52 Ancestors - Week 5 - Census - Agnes Armstrong Grieve

Last week I shared the story of my great great grandmother, Mary Kennon. She appears aged one month in a Carsethorn house with probably her mother, Jean and older brother, James. However, the most interesting character is the 50 year old English woman, Agnes Grivie born supposedly in 1791. She was married to an Irish handloom linen weaver named Henry. They were living in a very busy Scottish port at a time of mass emigration close to both England and Ireland. How were this couple related to Mary?

There are some tantalising clues: the 1851 census, my great grandmother's birth registration and a headstone. In 1851, Agnes was still living in Carsethorn. She was a widow and her birthdate was then recorded as 1785. This time Agnes had an occupation - she was a sick nurse to an older woman, also a widow. Living in the same house was Mary, a boarder and scholar, then aged 9 years. Agnes, it appears, was looking after Mary but there is no sign in the census of her mother.

The next clue is the birth registration of Mary's daughter, Jane in 1863. The informant was Agnes Grieve, Mary's grand aunt who made her mark. Therefore, the Jean Kennon in the 1841 census was not Agnes's daughter, but her niece and this might be the key to the puzzle, given it was Agnes who gave the information.

The headstone in the Kirkbean graveyard compounds the mystery. The inscription reads:
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
HENRY GRIEVE
WHO DIED AT CARSETHORN,
11TH JUNE, 1845, AGED 72 YEARS.
ALSO AGNES ARMSTRONG HIS WIFE
WHO DIED THERE, MAY 21ST, 1865, AGED
82 YEARS. ALSO JANE THEIR DAUGHTER
WHO DIED THERE, JULY 25TH 1855, AGED
37 YEARS. ALSO ELIZABETH, THEIR
DAUGHTER WHO DIED 10TH APRIL, 1897,
AGED 84 YEARS, ALSO AGNES THEIR
DAUGHTER WHO DIED 6TH OCT, 1901
AGED 76 YEARS.
ALSO MARY KENNON WHO DIED JULY
21ST, 1918, AGED 76 YEARS.

It is likely it was carved by my great grandfather, Sandy King, who was a monumental mason. These were poor people and an attractive headstone would have been out of their reach. Sadly, it is difficult to know when it was carved. My guess is that it was created after 1901 as Mary's death appears to be added on. The most interesting detail is that it gives Agnes's maiden name as Armstrong. I cannot find a death for Agnes Grieve in Kirkbean in 1865 and an age of 82 would make her birthdate 1783. I am yet to identify Henry and Agnes's daughters, Jane, Elizabeth and Agnes. I do wonder if Jane is Mary's mother and that when the headstone was carved, an error was made. There is no death recorded for a Jean/Jane Kennon/Kennan/Cannon in Scotland in 1855, the first year of Scottish death registrations, and I cannot find her in a later census. Perhaps this explains why Agnes Grieve was at the birth of Mary's daughter.

So the mystery remains. I had always assumed this family line were Scots. Perhaps Mary's mother, Jean Kennon has English or Irish parents.

Post script: I think I have found the younger Agnes Grieve in the census. Of course there are two born in the same town at the same time, which just adds to the confusion. Both Agneses are in the same house in 1861 and there are two grandsons, William (1852) and Henry (1850). In the 1891 census, Agnes has her grand-nephew, Robert Kennon staying with her and 1901 census, when Agnes is aged 75, her lodger is also Robert.



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