Alexander Houston 1838 - 1913
Correction: there was a Helen Houstoun baptised 1815 & Margaret Speirs Houstoun was baptised 1820
No baptism found on FS. And none in Renfrewshire on SP. No one has him on an Ancestry Tree -May 2013.
1838. Alexander Houston is born to Thomas Houston & Agnes Graham in Renfrew - inf. from his 1857 mc. Confirmed on his 1913 dc.
1841C. Alexander Houston, 2, is living in Fulbar Street, Renfrew with his parents and 3 siblings
| Thomas Houston | 30 | Cotton H L W | b. Renfrewshire |
| Agnes Houston | 26 | not b. Renfrewshire | |
| William Houston | 10 | b. Renfrewshire | |
| Agnes Houston | 8 | b. Renfrewshire | |
| Ellen Houston | 4 | b. Renfrewshire | |
| Alexander Houston | 2 | b. Renfrewshire | |
| Alexander Houston | 25 | Labourer | b. Renfrewshire. Probably a brother |
| Ellen Houston | 55 | Independent | not b. Renfrewshire Probably mother of Thomas |
HLW = Hand loom weaver
1851C. Alexander Houston, 12, living in Pinkertons Lane, Renfrew with his parents and 3 siblings
| Thomas Houston | 44 | HLW | b.Renfrew |
| Agnes Houston | 39 | b. Monkland, Lanakshire | |
| Helen Houston | 16 | b.Renfrew | |
| Alexander Houston | 12 | b.Renfrew | |
| Robert Houston | 9 | b.Renfrew | |
| Thomas Houston | 3 | b.Renfrew |
1857. Alexander Houston, 19, labourer, married Aggness Newton , works in Printfield, 20, on 30/10/1857 in Renfrew. Her parents were William Newton, dyer, & Agnes Dow. His were Thomas Houston, labourer, & Agnes Graham.
They had the following children: Thomas 1858 - must have died by 1871, William 1860 - must have died by 1870, Alexander 1861, Agnes Dow Houston 1866 & Helen Houston 1871 all baptised in Renfrew. Also other children for whom no baptism has yet been found: John 1864, Hugh 1874 & Graham 1876, all born Renfrew. Thomas Houston is baptised to them 1881 Renfrew - SP. Also Robert 1869 & William 1870 The 1911C entry shows they had 11 children, of whom 7 were still living in 1911. The dead ones being Thomas 1858, William 1860, and ??
1861C. Alexr Houston, 27, irondresser, is living in Orchard Street Renfrew with his wife and 2 children
| Alexr Houston | 22 | Irondresser | b.Renfrew |
| Agnes | 23 | b.Glasgow | |
| Thomas | 2 | b.Renfrew | |
| William | 11mths | b.Renfrew |
1870 On 31/3/1870, his 7th child, William , was born in Co. Down!
1871C.Cannot find the family. But there is an Alexander Houston, 33, unm., b.Scotland , lodger, carpenter, in Ulverston, Cumbria, which is where his son Graham is born in 1875, but 2 children born Renfrew in 1871 in 1873, & now know Alexander was a Captain Dredging machine in Dec 1871, so this carpenter, stated as unmarried would seem very unlikely to be him . Have searched for hours for wife and children without inputting Houston, but no sign of the family unit. Also put *s in for surname on Ancestry . But, following the discovery that daughter Helen Houston was born Renfield St. Renfrew, in Dec 1871, searched the 1871C by address, and Alexander's mother, Agnes Houston/Graham, is living at 21 Renfield St with just her 13 yr old daughter Hannah - her husband Thomas Houston is also missing from this census!. It would seem likely that Alexander was still in Ireland - & no censuses have survived there!
1871. 12/12/1871 daughter, Helen Houston is born Renfield Street, Renfrew. Father, Alexander, is given as Captain Dredging Machine .Informant was Hugh William Pattison, surgeon, of 31 ?Harriet? St, Renfrew: this interesting as next child, Hugh, is given a middle name of Patison- this appearing in 1911C when he is living with parents Alexander & Agnes!
1881C. His wife and 7 children are living in 47 Queen Street, Renfrew. She is said to be married, not widowed. The last child, born and surviving, up to census 1881, Graham Houston, was born in England Jun 1875 Ulverston Cumbria
| Agnes Houston | 43 | Housekeeper . .married | b. Glasgow |
| John | 17 | ship joiner | b.Renfrew |
| Agnes | 14 | scholar | b.Renfrew |
| Robert | 12 | scholar | b.Renfrew |
| William | 11 | scholar | b.Renfrew |
| Helen | 9 | scholar . . born 12/12/1871 | b.Renfrew |
| Hugh | 7 | scholar | b.Renfrew |
| Graham | 5 | scholar born Jun 1875 Ulverston Cumbria | b.England |
1881. Another child, the last, Thomas Houston is baptised to them, Renfrew, on 14/7/1881 - FS.
Assuming this was the last child born, when Agnes was 43, then Alexander & Agnes had: Thomas 1859 -died, William 1860 -died, John 1864, Agnes 1867, Robert 1869, William 1870, Helen 1871, Hugh 1873, Graham 1875 , Thomas 1881, plus one other, Alexander?who presumably died as a child.
1891C. The only Agnes Houston found is a servant in Arrochar - this NOT her as the same person is found there in 1901C . No trace of most of the family, but 2 of his children, Hugh 17 and William 21, are living at 21 Renfield Street, Renfrew, with Alexander's widowed Mother, Agnes Houston/Graham. None of the family are still in Queen Street, Renfrew - checked all the houses on FMP address search !
No Alston Street/Barlands Road/Horseshoe X , , Glassford in 1891C-FMP And no Houston family member still living in Queen Street, Renfrew, in 1891C -FMP address search
1895. He wrote a Will - but where was he living?presumably in the UK.
1899. Likely living in Glassford as his grandson, William Muir, son of his daughter, Helen Muir/Houston, was born there and his parents were living mainly in Bombay from 1897-1907.
1901C. Alexander Houston, 62, vintner & spirit seller, b. Renfrew, Agnes Houston, 64, b.Glasgow & Agnes Houston, 12, b. Renfrew, servant, are living at Horseshoe Bar & Cottage, Barlands Road, Glassford. This is an amazing discovery as William Muir was born in Glassford in 1899 and we always wondered why. Alexander & Agnes are his maternal grandparents, parents of his mother, Helen Houston/Muir
1911C. He, Alexander Houston, 72, & his wife Agnes 74, married 53 years, 11 children, 4 dead, are living in 5 rooms at 14 Alston Road, Glassford, with son Hugh Patison? Houston, 38, mechanical engineer, marine and a servant .- SP.
He is a Publican, beer, wine, spirits
1913. On 7/3/1913, Alexander Houston, 74, wine & spirit merchant, married to Agnes Dow Newton, dies at Alston Street Glassford of chronic Nephritis?, cardiac inefficiency, hiccups 6 days. His parents were Thomas Houston ? Master Waterman? , deceased, and Agnes Graham, deceased. Informant was Thomas Houston, son, present, of 16 Paisley Streeet, Renfrew.
He leaves a Will, cleared on 25/2/1914, Hamilton Court - SP
1920. Agnes Dow Houston, 85, widow of Alexander Houston, dredging master, dies on 6/10/1920 at 16 Paisley Road Renfrew: this was where son Thomas was living in 1913. . Cause of death: Rodent Ulcer on face - 7 years . Parents were William Newton, dyer & Agnes. Informant was John Houston, son, of 6 Renfield Street Renfrew. No Will or Testament.
Summary of his life. 1838-1913
I have failed to find Alexander anywhere in the UK in 3 successive censuses, 1871, 1881, 1891.
Alexander is described as a Dredging Master on this 1920 dc and on the 1871 bc of his daughter, Helen. So I assume that this was his work from 1860s to the middle 1890s & then he likely became a Publican from the time of writing his 1895 will or for the last 13-15 years at least. My opinion is that he was an Itinerant Dredging Master, working abroad, certainly for a while in Ireland, for most of the time, taking his family with him as they do not appear in the 1871 and 1891 censuses anywhere in the UK either. BUT, his wife would seem to have been in Renfrew for the births of all but two of their children, in 1858, 1860, 1864, 1867, 1869, 1873 & 1881. The birth of William in 1870 in Down, Ireland, shows that Alexander was working there then and had his family with him, his wife & children returning to Renfrew by December 1871 & being there again in July 1873. The birth of Graham in 1875 in Ulverston, Cumbria, shows that Alexander had left Ireland by that time and was working in the Lake District. . He likely even moved the family out to Colombo sometime after 1881, which is how his daughter, Helen, came to be married there in 1894 : a single woman would not have moved out to Colombo by herself in those times. I would need access to records in Ceylon to verify this. So, he lived
1838 - 1861-70 in Renfrew
1864 & 1865. Maybe in Belfast as 2 of his sons might have died there
1870 - 1871-5 in Kilkeel, Ireland
1875 in Ulverston, Cumbria
1882-90 maybe left for Colombo
1895. Likely back in Scotland as he made a Will.
1901-1913 in Glassford, and likely there by 1899 as his grandson, William Muir, was born there