HAMILTON WOMAN JUST MISSES HER CENTENARY.
Mrs Brown of 6 Almada Street, who passed away in 1927, missed her 100th birthday by four months. “Granny” Brown’s chief desire for some years prior to her death was that she should see her hundredth birthday, and after enjoying good health up to a week or two ago she took a sudden illness which ultimately thwarted her ambition.
Mrs Brown could recall the days when as a girl, she had to tramp from Lesmahagow to Hamilton a distance of fully ten miles for her messages, whilst she had vivid recollections of the old stagecoach days in Lanarkshire.
In 1927, living to the ripe old age of 100 was not something that most people would ever see and after I uncovered this little snippet in the Sunday Post, I decided to find out who Mrs Brown was.
Mrs Brown was born on the 20th of August 1827 at Lesmahagow to parents William Paton & Catherine Watson and her dad was a ploughman. She was baptised on the 16th of September in the same year.
She married Robert Brown on the 2nd of December 1849 at Lanark. Robert was a Journeyman joiner and he was born at Rosebank in the year 1828 and I decided to follow her through the census records to follow her journey.
1861, she was living at Netherhouse, Lesmahagow living with her husband and kids, Catherine John Isabella & Thomas. On this census, she tells the enumerator that even though married, she wants to be known as Isabella Paton.
When we move on ten years later, she is still living at Netherton with her husband and kids. Her husband now is working on a farm and they would have either been living on the farm or nearby. In 1881 this is the last time that we find her on a census, where she is still living at Netherhouse.
When I looked what became of Isabella’s children, I found that they moved away in far places, including different countries. Isabella will have descendants now living all over the world which includes her son Thomas who saw out his days in Clarion, Pennsylvania, USA. Her daughter Mary Ann Brown, Detroit, Michigan, USA. Her son William, Worthington, England. Each of her children had a large family of their own with many grandchildren.
It is unclear when Isabella moved to Hamilton, or why, but she saw out her last days living at 6 Almada Street. What a life she had living very close to her centenary.
If you think that you mat be related to Isabella Brown, then please get in touch.
Historic Hamilton 