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Classification: Query
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Message Board Post:
I need help with locating information about an elusive ancestor, John Cairns. The earliest
evidence I have located is the marriage certificate dated 12 March, 1870. John married
Jane Gibboney at the register office in Coxhoe. John gave his age as 24 years (born
1845-46), and that he was a coal miner. Jane's age as 18 (born 1852). John said his
deceased father, Thomas Cairns, had been a merchant's clerk. Jane's father, John
Gibboney, was a coal miner.
The 1881 census lists John and Jane and their three children, Thomas, Margaret, and
Ann. They were living in the Simpsons Buildings in Cornforth, Durham. John gave his age as
34 (1847), and his birthplace as Ireland. Jane was 29 (1852), and was born in Broomside,
Durham. They had three children. Thomas was 10, Margaret was 6, and Ann was 1. He and Jane
named their first two children after his parents. Their second daughter was named after
Jane's mother.
The family emigrated in 1882, and sailed from Liverpool to Phipadelphia. John became
a naturalized citizen in 1890, and gave his birthplace as England. In the 1900 census of
Doanville, Ohio, John’s birth date was October, 1849, and Jane's was October, 1853.
Thomas was born Dec. 1871, Margaret was born July 1876, Ann was born in 1880, Elizabeth
was born July 1882 in England, and Hazel was born April 1889 in Ohio. John gave his
occupation as coal miner. Jane reported that she had borne seven children, and five were
living. Both John and Jane died in 1921, and they are buried in Greenlawn Cemetery.
Here’s the marriage information of the children of John and Jane Cairns :
-Thomas Cairns m. Melvina Koon
-Marguirete Leewood Cairns m. Calvin Tolliver and Reul McLain
-Anne Cairns m. Asa Linton
-Elizabeth Cairns m. John Wion
- Hazel Louise Cairns m. Charles Osey and Gus Smith
Here's the reason for the mystery, and perhaps why I cannot find out any
information about John's parents. This is the story he told his children and
grandchildren:
He said he graduated from Edinburgh University, where he studied for the Catholic
priesthood. (I had a search done at E.U., and he did not turn up.)While on a walking tour
after graduation, he met and fell in love with a girl who was a Protestant and of a lower
social class. John's mother sent a friend in her coach to persuade John to come home,
but he refused. He and Jane married in 1870, and after the wedding, John’s mother
(Margurite Leewood Cairns) disowned him. Because of this break, we do not know very much
about John’s early history, such and when and where he was born.
I know it's a fanciful story, and contradicts the facts at the beginning of my
letter. It's interesting, however, that the 1882 ship's manifest lists an Irish
servant who accompanied the family. John could read and write very well. Many of his Ohio
neighbors asked him to read their letters and documents. He became a clerk and paymaster
for the mine. Family stories describe a Meerschaum pipe and velvet smoking jacket that he
brought to America. To me this reflects that he was educated and had some wealthy tastes.
Will you please check your resources and see if you can find any clues about my
ancestors? John is a real man of mystery, and I am determined to find out the true story.