Cinderella Story?

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clairemcgillivray
Posts: 26
Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2015 10:11 pm

Cinderella Story?

Post by clairemcgillivray » Thu Oct 29, 2015 10:35 pm

Right, a bit of a strange situation going on here that I'm hoping someone can explain...

So this relates to Kenneth Campbell (we'll call him Kenneth3), born c. 1868 in the household of Kenneth Campbell (*c.1794 - d.1883) and Ann Castle (*c.1801). Kenneth and Ann had the following children:

- James (1825 - 1885)
- William (*c. 1832)
- Andrew a.k.a Buder (*c. 1834)
- Ann (*c. 1836)
- Kenneth (*c. 1838)
- Evander (*c. 1841)
- John (*c. 1843)
- Hugh (*c. 1846)

The first appearance of Kenneth3 is in the 1871 census with Kenneth Campbell, Ann Campbell (nee. Castle), and their son William who was aged 38. Kenneth is listed as being the 3 year old grandson of the head of household, born at Fyvie, and his father is noted as William Campbell. So far, so good - the only thing that could be considered strange is that he's living with his father and paternal grandparents with no mother, but she could've died in between his birth and the census so no big worries there.

I run into a problem in the 1881 census. Still living at the same address that the family has held since at least 1861, and still living with Kenneth and Ann Campbell (nee. Castle) and their son William. He is listed age 13, with a birthplace of Fyvie, only now he is listed as a servant of the house! I originally thought it was an error but on the same census, Kenneth Campbell (head of household) has an occupation of "Farming 33 Acres Emply 2 Servant". In addition to Kenneth3, there is a female servant.

To try and get some clarification I decided to try and find Kenneth3's birth certicate. The only Kenneth Campbell born between 1865 and 1871 in Aberdeenshire (safe assumption considering the family only moved in / around Fyvie for c. 100 years) was in fact born in Fyvie (Millbrex to be exact) but... he was born illegitimately to John Campbell, Cattle Dealer and Margaret Burr, Domestic Servant.

Our John Campbell (*c. 1843) was a cattle dealer, and in 1871 he was living in Fyvie with his wife Margaret (nee. Fowler) and their 5 month old son John Campbell. They were married in 1870, and Margaret's parents are George and Agnes Fowler (nee. Marr)... so what's going on here? These are my top theories, which do you think is most likely?

1. Kenneth3 was born illegitimately to John Campbell and Margaret Burr and put into the care of his paternal grandparents to either save his parents from shame, or for a 'better' life, but was ultimately mistreated.
2. He was born to William Campbell and an unspecified mother (possibly deceased), his birth never registered.
3. He was born to Ann Campbell and an unspecified father, his birth hidden and never registered to save face.

I think number one is the most likely (Occam's Razor and so on), but how do I prove it? Also - who enslaves their teenage grandson?!

EDIT
To confused matters further - in 1891 (after the death of Kenneth and Ann Campbell), William Campbell is now living at the family farm with a male boarder and - get this - a 32 year old woman called Annie Matthew marked as his daughter!
Interested in: McGillivray (Moray and Aberdeenshire), Alexander (Moray and Aberdeenshire), Strathdee (Moray and Banffshire), Williamson (Moray and Ross-shire) among others.

WilmaM
Posts: 1870
Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2004 10:46 am
Location: Falkirk area

Re: Cinderella Story?

Post by WilmaM » Thu Oct 29, 2015 11:22 pm

I think you are perhaps reading too much into the servant designation.
In those days it was perfectly normal for a 13 year old to be working, indeed the current 70 years old would have left school at 14 years.
Yes, it is also perfectly normal for a grandchild to be brought up and absorbed into the wider family circle.
It may also have been the census enumerator who put him down as a servant rather than a relative, as many folks would have been unable to read or write.

How you go about proving any of those theories however - it's too late at night for me...
Wilma

nelmit
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Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2004 11:49 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: Cinderella Story?

Post by nelmit » Fri Oct 30, 2015 1:32 am

I think he is the son of John Campbell and Margaret Burr but where does he go after 1881?
Have you looked at Kenneth senior's will to see if he gets a mention there?

Regards,
Annette

clairemcgillivray
Posts: 26
Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2015 10:11 pm

Re: Cinderella Story?

Post by clairemcgillivray » Fri Oct 30, 2015 9:54 am

WilmaM wrote:Yes, it is also perfectly normal for a grandchild to be brought up and absorbed into the wider family circle.
It may also have been the census enumerator who put him down as a servant rather than a relative, as many folks would have been unable to read or write.
But everyone who was in the house for the last census is still there, and he was listed as grandson then so the only change would be (presumably) the census enumerator who could obviously read / write?
Interested in: McGillivray (Moray and Aberdeenshire), Alexander (Moray and Aberdeenshire), Strathdee (Moray and Banffshire), Williamson (Moray and Ross-shire) among others.

trish1
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Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2005 3:38 am
Location: australia

Re: Cinderella Story?

Post by trish1 » Fri Oct 30, 2015 2:47 pm

clairemcgillivray wrote:

The first appearance of Kenneth3 is in the 1871 census with Kenneth Campbell, Ann Campbell (nee. Castle), and their son William who was aged 38. Kenneth is listed as being the 3 year old grandson of the head of household, born at Fyvie, and his father is noted as William Campbell.
Was it on the census image that William is noted as the father of Kenneth - or was it on an ancestry transcription? Most census records don't record relationships other than to the head of house. Ancestry like to make up their own facts at times. Just checked the ancestry transcript & they have Kenneth's father as William - pure conjecture by the transcribers - because William is son of Kenneth & Ann - so the son of John is a much better option.

If he was the son of John, he would still be the grandson of Kenneth & Ann. It is quite possible he is listed in the next census as a "servant" purely because he was working for his grandparents as a farm servant. Many times I have seen relatives listed as "visitors" on census records - because they were visiting with the family, rather than permanent residents in the household.

Trish

AnneM
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Re: Cinderella Story?

Post by AnneM » Fri Jan 01, 2016 12:16 am

An interesting phenomenon I've noticed is that in the NE illegitimate children are often to be found in the father's family whereas in the West it is most commonly the mother's. Have you found Kenneth's death certificate?
Anne
Researching M(a)cKenzie, McCammond, McLachlan, Kerr, Assur, Renton, Redpath, Ferguson, Shedden, Also Oswald, Le/assels/Lascelles, Bonning just for starters

speleobat2
Posts: 1646
Joined: Tue Apr 03, 2007 3:14 pm
Location: USA--Alabama

Re: Cinderella Story?

Post by speleobat2 » Fri Jan 01, 2016 5:39 pm

My great grandfather Malcolm Munro had two illegitimate siblings one by his own father and one by his eldest brother who were raised in the family by his mother. It wasn't unusual. Someone had to raise those babies whether they liked it or not.

There are numerous listings for Kenneth Campbells who immigrated after 1881 on Ancestry.com. This is the same time period when my relatives began moving across the oceans to the USA, South Africa, and Australia. There is even one Kenneth Campbell who went to Shanghai, China. You may never know where Kenneth ended up. I have several relatives who simply disappeared which keeps me looking!

Carol :D
Looking for: Clerihew, Longmuir/Longmore, Chalmers, Milne, Barclay in Newhills,
Munro, Cadenhead, Raitt, Ririe/Reary

SarahND
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Location: France

Re: Cinderella Story?

Post by SarahND » Fri Jan 01, 2016 6:36 pm

AnneM wrote:An interesting phenomenon I've noticed is that in the NE illegitimate children are often to be found in the father's family whereas in the West it is most commonly the mother's.
That's interesting, Anne. My gg grandmother was brought up by her father, who was from Aberdeen. I have always questioned the story that her mother died when she was a baby and wondered whether the mother just quietly went on with her life while the father left and took the baby elsewhere. He was married to someone else, but they were separated.

Still doesn't get me any nearer to finding out who the mother was! But does make it more plausible that the mother was not dead.

[cheers]
Sarah

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