A Puzzle Wrapped in a Mystery inside an Enigma!

This certainly sums up the puzzles of some families who turned out to be related. The families concerned are Meiklejohn, Watson, Gray, Dalrymple and Mankin. They can be followed on the pages with these names but an explanation is offered here - as clear as it can be!!! Hankies at the ready for this is a very sad story.

It begins with Alexander Meiklejohn. His children were from Stockton-on-Tees and were brought up in Tillicoultry by a maiden aunt who was Alexander's sister. So why would they be brought to Tillicoultry from England and why would the aunt bring them up? Their parents must have died. So why this aunt? She was the only remaining relative to these children and her mother was also still alive so they had a grand mother as well.

It took a great deal of work to figure out the Meiklejohn family and to find Alexander in Tillicoultry on the 1881 census and then in Stockton. When Alexander was actually found, he had been born near Tillicoultry. (see Meiklejohn Genealogy). Why did he turn up in Stockton? His marriage to a Margaret Dalrymple was found in Stockton. Her father turned out to be a Mankin, therefore, Margaret had been married before. She had, in fact been married to a David Dalrymple. He died and left her with one small son. Sadly, her father had died, then her mother and brother as well as her husband, with in a few short weeks of each other. Margaret was left all alone.

David Dalrymple was actually from Alloa and it turns out that he and James Gray had gone to Stockton to work. This still left the question as to why Alexander Meiklejohn would have gone there. He was found on the 1891 census, staying with Margaret and her son but Alex was actually down as her nephew. This raised a legal question as marrying an aunt is illegal. The only way in which he could possibly be related to Margaret would be some relationship to David Dalrymple.

There were not many Meiklejohn's which narrowed the field to a connection. Alexanders' Grandmother had an illegitimate daughter called Margaret Watson (see Meiklejohn genealogy). She was a 22 year old widow with two small children in 1851. Her only way for a future would be to re-marry. She did just that and it was to a James Dalrymple and they did indeed have a son called David, as well as another two. James Cowan Dalrymple (eldest) and Henry (the middle son). David was the youngest. Her first husband had died then she had three sons with James Dalrymple and she herself died. James then re-married a Gray!

Margaret's first two children were now left with no parents. I do not know what became of them. I do know that they were alive at the time Margaret and James married. 

Alexander had actually married his half cousins widow! I suppose they couldn't quite work it out for the census and nephew was easier!!!

James Gray, b 1859, appears to have been brought up by his grandmother. He was with her on the 1871 census. It looks as if his grand mother brought him up after the death of his mother. He seems to have been very good friends with David Dalrymple who was also brought up by his grand mother who was also a neighbour of Mary Callum. David Dalrymple's step mother was, in fact Robina Hardie who was the daughter of John Hardie and Janet Gray. David and James went to Stockton-on-Tees together and turn up in the same lodgings on the 1881 census at 21 Britannia Street, Thornaby, Yorkshire. There are other inter-connections with the Meiklejohn's.

David married Margaret Mankin and when her family as well as David died, Alexander must have been sent for being the only family member left who could go and look after her and the child. They married and had another five children of whom four survived.

It is now known that James Cowan Dalrymple had also gone to England. He had been in Stockton but would be living in Warrington with his family at the time Alex and Margaret died. He had a big enough family himself. Alexaders kids were not his brothers so the nearest kin would be Alexanders sister. She never married. Presumabley, David remained in Stockton as he wasn't so closely related to Elizabeth and he was going to marry and would have a job.

After 18 years of marriage, Margaret Mankin died. Her husband did not sign the death certificate. Why? Was he perhaps also ill? He died only a few months after her and was probably too ill to sign her death certificate himself. When it was obvious he was going to die, he must have got word to his mother and sister. His sister had gone to Stockton and had signed Alexanders death certificate. She brought the children back with her. The only one not to come to Tillicoultry was David Dalrymple. He would have been about 21and he seems to have married Jane Elizabeth Carr the following year.

An uncle to Alexander was  James McQueen and was with his sister Christian at Tillicoultry in 1881. This was yet another puzzle. He could only be Christian Meiklejohn's brother if her mother had been married twice. This was exactly what had happened. Christians mother had been married to Alexander McQueen, then had an illigitimate Daughter, then married John Meiklejohn. (see Meiklejohn genealogy).

Christian died in 1913, not long after the children had been brought to Tillicoultry. Their aunt died in 1918 leaving then orphaned yet again. The eldest brother had married the year before and had a couple of children. The eldest sister was left to look after the two younger girls. She married and had two children. Meantime the eldest brother took himself off to New Zealand, abandoning his wife and a surviving child. The eldest sister died in 1935. The youngest daughter married and left for Canada. This left one daughter in abandoned and alone in Tillicoultry.

All the Meiklejohn's have died leaving only one line. He was married with one son when his wife died. There is no trace of this man nor his son and it is uncertain what became of them.

This is a very sad story and I am the only one left to tell the tale. It is hoped that the family of David Dalrymple in Stockton can be found as well as Alexander in New Zealand. The other man and and his son must have been somewhere as well.........like all good mysteries, there is always something else to speculate about.

Update

Descendants of both David Dalrymple and James Cowan Dalrymple have now made contact which is wonderful. Corrections and additions to the Dalrymple story will be added in due course.

[ Home ]

Send mail to hwyle@csls.co.uk with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2004 H M Wyle
Last modified: 03/19/05