Margaret Jane "Maggie" Thompson

1881 - 1970  (89 years)

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• Name	Margaret Jane "Maggie" Thompson
  Nickname	Maggie
  Birth	24 Apr 1881	Alloa,Clackmannanshire,Scotland.,   [1, 2]
  Gender	Female
  Death	10 Oct 1970	,,South Africa.,   [3]
  Person ID	I240	My Genealogy
  Last Modified	24 Apr 2026 | Edit

  
  

  Father	William Carey (Carrie) Thompson,   b. 11 Nov 1837, ,,Scotland., d. 16 May 1909, Crail,,Scotland., (Age 71 years)
  Mother	Jessie (Jesse) Mather,   b. 15 Feb 1843, Edinburgh,Midlothian,Scotland., d. 6 Nov 1921, Edinburgh,Midlothian,Scotland., (Age 78 years)
  Marriage	1 Jan 1867	St Andrews Auckland Church,Co Durham/ South Church,Bishop Auckland,Durham,
  	Married Jessie Mather, [born Edinburgh 1843], Spinster, in St Andrews Auckland Church, Co Durham - info from Ian Thompson. Details from Birth Certificate of George Batchin Thompson- digital copy in Thompson file
  Family ID	F79	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Dr William "Bill" "Willie" Girdwood,   b. 1876, ,,South Africa., d. 23 Jan 1954, Johannesburg,Transvaal,South Africa., (Age 78 years)
  Marriage	1 Jul 1905	East London,Cape,South Africa.,
  	_HTITL: Husband _WTITL: Wife
  Children	1. Elizabeth 'Bessie' Helen Alice May Girdwood,   b. 16 May 1906, ,,South Africa., d. Abt May 1981, South Africa (Age 74 years)   2. Margaret 'Margy' Mather Girdwood,   b. 21 April 1911, ,,South Africa.,   3. Dr William "Billy" Girdwood,   b. 25 May 1912, ,,South Africa., d. 11 Aug 1993 (Age 81 years)
  Family ID	F302712934	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	15 Feb 2021 | Edit

  
  

• Photos		Margaret Jane "Maggie" Thompson _TYPE: PHOTO
  		Maggie Thompson _TYPE: PHOTO

  
  

• Notes

  PRIVATE Maggie was the 7th child in a family of 8, and was born in 1881in the Clackmannanshire town of Alloa, to Jessie Mather and her husband, William Carey Thompson, a tailor's cutter. The family lived at 5 Ochil Street and it is here that the «b»Scotland Census«/b» of «b»1891«/b» records her as a scholar aged nine. By this year her elder brothers had already left home. Brother William was… and brother George Batchin was at Edinburgh University studying medicine. By the Scotland Census of 1901 Maggie left Scotland for SA in Jan «b»1902«/b» via London and Southampton. Her sister Jessie and father, William Carey, accompanied her on the train to the ship. [DSCN9553] to see her off to a teaching post at the Hugenot Seminary in Wellington where her sister-in-law, Lizzie Lundie, had been a pupil prior to marrying Maggie's brother, George Batchin Thompson. Her family were quite concerned about her as she was quite homesick until her sister Bessie arrived [DSCN9535]. In July of 1904 her family were advising Maggie to go home for Christmas [DSCN9635] which she did. She left Cape Town on 14 Dec 1904.DSCN9584&5 In a letter to George, Jessei Mather wrote that, " «i»Maggie is home and I don't see much difference in her except that she has lost all the Scotch tongue«/i»." [DSCN9623] She returned to South Africa on the «i»Kenilworth Castle«/i», disembarking in East London 1 July 1905 and went to Kentani. It is not clear if she married Dr William "Bill" Girdwood in East London or at some other location, but they probably married the day she arrived back in South Africa. It seems that brother George Batchin has not happy about the match for Maggie wrote to him, "…«i»Surely this difference with Dr Girdwood isn't going to separate us altogether. It would almost seem to have done so…«/i»" DSCN9588 there are no other letters from Maggie in the letters to George that have survived until now. However, in an entry in George's diary on 16th June 1905 he says " Write to Maggie c/o Bessie wishing her all joy." Maggie and DR William Girdwood had one son, ".Bill" and two daughters, Elizabeth "Bessie" Helen Alice May girdwood & Margaret "Margy" Mather Girdwood. In her later years Maggie lived in a flat (apartment) just off Jan Smuts Avenue, near the center of Johannesburg, with her sister Jessie.. Maggie's husband had died in 1953.

  
  

• Sources

  [S130] Scotland. Statutory Births., ALLOA, CLACKMANNAN 465 / 00 0154 (Reliability: 3). [S1007] Scotland. Statutory Births., ALLOA, CLACKMANNAN 465 / 00 0154 (Reliability: 3). [S308] Thompson Family Bible, "Deaths" "Aunt Maggie Girdwood died 4/10/70 aged 89" (Reliability: 3).