Rosina Gibson Harley - the missing link??

My maternal grandfather, Kenneth Harley (1874-ish - 1948) is proving very elusive (see his own page.). However, his eldest daughter bears the rather unusual name of Rosina, and the family have always believed that this was after his sister who was called Rosina, so this seemed a worthwhile avenue to explore.

An initial search of the Scottish Records Office files reveal not one but TWO Rosina Harleys - mother and daughter - the first revealed in the record of the 1881 census. Moreover, these Rosinas lived in Dunfermline, just a few miles from where we have always believed my grandfather to have originated. And, unlike Kenneth Harley, Rosina and her family have proved much easier to trace.

Although I have as yet no indication as to whether this Harley family is related to mine, the search proved so interesting that I have included it on my website for any other Harley researchers who might find it of use.

This is the first indication I found of a Rosina Harley : it shows the 1881 census return, when Rosina was living with her sister and brother-in-law and their respective baby daughters, both called Jane Harley..... it is possible that Rosina was living with her sister to help with the new baby, although she was herself six or seven months pregnant at the time.

The annotations show some of my later research, the main discovery being that Rosina Harley and the unusually-name Aminto Harley were in fact sisters, named Rosa and Minto Gibson on their birth certificates, and that they had married brothers Alexander and David Harley.

The birth records and census returns following show the sisters in close contact, so close in fact that they were frequently at the same address and even went so far as giving their children the same names : both had a Jane Harley and both had a William Gibson Harley!

A summary of what I have found out about their lives and families :

Alexander (ploughman)& Jane Harley (nee Crombie) m. Collessie 1851
Their children included Alexander Harley b. 15/1/1856 in Markinch, Fife : occupation Police Constable; and David Harley b. 18/2/1858 also Markinch. Occupation Railway porter / guard.

William (Engine keeper) & Margaret Gibson (nee Sneddon) m. Carnock 1850. Both illiterate.
Their children included Rosina Gibson b. Rosa Gibson 17/7/1859 in Carnock, Fife, and Minto Gibson (Aminto in 1981 census) b. 2/1/1858, also in Carnock, Fife,

Rosina m. Alexander Harley 12/7/1877 in Dunfermline Burgh
Minto m. David Harley 1/2/1878 in Dunfermline

Children : Rosina & Alexander Harley:
[?1878 : illegitimate baby Alexander Harley b. 7/11/1878 to Ann Anderson of Priory Lane, Dunfermline (father given as Alexander Harley, Police Constable, Dunfermline)]
Jane Harley 17/6/1879
Rachael Gibson Harley 26/5/1881
Rosina Harley 12/4/1887
William Gibson Harley 22/2/89 (notified by Margaret Gibson, grandmother)

Minto & David Harley :
Margaret Harley 14/4/1879 (notified by Wm. Gibson, grandfather)
Jane Harley 20/2/1881
Alexander Harley 26/9/1883
William Gibson Harley 13/11/1886
Aminto Gibson Harley b. 11/8/1895

1879 (April) : Minto & David living at Buchanan Street, Dunfermline, Rosina & Alexander living at Tough(?) Bleachfield, Dunfermline
1881 (census) - Rosina and Jane (1 yr) were living with Minto & David and their new baby Jane (1 month old) at 24 Reform Street, Dunfermline.
1881 (May) - Rosina & Alexander back at Bleachfield, Dunfermline for Rachael's birth.
1883 (Sept) - at least 1886 (Nov) : Minto & David living at Monastery Street, Dunfermline
1887 (Apr) : Rosina & Alexander living at Carnegie Street, Dunfermline
1889 (Feb): William Gibson Harley (Rosina's child) born at Monastery Street. Last official record of Rosina & Alexander Harley and family.
1891 (census) Minto & David at 21 Oban Street, Maryhill, Lanarkshire
1895 : Minto & David at 352 Gairbraid Street, Maryhill
1901 (census) Minto & David still at 352 Gairbraid Street, Maryhill (Glasgow)

Minto Harley (snr.) d. in Glasgow on 4/7/1927 aged 69, of "gangrene of the foot." Parents both deceased; David Harley (husband) still living, his occupation being given as "Boiler Stoker." Her death was notified by William Gibson Harley (son.)

In addition to the marriage of Alexander Harley and Jane Crombie in Collessie in 1851, a Henry Harley married Mary Walker in Moonzie in 1808 and in 1809 Mary gave birth to a son, Alexander, in 1809, also in Moonzie; in 1827 Alexander married Mary Muir in nearby Monimail and in 1828 she gave birth to a son, another Alexander ....

Although I have not yet proved a link, in 1851 the Alexander Harley who married Jane Crombie would have been 24, and Collessie, where that marriage took place, is only a mile from Monimail, so although it is purely conjecture, the possibility of a link is certainly worth further investigation.

For locations of the places in this record, see this page ; a family tree for Rosina and Aminto and their children is on this page. Details of documentary evidence are here.