DOUD, Agnes

   Cause of her death was age.²

   Other names for Agnes were DOWD, Agnes,³ DOWDS, Agnes, SOMERS, Agnes,^{2 3} SUMMERS, Agnes ⁴ and SUMMERS, Ann.¹

  General Notes:

The 1861 census for Main Street, in the village of Barrhead, in the parish of Neilston in Renfrewshire, recorded 'Ann Summers' as head of a household that consisted of herself, her two daughters and two lodgers. 'Ann' Summers (her given name is quite clearly written as such) was a widow aged 44 years. Her birthplace was Ireland. Her occupation was noted as 'housekeeper'. Their dwelling had just one room with one or more windows. The two people lodging in the household were Mary McGuigan, an unmarried woman of 20 years of age, a printfield worker, born in Stirlingshire, and Ann McGuigan, aged 6 years, a scholar, and also born in Stirlingshire.

Agnes Summers was recorded by the 1871 census for Neilston, Barrhead, Renfrewshire, living at a dwelling place in Main Street with her daughter Ann, and seven lodgers: George Green, aged 60 years, an unemployed labourer born in Ireland; Bridget Green, aged 60 years, born in Ireland, probably his wife; James Tray, aged 34 years, a mechanic born in Paisley; John Neilson, aged 17 years, born in Dumbarton; Stephen Thomson, aged 55 years, an unemployed weaver born in Ireland; Mary Thomson, aged 60 years, born in Ireland, probably his wife; and Ellen Daily, aged 50 years, a widow born in Ireland. Agnes Summers was herself a widow, and her age was recorded as 50 years. Her birthplace was Ireland. The dwelling in which she and the others lived had two windowed rooms.

In 1881 the census recorded Agnes Summers, with some of her family and some boarders, living in Main Street, Young's Land, Neilston, Renfrewshire. The census return recorded Agnes as the head of the household. She was a widow, aged 60 years, and had been born in County Sligo, Ireland. With her lived her daughter, Ann, her granddaughter, Agnes Lynch, and three boarders: James Orr, unmarried, aged 35 years, an unemployed printfield worker, born in Kilmarnock Ayrshire; Ann McClusky, married, aged 46 years, a washerwoman, born in Glasgow; and Christina Gillespie, unmarried, aged 17 years, a cotton mill worker, born in England.

The 1891 census for Young's Land in Neilston, Barrhead, Renfrewshire recorded the widow Agnes Summers living there with her daughter, Annie Summers, her granddaughter, Alice Lynch, and a lodger, Andrew Gilson, aged 42 years, a widower and unemployed tailor born in Linlithgowshire. Agnes was recorded as 'housekeeper' and her age was 60 years. Her birthplace was Ireland.

Agnes Somers MS Dowds was recorded as aged 75 years at the time of her death in 1895, in Paisley. She was the "Widow of James Somers". Both of her parents were deceased. ^{1 2 4 5}

  Research Notes:

AGE AND NAME

The usual name used for this woman is Agnes, but on occasion Ann is used. The association of these two given names, including the form Anna, is not unusual in family history. A person normally called Agnes is found in baptism records as Ann or Anna. In the documents we have, her age is not consistent with the time passed, and presents us with a birth year between 1816 and 1831:
1861 census - aged 44 years - birth year 1817
1871 census - aged 55 years - birth year 1816
1881 census - aged 60 years - birth year 1821
1891 census - aged 60 years - birth year 1831
death certificate 1895 - aged 70 years - birth year 1825
The boundaries we can consider, given the age of her children, are probably 1816-1825.

PARENTS

The name of Agnes's parents are documented only in her death certificate, and the informant for the details contained in that was the Poorhouse Governor's clerk, T. Mitchell. Although a number of baptisms in the County Sligo parish register have been found for children with parents Andrew Doud or Dowds and Anna McCormick, none of these children is called Agnes or Ann/Anna. There are however several Anna Douds baptised in Riverstown RC parish between 1815 and 1825:
Anna Doud bap. 1815 parents Patrick D. and Bridget Begley
Anna Doud bap. 1817 parents Daniel D. and Bridget Mitchell
Anna Doud bap. 1823 parents Batholomew D. and Maria Lang
Anna Doud bap. 1823 parents Francis D. and Anna Doud
It may be these were brothers of Andrew. A likely scenario might be that Andrew and his wife took in Anna after the death of her mother, or of both parents, and brought her up.
Of the four the most likely from the baptism records is Daniel. The other three have largish families over the period. In the case of Daniel and his wife Bridget, after Anna's baptism in 1817 only one other child, Thomas, was baptised in 1819. Interestingly, Daniel is a name that is used early in the naming of the children of Agnes's daughter Alice, although there is no other family connection with the name, as far as is known. The year of baptism, 1817, corresponds well to the first two possibilities (see above) for the year of Agnes's birth.

MAIN STREET BARRHEAD

Barrhead seems to have acquired its name from a cottage built in the 1760's by a handloom weaver called Stewart Wilson who named it "Bar-heid" from the bars or farm "riggs" visible from his window. This later became part of Main Street, Barrhead.

Barrhead did not exist as a village before the 18th century. Little groups of cottages were connected to Neilston, the centre of the parish, by footpaths. As industry along the River Levern grew, so also did Barrhead.

The old main street, one or two storey cottages, gradually gave way to more solid tenement buildings with shops and flats, and a cobbled street instead of a dirt road.

SOUTH POORHOUSE PAISLEY

This may refer to the poorhouse of Abbey parish which was situated to the south, south west of the town. It was built in 1850 and housed over 500 residents.

  Medical Notes:

The cause of Agnes's death was certified by Thomas Graham MD.

The death was notified by T. Mitchell, the Poorhouse Governor's Clerk, on 16 September 1895 at Paisley. ²

Agnes married James SOMERS. (James SOMERS was born about 1810 and died before 30 October 1858.)