Andrew Paterson

Andrew Paterson was my great great great grandfather, born 12 Jan 1803 in Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Scotland, to William Paterson and Lillias Welch/Welsh.

He married Margaret Kirkwood in Barony (a parish of Glasgow), Lanarkshire, Scotland on 23 Jun 1826. They had nine children, the youngest of whom was my great great grandmother Ellen Paterson.

Andrew Paterson was a stonemason. I don't know exactly when Andrew moved to Glasgow, but he was working there as a mason when he got married in 1826, aged 23. Presumably he did an apprenticeship, but I haven't located any Scottish apprenticeship records available online. So whether he did it in Clackmannanshire or Glasgow I couldn't say. I do know that his wife's father, Alexander Kirkwood, was also a mason, so perhaps he learned the trade from his future father-in-law - pure speculation on my part though!

I shall give a timeline of all the events of Andrew's life that I have been able to establish, and then discuss my issues after that:

12 Jan 1803 - Born in Alloa, Clackmannanshire

23 Jun 1826 - Married Margaret Kirkwood, Glasgow, Lanarkshire. Andrew noted as a mason.

28 May 1827 - Daughter Margaret born in Gorbals, Lanarkshire

1829 - Son William born in Glasgow, Lanarkshire

6 Jan 1832 - Daughter Lilias born in Barony, Lanarkshire

19 May 1834 - Daughter Janet (Jessie) born in Dunoon and Kilmun, Argyll. Birth record lists Andrew as a stonemason.

18 Aug 1836 - Daughter Ann born in Barony, Lanarkshire

Abt 1841 - Daughter Jane born in Lanarkshire

31 Jan 1841 - Daughter Mary born in Barony, Lanarkshire

6 Jun 1841 - Living in Blackhill, Lanarkshire in the 1841 Census, working as a mason. Other members of the family on the census are: Margaret (wife), Margaret (daughter), William, Lillias, Janet, Ann, Jane and Mary.

19 Nov 1842 - Son Alexander Kirkwood born in Barony, Lanarkshire. Birth record lists Andrew as a stonemason.

11 Nov 1845 - Daughter Ellen born in Blackhill, Lanarkshire. Birth record not located.

14 Dec 1846 - “At Blackhill, on the 14th instant, Mr. Andrew Paterson, Manager of the Monkland Canal.” Glasgow Herald, 18 Dec 1846

It is believed that Andrew Paterson, although he was a mason, was the manager of the Monkland Canal, which connected Monklands to Glasgow and was an important trade route. There was a lock at Blackhill, which was rebuilt in 1841. I wonder if this is how a mason came to be the manager of the canal - locks would presumably have been built with stone and wood in those days, and I guess that Andrew's masonry skills would have assisted with managing the rebuilding of the lock at Blackhill.

Because of the seemingly unlikely idea of a mason managing a canal I had wondered if there were two Andrew Patersons - one a mason, the other the canal manager. However in the post office directories of the time there is only one Andrew Paterson listed, and so I can only conclude that either one of them wasn't listed, or they were the same person. The rebuilding of the locks in 1841 gives me more reason to believe they were the same person. As well as this, there were no more children born in the family after my great great grandmother Ellen, which fits with a father no longer being around to contribute to more children. So although I can't say with complete certainty that he was, it would seem that my great great great grandfather was the manager of the Monkland Canal.