Alexander Galloway, my great, great-grandfather.
When Alexander Galloway was born on 8 June 1823 in St Cuthbert’s Parish, Midlothian, his father, Joseph, was 44 and his mother, Isabella, was 32. He married Margaret Galloway (born McLaren) on 6 August 1847 in Edinburgh. They had eight children over 19 years. He died on 3 December 1883 at the age of 60 and was buried in Edinburgh, Midlothian.
In the 1841 census, Alexander lived at 14 Lauriston Street in Edinburgh with his parents, Joseph (60) and Isabella (50), and his siblings: James (20), William (20), Isabella (15), John (13), Robert (9), and Alison (7). Alexander worked as a smith’s apprentice. His older brothers had opened tobacco shops and hired John, their younger brother, to help.
By August 1847, Alexander was living at 22 Home Street in Tollcross, close to Lady Lawson’s Wynd. John Barclay, another of my second great-grandfathers, also lived and worked as a smith nearby. I often think about whether they ever met. The building on Home Street is still there today.
He married Margaret McLaren on 6 August 1847, in St. Cuthbert’s Church, Edinburgh. In 1851, Alexander Galloway was living in Brown’s Court, The Canongate, with his wife, Margaret, now 24, and their two young children, Maria and William. He was a journeyman smith.
In the 19th century, the Canongate was a squalid place to live. It was part of the crowded, unsanitary Old Town, known for its dark, damp, dirty conditions. Many families lived in small, single-room homes with poor ventilation, unclean streets, and little clean water.
With a growing family, he moved to 54 Grassmarket, 1 Thomson’s Court (not Thomson’s Land as appears on some documents), where he lived in 1861 with his wife, two daughters, and four sons. By 1871, he and Margaret had a family of five children. Sadly, two of their daughters had died in this period.
He died on 3 December 1883. The handwriting on the death certificate is difficult to read, but it looks like he died in an accident. It mentions a fractured vertebra and skull compression. I have not been able to find more details about what happened. He is buried in The Grange Cemetery.
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