Meet Elizabeth Beattie (1840-1869)

This post began as a summary of the cemeteries in Aberdeen where all of our kindred are buried, with the goal of visiting their graves on our next trip (date TBD), but I’ve gotten a little sidetracked as some details were “unearthed” (for lack of a better word), with regard to Ella’s great grandmother Elizabeth Beattie and Elizabeth’s parents Adam Beattie and Janet Petrie Beattie (Ella’s great, great grandparents). Specifically, we learned more about the circumstances of their burial which gives us more insight into their lives. As I’m trying to organize the details I’ve found, howsabout we get to know Elizabeth and her family a little better. I think you’ll be glad you did!

Elizabeth Beattie is Ella's Great Grandmother

Elizabeth Beattie was born about 1840 (1) in Aberdeen, Scotland, the 2nd or 3rd of 5 children of Adam Beattie (a labourer) and Janet Petrie (unknown occupation). From the information we currently have, it’s unclear how many of those children lived to adulthood, but at least three (2): Elizabeth, her sister Janet (lived to at least early 20s)(3), and her youngest brother George.

Elizabeth worked as a flax mill worker (the flax mills processed flax, spinning yarn for the linen industry) and a flax slubber (an operator of machinery that prepares flax for spinning) (4) and perhaps also as a domestic servant. (5)

An example of a Scottish linen mill, this is Hillbank Works in Dundee
(Year? - Image Source)

At 20 years old, Elizabeth gave birth to her only child, John McDonald Beattie, born 12 November 1860. She was not married to the father, John McDonald (a boilermaker, according to son John’s corrected birth entry; an iron driller, according to son John’s marriage record). 

Kate Findlay (Ella’s mother), recorded the following about Elizabeth in her life history (Elizabeth was Kate’s paternal grandmother, and John her father). This information would have been passed down to Kate orally. (I’ve added clarifying details in brackets.)

My father [John McDonald Beattie] was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, of humble parentage. His mother [Elizabeth Beattie] was not married and had to work for her living at a [j]ute works [flax mill]. Her folks [Adam and Janet Petrie Beattie] looked after the baby while she was at work.

His mother [Elizabeth Beattie] had gone with this man [John McDonald] and she became pregnant and then she found out he was a married man. He came from Grantown and that’s down by Leith. He must have been doing a job up there in Aberdeen. She proved it [her son’s parentage] through the courts.

Ella would point out that Elizabeth was smart to use the father’s surname (McDonald) as her child’s middle name, with the mother’s surname (Beattie) as his last name, as young John was an illegitimate child and the father was actually not initially listed on the birth record. In fact, in January 1864, a little over 3 years after John was born, Elizabeth had the birth entry corrected to state that the father was John McDonald. The amended entry reads:

In an action relating to the paternity of a child named John McDonald Beattie born on or about 31 October 1860, at the instance [should this be insistence?] of Poor Elizabeth Beattie, Millworker, No. 37 St. Andrew Street, Aberdeen, against John McDonald, Boilermaker, Kirkpatricksland, [can’t decipher?] Street, Newhaven, the Sheriff Court of Edinburghshire on the 10th of December 1863, found that the said child was the illegitimate child of the parties aforesaid.

It’s not clear exactly what transpired to have the birth record amended, but it looks like it might have
involved Elizabeth traveling to Edinburgh and working with the Sheriff Court there, and then working with the registrar in Aberdeen, and it was probably still not as straightforward as that. But it sure seems that Elizabeth had guts! (And I’m shocked they felt to record Elizabeth as “poor” in this official record.) I’m grateful for her perseverance and insistence, that she went through that effort to have the record amended, as it provides us with more pieces to our genealogical puzzle. (6)

(See John's original birth recored from 1860 here; and the revised record from 1864 here.)

According to Kate’s life history, “[Elizabeth's] folks [Adam and Janet Petrie Beattie] looked after the baby while she was at work.” This seems to make sense as the census records I’ve found have not listed mother Janet as having a profession - perhaps she was taking care of little John.

It appears that Elizabeth and her son John, as well as her other two siblings, lived with her parents, Adam and Janet, in their young adulthood: In the 1861 census, the children Janet, George, and Elizabeth with son John, are listed in the household, living at 59 Woolmanhill, Aberdeen (though curiously, Adam was not listed on this census).(7) By 1864, Elizabeth with son John were living at 37 St. Andrew Street, Aberdeen (according to the corrected birth entry for son John). They would live here, with father Adam and mother Janet until they passed away in 1869 (according to each of their death records).

When Elizabeth’s son John was about 9 years old, he suffered an accident at home that caused him to be deaf the remainder of his life. The specific details are unclear, but here is what Kate recorded in her life history:

This was a turning point in his life as one day while playing near the fire in the kitchen a large pot, which was hanging [with chains] over the fire with boiling water in it, fell on him and the shock took away his hearing also speech…I don’t know if it was the pot or the water that struck him. He didn’t have any marks on his face but he was totally deaf…. 

But my father, after his accident, his mother was a [flax] mill worker, and I suppose she couldn’t look after him but she could have done better than she did….The family being poor could not look after him or educate him as they put him into a school for the deaf. But in doing so they seem to have deserted him completely as from that day till he was sixteen years of age they never visited him. So in his pride he in turn did not go visit them the remainder of his life.

It seems that John was put in the school for the deaf soon after his accident (we know he was admitted on November 28, 1870)(8)- I imagine it was a really hard decision for Elizabeth, but she was trying to make the best decisions for their circumstances.

When Elizabeth was 29, the hardships for the family increased, as her father Adam passed away on 25 March 1869 from bronchitis. He passed away at their home at 37 St. Andrew Street, Aberdeen.

Just over 3 months later, Elizabeth suffered from typhus, likely contracted from the fleas or lice so prevalent in the living conditions at the time. Per the death register, she was sick for 14 days before passing away on 7 July 1869 at the Royal Infirmary of Aberdeen, which at the time was at Woolmanhill (9). She was buried on 9 July 1869 at John Knox Churchyard.

Sadly Elizabeth's mother Janet passed away about 3 1/2 months later, on 26 October 1869 of bronchitis and "disease of heart" at their home at 37 St. Andrew Street, Aberdeen.(10)

Elizabeth and her parents Adam and Janet are all buried in the same plot, grave 58, in John Knox Churchyard, located about 1/2 mile from their home.

..........

I wonder whether Elizabeth's son John was aware of the passing of his mother and grandparents soon after he was at the school for the deaf (before he turned 10), as he seems to have grown up feeling that his family had deserted him – but in reality his mother and both grandparents had all passed away within 7 months time. His uncle George and aunt Janet seem to have survived, but it's not clear that they had any contact with John.

Royal Infirmary at Woolmanhill (Image Source)

..........

In March 2020, I reached out to the archives department of NHS Grampian, and the very helpful archivist shared with me a scan of the infirmary admission register for Elizabeth. (I'm still surprised they keep such records for so long!) It looks as though Elizabeth was initially admitted for a fever, then by the time of death it must have been diagnosed as typhus. The archivist also shared:

In order to be admitted into the Infirmary, a patient had to be recommended by someone – in Elizabeth’s case, this was the Inspector of the Poor for the City Parish, D McLeod.

Date of Admission: 28 June 1869; Admission #: 1060; Name: Elizabeth Beattie; Age: 29; Marital Status: Single; Occupation: Pauper, City; Address: 37 St. Andrew St

Recommender: D. McLeod; Ward: "Rachel"; Medical Attendant: Beveridge; Disease: Fever;
Result: Dead, 7 July; Parish: Town (Aberdeen centre)

And in June 2017, I also found this piece to the puzzle: I confirmed through the site DeceasedOnline.com what Ella had once told me, that she thought these ancestors were buried in John Knox Churchyard. Indeed, I found scans of the burial registers proving this information, and Elizabeth and her parents were all buried in the same plot, grave 58. (Note that Elizabeth is recorded as “Elis”).

Scan of burial ledger for John Knox Churchyard. See the third name down: Elis Beattie.
Access the full scan here.

Though I have not yet been to this cemetery, from looking online, it appears fairly small (unlike Allenvale!). But even though it’s small, I figured it would be best to reach out to the Bereavement Services division of Aberdeen City (which I did in January 2020) to see if they could provide a map of the cemetery, planning for that someday trip when we would visit in person.

Also, other than the cemetery register, I hadn’t been able to find any information online to confirm their burial there. Is their plot unmarked? If so, it wouldn’t have surprised me as Elizabeth and her two parents died within 7 months of each other, and Elizabeth’s son John was at a boarding school for the deaf, which implies there was no other family to assist. (And I was ready to roll up my sleeves to research getting a grave marker in place for them, as we did in 2018 for other ancestors.)

John Knox Churchyard - Image Source

The John Knox Church still stands but has been converted into flats - Image Source

But the response I received was more heartbreaking than simply learning that their grave was unmarked. In my email exchanges in January 2020 with the helpful folk in the Bereavement Services division of Aberdeen City, it initially looked like someone else owned the grave, per their records, the Alexander family. But in looking closer at the ledger scans that we have for Adam, Janet, and Elizabeth, it looks like additional people were buried in grave 58 ... implying that this was a pauper’s grave.

I learned that at this time (mid 1800s), it was common that many individuals would be buried in a single grave, and when the grave was almost full, the grave would be sold, and the owners would have the right to place a stone with their name on it. In this case, the owner of the plot is listed as “Alexander Alexander” (yes, Alexander twice). Whether or not there’s a stone there at all (even with the name Alexander), Aberdeen City couldn’t confirm. We’ll have to take a look ourselves on our next trip.

Maps of John Knox Churchyard and plot 58, received from the Bereavement Services division of Aberdeen City in January 2020

Since learning this, I’ve felt a range of feelings: Sad, mournful, indebted, and a whole bunch of other emotions I can’t label. Even though it makes sense, and even though it was probably common for the time, my heart aches for these kin, for their life struggles, for their dire circumstances and probably lack of hope. And here I am, wondering why I am the lucky one? Sitting in my sunshine, my comfort, my good health, my bounteous good luck surrounding me. I wish I could invite Adam and Janet and Elizabeth over, or bring them dinner, or have John (orphaned at 9) and my son G (who is 10) out riding bikes and exploring together. I would love to hear their stories, and I would love to thank them for hanging on, for giving life to future generations. I look forward to visiting the grave of these ancestors, marked or unmarked, and laying a petite bouquet in remembrance to their strength.

Any cousins out there from the Beattie line? From the information I have, it looks like one of Elizabeth’s siblings might have lived to adulthood - George Beatttie (1844-1927, born and died in Aberdeen). And perhaps sister Janet as well?

Notes:

1. In family records, we have Elizabeth’s birth date as 1840, however, I haven’t yet been able to find an actual birth record for her. And according to the 1851 and 1861 censuses, she is listed as older than her sister Janet, for whom we do have a birth record - Janet was born in 1839. I’m estimating Elizabeth was born between 1837 and 1839.
2. We make this assumption based on the 1851 and 1861 census records that list only 3 children, not 5: Elizabeth, Janet, and George.
3. Elizabeth’s sister Janet is listed on the 1861 census as being 21 years old. Also, the informant on their father Adam Beattie’s death register, from March 1869, is listed as “Lassie Beattie, daughter” living at 2 Skene Street in Aberdeen. We can know with almost 100 percent surety that at the time of their father’s death, Elizabeth was living with him at 37 St. Andrew Street, Aberdeen, as that’s the home address listed for both Adam and Elizabeth, who passed just 4 months apart from each other. 
4. More information about flax mills here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flax_mill.
5. The 1851 census lists her occupation as "flax slubber." A consultant at the Aberdeen & N.E. Scotland Family History Society told me in email correspondence on 1 August 2020 that it refers to "Operator of machine preparing flax for spinning". On the 1861 census, her occupation is listed as “mill worker (flax)”. Her death record from 1869 similarly lists her occupation as “mill worker.” The marriage and death certificates of Elizabeth’s son, John, list her occupation as “domestic servant.”
6. See the amended birth record here: https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/109030244. What’s interesting, on son John’s marriage record, he recorded both his mother Elizabeth and father John, but on John’s death record, which was reported by Grandma Kate, only his mother Elizabeth is recorded. Did she purposely leave off John’s father/her grandfather? 
7. Although Adam was not listed with the rest of his family on the 1861 census, I did find another census record for 1861 that lists an Adam Beattie, railway labourer, age 64, as a lodger in another home, whose birthplace is Glenbuchat, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. I think that’s our man!
8. Through email correspondence with Aberdeen University, which keeps some records on the Aberdeen Institute for the Deaf and Dumb, I learned the following on 13 Oct 2017: “I have checked through the minute book of the Aberdeen Institute for the Deaf and Dumb (MS 3428/2) and found a reference to a John Beattie: “November 28th 1870 - John Beattie, an orphan illegitimate sent by St Nicholas Parochial Board joined the institution Thursday 24th November.” It’s heartbreaking to think that, per Kate’s understanding of his childhood, that his family never visited or wrote letters and had abandoned him, but in reality, they had all passed away. However, I'm wondering where John lived or who he lived with between the time his grandmother died (26 October 1869) and he was admitted to the Aberdeen Institute for the Deaf and Dumb on 28 November 1870.
9. What's the address for the former infirmary at Woolmanhill? Looks like it was in that location location until April 2017, for 275 years. Source: https://specialcollectionslearning.wordpress.com/2017/04/24/aberdeen-royal-infirmary-275-years-of-healthcare-at-woolmanhill/
10. See Janet Beattie's death register here: https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/38223560

Questions:

• We’re still looking for Elizabeth’s birth record. Anyone have this? From looking at other records, it looks like she was born between 1837 and 1839. (See footnote 1, above.)
• Still trying to confirm: What are the death dates of the other Beattie children (Isabel, Janet, and Ann Ross)? Where are they buried? In John Knox as well?
• Are there any other Beattie children that aren’t noted in FamilySearch? We currently have listed Isabel (1832-?); Janet (1839-?); Elizabeth (1840-1869); Ann Ross Beattie (1841-?); and George Beattie (1844-1927). There’s a large age difference between the first and second child, which makes me wonder whether there might be more children we haven’t found.
• From what I can tell, George Beattie’s posterity continued. Hooray! Any cousins out there from that line? If so, please reach out! Send me a note through the “Contact Form” at the bottom of this page.
• Did mother Janet Beattie sometimes go by Jane? Per a record posted to FamilySearch that has been indexed, but unfortunately we can’t see the original. But perhaps we can view the original when at a family history library? See here for more info: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XTJ9-G98?from=lynx1UIV8&treeref=LWFF-NFW
• Where might young John have gone to school, before the deaf school? Can we determine which school would have been for their neighborhood? They lived in the district of St. Nicholas. Does Aberdeen City have any records of his education? https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services/libraries-and-archives/aberdeen-city-and-aberdeenshire-archives/catalogues-and-indexes/education-and-school-records
• Would love to find more information about the flax mills at this time, particularly in Aberdeen.
• Haven’t been able to find the family in the 1841 census. Were they recorded?