The Bell/Gibson connection: William Brittain Bell

I have the Bell surname on two of my family lines which leads to some confusion especially as the forename William was favoured by both sets of Bell ancestors. Note that the Bells mentioned below are not related to Capt William Bell.

This almost illegible memorial inscription is that of William Brittain Bell b 1868 d 1922 and his wife Clara Elizabeth ('Bessie') Norrish who married in Lincolnshire in 1895. They lie buried in Town D Cemetery, Barnstaple, Devon. (Photo from Ryan Moore Sept 2011.)

Their children were Hubert Brittain Bell and William Samuel Brittain Bell.

Parents of William Brittain Bell (1868-1922) were Samuel Bell (1833-1874 born Chetwynd, Shropshire and died Everton, Lancashire) and Catherine Thomson Ross (1834-1913 - born and died in Stevenston, Ayrshire, Scotland).

Samuel Bell and Catherine Thomson Ross had, among other children, Annie Bell (born 1859) who married Finlay Gibson in May 1881 at Stevenston, Ayrshire, Scotland. This Annie was my great grandmother. Her daughter, Annie Gibson, was my grandmother who married Joseph Hamilton in 1907 at Stevenston, Ayrshire, Scotland. Annie and 'Joe' Hamilton emigrated to South Africa in 1910 and have numerous descendants in this country.

Gibson, Finlay: parasol maker and soldier

This slip of paper gives a neat summary of Finlay Gibson's career, with personal description and showing his occupation as parasol maker. On discharge, 1 June 1880,  he gives his intended place of residence as Stevenston, Ayrshire.  He was attested at the age of 18, 15th Hussars, at Westminster, 7 April 1859. When he left the Army he was nearly 40.

The Afghan Campaign medal to which Finlay Gibson was entitled. Contrary to family anecdote, he was not on the infamous March to Kandahar - for which a different medal would have been awarded. Sadly the whereabouts of Finlay's campaign medal is unknown though it was present and displayed in my relative's house for many years when I was growing up. Please preserve family memorabilia or donate them to a museum if there is nobody suitable in the family who is interested enough to look after them.

Gibson family continued

Four generations of the Bell/Gibson family

At left, with child on knee, is Annie Bell b 14 February, 1859 at West, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada. She married Finlay Gibson in Stevenston, Ayrshire when her family returned there after their time in Canada. The lady with the large lace collar seated next to her is Catherine Thomson Ross b 1834 who married Samuel Bell, b 1833 Shropshire, in 1858. Behind is Mary Gibson, daughter of Annie and Finlay Gibson, and usually known as Polly. Polly b 1886 married William Dalzell and the child in the photo is her eldest son, James Dalzell. Dalzell was Polly's first husband - they had four children. Later she married again, H Milton Stacey. Two children were born of this marriage, Richard and Elva. 

My mother, Cathrine Gibson Hamilton, who left me this photo and wrote information on the back, was usually accurate but I do wonder if the lady at left is correctly identified - she appears rather too old to be the daughter of the lady on her right, Catherine Thomson Ross, who married Samuel Bell. However, as I don't know who else she can be, and she so closely resembles the Annie Gibson who married Joe Hamilton, perhaps my mother was right. The photo was taken outside Hawthorn Cottage, Caledonian Road, Stevenston.

Catherine Thomson Ross married Samuel Bell in 1858. Note she wears the same collar as in the photo above.

18 Nov 1834

Stevenston, North Ayrshire, Scotland

26 May 1913 (aged 78)

Stevenston, North Ayrshire, Scotland

tery

New Street Cemetery, Stevenston, North Ayrshire, Scotland

Gibson, Finlay's and William's military records

According to his Army Discharge papers, Finlay was born in 1841 in the parish of St George's East (usually known as Borough, Southwark), London, Middlesex, England. 

His service number was 778 and his rank was Private. His Regiment was the 15th - The King's Regiment of Hussars - to which he attested on 7 April 1859 aged 18 years 6 months.

15th Hussars: The King's Regt.

He was discharged on Pension as shown in WO 97 Chelsea Pensioners British Army Service Records 1760-1913, National Archives reference WO 97 Box 1735 Box record number 105.

There are regrettably no service papers for Finlay Gibson, unlike in his brother William's case. The information available on Finlay is in his Discharge papers - Chelsea Pensioners WO 97.

Finlay was discharged on June 22, 1880 and headed for Stevenston, Ayrshire, to his sister's house.

In due course his brother William, also an Army Pensioner, joined the household, at least for a while. William had been in the 2 Btn 4th Regt of Foot [King's Own Royal Regiment of Foot].for nearly 20 years when he was discharged on 17 Aug 1880 at Preston.
Because some of Finlay's papers are regrettably missing, we know more about William's career than we do about Finlay's. William deserves a more detailed account than there is space for here but note that he appeared on Regimental defaulters 35 times including 4 Courts Martial. On the plus side he was never wounded or injured.

When William joined up he was under age. He deserted immediately and was pardoned. Desertion directly after joining up was not that unusual and reminds us that for young men from poorer backgrounds the Army was an option they were frequently forced to take. It wasn't a matter of patriotic duty but of survival in a harsh world. His father was also a soldier so presumably William and Finlay both knew what to expect.

William, born in Westminster, Middlesex, in June 1842, enlisted on 21 June 1859 at Newington. He was a labourer. His record gives a personal description: Height 5'4 and half" Chest 30", Hair dark, Build slender. He probably hadn't had three square meals a day while growing up. At least he'd be adequately fed in the Army. 

At Discharge he gave his residential address as Newcomen Street, Borough, London. However, he didn't go to that address - it may have been his parents' home at one time; perhaps they were by then both deceased - but to his sister Margaret's in Stevenston, Ayrshire. 

Photo by Lyle Dixon-Smith

[Acknowledgement to Graham Mason for military research.]

Gibson, Finlay and family:1901 and after

In the 1901 Census Finlay Gibson, aged 60, and family were still living at Nobel's Villas in Dynamite Road, Stevenston.. He was the 'Cartridge Foreman' at the dinnamit. 

The family had grown: listed in the household, apart from Finlay, are

Ann Gibson  42 his wife
Ann Gibson 18  eldest daughter
Kate Gibson 16
Mary Gibson 15
Maggie Gibson 14    4 daughters
William Gibson  12    and one son

The eldest daughter, Annie, would marry Joseph Hamilton in 1907. The couple emigrated to South Africa ca 1910 eventually settling in Durban.

Kate, or Catherine, married William Robson. It was to this couple's home in Winnipeg that Finlay's widow went to live after his death in Stevenston in 1924. She did not survive him long.

197 Hill St Norwood Winnipeg, the Robsons' home
where Annie stayed for the last year of her life
[Photo Acknowledgement - Becky Johnson via 
 Denise Neufeld]

Memorial Inscription New Street Cemetery, Stevenston.
: Finlay Gibson and Annie Bell Gibson.
Annie was buried in Winnipeg, Canada.

The other person mentioned, William F(inlay) Gibson,
was their youngest child who died in 1911 aged 22.
Occupation: engine fitter; lung problems caused death..
Death Certificate gives Pleuritis, emphysema, asthma and operation.

Gibson in Stevenston Ayrshire 1881-1891

The 1881 Census entry above shows Margaret McIntyre and her children living in Schoolwell Street Stevenston. Included in her household are her two brothers, William and Findlay [sic], occupations given as Army Pensioners. 

The two Gibsons had recently taken their discharge from the Army and gone to join their widowed sister Margaret in Stevenston, Ayrshire. She was at that time working as a Pauper Sick Nurse, probably earning a pittance.Only one of her children, William aged 15, was working - apprentice cabinet maker. The others were all under twelve and at school. 

It would have been to Margaret's advantage, as well as to her brothers', 

for the latter to form part of the household. But Finlay wouldn't be with her for long as his marriage to Annie Bell meant he would have to find new accommodation.

By the 1891 Census Finlay and family were living at Nobel's Villas, Dynamite Road. He was 50 years old and his occupation was Gatekeeper (at the 'dinnamit'). It's noted that he was a British Subject. His wife Annie, maiden surname Bell, was then 32 and her birthplace is given as Canada (West). This was my great grandmother, who must have been a very busy person. Their children at that date were Ann aged 8 (later married Joe Hamilton), Catherine 6, Mary 5, Margaret 4 and William 2, all born in Stevenston.

Dynamite Road, Stevenston ca 1890-1900

My grandmother, Annie Gibson  - later wife of Joe Hamilton. This photo
was taken in Stevenston shortly before Annie, with daughter Beth, went
out to South Africa. Joe had emigrated there ca 1910.

Gibson Family: from London to Stevenston, Ayrshire

In this photograph the elderly gentleman's neat three-piece suit gives no indication of his profession. Finlay Gibson was a military man: that was the first helpful clue I received about my great grandfather and it came from my Aunt Beth (nee Hamilton). At the time I was mystified as to Finlay's origins. He had certainly married in 1881 a lady named Annie Bell (by the way these Bells were no relation to Captain Bell and family) in Stevenston, Ayrshire, but Finlay (also spelled Finley) was English, by all accounts a Londoner by birth - so why had he ended up in the village of Stevenston in Scotland and what had he been doing between his birth and his marriage?

Finlay's story was to prove one of the most fascinating to emerge during my research into the Gibson line and to compound matters he had a brother, William, beside whose exploits Finlay's paled into insignificance. If there is a black sheep among the Gibsons, William, brother of Finlay, seems a likely contender.


For more on Finlay and other Gibsons enter his name into the search facility on this blog - see top left of page - and read several articles on the topic.

Souvenir Saturday: Nobel's Dynamite Factory Gate, Ardeer, Stevenston

A view of the loading gates at the Nobel Factory in Ardeer circa 1900, the employees are all wearing Tam O’Shanters except of course for the foreman with his bowler hat.

My great grandfather Finlay Gibson is at various dates during his career at the explosives factory described as ‘searcher’, ‘cartridge foreman’ and ‘gatekeeper’. A remarkable photograph shows the very gate where Finlay would have been positioned as gatekeeper, no doubt wearing a bowler hat similar to the one in the photo. A 'searcher' had the task of making sure nobody entering the factory was carrying matches.

In the Early 19th century nitro-glycerine was the main explosive used in mining throughout the world, even though it was incredibly unstable, it had caused many fatal accidents in its use and just as many in its manufacture. Nitro-glycerine was so unsafe that many countries outright banned its use, a safer form of blasting had to be developed.

Alfred Nobel invented Dynamite in 1864; he used a method of saturating diatomaceous earth with nitro-glycerine and various other chemicals to make a solid compound. This made it far safer to handle; it could even undergo force-impacts and not explode, unlike nitro-glycerine that would sometimes explode literally at the drop of a hat. He was only able to manufacture small quantities at a time, as had limited working space and it was still a very dangerous manufacturing process.

In choosing the location for his new explosives plant, he sought an isolated location, with goods access links by sea. The Ardeer peninsula seemed perfect with it was isolated from any major settlement and could be accessed by sea easily. The plant opened for business December 1872, a notice appeared in the Mining Journal:

'The British Dynamite Company, having erected extensive works at Ardeer, Ayrshire, near Glasgow, with all Mr. Nobel's recent improvements for the manufacture of dynamite, are now prepared to execute orders for Home Consumption and Export.'

'For more information on the North Ayrshire's Yesterd@ys project, please visit Our Website, or email us at NAHeritage@North-Ayrshire.gov.uk '

Acknowledgement to North Ayrshire Yesterdays.

Tracing a Military Man 6

Map showing the Thrre Towns, including Stevenston

It’s easy enough, through Census records, to track Finlay Gibson’s career subsequent to his settling in Stevenston, Ayrshire. 

He appears not to have remained part of his sister’s household for long, meeting and marrying Annie Bell on 20 May, 1881, and setting up his establishment elsewhere. Being an employee at the Dynamite Factory, Finlay and his family qualified for quarters in Nobels Villas in Dynamite Road. Not as cheerless as nearby Ardeer Square, the Villas did not offer any great heights of luxury but they were a secure roof over the Gibsons’ heads and convenient for work at the dinnamit.

www.threetowners.com/recollect/cunningham_b.htm  Bill Cunningham's potted history of Nobels Villas and the conditions in which people lived there.

By 1891 Finlay and Annie Gibson née Bell are listed residing there with five children, all born in Stevenston: Ann, aged 8, Catherine, 6, Mary, 5, Margaret, 4, and William, 2. The birthplace of Finlay’s wife Annie is given as Canada (West) and her age as 32 – 16 years younger than her husband – a considerable disparity.

Finlay is described as a British Subject and his occupation given as Gatekeeper.

Annie Bell’s parents were Samuel Bell and Catherine Thomson Ross. Both were English by birth, but Samuel Bell’s father, another Samuel, had been born in Scotland.  How Annie came to be born in Canada is another story. 

The Gibsons were still at Nobels Villas in 1901, when Finlay, aged 60, was working as ‘Cartridge Foreman’. His daughters, Ann, at 18, and Maggie, 15, were also employed at the dinnamit. Kate (Catherine) was a draper’s assistant and young William was in school.

Annie Bell Gibson, my grandmother,
daughter of Finlay Gibson and Annie Bell

Chimneys of Stevenston

Girls employed as cartridge makers

For readers with an interest in the background, much more about the Dynamite Factory and Stevenston and its environs can be found on the informative Threetowners’ site.

Stevenston historian John Millar's book on the Ardeer Factory is an enthralling in-depth look at this topic. [In the Shadlow of the Dynamite: Ardeer]

Ardeer Square:

www.threetowners.com/Stevenston/ardeer_square.htm

Bridgend, ,Stevenston

Tracing a Military Man 1

My maternal great grandfather (that is, my mother’s mother’s father) was a shadowy character from the word go. According to an aunt, in one of her more lucid moments, he had been ‘a military man’. 

Apart from that vague snippet, alI we knew was that his first name was Finlay, thus bequeathing to me, the self-appointed family historian, an annoying selection of variant spellings of the forename which cropped up not only in documents pertaining to the man himself but also applied to several descendants. Great grandfather, his parents, the Census enumerators and the British Army, seemed to prefer Finlay but he also answered to Finley and Findlay. His only son was named William Finlay. is son was named William FinHis only son HisA later descendant sticks to Finley. Mercifully great grandpa’s surname was plain and simple: Gibson.

Finlay Gibson (1841-1924)

Neither forename nor surname marked him as being of obviously Scottish descent, though it was in Ayrshire, Scotland, that he spent the greater part of his life and he lies buried in that county, in the village of Stevenston.

Stevenston’s primary claim to fame is that towards the end of the 19^th c Nobel’s Dynamite Factory was located there, cushioned amongst the sand dunes on the isolated beach in the hope of minimizing or at least containing the dangers of explosion inherent in producing such a volatile material.

Despite precautions, however, explosions occurred from time to time, causing maiming and fatalities among those inhabitants who were employed at the ‘dinnamit’, as it was called in local parlance.

Many years later, when the dynamite factory was no longer in existence, I visited the area and spoke to other great grandchildren whose ancestors, male and female, had worked at the dinnamit, by which colloquial term it was then still known. They seemed amazed and pleased that someone from as far distant as South Africa should mention the word and claim this odd sort of kinship.

Women workers at the dynamite factory.
Photo: Ayrshire Libraries Forum

One man told me about his great grandmother who had, like Finlay's daughters, been a cartridge maker at the dinnamit and had to wear her hair tied up in pigtails for safety. These girls began their risky work at an early age, 11 or twelve, some of them. Finlay, though he did a stint as foreman of the cartridge workers, became a ‘searcher’.

At first uncertain what duties were covered by this occupation, it became clear to me that Finlay would be positioned at the factory entrance to search everyone going in for any sign of matches or other inflammable material carried on their person, and to make sure such items were removed. It was a vital task carrying authority and responsibility. No doubt Finlay had a vested interest in carrying out his duties well, since several members of his family were among the factory’s workforce.

Workers being searched for matches before being admitted to the factory.
Photo: Ayrshire Libraries Forum

To be continued.