Catherine Hutcheon, first daughter of Alexander & Margaret Hutcheon was born in Montrose on July 15, 1850 and christened on August 5. It's probable that she was known as Kate within the family. (Source: her daughter, Margaret and the story of the 3 fur capes.) Kate's next entry in the official records was in the 1871 census when she was living at #50, St. John's Place in Montrose with her mother, grandmother, brother William and sister Amy Louisa. At the age of 30 in the 1881 census, she was the only one still living with her mother in Montrose at 35 Palmerston Street. Kate was working as a seamstress at the time.

Kate married John Jamie Alexander, an assistant draper on March 24, 1882 in Bonnyrigg. ALHW served as a witness to the marriage. Kate's husband was born in 1849 in Montrose to William Alexander, a manufacturer, and to Isabella (McPherson) Alexander. At the time of his marriage, he was a resident of Dundee. Kate herself was still officially a resident of Montrose. So, it's a bit of a mystery what caused them to marry in Bonnyrigg. The obvious connection is Kate's brother, William, who was working as a Chemist in Bonnyrigg. It's possible that Kate and her mother had moved to Bonnyrigg shortly after the 1881 census and took up residence with William. However, how John Jamie Alexander came to meet her is unknown.

In the 1891 census, we find Kate and her husband living at 26 Lothian Street in Bonnyrigg. This would have been reasonably close to William Hutcheon's residence where his family and Kate's mother were living. Kate and John had already started on raising their family, so I'll fill you in on their names and birthdates and whatever else we know about them now. All 3 of their children were born in Bonnyrigg according to the 1891 census. Thanks to Ian Francis Alexander's 1993 correspondence with Ella Peterson, we have a good outline of Kate's children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and in a some cases, great-great-grandchildren.

• Margaret Burns Alexander was born in 1883 in Bonnyrigg. She married David Easton Herrald. At some point, she moved to the United States and was living in Long Beach, California when she died. Margaret Herrald and her husband had one child.
  • Arthur Hutcheon Easton Herald married Alice Ready and had two children.
    • Gordon Alexander Herrald married Anne Rutherford. They had two children.
      • Tyler Rutherford Herrald
      • Alexander Rutherford Herrald
    • Cathy Herrald.
• William Thompson Alexander was born July 9, 1885. He married May Francis and had a family in Australia. They had two sons:
  • William Thompson (Jock) Alexander, born July 17, 1925. He married Doreen Fay Castles and had two sons.
    • William Thompson (Ian) Alexander, born September 6, 1955
    • David Sterling Alexander, born July 20, 1957.
  • Ian Francis Alexander, born October 29, 1927. He married Ilse Grace Northeast and the couple had 5 children.
    • Douglas Stewart Alexander, born September 23, 1960
    • Heather Ann Alexander, born May 22, 1962. Heather married John Karaconstantis.
      • Daniel Karaconstantis (b. July 29, 1985)
      • Christopher Karaconstantis (b. September 28, 1987.
    • Robin Elaine Alexander, born July 11, 1964
    • Keith Andrew Alexander, born March 15, 1966
    • Bonnie Jean Alexander, born December 5, 1970
• Edward Charles Alexander was born in 1887 (approximately). Edward married Effie McArthur and raised his family of 3 in New Zealand.
  • Catherine Alexander
  • Douglas Alexander married Doris Elder and the couple had two children.
    • Heather Alexander married Graham Carter. They had two children:
      • Claire Carter
      • Paul Carter
    • Malcolm Alexander married Marilyn Diamond. They had three children:
      • Darren Alexander
      • Brent Alexander
      • Kirsty Alexander
  • Betty Alexander married Keith Cole and they had four children:
    • Bruce Cole
    • Murray Cole
    • Stephen Cole
    • John Cole
  • Betty Alexander (also above) married Noel Banner

Now, back to (Catherine) Kate Hutcheon who married John Jamie Alexander in 1882.

Kate's husband died sometime between 1887 and 1901 -- she is found in the 1901 census widowed and living alone with her three children. She was shown as living on her own means. Margaret (18) was working as a dressmaker; William (15) was a draper's apprentice, and young Edward was listed as a scholar.

Catherine (Kate) Hutcheon Alexander died in Musselburgh on April 20, 1908 at the age of 57 from acute pneumonia. Her son, William, served as witness to the death certificate. It's possible that William had found employment in Musselburgh and he had taken his mother with him and had continued to care for her there. Musselburgh is about 6 miles north of Bonnyrigg and six miles east of Edinburgh.

Sources

Margaret Serzans

Letter from Margaret Herald to Harry Latta Wighton in 1953

Letter from Ian Alexander to Ella Peterson in 1993

Letter from Amy C. Hutcheon, AL(H)W's niece, to Margaret Serzans, 1968.

Various web sites, including:

ScotlandsPeople Database (http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/)

The Latter-Day Saints website: http://www.familysearch.org/