The Family of William Beck b 12 Jun 1829

The Parents - John Beck and Joan Henderson

William Beck was born 2 Jun 1829 in Lochmaben parish, Dumfriesshire

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Jun 12 [1829] William was Born Son of John Beck and Joan Henderson (?????)
Old Parish Registers - Drysdale p 33

I could not discern the name of the household/village etc in the register; hopefully this will emerge later.

Marriage of John Beck and Joan Henderson 6 Nov 1816

His parents married 6 November 1816. In the rather terse parish register it is recorded simply.

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John Beck and Joan Henderson were lawfully married the 6th November 1856
Old Parish Registers - 1856 Register of Marriages of the parish of Annan.

The Children of John Beck and Joan Henderson

The Family Search web site came up with a number of children born to this couple:

Name	Date	Parish
William Beck	19 Nov 1816	Dryfesdale, Dumfries
Marrion Beck	22 Nov 1819	Dryfesdale, Dumfries
John Beck	25 Jan 1822	Dryfesdale, Dumfries
Robert Beck	12 Jun 1824	Dryfesdale, Dumfries
Jean Beck	5 Dec 1826	Dryfesdale, Dumfries
William Beck	12 Jun 1829	Dryfesdale, Dumfries
Christina Beck	15 Mar 1832	Balingry,Fife,Scotland

From the above list of children we can see that "our" William, born 1829, was given the name of a (presumably) deceased child of the same name. I do not have any further record of the family until the censuses start to show them.

Where the Becks Lived

It appears that the family were long established in Dryfesdale. GENUKI has a gazetteer abstract that describes the parish as rich agricultural ground.

Dryfesdale, (or Drysdale), a parish in the district of Annandale, in the county of Dumfries, Scotland. The name is derived from the river Dryfe and is pronounced Drysdale. The parish is bounded by Applegarth, Hutton, Tundergarth, St. Mungo, Dalton, and Lochmaben. It has an extreme length of 7½ with an extreme breadth of 5 miles. The north-eastern portion is an assemblage of verdant hills partly cultivated and partly devoted to pasture. The western and southern parts of the parish are for the most part flat and highly cultivated. Along the banks of the Dryfe and the Annan there are tracts of deep fertile loam.

From the birthplaces of their children, we can see that the family moved from Dryfesdale in Dumfries to Ballingry in Fife. They made the move some time between 1829 - 1832. We know from other documents that they started living at Templeland. An online gazetteer says of Templeland:

A former mining village in the Fife parish of Ballingry, Glencraig lies between Crosshill and Lochgelly. The estate of Glencraig, comprising Inchgall, Contle, Clune and Templeland, came into being about 1830.

The following maps shows the relationship between Glencraig and Templeland.

And Templeland, itself, is described in the Ordnance Survey mapping of the 1850's.

“A small dwelling house and offices with a small croft attached the property of Mr Henderson Glencraig, tenant Mr Beck.” [source]

The Becks at the Censuses

The 1841 Census John and Joan Beck at Templeland, Ballingry

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The 1851 Census John and Joan Beck at Templeland, Ballingry

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The 1861 Census John and Joan Beck at Templeland, Ballingry

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The 1871 Census Joan Beck at Templeland, Ballingry

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The 1881 Census Joan Beck at Templeland, Ballingry

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The Deaths of John Beck and Joan Henderson

The Death of John Beck

John Beck died 11 February 1870 at Templeland, Ballingry

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Parish of Ballingry in the County of Fife
John Beck, Labourer, Married to Joan Henderson, [died] 11th February 1870 at Temple Land, Ballingry at 2:30am aged 76 years,[son of] William Beck, Labourer and Jane Beck, M.S. Clarke (deceased). Debility from Age. Cert by Wm. D. Nelson, Surgeon. Informant John Beck, Son, Present. Registered 19 Feb 1870 at Ballingry.

The Death of Joan Beck or Henderson

Joan Beck or Henderson died 3 August 1881 at Templeland, Ballingry

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Joan Beck, married to John Beck [died] 3 August 1881 at 10 am Templeland, Ballingry, aged 89 years. [daughter of] John Henderson, Landed Proprietor (deceased) and Marion Henderson M.S. Watterson. Senile Decay certified by Wm D. Nelson, Surgeon, Lochgelly. [informant] John Beck, Son. Registered 4th August 1881 at Lochgelly.

Summary of the Beck Family

John Beck is a farmer all his life. He was born about 1794 in Annan, Dumfriesshire and was the son of William Beck, labourer, and Jane Clarke. Joan Henderson was born about 1793 in Linlithgow, West Lothian and was the daughter of John Henderson, a landed proprietor, and Marion Watterson.

They married 6 November 1816 at Annan, Dumfriesshire and had seven children (at least one of whom died) between 1816 – 1832.The last child born in Dryfesdale was William who was born in 1829. By the time of their next child, Christian, born 1832, they live in Ballingry, Fife.

At the 1840 Census John is already 40. At the following censuses he is variously described as a retired agricultural labourer, ploughman or crofter. His wife keeps the house which has varying numbers of children at each census year, depending upon their personal histories. Marion and John are the most recurring children as neither of them married. Of the others, I know nothing about some and quite a lot about others. I outline what I have discoverd below.

John Beck died 11 February 1870 of “debility from age” at Templeland, Ballingry; he was 76 years old.

Joan was still at Templeland when the 1881 census was taken but she died a few months after that. Joan died 3 August 1881 of “senile decay”; she was 89 years old.

John and Joan's Children - WIlliam Beck's Siblings

As can be seen from the census return above, John and Joan's children come and go. I know a bit about some of them and this gives some context to our main person of interest, William Ramsay, since these are his brothers and sisters.

William Beck b 19 Nov 1816 Dryfesdale, Dumfriesshire

William Beck born 19 Nov 1816 in Dryfesdale, Dumfries. His parents had married 6 Nov 1816, so it looks like they married just in time. I could not find any other records of him except his birth. We never see him, and I think it is fair to assume that he died and Euphemia Couper Ramsay's William was a reusing of the name.

Marion Beck 12 Dec 1819 Dryfesdale, Dumfriesshire

Marion isn't in the 1841 Census, when she would have been 21 years old, but appears at the 1851 census. She is a 31 year old Dress Maker. She isn't recorded there at the 1861 census, although this does not necessarily mean she did not live there. In any case, she is present in the household at the 1871 census where she is unmarried aged 51 and is described as a crofter's daughter. Her father had died in 1870 so her mother was the head of household. Her brother, John, is also in the household and unmarried; he is a labourer.

In the 1871 Census a grand-child, Christopher Penman is listed. This is explained when we get to Marion's sister, Christina. At the 1881 Census the household is much reduced and Marion is still unmarried and is now aged 61. She lives with her 88 year old widowed mother, Joan, and her unmarried brother, John a 59 year old general labourer. The head of the household, Joan Beck, died later that year on 3 August 1881 at Templeland.

At the next census in 1891, their mother and father are both dead (1870 and 1881) and Marion (now aged 71 and a Housekeeper) is still living with her unmarried brother, John (now aged 69 and a grazier) - just the two of them at Heatheryford, Kinross, Kinrosshire not far from where they spent most of their lives.

I found a probate for her that records:

Marion Beck of Balado Kinross died 5 May 1898 Confirmation of William Briggs Constable and Robert Stark dairyman Sealed LONDON 25 Aug

John Beck 25 Jan 1822 Dryfesdale, Dumfriesshire

John isn't in the 1841 Census but appears at the 1851 census as a 29-year-old ag lab. By the 1861 Census he is a Pit Labourer aged 39 and by the 1871 Census he is a 49 year old unmarried labourer. At the 1871 census, the rest of the household is made up of their widowed mother, Joan (now 78 and head of household), his sister, Marion (now 51), and Christopher Penman who is Christian's motherless son (see below) who is aged 9 and a scholar. At the 1881 Census, the household is just Joan H Beck aged 88, John himself, aged 59 and a general labourer, and his sister, Marion an unmarried 61 year old.

By the 1891 Census, John, unmarried, aged 69 and a grazier, is living with his sister, Marion (now aged 71 and a Housekeeper) - just the two of them at Heatheryford, Kinross, Kinrosshire.

According to his probate:

John Beck of Heatheryford, Kinrosshire died 1 Dec 1899 at Townhill near Dunfermline Confirmation of John Beck Sealed London 7 February 1899"
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Robert Beck 12 Jun 1824 Dryfesdale, Dumfriesshire

Robert is not seen in the 1841 Census when he would have been aged 17 so may also have died. Alternatively, I have come across a suggestion that he may have married Mary Halliday in Dryfesdale on 25 Dec 1853 (the entry says 25th Dec and 1st January so this may be the calling of the banns as well as the marriage date). I looked at the parish register but it said no more than the index entry - the second one of these I have had - a very terse register of marriages. If this is him he would have been aged 29. I could not find him in the census either, though.

Jean Beck 5 Dec 1826 Dryfesdale, Dumfriesshire

Jean is with the family at the 1841 census when she is 14 but not thereafter. I came across an online suggestion that she married George Fernie 20 May 1848 Ballingry but I could not find the marriage anywhere. I found a death for a likely Jean Beck and that gave her husband as George Fernie. The death registration was signed by her son-in-law, Thomas Paterson. The online suggestion said that there were two daughters and I found one of them married to Thomas Paterson. This seems like a reasonable reason to conclude that this is the right Jean Beck and on that assumption I conclude that she married George Fernie 20 May 1948 at Ballingry. The children they had were George Fernie b 24 Apr 1849 at Auchterderran, Joan Fernie born 3 Feb 1851 at Auchterderran, Margaret Fernie born abt 1856 at Auchterderran, William Fernie born about 1858 in Ballingry and Robert Fernie born 29 Oct Kinglassie. There was a female infant that seems to have died at birth because she was not named.

The 1851 Census return shows George and Jean Fernie living at Minny Knowes, Auchterderran with their son, George and daughter, Joan. George Snr. is an agricultural labourer.

At the 1861 Census, Margaret (b 1856) and William (1858) appear. The family are living at Pitlochy Cot Houses, Kinglassie so it looks like they moved after the birth of William.

I could not Find Jean (or Joan) Beck with the family again but I did discover an entry for a pauper inmate with the correct age and the name: Jane Beck or Fernie, age 54 (which is correct), birth town Kinglassie (Our is Dryfesdale). She is a Pauper patient, Lunatic, full address Cupar, Fife, Scotland.

I found an admission entry in the register for the Fife and Kinross District Asylum (near Ceres) which says that she was admitted to the asylum on 5th September 1867. She is married and aged 41. Her previous place of abode is given as Strathore (I do not know why) and the parish to which her treatment is to be charged to is Kinglassie. She is suffering from “Asthenic Insanity”. This is why she appears here at the 1871 and 1881 censuses. It seems she was released on probation on 15 April 1882 and then discharged on 11 Oct 1882 with he condition “relieved” but not “recovered”

During this period her husband, George, and his children are found at the 1871 Census for Nether Stenton Cothouse, Kinglassie (George and children Margaret, William and Robert), and at the 1881 Census at 21 Bridge Street, Kinghorn, Kirkcaldy (George and children William, Robert, George and Margaret).

I do not know where Jean was living after her release and the next I know of her is at her death in 1887

Statutory registers Deaths 442/ 188
Jean Fernie married to George Fernie, Ploughman [died] 27 July 1887 11 (?) pm at Berwick Place, Kirkcaldy aged 60 years [daughter of] John Beck, Ploughman (deceased) and Joan Beck M.S. Henderson (Deceased). Heart Disease, Dropsy as cert by George Macdonald Physician [Witness] Thos Paterson, step-son. [registered] 28 July 1887 at Kirkcaldy.

I have not discovered what Berwick Place, Kirkcaldy was.

at the 1891 Census, Jean's husband, George, is living at West Mills, Abbotshall, a widower and boarder with his son Robert and his wife, Susan and their family. They are there again in 1901 but the family has moved to 2 Church Lane, Kirkcaldy. I could not find a death for George.

William Beck 12 Jun 1829 Dryfesdale, Dumfriesshire

This is our William - I assume he is an example of reusing the name of another child who was died because there was also a William born in 1816. He is with the family at the 1841 - 1861 Censuses. He married Euphemia Couper Ramsay 8 Jun 1861. His story is part of the main genealogy.

Christina Beck 15 Mar 1832 Ballingry, Fife

Christian / Christina is with the family at Templeland between 1841 - 1851, then she marries Henry Penman, 20 Feb 1852 in Ballingry, and children follow. Henry, born 6 May 1851 in Balingry, Fife, Scotland. A daughter, Joan, was born 13 Dec 1853 in Ballingry, Fife, Scotland. John born 5 Apr 1855 in Balingry, Fife, Scotland. These are parish registrations. There is a civil registration for Isabella born 1857 in Auchterderran and Christopher Beck Penman b. 15 Sep 1861 Auchterderran. The 1861 Census shows their family living at Glencraig Cottages. Henry Penman is a 30 year old agricultural labourer. Their children, Henry, Joan and John are all scholars but Isabella is only four years old. I could not find the family at the 1871 Census because Christina died of Phlebitis on 29 Sep 1861 at Auchterderran. This just a couple of weeks after the birth of their son Christopher Beck Penman on 15 Sep 1861 Auchterderran. He is with his grandmother, Joan, at the 1871 Census