Jenny Hutton asked, “Hi Paul, I’m looking for information on my ancestors John Connell and his wife Margaret Russell. John is referred to as a Miller in Millheugh late 1700s. Their daughter Margaret born in 1798 is my direct ancestor. I would be glad of any information that you can find on them”
This was going to be a tough one given how old the ancestry is. Finding people over 220 years ago was a difficult ask and records likely to be few and far between. However, i did find John Connell and Margaret getting married in 1789!
In the Church of Scotland Records, I found John Connell of Blantyre marrying Margaret Russell of East Kilbride on 15th November 1789, some 229 years ago! They married in the parish of East Kilbride, most likely following the custom of marrying at the brides hometown.
I was unable to find any record of little Margaret Connell being born in either Blantyre or East Kilbride in 1798. Broadening the search, I couldn’t find a Margaret Connell being born to these parents in Scotland, but may have missed something. However, I had success in finding other definite children of this family. Elisabeth Connell born in Blantyre in 1803 and William Connell born in Blantyre in 1805. Clearly by 1803 certainly the Connells were living in Blantyre.
If a Miller in Milheugh in the late 1700’s, John would have been working at the bottom of the Pech Brae at one of the 2 former mills once in that location, powered by the waters of the River Calder. Even when he married, David Dale had only just completed his mills in Blantyre, a project John Connell would certainly have been aware of although no direct involvement, being on the opposite side of Blantyre.
It would seem that John died sometime between 1818 and 1829 in Glasgow.
Would YOU like me to find a Blantyre connection in your family? I’m happy doing this for free as long as there’s a Blantyre relevance. You can log your request here:
https://blantyreproject.com/requests/