Mary and Isabella Buchanan.....

[gpc52]

Hello. Can anyone help me with a knot that I have been trying to resolve over the last few months? My great grandmother was called Isabella Slater (nee Buchanan) and was born on the Outer Hebrides in about 1859 / 1860. S. Uist.

Her sister was called Mary and their parents died from smallpox. Mary nursed Isabella through smallpox and they both survived. Mary was to become a head dairy maid to a lady in waiting of Queen Victoria, in Lour near Dundee.

In the 1901 census Mary was a servant, Head Dairy Maid, at Lour House, Forfar, Angus, age 54 and unmarried. Mary's DoB would be 1846 / 1847 and in very poor writing it looked as if the place of birth was Benbecula, Invernesshire.

In the 1901 census Bella Buchanan (42) was married to Frederick Slater (41) and they were living in Dundee with their 3 children. The census clearly gives South Uist, Invernesshire as her place of birth giving a year of birth of 1859. Bella and Frank had met in Canada where Bella Buchanan was the cook to the Governor of Canada. Frederick Slater was born in Lincolnshire and perhaps was a gardener to the Governor.

Their three children: - Frederick age 9, Fanny age 11 and May age 6 were all born in England.

I believe that the parents of Mary Buchanan are Alexander and Effy (Euphemia Boyde) Buchanan living at Griminish in 1861 and Mary has a christening date of the 13th August 1848. (IGI)

In the 1861 Census Mary Buchanan appears with her parents and brothers and sisters in Griminish(?) on Benbecula age 14. But where is Bella?

Can anyone give me a clue to confirm that Isabella Buchanan and Frederick Slater were married at Niagara Falls in Canada between 1880 and 1890?

Does anyone know where Isabella is in 1859/1860 at the time of her birth?.

Many thanks for any help that you can give.

Grt-grandson of Isabella Buchanan.

Graham Cooper

[LesleyB]

Hi Graham
..and a warm welcome to Talking Scot.
A parent search in IGI shows the following children to Alexander Buchannan & Euphemia Boyd which you may have already:

Scotland, British Isles
Father: Alexander Buchannan, Mother: Euphemia Boyd
Exact Spelling: Off
International Genealogical Index / British Isles - 7

1. JAMES BUCHANAN - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Birth: 17 DEC 1855 South Uist, Inverness, Scotland (submission)
2. JAMES DONALD BUCHANAN - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Birth: 11 DEC 1856 South Uist, Inverness, Scotland (submission)
3. MARY BUCHANAN - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Christening: 13 AUG 1848 Benbecula, Inverness, Scotland (submission)
4. CHRISTY BUCHANAN - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Christening: 05 MAR 1850 Benbecula, Inverness, Scotland (submission)
5. CATHERINE BUCHANAN - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Christening: 20 JUL 1852 Benbecula, Inverness, Scotland (submission)
6. MARY BUCHANAN - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Christening: 13 AUG 1848 South Uist, Inverness, Scotland (extract)
7. CHIRSTY BUCHANAN - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Christening: 05 MAR 1850 South Uist, Inverness, Scotland (extract)

so only the last two listed are taken directly from the OPR, the rest having been submitted by a member of the LDS Church. No sign of Isabella so far...

The James Buchannan 1855 birth would probably have been well worth checking on - but from a look on Scotlands People it appears he was registered in 1856, so possibly not as full a birth entry as you might have seen had it been registered in 1855, which is a great pity.

Have you looked for the death of Isabella? Do you know if she died in Scotland?

Best wishes
Lesley

[LesleyB]

Hi Graham
Effy Boyd, wife of Alexander Buchanan died at Griminish in 1872 aged 55 - of asthma. Don't know if this helps or hinders. Seems it wasn't smallpox in her case, so either this is not the correct parent..or

...where did you come across the smallpox information - is it information passed down your family?

I think you need to track down the marriage of Frederick Slater & Bella which you think happened in Canada. Maybe someone on here will be able to help with the Canadian records - and with any luck her father's name should be stated on there . I'm not sure if Canadian records also name the mother.

Best wishes
Lesley

[nelmit]

Hello Graham,

Obviously I don't have a clue if this is her or not but have you seen this from the 1881 British Census?

Fredrick ELLINDON Head M Male 40 Woodbridge, Suffolk, England Bookkeeper (Clk)
Jane ELLINDON Wife M Female 32 Liverpool, Lancashire, England
Edith ELLINDON Daur Female 2 Liverpool, Lancashire, England
Isabella BUCHANAN Servant U Female 23 Scotland Housemaid

Dwelling 22 Chester Street
Census Place Toxteth Park, Lancashire, England
Family History Library Film 1341870
Public Records Office Reference RG11
Piece / Folio 3636 / 40
Page Number 21

Regards,
Annette M

[isobelc]

Hi Graham,

Very intriguing! There is no birth registration for a daughter Isabella born to Alexander Buchanan and Effy Boyd( though this would be expected as the birthyear is post 1855), nor does she appear with the family in either 1861 or 1871 (they were living at Griminish on both census dates). This would seem to suggest that Isabella Buchanan was not their daughter.

Effy Buchanan or Boyd died in 1872 at Griminish from Asthma from which she had suffered for some years prior. Alexander died in 1880, also at Griminish, and he did die of typhus.

In 1881 Mary Buchanan was living at Griminish with her brother John and his wife:-
Dwelling: Griminish Private
Census Place: South Uist, Inverness, Scotland
Source: FHL Film 0203428 GRO Ref Volume 118-1 EnumDist 3 Page 21
Marr Age Sex Birthplace
John BUCHANAN M 37 M S Uist, Inverness, Scotland
Rel: Head
Occ: Crofter
Margaret BUCHANAN M 21 F S Uist, Inverness, Scotland
Rel: Wife
Occ: Crofters Wife
Mary BUCHANAN U 34 F S Uist, Inverness, Scotland
Rel: Sis
Occ: Weaver Woollen
Mary MC MILLAN U 22 F S Uist, Inverness, Scotland
Rel: Serv
Occ: Serv Dom
Mary MC DONALD 8 F S Uist, Inverness, Scotland
Rel: Visitor
Occ: Scholar

The only possibility I can find for Isabella is the following-

Household Record 1881 British Census

Search results | Download Previous Household Next Household


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Household:

Name Relation Marital Status Gender Age Birthplace Occupation Disability
Fredrick ELLINDON Head M Male 40 Woodbridge, Suffolk, England Bookkeeper (Clk)
Jane ELLINDON Wife M Female 32 Liverpool, Lancashire, England
Edith ELLINDON Daur Female 2 Liverpool, Lancashire, England
Isabella BUCHANAN Servant U Female 23 Scotland Housemaid


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source Information:
Dwelling 22 Chester Street
Census Place Toxteth Park, Lancashire, England
Family History Library Film 1341870
Public Records Office Reference RG11
Piece / Folio 3636 / 40
Page Number 21


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What are the sources for your information on Isabella Buchanan. Do you know where she died?

Regards,
Isobel(Edinburgh)

[gpc52]

First of all, thank you all very much for your help to date. Some of the information I already knew but a lot is new. As a number of you have asked for more information I shall detail what i know below. Apologies if I repeat myself.

Mary Buchanan is listed in the 1901 census at Lour working for Mrs. Carnegy. She has an age of 54 and a birth place of Benbecula.

Her sister Isabella is married by 1901 and is now Isabella or Bella Slater. Her age is 42 and her husband's 41 living in Dundee with their three children. Her place of birth is clear and is South Uist.

Family history has it that their parents died of smallpox and Mary brought Isabella up. My Uncle John remembers Isabella having pock mark scars on her face. Mary Buchanan paid for Isabella to go to Mrs. Marshalls Cookery School in London. From here she seems to have got a job as a cook with the Governor of Canada where I believe she met her husband to be, Frederick Slater. My father said in the past that he believed Isabella and Frederick were married at Niagara Falls.

By 1890 they had returned to England and their three children were born in England. Fanny (1890), Frederick (1892) and Alice May, my grandmother, in 1895 in Toxteth, Liverpool. A little strange here if someone has found an Isabella Buchanan in Toxteth in 1881 aged 23. Perhaps she had family in Toxteth in 1881, went to Canada and by 1890 was back in England, married.

In 1919 Alice May received a letter from a cousin, Emily, in South Africa. She had followed her father, a brother of Mary and Isabella, to South Africa. Unfortunately I do not know their brother's first name, but he was 80 in 1919, and his wife had recently died (in Durban). He lived in Durban and ran a boarding house. Emily with her family, husband and children lived in Cape Town and her father came to live with her after his wife's death. In 1919 she had five children, Beatrice, Willie, Alice, Dolly and Gerty but I do not know her married name.

Isabella Slater died in Bedford, supposedly in 1946 at the age of 92, but this does not tie with being 42 in 1901. Some one in the family has got hold of a photocopy of the death register for Bedford and it states Isabella Slater age 92, Bedford, Volume 3b page 329. On the photocopy in pencil are the words April, May, June 1946.

I have searched for a death of Isabella Slater but I can not find her in Bedford at all. My nephew is going to go to the Family Record Centre in London in a few weeks time and search the registers.

There is quite a lot above and most of it is proven fact. Census in 1901, birth in Toxteth in 1895 of Alice May, letter from South Africa etc, but all the time I never seem to find a birth record for Isabella on South Uist which is strange.

As someone has suggested perhaps her death certificate is the key. But again I have not found a reference on the Internet and that is why I have asked my nephew to go to the Family Records Centre.

If anyone can help or finds out more from what I have said then I would be very grateful. I shall keep you all informed.

Many thanks

Graham

[gpc52]

Birth of daughter Alice May Slater
10th March 1895
11 Bosnia Street
Toxteth Park

Regards

Graham

[isobelc]

Hi Graham,

Mary Buchanan, daughter of Alexander Buchanan an Effy Boyd married Angus MacKinnon on Benbecula on 21st May 1885. She was 37.She lived to be 100, dying at Griminish on 5th September 1946. Angus appears to have died in 1908.

This raises the question of who the Mary Buchanan was who was living in Lour in 1901.The place of birth certainly looks like Benbecula, so it looks like maybe this Mary's birth was not recorded as the only one that is listed on the igi is the daughter of Alexander and Effy.

Regards,
Isobel

[gpc52]

I am now beginning to think because of the evidence people have placed in this thread that the Mary Buchanan named in the 1861 census at Griminish is not the sister of Isabella.

It is looking as if the family births were not recorded for some reason or other. But the 1901 census clearly states Benbecula and South Uist for the sisters. There is strong family evidence that the Mary Buchanan was at Lour in 1901 and is Isabella Slater's sister and she was in Dundee at the same time. This all fits in place with family history and what my father and my grandmother used to tell us.

So I think it is proven that Mary and Isabella came from Benbecula and South Uist, but why are there no records of the family?

I now need to try and find Isabella Buchanan's marriage to Frederick Slater probably in Canada at Niagara Falls, may be some time between 1880 and 1890.

I also need to wait on my nephew trying to find Isabella Slater's death at 92 in Bedford between 1945 and 1950, when he visits the FRC. I think it is interseting that nobody has found her death and added it to the thread.

Thank you all for your help. May be all we will ever know is the place of birth from the various census, Benbecula and South Uist, and not find any actual record of the family on the islands.

Kind regards

Graham (Norwich)

[garibaldired]

"Isabella Slater died in Bedford, supposedly in 1946 at the age of 92, but this does not tie with being 42 in 1901. Some one in the family has got hold of a photocopy of the death register for Bedford and it states Isabella Slater age 92, Bedford, Volume 3b page 329. On the photocopy in pencil are the words April, May, June 1946."

If you have this much information, I'm sure if you contact the Bedford Record Office they will be able to confirm (or not) whether this is correct. You can then order the certificate.

Bedfordshire District Register Office
Pilgrim Centre
20 Brickhill Drive
Bedford
MK41 7PZ

Tel +44 (0)1234 290450

Hope this is of some use.
Meg