Geography lesson:
Information sent to me from a researcher in Scotland~~~
Rumblingwell is 1 mile north west of the center of Dunfermline
Beath is 3 miles east of Dunfermline and 2 miles west of Cowdenbeath.
Harry and Helen Ramsay WALTER
1941
Helen's
Ramsay Ancestors
Westmoreland Co. PA and Scotland
Helen's Parents

William Sharpe RAMSAY
was born 13 Mar 1846 in Dalgety, Fife, Scotland. He died in 1929. In 1870
he married Janet BONNAR [Bonnar
Page] whose family was also from Scotland. She was
born 11 Dec 1852 in Scotland and died in 1916. They are buried at Irwin
Union Cemetery in Westmoreland Co, PA. William eventually became
the superintendent at the Morewood Coal and Coke Works of the Frick Carnegie
Company.
Helen
("Nell") (back left) and Grace are in the back with bows in their
hair. Mother Janet is in the center. The three ladies on the left are Janet,
Anne, and Beatrice. The four ladies on the right are Chrystine "Tine",
Bess, Mary, and Marie. (all left to right)
Children: [all born in PA]
Beatrice born 12 Aug 1872 died 14 mar
1940 m. __?__ Clark
Elizabeth (Bessie) born 18 Dec 1873
died 1948 m. __?__ Hill
Janet born 22 Jan 1875 died 1936
m. __?__ Nicholson
Maria born 8 May 1876 died
1965 m. __?__ Millward
One born dead
One born dead
William died at 18 months
Anne born 22 Jul 1883 died
1954 never married (Anne used to come visit in Wooster, OH)
Christinia born 1885 died 1964
m. Frank SIMMONS
Mary born 12 Jan ?? m. __?__
Evans
Helen (Ellen, "Nellie")
was born 9 Mar 1890 Mr Pleasant, PA and died 23 Oct 1976 in Aurora, OH.
She was married to Harry W. WALTER They lived in Wooster
Ohio most of their married life.
One died at 1 week
Robert
born 13 Feb 1893 died ?1967 buried in Shafton PA
m. Mary ___?___
Grace born 16 mar 1895
died 1961 m. Paul Deffenbaugh
William RAMSAY and Elizabeth SHARPE Ramsay [Click here for the Sharpe Family]brought their family to the US in 1852 living at Port Perry, Allegheny County PA. (Grandmother's Notes: They went to Clinton, OH the first summer, but then returned to Allegheny County.) But because of the deaths of some of their children and supposedly because of growing unrest in the US, they returned to Scotland in 1855. They then returned to Pennsylvania in the summer of 1863 where William worked at Hay's coal mine near Six Mile Ferry PA. After about one year in 1864 they moved down to Larimer near Irwin in Westmoreland County PA. (Grandmother's Notes: They (?) visited Scotland in 1866 and 1867.)
William RAMSAY was born 26 or27 Mar 1819 Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland ( Christened 4 Ap1819Dunfermline) He died 16 Ap 1885 (66 yrs20 days), Larimer, Westmoreland PA and is buried in Union Cemetery Irwin PA. He marrried Elizabeth SHARPE in Dunfermline in 1840. Elizabeth was born 26 Dec 1819 in Scotland and died 13 Aug 1889 (69 yrs, 7 mon. 18 dys). She is also buried in UnionCemetery Irwin PA (Shafton?)
The Ramsay Children:
Robert
was born 23 Oct 1840 Dunfermline, Scotland and died 11 Aug 1899 in East
Kilbride, Scotland while visiting there. He was married to Janet
(Jenny) ERSKINE. Eventually he became the Superintendent of Mines andGeneral
Consulting Engineer for the Frick mines in the Westmoreland/Fayette area
of PA. Robert and his son Erskine had many inventions used in the
mining industry. (Grandmother's Notes: Robert returned to Scotland
many times and died there in 1899 at age 58. He was superintendent
for H C Frick Coke and Coal company for 16 years. He was also pit
boss and superintendent at Shafton Coal company and superintendent for
Carnegie Coke at Monistery Coke Works at Latrobe. He received a patent
on the Ramsay Ram for pushing wagons on and off the cage....She listed
these children who lived to adulthood: William, Erskine, Robert, Morris,
John, Andee, Charley, George, Margaret, Elizabeth, Janet, and Mary....She
wrote that mother Janet Erskine Ramsay died in 1916 in Greensburg.)
Go
here for a newspaper story about Robert (and William, his brother, is mentioned).
Elizabeth (Bessie) was born 16 Feb 1843 Dalgety, Fife, Scotland and died 1889 at age 46. She was married to Robert MORRIS possibly in 1867. Robert died at age 63 in 1900. They had 7 children: Son, Arthur married Emma Pastoria and had one child. Arthur was killed at age 23 in Alverton. Son, Willis died young. Daughter, Bessie lived in Greensburg PA[see 1920 census below]. Robert, George, Annie and Morris were the other children.
From Cousin Barb: In the 1920 census, was
listed the daughter Elisabeth Morris, age 48 and single head of household
living in southwest Greensburg. Living with her were her sister Annie,
age 36 and single; her brother Morris R. age 34 a coal mine superintendent;
her brother George age 41 a coal mining engineer and a widower. His
children were also living there:
Robert C. age 7, Ruth age 3, and Alice A., age
1.
-----
William Sharpe RAMSAY [Helen WALTER's Father]

William
Sharpe was born 13 mar 1846 in Dalgety, Fife, Scotland and died
in1929 in PA.He married Janet BONNAR, daughter of William Thomson Bonnar
and Beatrice McNeil. (Grandmother's Notes: Her father, William Sharpe
Ramsay, started working in the mines at age 10 years and 4 months...{now
at that age the family would have been back in Scotland}..and continued
working in the mines when they returned to PA. He was pit boss at
Shafton Coal Company, Bewin White Coal Co., Hecla Coal Co., Southwest
Coal co, and H C Frick Coke Co. in Morewood where he became the superintendent.
He held that position for 22 years including the strikes of 1891 and 1894.
William and Janet's children were[see dates above]: Beatrice (Clark),
Elizabeth "Bessie" (Hill), Janet (Nicholson), Maria (Millward), two born
dead, William who died at 18 months, Anne who never married, Christinia
(Frank Simmons), Mary (Evans), Helen "Ellen" "Nellie" "Nell"
(Harry Walter), child died at 1 week, Robert (Mary ?), and Grace
(Paul DEFFENBAUGH).
From Cousin Barb: PA census 1910 Westmoreland
county PA
William S. Ramsey, age 64, b.Scotland
Jannet B., wife, age 56, born in Scotland
Annie, daughter, age 26 b. PA
Mary, daughter, age 23, PA
Hellen, daughter, age 20 , PA
Robert, son, age 17, PA
Grace, daughter, age 15, PA
William C., grandson, age 13, PA [I don't
know who his parents are.......~~Susie~~]
Morris
was
born 4 Jun 1848 in Dalgety or Fordell, Fife, Scotland. He died
29 Dec 1892 in Pittsburgh PA after beign injured
in a carriage accident. Henry Frick sent him to a hospital in Pisttburgh
but he died in surgery. He was married to Sarah (Sadie) Mariah GREER.
Morris eventually became the Chief Engineer for the
H C Frick Coke Company. (Grandmother's Notes:
He was General Manager of Southwest Coke Co. when he died. He was
superintendent at Clearfield Company, Merrill Coke Works, Loyal-Hanna Coal
Co., and Morewood Coke Company. He was pit boss at Shafton Coal Company.
She wrote that he was a good engineer and machinist. He went back
to Scotland four times.) (She wrote down these 13 children for Morris and
Sarah: William, Sadie, Elizabeth, Hanna, George, Cristina, Robert, Nellie,
Janet, one still born, Alice, Adelaide Frick Ramsay, and another still
born.)
Addition: Well, Grandmother's notes didn't
have all the children of Morris and Sarah.
Go to the site of one of Morris' Descendants
to see a more complete history of that family and great pictures:
Cousin
Barbara's Ramsay Clan Page
Peter
born 3 Feb 1851 Auchterderran, Fife, Scotland; died young
May died 11 months
May
died 16 months
Peter,
May and May must be the children who died here in the US and whose deaths
were
part of the reason for the family's return to Scotland.
George was born 2 Sep 1857 Dunfermline,
Scotland. He was still living at home in the 1870 census. He married Jeannie
(writing hard to read) CAMERON in 1880. (Grandmother's Notes:
George was a blacksmith and was pit boss for
Loyalhanna Coke Company and Bewin(?spelling) White Coal Company.
He was then superintendent at Morewood, Monistery, Arvonia Company, Clearfield
Company, Colorado Coal and Mining Co. in Colorado, the Davis Coal Company
in West Virginia, a company in Wyoming, and was general manager of ??Shaw
Int.
Coal Co. when he died. Their children
were Cristina, Elizabeth and Grace.)
From cousin Barb: In the 1900 census George S. was general superintendant of Shawmut Coal Co., St Mary's, Elk County PA. It says he emigrated from Scotland in 1858.
Christine was born 5 Mar 1860 Dunfermline, Scotland and died at age 8 in PA.
Maria was
born 18 May 1862 in Dunfermline, Scotland. She was living at home
in PA in the 1870 census. (Grandmother's Notes: She married Joseph
ANGUS in 1882. She had three children. Maria died at age 25
in childbirth (8 Feb 1888). Her husband was killed by a streetcar.)
[From Cousin Barb: Maria, Joseph Angus
and second wife Jane Guthrie (1871 - 1926) are all buried at the Ramsay
plot at Irwin Union Cemetery (also known as Shafton) along with son Robert
(1888 - 1907).]
From Cousin Barb: In the 1900 census, Mt.
Pleasant, PA is listed Joseph Angus (b. Scotland, Sept 1856, age 43) who
had apparently remarried about 1896 since it says that he and Jannett (b.
Scotland, Jan 1869, age 31) are listed as having been married for 4 years.
The son Robert (b. PA) is listed as 12 years old, born Jan 1888.
So that must have been the death month and year for Maria, his mother.
Two more children are listed who fit into the years that Joseph and Jannett
had been married: William born Sept 1897 (age 2) in PA and James,
born July 1899 (age 11 months) in PA.
Go here for a newspaper story about Robert (and William, his brother, is mentioned).
And we know one more generation back taken from my grandmother's notes and the book written by Erskine Ramsay.
Robert RAMSAY was
born 1793 [see more below in next section] and died 1832 in Scotland Age
39 ( the book says 38)
He married Elizabeth
MORRIS in 1814. He worked at mining
in Scotland in the Dunfermline area.
I found a family in the IGI that fits with my grandmother's notes.
Two of the children, Jean and the first Isabel, I have found were
not
in her notes. Perhaps they did not live long. ( Grandmother's Notes:
Elizabeth Morris had a sister ??Nunmi??Naomi?? who died in Scotland in
1875 at a very old age.)
The IGI says that Robert Ramsay, husband of Elizabeth Morris, was born
about 1790 and that he was "of" Rumlinswell, Fife". See my
note on Geography at the top of the page.
Children:
Christine or Christian was born 21 Mar 1816 in Dunfermline
and died age 94 in Scotland.
On 11 (or 1) Dec 1838, she
married James PENMAN (husband and children verified by
Grandmother's Notes).Their
children were Betsy, Margaret(the only one not in the notes),
Christian (F), Richard,
Jeanie, and Isabella. Grandmother Notes said that Richard became
a
policeman and died in England.
| Christian RAMSAY PENMAN
as 1816 to 1910. Christian's daughter Betsy married John Simpson
on 2 Jan 1860 in Auchterderran. Then Betsy had a daughter, Mary Simpson
Mackie who was born 6 July 1862 in Auchterderran. Mary had at least 2 sons.
Another daughter of Betsy was Jennie Simpson Robinson born after 1874.
Jennie married Lieutenant Arthur James Robinson and had 3 children.
From the General Register Office for Scotland
Children of Christian RAMSAY and James PENMAN
|
William was born 26 Mar 1819 Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland and died 16 Ap 1885
| From the General Register Office for Scotland.
William RAMSAY was christened 4 Ap 1819. No birth record. He married Elisabeth Sharp 16 Nov 1839 in Dalgety, Fife. |
Janet was
born 6 Jun 1821 Dalgety, Fife. (Grandmother's Notes:
Janet married Henreich
(BUNELL)
which is probably BIRREL the brother of the man who married Isabella. She
said that
he
was a coal miner.
| From the General Register Office for Scotland
Janet RAMSAY, born 6 June 1821. Scottish birth records confirm this birth to Robert and Elizabeth. There is a record that a Janet Ramsay married Archibald Penman 6 July 1844 in Dalgety, Fife. Children of Janet Ramsay and Archibald Penman identified so far:
Now the question is: "Were Margaret and Janet the same person?
Was this person married several times? But the children's births on these
two conflicting records prevents us from saying that they are the same
Janet/Margaret."
|
Morris died at age 58. He had at
least two boys and married Jane Hodge. The IGI says he was Morice, born
5 July 1823 in Dalgety Fife.
| From the General Register Office for Scotland
Morice RAMSAY, born 5 July 1823 in Dalgety, Fife. Married Jane (Jean) Hodge 17 Jan 1853 in Auchterderran, Fife. He was a coal miner, according to 1881 census. Died at 58 in 1882 according to death record. 1881 census listed Thomas born in Auchterderran, age 23, a coal miner, living with his parents at Twibaynes Row, Dunfermline. His mother Jane was listed as being 48 yrs old, born in Cowdenbeath. |
Jean born 29 Aug 1825
Dalgety, Fife (This child not in Grandmother's Notes.)
| From the General Register Office for Scotland
Jean RAMSAY born 29 Aug 1825 in Dalgety, Fife. Jean and Henry died after 1881 in Scotland. Married Henry Berrie [a misspelling of Birrel] 15 Aug 1846 in Dalgety, Fife. Henry BIRRELL (father William) was born Nov 12, 1823 in Dalgety, Fife, Scotland , Henry was a coal miner. More About JEAN RAMSAY:
Children of HENRY BIRRELL and JEAN RAMSAY are:
|
Isabel born 29 Nov.
1826 Dalgety, Fife (This child not in Grandmother's Notes.)
| From the General Register Office for Scotland
Isabel RAMSAY, born 29 Nov 1826 in Dalgety, Fife. No marriage or death record. |
Isabella was
born 25 (or 27) Dec 1827 Crossgates or Dunfermline, Fife. (Grandmother's
Notes: Isabella died at age 74. Isabella, "Easey", married
William BUNELL [seems to be BIRREL verified elsewhere])
| From the General Register Office for Scotland
Isabella Lander RAMSAY, born 27 Dec 1827 in Dunfermline, Fife. Married William Birrel 3 Dec 1849 in Dunfermline, Fife. |
Agnes was
born 24 Sep 1830 Beath, Fife. (Grandmother's Notes:
"Agie" married Thomas NESS who was a coal miner.)
Marriage also found elsewhere.
| From the General Register Office for Scotland
Agnes RAMSAY, born 24 Sept 1830 in Cowdenbeath, Fife. Married Thomas Ness 31 May 1851 in Auchterderran, Fife. Children of Agnes Ramsay and Thomas Ness found so far:
|
I have found a family in the Dunfermline/ Torryburn/ Dalgety area of Fife which has the
above named brothers and in addition had Alexander, and the sisters Margaret, Jean,
Janet, and Helen. They certainly are first names found in the family. The parents are
William RAMSAY and Janet THOMSON. This is very likely the correct family.
Note~~~ Researcher Barb Ramsay says that her
older family members had been given this couple as the parents of our Robert
Ramsay. So she looked in the Scottish records for their children:
| James Ramsay, christened 29 Oct 1786 in Dunfermline, Fife
John Ramsay, christened 4 May 1788 in Dunfermline, Fife William Ramsay, christened 7 Mar 1790 in Torryburn, Fife Robert Ramsay, christened 8 Apr 1792 in Dunfirmline, Fife Margaret Ramsay, christened 2 Nov 1794 in Torryburn, Fife Jean Ramsay, born 18 Jun 1797 in Dalgety, Fife Jannet Ramsay, christened 23 Mar 1800 in Dalgety, Fife Alexander Ramsay, christened 9 Jan 1803 in Dalgety, Fife Thomas Ramsay, christened - Mar 1807 in Dalgety, Fife Also on the Church of Scotland record, Parish Church of Dalgety, is listed child Helen born 30 Dec 1804 and christened 31 Dec1804. |
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