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| Robert Bruce and Wilhilmina Inkster |
How is it that he came to be born in Edinburgh? Records indicate that his parents were both born in Scotland, but his paternal grandparents were both Shetlanders (Robert Bruce, 1766-1844, and Ursilla Katherine Bruce, 1770-1808). And it's unclear how much of his youth he spent in Edinburgh - he was christened in Edinburgh, but according to the 1841 census, when he'd be about age 14, he was living in Burravoe. (Source)
When he was 27 years old, Robert married Wilhilmina Inkster (1835-1896)(1) on 1 May 1855at the Free Church of Scotland in Lerwick, on the main island of Shetland. She was 20 years old. Together, they had six children in their ten years of marriage. However, these were not the only children that Robert had: He had 6 children with 5 other women during this period of time, including one child born just two months after his marriage to Wilhilmina.
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| Christina's cottage is the one with the black roof, in the center of the frame - Sept 2014 |
Christina Stove (1835-1919) was one of those mistresses, who (according to family lore) was a favored servant at the Manor House. And as the stories go, she was given a cottage on the hill in the village of Neapoback, overlooking the Manor House. Robert and Christina had two children together: Mary Jane and Laurence. It's Mary Jane who was "lost and found" by Ella and who is the great grandmother and great, great grandmother of our dear Shetland cousins.
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| A wider view of Christina's cottage, taken from the parking lot by the Burravoe marina, near the fence surrounding Robert's Manor House - Sept 2014 |
Robert died at the age of 37 on 16 August 1865 in Symbister House on the island of Whalsay, Shetland; the cause of his death being unknown, but Shetland Family History notes that he was "found dead in his bedroom" (Source). He was buried at the Kirk of Hamnavoe on the island of Yell - in an area partitioned off but in an unmarked grave.
Wilhilmina was 30 when he passed. She remarried at age 34 to Duncan Campbell (1847-bef 1896) on 24 February 1870 in Lerwick.
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Questions:- How did Robert and Wilhilmina meet? She was born in Tain, Scotland.
- What was the cause of Robert's death?
- Did Robert have the Manor House built? (According to the 1851 census, it looks like Robert's father was also living at the Manor House. Source.)
- Shetland Family History lists Robert's residence as 1 Shore, Burravoe in 1861. Is that the same as the Manor House?
- What additional stories about Robert have been passed on?
Notes:
- Pronounced as "WILL-yum-EYE-na", there are many spelling variations in different records. For example: Wilhelmina, Williamina, Inster
