The History So Far...The John Gilbertson, Sr. Family

The beginning of our knowledge of the Gilbertson family begins back in Scotland, where we find them in the 1861 Scottish Census living on Hill Street in Dalbeattie, Kircudbrightshire, Scotland. The father of the family, John Gilbertson, is listed as being a 35-year-old stone cutter born in England. His wife's name is Elizabeth, and she is shown as being 31 at the time and as being born in Dalbeattie. We happen to know that her maiden name is Kilpatrick from what death records we have from her children. They have have children shown at this time. They are, with names, ages, and birthplaces as shown: John (11, England, occupation listed as "Scholar"), Mary (9, England), William (7, England), Margaret (4, England), and Martha (1, Dalbeattie).

We next find the family in the 1871 Scottish Census on Southwick Road in the same town. For some reason, the father John is now 48 while his wife is now 47. The children are all about 10 years older, however Margaret is no longer listed. We don't really have an explanation for this right now. We also find in this census that the son John has become a granite hewer like his father and that William is an apprentice in the same trade. Mary is listed as being a domestic servant. Unfortunately, this census essential marks the end of what we know at the moment about father John and Elizabeth. We do, however, now a bit more about their children. We'll cover those families in subsequent posts.