Biography: Christina Ballantyne (1828-1867) - Maternal side

Christina Ballantyne
(1826-1867)
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Christina Ballantyne was born on her parents' farm Muirhead at Hamilton in about August 1826. She was the second daughter in a family of eleven children who relied on a small farm for their living. As soon as she was old enough her parents found work for her.

By the time she was 14 years old, Christina was employed as a servant on the farm of Andrew Struthers and his wife Ann at nearby West Rogerton.

Ten years later she had become a dairy maid at Waterfoot farm at Mearns in Renfrewshire, a few miles from Hamilton. She was engaged to marry Thomas Ballantyne, a baker from her home town who was working at nearby Busby. They were each about 24 years old when they married at Mearns on 20 July 1851.

Christina and William produced a family of five children: Christina 1852, Thomas 1854, Margaret 1855, Helen 1857 and Jean 1863. The first two were born at Busby; the next one at Kirkton (East Kilbride); and the next at Carmunnock.

After that the family moved north of the River Clyde to Bushyhill (Cambuslang); and then on to Tollcross where their youngest child was born. This area was a very unhealthy place to live, as it was surrounded by large numbers of heavily-polluting industries. Housing was low standard and sanitation was extremely poor.

In February 1867 Christina contracted an abscess on her thigh that became infected. This led to her death on 8 March, aged just 40.

Her husband, Thomas Ballantyne, survived her by just four years. His death, aged 46, was initially attributed to alcoholism, but this was changed (after a post mortem examination) to apoplexy (which we would call stroke). His youngest daughter was just 10 years old and was probably then raised by one of her older sisters.