The last signature

I come to the last clan signature on the Ulster Covenant for us to consider. It is of Robert McIlhagga of 6 Lawther Street, Belfast. We learn from the 1911 Census that he had been married for seven years to Eliza Jane who was three years older than he. Eliza was living at nearby 48 Lawther Street when they married on 15th February 1904 at Trinity Church of Ireland, Belfast. She was the daughter of James Eston, a Flaxdresser. Both she and Robert are recorded as being of 'MR' age when they married. That indicates that they were minors. Robert was 18 and Eliza must have been just under 21. As their eldest child, William R. was seven in 1911 Eliza must have been pregnant when they married, we may presume with parents consent, as Agnes Eston was one of the witnesses. When Robert married he was working as a Labourer and living at 164 Newledge Road with his father John, a Carpenter. John at different periods was a Carpenter, a Bread Server and a Car Owner. He was married to Margaret Douglas of Templepatrick. The family had moved from 26 Sheridan Street in 1901 to Newledge Road in 1911. The supplementary form 'A' completed with the 1911 Census tells us that Robert and Eliza had had three children, two being still alive. Their other child with them in 1911 was one year old Samuel. We may presume that John and Robert worked together at one period, when John was a Bread Server, for by 1911 John had become a Baker.

On 8th June last I wrote about this family, particularly about Robert's older brother John who was also a Baker, and about his father John. Clearly Baking was something of a family business.