Brief Life History of William
When William Stevenson was born about 1815, in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, his father, Robert Stevenson, was 31 and his mother, Margaret Hay, was 23. He married Elisabeth Raeside on 9 October 1836, in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, United Kingdom. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 5 daughters. He lived at 48 George Street in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, United Kingdom for about 20 years. Like his father before him, William worked as a shawl weaver, which was a large industry in the Paisley area. The Paisley shawls were worn by fashionable women throughout Britain. The shawls were intricately woven, and it could take up to three weeks just to thread the loom to prepare for the actual weaving. William died on 30 November 1879, in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, at the age of 65. After William's death, his son, Robert and his family moved into William's home in Paisley. MORE
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Family Time Line
Sources (24)
- Wm Stevenson, "Scotland, Census, 1841"
- William Stevenson, "Scotland, Marriages, 1561-1910"
- Statutory registers Deaths
Spouse and Children
- Marriage
Children (9)
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Parents and Siblings
World Events (8)
1815
The defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo marks the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon defeated and exiled to St. Helena.
1817 · Dryburgh Abbey Bridge
Dryburgh Abbey Bridge was a cable-stayed footbridge that connected the villages of Dryburgh and St. Boswells, across the River Tweed. Before its construction, A ferry crossing service had existed here for centuries. It was originally 79 meters long and was undergoing a period of rapid growth in popularity. The Bridge was completed on August 1 but a few months later it collapsed. Very shortly after the collapse, another bridge was built further downstream. A new bridge, which still stands today, was constructed after the first World War.
1832 · The Scottish Reform Act
The Scottish Reform Act was introduced by Parliament that introduced changes to the election laws in Scotland. The Act didn’t change the method of how the counties elected members but adopted a different solution for each pair of counties. Ultimately, it brought about boundary changes so that some burghs would have more say for the country than others.
Name Meaning
English: from the Middle English and Older Scots personal name Steven, Stephen (see Steven ) + -son. This surname is also very common in northern Ireland (especially Antrim and Down), where it has been interchangeable with Steenson and Stinson . In North America, this surname has also absorbed various European cognates, such as Danish, Norwegian, and North German Steffensen or Stephensen ; see also Stevens .
Scottish: variant of Stevenston, a habitational name from Stevenston (Ayrshire), Stevenson in Newlands (Peeblesshire), or Stevenson in Haddington (East Lothian). The placename in each case derives from the personal name Steven + Older Scots toun ‘farmstead, settlement’.
English: habitational name from Stevenstone (Devon), meaning ‘Stephen's farmstead’.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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