William Mather[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Abt 1796 - 1866 (70 years)
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Name William Mather Birth Abt 1796 Edinburgh,Midlothian,Scotland., 
Gender Male Death 31 Jul 1866 Edinburgh,Midlothian,Scotland., [6, 7] Person ID I9058 My Genealogy Last Modified 24 Apr 2026 | Edit
Father Adam Mather d. Bef 1866, ,,Scotland., Mother Jane Fleming d. Bef 1866, ,,Scotland., Family ID F302713891 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family Ann Johnston, b. Abt 1806, Edinburgh,Midlothian,Scotland., d. 18 Dec 1858, Edinburgh,Midlothian,Scotland., (Age 52 years) Marriage 4 Oct 1821 Edinburgh,Midlothian,Scotland., Children 1. Alexander Mather, b. Abt 1826, Edinburgh,Midlothian,Scotland., 2. Margaret Mather, b. Abt 1829, Edinburgh,Midlothian,Scotland., d. Abt 1898, Edinburgh,Midlothian,Scotland., (Age 69 years)3. William Mather, b. Abt 1831, Midlothian,Scotland., 4. Ann Mather, b. 1833, Edinburgh,Midlothian,Scotland., 5. John Mather, b. Abt 1834, Edinburgh,Midlothian,Scotland., d. 17 Feb 1899, Glasgow,Lanarkshire,Scotland., (Age 65 years)6. Jane "Jean" Mather, b. Abt 1837, Edinburgh,Midlothian,Scotland., d. 1 Jul 1886, Edinburgh,Midlothian,Scotland., (Age 49 years)7. Isabella B. Mather, b. Abt 1840, Edinburgh,Midlothian,Scotland., 8. Jessie (Jesse) Mather, b. 15 Feb 1843, Edinburgh,Midlothian,Scotland., d. 6 Nov 1921, Edinburgh,Midlothian,Scotland., (Age 78 years)Family ID F302712932 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 3 Apr 2020 | Edit
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Notes - PRIVATE
- Name taken from 1861 Scotland Census where he is registered living with his daughter, Jessie Mather. In this record his birth place is given as Stroden, Lanarkshire, Scotland and his birthdate as 1789.
The marriage certificate for Ann Johnston and William Mather reads:
T«i» William Mather, flesher No.9 West Richmond Street and Agnes Johnstone, daughter of John Johnstone, flesher in Hawick residing Cowfeeder-row No. 1 have been three times proclaimed in order to marriage and no objections have been offered. Dated 4 Oct 1821"
«/i»
I have concluded that this must be the correct marriage (and that Ann may have been called Agnes, possibly an error) for the following reasons:
Firstly, her father is given as "John Johnstone" and her death certificate gives John Johnston as her father. There is a discrepancy in that the occupation of her father at her wedding is given as "flesher" and at her death as "farmer". People do change careers, so this is possible.
Secondly, the address of William Mather at the time of their wedding is given as «i»No.9 West Richmond Street «/i»and I had noted that in the 1841 Scotland Census:"«i»Strangely Ann and William are listed as living at 28 West Richmond Street while all their children are listed as living next door, at 30 West Richmond Street."«/i» Renumbering of streets is not unusual. Together - the same father's name and the same street- is too much coincidence.
A search of the OPR for the period 1825 to 1854 returned no result. I am querying this result with ScotlandsPeoples.
«b»1841 Scottish Census:«/b»
see image
Occupation: Spirit Dealer
28 West Richmond Street [where the University of Edinburgh's Department of General Practice now stands] Strangely Ann and William are listed as living at 28 West Richmond Street while all their children are listed as living next door, at 30 West Richmond Street.
Later lived at No 1 «b»Bristo«/b» Street, where Grandpa was born
«b»1861 Scottish Census«/b» shows 72-year old William's his place of birth as "Stroden", Lanarkshire, a place that I have been unable to locate. He is living with only his daughters: Jane Mather 23 and
«b»Jessie Mather 18 «/b»at«b» «/b»27 South Bridge, Edinburgh. His wife had died three years previously, in 1858.
William cannot be found with the rest of the family in the «b»1851 Census «/b»but does re-appear in the «b»1861 Census«/b» when he is registered at 27 South Bridge, Parish of Tron Church, Edinburgh. At this time he is living with daughters, Jane aged 23 (occupation dressmaker) and Jessie aged 18, (occupation milliner). In 1861 his occupation is given as a "retired butcher" and on his wife's 1858 death certificate he is described as a "flesher".
Speculation: Could William's occupation of Spirit Dealer account for his absence in 1851, and for his grandson, George Batchin Thompson's strong stance against the evils of alcohol?
This family is proving to be extremely difficult to trace. A search of all births to list William Mather as father between 1820 and 1840 in Scotlandspeople has failed to locate ANY of these children.
No Marriage certificate has been found for a William Mather and Ann Johnston.
- the nearest seems to be with an Agnes Johnstone at St Cuthbert's Edinburgh in 1821.
Searching for births on the mother's name- Johnston & Johnstone- also failed to find any children.
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Sources - [S86] Ian Thompson, Correspondence with Ian Thompson.
- [S353] 1851 Scottish Census (Reliability: 3).
- [S1087] 1851 Scottish Census (Reliability: 3).
- [S346] 1861 Scotland Census, (Ancestry.com), Edinburgh Iron Church; ED: 11; Line: 22; Year: 1861. (Reliability: 3).
- [S345] 1841 Scotland Census.
- [S352] Scotland. Statutary Deaths., Newington Edinburgh City/Midlothian 685/05 0461 (Reliability: 3).
- [S1090] Scotland. Statutary Deaths., Newington Edinburgh City/Midlothian 685/05 0461 (Reliability: 3).
- [S86] Ian Thompson, Correspondence with Ian Thompson.