Wester Black Park Farm

1901 Census

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The following names and ages refer to the people shown living at Wester Black Park Farm in 1901. The farm appears to be run by Isabella McPherson (age 65), aided by her sister Mary (age 61) who is shown as a dairymaid. The servant Catherine McRitchie (age 31) is Catherine Campbell Sinclair whose husband James McPherson died at Blackpark aged 54 in 1899. She is now married to John McRitchie (age 29). She has swapped an old husband for one her own age. Catherine has her seven McPherson offspring living in the household with her new husband and their infant son Norman (age 6mo). Note that James McPherson is 14 indicating that Catherine was about 17 when she gave birth to him. She married James when she was 18 so they cut it a bit fine. It appears odd that the McPherson children are nephews and nieces of people old enough to be their grandmothers but this was because their father was so much older than their mother.

Of the McPherson children listed the following names appear on the family tree:

• Georgina (age 10) - Georgina Huntly Darwin Macpherson
• Margaret (age 8) - Margaret Macpherson
• William (age 2) - William Alexander Noble Macpherson