Ann Keith (1811 - 1887)

FATHER:
MOTHER:
SPOUSE:
OFFSPRING:
Thomas Keith
Margaret Henderson
Peter Tough (b.1805)
James Tough
John Tough
Alexander Tough (b.1835)
CHRISTENED: 28 December 1811 - Saint Nicholas, Aberdeen, Scotland
MARRIAGE: 21 December 1833 - Saint Nicholas, Aberdeen, Scotland
DEATH: 10 June 1887 - Sunderland
KNOWN ADDRESSES: Union Workhouse, Skipton - 1881
15 Wear Street, Bishopwearmouth, Sunderland - 1887
BIOGRAPHY:
Ann Keith was christened on 28 December 1811, in the parish of Saint Nicholas, Aberdeen. She was the sixth of nine children. Her siblings were, Elspet, Elesebeth, Margaret, Jean, Thomas, Euphemia, Helen and Richard, all born between 1804 and 1825. Elspet was first and was christened in Saint Nicholas in 1804. The next two were christened together in Old Machar in 1806 and appear as if they could be twins. The remaining children were all christened in Saint Nicholas. It is not clear whether the family moved to Old Machar, or for some reason, merely had two daughters christened there.

In 1833 she married Peter Tough in the Parish of Saint Nicholas and they went on to have at least three sons; James, John and Alexander.

Their son, Alexander, departed to the North East of England in or around 1856 and married. I always assumed Peter and Ann remained in Aberdeen but I have found reference to them in the 1881 census living at the Union Workhouse in Skipton, Yorkshire. Therefore, it is probably fair to say that they was quite poor. Her husband, Peter, died in 1883 at the workhouse. Ann then moved to Sunderland to live near her son, Alexander, and his family. A few years later she died in Sunderland. The death certificate records that she "died suddenly of natural causes, to wit Valvular Disease of the Heart."

Valvular Disease of the Heart is described in Webster's 1913 dictionary as

heart disease caused by stenosis of the cardiac valves and obstructed blood flow or caused by degeneration and blood regurgitation

Surprisingly, at her death her age is recorded as "between 67 years and 76 years" suggesting that no-one present at the death knew how old she was. However, the ages given are consistent with someone saying that they think she was born in the 1810's!
IMAGES: (click to enlarge)





Union Workhouse in Skipton, where Ann and Peter lived in 1881.

Ann's death certificate.
HISTORICAL EVENTS:
1812 – SPENCER PERCEVAL, the Prime Minister, is assassinated.
1812 – ROBERT BANKS, EARL OF LIVERPOOL (Tory) becomes Prime Minister.
1820 – GEORGE IV ASCENDS THE THRONE following the death of his father, George III.
1827 – GEORGE CANNING (Tory) becomes Prime Minister.
1827 – FREDERICK JOHN ROBINSON, VISCOUNT GODERICH and the later Earl of Ripon (Tory) becomes Prime Minister.
1828 – ARTHUR WELLESLEY, DUKE OF WELLINGTON (Tory) becomes Prime Minister.
1830 – WILLIAM IV ASCENDS THE THRONE following the death of his brother, George IV. William is the third son of George III.
1830 – EARL CHARLES GREY (Whig) becomes Prime Minister.
1830 – SIR ROBERT PEEL DEVELOPES THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY which succeeds the Tory Party.
1832 – REFORM BILL OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS BECOMES LAW, extending the vote to more people and redistributing the constituencies to secure more equitable distribution of representation.
1834 – WILLIAM LAMB, VISCOUNT MELBOURNE (Liberal) becomes Prime Minister.
1834 – SIR ROBERT PEEL (Conservative) becomes Prime Minister.
1835 - WILLIAM LAMB, VISCOUNT MELBOURNE (Liberal) becomes Prime Minister for the second time.
1837 – QUEEN VICTORIA ASCENDS THE THRONE following the death of her uncle, William IV. Victoria was the daughter of George III’s fourth son, Edward (Duke of Kent).
1837 – COMPULSORY RECORDING OF ALL BIRTHS, DEATHS & MARRIAGES INITIATED.
1841 - SIR ROBERT PEEL (Conservative) becomes Prime Minister for the second time.
1843 – THE POLICE FORCE FOUNDED. Policeman were often called ‘Bobbies’ and ‘Peelers’ in reference to the then Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel.
1846 – REPEAL OF THE CORN LAWS, thus enabling a greater amount of trade.
1846 – EARL JOHN RUSSELL (Liberal) becomes Prime Minister.
1852 – EDWARD GEORGE GEOFFREY SMITH STANLEY, EARL OF DERBY (Conservative) becomes Prime Minister.
1852 – GEORGE HAMILTON GORDON, EARL OF ABERDEEN (Conservative) becomes Prime Minister in a coalition cabinet.
1854 – BRITAIN JOINS WITH FRANCE IN THE CRIMEAN WAR aimed at blocking Russia’s access to the Mediterranean. The war lasts until 1856.
1855 – HENRY JOHN TEMPLE, VISCOUNT PALMERSTON (Liberal) becomes Prime Minister.
1858 - EDWARD GEORGE GEOFFREY SMITH STANLEY, EARL OF DERBY (Conservative) becomes Prime Minister for the second time.
1859 - HENRY JOHN TEMPLE, VISCOUNT PALMERSTON (Liberal) becomes Prime Minister for the second time.
1859 – CHARLES DARWIN PUBLISHES HIS GREAT WORK, “ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES BY MEANS OF NATURAL SELECTION” to diverse public opinion. In it he puts forth the view that animals are not created individually, but rather, that they evolve through a process he calls natural selection.
1861 – OUTBREAK OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. Though having no direct affect on Britain since America had severed colonial ties, the lack of raw cotton shipped from North America to Northern England sent many into unemployment.
1865 - EARL JOHN RUSSELL (Liberal) becomes Prime Minister for the second time.
1866 - EDWARD GEORGE GEOFFREY SMITH STANLEY, EARL OF DERBY (Conservative) becomes Prime Minister for the third time.
1867 – SECOND REFORM BILL OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS gave the vote to most urban male workers.
1868 – BENJAMIN DISRAELI, EARL OF BEACONSFIELD (Conservative) becomes Prime Minister.
1868 – WILLIAM GLADSTONE (Liberal) becomes Prime Minister.
1870 – EDUCATION ACT IS PASSED providing the establishment of government schools and for compulsory education.
1874 - BENJAMIN DISRAELI, EARL OF BEACONSFIELD (Conservative) becomes Prime Minister for the second time.
1876 – ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL SENDS A VOICE MESSAGE AND THE TELEPHONE IS INVENTED. The first words that were clearly heard by the recipient were, “Watson, come here, I want you”, heard by his assistant, Mr Watson in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.
1880 - WILLIAM GLADSTONE (Liberal) becomes Prime Minister for the second time.
1884 – FURTHER REFORMS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS gives the vote to almost all adult males.
1885 – ROBERT ARTHUR TALBOT GASCOYNE-CECIL, MARQUIS OF SALISBURY (Conservative) becomes Prime Minister.
1886 - WILLIAM GLADSTONE (Liberal) becomes Prime Minister for the third time.
1886 - ROBERT ARTHUR TALBOT GASCOYNE-CECIL, MARQUIS OF SALISBURY (Conservative) becomes Prime Minister for the second time.

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