DONALDSON, James ^{3 4}

   Cause of his death was heart disease over 6 months and congestion of the lungs over 5 days.⁴

  General Notes:

1861 Census:
A blacksmith, James Donaldson, aged 30 years and born in Ireland, and his wife Mary Ann Donaldson, 31 years old and Irish born, were living at 5 Bartonholm Square in the parish of Irvine, Ayrshire, with their four children: John, aged 9 years, William aged 5 years, James, aged 3 years, and Mary Ann aged 1 year. All were recorded as being born in Ireland.

From the birth certificate of his daughter, Mary Ann, in 1870, it would appear that James Donaldson was a coal miner at Annick Lodge Colliery in the parish of Irvine, Ayrshire at that time.

1871 Census:
The Donaldson family lived at 18 Double Row, Irvine Ayrshire, a dwelling with two windowed rooms. Jas. Donaldson and his wife Mary Ann, aged 39 and 40 years respectively, were both born in Ireland, James being a coal miner. Their eldest son listed in the census entry, William, was also born in Ireland. He was 15 years old and worked as a coal miner. James, Agnes and Margaret were born in Ayrshire: James aged 8 years in Kilwinning, Agnes, 3 years and Margaret 8 months, in Irvine. This latter is undoubtedly Mary Ann, though misnamed here, born in August 1870.
Note: Margaret is the name transcribed in the official GRO version of the census. Mary Ann's name is sometimes written as Maryann and the enumerator may have written this and it was then read wrongly, or he himself may have misheard a Northern Irish pronunciation of Marann as Maggie or Margaret.

James Donaldson was the informant of the birth of his son, Hugh, before the registrar at Irvine on 14 January 1873.

James Donaldson's wife died in November 1874.

1881 Census:
James Donaldson, his second wife Jane Donaldson, and four of his children, were recorded living at Merry and Cunninghams Row 30 in the parish of Blantyre, Lanarkshire. James, aged 46 years, was a coal miner. His wife, Jane, was 26 years old, his daughter Agnes was 13 years old, and his daughter Mary Ann was 10 years old. Jane's son Henry was 4 years old and her daughter Jane was 2 years old. James and Jane Donaldson were born in Ireland. Agnes, Mary Ann and Henry were born in the parish of Irvine in Ayrshire; little Jane was born in the parish of Bothwell, Lanarkshire.
Living with the family was a boarder called Peter McCann. He was a coal miner and had been born in Ireland.

Agnes Donaldson, aged 16 years, daughter of James Donaldson and Mary Ann Carson, died in 1884 in Irvine. Her death certificate recorded James as a coal miner.

When James Donaldson died in 1888, his death certificate noted that he had been married first to Mary Ann Carson and then to Jane Murray. He was recorded as aged 52 years at death and had worked as a coal miner. Both of his parents were deceased.

James Donaldson had been dead for two months when his posthumous daughter Annie was born in June 1888. Her birth certificate recorded him as having been a coal miner.

James Donaldson was a coal miner, according to the 1895 marriage certificate of his daughter Mary Ann, and that in 1904 of his son Henry. He was deceased by the earlier date.

James Donaldson was recorded as a coal miner in the death certificate of his daughter Mary Ann in 1927 and in the death certificate of his son James in 1938. ^{3 4 5 6 7 8}

  Medical Notes:

W. W. Wilson certified the causes of death.

James Donaldson, son of the deceased man, who had been present where his father's death occurred, gave notice of the death before the registrar at Baillieston on 16 April 1888. ⁴

James married Mary Ann CARSON, daughter of Mr CARSON and Mrs CARSON MS UNKNOWN, on 30 December 1851 in Ardkeen parish, County Down, Ireland.¹ (Mary Ann CARSON was born about 1830 in Ireland ⁵ and died 5 November 1874 at 12.15 pm in Annick Lodge Colliery, Irvine parish, Ayrshire, Scotland ⁹.). The cause of her death was disease of the stomach over several months.⁴

  Marriage Notes:

The date and place of the marriage of James Donaldson and Mary Ann were recorded on various birth certificates of their children:

James 1863: "29 december 1851 Arking Ireland"
Agnes 1867: "29 December 1851 parish of Arking Ireland"
Mary Ann 1870: "29 December 1851 County Down"
Hugh 1872: "29 December 1851 Ardkeen County Down"

Note:The RC parish of Ardkeen has its own website at

http://www.parishofardkeen.com/history.html

There are also other websites that include lists of Carsons: a Henry Carson and an Alexander Carson are both identified as being connected to Ardkeen and its neighbourhood in the 1830s. ^{1 7 10 11}

James next married Sarah Jane MURRAY, daughter of Daniel MURRAY and Sarah MURPHY, on 23 November 1875 in Irvine parish, Ayrshire, Scotland.² (Sarah Jane MURRAY was born about 1855 in Ireland ¹².)

  Marriage Notes:

The marriage was celebrated after banns according to the rites and forms of the Roman Catholic Church. The priest was Thomas Keane, Catholic Clergyman, Irvine. The witnesses were William Brodie, who made his X mark, and Ellen Brodie.

The bridegroom was a widower of 41 years of age who was a coal miner. He lived in Irvine. Both of his parents were deceased.

The bride, who made her X mark, was unmarried and aged 20 years. She was a domestic servant by occupation, who lived at Dubbs, parish of Kilwinning. Her parents were deceased.

The marriage was registered at Irvine on 25 November 1875. ²