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Janet STUART (b 1829)

The Old Parish Register of Neilston Parish in 1829 reported that "William Stuart, Cotton Spinner, and Janet Craig, spouses and of the established church, had their 1st child being a daughter born on 23 May and baptized 17th May following, named Janet." As I have explained in the description of her older brother, William, Janet may have been the first child of this marriage, but she was almost certainly not the first child of this couple. I have found almost nothing more about Janet. She was still living in 1841 when the Census was taken in Duntocher in the parish of Old Kilpatrick in Dunbartonshire. At that time, she was reported to be 14 years of age and working as a cotton framer. The record also indicated that she was not born in Dunbartonshire. Her recorded age in the census (14 on 06 Jun 1841) was inflated by two years. I believe much of the information recorded on this 1841 form to be inaccurate, and, in this case, I suspect the ages of the children were inflated to account for the fact that they were working.

Alas, the 1841 Census is the last reference to Janet that I have found. She was not living with her parents in 1851 but by that time she would be 22 years of age, and, if still living, might very well have been married and living with her husband. The challenge of identifying her marriage among the data from the Old Parish Registers of Scotland from 1841 to 1851 would be a daunting task and I have not undertaken it.

Sources:

1829 Birth Registration for Janet Stuart: Citation: The National Records of Scotland, 1829/Births/572/40/177. Content: The 1829 Old Parish Register of Neilston Parish [Renfrewshire] (page 255) reads: 1829, William Stuart and Janet Craig, spouses, Neilston/Cotton-spinner and of this parish had their 1st child being a daughter born on 23 Mar and bapt 17 May following, named Janet.

1841 Scotland Census, Household of William Stuart (b c1806): Citation: National Records of Scotland. Census 1841/501/00 008/00 031. Content: The 1841 Scotland Census of the Parish of Old Kilpatrick [Dunbartonshire], Duntocher, New Street on 06 Jun 1841 shows a household composed of (1) William Stewart, male, age 35, cotton spinner, born I[reland] (sic), (2) Janet Stewart, female, age 35, [no occupation], born in Scotland but not in Dunbartonshire, (3) William Stewart, male, age 17, cotton piecer, born in Scotland but not in Dunbartonshire, (4) Janet Stewart, female, age 14, cotton framer, born in Scotland but not in Dunbartonshire, (5) Susan Stewart, age 12, cotton framer, born in Dumbartonshire, (6) Agnes Stewart, age 8, born in Dumbartonshire, (7) Matthew Stewart, male, age 5, born in Dumbartonshire, (8) Alexander Stewart, male, age 4 months, born in Dumbartonshire. [Note: The place of birth for William Stuart, head of household, is almost certainly a simple enumerator error. It follows a household in which all members were born in Ireland.]

1851 Scotland Census, Household of William Stewart (b c1806): Citation: The National Records of Scotland, 1851/Census/573/59/7. Content: The 1851 Scotland Census of Middle Church Parish, Burgh of Paisley [Renfrewshire], 29 New Sneddon Street on 30 Mar 1851, shows a household (34) composed of (1) William Stewart, head, married, male age 43, cotton spinner, born Renfrewshire, Neilston Parish, (2) Janet Stewart, wife, married, female, age 42, housekeeper, bornRenfrewshire, Neilston Parish, (3) Susan Stewart, daughter, unmarried, female, age 19, cotton worker, born Dunbartonshire, Kilpatrick Parish, (4) Agnes Stewart, daughter, unmarrie, female, age 17, cotton worker, born Dunbartonshire, Kilpatrick Parish, (5) Matthew Stewart, son, unmarried, male, age 15, cotton worker, born Dunbartonshire, Kilpatrick Parish.