Poem link to a death

[Mairi]

My gt,gt grandfather, Andrew Robertson Annan, was an artist, poet and gardener, working as head gardener in some big gardens in Edinburgh as well as elsewhere in Scotland in the mid-to-late 1800s.
He had some poems published privately. Looking at these again recently I thought two, about the deaths of two different people, invited investigation.
I will start with the first.
'In Memory of Maggie Wilson
Born 20th October 1854, Died 26th January 1874'

'Weep not! for her that's gone,
Her griefs, her pains are o'er;
She's safely landed in that home,
Far on yon sunny shore.'

There are five further verses in the same vein.

Now I have established through her birth certificate that Maggie's parents were Thomas Wilson, a mason, and Ann Walker, of India Place in Edinburgh.
Try as I might I cannot find the death certificate of this nineteen/twenty year old.
I have tried the possibilty of marriage when she was between eighteen and twenty and checked the deaths in 1874 in Edinburgh of the Margarets/Maggies with a second name.
I have looked at the census for 1871---a seventeen year old, in the parishes of St George, St. Andrew, Corstorphine and Cramond, in Edinburgh, these being more obvious locations. Of course she may have gone further afield as a servant but the on-line search would be very, very hard with a name like that.
Andrew R Annan was at Ravelston in 1871. Perhaps she was the daughter of a colleague/friend there. There were quarries nearby where her fatherThomas might have worked. Perhaps she was a relative I have not come across. She was obviously not a figment of his imagination.
I have tried other sites to no avail.

You would think with such precise information given below the title of the poem I could immediately further identify this girl and her connection with my gt,gt grandfather. But no!

Can anyone suggest another way of searching?
Thanks in anticipation.
Mairi

[AndrewP]

Hi Mairi,

Her death certificate is there, as Margaret Wilson, age 19, in St George district.

All the best,

AndrewP

[Mairi]

/ Thank you Andrew. I do not know what I was doing to miss this certificate when it was so straightforward!
What a long-winded post for a simple result I should have managed!

The other poem
'Lines in Memory of a Dear Departed Brother'
Signed A. R. Annan and dated September 15th, 1877

is more of a challenge as Andrew (b.1826, St. Andrews, married Mary Laing in 1849, died, Edinburgh 1912) did not appear to have any siblings.

'Dear brother, farewell! thou'rt gone to thy rest,
Thy toils, pains, and partings are o'er;
And fond ones are weeping who hung on thy breast,
They'll long for but see thee no more.'

( and seven more verses)

His father was named as Andrew Annan, seaman, his mother Euphemia Robertson. Andrew was listed as a Robertson in 1841 census in St. Andrews.
I have spent considerable time trying to work out whether Euphemia was the daughter of William Robertson and Bella Morris, or daughter- in -law who had a child by a visiting seaman.

William and Bella had a son John but he is difficult to track after birth.

'Brother' in the poem may, of course, be used in the wider sense-----close friend/colleague.

Learning about this Andrew Robertson Annan has been very interesting. I have letters of his to his friend George Bruce of St. Andrews dated 1898 and 1907, sketches and the poems. He became President of Portobello Burns Club. Indeed his poems are in the style of Burns' and some quite moving.


Another challenge for another day

Mairi

[Mairi]

Have been back researching Andrew Robertson Annan and discovered his parents change on certificates!
This would not be remarkable in the case of some people but he was well educated and lived to a ripe age so you would think he knew his father and mother by that time.

In the 1841 census taken in St. Andrews, he is listed as Robertson, along with his (apparent) mother Euphemia and grandfather William.

His first marriage, in 1849, is listed in an old parish register, for Rhu, therefore does not give his parentage.

His second marriage, in Edinburgh, 1881 does. His parents are listed as Robert Annan, master mariner and Isabella m.s. Robertson.

As his age on this second marriage was 53, I would have expected him to have given correct details.

Curiously, on his death certificate of 1912, his parents are listed as Andrew Annan, seaman, and Euphemia m.s. Robertson.

I imagine name changes do appear in other people's documents but in this case the father's Christian name is different and the mother's but her surname is the same.

I have not found Euphemia/Euphans and Isabella to be interchangeable but perhaps I am wrong.

Andrew Robertson Annan' offspring? William (after grandfather), John, Mary-Ann, Robert, Isabella, Henry, Georgina.

So Robert and Isabella in the list but I cannot find their marriage.
Any ideas?

Mairi

(The search is further complicated because some of the marriages in the family were in the Congregational Church.)

[Currie]

Hello Mairi,

This is probably old news but there’s a year 2000 enquiry from The Netherlands about this gentleman on this site http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/scot/Fife/ ... ries4.html

Alan

[Mairi]

Thank you for your reply, Alan.

Yes I have seen this, plus information he shared about the offspring with another Annan on the web.

Have put off contacting him thinking, as the post is so old, he may not have the same e-mail address, etc.

It might be worth trying to contact him.

Just wonder why Andrew would claim different parents.

Perhaps he learned the truth later on in life but the grandaughter who gave the details for the death certificate gave what she understood.

Either way, I cannot find them ie. Robert Annan + Isabella Robertson/ Andrew Annan who 'fits the bill'.

Mairi.

[dmd1164]

I have some Annan's on my tree that I've recently added.

John born 1833 Inverkeithing, Fifeshire with several children born in Cumbesnethan, Lanarkshire. There was some name changing going on in that family too.......

Regards
Donna

[Mairi]

Donna, I am sure I have logged that John of 1833 in my notes. It seems as if I have nearly all the lines of Annan now!
Did you know some went to West Africa and married natives? Kofi Annan is descended from one line.
Have you got the Annan photographers from Glasgow in your tree?
Mairi.