Dear Paul,

I am researching the McCluskey family who originally came from Ireland presumably looking for work in the 1840's. John McCluskey, b 1816 settled in Hamilton Ferme with his wife and children and worked as a miner.

His son, John Rintoul McCluskey, b 1839 in Ireland, also worked as a miner and by 1881 had moved to Blantyre living in Stonefield and was a pawnbroker. He seems to have kept that job until his death in 1903 and lived subsequently in Woodburn Place, in McAlpine's buildings.

When he died his wife, Mary Ann Cummings, erected a gravestone which is in High Blantyre Cemetery. This stone not only commemorates her husband, but also two children who died and also their eldest son, another John Mccluskey, who was killed by a fall of rock and coal from the roof of No. 2 Pit in Whistleberry Colliery on 23rd February 1900. You may want to include this in your information on mining accidents?

Having visited Blantyre a few years ago I managed to locate some of these places, but other questions spring to mind which you may be able to help with?

1. The two children, William and Christina who died are not buried with their father and brother according to the gravestone but are interred in Janefield cemetery. I cannot find any records of Christina on the cemetery website although William is there. They were living in Rutherglen at the time of the deaths.
2. My supposition is that Mary Ann was able to erect this huge gravestone with compensation money from the death in the mine...do you think that this might be the case?
3. Mary Ann herself has no grave that I have as yet been able to track down, despite the pawnbroking business being passed to the surviving son, Thomas, so it was presumably still a going concern....could you point me in any other direction to find her?
4. The main brick wall I have is tracing the family back to where they came from in Ireland. Family legend says it was Antrim area, but as it is pre any surviving records and I have no further information than 'Born Ireland' on every document I have, I am at a loss as to whether there might be any records held anywhere that might give me a clue.
5. Do you have any more information about Hamilton Ferme or McAlpines buildings please?

Thank you so much for your ongoing project...it's a fantastic resource.