RATTRAY, William ¹

   Cause of his death was carcinoma of the rectum.²

   Other names for William were FLOYD, William ² and RATTRAY, William Floyd.²

  General Notes:

Esther Rattray, the child's mother, was the informant of his birth at Glasgow Hutchesontown on 24 December 1877.

Only one William Rattray was born between 1877 and 1879 in Lanarkshire, the age range of Margaret Kain's bridegroom. He was born on 4 December 1877 at 526 Rutherglen Road Glasgow to a fish salesman William Rattray and his wife Esther Charnley who married in Glasgow in 1875. His mother was the informant of the birth.

The three year old William was recorded in the 1881 census living 358 South Wellington Street, Hutchesontown, Glasgow with his 61 year old grandmother Agnes Rattray, just those two living together. In the same census his parents were recorded, with his sister Polina aged 4 years, living at 43 Pitt Street in the Anderston District of Glasgow. His father was a fish dealer.

In June 1888 Esther Rattray, nee Charnley, William's mother, died in Paisley Infirmary of pneumonia after a short illness. Her parents were Joseph Charnley, born Lancashire, and Paulina Wadsworth Ashton or Aston, who married in Bradford, Yorkshire, in 1833 and later came to live in Glasgow.

In the 1891 census William Rattray, aged 14 years and recorded as born in Paisley, was a scholar in an Industrial School in Albion Street Paisley, which appears to have been a male only establishment except for two female servants, Sarah the cook and Mary a housemaid.

In January 1894 William's sister, Polina Rattray, died in Paisley Poorhouse, aged 17 years. The causes of death were recorded as puerperal eclampsia over 2 days and puerperal mania over 5 days. She was a single woman, and although her father was not recorded as being deceased, it was the Governor of the Poorhouse who notified the registrar of the death.

The 1901 census of Scotland, the nearest census to the 1906 marriage, recorded one man called William Rattray who comes closest to fitting the criteria we already have. He is recorded as aged 23 years, by occupation a carter, living at 4 Sir Michael Street Burns Home in the west of Greenock. Oddly, in the 1906 marriage certificate the father of the groom, William Rattray, was recorded as a carter. This William Rattray was recorded as born in Glasgow.

In 1906 William Rattray married Margaret Kain in Greenock, Renfrewshire. According to the marriage certificate both were single. The groom was recorded as 27 years old and the bride was recorded as 19 years old. Margaret Anderson, the name given as his mother's name, was not his mother. A search has failed to find a William Rattray of his age whose mother was Margaret Anderson. Nor did an older William Rattray marry a Margaret Anderson in the timescale in question. This was false.

The second lie was of much greater import. William Rattray was not single. He had been married before to Fanny Jane Perkins in Canterbury, Kent, in 1903. He was in fact committing bigamy when he married Margaret Kain in Greenock. This was discovered in 1908-1909, and Rattray was brought to trial in March 1909 before Sheriff Neish, pleading guilty to the charge of bigamy, and was sentenced to forty days imprisonment. His spokesman claimed the crime had been the result of ignorance of the part of the defendant. However the Sheriff was not impressed by this excuse.

William Rattray was the informant of both the children he had with Margaret Kane: William Fulton Rattray in July 1906 and Mary Rattray in August 1908. It is clear from the date of William F. Rattray's birth that he was conceived before his parents' marriage. That may have been, at least partly, the source of the impulse of William Rattray to commit a bigamous marriage. Young William grew to adulthood, having experienced difficulties as a result of his father's actions. Mary died at a very young age in 1909.

1911 Census:
A William Rattray, aged 34 years and born in Glasgow, was living at 2 Bank Street Paisley, as a boarder in the household of a 28 year old man called Allan Moore, his wife and two small children. There were two other boarders who were in their teens. William Rattray was recorded as a single man and his occupation was that of carter for a general carrier.

In 1917 William Rattray, aged 39 years and 1 month, completed a Record of Service paper for men deemed to be enlisted in Regular Forces or in the Reserve. His address was noted as 1 Arthur Street Paisley and his occupation as 'carter'. To the question 'Are you married?' he answered 'No'. He expressed a preference to serve as an ASC Transport Driver. The signature of William Rattray on this army document is exactly the same as that of the informant on the birth certificate of his son William Fulton Rattray, and especially as that of his daughter Mary Rattray. This provides some objective proof that the William Rattray outlined here is the same William Rattray who bigamously married Margaret Kane.


After World War 1 was over, medals were awarded to officers and men who had played their part in the conflict. William Rattray, according to British Army Medal Rolls held at the National Archives, received two medals: the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. The first was issued mainly in silver to officers and men who had served overseas. The Victory Medal was issued in Bronze by each of the Allies to their own design. The three Corps with which he served were the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, the Labour Corps, and the King's Royal Rifle Corps.

In 1940 the marriage certificate of his son William Fulton Rattray recorded William Rattray as a sugarhouse stoker, the occupation recorded for his father in his parents' marriage certificate, and possibly originally another lie on his father's part. He was also recorded as deceased by then, though he did not in fact die until 1943.

In his death certificate of 1943 William Rattray was recorded as 'William Floyd (formerly William Floyd Rattray) Threadmill Labourer (single)'.

Now, William's sister Annie, used the name 'Ann Floyd Rattray' before her marriage. Her birth registration displayed this name, and in addition she is recorded living with her widowed aunt Ann Floyd nee Rattray, her father's sister, in the 1901 census. Apart from the death certificate, however, the name Floyd has not been found so far to be attached to William Rattray. The designation 'single' is bound to raise a few eyebrows and cause a few wry smiles.

William's aged was noted at death as 64 years, a slight underestimate. His parents were deceased. ^{2 3}

  Research Notes:

WILLIAM RATTRAY'S MOTHER'S NAME

There is not any marriage of a William Rattray and Margaret Anderson noted in Scottish records until 1961. Between 1870 and 1880 there were no illegitimate children born named either William Rattray or William Anderson. Between 1870 and 1960 there were no female deaths of women having both of the surnames Rattray and Anderson. We can therefore conclude provisionally that Rattray was lying about the name of his mother at least.

Interestingly, the Rattrays and the Charnleys both had connections with the Townhead - Dennistoun area of Glasgow, even before William's birth. For example, in the 1871 census William's father's family were living at 94 Glebe Street. The Charnleys, William's mother's family, were living in 101 Glebe Street in the 1871 census. The 1881 census recorded William's uncle, James Rattray, and his wife, as visitors at the home of an Irishwoman, a widow, Mrs Anderson, in Townhead. A Margaret Anderson, her daughter, aged 14 years, was also resident there.

INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL: WHAT WAS IT?

"Industrial Schools
Originally applied to workhouse schools where industrial training was given to pauper children. After 1856, the term was more commonly applied to schools set up to detain vagrant, destitute and disorderly children who were considered in danger of becoming criminals. From the 1930s, the latter were known as Approved Schools."

from the superb site at http://www.workhouses.org.uk/ set up and maintained by Peter Higginbotham

  Medical Notes:

Alex. D Fleming MB ChB certified the cause of death.

Annie Swan, William's sister who was present where the death occurred, gave notice of her brother's death before the registrar at Paisley on 4 October 1843. ²

William married Fanny Jane PERKINS, daughter of James PERKINS and Matilda BUDD, between July and September 1903 in Canterbury, Kent, England. (Fanny Jane PERKINS was born between January and March 1874 in Canterbury, Kent, England and died between April and June 1948 in Bridge, near Canterbury, Kent, England.)

  Marriage Notes:

In the third quarter of 1903 a William Rattray married Fanny Jane Perkins in Canterbury, Kent, England, where she had been born in the first quarter of 1874 to James and Matilda Perkins, both natives of Kent. James Perkins was a dyer by trade, and Fanny had an older brother Albert and a younger brother Henry.

If William Rattray, who married both Fanny Perkins and Margaret Kain, was this William outlined here, there is no indication as yet about how or why he came to be in Canterbury and how he met Fanny Perkins.

William next married Margaret KANE, daughter of Thomas KANE and Mary Jane BOTHWELL, on 3 April 1906 in 1 Houston Street, Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland.¹ (Margaret KANE was born 14 January 1887 at 9.00 am in 114 Drumfrochar Road, Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland ⁴ and died 6 January 1948 at 4.20 pm in Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, Scotland ⁵.). The cause of her death was carcinoma of the large bowel: obstruction;ethyl chloride gas oxygen ether failure.²

  Marriage Notes:

The marriage was celebrated after banns according to the forms of the Church of Scotland. The minister was David S. Peters and the witnesses Samuel Kane and Annie Kane.

The bridegroom was 27 years old and worked as a sugarhouse labourer. He was a single man who lived at 18 Crawford Street Greenock. His mother was deceased.

Margaret Kane was a domestic servant of 19 years of age. She too lived at 18 Crawford Street and was single. Her father was deceased.

The marriage was registered on 5 April 1906. ¹