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Later children:

FORREST
SARAH SOMERVILL
F
1903
615/ 132
Stevenston


FORREST
HENRY SOMMERVIL
M
1908
615/ 231
Stevenston

Surname Forename Gender Year Ref RD Name Image View
FORREST
MARY SOMERVILLE
F
1894
615/ 177
Stevenston

FORREST
JANET SOMMERVIL
F
1896
615/ 31
Stevenston

FORREST
AGNES SOMMERVIL
F
1898
615/ 31
Stevenston

Aha!
Yes, that marriage is correct for Janet, and they seem to have changed their surname to Sommerville.

The children's births:

FORREST
MARY SOMERVILLE
F
1894
615/ 177
Stevenston


FORREST
JANET SOMMERVIL
F
1896
615/ 31
Stevenston

FORREST
AGNES SOMMERVIL
F
1898
615/ 31
Stevenston


FORREST
JOHN SOMMERVILL
M
1901
615/ 36
Stevenston

Janet Sommerville isn't necessarily Janet Watt, although she was born in the same place.

The Watt children are boarders with the Sommerville family, but not necessarily related.

Janet Sommerville has middle initial F, which Janet Watt didn't have at birth or in censuses.
She's also born 1877 (at least per Ancestry's transcription, though not FMP's) , according to 1901 census, not 1873.

Having said that, I can't see Henry's marriage to any Janet 1891-1901.
Incidentally, Henry has no middle initial on Ancestry's transcription.




Possible marriage for Janet Watt ?

WATT
JANET
FORREST
HENRY
1894
615/ 19
Stevenston

I don't see them in 1901, though.

I have just been hunting down the daughter Janet Watt who was a witness at her mothers dearth in 1901 although she was a Janet Somerville then. As already put on here she is on the 1901 census with a Henry aommerbille her husband also with her are her younger siblings. I cannot find a marriag3 for her either certainly not near Glasgow or Ayrshire

Looking at below...

Chris :)

1901
Henry F Sommerville Head Married Male 33 1868 Cordite Maker Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Janet F Sommerville Wife Married Female 27 1874 - Ardrossan, Ayrshire, Scotland
Mary F Sommerville Daughter Single Female 6 1895 Scholar Stevenston, Ayrshire, Scotland
Janet F Sommerville Daughter Single Female 5 1896 Scholar Stevenston, Ayrshire, Scotland
Agnes F Sommerville Daughter Single Female 3 1898 - Stevenston, Ayrshire, Scotland
John F Sommerville Son Single Male 0 1901 - Stevenston, Ayrshire, Scotland
Thomas H Watt Boarder Single Male 18 1883 Dynamite Lab Stevenston, Ayrshire, Scotland
George Watt Boarder Single Male 16 1885 Dynamite Lab Stevenston, Ayrshire, Scotland
David Watt Boarder Single Male 11 1890 Scholar Stevenston, Ayrshire, Scotland
Lime Kiln Road, Stevenston, Ayrshire, Scotland


(saw below, if him above)

Watt David 1890 — 1907 British Army Service Records Ardrossan, Ayrshire, Scotland
Service number 6411
Regiment Highland Light Infantry
(26/3/1907) (Deserted, 11/5/1907)

(for next of kin on above, Brother, Thomas Watt, 19, New Street, Stevenston)

(on Page 1, 'Where do you now reside', 'Home, Hydepark St. Glasgow)

Blast! No Robert with them in 1851 but he would have been 20 and living elsewhere. Look where John was born though.

Wales & Scotland Census
411, Parliamentary Road, St Davids, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland


First name(s) Last name Relationship Marital status Sex Age Birth year Occupation Birth place

John Watt Head Married Male 45 1806 Accountant Clerk Straiton, Ayrshire, Scotland
Blandina Watt Wife Married Female 39 1812 - England
Blandina Watt Daughter Widow Female 20 1831 - England
Margaret Watt Daughter Unmarried Female 17 1834 - England
Jane Watt Daughter Unmarried Female 1 1850 - Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland
William Watt Son Unmarried Male 24 1827 Formerly A Gardner Stair, Ayrshire, Scotland

Maybe worth checking this death to see who the informant was?


Surname Forename Age at death Mother's Maiden Name Year Ref RD Name Image View

WATT
BLANDINA
43
PARKIN
1855
644/6 325
Blythswood

First name(s) Blandina
Last name Danger
Name note -
Marriage year 1829
Marriage date 05 Jul 1829
Marriage place St Clement
Spouse's first name(s) John
Spouse's last name Watt
Residence St. Clement, Cornwall, England
County Cornwall
Country England
Record set England Marriages 1538-1973
Category Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records
Subcategory Parish Marriages
Collections from England, Great Britain

This is that Robert Thomas - but I DON'T believe he's the right one:


Robert Thomas Watt
in the England & Wales, Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers, 1567-1970
Name: Robert Thomas Watt
Birth Date: 23 Nov 1831
Gender: Male
Event Type: Baptism
Father: John Watt
Mother: Blandina
Baptism Date: 29 Jan 1832
Baptism Place: Hereford, Herefordshire, England
Denomination: Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion
Piece Title: Piece 0728: Hereford, Berington Street (Count. of Huntingdon), 1813-1836



He's not with his parents in 1851.

WATT, BARBARA DANGAR
GRO Reference: 1839 S Quarter in HEREFORD AND DORE Volume 26 Page 171

First name(s) Blandina Jennet
Last name Watt
Gender Female
Birth year -
Birth place -
Baptism year 1830
Baptism date 06 Jun 1830
Place Truro
County Cornwall
Country England
Father's first name(s) John
Father's last name Watt
Mother's first name(s) Blandina
Mother's last name -
Record set England Births & Baptisms 1538-1975
Category Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records
Subcategory Parish Baptisms
Collections from England, Great Britain

As there is clearly no marriage between Robert Watt and Mary Halbert, I fear you will never be able to identify his parents.

?????

1841 England, Wales & Scotland Census
Reform Court, Gorbals, Lanarkshire, Scotland


First name(s) Last name Sex Age Birth year Birth place

John Watt Male 35 1806 Scotland
Blandina Watt Female 28 1813 England
Blandina Janet Watt Female 11 1830 England
Robert Thos Watt Male 9 1832 England
Margaret Watt Female 7 1834 England
Mary Elizth Watt Female 5 1836 England
Barbara Watt Female 1 1840 England

Lindsey, the 1871 census showing Robert and Mary has been posted on the thread. We just haven't found him before then.

I agree - and that also reinforces my feeling that he probably finally abandoned his children (and Scotland) altogether after Mary's death.

Unless his death is missing from the indexes as RG suggests, he did not die in Scotland,

It seems unlikely that we'll ever know where in England he was born.

In view of the newspaper articles about this couple, it will be surprising if they are buried together, although stranger things have happened

I was going to ring north Ayrshire council on Monday for the same reason to try and find if Mary has been buried and if Roberts with her

I have requested a burial search for Mary, from North Ayrshire Council:

https://tinyurl.com/w2eegbt

They say they aim to reply within 5 working days.



If anyone has a sub to deceasedonline, please can they have a look at this record for the burial of a Robert Watt?
I don't see the death of a Robert Watt in Ayrshire in 1904 on SP. [ EDIT: Yes, I can - it's not him.]

Robert Watt
BuriedOn:
19 December 1904
Recorded in:
North Ayrshire
Date of death
19 December 1904

EDIT:

Oops! Yes, there's this death which will relate to that burial - so not "our" Robert:

WATT
ROBERT
45
1904
598/ 65
Kilmaurs

I have just viewed the Scotspeople death record for Robert watt in 1856 in Kilwinning it is indeed the son of Alexander and Marion from pathfoot. As I have said before I have not found Robert barn in England on any previous census prior to 1881 on Mary’s death record of which I have viewed it gives her daughter Janet Somerville as the informant. I am trying to contact churches in the area of Stevenston to see if I can find out if Mary Watt who died in 1900 is buried there.
Other than that I don’t know where to go from here