January 13th

Just one event for January 13th.   It was on this day, in 1893, that your great great grandfather, Alexander West, married his second wife.  Our family line comes from his first marriage - to Jemima Coull.  Alexander and Jemima were the parents of my mother's mother (your great grandmother).

But Jemima died young and left five young children.  But Alexander didn't immediately re-marry.   This second marriage was 7 years later.

I've wondered if Jemima and Catherine, first and second wives, were related.  Both surnamed Coull - but haven't been able to prove one way or another.  This is Ferryden - and, as I mentioned in an early post, there are just a few surnames in that east-coast Scottish fishing village and Coull is one of them.

And I realize that I haven't given sufficient thought as to how the children were cared for after Jemima's death - five of them ranging in age from 1 to 10 years old.  Dad was a fisherman of course and his would have been a hard working life.  The oldest child was my grandma.  I imagine she had a lot of work to do for the family at age 10.

But what we're focussing on today is the wedding which took place at 17 Beacon Terrace in Ferryden on January 13th 1893.  17 Beacon Terrace was where Catherine lived at the time.  Alexander was 42 years old and Catherine was 38 and had not been previously married. This marriage produced one child - a daughter - Margaret Jane - and lasted 37 years until Alexander's death in 1926.

Happily we have a photograph of Alexander.  This photograph would have been taken nearer the end of his life.  So here is your great, great grandfather Alexander West as published in the Dundee Courier & Advertiser at the time of his death (you'll get that story in September!)