Marjory McFarlane | William Hall in India and In Scotland

Posts tagged ‘Marjory McFarlane’

James Hall, My Great Granduncle

James Hall was the second child born to William Hall and Lydia Selina Ramsbottom Hall, on July 3, 1868, in Secunderabad, Madras, India. His early life was the same as his brother Thomas’ – leaving India and returning to Perth, Scotland, living first with William and Lydia when he was 12 (1881 Scotland Census) and then with William and Mary Cumming when he was 22 (1891 Scotland Census) . In 1991, he was identified as a printer’s warehouseman, and he seems to have held that job for the rest of his life.

At first I thought a printer’s warehouseman was just a general labor job, but I found out differently. Printers warehousemen were skilled craftsmen, trained in a five-year apprenticeship and represented by a trade union. The warehouseman’s job was to receive the paper as it was delivered to the warehouse, inspect it page by page, and counting it out for specific printing jobs. After the paper was printed, he also was responsible for hanging the paper to dry, putting it together into books, and again inspecting each page. For more information on this job, check The Printer’s Complete Guide.

Warehouseman – not one of all the uncanny controlling-devices
has even a flicker of the expressiveness of the human hand. ~ Beatrice Warde

The next record I have for James is his marriage to Marjory McFarlane on November 17, 1898, in Perth. James was 32 and identified as a warehouseman and Marjory was 32 and identified as a dyer’s ironer and a spinster. The marriage took place at the bride’s residence at 8 Mill Street in Perth. James’ residence is listed as 8 Lower College Green in Bristol, England. James’s parents were William Hall, a factory gatekeeper, deceased, and Lydia Celena Hall, born Ramsbottom and also deceased. Marjorie’s parents were John McFarlane, an engine fitter, and Mary McFarlane, nee Laing. Marjory’s brother Alexander was one witness and the other was Isabella Ann Walkerston. The celebrant was W Carmichael, minister of St. John’s (East Parish) in Perth.