Blackburn

MARSHALL, BURNET, MITCHELL, WEIR, LAW, LUMSDEN

The Village of Blackburn in West Lothian has become known to millions as the home-town of Susan Boyle. The repeated mention of Blackburn has reminded me that I may well have 'cousins' still living there in the village.

My grandmother's folk were from Whitburn and Bathgate, and I know that grandmother had a number of Marshall cousins in the Village of Blackburn. Her uncle, Thomas Marshall, worked as a Pithead Man. He had married Barbara Weir in 1851 and settled in the Village. The Marshall cousins, all born in Blackburn, were named Jane, Peter, Christina Bruce, William Weir, Barbara and Thomas.

Jane Marshall, the eldest, married James Law who worked as a Dairyman. James and Jane Law had at least four children (John, Barbara, Thomas and Jane) born in Blackburn during the period 1873-1881. Three of the children were enumerated with their parents, still living in Blackburn, when the 1901 Census was taken. This is the last information I have on the Law family.

Barbara Marshall, the youngest girl, married Walter Lumsden, a coal miner, in 1890. The Lumsden children were named Barbara, Alexander and Mary. The two younger children were enumerated with their parents, still living in Blackburn, when the 1901 Census was taken. Again, this is the last information I have on the Lumsden family.

Do I have any distant cousins out there, still living in the Village of Blackburn? It would be interesting to find out.

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Last Update: 2009-12-19