867 who could have been the son of Charles Burns of Milton.
The Scottish census had revealed Charles Burns wife to be called Grace, so I was quite excited when I discovered, several months later, that William had had a second (and short lived) daughter, Grace. The tradition in those days was to name the first daughter after the maternal grandmother and the second after the paternal grandmother. This suggested that William’s mother was called Grace.
I looked in vain in the Scottish records for the death, in the Milton district of Glasgow, of Charles Burns between 1861 and 1867. On a trip to Edinburgh I found the record of the death of Grace Burns in 1864, reported by her husband Charles and the wedding in 1865 of Charles Burns junior, son of Charles Burns deceased. Checking the deaths of all Charles Burns for this period I found Charles (usually of 16 Maitland Lane Barony) had died in the infirmary, in the High Church district of Glasgow, in 1865. The death of Charles was reported by his son William, who, unusually for someone from the ‘lower orders’ in those days could sign his name (William Burns was the earliest of all my ancestors to sign his name, Mary Ann Arthurs, an ancestor on the Monaghan-Corr side was the next, signing her name in 1867). The William Burns married at Gateshead two years later was also able to sign his name.
I looked for the record of the marriage banns for the Burns-Garvey wedding in the archives of the Catholic Church, the Church of Scotland (where all banns for all marriages; protestant and catholic should, according to law, have been called) and in the civil archives in Newcastle without success. I had hoped to find a reference in the banns to William’s birthplace in Scotland.
The final way I could think of to verify the connection between the Glasgow and Tyneside Burns was to compare the signatures of the ‘two Williams’. Scottish documents are more detailed than their English counterparts, and the death certificate of Charles Burns bore the signature of his son William. Obtaining a copy of the Tyneside William’s signature proved difficult. Though he had signed the wedding register in 1867, the copy requested from Southport (the national centre for records of births, deaths and marriages) which I hoped would have included William Burns’ signature proved to be a contemporary transcript. Finally I obtained a photocopy of William’s signature from the marriage register in the office at Gateshead in 10 Oct. 2002, and copies of William’s signature on the birth records of two of his children from Newcastle Register office. All the signatures varied, but I think, in the light of the other evidence, there was enough in common between, the Glasgow signature and the North Eastern ones to conclude that the Tyneside William and the Glasgow William were one and same person, the son of Charles Burns of Maitland Lane Glasgow. Accepting that the Maitland Lane Charles was William’s father, there was no evidence of any connection with Rabbie Burns, but there were the names of two ancestors in Ireland who must have been born in the 1780’s or earlier!
Scan in signatures!
The Irish Burns and their emigration to Clydeside
Documents (detailed later), relating to Charles Burns, reveal that the earliest known ancestor on the Burns side was Duncan Burns, an Irish farmer. If we assume Duncan and his wife Margaret McInulty were about 20 years of age at the birth of their son Charles they would have been born around 1781.
The name Burns is of Scottish origin, meaning one who lived by a burn or stream.
Burns is a surname common throughout the nine counties of Ulster (Antrim, Armagh Derry, Down Fermanagh, Tyrone - the present day Northern Ireland; and Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal.
Charles Burns was married in Ireland to Grace McDade, the daughter of James McDade, a journeyman Tailor, and his wife Sarah or Sarah*, formerly McCorkle. Around 1825 Charles and Grace’s daughter Mary Burns was born in Ireland. The surnames of several families associated with the Burns, as witnesses and sponsors in religious ceremonies also had Donegal origins.
There are several pieces of circumstantial evidence which suggest Mary and Duncan Burns came from Donegal. The Archivist of the Glasgow Archdiocese, reports that immigration in the period 1824-1830 was almost exclusively from Donegal, this was the period when it seems the Burns came to Scotland. McInulty, Charles’ mother’s maiden name, is common in Donegal. McLysaght, the authority on Irish surnames, records the surname as McNulty, rather than McInulty. He explains that this name derives from the Gaelic Mac an Ultaigh - son of the Ulsterman. It would seem that at the time the name was recorded in Glasgow (1865?), the pronunciation was nearer to the Gaelic than the modern anglicised version.
MacLysaght gives the homeland of both the names McCorkle and McDade as Co.'s Donegal and Derry. So we have four connected surnames, all common to Donegal.
The Broomielaw on the Clyde was the setting down point for Irish immigrants to Scotland. This picture, taken in 1853, shows the harbour almost full of sailing ships and paddle steamers.
In 1818 the steam packet Rob Roy began to make regular crossings between Glasgow and Belfast. Competition on the route meant that by 1824 a crossing could be obtained for a fare of 3d (three old pence). There were steam packets crossing from Derry to Anderston Quay, with the Belfast boats landing slightly higher upstream. By 1831 a quarter of the inhabitants of Anderston, the Burgh west of Glasgow on the north bank of the Clyde, were Irish. Overcrowded steam packets were docking at Glasgow at a rate of 18 per week from Belfast, 12 per week from Derry and 6 per week from Dublin. ‘Every boat that arrives at the Broomielaw from Derry is literally crowded on deck with hundreds of poor creatures, who are huddled together and mixed up with horned cattle, pigs, sheep and lambs.’(1) ‘Another contemporary report described the arrival from Belfast of the Aurora,’ crowded in every part....the appearance of the vessel was that of a shipload of heads and faces’. It is also recorded that ships left Moville on the Inishowen peninsular in Donegal for Glasgow.
The first record of our ancestors’ extended family in Scotland was the baptism of Sarah McDade, daughter of James McDade and Janet McCorkle at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Clyde St, Glasgow on 2 April 1826, sponsors James Kyle and Honora McHue. Sarah had been born on the 27th of February, over a month earlier. Several other children a month or so old were baptised at St Andrews that day, in those days of high child mortality, baptism was usually carried out without delay, perhaps they had just arrived from Ireland. However the Cathedral was very busy, - by 1831, a quarter of the inhabitants of Anderston were Irish, so perhaps there was a waiting list for baptisms (2)
1 James Hanley The Irish in Scotland chapter 1 iii The Cross-channel Steamboats.
2 Villages of Glasgow Aileen Smart
The Saltmarket, Glasgow (Alexander Shanks) 1849
1841 Anderston
Charles Burns and family must have left Ireland sometime between 1825, when their first known child, Mary, was born in Ireland and 1841 when there is the first record of them in Scotland on that year’s census. They were at 130 Main St (now Argyll St) Anderston, a couple of hundred yards west of what is now Glasgow Central railway station. Anderston was the birthplace of James Watt, and the impact of his development of stream power is documented in the census, with many of the Burns’ neighbours employed in power loom weaving, and a few still working as hand loom weavers. The Burns household was made up of Charles (40), a labourer born Ireland, his wife Grace (35), born Ireland, and their Irish born daughter Mary (15) who was working in a cotton factory.
Power loom weaving C1835
The Burns’ family’s lodgers in 1841
Also in the household were Peter McGuiness (24) and Peter McDade (20), [look for these 2 on Scotland’s People] (presumably a relative of Grace’) both agricultural labourers, and three power loom weavers, Biddy Scholar (20) Helen Bonar (20) and Sarah McDade (16).
Main St Anderston, this picture was taken in the 1890s, but I do not know how old the buildings were by then.
*Sarah McDade and Peter Hughes
St Andrew’s Cathedral, Clyde Street, overlooks the river. The choice of Saint was an overture to the Scottish society from a church composed of a minority of Scots highlanders, and a majority of Irish Catholics, a conciliatory gesture which was on the whole rejected by the host community, who were often virulently anti Irish. The seat of the Archbishop of Glasgow, the most senior figure in the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, St Andrew’s was built in 1816 – at a cost of £16,000. It was the first important example of the Gothic revival in Glasgow. A statue of the saint looks out from the apex of the building.
Both the 1841 and the 1851 census confirm that Sarah McDade (or McDead) was born in Lanarkshire (the county that includes Glasgow). I assume she was the baby girl whose baptism in Glasgow is detailed on page 6. Sarah was clearly a relative of Grace Burns, likely a niece or cousin as Sarah and Grace’s parents had the same surnames. Sarah married John Hughes (perhaps the son of Patrick Hughes*), and the couple appear as Charles and Graces’ lodgers in 1851. As was sometimes the practice before civil registration, they married in the Kirk, on 30 December 1849 in the Glasgow Parish; and two weeks later in St Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral Clyde St (15 January 1850) (2), the witnesses were William Miller and Elizabeth Hughes. On 18 April 1856, at St Andrew's Glasgow, Sarah was the sole sponsor at the baptism of James Hughes, son of Charles and his wife, Catherine Cooke. John Hughes and Sarah (McDade) moved to England in about 1859 and appear on the 1871 census at Quality Row, Byker (they seem to have been missed off the 1861 census). There were two Scot born children in the family, Elizabeth, 16 and James, 14; Esther, their first English born child was born on 18 November 1860, at Ballast Hills, in East Newcastle, John was a kiln man at a pottery – there was a large pottery in nearby Byker.
* A family of this name, (all Irish born) appear on the census, at 5 Old Vennal Glasgow College]
Other McDades
Biddy Schoular
Biddy Schoular, the third of the female lodgers in 1841 later appears as a sponsor, with Thomas Donaghy at the baptism of Charles Burns in 1843. A Margaret Scooler was baptised at St Andrew's in 1827, the daughter of Samuel Scooler and Margaret Mooney; Margaret Swift, (the widow of James Swift) was the sister in law of Edward Swift, (-the husband of Mary McDade) Margaret's death certificate revealed that her parents were Robert Montgomery, a weaver, and Eliza Mooney.
Helen Bonar
Helen Bonar was another of the Burns’ lodgers in 1841, when she was 20. She married Patrick Duffy, ‘a labourer in Glasgow’ on 23 June 1850 at the Kirk in Glasgow. So far I have not found a record of a second Catholic wedding as was often the practice in those days, but the couple appear on the 1851 census of Scotland as Patrick (30) and Helen (26) Duffey at 30 Rotten Row; she was a power loom weaver, and her husband was a ‘labourer in public work’.
Helen applied to the parish for assistance in December 1856; it seems she was then 33, her husband, Patrick; a labourer at the gasworks, was ill and ‘she says has been in Ireland for three weeks’. The inspector recorded Helen’s birthplace as Donegal. Helen had two children Mary (4) and Patrick (8 months). Mary’s baptism has not been found, but the register of St Andrew's Glasgow (now available on the Scotland's People site) shows Patrick, born on 8 April 1856, was baptised on 14 April, the sponsors were Thomas Fisher, and Catherine McDade. The Duffys lived at '94 Gallowgate, first left, low door'.
The Duffy family appear on the 1861 census at 88 Gallowgate, Glasgow (like Rotten Row just east of the city centre). Helen was 35, Patrick was 44; there were two children, Mary (5) and Helen (2), so it seems young Patrick had not survived. Helen died aged 40, of TB at 11.am on 15 January 1865 at 94 Gallowgate, Calton, Glasgow, she had received no recent medical attention, her death was reported by Patrick. Helen’s death certificate shows her parents were John Bonar and Elizabeth Johnston.
Four years later a Patrick Duffy died at 18 Salt Market Glasgow, the husband of Helen Coyle, he was the son of Thomas Duffy and Bridget McInulty, it is not certain but it seems likely that he was the widower of Helen Bonar (I have looked for wht would have been Patrick’s second marriage, post 1865 on line but haven’t found it so far.) . Thomas Duffy’s sister Helen Murray of 65 High St died in February 1867, the daughter of Thomas Duffy and Bridget McInulty; presumably kinsmen of the Burns/McInultys.
When young Mary Duffy was married to James McTear in 1870 at St Andrews Cathedral, her father had been posthumously transformed from a general labourer and one time street sweeper to grain dealer (Charles Burns underwent a similar posthumous transformation, from porter to miller, at the time of his son Charles junior’s wedding).
John McDead, iron dresser, married Anne Bonar, both of Anderston on 15 January 1854, at the Kirk in the Barony further research may show if this couple were connected to our family.
So it seems likely that the Burns’ lodgers in 1841, Bonars Schoulars and McDades were relatives, by blood, marriage or both. Peter McGuiness remains to be found.
The 1841 census also shows a household of McDades and Burns* nearby in the Bannocks in Cheapside St. who may, or may not have been relatives. Interesting there is a note in the margin next to Rosanne Burns entry Co D, which I take to mean Co Donegal (though of course it could mean Down or Dublin).
*Or is is Browns? The entry is very difficult to read.
Carts and Carters in Gallowgate 1868 Carts in the Saltmarket 1868
The 1841 census records an Irish household of Gallaghers, Burns, and McDades in Bell St, near Glasgow cross, just east of the city centre. There were also McDeads in Denny’s Land in the Barony, Hugh (50) was born in Ireland, but the four younger members of the group aged 20 – 1 were born in Lanarkshire suggesting an arrival in Scotland around 1820 or earlier. On the other hand Andrew and Elizabeth McDade of Clyde St had just arrived in Scotland, as all but Elizabeth (1) at Clyde St, were Irish born.
View all names of interest Burns McN McD McC Bonar Swift Mooney, Schoolar etc & prepare brief digest of interrelations.
Confirmation of the Burns’ origins in Donegal
The initial report of my gt gt gt grandfather, Charles Burns’ death was corrected on 21 February 1865, by his brother, John. In August 2007 I came across an application for relief to the Barony Parish (Glasgow) from Charles’ brother John which confirmed that the Burns came from Donegal, the application gave the first documentary of our origins.
In 1868 John Burns applied for assistance to the Poor Law Guardians. In the course of the application a lot of interesting information about John was recorded. He was born about 1814. John was the son of Duncan Burns and Margaret McInulty, both dead, he had been born in Donegal. John’s family is described later.
Anderston Mill
One of the wonders of Anderston was the incombustible cotton mill built by Henry Houldsworth in Cheapside St. According to a contemporary account of the construction of the mill in 1805, ‘the floor was supported by metal pipes, - which at the same time served the purpose of conveying steam for heating the house’. As Aileen Smart comments in her history of Anderston, ‘the early central heating system was not for the benefit of the workers, who, on the contrary had to endure temperatures averaging 75º F so that the high levels of humidity needed for the spinning process could be maintained’. These were the sort of conditions that Mary Burns and the three power loom weavers would have faced at work, perhaps in Houldsworth’s mill. The 1841 and 1851 census returns show both power loom and hand loom weavers showing an industry in transition.
Charles and Grace Burns’ son Charles was born on 29 Oct. 1843, and baptised at St Andrew’s Cathedral on the 5 Nov. sponsors Biddy Schoular (one of the lodgers from 1841) and Thomas Donaghy; a Thomas Donaghy, an Irish porter and family appear at Well St in the Barony on the 1841 census.
The trial of Daniel O’Connell, the Irish nationalist leader, began in January 1844, meetings were held in Glasgow (and Newcastle) to protest against the exclusion of Catholics from the jury. |
Charles and Grace's had a son, born on 3 July 1846 and baptised William on 12 July that year (sponsors Sponsors Thomas N---dy and Ann Brattin?). William must have died young as he does not appear on a census, and a second William Burns was born on 7 June 1848, and baptised at St Andrews on 20 June. His sponsor, or godmother was Anne McCorkerran, (presumably the aunt who was the Burns lodger in both 1851 and 61, see below).
In 1846 Anderston was absorbed by the City of Glasgow |
A few years later the census of 31 March 1851 found the Burns family at 18 Maitland Lane, the Barony (a district just north of Anderston). Charles (49) was a general carter, Grace (40), Charles (8) a scholar, William (3) and Grace jnr. (3 months, look for her baptism at St Patrick’s Church, Cranston Hill from 1850). Visitors, in the household were Nancy McCorkle (61) unmarried, a house servant born in Ireland (I assume Grace senior’s aunt, Nancy is a variation on Anne). Also in the Burns household was John Hughes (30) Pottery worker b. Ireland, and his wife Sarah (McDade) Hughes (24), steam loom weaver (24) b. Lanarkshire – Grace Burns’ niece. Mary Burns was not in the family, she may have been the woman who married Thomas Gallagher on 4 June 1841 at St Andrew’s.
A John McDade, iron dresser, married an Ann Bonar, both of Anderston on 15 January 1854, at the Barony Kirk; so far I have not found a record of a Catholic marriage.
Dobbie’s Loan*
*Loan 'a grassy cattle track through arable ground, a roadway that leads to the (farm) house.' (The Pocket Scots Dictionary) - Dobbie’s loan had certainly changed since it was first named.
Edward Swift and Mary McDade
In 1870, in her application for Poor Law Relief, Grace Burns junior described Mary Swift as her aunt. The marriage of Edward Swift and Mary McDade gave more information about the McDades and McCorkles in Ireland. Edward and Mary were married at St Joseph’s Catholic Chapel, Woodside Rd, the Barony on 5 September 1859*. Mary reported that she was the daughter of James McDade, tailor and Jane McCorkle, both deceased. This puts a question mark over Mrs McDade senior's first name - I suspect it was Jane, as reported by her daughter Mary at her own wedding, rather than Sarah, as reported by her son in law, Charles Burns, on the death of Grace his wife in June 1864 (Charles had quite a record of recording the wrong names!). The Swifts were at 71 Dalhousie St in 1861 with Edward’s son James (22) a potter, and a granddaughter (4). Ten years later they were at 52 Cheapside St. Edward had aged 20 years in ten years and was now said to be 81 but still working as a mason’s labourer. Mary was 65, their granddaughter was still in the household, both Mary and her granddaughter were weavers.
*Both bride and groom had been widowed; I’ll check the register of St Joseph’s to see if the surname of Mary’s first husband is recorded.
** I believe it is likely that Mary Burns was Charles and Grace's second daughter, sharing, as she does, the Christian name of Charles' mother; the first daughter was traditionally named after the maternal grandmother – Jane. Were there also a Duncan and a James Burns?
Charles Burns Coal Dealer
In 1861, the Burns family were at 16 Maitland Lane where they were the sole occupants. Charles (48 - a year younger than he was a decade ago) was now described as a coal dealer. Grace (42, one year older than she was in 1851) Charles junior (16) an iron presser. William (12) and Grace (10). Also in the household was Agnes McCorkle (60) spinster, Grace’s aunt, born in Ireland. Perhaps Charles was having some success in business at this time, as there were no lodgers in the household, apart from his wife’s aunt. But Charles Burns does not appear as a coal dealer in any of the Post Office Directories for the period of his working life in Scotland, suggesting his business was small, short lived, or both.
The census reveals that 16 Maitland Lane had two rooms with one or more windows. [How many rooms did they have?
Ann McCorkle died of ‘old age (57) on 11 February 1862 at 16 Maitland Lane, Charles Burns, ‘her nephew’ (actually her niece’s husband) reported the death, no details of Ann’s parents were recorded*.
Grace Burns (jnr) in a later application to the Parish stated that her father had kept a ‘coal rea’, from the context this word must mean a store or depot, but so far I have failed to find a definition of the word. Here’s a little on the coal porters of 18th century London, their lot was, I imagine, little different to that of their Glasgow brothers in the 1840s-50s.
‘Most people in today's affluent societies would find that carrying a load of 25 kilograms (55 pounds) for any distance was quite an arduous task. Yet, for much of history, labourers were expected to carry much heavier loads. In the 18th century, coal porters in London regularly bore loads of about 90 kg (198 pounds). One 18th century observer, John Desaguliers, noted in 1734, the men delivering coal to buildings "running all the way at every turn, they go up two ladders...and perhaps climb up a staircase or two before they shoot their coals, and this most of them will do about sixty times a day."
The Glasgow City Regulations of 1807 regarding Coal Porters, which were in force at least up to the end of the 1830’s fixed an initial charge of 3d for carrying the cart of coals up the first stair, and for every other stair 3 halfpence, it must have been hard and dirty work.
*As is apparent, Charles Burns, and his brother John often prove vague, and inaccurate when recalling names of relatives and in-laws.
The deaths of Grace and Charles Burns
Grace Burns (senior) died at 16 Maitland Street (aka Maitland Lane) on Friday 3 June 1864, from Chronic Bronchitis. Her death was reported by Charles, her husband, who was described as a coal dealer, Charles could not sign his name and made his mark. It was Grace’s death certificate that revealed the names of her parents, or at least that of her father- James McDade, a journeyman tailor, deceased at the time of Grace’s death; her mother, named Sarah McCorkle, - according to Charles Burns, was also deceased by 1864. On another occasion, Grace’s McDade’s sister Mary gave their mother’s name as Jane
The Royal Infirmary Glasgow
The Royal Infirmary was founded by a group of Glasgow's leading citizens and opened in 1794. The building was designed by Robert (1728-92) and James Adam and built on the site of the Archbishop's Palace to the north of the Cathedral. It was demolished and replaced by a new and larger hospital in the early twentieth century.
Just over a year later Charles Burns, coal Carrier of 16 Maitland Lane, widower, of Grace ‘McAlpin’ died in Glasgow Infirmary of chronic bronchitis and dropsy*, at 9pm on Sunday 19 Feb. 1865. The death was reported by William Burns on 21 Feb. William signed his name. On Saturday 25 Feb., after the presentation of a deposition, the entry regarding Charles Burns' death was amended. A sworn statement was made by John Burns, carter, brother of Charles, William, son of Charles, and Joseph Rodgers, friend and neighbour of the deceased, that Charles was not 64 years old, but 54. This claim is only plausible if you accept that Charles Burns was 16 (and presumably, his wife 7) when their daughter was born in 1826. In all the excitement over Charles age no one notice that Charles was described as the widower of Grace McAlpin – the usual confusion over names. Grace’s maiden name is clearly recorded, twice in the baptism register of Glasgow Cathedral as McDade, as it is on her own death cert. and her son Charles’ marriage cert. It’s a shame no one noticed this mistake; but then again it’s likely that no one in the party could read well, or even read at all.
Joseph Rodgers, John’s friend and neighbour, and family appear on the 1861 census. Joseph was a coal dealer, his daughter was a dress maker and his two sons glass cutters. [Was he Irish or Scots?]
William Burns’ brother and sister, Charles and Grace, Liverpool
Charles Burns (jnr), an iron turner, of 98 Cowcadden’s St, William’s brother was married to Mary Ann Edwards, a domestic servant, on 16 July 1865 at St Joseph’s Chapel, Cowcaddens, Glasgow. Mary Ann was the daughter of a deceased sea captain. Charles and Mary Ann had a daughter Mary Grace, born on 19 May 1866, and baptised at St Joseph’s, Tollcross, Glasgow, sponsor Margaret Crawford. At the time Charles and Mary Ann lived at 48 Water Street, a few doors down from Charles’ uncle John. Their next daughter, Jane, was born on 2 December 1867 at 42 Lyon St Glasgow, Jane was baptised at St Joseph’s on 3 January 1868, her sponsor was Mary Ann Malloy/Mulloy. Jane’s birth certificate confirms Charles’ occupation as iron turner. Mary Grace Burns died, aged 8 months, at one in the morning on 23 January 1867 at 516 Dobbies’ Loan after an 8 day attack of bronchitis.
This firm had a telegraph address in 1854, Charles’ workplace ?
The family appear on the 1871 census in Liverpool, they were living at 50 Portland St, in the, predominantly Irish, Scotland ward of Liverpool [the name Burns is clearly recorded but they have been indexed on A.com as Buras]. The census shows Charles, 26, turner, and it reveals that Mary Ann came from Shrewsbury [look for on Scots/English censuses] Charles and Mary Ann had a one year old Liverpool born daughter Isabella. The Scots born Jane was missing
Deaths Dec 1869 (>99%) | ||||||
Burns | Jane | 0 | 8b | |||
?Burns | Jane | 0 | 8b | |||
?
The presence of the family in the city may explain why Charles’ sister Grace came to be in the poorhouse in Liverpool. Perhaps she travelled there to find her brother, and either did not find him, or perhaps found him and his wife less hospitable than she had hoped.
Mary Ann’s parents? Marriages Mar 1839 | |||||||
+1839EDWARDS | John | 27 | |||||
GRIFFITHS | Jane | 27 | |||||
Births Jun 1844 (>99%) | |||||||
Edwards | Mary Ann | 18 | |||||
Births Mar 1845 (>99%) | |||||||
EDWARDS | Mary Ann | 18 | |||||
Liverpool Workhouse, Brownlow Hill 1770, now the site of the Catholic cathedral.
Grace Burns’ experience in the poor houses of Glasgow and Liverpool
From poor law relief documents we know that Grace Burns, William’s sister, travelled from Scotland to England, - Liverpool in the spring of 1869. She may have travelled by rail or road, or it’s possible she travelled by sea. Grace was in various parts of Liverpool for 13 months. She was at Dover Street, an address near the Liverpool Royal infirmary for 6 months before being admitted to the Brownlow Hill Workhouse, she was described as being of Catholic religion, and was ‘temporarily disabled’.
Grace remained in the medical ward for 5 months. Liverpool Catholic Cathedral now stands on the site of the old workhouse. Grace was removed from Liverpool under a magistrates’ warrant in mid October, after an application from the Guardians of the Poor. At a hearing before the Petty Sessions an order was made that Grace be returned to the Barony of Lanarkshire, and delivered to the Inspector of the Poor. On her return to Clydeside, Grace went to stay with an aunt, Mrs Swift (Mary McDade), at 67 Dalhonsie St, The Barony.
An application was made for relief 28 Oct 1870, and she was admitted to the workhouse then. It seems Grace was in the ‘Nunnery at Lanark’ prior to going to Liverpool. The inspector found Grace wholly disabled through ‘general ill health and giddiness’. The inspector’s report relates that Grace’s father Charles kept a coal rea. As was traditional Grace’s mother’s name was misrecorded (as Grace McDonald on this occasion). Grace Burns was sent home on 17 Nov. 1870. The census of the following spring found Grace (19) a domestic servant back in the Barnhill Poor house, Springburn, Glasgow, where she died of TB on 13 February 1873; a 22 year old servant girl, ‘parents unknown’.
On 23 November 1852 the pauper Patrick McDade was removed from St John’s parish, Newcastle to Anderston, Glasgow, he had left Anderston 9 months earlier. ‘Received the sum of four shillings passage money to Leith John Strachan, second steward 23 Nov 1852.’ ‘Removed Pat. McDade to Glasgow 23 Nov 1852 Henry Sibbert’ (Assistant Overseer of the Parochial Chapelry of St John) Was this man a relative?
In 1881 Charles and Mary Ann Burns were at 22 Victoria Terrace, in the Great George area of Liverpool, they had 4 daughters; Isabella 11, Grace 7, Mary Ann 4 and Charlotte 5 months. After the birth of six daughters Charles must have concluded that he would never have a son, I assume the naming of his youngest, Charlotte to be in memory of his father and namesake Charles Burns. So far I have not found the family on the 1891 census, Charles may have been a man in a lodging house at 28 Christian Street, Liverpool in 1901 (tin plate worker, born Glasgow). [More work needs to be done researching the Liverpool Burns]
John and Rose Burns and the origin of the Burns in Donegal A number of facts suggest the Burns came from the South of Donegal, near its border with Tyrone. In fact it’s only 16 miles from Donegal town to the Tyrone border, and 28 miles to Omagh, a town in the middle of Tyrone. The celebrant of John Burns' marriage, in Donegal, around 1840 was Fr McCafferty. The only such priest listed in the 1836 'Complete Catholic Registry and Almanack' was Father Eu (presumably Eugene) McCafferty, parish priest of Tanavilly parish. The Irish Times, 'Irish Ancestors” site shows Tawnawilly parish. Tawnawilly is the Catholic parish for Donegal town, civil parish Donegal. John's bride, Rose Monaghan, was daughter of Patrick Monaghan and Mary Moss, (both still alive in 1868) Griffith's Valuation of Ireland shows a Patrick Monaghan holding land in Donegal civil parish. [Search for Scholars and other associated families in GVI] In the survey of land tenure known as Griffith's Valuation of Ireland, (1848-64) the only Duncan Burns renting or owning land in the whole of Ireland was Duncan Burns of Foyagh Rd in the townland of Ballintra, Drumholm parish Co. Donegal in 1857. Drumhome Civil Parish is immediately south of Donegal civil parish, which contains Tawnawilly Charles Burns father would have been at least 77 by 1857, given the rarity of the name Duncan in Ireland it seems safe to assume that this man was Charles' brother, or his father. I intend to examine the parish records of Drumholm parish to see if there is any information of relevance to Duncan Burns. * There is only one Catholic parish of the 40 in Co. Donegal whose records go back to the 18th century, all the rest date from the late1840’s or earlier. |
John and Rose Burns and their children
As described above John applied for assistance to the Poor Law Guardians on 17 June 1868, he was the son of Duncan Burns and Margaret McInulty, both dead. John was born in Donegal, and was married there to Rose Monaghan. As describe later records show that John and his wife first settled in the Airdrie area, east of Glasgow, in the parish of Old Monklands where there were many coal mines and iron works. The 1861 census shows they were in Ireland in 1851 and that they arrived in Lanarkshire no earlier than 1853, at least 12 years later than Charles and Grace Burns.
John and Rose' son Duncan (though not their first) was born on 25th April 1858, at 283 Dobbie’s Loan, near Maitland Lane, where brother Charles lived. The couple's son William had been born in February 1856 in the ironmaking village of Chapelhall, in Lanarkshire. Duncan was baptised at St Mungo's Glasgow, Margaret Kelly was the sponsor. Duncan junior does not seem to have survived, as he was not included in the census return for the family in 1861. The Burns were by then at 62 Bishop St. Bishop St ran north from Main St, Anderston (now Argyle St). John (39) and Rose (38) had three daughters and two sons. Patrick (14) and Ann (11) both born in Ireland, and Rose (8), William (5), and Mary Jane (1) born in Lanarkshire. Apart from the baby, all the children were at school. John (39) was a labourer
On the 17th of June 1868 John applied for relief because he was suffering from chronic bronchitis. John and Rose were living at 99 Milton St, off Maitland St where Charles and Grace Burns had lived with their family.
John was 54, meaning he would have been born about 1814. John and Rose had had three children, just Mary Jane (7), born at Canal St, was living at home. She was earning 2/- per week at a pottery. Rose Ann (16), born Cadder Bank (likely Calderbank in Monklands), was earning 2/6 a week in a pottery. William (13) born at the same address also worked in the pottery for 2/6 per week. The family had been at West Milton St for 2 years and prior to that were at Canal St for 5 years, and at Wallace Court for 3 years. John referred to M Bain in Shamrock St who could vouch for their period of residence in the Barony. All these streets were just north of the City centre. Patrick was not mentioned in the application, but as will be seem later, was still alive, Ann would have been 17 or 18 by then, so perhaps she was married. The visitor’s report states “applied for relief being suffering from chronic bronchitis and wholly unfit for work. Saw Doctor’s certificate. They appear to be decent people, very needy”.
On 7 January 1865 John and Rose’s eldest son Patrick (19), an iron turner, was married to Rubina (sic) Cairns (19), the daughter of Peter and Ann (Haugney) Cairns – both deceased. Patrick signed and Robina made her mark. The wedding took place at St Joseph’s Chapel. The witnesses were John Glen, and Elizabeth McCork (a McCorkle cousin?) John Burns was described as a carter on the marriage lines. Patrick’s address was 20 Canal St, a street where the family had lived several years earlier.
In 1871 John and Rose were at 62 Water St, Milton, in the Barony, one of many households at that address. John (60) was a labourer, Roseann was 56, Roseann junior (18), transfer in pottery (presumably applying transfer designs to the pottery). The census records the fact that Roseann was born in Chapel Hall, Lanarkshire, about 1853. William (15) was an iron turner. Mary Ann (13) was a pottery worker. The Burns had two Irish lodgers, James McCusker (24) a labourer and his wife Ann (20). They were in fact Ann Burns, John and Rose’s Irish born daughter and her husband.
Patrick and Robina do not at first sight seem to appear on the 1871 census, but there was a Patrick Burns 26 at 62 Water St, lodging with Mary Matham (maiden name Burns) his cousin. Patrick’s wife was Bridget (26) born Ireland, we know from the 1891 census that Robina sometimes called herself Bridget, perhaps she did not like her unusual name. This couple were the right age, 26, to be Patrick Burns and his wife, and John Burns (3) seems to have been their son, and John’s younger brother Matthew must have been born soon after the census. Ann Jane Burns (13), Patrick’s cousin had been born at Chapelhall, Lanarkshire, about 1858.
John and Rose’s younger son William (20), an iron turner, was married to Bridget Murphy, the daughter of James, a coal pit labourer and Roseann (McGoulier?) Murphy. The wedding took place at St Aloysius, Garnet Hill, Glasgow on 16 July 1875. Both parties were living at 62 Water St. The groom signed and the bride made her mark. The wedding certificate recorded the fact that John, the father of the groom had died
Patrick and Robina Burns’ son Peter was born at 50 Water St on 19 August 1878. Patrick was still working as an iron turner.
The census of 1881 found Rose Ann Burns living with her daughter Mary Jane Devine (20) and her son in law John Devine (22), a plasterer. Rose Ann was a widow, and was described as a housekeeper. John and Mary Jane had a one year old daughter Martha. Boarding with the Devines was John Donellan (38) a widow and his three children. John was a marble cutter’s labourer, his sons John (14) and William (13) were message boys and his daughter Alice (8) was at school.
Patrick (37) and Bridget (Robina) (37) Burns were at 29 Water St. Patrick was still an iron turner, Peter was just 2. John (13), a moulder’s apprentice and Matthew (10), at school, were described as their sons, but Patrick and Robina/Bridget had only married six years earlier. John is likely the three year old child at and Matthewand
William (25) and Bridget (25) Burns it seems were at 36 Maitland St, with their two year old daughter Mary. William had been born at Airdrie; this is in the area that includes Chapelhall. William was an assurance agent, and the family had a boarder, Thomas Harvey (25), a bottler born in Glasgow. By 1883 William’s foray into the world of commerce had ended and he was again working as an iron turner, this was recorded on the birth certificate of James Burns. James was born at 36 Maitland St on 23 May 1875.
James (34) and Ann (Burns) McCusker were at 36 Milton St in 1881 with their three children; Mary (8) and Hugh (4) were at school and Ellen was just two. 36 Milton St must have been a large tenement building; it had 24 separate dwellings, 18 occupied and 6 empty. At 19 and 21 Milton St was a large police station and accommodation for firemen. There were 32 male prisoners and 7 women held at the police station on the night of 30-31 March 1881 when the census was taken.
James, William and Bridget’s third child was born at 36 Maitland St. The following year James cousin Annie McCusker was born (January 1884). Sadly both Annie, and her mother, Ann were both dead within four months. Annie McCusker died of bronchitis at the age of four months on 4 March 1884, her father James reported her death and made his mark. A month later Ann (Burns) McCusker died at 36 West Milton St on 4 April 1884. The diagnosis was ‘general wasting with great debility since the birth of baby’. Ann’s death was reported by her brother William.
‘Widow John Burns’, or Rose Ann Burns applied to the parish of the barony for relief on 16 March 1891, she was visited the following day – St Patrick’s Day. Her address was 107 Maitland St, her rent was 5/- per week, aged 75 she was described as a domestic. She was wholly disabled through debility and cough, she was also very deaf. Her granddaughter Martha Devine (11) was living with Rose Ann.
The report said that Patrick (40) her son was a confectioner, with two shops, one in Garscube Rd, and one at 6 Church Place, where he lived with his wife and four children. ‘Gives his mother 1/6 weekly’. Rose’s second son William (36), married with one child, ‘seaman, at sea – voyage to Madras’. William’s wife and child were at 48 William St Cowcaddens. Rose Ann and her granddaughter were offered admission to the hospital, or poor house. It is not clear whether they accepted. So far I have found neither on the 1891 census which took place the following month on the night of the 5-6th of April.
William Burn’s wife, Bridget (36), and son James (8) was at William St. Bridget’s occupation was confectioner, I wonder if she worked for her brother in law. William was absent, presumably en route to or from Madras.
Rose Ann died on 10 March 1895, at 27 Milton Lane after suffering from diarrhoea for a month. Her death was reported by her son Patrick, now of 220 Garcube Rd, Milton (the site of one of his shops?)
The census of 1891 found Patrick, and family at Church Place, Anderston(?). Patrick and Bridget’s ages were given as forty five and forty six, Peter (12) and James (10) were at school, there was also a four year old daughter, Cassey Burns, and Alice McClean (55) a widow born in Nairn was a visitor in the household.
It seems Matthew (19), an apprentice iron turner, Patrick and Bridget’s eldest son was a boarder at 15 Burnside St, just north of the city centre. There was a Thomas Cairns (1) in the household, likely Matthew’s cousin or niece, I assume Elizabeth Crozier, wife of Lamont Crozier was a Cairns prior to her marriage. It also seems likely that the John Burns (24) at 7 Church Place opposite Patrick and Bridget, was their eldest son with his wife, Bridget (22) and daughters, Bridget (3) and Elizabeth (8 months).
James Burns, brother of Charles and John.
The 1851 census shows James Burns and family at Stirling Rd, Chapelhall, Bothwell parish, Lanarkshire. Chapelhall is about 11 miles east of Glasgow. Historically it had been a centre of iron manufacture, and the Monklands Iron and Steel Company opened its Chapelhall Works in 1826 and in 1835 iron making began at the neighbouring village of Calderbank. In the mid 1840s rail services for passengers and goods between Bothwell and Glasgow were improved. Both these factors must have drawn immigrants into the area. The census of 31 March 1851 shows James Burns, my gt,gt,gt,gt uncle was thirty years old, as was his wife Helen. They had three children, Mary (9), Michael (6) and Margaret (2) all born in Ireland. So this branch of the Burns family must have left Ireland between 1848 and 1851. James and Helen had four lodgers, suggesting that they had not just arrived in the village. The men in this all-Irish household were labourers.
James (junior) the first Scots born child of the family was born around 1853, two years before civil registration was introduced. Anne Jane Burns was born at Chapelhall on the 27 August 1857; the certificate reveals that Helen Burns’ maiden name was Gallicher (later spelt Gallocher). James, who reported the birth made his mark; he was a labourer at the iron works.
Children's Employment Commission 1842
Children's Employment Commission 1842 Report on Chapelhall
Newcastle Courant 12 August 1842
Friday 19 August 1842 Newcastle Courant
Reports of the inspectors of Mines into fatal accidents
1857 July 1 Coathill Colliery, Coatbridge Peter Burns, drawer, boy, killed by a fall of the foot at the face. 1858 9 January Fergushill, Kilwinning (owner Archibald Finney) Peter Montgomery, drawer, 11, crushed by the cage at the bottom of the shaft. 1858 24 July Raw Pit Coatbridge (Wm Baird and Co) James Burns, Collier, 25 killed by fall of roof. 1858 5 Dec Garscube Coll Maryhill (James Barclay and Co) Wm Bonnar, collier, 24, was killed by an explosion of firedamp. 1859 24 Jan Rochsulloch, Airdrie (Geoge Cowie) Peter McDaid, collier, no age given, killed by a fall of stone and coal at face of working. 1860 29 Sept Rosehall, Coatbridge (Addie & Rankin) Michael Burns, brusher*, 38, killed by a fall of roof in drawing road while engaged in taking it down. 1861 March 6 Dixon, Dixon (Wm Baird and Co) Patrick Monachan, miner, 27 killed by a fall of ironstone. 1863 21 August Westmuir, Glasgow (Robert Gray & Co) Archibald Burns, collier, 46, fall of stone. 1863 15 October Drumpeller No 9, Coatbridge (trustees of the late JohnWilson) Patrick Mooney, 15, pony driver, killed by a fall of stone at the face. These men and boys share the surnames of friends and relatives of our Burns, they may or may not have a family connection, it’s likely that they came from the same part of Ireland as our ancestors.**
*A brusher’s job was to look after the roads in the pit.
**Investigate on next Scots Visit.
By the census of 1861 (7-8 April) James, Helen and their family were at 62 Bishop St, Port Dundas, just north of the city centre. Port Dundas was a canal port. James (38) is simply described as a labourer, his wife (listed as Elenor) was 38. Mary, now 17 was a mill worker, Michael (15) was a bottle blower’s apprentice, Margaret, who would have been about 12 does not appear with the family, no such death was reported after 1855, perhaps she had died before them, or was elsewhere. John and Rose Ann Burns and family lived next door to James and Helen in 1861.
James and Helen’s daughter Helen was born on 11th of July 1861, the birth was reported by Rose Monaghan, the child’s aunt, who made her mark (- Rose Burns; the use of maiden names by married women in Scotland was not unusual). The birth certificate also records the fact that James and Helen were married in Ireland in 1837. Sadly Helen (45), James Burns’ wife died after four weeks of bronchitis at 6-30 am on the morning of 14 January 1865, the certificate records the fact that she was a Dispensary patient, at Rottenrow, nearbye. Helen died at 5 Canal St. The certificate reveals that Helen’s parents were Michael Gallocher, a farmer and Jane Strong, both deceased. James, who reported his wife’s death made his mark. James died five years after his wife, at 13 minutes after midnight on the 5th April 1866 at 5 Canal St. James death was reported by his daughter Mary who made her mark. James age was recorded as forty one and his occupation was labourer. Mary reported that her father’s father was Duncan Burns, blacksmith (deceased and his mother, Ann Burns (McInulty – deceased).
Two views of Canal St Port Dundas from the online collection of Glasgow’s Mitchell Library. The photo of the single storey thatched building dates from C1900, though the 1960s photo of the stone tenements is more likely to represent the type of building the Burns would have lived in.
Mary Burns (23) married Connel Mulhearne at St Joseph’s Chapel on 12 July 1867. Connel (25) was an iron turner. Both he and Mary gave their address as 5 Canal St. Connel’s father, also called Connel was dead, he had been a farmer and his mother (also deceased) was Ann McDermott. Mary’s father was mistakenly recorded as Michael Burns (deceased) a foundry engine keeper, and her mother Helen Gallacher. The witnesses were Pat O’Neil and Ann Burns. The 1871 census shows Mary Mulhearne (28) and her son John (2) at 62 Water St. Mary (Burns) Mulhearne is described as married on the census, but Connel does not appear in the household. Mary’s sisters Anne Jane (13), a spinner, and Helen (9) a scholar, were staying with her, as was here cousin Patrick Burns (26) – John Burns’ son, his wife Bridget (26) and their son John (3) – as mentioned in the previous section.
William Burns’ move to Gateshead.
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A view of Gateshead from Newcastle prior to the great fire and explosion of 1854.
The 1851 Census shows, at Bottlebank, (a steep, narrow road leading from the north end of High St down to the old Tyne Bridge) Charles Burns (57) a labourer born in Ireland, and his wife, Elizabeth born in Scotland. I am trying to find if this man was a relative of William’s. This Charles was not William’s brother; he was born in Scotland, and was married to Mary Ann. He was not William’s father; he was perhaps a cousin or second cousin, or no relation at all.
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Bottle Bank, Gateshead. Bottle Bank and Bridge Street, together with the north end of the High Street originally formed the main business and shopping streets of Gateshead until their demolition from the 1930s onwards. Bottle Bank took its name from the saxon word ‘botl’ meaning settlement or dwelling, although it is sometimes erroneously called ‘Battle Bank’. Behind the shops were narrow courts and alleys, such as Ruddam’s Court which housed many families in crowded tenements. This photograph was taken during a survey of Gateshead housing taken in the 1930s. Under the Housing Act of 1930, the Council was given much greater legal power to deal with slum housing. The worst housing was around the High Street and Quayside areas of the town. Four and five storey tenements in the Pipewellgate and Hillgate areas housed muiltiple families and huddled narrowed courts provided accomodation in the High Street and Oakwellgate areas. The Housing Act meant that whole areas of housing could be demolished and between 1932 and 1935 Barn Close, Pipewellgate, Hillgate, Bridge Street, Church Street, Old Fold and many of the High Street courts were acquired by compulsory purchase order and demolished. (Manders, 1973 quoted at http://isee.gateshead.gov.uk) |
William Burns first appeared in the North East in Gateshead, where he was married to Mary Garvey, the daughter of James Garvey deceased, a cooper, at St Joseph’s Church High St Gateshead, 31 Jan 1867. William was a jobbing labourer of 137 High St. Gateshead. The witnesses were James Hughes of Ellison St, off High St and Rose Trainor, of Bottlebank. James and Rose were married in Gateshead on 4th January 1868, at St Joseph’s Gateshead but so far have not come to light on subsequent censuses. William and Mary Burns of High St were their witnesses.
The Garveys
