Mary O Neill write, “Hi Paul, I am hoping you can help me find some photos of my mother’s family, or any descendants from Robert and Elizabeth Henderson (nee Neillans) or Andrew and Agnes Allan (nee Scoular).

My mums name is Agnes Allan, born 1926 at 53 Auchinraith Road. She moved away from the Blantyre area over 50+ years ago and at the time due to circumstances she lost all of her family photos.

Her parents were William and Charlotte Allan, nee Henderson. William had a younger brother Andrew who married Margaret MacBeth (had 3 children Andrew, Margaret and Richard?) and Charlotte had 3 older half siblings Annie who married John Walker Carlyle (had 2 children), Samuel and Robert (not yet found who Samuel and Robert married) and her younger full siblings were Jean who married Andrew Toole (had 4 children Andrew, Ian, Mary and Robert), Elizabeth who married James Reddiex (they emigrated to Brisbane and had 4 children Robert, Helen, James and ??), Agnes who married Mark Brownrigg (had 1 child Mark) and John who married Margaret Murphy (had 3 children Jessie, Robert and ??).

My mum turned 90 this year (gave her the Blantyre Project Vol 3 book, the perfect present) and I would desperately like to find at least a photo of her mum (Charlotte Jane Allan , need Henderon) who I never got to meet as she passed away in 1953 several years before I was born. Hope this is enough info to lead to something. kindest regards Mary.”

I was able to reply with: I think your request would be best asked on the page and I’ll put that up this evening to see if anybody can help. The access I have to ancestry databases tends to be 1911 and before and even the 1920’s, I often struggle with, let alone more modern times.

I am however, able to add a little more for William and Charlotte ,your grandparents. They married on 8th June 1923 at Bardykes Road. William Allan was 24 and lived at Elmwood, a cottage on Auchinraith Road, Blantyre. Charlotte Jane Henderson, four years younger at 20, lived at 2 Bardykes Road, which is the building at the West End Bar. William was employed as a steel worker and Charlotte, worked in the building she lived in attending to general house duties.

You have your ancestry pretty must set out in your email, so this is probably not news to you, obtained from the marriage certificate of William and Charlotte. I will post your message on Blantyre Project in a scheduled article in the coming weeks and hopefully somebody will notice and be able to track down a photo or two. Given the size of the family, I’m sure there will be photos out there somewhere. All the best. Paul