Marion McKenzie Conway jute weaver

4 generations c1915 : Agnes McKenzie Fisher Conway, her g-grandaughter Violet Whitton, Violet's mother (standing behind) Jessie Milne Miller Whitton, Jessie's mother Marion McKenzie Conway Miller

Willim Miller 1861-1946, Marion Conway 1862-1918, c1883

7 June 1911 Golden Wedding of James Conway and Agnes McKenzie Fisher

Parents:

• (Child) Birth*: Marion McKenzie Conway jute weaver was born on 12 April 1862 at Dundonald, Troon, Ayrshire, Scotland, ; 1861 - 1965 Extract of an entry in a Register of Births; Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965 ref 022812 # 54; Marion Mckenzie Conway 1862 April 12th 11h 10m PM Troon female Father James Conway, carter Mother Agnes Conway ms Fisher married 1861 June 7th Troon signed James Conway Father present registered 1862 April 22nd at Dundonald signed David Halbert registrar.¹
• She was the daughter of James Conway van driver and Agnes McKenzie Fisher kitchen maid.
• (Bride) Marriage*: Marion McKenzie Conway jute weaver married William Miller jute powerloom tenter, son of James Miller jute warehouseman and Janet Milne, on 21 December 1883 at 4 Rosebank Street, Dundee, Angus, Scotland, ; 1883 on the 21st day of December at 4 Rosebank Street, Dundee after publication according to the forms of the Free Church of Scotland, William Miller powerloom tenter bachelor, aged 22, 166 Scouringburn Dundee, parents James Miller flax warehouseman (dec), Janet Miller ms Mill; Marion McKenzie Conway jute weaver spinster, aged 21, 4 Rosebank Street Dundee, parents James Conway bakers van driver, Agnes Conway ms Fisher; signed Wm Forwell minister Blochaim Free Church, William Conway, Jessie Miller witnesses; registered 1883 December 25th at Dundee Thomas Scott assistant registrar, initialled DS.²
• (Deceased) Death*: Marion McKenzie Conway jute weaver died on 15 February 1918 at 9 Forest Park Road, Dundee, Angus, Scotland, , at age 55 1918 Deaths in the District of St Mary in the Burgh of Dundee #12a; Marion McKenzie Miller married to William Miller Jute Factory Overseer 1918 February Fifteenth 8h 45m AM 9 Forest Park Road Dundee Female aged 55 years Father James Conway Baker's Van Driver (retired) Mother Agnes Conway ms Fisher Malignant Disease of Liver as certified by H Buist MB signed William Miller widower present 1918 February 16th at Dundee JHS Meek registrar.³

• Occupation*: Marion was a jute weaver before her marriage.
• Married Name: As of 21 December 1883, her married name was Miller.
• Address*: As of 1901, Marion McKenzie Conway jute weaver lived at 149 Scouringburn, Dundee, Forfarshire, Scotland, .⁴
• (Witness) Marriage: She witnessed the marriage of Robert Neill and Agnes Fisher Miller on Wednesday, 17 July 1907 at 132d Nethergate, Dundee, Forfarshire, Scotland, ; 1907 marriages in the district of St Mary in the burgh of Dundee, ref 208; 1907 on the seventeenth day of July at 132d Nethergate Dundee after publicatoin according to the forms of the English Presyterian Church; signed Robert Neil watchmaker master bachelor, aged 24, residing 24 Thomson Street Dundee, parents John Neill watchmaker foreman and Catherine Carstairs Neill mss Corsar; signed Agnes Fisher Miller baker's saleswoman spinster, aged 22, residing 13 Rosefield Street Dundee; parents William Miller powerloom tenter and Marion McKenzie Miller ms Conway; signed John Conway St Andrews Presbyterian Church Hammersmith London, signed George Whitton witness, Wm Miller witness, Marion Miller witness; registered 1907 July 18th at Dundee Thos Meek regsitrar.⁵
• (Witness) Event-Misc: Marion McKenzie Conway jute weaver was present when James Conway van driver and Agnes McKenzie Fisher kitchen maid were celebrating their Golden Wedding Anniversary on 7 June 1911 at Mathers Hotel, Dundee, Angus, Scotland, .⁶
  

  

  

  Mathers Hotel Dundee
• Photograph*: William Miller jute powerloom tenter and Marion McKenzie Conway jute weaver are in this photograph taken say 1918 at Dundee, Forfarshire, Scotland, .⁷
  
• (Spouse) Death: Their spouse William Miller jute powerloom tenter died on 8 February 1946 at 132a Nethergate, Dundee, Angus, Scotland, ; 1946 Deaths in the District of St Andrew in the Burgh of Dundee; # 131, William Miller Jute Mill Overseer (retired) widower of 1) Marion Conway 2) Annie Wilson, 1946 February 8th 4h 0m AM Maryfield Hospital Dundee (UR 132a Nethergate) Male aged 84 years Father James Miller Flax Warehouseman (deceased), Mother Janet Miller ms Mill (deceased) Senility, Cardiovascular Degeneration, Cardiac Failure as certified by Alexander M Mudie MBChB signed K N Miller daughter-in-law 25 Perth Road Dundee 1946 February 8th at Dundee Norman Steele.⁸

Census & Directory Entries

Member of Household	2 April 1871	They was listed as a member of the household of James Conway van driver and Agnes McKenzie Fisher kitchen maid in the 1871 census at Rail Gate House, Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland, . Marion Conway, daughter, aged 8, scholar, born Ayrshire, Troon; James Conway, head, married, aged 35, Rail Porter, born Ireland; Agnes Conway, wife, married, aged 29, born Ayrshire, Prestwick.9 Kilwinning Station [c2002]
Member of Household	3 April 1881	They was listed as a member of the household of James Conway van driver and Agnes McKenzie Fisher kitchen maid in the 1881 census at 7 Kinloch Street, Dundee, Forfarshire, Scotland, . Merion Conway, daughter, unmarried, aged 18, Jute Weaver, born Troon, Ayr, Scotland; James Conway, head, married, aged 45, Van Driver, born Ireland; Agnes Conway, wife, married, aged 39, born Ayr, Scotland.10
Spouse	5 April 1891	She was listed in the household of William Miller jute powerloom tenter in the 1891 census at 159 Scouringburn, Dundee, Forfarshire, Scotland, . William Millar, head, married, aged 29, Jute Powerloom Tenter, employed, born Forfarshire Dundee; Marion Millar, wife, married, aged 28, born Ayrshire Troon. Agnes Fisher Miller, Jessie Milne Miller and Marion McKenzie Miller were also listed in the household.11
Spouse	31 March 1901	She was listed in the household of William Miller jute powerloom tenter in the 1901 census at 149 Scouringburn, Dundee, Forfarshire, Scotland, . William Miller, head, married, aged 39, Foreman Jute Weaver, worker, born Forfarshire Dundee; Marion Miller, wife, married, aged 38, born Forfarshire Dundee [?]. Agnes Fisher Miller, Marion McKenzie Miller, Alexander Miller chiropodist, Lizzie Conway Miller and Margaret Ambrose Porter Miller were also listed in the household.12
Spouse	31 March 1911	She was listed in the household of William Miller jute powerloom tenter in the 1911 census at 13 Rosefield Street, Dundee, Forfarshire, Scotland, . William Miller, head, 49, mar, foreman, jute weaving, worker, forfars Dundee; Marion, wife, 48, mar 27 years, 7 children born 5 still living, Ayrshire Troon; 3 rooms with windows, 6 people in household. Jessie Milne Miller, Marion McKenzie Miller, Alexander Miller chiropodist and Lizzie Conway Miller were also listed in the household.13

Notes

• (Witness) Residence: Marion McKenzie Conway jute weaver lived at Troon, Ayrshire, Scotland, ; Today, Troon is most famous for its golfing associations and as a holiday resort, but owes its origins to coal and the railways.
  In the Second Statistical Account written in 1841 by The Rev. Alexander Willison, The Rev. James Fleming, Troon, and The Rev. David Wilson, Fullarton, the village of Troon in the parish of Dundonald is described as having a population of 1,409 souls that appears to have been a significant rise over the previous count in 1831. The reason is to be ascribed to general causes; but particularly of late years to the erection of the harbour … and the consequent increase of its trade; and also to its becoming a favourite place of resort for sea-bathing quarters.
  The Account describes the turnpike roads from Irvine to Ayr and Irvine to Dalmellington, along with the Kilmarnock to Troon road as the roads in every direction are good. Indeed there are few parishes of equal extent so well accommodated in this respect. … In addition to these, there are parish roads in every direction kept in tolerably good repair, and affording every requisite means of communication. The only thing that the mounted traveller has reason to complain of is the abundance of tolls; but as the toll seems to be indigenous to the county, let us pay and pass on; for in this case we fear there is very little hope of writing them down. The harbour for depth of water and readiness of entrance, is one of the best in the neighbourhood. … A wet dock is in the course of excavation from the solid rock. There are two dry docks. … The trade is chiefly in coal and timber. Timber was imported; coal exported via the Kilmarnock railway.
  The Account also notes the harbour has a good lighthouse supported from its own funds. A Church (of Scotland) was built in Troon in 1837 – previously the parishioners had to travel four or more miles which would have rendered anything like a regular attendance upon ordinances altogether impracticable. Elementary schooling was available at a cost of from 2s to 4s 6d per quarter.
  Commenting on the arrangements for poor relief, the writers say that the good old spirit of Scottish independence, which once spurned the kirk-box, as almost worse than starvation, is fast dying away, and that few indeed now think it any degradation to have their wants so supplied. This is surely a symptom of change not for the better, and as it is, from accounts, very generally manifested, we trust it will meet with due consideration from those whose special business it is to provide and legislate for the poor. So, are things much different today, one wonders?
  All in all, these gentlemen seem fairly pleased with the progress made since the First Statistical Account some 60 or so years previously. Referring to the parish as a whole they say the condition of all classes, even the poorest, has very much improved. … An entire new town and harbour have risen up at Troon; two railroads have been constructed; common roads have been formed, and all much repaired; what were little better than mud-walls have given place to substantial stone and lime, and in many places to elegant architecture. The comfortable, but unstable, thatch has been supplanted by slate; the fertility of the soil, by a better system of culture, has been inconceivably improved. Money with all ranks is much more abundant; and all these things tell upon the comfort, as we would hope upon the gratitude, of those who enjoy them.¹⁴
  
• (Witness) History: Five into One –Tay Square Church. Tay Square traces its origins to the secessions of the eighteenth century. From 1743, School Wynd Secession Church flourished, but in 1832, a group of members, dissatisfied over the nomination of a new minister, disjoined to form Tay Square United Secession Church, entering their new church in 1834. Rev. Robert Wardrope, 1807-1840 was called in 1832 to be minister of School Wynd Church, but in consequence of a dispute in that congregation the call was not sustained. Those who supported him left the church, and were formed into a separate congregation —Tay Square —and they at once called Mr Wardrope, but his delicate health prevented his acceptance of the call. He died when only 33 years of age. Still in the church archives, this silhouette of Rev. Robert Wardrope was lent by its owner, Andrew Roxburgh, to be exhibited in the “Old Dundee” exhibition of 1892-93 –held in the Albert Institute (now McManus Galleries).
  
  The first minister, the Rev. J R McGavin, was elected in 1875 as Moderator of the United Presbyterian Synod. The second, the Rev. Dr Charles Jerdan, became Principal Clerk of the United Free Church General Assembly. Under these two ministers, Tay Square became one of the foremost congregations in the United Presbyterian Church. Mission activities centred on the West Port, Artillery Lane and Hawkhill, the last leading to the founding in 1876 of Hawkhill United Presbyterian Church, which united with Tay Square in 1903.
  
  Such community interests were extended onto a national scale by the Rev. John Mansie, who as Convener of the Assembly Committee on Social Problems, was largely responsible for the establishment in 1931 of the Belmont Castle Eventide Home. After the union of Tay Square and St. Paul's in 1952, the Tay Square building was reopened as St. Paul's Halls by Mrs Jarvis, wife of the Very Rev. Ernest D Jarvis and daughter of the Rev. John Reid, a former Tay Square minister.
  
  © Meadowside St. Paul’s 2017. All rights reserved.¹⁵
  

  Tay Square Church - from the book Tay Square Church, Dundee, A Centenary in Retrospect, 1832-1932 [PCC Jun 2017]

  
• (Witness) Note for Web: She and Agnes McKenzie Fisher kitchen maid, John Conway minister Church of SCotland, William Fisher Conway, Jeannie Conway, Elizabeth Conway, Agnes Fisher Conway, James Conway commercial traveller, Janet Meney Conway grocer's shop girl, Samuel Meney Conway dentist & baptist minister and Robert Fisher McKenzie Conway dentist & baptist minister was mentioned with Mary Fisher Conway howdie wife in 1983. From the pen of Marion C Miller (1983) :
  
  Under the Rose
  
  'Under the rose, Kate, under the rose', my great aunt Mary would frequently whisper to my mother. Many years were to elapse before I understood that information imparted subrosa (under the rose) was only intended for tried, tested and trustworthy ears. At the advance of avid young listeners, X-certificate conversation would come to an abrupt halt. My great aunt would suck her teeth back into their normal position with a sharp, resounding and final click. As age had withered her fuselage, the teeth no longer fitted snugly into the contours of her mouth. With the porcelain in position she was quite unable to chew. Always allocated prime position next to my father at the head of the table, she removed her teeth just after grace and before demolition commenced. She was not given to secreting her discarded treasures in the folds of her lavender-laced handkerchief. No ... she was a forthright sort of person. Her teeth, both sets, were planted on her side plate where they glared relentlessly at my father, assaulting his appetite and inducing temporary anorexia.
  There was no wine at table in my childhood, and glasses for water or lemonade were only in evidence on high occasions. There was always a glass of water for great aunt Mary. No ... she didn't drink it ... but she liked to rinse her teeth before returning them to the ill-fitting aperture, when the repast was over.
  At that time we thought she must be very old, but she was in fact still in her lively seventies and had many a tale to tell. She had been an upper crust 'howdie' before trained midwives were commonplace. Entering the homes of the renowned and rich prior to the event, she supervised the birthing process, hurrying the event along with her own secret concoction of raspberry leaf tea. She would remain in residence for at least a month after delivery and often for much longer. If her departure was at all delayed there was every chance that there would be another child on the way soon to guarantee her continued employment.
  Great aunt Mary liked to dress in black and indeed it showed off her pure white hair to greatest advantage. She also used her sombre dresses as a backcloth against which she could display her many swinging chains of beads, multi-coloured neckerchiefs, and large brooches set with precious or semi-precious stones, all donated by thankful parents.
  'When I was with Sir Andrew and Lady X', she would commence and you knew you were about to have a glimpse of life in a society in which you were never likely to mingle. She had been accustomed to a life of refinement, but she was willing to share her treasured memories with those in humbler circumstances. But she was not all prim and proper. She loved a party and she could jangle her beads in a neat-ankled Charleston which left mouth agape. Nowadays she would have been accorded the title of 'great old swinger'.
  If we thought she was old, what of the ancient monument? Her mother was still alive and maintained in a state of semi preservation by another spinster daughter in a rambling house in the country. My great grandmother was open for viewing between the hours of 3 and 4pm. The old lady was like a mechanical toy which had seen better days, there being residual movement in her head, one arm and those searching piercing eyes where ambition still flickered. She might be desiccated almost mummified, but when her hand beckoned from within the folds of her many shawls the recipient of the gesture approached with a degree of trepidation and a touch of reverence.
  The eyes below the lace-capped head would search for evidence of her genetic contribution. These eyes had seen a lot of life. The offshoot of an immigrant Irish family fleeing from the potato famine she had been fortunate to find work as a "tweenie" in an Ayrshire mansion. Crossed with my great grandfather of similar peasant origin she was to produce a brood of thirteen children of whom nine survived. The unashamed ambition which hovered behind her eyelids had seen three of her sons launched into the ordained ministry. In her lifetime she had seen the strength of her genetic contribution raise her descendants from menial tasks in the dusty mills to solid middle class. As she started to fade into insignificance, her off shoots embraced the church, the law, medicine and commerce. She missed her hundredth birthday and her royal telegram only by a short head. If she knew her great-great-grandson whilst still a schoolboy had been selected because of his innate talent in communication to sit next to a royal prince at a private dinner ... she would have been pleased, but not I think surprised. I doubt whether she would have subscribed to the theory that the stars govern your fate ... I think she knew that she handed something on ... and if it's the blarney ... it's genetically dominant.
  What was it that reminded me of great aunt Mary ... it was a word association! It's quite a popular party game but the technique is also used by psychiatrists to probe the mysteries of the mind. You may reveal too much by a straight swift answer, so I always allow the word to linger in my cerebral pathways until multiple cross connections have suitably disguised my tortuous mental process.
  I know ... I was in the kitchen waiting for the beans to heat. Lovely to think that the good old 57s are enjoying a comeback in the high fibre diet. The radio was muttering away in the background, but I heard only one word 'ROOTS'. My first thought was teeth, because that canine has been gnawing away for months, then followed swiftly the thought of origins and ancestors ... finally there was the closing snap reminiscent of gnashing dentures and my brain had solved the equation Roots + Teeth = Great Aunt Mary.
  Sometime I must sweep some more of the dust from my cerebral computer and write more of my forebears ... or is it all too confidential? Could I perhaps just whisper it to a few of my friends ... 'Under the rose' of course.¹⁶