5th Great Grandfather

9th Generation

Born - 16 December 1795 - Carriden, Linlithgow, Scotland
Died - 24 June 1867 - Carriden, Linlithgow, Scotland

John Bell was born in Grangepans, Carriden to Alexander Bell and Isobel Jervy and baptised in Bo’ness. Records have him as the 3 of 6 children

John married in Carriden, aged 23, to Jean Robertson. This was very much a small parish at this time as his brothers banns were read previous back in January. He also married a Jean.

It is another 23 years until the first census is done and they are still living in Grangepans, Carriden. John is a Coalminer as is all his sons – from 12 years old.

Fast forward 10 years and the men are still coalminers, although one of his son’s is now an Ironstone miner. The lived locally and made a living from what was happening around them

Come the 1861 Census John and Jean are still in their 60’s and John is still working down the pits.

The Bo’ness area boasted a number of industries like coal mining, saltmaking, shipbuilding, pottery manufacture and iron founding.  There were hundreds of coal shafts and coal was being removed for at least seven centuries.  The great boom came with the industrial revolution in the 18th century and continued right up to the mid 20th.  The black smoke from the large number of collieries gave the town a dirty and unhealthy atmosphere which only disappeared after the war.  Kinneil colliery in the 1960s was thought to be the most advanced in the land but even it closed in the 1980s.

John lived into his 70’s, still working as a coalminer, if he started working down the pits at the young age as they did back then this would mean that John worked as a miner for almost 60s years as his death certificate records him as still working.

I also managed to find a few records of his siblings. His brother James was born on 7th April 1790 and married Elizabeth Snaddon they had 9 children, in 1841 they were living in Corbiehill Bo’ness. Alexander was born in 1793 he married Jane Miller and had 5 children. His sister Isobel married a William Burnett (The same William Burnet who is no 60 in the story ) however I have no record of her becoming a mother. His brother Andrew died in infancy and I have no record of his brother Peter

I mentioned previous that there were many Bells in Carriden in 1841. I have found records of the name going back a few more generations and a branch I am excited to look further into this branch of the family tree in 2024.

Wife – Jean Robertson

Daughter – Janet Bell