William Sharpe RAMSAY was born 13 Mar 1846 in Dalgety, Fife, Scotland. He died in 1929. In 1870 he married Janet BONNAR [Bonnar Page] whose family was also from Scotland. She was born 11 Dec 1852 in Scotland and died in 1916. They are buried at Irwin Union Cemetery in Westmoreland Co, PA.  William eventually became the superintendent at the Morewood Coal and Coke Works of the Frick Carnegie Company.
 

Helen ("Nell") (back left) and Grace are in the back with bows in their hair. Mother Janet is in the center. The three ladies on the left are Janet, Anne, and Beatrice.  The four ladies on the right are Chrystine "Tine", Bess, Mary, and Marie. (all left to right)
 

Children:  [all born in PA]
Beatrice  born 12 Aug 1872   died 14 mar 1940  m. __?__ Clark
Elizabeth (Bessie)   born  18 Dec 1873    died 1948  m. __?__ Hill
Janet   born 22 Jan 1875   died 1936    m. __?__ Nicholson
Maria   born  8 May 1876   died 1965    m. __?__ Millward
One born dead
One born dead
William     died at 18 months
Anne   born 22 Jul 1883    died 1954   never married (Anne used to come visit in Wooster, OH)
Christinia   born 1885   died 1964   m. Frank SIMMONS
Mary  born 12 Jan ??   m.  __?__ Evans
Helen (Ellen, "Nellie") was born 9 Mar 1890 Mr Pleasant, PA and died 23 Oct 1976 in Aurora, OH. She was married to Harry W. WALTER They lived in Wooster Ohio most of their married life.
One died at 1 week
Robert  born 13 Feb 1893   died ?1967 buried in Shafton PA   m. Mary ___?___
Grace  born 16 mar 1895    died 1961   m. Paul Deffenbaugh

William RAMSAY and Elizabeth SHARPE Ramsay [Click here for the Sharpe Family]brought their family to the US in 1852 living at Port Perry, Allegheny County PA. (Grandmother's Notes: They went to Clinton, OH the first summer, but then returned to Allegheny County.) But because of the deaths of some of their children and supposedly because of growing unrest in the US, they returned to Scotland in 1855.  They then returned to Pennsylvania in the summer of 1863 where William worked at Hay's coal mine near Six Mile Ferry PA.  After about one year in 1864 they moved down to Larimer near Irwin in Westmoreland County PA. (Grandmother's Notes: They (?) visited Scotland in 1866 and 1867.)

William RAMSAY was  born 26 or27 Mar 1819 Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland ( Christened 4 Ap1819Dunfermline)   He died 16 Ap 1885 (66 yrs20 days),  Larimer, Westmoreland PA and is buried in Union Cemetery Irwin PA.  He marrried  Elizabeth SHARPE in Dunfermline in 1840. Elizabeth was born 26 Dec 1819 in Scotland and died 13 Aug 1889  (69 yrs, 7 mon. 18 dys). She is also buried in UnionCemetery Irwin PA (Shafton?)

The Ramsay Children:
Robert was born 23 Oct 1840 Dunfermline, Scotland and died 11 Aug 1899 in East Kilbride, Scotland while visiting there. He was married to  Janet (Jenny) ERSKINE. Eventually he became the Superintendent of Mines andGeneral Consulting Engineer for the Frick mines in the Westmoreland/Fayette area of PA.  Robert and his son Erskine had many inventions used in the mining industry.  (Grandmother's Notes:  Robert returned to Scotland many times and died there in 1899 at age 58.  He was superintendent for H C Frick Coke and Coal company for 16 years.  He was also pit boss and superintendent at Shafton Coal company and superintendent for Carnegie Coke at Monistery Coke Works at Latrobe.  He received a patent on the Ramsay Ram for pushing wagons on and off the cage....She listed these children who lived to adulthood: William, Erskine, Robert, Morris, John, Andee, Charley, George, Margaret, Elizabeth, Janet, and Mary....She wrote that mother Janet Erskine Ramsay died in 1916 in Greensburg.)
Go here for a newspaper story about Robert (and William, his brother, is mentioned).

Elizabeth (Bessie) was born 16 Feb 1843 Dalgety, Fife, Scotland and died 1889 at age 46.  She was married to Robert MORRIS  possibly in 1867.  Robert died at age 63 in 1900. They had 7 children:
Arthur married Emma Pastoria and had one child.  Arthur was killed at age 23 in Alverton.
Willis died young.  Bessie who lived in Greensburg PA.  Robert, George, Annie and Morris were
the other children.

Helen's Father
William Sharpe was born 13 mar 1846 in Dalgety, Fife, Scotland and died in1929 in PA.He married Janet BONNAR, daughter of William Thomson Bonnar and Beatrice McNeil. (Grandmother's Notes:  Her father, William Sharpe Ramsay, started working in the mines at age 10 years and 4 months...{now at that age the family would have been back in Scotland}..and continued working in the mines when they returned to PA.  He was pit boss at Shafton Coal Company, Bewin White Coal Co., Hecla Coal Co.,  Southwest Coal co, and H C Frick Coke Co. in Morewood where he became the superintendent.  He held that position for 22 years including the strikes of 1891 and 1894.)  William and Janet's children were[see dates above]:  Beatrice (Clark), Elizabeth "Bessie" (Hill), Janet (Nicholson), Maria (Millward), two born dead, William who died at 18 months, Anne who never married, Christinia (Frank Simmons), Mary (Evans), Helen "Ellen" "Nellie" "Nell" (Harry Walter), child died at 1 week, Robert (Mary ?), and Grace (Paul DEFFENBAUGH).
 

Morris was born 4 Jun 1848 in Dalgety or Fordell, Fife, Scotland. He died
29 Dec 1892 in Pittsburgh PA.  He was married to Sarah (Sadie) Mariah GREER. Morris eventually became the Chief Engineer for the H C Frick Coke Company. (Grandmother's Notes: He was General Manager of Southwest Coke Co. when he died.  He was superintendent at Clearfield Company, Merrill Coke Works, Loyal-Hanna Coal Co., and Morewood Coke Company.  He was pit boss at Shafton Coal Company.  She wrote that he was a good engineer and machinist.  He went back to Scotland four times.) (She wrote down these 13 children for Morris and Sarah: William, Sadie, Elizabeth, Hanna, George, Cristina, Robert, Nellie, Janet, one still born, Alice, Adelaide, and another still born.)

Peter   born 3 Feb 1851 Auchterderran, Fife, Scotland; died young
May   died 11 months
May   died 16 months
        Peter, May and May must be the children who died here in the US and whose deaths
        were part of the reason for the family's return to Scotland.
George was born 2 Sep 1857 Dunfermline, Scotland. He was still living at home in the 1870 census. He married Jeannie (writing hard to read)  CAMERON in 1880. (Grandmother's Notes:
George was a blacksmith and was pit boss for Loyalhanna Coke Company and Bewin(?spelling) White Coal Company.  He was then superintendent at Morewood, Monistery, Arvonia
Company, Clearfield Company, Colorado Coal and Mining Co. in Colorado, the Davis Coal Company in West Virginia, a company in Wyoming, and was general manager of ??Shaw Int.
Coal Co. when he died. Their children were Cristina, Elizabeth and Grace.)

Christine was born 5 Mar 1860  Dunfermline, Scotland and died at age 8 in PA.

Maria was born 18 May 1862 in  Dunfermline, Scotland. She was living at home in PA in the 1870 census.  (Grandmother's Notes: She married Joseph ANGUS in 1882.  She had three children.  Maria died at age 25 in childbirth.  Her husband was killed by a streetcar.)

NEWWell, Grandmother didn't have nearly all the children of Morris and Sarah.  Go to the site of one of Morris' Descendants to see a more complete history of that family:
Cousin Barbara's Ramsay Clan Page
 
 

Go here for a newspaper story about Robert (and William, his brother, is mentioned).

And we know one more generation back taken from my grandmother's notes and the book written by Erskine Ramsay.

Robert RAMSAY was born 1793 and died 1832 in Scotland Age 39 ( the book says 38)
He married Elizabeth MORRIS in 1814. He worked at mining in Scotland in the Dunfermline area.
I found a family  that fits with my grandmother's notes.  Two of the children, Jean and the first Isabel,  I have found were not in her notes.  Perhaps they did not live long. ( Grandmother's Notes:  Elizabeth Morris had a sister ??Nunmi??Naomi?? who died in Scotland in 1875 at a very old age.)
Children:
Christine or Christian was born 21 Mar 1816 in Dunfermline and died age 94 in Scotland.
        On 11 (or 1) Dec 1838, she married James PENMAN (husband and children verified by
        Grandmother's Notes).Their children were Betsy, Margaret(the only one not in the notes),
        Christian (F), Richard, Jeanie, and Isabella.  Grandmother Notes said that Richard became a
        policeman and died in England.
William was born 26 Mar 1819 Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland and died 16 Ap 1885
        at age 66 in Westmoreland, PA.
Janet was born 6 Jun 1821 Dalgety, Fife.    (Grandmother's Notes:  Janet married Henreich
        (BUNELL) which is probably BIRREL the brother of the man who married Isabella. She said that
        he was a coal miner.
NEW Left out by accident! Morris died at age 58. He had at least two boys and married Jane Hodge. The IGI says he was Morice, born 5 July 1823 in Dalgety Fife.
Jean  born  29 Aug 1825   Dalgety, Fife  (This child not in Grandmother's Notes.)
Isabel   born 29 Nov. 1826 Dalgety, Fife  (This child not in Grandmother's Notes.)
Isabella was born 25 (or 27) Dec 1827 Crossgates or Dunfermline, Fife.  (Grandmother's Notes: Isabella  died at age 74.  Isabella, "Easey", married William BUNELL [seems to be BIRREL verified elsewhere])
Agnes was born 24 Sep 1830  Beath, Fife.   (Grandmother's Notes:  "Agie"  married Thomas NESS  who was a coal miner.)   Marriage also found elsewhere.

       I have found a family in the Dunfermline/ Torryburn/ Dalgety area of Fife which has the
        above named brothers and in addition had Alexander, and the sisters Margaret, Jean,
        Janet, and Helen.   They certainly are first names found in the family.  The parents are
        William RAMSAY and Janet THOMSON.  Now, I don't have enough to go on in
        Grandmother's notes, so this connection is yet to be proven.
 

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