Somehow, cholera did not take Anne’s children, but it did take her. Anne's untimely death thrust William into the world of single parenthood. He had five children to look after, aged from eight years to less than twelve months. If he was already having difficulty obtaining full employment, raising five children would have felt impossible. Nine years later, the 1841 census is evidence of his difficulties. He was living in Kilmacolm Village and eleven-year-old Agnes was the only child listed with him. The four other children were nowhere to be found.
Where did Agnes's siblings go? Were they in orphanages or exploited in child labour? This mystery haunted me for years, until my wife, Donna, found two of the children living with extended family. It was a marvelous find, buried in the 1841 census records.
The oldest child, Anne, was staying with her mother’s brother, Robert Finlay, at Greenock. The youngest child, Robert, was also living with this namesake uncle. We cannot find any 1841 records for the other two children. Ten years later, however, Jean and William show up in the 1851 census, lodging with another family in Kilmacolm. Jean was 24 and William 23. She was working as a weaver and he as a mason. I felt a sense of relief to know that, in spite of their mother's passing, the children were all accounted for.
Since Agnes was living with her father, a special bond appears to have formed between them. Even so, the time soon came for her to leave home. Frank Darroch wrote that she served as "...a domestic in the home of the master blacksmith...." [2] That's not surprising, for domestic service was the most common occupation for females in the 1800s. Children entered domestic service around ten years old or even as young as eight. Younger ones often worked locally and came home frequently.
Unfortunately for Agnes and her father, employers preferred to hire teenage domestics from afar. The distance helped reduce gossip, avoid suitors, and prevent the teenager from running home. We do not know when Agnes moved to Glasgow, except she was older than twelve, for she was still living with her dad in 1841. I presume it was somewhere in her early or mid-teens. The following vignette imagines she had just turned 14, in the fall of 1843.
Fourteen-year-old Agnes sat on the step just outside the door of her tiny home. Her knees were drawn tightly to her chest, held there by her thin arms. The family Bible was beside her and the chilly autumn breeze blew its pages. Agnes's father had just broken the news she was to move to Glasgow to work as a domestic. He could no longer support her on his meager wage. Heartbroken, she had turned to the family Bible for comfort. She knew her mother had read it regularly, so she followed her example.
As far as going to Glasgow, Agnes wasn't scared of hard work. She had done household chores most of her life. She had had no choice since her mother passed away and her family disbanded. Agnes also had several years of domestic experience working for neighbours. While working locally, she was able to come home on weekends to be with her father. But Glasgow? That was twenty miles away! She would have to leave friends and all she knew and loved at home. What saddened her most of all was the thought of leaving her dad.
Agnes and her dad had grown close since her mother died of Cholera eleven years ago. It must have been tough for him, for he had really relied on his wife. At first, he tried to raise his five children as a single parent. He had done his best, but his health would not allow it. Eventually, he sent four of the children to uncles and aunts. He had kept Agnes home with him, for he thought he could handle one at least. It turned out that she was as much a help to him as he was a parent to her. And now it was time for her to leave home, too.
Agnes's thoughts were interrupted when her dad came out of the house. “What have you got there, child?”
“The Bible you gave Mum. I think about her a lot.”
“Me, too. Over a decade later and I still miss her.”
William rarely talked about the past or what he was feeling, so this was an uncommon daddy-daughter moment. Agnes was going to take advantage of it.
“I miss her even though I don’t really remember her. I just remember the stories you tell.”
"She gave me hope when everything else was going wrong. Destiny controlled my life until then—the wars, the economy, the lack of jobs—but your mum looked at things differently."
"How is that?"
"She was faithful, kind, and fun-loving…brought me out of my shell. After my military discharge, I was at a loss. When I met her, life gained meaning again. I finally felt free of fate’s cruel hand. Then the Cholera came, and fate took her."
Picking up the Bible, Agnes said, “I found this verse that Mum marked. It says, ‘And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.' Do you believe that, Dad?”
“Your mother did. When I met your mum, your grandmother had just died. The Findlays relied on their faith to get them through that. I believed it then."
Wiliam looked at his daughter and continued, "Since then, there has been so much death and sorrow. I miss your mother and your brothers and sisters terribly. This bum leg keeps me from getting enough work to keep us fed. And now you have to leave because of it."
William saw Agnes's eyes fill with tears.
"So, I don't know if I believe it as much as just hope it's true. As for you--I hope you have your mother's faith.”
"Oh, Dad, I do!"
William smiled at Agnes. “You are a lot like your mum—faithful, trustworthy, reliable.”
He slowly turned and limped back into the house, leaving Agnes alone again. The setting sun cast a long shadow on the step. Agnes’s slight body trembled. At that moment, she made a resolve: She would go. She would go and be the best domestic in all of Glasgow.
In this background of poverty and heartache, Agnes left her father and their quiet home in Kilmacolm to work in Glasgow. Little did she know what and who awaited her there. It was about to change her life forever. As you remember, John Darroch started his apprenticeship in Glasgow in 1842. It is there the two will meet and fall in love over the next few years.
Next post we will explore the city of Glasgow in the 1840s and what it was like to live there. This "Second City of the Empire" might have been different from what you imagine!
References:
[1] Scotland 1841 census image captured from FamilySearch.org (retrieved 16 Sep 2022).
[2] Frank Darroch, A Darroch Family in Scotland and in Canada (Harriston, Ontario, 1974), 62.
[3] The verse Agnes quoted is from Revelation 21:4, The Holy Bible (King James Version).