3rd Great Grandmother
7th Generation
Born - 15 June 1861 - 25 Muslin St, Bridgeton, Glasgow,
Died - 23 December 1942 - Queensland AustraliaMargaret was born in 25 Muslin Street, Glasgow on 16th June 1861.
Margaret was the first born to William and Elizabeth, by the 1871 she had gained 3 sisters and a brother, Jane Allen, Ann, Eliza and Robert. They had moved from Bridgeton to Carlton. It’s also interesting that her father was a Cotton Weaver and by 1871 census he was a Carter. A Carter in the Cotton Industry would be seen as a huge step up from a Weaver. By the next census, in 1881, Mary, Hunter and Hugh had also been born. Her youngest brother Hugh was born the same year as her eldest daughter Elizabeth.
Margaret had married John Rae in 1880 and was living in Holy Town. It states on her marriage certificate that her father was called Peter. This is untrue, not sure why they would call him Peter, He was William on all other records.
Records also show that two of Margaret and John’s children, Mary Ann and Lena, were born in Durham, England. Previous records show that men went to Durham for work in the 1880s. By 1887, when William was born, they were back living in Glasgow. By 1900 Margaret had 11 Children – Elizabeth, John Alexander, Violet, Mary Ann, Lena, William, Margaret, Florence, Annie Beattie, Bartie and Josephine.
We have already discovered in previous stories that Margaret emigrated to Brisbane, Australia in 1912. The census below is the first record I have of Margaret since she emigrated.
The snap shot of the census shows that Annie, Bertie & John Alexander were living with their mum. Her husband had died 6 years previous.
This is an image I have found of Bowen Hills, Fortitude Valley next to the Brisbane river around the time they emigrated.
Bowen Hills was a part of Fortitude Valley. Scottish immigrants from the ship Fortitude arrived in Brisbane in 1849 in hopes to take the land. Denied land, the immigrants set up camp in York’s Hollow waterholes in the vicinity of today’s Victoria Park, Herston, Queensland. A number of the immigrants moved on and settled in the suburb, naming it after the ship on which they arrived
This snapshot was taken in 1925. Josephine would be the youngest at only 16 years old and already a bookkeeper
3 years later, in 1928. Bertie had no occupation
I was intrigued to find out the different paths these children took once they arrived in Australia.
Margaret’s eldest daughter Elizabeth, Emigrated to Australia in 1920 after her husband Archibald Campbell died in 1915 (the same year as her father), leaving her with young children. The register of poor records (shown below) show her as partially disabled, however she moved to Brisbane and lived to 80 years old.
Lena first went to Australia with her parents in 1911 however she must have had a quick turn around as she returned almost immediately to Scotland and married James Rew in 1912. She then returned to Australia with her husband and kids along with her sister Elizabeth and her children in 1920.
Margaret (daughter) may have come over to Australia with her family but she travelled to Far North Queensland (Cairns) Atherton, Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia shortly afterwards and settled there. This was a lot different a life than living inBrisbane would have been.
John Alexander Rae, the eldest boy, fought in the first world war, was in Australia in 1921, Scotland in 1923 and from there moved and settled in Ontario, Canada.
Annie Beattie became a Typist, she travelled to many places including California, New York and London with her husband she died in Kew, Victoria, Australia. Her husband Joseph Ernest Page was a Company Director at Kodak – Here is a picture of the building in the 1930’s in Brisbane.
Bertie was wounded in action during the first world war, excision of the left eye. He was only 19 years old. He stayed with his mum until her death in 1942.
Florence married John Henry Butler in 1921 . John was a soldier, like her brother’s in the first world war. He left the army in 1920. Florence lived the remainder of her life in Brisbane.
Violet travelled on the Oswestry Grange with her parents to Brisbane in 1911 on the assisted migration scheme. I have records of her travelling but nothing further.
Mary Ann married William Semple and stayed in Wishaw area. She lived until she was 83 years old and died in Psychiatric Asylum in Hartwood Shotts – she may well had dementia however even in the 1960’s they were put in psychiatric wards.
Margaret died in 1942 – 81 years old, this is the oldest house I could find using google maps of Cowishaw Street. She had 11 children, all of them led such fantastic lives. Most of them travelled. It turns out her siblings did too but that’s a story for another week!
Father – William Beattie
Mother – Elizabeth Madden
Marie's Genealogy 