Margaret Salmine

Margaret Salmine is found in the Inveraray Jail records : an unusual name, and a great tragedy.
The death certificate of the child shows she was suffocated at 3 days old, born 14 January 1865, illegitimate.
Margaret is a single mother, from Barra / or North Uist, who is housekeeper for Archibald MacDonald of Selma Farm (15 acres) in 1861, but there is no reference to her older daughter then.

Margaret SALMINE
Prisoner No: 334
AGE: 30
CRIME: Child Murder
SENTENCE: unknown
TRIED: unknown
by unknown
Marital Status: Single
Address: Born: Barra
Resident: Benderloch
Occupation: Housekeeper
Further Information:
Admitted: 10 February 1865. The Governor, Malcom Thomson, noted in his Journal that she appeared in bad health. Three days later he spent several hours attending to her and had the cell heated during the night. On February 22nd the Surgeon granted a medical certificate to the Fiscal regarding the prisoner's state of health.
Despite care by the Surgeon and Governor Margaret Salmine died in the prison. She had no family except a daughter, aged 13 and was buried by the Prison Board in the new cemetery of Kilmalieu.
Died: 23 February 1865 (13 days in Inveraray Jail)

In 1841
Vallay Uist 1841 Ancestry ..
father is an Ag lab
Name Age
Saeris Salmin 45 Ag Lab
Christy Salmin 40
Marion Salmin 15
Janet Salmin 10
Donald Salmin 8
Margret Salmin 4

Census in 1851 - the family in Uist, but no Margret
Sacris Salmine 58
Christy Salmine 52
Menon Salmine 28
Mary Salmine 23
Donald Salmine 16
John MacGegan 1

She has another child in Ardchattan in 1861 - SALMINE 1861 504/ 29 Ardchattan (again no first name) and have not spotted the death record for this child.
But no clue as to her 13 year old daughter identified in the court records. She is not in the 1861 census.

In 1861 she is living in Ardchattan for Archibald MacDonald at Selma as his housekeeper. How did she get there?


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