Initial research into my mother's maternal line began with a visit to the Glasgow GRO(S) in June 1996. Knowing only that
Details for many of the children of Robert and Annie Peacock were obtained through the IGI indexes, though by Mid-2001
I am pending receipt of the birth certificates for all children not currently covered under the 100 Year laws. While not
much is currently known, it is thought that Robert Jr. was killed during the Great War and was born c1892. The ages listed
on the marriage certificate made searching for the baptismal registry entries a much easier task knowing that Robert was
born c1861 and Annie born c1862. However, first I looked for their death entries which were easily obtained. Robert
Peacock died at 5:50pm on 19 January 1937 at Courthill Road, Cathcart, Glasgow, aged 74. Annie died at the same place
at 9:30pm on 4 April 1949, aged 85. Interestingly, my Mother vaguely remembers Annie from the early years of her own
childhood. I decided to first try and identify both families in the 1881 Census. Knowing that Lavinia Peacock had been
remarried to a Clark, I searched for her and found the following entry (GRO 685-3/54-35) with the family living at 125
Prince Albert Buildings, Edinburgh St. Cuthberts Parish, Edinburgh:
Searching the birth records between 1860 and 1865, for Annie and Robert I found an Annie born at Kinclaven in 1862, the
daughter of Helen McKendrick, a house keeper. No father was listed, but it was known to the family that the child the
child was illegitimate and that Helen later married a William Pringle. Annie's birth, through searches through both the
Mormon IGI and Scottish GRO have been equally unsuccessful. At the time I was unable to find any reference to Robert
Peacock, though I knew that his parents were Archibald and Lavinia Aikman from the 1887 marriage certificate. I located
their marriage in the parish of Newington in Edinburgh on 30 August 1861 (RXM4[C]493-43943). This marriage certificate
detailed that Archibald Peacock, aged 23, an Engineer and bachelor, married Lavinia Aikman, aged 19, a spinster, after
banns at the Reformed Presbyterian Church at 4 West Richmond Street, Edinburgh, on 30 August 1861. Archibald listed his
residence as No. 191, Canongate, and Lavinia, Gentles Close, in Canongate. Archibald's parents were listed as Robert
Peacock, a provision merchant, and Wilhelmina Samuel, deceased. Lavinia's parents, both deceased, are listed as Alexander
Aikman, an engraver, and Margaret Bruce. Witnesses to the marriage are James Arnot and John Aikman, Lavinia's brother.
Obtaining Archibald's death certificate (RXD4[C]493-43193) gave the information that he died at 8am on 16 January 1871 at
1 Aurphian Place, Edinburgh, aged 33, a result of phthises. Informant of the death was listed as Alexander Aikman,
Archibald's brother in law. Again, Archibald's parents are listed as Robert Peacock, a flour miller, and Wilhelmina
Peacock nee Samuel (deceased). From the census return it was clear that Lavinia had remarried in the period following
Archibald's death. Her marriage to Philip Clark was recorded as taking place on 10 April 1874 at 1 Canning Place Edinburgh
after banns at the Reformed Presbyterian Church (RXM4[C]1/2000-52127). It lists that Philip Clark, a bachelor engineer,
aged 38 was married to Lavinia Peacock, a widow, aged 31. Philip's parents are listed as George Clark, a carrier, and
Henrietta Clark nee Grainger, both deceased. Lavinia's parents are detailed as Alexander Turnbull Aikman, an engraver and
Margaret Aikman nee Bruce, both deceased. The marriage was witnessed by George Swan and Grace Aikman. Lavinia would
outlive her second husband and died on 13 April 1914 at 10:15am at 39 Brunswick Road, Edinburgh, aged 72, a result of
chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema. The informant is listed as Lavinia's son Philip Clark. As a matter of clarity, the
first of Lavinia and Philip's children, Lavinia Aikman Clark was baptized 15 July 1874 in Edinburgh. While Philip's
baptism has not yet been located, around 1837, his parents George Clark and Henrietta Grainger were married in Canongate
on 15 Nov 1822.
my Grandmother's name was Margaret Sommerville Peacock and that she had been born in 1904, and my Grandfather's name, I
was able to locate the entry for their marriage (644/10-1673). Margaret Peacock married Hadyn Raymond Allison, an import
merchant, of 10 Falkland Road, Egremont, Cheshire, on 2 September 1927, at a Church of Scotland ceremony at the Glasgow
General Registry Office. Hadyn's parents are recorded on the marriage certificate as being John William Allison, a
commercial traveler, and Laura Hannah Allison nee Bamforth. Margaret's parents are recorded as being Robert Peacock, a
commercial clerk with an oil company, and Annie Peacock nee McKendrick, a school teacher. The witness to the ceremony was
one Millesant A. B. Peacock, an older sister of Margaret. I tracked down Margaret's birth certificate which confirmed that
she was born "Maggie" S. Peacock on 29 May 1904 at 8:30pm, which in addition to my Mother's memory that her mother was the
youngest child of some 14 children the couple would have. From this information I decided to trace the marriage of Robert
and Annie Peacock. From my mother I knew that their oldest child was named Archibald, and was born around 1888 and that
the couple had married in the direct period before his birth. I located Archibald's birth entry with him being born at
7:30am at Baird's Laud, Green Street, on 11 September 1888, in the parish of Bothwell, which is near Motherwell, just
south of Glasgow. According to Mother he died at age 16 around 1904, which was later verified when I obtained his death
certificate. This certificate specified that Archibald Peacock, a telephone clerk, unmarried, died at 1 Kirkland Cottages,
Bothwell, on 2 July 1904 at 1:30am, a result of acute double pleuro-pneumonia he'd suffered from for 32 days. His father's
profession had been listed on his birth certificate as "Mechanical Engineer Journeyman" (RXB6[C]593-199014), and on his
death certificate simply as "Journeyman" (RXD4[C]493-43788). I therefore knew that Robert and Annie married before 1888
and it was most helpful that Archibald's birth certificate listed his parent's marriage as having taken place at the
Evangelical Union Church in Wishaw, Cambusnethan, Lanark, on 2 December 1887 (RXM4[C]493-43478). From this I was able
to obtain the marriage certificate of Robert Peacock and Annie McKendrick. Robert Peacock is listed as a "Plumber
Journeyman", a bachelor aged 25, son of Archibald Peacock, an engineer, deceased, and Lavinia Clark previously Peacock
nee Aikman, who seems to have remarried by that time. Annie McKendrick was listed as a laundry-maid, a spinster aged 24,
daughter of Helen McKendrick, a house keeper (domestic servant). Witnesses to the marriage were Alexander Peacock and
Jemima McKendrick. No father is listed for Annie McKendrick.
Robert Peacock & Family, 1861-1910
My mother was able to remember the names of many of her Uncles and Aunts, though not specifically their order by age. The
family of Robert Peacock is currently specified as follows:
Robert Peacock m. Annie McKendrick (2 Dec 1887, Wishaw)
- Archibald Peacock, b. 11 Nov 1888, Bothwell, d. 2 Jul 1904, Bothwell
- Isabella Peacock, b. 1889, Bothwell
- Helen McKendrick Peacock, b. 1890, Bothwell
- Lavinia Aikman Peacock, b. 1891, Bothwell
- Jeanie Aitkenhead Peacock, b. 1893, Bothwell
- Millesant Annie B. Peacock, b. 1894, Bothwell
- Jemima McKendrick Peacock, b. 1896, Bothwell
- Maggie Peacock, b. Dec 1897, Bothwell, d. 30 July 1898, Uddingston, Bothwell
- Robert Peacock, b. 1899, Bothwell
- George Peacock
- Alexander Peacock
- Ethel Peacock
- Annie Peacock, d. inf
- Margaret Sommerville Peacock, b. 29 May 1904, Bothwell, d. 10 Sep 1983, Wallasey, Merseyside
Philip CLARK M 45 M H Engine Fitter Edinburgh
Lavinia CLARK M 39 F W Edinburgh
Robert PEACOCK U 18 M Sson Plumber Edinburgh
Margaret PEACOCK U 16 F Sdau Compositor Edinburgh
Jeanie PEACOCK U 16 F Sdau Compositor Edinburgh
Alexander PEACOCK 13 M Sson Plumber Edinburgh
Lavinia CLARK 6 M D Scholar Edinburgh
George CLARK 4 M S Scholar Edinburgh
Philip CLARK 2 M S Edinburgh
Returning to the Peacock family, searches of the IGI indexes returned several children of Lavinia Aikman and Archibald
Peacock. Robert baptized 19 Jun 1862, Margaret Bruce and twin Jeanie Dickson, baptized 25 Jul 1864, Alexander Aikman
baptized 13 Jul 1867, and Archibald Peacock baptized 13 Jan 1870, all in Edinburgh Parish. Thus, it appeared that Robert
was the eldest child of the couple. While the first four of these children appear in the 1881 census living with their
step-father, the youngest, Archibald is not listed. No obvious listing was located for him in the IGI, though initial
searches of the GRO(S) indicate that the child died before reaching age 2. Robert's birth certificate was located in the
parish of Canongate in Edinburgh. He was born at 6:15am on 19 June 1862. Knowing, from his marriage certificate, that
Archibald's parents were Robert Peacock and Wilhelmina Samuel, it was relatively easy to locate their marriage. I obtained
a copy of the parish register entry for their marriage from the parish of Leith (South), Edinburgh, Midlothian. The entry
on the line for the 19 November 1830 read, "Robert Peacock, ploughman of Leith and Menie Samuel, residing in Leith and
daughter of James Samuel, ploughman parish of St. Cuthberts, after proclamation of banns". It seems that Menie is a
shortened version of Wilhelmina according to the documentation. Archibald's baptism was registered in the St. Cuthbert's
parish of Edinburgh, and read, "also a son born on the 7th October 1837". The entry lists the child's full name as
Archibald Dumbreck Peacock. More interestingly, the register identifies two further children of Robert and Wilhelmina
who appear to have not been baptized at the time of their births (21188): "Robert, residing at Duddingston Mills parish
of Duddingston, and Wilhelmina Samuel, his spouse, had a son born on the 26 January 1833 while residing at Ploughlands in
the parish of St. Cuthberts, named James; also a daughter born on the 9 May 1835 while residing at Colton parish of
Lasserade, named Helen." All three of these children were baptized at St. Cuthberts, Edinburgh on 6 December 1837 at a
cost of 1/6 each. Through further searches of the IGI I have identified two further children of the couple: John baptized
15 March 1831 and Joan baptized on 10 August 1833, both at St. Cuthberts, Edinburgh. There is some dating inconsistencies
which will need to be rectified by obtaining the baptismal entries for Joan and John.
Annie McKendrick is located in the 1881 Census working as a nurse, in domestic duty, for solicitor James Aitken's family
at Myrtle Bank in Bothwell. Searches of both the IGI and GRO(S) reported several possible birth candidates in the period
1860-5, but obtaining the certificates indicated that the matches were not accurate. From the 1887 marriage of Annie to
Robert Peacock, the address of 61 Stewartson Street, Wishaw was given as the location. Checks of the 1881 census indicate
that the address was not one of a church, but Anne's family residence, with her mother and family being listed there:
61 Stewarton Street, Cambusnethan, Lanark, Scotland (GRO 628-13/38) Helen MC KENDRICK U 41 F H Housekeeper Wishaw John MC KENDRICK U 25 M Bro House Painter Wishaw Thomas MC KENDRICK U 20 M Bro Pit Labourer Wishaw Jemima MC KENDRICK U 11 F D Scholar Wishaw Maggie MC KENDRICK U 10 F D Scholar Wishaw Robert POLLOCK 2 M GSon Uddingston
This indicates that Helen had had several children out of wedlock. Maggie's baptism is located in the parish of Wishaw,
Cambusnethan, as taking place on 13 March 1871. Her father is listed as William Boyd Dempster. Jemima is listed as being
baptized 26 April 1869, again with the same father. Searches of the IGI indicate that the couple had several other
offspring: Jane, bap. 21 June 1855, Jean, bap. 1 March 1857, Alexander, bap. 14 April 1859, and Mary, bap. 2 September
1865. It is interesting to note the problem that some of these entries cause in reference to Helen's age, since she would
have been ~16 at the birth of Jane. Mary is by 1881 a domestic servant for Davidson's Land, a grocer, Merry St, in Dalziel.
Jean is found as a domestic servant at Ashton Villa, Bothwell, in the employ of John Ferguson, a coal master. From the
census Helen's birth date was indicated to have occurred around 1840, and it was located in the Parish of Cambusnethan in
a registry entry which read, "Helen McKendrick, daughter to George McKendrick and Jean Aitkenhead, his spouse, was born 19
June 1839 and baptized 28 July. Third Child" (GRO[S]-24432). Searches of the IGI identify four other children, including
the two younger brothers listed on the 1881 census return: Ann, bap. 10 October 1841, in Carluke, William, bap. 28
September 1837, Livingston, John, bap. 17 January 1856, and Thomas, bap. 29 Oct 1859, both in Cambusnethan. From the
IGI and GRO(S) it is not yet possible to take this line further back. What is clear is that Helen McKendrick's genealogy
provides a clear challenge!
John William Allison, c1860
Mom's father was the previously mentioned Hadyn Raymond Allison who married Margaret Peacock in 1927. All that was known
about him was that he was born 7 April 1895 in Bradford, Yorkshire, and died in Wallasey in 1953. He had two brothers,
Norman and Hilton, whose details remain unknown. It is not currently known whether there were any further siblings. With
Hadyn's parents being recorded as being John William Allison and Laura Hannah Allison nee Bamforth I made the assumption
that they were born around 1870, in Yorkshire. Unfortunately, Allison is such a common surname in Yorkshire that searches
of the IGI were pointless, returning so many Allisons that any differentiation was impossible. However, I did locate the
baptismal entry for Laura Bamforth on 13 October 1862, at Darkwood, in the parish of Slaithwaite, Yorkshire, the daughter
of Thomas and Sophie Bamforth. In part the 1881 census provided an easy find for the family. Knowing that Thomas was born
around 1821/2 I searched the 1841 census for Slaithwaite in hopes of identifying him aged around 20. He was listed as aged
15, resident at Darkwood with his family whose census entry is rebuilt as follows:
1841 - Darkwood, Slaithwaite, Yorkshire (PRO 1276/7-39-16) Joseph BAMFORTH 58 M H Weaver Yorkshire Joseph BAMFORTH 20 M Yorkshire Betty BAMFORTH 20 F Yorkshire Thomas BAMFORTH 15 M Yorkshire John BAMFORTH 3 M Yorkshire
The issue is somewhat confused by the there being two separate entries for Bamforth families for "Darkwood", for which
there are no other entries for any other family in Slaithwaite. This seems to indicate that "Darkwood" was an enclave of
some description with two residences. Due to the nature of the 1841 census index, little detail is available for the
entries apart from the original census references.
1841 - Darkwood, Slaithwaite, Yorkshire (PRO 1276/7-38-16) James BAMFORTH 60 H Woolen Weaver Yorkshire Mary BAMFORTH 55 Yorkshire
1851 - Darkwood, Slaithwaite, Yorkshire (PRO 91-1E-81/542) James BAMFORTH M 70 M H Farmer 10 Acres Yorkshire Mary BAMFORTH M 67 F W Domestic Duties Yorkshire Thomas BAMFORTH U 20 M S Shoemaker Yorkshire John BAMFORTH U 13 M Gson Woolen Weaver Yorkshire Joseph BAMFORTH 68 Bro Woolen Weaver Yorkshire
1881 - Carr Lane, Slaithwaite, Yorkshire (PRO RG11- 4367-54/24) Thomas BAMFORTH M 59 M H Shopkeeper Slaithwaite Sophia BAMFORTH M 55 F W Slaithwaite Mary A. BAMFORTH U 22 F D School Mistress Slaithwaite Laura H. BAMFORTH U 18 F D Pupil Teacher Slaithwaite James H.M. BAMFORTH 16 M S App. Tailor Slaithwaite
The developing picture between the 1841 and 1851 census returns indicates that Thomas' parents were James and Mary
Bamforth. The searches of the IGI indexes verify that and fill in the baptismal details for the children: Betty
BAMFORTH, bap. 10 Oct 1819, Slaithwaite; Thomas BALMFORTH, bap. 26 Aug 1821, Slaithwaite; and Joseph BAMFORTH, bap.
28 Sep 1828, Slaithwaite. John remains something of and enigma, with his status in the 1851 census being one of
Grandson. One entry for the period is found in the IGI for a John baptized in Slaithwaite on 17 Jul 1836, the son of
Henry and Mary Bamforth. Because of the age of James and Mary Bamforth, in relation to the ages of their children and
grandchild in the 1851 census it is likely that there were further offspring who already had families of their own. While
the attempt to locate Thomas' marriage has so far been unsuccessful, the IGI has provided the details of their offspring:
Mary Augusta BAMFORTH, bap. 17 Feb 1859; Helena Jane BAMFORTH, bap. 26 Nov 1860; Laura Hannah BAMFORTH, bap. 13 Oct 1862;
James Henry BAMFORTH, bap. 6 Jul 1864, all in Darkwood, Slaithwaite. Thus it seems likely that Sophia and Thomas were
married prior to 1859.