I have tons of photographs, but this one is my favorite. This photo of a stern woman, dressed in black, was taken in Leith, Scotland, at the Studio of Pettigrew and Ames.. I found it in my great grandmother’s photo album, but like all of the pictures, it was not identified. I was concerned about the condition of the album so I removed all of the pictures and this was the only one that had something written on the back…Reoch. [This was very early in my genealogy journey and was one of the big mistakes I made. Don’t remove the pictures from an album without first taking a photograph of each page so you can preserve the order. It may tell you something about the relationship of the people in the photographs.] But, who is she? In the 1990s, I attended a workshop in Greenwich, Connecticut, where a woman, possibly Maureen Taylor, identified pictures based on clothing. She dated the dress to around 1893 but noted that the hat was a bit out of date.
My great grandfather, James Hay Sprague was born in Leith, Midlothian, Scotland on 22 Aug 1863 [“Scotland’s People,” National Records of Scotland, Statutory Births, https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk., 1863 James Sprague, South Leith, Edinburgh 692/681 p. 227]. He was the third child born to John Sprague and Mary Hay. He had two sisters, one of whom was named Joanna Reoch Sprague, but both died before James’ birth. I thought there must have been an earlier connection to the Reoch family, but I couldn’t find one. The female names in previous generations had been Hutchison and Craig.
In the 1871 census of South Leith, John Sprigs [sic] and Mary “do” appear but without their son James who would have been about 8 years old [“Scotland’s People,” Household of John Sprigs, South Leith, 1871 Census 692/02 044/00 020]. Where was their son, James Hay Sprague? John Sprague died on 18 Aug 1975 listed as the “widower of May Hay,” and the column for the names of his parents contained “Unknown.” The Informant was a Mary Alexander, Nurse and Occupier, and the cause of death was “Epileptic Fits.” [“Scotland’s People,” 1875 Deaths in the District of South Leith, County of Edinburgh, 692/02 0462.] Assuming from this that Mary Hay was dead, I searched for a death record between 1871 and 1875 but found none.
The first mention I find of James Hay Sprague is in 1886 in Ballyshannon when he is awarded a 1st place in a “Prize Word Competition.” [Donegal Independent, 11 Dec 1886, IrishNewspaperArchive]. James does not appear in any records in Scotland after his birth and since there are no census records for Ireland until 1901, the next record for James was his marriage to Rachel Mackey on 14 Jul 1892 at the Parish Church of Finner (COI) in Bundoran, Donegal. [Copy of Marriage Certificate for James Sprague and Rachel Mackay from Joyce House, Dublin. District of Ballyshannon, Parish of Finner, in the County of Donegal.] The residence of both the bride and groom was listed as Bundoran…James was a plasterer (stone mason) and Rachel a servant. James' father was listed as James Sprague, a Plasterer (dead), Rachel’s father was James Mackay, a Farmer. (James’ father was actually John Sprague, the labourer who died in 1875 in Scotland.)
My research question is now, “When and how did James Hay Sprague arrive in Ireland? Assuming that both his parents were dead and he was a orphan; where was he in the 1871 census? Was he already in Ireland (where no 1871 census survives)? The births of James and Rachel’s first three children, Rachel, William, and Florence were recorded in Ballyshannon, Donegal. Although married in the Church of Ireland, the three children were baptized in the Presbyterian Church. Between 1895 (birth of Florence) and 1896 (birth of George Edric) the family moved from Donegal to Louth. James was also a plasterer (stone mason) and the family story was that he worked building churches. The births of George and Thomas were recorded in Dundalk, and James Hay Sprague died in Dundalk on 9 Nov 1899. [Copy of Death Certificate from Joyce House, Dublin. 1899 Deaths Registered in the District of Dundalk, Union of Dundalk, County of Louth.]
In 2018, based on a DNA connection, I began a correspondence with Mike Reoch. He had the same picture and stated it was Mary Hay Reoch, the wife of John Reoch of Ballyshannon, a plasterer. Interesting…is this the same Mary Hay who was the mother of my James Hay Sprague? Why would the picture be in my great grandmother, Rachel Mackey Sprague’s photo album? Was this her mother-in-law? Did Mary Hay Sprague remarry after John’s death even though he was listed as a widower on his death certificate? Lots of conflicting information.
Extensive research into John Roach shows a previous marriage to Isabella Morrison probably in the mid-1830s based on the age of their oldest child. The 1851 census record in Dundee, Scotland shows 5 children from this marriage. [“1851 England, Wales & Scotland Census,” Findmypast, findmypast.com. 1851 Household of John Reoch, Dundee, Forfarshire (Angus) Scotland, ED 7 House number 17]. In 1861 John and his oldest son are boarders in Midlothian, Scotland, both plasterers born in Dundee. [“Scotland’s People,” 1861 Census, John and Robert Reoch, Lodgers in household of James Ross 16 Wilsons Park, Census 684/1 4/ 7 p 17 of 19]. In 1871 Isabella is in Dundee with the younger children along with an additional child age 8. [“Scotland’s People,” Household of Isabella Reoch, (Census 282/1 16/ 13) Page 13 of 86, Dundee, Scotland]. John doesn’t appear in Scotland in the 1871 census.
A Mary Hay (34) appears in the 1871 census in Middlesborough, Durham, England along with John Reoch (indicated as married) with children James (8), Thomas (5) and John (2). John, Mary and James were all born in Scotland and the ages of Mary and James match earlier records for Mary Hay Sprague and James Hay Sprague. [“1871 England, Wales & Scotland Census,” Findmypast.com, Online database with images.1871 Census,Household of John Reoch (64) lodger in the household of Ralph Alda, #146] Birth records for Thomas and John in Durham, show Mary Hay as the mother. The DNA matches I have to this family descend from Thomas Reoch.
The story of this unknown photograph took me on a surprising journey from Scotland to England to Ireland. Believing Mary Hay Sprague died before 1875 (based on John Sprague's death certificate) I had to open my mind to an entirely different scenario. Following the Genealogical Proof Standard, I did an exhaustive search of records for two different families, citing the information as I went along; I used both Original and Derivative Sources with Primary and Secondary Information (some of which was incorrect); and using both Direct and Indirect Evidence correlated what I had into a new proof argument. This is always open to re-evaluation should additional evidence become available.
I now have a new hypothesis. Mary Hay Sprague left Scotland along with her son James Sprague sometime before 1867 and settled in Durham, England with John Roach. Two children of John and Mary were born here: Thomas Reoch, born 31 Jan 1867 and John Reoch born abt 1869. Although James is listed on the census as James Reoch, he is actually Mary’s son with John Sprague. Sometime after 1869 the family moved on to Donegal, Ireland (likely for work). John Reoch, the second husband of Mary Hay, died in Bundoran, Donegal in 1886…Mary Reoch was the informant, present at death [“Civil Registration,” Death, Ireland, Digital Image, IrishGenealogy.ie. 1886 Ballyshannon, John Reoch,Group Registration ID 6470802]. It appears that Mary returned to Leith, Scotland by the early 1890s where the above picture was taken. She appears in the 1901 census of North Leith, Midlothian as the head of family with one boarder and an occupation of “Sick Nurse,” [“Scotland’s People,” Household of Mary Reoch, Sick Nurse 1901 Census, 684/14/7 p. 7, No. 178] and finally to Portsmouth, England where she died on 25 Jan 1903, her son John Roach was the Informant. [“GRO Index online,” Deaths, England, https://www.gro.gov.uk., Mary Reoch 1903, March Quarter, Portsmouth 02B:319].
Happy Hunting!
Wow, great sleuthing that all out ! Took me a second read through to follow everyone but your hypothesis seems clear and logicl to me. I find it hard to write a report on my findings so its not too compcated and others can follow along. Tthanks for a good example.