The History of the Patons of Perthshire:Information about Joan Woodroffe
Joan Woodroffe (b. 1804, d. 09 Aug 1878)
Notes for Joan Woodroffe:
Joan was born approximately in 1804/1805 in the Port of Menteith. A
search of the OPR records for the parish has failed to turn up notice of
this, but in the census entries from 1851 to 1871, Joan lists her
birthplace as Port ofMenteith. In the 1851 census her age is listed as
44, which would place her birth year at 1806 or 1807. This is clearly
innaccurate, as her father died in December 1805. As Joan's parents were
married in 1803, this leaves the i ntervening years as the range for her
birth date. Being orphaned at such an early age, it is believed that Joan
was raised by her mother in their home village of Port of Menteith.
However, by 1831, Joan was living at No.28 Gilmore Place in Edinburgh. It
is not known whether hermother lived with her. Did the whole family up
and move to the capital, or just Joan? For the moment this is unknown.
Joan married William Paton in the capital on 4/11/1831. The OPR entry in
St Cuthbert's, Edinburgh, reads as follows: Paton and Woodroff William
Paton, plasterer, residing in No.1 Leslie Place, Stockbridge, and Ann
Woodroff, residing in No.28 Gilmore Place, both in this parish, daughter
of the late Joseph Woodroff, gardener in Stirling, have been three times
proc laimed in order to marriage in the parish of St Cuthbert's and no
objections have been offered. Married on the fourth day of November
thereafter by the Reverend David Marr, Minister of the United Associate
Secession Congregation, Lothian Road. Joan and William moved to East
Church, Perth, shortly after the wedding and had three children - Joan,
William and Janet. However, by 1839 there had been a major change in the
family. At some stage between 1836 and 1839 Joan's husband William died,
the cause as yet unknown, leaving Joan a widow. After the death, Joan
struck up a relationship with agentleman called Stewart Fenwick, the
warper son of a local weaver Gilbert Fenwick, and his wife Janet Stewart.
On 29th July 1839, Joan married Stewart Fenwick in Perth. Things
obviously went well, as on 13th July 1839 the two got married. The
following is the Perth OPR extract (GROS 387/31 fr8212): Perth the
Thirteenth day of July One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty Nine
years_____contracted Stewart Fenwick Warper in the East Church Parish of
Perth daughter of the late Joseph Woodrooff, Sergeant 26th Regiment of
foot____ _Elder Robert Grimmond_____The Persons before named were
regularly proclaimed and Married the Twenty ninth day of July said year
by the Reverend David Young Min of the United Association Congregation in
Perth. Stewart became the stepfather of Joan's children, who moved in
with him alongside their mother. Within a couple of years, Stewart and
Joan had their own child together, whom they named Stewart. Stewart was
soon joined by Gilbert , Helen, Joseph and Ann. The couple lived
initially in the East Church parish, but between 1851 and 1878 Joan lived
in the West Church parish of Perth, in a variety of addresses on Pomarium
Street. In the 1851 census the family is simply listed as livin g on
Pomarium. By 1861 we learn that they were at 4 Pomarium Street, and in
1871 we find them at 10 Pomarium Street. This move is probably explained
by the fact that Joan's husband Stewart died on August 13th 1865 at
number 4. A lthough not certified, the cause of death is listed as
'disease of the knee'. His death was registered by their son Stewart, who
returned from his home in Aberdeen on hearing of the death (GROS:
1865/387/493). The following deat h notice appeared in the Perthshire
Courier on Tuesday August 15th 1865, on page 2 column 5: DIED - At 4
Pomarium Street, Perth, on the 13th instant. STEWART FENWICK aged 71.
Friends at a distance will please accept this intimation. After spending
some time at number 10 Pomarium Street, Joan again moved to number 7,
where she spent the remainder of her days. She died on August 9th 1878 at
the infirmary in Perth, aged 72. The cause of death was disease of th e
heart, as certified by Dr William Gillespie. Her son Gilbert informed the
Perth registrar the following day.
More About Joan Woodroffe and William Paton:
Marriage: 04 Nov 1831, Edinburgh.
More About Joan Woodroffe and Stewart Fenwick:
Marriage: 29 Jul 1839, Perth, Perthshire.
Children of Joan Woodroffe and William Paton are:
- Joan Woodrooff Paton, b. 1833, Perth, Perthshire.
- +William Hay Paton, b. 18 Feb 1835, Perth, Scotland, d. 20 Jan 1894, Glasgow, Scotland.
- +Janet Brown Paton, b. 1836, Perth, Perthshire, d. 22 Feb 1866, Perth, Scotland.
Children of Joan Woodroffe and Stewart Fenwick are:
- +Stewart Fenwick, b. 19 Apr 1840, Perth, d. 13 Aug 1913, Arbroath.
- Gilbert Fenwick, b. 1843, Perth, d. 14 Jan 1880, St Mary, Dundee.
- +Helen Fenwick, b. 1845, Perth, d. 1888, Perth.
- Joseph Fenwick, b. 1848, Perth, d. 17 Jun 1872, 10 Pomarium, Perthshire, Scotland.
- Ann Fenwick, b. 1850, Perth.