Hamilton, Lanarkshire

JOHN FRAME born c.1817 Dalserf, Lanarkshire.    

Spouse: AGNES PATERSON

My 2nd great-grandfather, John Frame, was born sometime between 1814 and 1820. On his death registration, daughter Grace stated that he was 56 when he died in 1870 (c.I8I4).  John himself gave his age as 38 years when he registered Grace’s birth in 1855, indicating a birth year of c.1817, yet at the 1861 census, John gave his age as 41, indicating the birth year of 1820.   I use c.1817 hoping it is nearest the mark!  Daughter Grace confirmed the name of John's parents, Andrew Frame and Elizabeth Peters, on his death registration in 1870, and also that he was a Master Carter when he died.  John Frame confirmed that he was born in Dalserf parish when he registered Grace's birth in 1855. His baptism has not been found in the Dalserf OPRs.  

John Frame married Agnes Paterson on 8 Dec 1854 in Cambuslang.  The marriage details in the extract from the OPR states that John was a farm servant in the parish of Cambusnethan at the time of the marriage.  Their first child, also named John Frame, was born in 1851, several years before their marriage.  Agnes Patrson was born c.1829 in Blantyre, Lanarkshire. She was the daughter of Andrew Paterson, a ploughman, and Grizzel (Grace) Dick. After a period in Motherwell Mill, Dalziel, Lanarkshire, where their first two daughters, Grace and Elizabeth were born,  John Frame and Agnes Paterson settled in Hamilton where they remained for the rest of their lives. 

The expansion in the coal industry and the establishment of iron foundries and engineering works meant Hamilton was a town on the move by the time John and Agnes Frame settled into the neighbourhood. Hamilton was the market town for the surrounding area and supported a number of additional industries such as tanning, brewing and the manufacture of shoes and stockings. The boom in the coal industry saw the railways arrive in the district to supplement the existing road and bridge network thus bringing in passengers and cargo. The corporation gasworks was already established by 1831, and in 1853 a gravitational water supply was introduced.

By the 1870s, there were around forty working collieries in or around the Hamilton district, which provided employment for the still burgeoning population. The bustling and ever-expanding Hamilton environment gave John Frame the opportunity of becoming self-employed. After having worked as a carter in Motherwell, he eventually acquired his own horse and cart and became a Master Carter. It’s not difficult to visualise him trundling around Hamilton’s old cobbled streets on a warm sunny day, possibly almost mesmerised by the clip-clopping sound of his horse’s hooves. He probably enjoyed his work in fine weather, but as carting was an all-weather occupation, he would have been exposed to inclement conditions including sleet and snow. It is impossible to know the cargo John carried, as many different types of produce were ferried about town by horse and cart. However, given the local environment, it may well have been coal. Any precious pieces of coal that toppled off the carts as they rolled through town were eagerly gathered up by women and children for use in their homes.

The children recorded for John Frame and Agnes Paterson are:

1. JOHN FRAME  was b.1851 at Cambuslang, Lanarkshire. He died 17 Aug 1896 in Sydney, NSW, Australia. At the 1851 Census, baby John Frame was enumerated at 6-months-of-age with his mother Agnes in the Paterson household at Cambuslang Tile Work. He was not listed with his parents for the 1861 census but was present in the household for the 1871 and 1881 censuses.  A birth or baptism record has not been found.  John Frame Jr., was a carting contractor from at least 1871 until 1883 when he and younger brother Andrew Paterson Frame (my great-grandfather)  sailed from Glasgow for Australia aboard the Nairnshire.  See THE VOYAGE.   John probably worked with his father and took over the carting business when John Sr. died. Within a couple of years of their arrival in Bundaberg, Queensland,  John and Andrew had both made their way south into New South Wales. Sadly, for reasons unknown, they then parted ways.  John lived in Sydney where he worked as a labourer whilst Andrew settled in the Hunter Valley, NSW.  John Frame Jr. did not marry and died in Sydney Hospital from aortic disease and syncope 17 August 1896 at just 45 years of age. He was buried in the Church of England Cemetery at Rookwood, Sydney on 19 August 1896.  His mother Agnes passed away in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland just two months later. Johns name was inscribed on his parents’ gravestone in the Bent Cemetery at Hamilton.

2. GRACE FRAME was  b. 17 May 1855 at Motherwell, Lanarkshire. She died 12 Jan 1946 at 265 Glasgow Road, Blantyre aged 91 years.  She married GEORGE HARRIS 30 Jun 1876 at 73 Almada St., Hamilton, Lanarkshire.

3. ELIZABETH FRAME was b. 30 Oct 1856 at Motherwell. She married JAMES HARRISON on 19 Oct 1883 in Manhattan, New York, NY, USA.  Elizabeth Frame left Scotland the same year as her brothers John and Andrew; however, instead of immigrating to Australia she made her home in New York, USA.  ‘Lizzie’ arrived in New York aboard the Bolivia 16 October 1883 and then three days later married James M Harrison in Manhattan.  James was a native of nearby Coatbridge in Lanarkshire.

4. JESSIE FRAME was b. 21 May 1858 at 29 Muir St., Hamilton and died 3 Mar 1936 at 6623 Scotland St., Glasgow .  She married DUNCAN FLEMING 11 Nov 1881 in Glasgow. Jessie Frame had her daughter, Annie Hunter Frame in 1878, prior to her marriage to Duncan Fleming. Census records show that Annie spent much of her time with her grandparents, John and Agnes Frame.

5. ANDREW PATERSON FRAME   My Great-grandfather  b. 28 Feb 1860 at 39 Muir St., Hamilton. His registered birth name was 'Andrew Frame' but he was always known as 'Andrew Paterson Frame', reflecting his mother's maiden surname. Andrew died 7 Jun 1947 in Weston, NSW, Australia. He married ELIZA LOUISA HANNAN 11 Aug 1886 in Maitland, NSW.  

6. AGNES FRAME was  b.12 Mar 1862 at 39 Muir St., Hamilton and died 25 Feb 1921 at Kinburn Lodge, Douglas St., Hamilton. She married DANIEL MCALPINE on 2 Oct 1885 at 87 Almada St., Hamilton, Lanarkshire.

7. MARGARET FRAME was b. 22 Jul 1864 at 43 Muir St., Hamilton. She married (1) UNKNOWN.   She married (2) HENRY J MOORE  Jun 1896 in Chelsea, London, England. She married (3) before 1920, SAM BROWN.

8. WILLIAM FRAME was b. 02 Oct 1866 at 83 Almada St., Hamilton and died 26 Apr 1956 at 41 Bothwell Rd., Hamilton. He married  (1)  JESSIE FORREST 31 Dec 1890 at Carluke, Lanarkshire. He married (2)  MARY FLORA MACEACHEN.

 Unfortunately, like my own father, my 2nd great-grandfather John Frame was not granted a long life, dying in his early fifties; however, his initiative in starting his own business gave his family a little extra security. Not wealth in the real sense, but certainly enough to keep poverty at bay. An indication of increased means is that between 1864 and 1866, the family moved from Muir Street to Almada Street Hamilton.  Almada Street was considered a prime location and rents there would have been much higher.  John died at No.73 Almada Street on 24 September 1870 from kidney disease.

The census the following year revealed that John's wife Agnes Paterson was at 72 Almada Street and was now a small shop keeper. Her eldest son John was a carter.  By 1881, Agnes was living at 87 Almada Street. Enumerated at home at that time were her children: John Jr., Elizabeth, Andrew, Agnes and William.  Annie Hunter Frame, Jessie’s daughter was also in the household. By 1891, the census tells us that Agnes was now living at 113 Almada Street and her granddaughter Annie was still living with her.   

Agne Paterson (Frame) passed away at 51 Beckford in October 1896.  John and Agnes were both laid to rest in a peaceful area of the beautiful Bent Cemetery in Hamilton.  The name of their eldest son, John Frame, who died in Sydney, NSW and was buried in Rookwood Cemetery, is also on the gravestone, which is now very worn.   Hamilton historian, Wilma Bolton, who very kindly located and photographed the gravestone of my 2nd great- grandparents for me, said at the time, ‘It would have been an expensive stone— they were obviously not short of a shilling.’ Those were comforting words to hear!

See  THE VOYAGE

Sources:

Rhona Wilson, Old Hamilton, Stenlake Publishing Ltd, 1996

Wilma S. Bolton, Black Faces and Tackety Boots, 2006.

Nicholas Rice

New York Passenger Lists 1820-1957 (Ancestry)

Scotland's People: Birth, Death, Marriage and Census Records