By Joanne Ferguson
Link to Cumnock Connections tree
John Allardyce was born in Kilwinning in 1837. In the Scotland Census of 1881, he is listed as a coal miner living in Lugar, Auchinleck with his second wife, Agnes McCartney, and his six children. In 1882, he left Scotland and settled in Pittston, Pennsylvania, a coal mining area of Luzerne County where jobs would have been plentiful. Agnes, John D, Robert, and Thomas followed in 1883. Some of his children by his first wife stayed in Scotland.
On the 1900 US census, John and his sons are listed as day laborers. In the 1910 US census, seventy-three year old John was listed as a coal miner. His son, Robert was listed as a locomotive watchman. John died in 1912 having been a miner for most of his life.
John's oldest son with Agnes was John D., who married Anna Bell Williams. In the 1925 Pittston City Directory, he is listed as a laborer working in the mines. He then bought a cigar store with Thomas Allardyce. At the time of his death in 1950, he was a salesman for the Scranton Tobacco Company. John had one son, Clyde. Clyde remained in the Pittston area for a period of time, then moved to New York, and then moved to Montana.
(Note: His middle name was Becket or Bicket after his mother. The D was possibly misheard: John B and John D sound similar!)
John’s second son was Alexander. He married Louisa Priscilla Pitts in 1904. In the 1896 Pittston Directory, Alexander was listed as a laborer and in the 1908 Wilkes Barre City Directory, he was listed as a boilermaker. On his WWII registration in 1942, Alexander lists his occupation as a janitor at Coughlin High School in Wilkes Barre at 64 years of age. Alexander died in 1955. He and Louisa had three children: George, Agnus, and Robert Alexander.
George took a job at the Hamilton Beach Company in Clinton, North Carolina. Agnes stayed in the Wilkes Barre area. Robert Alexander lived in Ashley, Pennsylvania and was employed by the Wilkes Barre Publishing Company in the composing room for 45 years.
John’s third son was Robert Hope Allardyce. Robert lived in Pittston and was employed as an electrician by the Pennsylvania Coal Company. He was tragically burned in an accident in 1955 and died several days later.
John’s youngest son was Thomas. Thomas came to the US as a baby with his parents. He married Mary McHale and they had six children. He was employed by the Lehigh Valley Railroad for a number of years. He then became a policeman in Pittston. He became the police sergeant and then was appointed detective.
Thomas’s son John J. married Florence Daily and had one son, Thomas. John served as a policeman after working as an apprentice at the Coxton shops of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. He was elected to the Pittston City Council in 1945. In 1948, John became mayor of Pittston, Pennsylvania.
Thomas’s son, Thomas, Jr., worked for the Railroad Company in Pittston all his life.
Thomas’s third child was Mary, who married James Allardyce. James was an assistant foreman in the coal mines. They lived in Pittston and had three children.
Thomas’s fourth child was Alice Ellen, who married Harold Myers. Harold was a manager for Western Union and Mary was a homemaker. They moved to Altoona, Pennsylvania where Harold was a manager of a Goodrich Tire Store. They had two daughters.
Thomas’s fifth child was James, who was working for the Pittston Coal Company in 1940. James then worked for the railroad company and was an engineer at the time of his death. James married Margaret Clifford and they had three children.
Thomas’s sixth child was Donald Edward. Donald worked as a signalman for the Lehigh Valley Railroad. Donald married Louise Flynn and they lived in Pittston all their lives. They had three daughters.
The Allardyce Brothers 1925
Seated: John 1876-1950, Thomas (1881-1937), William (1861-1939) Standing: Alexander (1877-1955) and Robert (1879-1928) Missing is James (1870-1897)
No comments:
Post a Comment