The Griffiths - Part 1 of 2
The Griffiths story starts with Bill’s 4x great grandfather Job Griffiths who in the 1841 census lives in Chorlton upon Medlock, a suburb of Manchester close to the city centre, now largely part of the campus of the University. The address is Tebbutt’s Court, Booth Street which is just off what is now Oxford Road. His occupation is shown as ‘Gardener’ and at the same address are his son Enoch Griffiths and two female servants called Ann Green and Ann Griffiths. We also learn that Job wasn’t born in the county of Lancashire. Unfortunately the 1851 census for the area was water damaged and is largely unreadable so depriving us of a valuable source of information. He died before the 1861 census.
Internet sourced family trees link Job Griffiths to the town of Oswestry in Shropshire and a marriage to a Sarah Powell in the town in 1811. They also credit the couple with six children in total. Jane b.1811 in Treflach near Oswestry, John b.1813 in Treflach near Oswestry, the remaining children born in Manchester are Jemima b.1815, Mary b.1818, Enoch b.1824 and Kezzia b.1829. If this is correct it would mean the family made the move to Manchester around the year 1814. Jane Griffiths married Joseph Leatherbarrow in 1828. Jemima Griffiths married Thomas Craven in 1835 but died of ‘Consumption’ (Tuberculosis) in 1836. Kezzia Griffiths died of ‘Fever in the Brain’ in 1833 aged 4.
Other records for Job Griffiths suggest he may have lived in Salford and Hulme before living in Chorlton. Rate books of the time show him renting houses in Jenkinson St. , Ormond St. and Booth St. between 1825 and 1858, all in a small area near ‘The Grapes’ public house. There are also two entries in local trade directories, the first from 1841 gives just his name and an address of 12 Tebbutts Court, Chorlton, but the second from 1850 describes him as a ‘Well Sinker’ of 6 Tebbutt’s Row, Jenkinson St. Chorlton.
Job Griffiths died from ‘Dropsy (Edema - a build up of body fluid) and Consumption’ and was buried in a communal grave in Chorlton on 3rd July 1858 aged 72. There is a possible cemetery record for his wife Sarah Griffiths (nee Powell) from 1837, who also died from ‘consumption’ aged 52, which would explain her absence from the 1841 census and the 2 servants.
Bills 3x great grandfather Enoch Griffiths 20, a ‘Gardener’ married Elizabeth Oates 26 in Manchester in 1844. Elizabeth Oates was born in Hensall Yorkshire in 1818 and baptised at Kellington. In the 1841 census she’s living in nearby Whitley with her mother Esther (nee Atkinson) and her mother’s second husband John Richardson an Agricultural Labourer, her father Thomas Oates (also a labourer) having died in 1829. On the marriage record she’s living in Cornbrook, Hulme next door to Chorlton. Unfortunately the marriage only lasted 3 years as Enoch Griffiths died of ‘Decline’ (a gradual sinking and wasting away of the physical faculties) in Chorlton and was buried on 17th January 1847 aged 24. The marriage produced two children Edwin Arthur Griffiths b.1845 in Chorlton and Sarah Griffiths b.1847 in Wakefield.
There is a crossed out Wakefield baptism record for an Edwin Griffiths born in Manchester from 1845 which perhaps indicates that they initially made the move over the Pennines just after Edwin’s birth and then returned to Manchester when Enoch became ill.
In the 1851 census Bill’s now widowed 3x great grandmother Elizabeth Griffiths (nee Oates) 33, a ‘Washerwoman’ , is living in Thornes Wakefield with son Edwin Arthur Griffiths 6 and daughter Sarah Griffiths 4. Next door to the Griffiths live Edward Cannon a ‘Gardener‘, his wife Harriet and their 6 children. Edward Cannon was born in the village of Dent near Kendal, Cumbria.
In December 1854 Elizabeth Griffiths (nee Oates) 36 marries now widower (his wife died 6 months earlier) Edward Cannon 40, at St. John’s church in Wakefield. The marriage doesn’t seem to have succeeded as by the 1861 census they are living at separate addresses and remained so in subsequent censuses.
In the 1861 census Elizabeth Griffiths (now Cannon) 43 lives on Ossett Road, Wakefield, occupation ‘Laundress’ with son Edwin Arthur Griffiths 15 and daughter Sarah Griffiths 14 both employed as ‘Worsted Factory Hands‘. Husband Edward Cannon, an ‘Agricultural Labourer’, lives in Thornes Village with 4 of his sons from his previous marriage.
In 1865 Sarah Griffiths dies aged 18 and is buried on the 22nd of March at St. Paul’s Church, Alverthorpe.
In the 1871 census Elizabeth Griffiths (now Cannon) 53 lives alone on Ossett Road, Wakefield, (near to the Victoria Hotel), occupation ‘Laundress‘. Husband Edward Cannon 57, a ‘Captain of a Vessel’, lives in Thornes Common with a housekeeper and 2 of his sons.
In the 1881 census Elizabeth Griffiths (now Cannon) 63 lives alone on Ossett Road, Wakefield, occupation ‘Laundress‘. Husband Edward Cannon a ‘Labourer in a Soap Works’ lives alone at Thornes Common.
In the 1891 census Elizabeth Griffiths (now Cannon) 72 now widowed (second husband Edward Cannon died in 1890), lives with another widow at no. 8 Marsland’s Almshouses, Primrose Hill, Wakefield, she has no occupation.
In the 1901 census Elizabeth Griffiths (now Cannon) 82 lives alone at no. 8 Paddock Almshouses, Primrose Hill, Wakefield, ‘on charity‘. She died in the Wakefield Workhouse Infirmary in 1906 aged 87 and is buried at Sugar Lane cemetery.
ONLY JUST NOW FOUND YOUR TERRIFIC POST, GEETAR HOMER. ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL TO SEE THIS AND THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR GREAT RESEARCH OF MY ANCESTRY ON MY MOTHER'S FAMILY'S SIDE. I'LL COPY THIS AND PLACE IN THE FAMILY FILES ON MY COMPUTER. THANKS SO MUCH!😃
Last name: Griffiths
This ancient Welsh surname derives from the Old Welsh personal name "Grippiud", which gradually developed into "Griffudd", and "Gruffudd", and the early standard form "Gruffydd". The normal pronunciation of the name in South Wales became "Griffidd", and those medieval scribes who were not Welsh generally wrote "Griffith", as being the closest phonetic spelling within their writing system. This form, Griffith, and Griffiths the patronymic came to be used almost universally, as forename and surname, throughout Wales.
The first element of the name, "Griff", is of uncertain origin, but is thought to mean "strong grip", with "(i)udd" the second element meaning "chief, lord". The first recording of the surname in England occurs in 1524, when one Jone Gryffyth is listed in the Suffolk Subsidy Rolls. One Richard Griffiths was an early emigrant to the New World colonies, leaving London on the "Hopewell" in February 1634, bound for the Barbadoes.
The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of David Gryttyth, which was dated 1295, the Lordship of Oswestry, during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307.
Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.
Read more: https://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Griffiths#ixzz6PqL1M73o
I've always believed that my ancestory, on my mother's family side, originally emanated from Wales. My father's side originates in Scotland, at least with his mother, then moves to Newcastle, and then, finally, to Yorkshire. There is both Scottish blood and Welsh in my veins, as well as Yorkshire...A mix of which I'm proud.
The Griffiths - Part 2 of 2
In 1866 Bills 2x great grandfather Edwin Arthur Griffiths 21 marries Elizabeth Still 21 in Wakefield Cathedral. On the marriage record he uses the name ‘Edward Arthur Griffiths’ and describes his occupation as ‘Mechanic’. Elizabeth Still was born in East Ardsley near Wakefield.
In 1868 Bill’s great grandfather John Henry Griffiths is born at Scotts Yard, Westgate in Wakefield.
In the 1871 census Bills 2x great grandfather Edwin Arthur Griffiths Sr. 25 lives in Carlton Street, Wakefield, occupation ‘Labourer in Iron Works’ with wife Elizabeth Griffiths (nee Still) 26 and children Sarah Eliza 5, Edwin Arthur Jnr. 4, John Henry Griffiths 2 and Thomas 1.
In the 1881 census Edwin Arthur Griffiths Sr 35 lives in Marriotts Buildings Westgate End, Wakefield, occupation ‘Iron Dresser’ with wife Elizabeth Griffiths (nee Still) 36 and children Sarah Eliza 15 a ‘Worsted Spinner’ , Edwin Arthur Jnr. 14 a ‘Worsted Mill hand‘, John Henry 13 a ‘Fulling Mill hand‘, Enoch 9, Elizabeth 7, Edith Ann 5, Ada 3 and Ethel 1.
On the 15th March 1890 Bill’s Great Grandfather John Henry Griffiths 21 a ‘Labourer’ marries Jane Dyson 19 at St John’s Church Wakefield.
On 7th April 1890 John Henry’s sister Sarah Eliza Griffiths marries George Thomas Jordan in Wakefield Cathedral.
On 4th August 1890 John Henry’s brother Thomas Griffiths 20 a ’Mechanic’ marries Rose Morton 22 at Wakefield Cathedral.
In the 1891 census John Henry Griffiths 22 a ‘General Labourer’ lives at Newton Hill, Wakefield (near to the Vine Tree Pub) with Jane Griffiths (nee Dyson) 20 his wife and Arthur his son of 5 months. His father in law Ezekiel Dyson a Miner lives 3 doors away with new (second) wife Tabitha Dyson (nee Gaukroger) and 4 daughters.
In the 1891 census Edwin Arthur Griffiths Sr 45 lives at 9 Marriotts Buildings Westgate End, Wakefield, occupation ‘Iron Dresser’ with wife Elizabeth Griffiths (nee Still) 47 and children , Enoch 19 a ‘Labourer‘, Elizabeth 17 a ‘Worsted Spinner’ , Edith Ann 15 a ‘Worsted Spinner’ , Ada 13 a scholar, Ethel 11 a scholar, Ernest 7 a scholar and a lodger James Still 34 a ‘Labourer‘.
On 3rd April 1899 Edwin Arthur Griffiths Sr’s daughter Ada Griffiths 21 marries David Hunt 20 a ‘Maltster’ at Wakefield Cathedral.
In the 1901 census Ada and David Hunt live at 5 Marriotts Buildings, Westgate End, Wakefield. In 1902 Ada Hunt (nee Griffiths) dies age 25 in Wakefield
In the 1901 census John Henry Griffiths 33 a ‘Labourer in an Iron Foundry‘, lives at 7 Marriotts Buildings, Westgate End, Wakefield with his wife Jane Griffiths (nee Dyson) 28 and children Arthur 10, John Still Griffiths 8 (Still is his grandmother’s maiden name), Emily 6, Annie 3 and Bill’s grandmother Ethel Griffiths age 4 months.
In the 1901 census Edwin Arthur Griffiths Sr. 56 lives at 9 Marriotts Buildings Westgate End, Wakefield, occupation ‘Iron Dresser’ with wife Elizabeth Griffiths (nee Still) 57 and children Thomas 31 a ‘Machine Moulder, Iron Foundry’ (His wife Rose Griffiths (nee Morton) 33 is in the Union Workhouse and Infirmary Hospital, Park Lodge Lane, Wakefield), Enoch 29 a ‘Labourer (Iron Foundry)’, Elizabeth 27 a ‘Worsted Doubler‘, Ethel 21 a ‘Worsted Spinner‘, Ernest 17 a ‘Joiner’ and grandchildren (Thomas’s children) Grace Eveline 10 and Harold 8.
In 1903 Bill’s 2x great grandmother Elizabeth Griffiths (nee Still) dies aged 60 and is buried at Sugar Lane Cemetery.
In 1910 Bill’s 2x great grandfather Edwin Arthur Griffiths Sr. dies age 65 in Wakefield and is buried at Sugar Lane Cemetery in the same grave with his wife and mother Elizabeth Cannon (nee Griffiths).
In the 1911 census Bill’s great grandfather John Henry Griffiths 41 a ‘Fettler in an Iron Foundry‘, lives at 7 Marriotts Buildings, Westgate End, Wakefield with his wife Jane Griffiths (nee Dyson) 40 and children Arthur 20 a ‘Labourer Iron Foundry’ , John Still Griffiths 17 a ‘Mill hand Fettler‘, Emily 15 a ‘Worsted Spinner‘, Annie 13 a ‘Frame Setter‘, Bill’s grandmother Ethel Griffiths 10 a scholar, Ada 8, George 4, Henry (Harry) 2.
In the 1911 census John Henry's brother Enoch Griffiths 39 lives at 9 Marriotts Buildings Westgate End, Wakefield, occupation ‘Maltsters Labourer’ with brother Thomas 41 an ‘Iron Foundry Labourer’ (His wife Rose Griffiths (nee Morton) 43 remains in the Union Workhouse and Infirmary Hospital, Park Lodge Lane, Wakefield), sisters Elizabeth 36 a ‘Worsted Doubler’ and Ethel Griffiths 28 ‘Worsted Spinner’, niece Grace Eveline Griffiths 20 no occupation and nephews Harold Griffiths 17 an ‘Iron Foundry Labourer’ and James Herdsman Griffiths 15 a ‘Grocery Assistant’.
In the 1911 census John Henry's brother Edwin Arthur Griffiths Jnr. 44 lives at 24 West View, Plumpton Road, Wakefield, occupation Iron Moulder with wife Mary Griffiths (nee Dunstan) and son Herbert Griffiths 11 a scholar.
In 1911 Edwin Sr’s daughter Ethel Griffiths 28 married John Baxter 27 at St. Michaels church Wakefield.
In 1912 Edwin Sr’s daughter Elizabeth Griffiths 37 married Willie Hargreaves 35 at St. Michaels church Wakefield.
In 1913 John Henry’s son Arthur Griffiths 22 a ‘General Labourer’ married Sarah Ann Gregory 22 a ‘Worsted Reeler’ at Wesleyan Methodist Church, Eastmoor, Wakefield.
In 1918 John Henry’s daughter Emily Griffiths 22 married Joseph William McCormack 22 at St. Michaels church Wakefield.
In 1919 John Henry’s daughter Annie Griffiths 21 married William Caress 23 a ‘Pit Tub Builder’ at St. John’s church Wakefield
November 1914 - November 1917 John Henry Griffiths son Arthur Griffiths 24 signs up for service in the 4th Reserve Battalion of the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. He spent all of his service time in England and was passed as physically unfit for service due to Synitis (swelling) of the knee and discharged in November 1917. His address on signing up is 5 Pentonville Place, Eastmoor and on discharge 5 Davy Street, Eastmoor.
March 1916 - December 1919 John Henry Griffiths son John Still Griffiths 23 signs up for service in the Army Service Corps as a ‘Loader Issuer’ in the Heavy Artillery Mechanical Transport 52D company. He was involved in the horse drawn transport of supplies as denoted by the letter ‘T’ prefix on his service number. In May 1917 an order is made to deduct 4 pence per day from his pay to support an illegitimate child. This is to be paid to a Miss Emily Loomes of Wakefield (she is actually married but separated). The child John Loomes was born in August 1916. John Still Griffiths served in France between May 1917 and April 1919. A claim for disability due to Influenza was rejected . He was discharged in December 1919.
In 1927 John Henry Griffiths son John Still Griffiths 33 a ’Platelayer’ married Annie Elizabeth Broadhurst 28 in St. Johns church Wakefield.
In 1931 John Henry Griffiths son George Griffiths 24 a ‘Store Keeper’ married Hilda Chambers 27 in Alverthorpe church.
In the 1939 register (compiled for WW2 I/d cards) Bill’s Great Grandfather John Henry Griffiths 71 a ‘Retired Lamplighter‘, lives at 7 Marriotts Buildings, Westgate End, Wakefield with Jane Griffiths (nee Dyson) 68 his wife and daughters Ethel 39 and Sarah Ann 27 both ‘Worsted Drawers‘ (or was that what they were wearing ? 😉 ). John Henry’s daughter Sarah Ann Griffiths marries Ernest Hinchliffe in October 1939.
In the 1939 register John Henry’s brother Thomas Griffiths 70 a ‘Retired Innkeeper’ ( He ran The Robin Hood Inn, Horbury Road Wakefield 1913 - 1939 and possibly the Khedive Hotel, William St. Wakefield 1908 - 1910) lives at No.1 Cross St. Wakefield with his daughter Grace Eveline 48 ‘Unpaid Domestic Duties’ and son James Herdsman Griffiths 44 a ‘Grocers Shopkeeper’. Thomas Griffiths died in 1945 and his son James Herdsman Griffiths died in 1946.
In 1942 Bill’s great grandmother Jane Griffiths (nee Dyson) dies age 71 in Wakefield and is buried at Sugar Lane cemetery.
In 1952 Bill’s great grandfather John Henry Griffiths dies age 84 in Wakefield and is buried at Sugar Lane cemetery in the same grave as his wife.
GH, you are more than a little good at this stuff, aren't you? Impressive!
Geetar Homer, I can't thank you enough for what you've done. You have no idea how much it means to me to be able to trace the Griffith's side of my family so far back. I was touched to read it and only wish my mother was still here so I could share it with her and ask a few questions about some of her relatives that were still around when I was born.
I vaguely remember an 'Aunt Annie' and talk of some of the other names mentioned towards the end of your research. I knew too, 'Uncle' Ernest Hinchcliffe who the census says married Sarah Ann Griffiths in 1939, though I knew his wife as Aunty Sal, rather than Sarah. I'd not heard her referred to as Sarah, Mum and my Nan always referred to her as 'Sal.' I have a photograph of her with my Mum when Mum was a young girl
Ernest and Sal figure strongly in my own biography as I used to go to their house on West Street in the early 1950s for lunch when I was a very young pupil at the Collegiate School on Back Lane, my first school. (Only a stone's throw from Scott's Yard.) I have photo's of Sal at different times in my life too. Ernest was responsible for getting me my first and only 'proper' job at the West Riding County Supplies Department where he worked. Ernest passed away some years previous to Aunty Sal but she too is now long gone.
It's strange how some of the places that crop up in the story are actually places I found myself in or near at different times in my life without knowing that my ancestors had frequented them. Eastmoor is one of them and for a while my parents and I lived at 37, Woodhouse Road, which runs off the left side of Park Lodge Lane, whilst on the right side of Park Lodge Lane, opposite Woodhouse Road, is Primrose Hill and nearby Marsland Terrace, both of which figure in the story.
The Cathedral seems a very grand place to be married in but that too links my ancestors and myself as I performed there in 1990 with my late brother. Likewise, St John's Church, where some of the Griffiths were married, is next to Kilby Street, the location of St John's Junior School in the 1950s, which was the first state school I attended after the private schools I'd been a pupil at previously. I remember, whilst at that school, singing in the school choir at St John's Church, not realising that some of my ancestors had, long ago, been married there.
When I married my first wife, Shirley, we lived in a terrace house on Plumpton, which was the original location of Marriot's Mill and just across the road from where Marriot;s Buildings had stood until it was demolished in the early '60s. And of course, Marriot's Buildings was where I was born in 1948.
My mother was born out of wedlock, my grandmother Ethel having had a romantic liaison with a married man who was the caretaker of the Chapel on the junction of Westgate End and Lawefield Lane, close to Marriot's Buildings. My mother did tell me the name of this man once, but I can't recall what it was, but, in a genealogical sense, I guess that makes him my maternal grandfather.
When I was little, I always thought of my great grandfather as being my grandad. But I can definitely remember when he, (John Henry Griffiths,) died in 1952. I'd be four years old and I remember being told he'd gone to Heaven. I recall standing in the back yard that exits onto the Lawefield Lane side of Marriot's Buildings, staring up at the clouds in the sky above, because I'd been told that Heaven was 'up there'. And I swear I saw my Great Grandfather's face in the clouds...
Mum often talked about how she would accompany my Great Grandfather on his lamp lighting duties, before he retired from the job. At the same time, he also retired to his bed in Marriot's Buildings and I can remember going upstairs to his bedroom to visit him.
I can see, in my mind's eye, the bedroom and all its furniture, a dark, dusty room with John Henry in his bed in the centre, a large dark oak wardrobe to his right, and a porcelain chamber pot under a wooden washstand on the left, on top of which was a bowl and a decorative jug filled with water. Under the window, at the foot of the bed, was a narrow console table, or perhaps a small dressing table, with a few porcelain 'knick knacks' on top, including a small white porcelain hand on whose fingers were placed a couple of rings, probably belonging to my Great Grandmother, who had died before I was born. Mum told me that he always looked forward to 'little Billy' climbing the stairs to visit him.
Anyway, thanks so much, once again, Geetar Homer, for all the effort you've put into researching the Griffith's. I'm very, very grateful. 😊
Cheers Bill it's kept me usefully occupied during lockdown. Thanks also to Wakefield council for home access to the archives. I'll be doing the Nelsons and McMillans in due course. You mention in your autobiography that your maternal grandfather was called Earnest but not his surname. Your lucky to have such vivid early memories, my only early memory is a traumatic encounter with a neighbours coal scuttle 😫
I wish i could find out why Thomas Griffiths called his son Herdsman 🤓
The Robin Hood Pub run by Thomas Griffiths
http://www.twixtaireandcalder.org.uk/site/image-detail?imageid=10976
Marslands Almshouses where Elisabeth Oates/Griffiths/Cannon lived
http://collections.wakefield.gov.uk/index.asp?page=summary&mwsquery=%28%7BCategory%7D%3D%7Bphotographs%7D%29&mwsQueryTemplate=%5B%7Bcontrol%3DsearchPrefix%7D%7Bindex%3Dsearch%7D%7Brelation%3D%3D%7D%5D&searchPrefix=marsland&submit_button=
Herdsman is such a cool name and so is 'The Robin Hood Pub.'
The expression on the face of 'carved head of Joseph Marsland' is quite pleasant, zen-like.
Robin Hood is from Wakefield.
Just found that James Herdsman Griffiths was named after his maternal grandmother Ann Herdsman. Obvious really
Geetar Homer - if you get round to investigating Bill's Scottish ancestors, then the site you want is https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk . Registers of births, marriages and deaths, Census records, church records, and more.
You have to register, then buy credits which allow you to do some research. Then buy some more, then more... :)
My wife investigated her own family, and my mother's family. Apart from an eye-opening frequency of illegitimacy (!), the most notable finding was that one family of my ancestors were tenants of one of Bonnie Prince Charlie's generals, and the men would have been beside him when he led the capture of Manchester in the 1745 Jacobite rebellion.
Cheers PM, i know about the Scottish site. Unfortunately my Yorkshire heritage (tightness) prevents me from shelling out for access 😉. Luckily i've managed to put something together 'fer nowt' as we like to say. 😀
It's amazing what you can find out from such a distance in time.
Scots are known for tightness as well. That's why we (used to) have this brand of products in the USA ...
Cheers Geetar Homer that was a very interesting read with some nice comments from Bill interspersed.
The McMillan's
1806 - Bills 2x Great Grandfather Archibald McMillan Sr born in Tarbert Argyllshire
1807 - Bills 2x Great Grandmother Ellen McIntosh born in Skipness Argyllshire
(Ellens McIntosh surname is an educated guess on my part based on her grandaughter Ellen McIntosh McMillan probably being named after her).
1841 Census - Bills 2x Great Grandfather Archibald McMillan Sr 35 lives at Paisley Street, Ardrossan, Ayrshire, occupation ‘Agricultural Labourer’ with wife Ellen McMillan (nee McIntosh) 34 and son John 2.
1851 Census - Bills 2x Great Grandfather Archibald McMillan Sr 45 lives at Paisley Street, Ardrossan, Ayrshire, occupation ‘Labourer’ with wife Ellen McMillan (nee McIntosh) 44 and children John 11 a Scholar, Isabella 9 a Scholar, Ellen 5 a Scholar and Archibald Jr 6months. All the children are born in Ardrossan.
1861 Census - Bills 2x Great Grandfather Archibald McMillan Sr 55 lives at Paisley Street, Ardrossan, Ayrshire, occupation ‘Dock Labourer‘ with wife Ellen McMillan (nee McIntosh?) 56 and children Isabella 19 a ‘Domestic Servant’ , Ellen 15 and Archibald Jr 10 a Scholar.
1871 Census - Bills 2x Great Grandfather Archibald McMillan Sr 65 lives at Paisley Street, Ardrossan, Ayrshire, occupation ‘Labourer’ with wife Ellen McMiilan (nee McIntosh) 66 and children Ellen 23 a ‘Servant’ and Archibald Jr 20 a ‘Carpenter‘.
1871 Census - Bills Great Grandmother Agnes Crawford 24 lives at 32 Montgomerie Lane, Ardrossan, Ayrshire with her parents William Crawford 67 a ‘General Labourer‘ and Mary Crawford (nee Caldwell) 66 and her brother William Jnr 40 (widower) a ‘Porter’, his children Andrew 15 a ‘Ship Carpenter’, Andrew 9 a Scholar, Jemima H. 11 a Scholar and Agnes’s son John McMillan Crawford who is under 1 year old.
1873 - 8th August - Archibald McMillan Jr 20 marries Agnes Crawford 26 in Ardrossan.
They already had a son John McMillan Crawford 3 when they were married.
About 1878 - Archibald McMillan Jr moves family from Ardrossan to Glasgow.
1881 Census - Bills Great Grandfather Archibald McMillan Jr 30 lives at 98 Crossloan Road, Govan, Glasgow, Lanarkshire occupation ‘Ship Carpenter’ with wife Agnes McMillan (nee Crawford) 35 and children John 10 a Scholar, Archibald 8 a Scholar, William 6 a Scholar, Ellen McIntosh McMillan 4, Andrew 2 and James less than 1. First four children are born in Ardrossan and Andrew and James were born in Govan.
1881 Census - Bills widowed 2x Great Grandmother Ellen McMillan (nee McIntosh) 77 a ‘Housekeeper’ lives alone at 5 Paisley Street, Ardrossan. Her daughter Ellen Munroe (nee McMillan) 30 lives at 7 Paisley Street with husband William Munroe 30 a ‘Railway Guard’.
1890 - Archibald McMillan Jr moves family from Glasgow to Newcastle
1891 Census - Bills Great Grandfather Archibald McMillan Jr 40 lives at 96 Shipley Street, Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne occupation Shipwright with wife Agnes McMillan (nee Crawford) 45 and children William 16 a ‘Cabinet Maker‘, Ellen McIntosh McMillan 14 a Scholar, James 6, Agnes 3 and Archibald 11 months. All the children are born in Scotland except Archibald who was born in Newcastle.
1891 Census - Bills widowed Great Grandmother Ellen McMillan (nee McIntosh) 86 a ‘Former Domestic Servant’ lives at Park Road, Ardrossan with daughter Ellen Munroe (nee McMillan) 42 and her husband William Munroe 42 a ‘Railway Guard’ and son Archibald 9 a Scholar
1901 Census - William Munroe 49 a ‘Railway Foreman’ lives at Eglinton Street, Ardrossan with his sister Mary Munroe 39 and son Archibald 19 a ‘Railway Guard’. It can therefore be assumed that both Ellen McMillan (nee McIntosh) and Ellen Munroe (nee McMillan) have died since the previous census in 1891.
1896 - Archibald McMillan Jr moves family from Newcastle back to Glasgow
1899 - Bill’s Grandmother Ellen McIntosh McMillan 22 marries Walter Nelson Sr 24 in Newcastle upon Tyne
1901 Census - Bills Great Grandfather Archibald McMillan Jr 50 now a widower (his wife Agnes McMillan (nee Crawford) probably died after their return to Glasgow as I can find no English record for her death) lives at 4 Elphinstone Street, Govan, Glasgow, Lanarkshire occupation ‘Shipwright’ with children James 16 an ‘Embosser on Glass‘, Agnes 13, Archibald 10 and Mary Gilchrist 53 a widowed housekeeper.