This very lovely cabinet card photo I bought when I went to the Clyst St Mary, Exeter, Postcard Fair and after I read the back I just had to know her story.

I posted this old photo on social media recently, I wrote: ‘Meet Jane E Shevlin b1894 (I think, after a quick research) who married Patrick McQuillan 1915 & d1917 In York, Yorkshire? Birth in Sep Q 1916 of Patrick E McQuillan (Shevlin) was Patrick Jnr who wrote on this old photo‘. I was very wrong! Never do a quick research!

Facebook Page friends came to the rescue.

Gina wrote: Jane Ellen Shevlin/Mcquillan was alive in 1921. Living Sculcoates, Yorkshire. With husband Patrick, son Patrick E b 1916 and son John b1918. There are other McQuillans, MMN Shevlin on FreeBMD.

Then again Gina wrote: Just found a Thomas A, looking to see if I can find what the A is for. He was with the two Patricks and Jane in 1939. Middle name Anthony (GRO index) Passed away 2002 Surrey.

Then Pamela wrote: It says Tony’s ‘maternal’ grandmother, so he wouldn’t necessarily be McQuillan. That’s something I had overlooked too, it just doesn’t do to try and do a ‘quick‘ bit of research without thinking too much, does it!

Pamela wrote: Jane McQuillan was the wife of John Wood McQuillan, Corporal, 1st Royal Dragoons. Address 29 Alma Grove, York. She died of Puerpural Septicaemia. So there was a child born around that time ie within 6 weeks. Presumably, the person who wrote on the back of the photo. Unfortunately, I have to go to work now, I will catch up with anything you find tonight. Death was May 5th 1917.

Then later Pamela wrote: Quick dip back in – John W Mcquillan m Jean (?) Hutchison 1915 – daughter Janey b 1917.

Huge thanks to you both for putting me on the correct path!

So with this information above, I started a small family tree with Jean? Hutchinson who died on 5 May 1917 was married to John Wood McQuillan in 1915 and then had a daughter Janey in 1917.

After not being able to confirm any findings that I had because of similar possible people, I decided to first get the digital image of ‘Mrs McQuillan‘s’ death and then after ruling out other possibilities order the most likely digital birth certificate for Jean? Hutchinson. I thought if I could add a little more to the family tree it would lead me to finding out more about the family of John and Jean?

So here’s the death certificate for Jane McQuillan:

Exactly as Pamela said for the cause of death 1)Puerpural Septicaemia 2) Exhaustion. Her husband was present at her death, his full name was John Wood McQuillan, Corporal No 8712, 1st Royal Dragoons. Death was registered on the 7th of May 1917.

There is another John W McQuillan I came across, but he was a Coal Miner in 1911 and married Catherine and following them through the records his middle name was William, not Wood and the family doesn’t fit at all.

This is the birth certificate for Jeannie Hutchinson it’s definitely the best matching Hutchinson I can find:

So now I’m adding to the family, and I have David Hutchinson and Margaret Bryson as parents, so carrying on researching this family to see if everything matches up.

David Hutchinson was born in 1848 in Scotland, the son of Elizabeth (Green) and Hugh Hutchinson. He married Margaret Bryson on 24 October 1872 in Mauchline, Ayrshire. They had nine children. He died on 8 November 1888 in Northumberland at the age of 40. This is the family on the 1881 census, they have five children here including 9-month-old twin girls:

Margaret Bryson was born on 24 June 1849 in Mauchline, Ayrshire, the daughter of Mary (Donald) and Andrew Bryson. She died on 8 April 1926 at the age of 76.

After David her husband died in 1888 this is the next census, 1891, with mother Margaret and all her children back where she was born living at the home of her father in Mauchline, Ayrshire, he was a Farmer, and her occupation was a Housekeeper: Andrew Bryson 74, father, a farmer.
Margt B Hutchison 41
Matthew Bryson 35 a brother to Margaret.
Mary Hutchison 17
Andrew Hutchison 14
David Hutchison 12
Eliza Hutchison 10
Grace Hutchison 10
Margaret Hutchison 9
Hugh Hutchison 8
Jeanie Hutchison 6
Jessie Hutchison 3
Sarah Murray 23 a servant
James Lawrie 20 a servant

As you can see Jeannie is 6 years old here. Also looking at David Hutchinson‘s probate record dated March 1889, you can see that the Farm where Margaret was living with her children is named ‘Drumfork Farm’:

Margaret’s father Andrew died in January 1901 and the 1901 census finds Margaret and her children living at 42 Pollok St, Glasgow Govan.
Margaret Hutchison 51
Andrew Hutchison 24 Employed In Drapery Warehouse
Daisy Hutchison 20 Dressmaker
Grace Hutchison 20 Dressmaker
Margaret Hutchison 19 Stationery Employee
Jeanie Hutchison 16 Milliner
Jessie Hutchison 13 Scholar

Jeannie is now 16 years old. The next record of her is when she got married to John Wood McQuillan in 1915 in York, Yorkshire:

Then of course the next record is of her death and although it says Jane, I am sure that was just an error, maybe the registrar misheard?

Jeannie and John‘s daughter JANEY MARGARET HUTCHINSON was born on 30 Apr 1917 and Jeannie/Jane died on 5 May 1917 at 29 Alma Grove, York.

I didn’t know what happened to baby Janey Margaret after her mother died, as I couldn’t find her on the 1921 census. But then I found a match for her marriage to Dennis Micheal Monaghan in the June quarter of 1938 in York, Yorkshire where she was born. That then led me to find her on the 1939 register using her middle name Margaret as her first name:

Janey Margaret/Margaret Janey‘s husband Dennis is a Radio Service Engineer and they have two single women living in the same household a Charlotte Hutchinson and an Ella McQuillan. Those two surnames match with the family history, so they surely have to be her family members.

So I went back to the 1921 census on Find My Past to look again and found her with her maternal Hutchinson Grandparents, I was thrilled to see that Ella Hutchinson was in the same household, she was a year older than Margaret and it said ‘Mother dead‘ on them both so she had to be her elder sister.

The surname McQuillan was spelt Mc Quillen on the GRO records but I found her: MC QUILLEN, ELLA HUTCHISON WOOD HUTCHISON. GRO Reference: 1916 M Quarter in YORK Volume 09D Page 29. This confirms that they were sisters. Ella married Leslie Pearey in 1941 in York, Yorkshire but I’ve found no children for the couple.

To complete our photo story and confirm the writing on the back of the old photo, there is the birth of Anthony M Monaghan in the first quarter of 1943, mother’s maiden name is McQuillan.

Anthony married Diana Mary Ward in late 1976 also in York, Yorkshire. Anthony died on 2 July 2022 in East Huntspill, Somerset. I found this notification: ‘MONAGHAN Anthony “Tony” Formerly of South Bank, York, passed away peacefully at home in East Huntspill, Somerset on the 2nd July 2022 aged 79 years. Devoted father and grandfather. Funeral Service is to be held at Sedgefield Crematorium on the 21st of July at 11 a.m. I also found his wife Diana’s death information from 2013, she was only 57, very sad.

‘MONAGHAN Diana ‘Di’, died suddenly at her home in Taunton on 7th February 2013, aged 57 years. She will be sadly missed by her loving husband Tony, and children Carl, Tris, Tim and Sally. A celebration of Di’s life will take place at Holy Trinity Church, Bridgwater, TA6 6AR on Monday 25th February at 2.00pm. (Published in the Somerset County Gazette on 14th February 2013). Tributes have been paid to well-known Sedgemoor woman Di Monaghan, who has died at the age of 57. Di was the manager of Mind in Sedgemoor, a charity based in Rhode Lane, Bridgwater which offers advice and counselling to people with a mental illness. Di, who recently moved from Burnham to Taunton, died suddenly at her home last Tuesday. (Published in the Bridgwater Mercury on 15th February 2013)‘.

The couple had four children, named above, I have seen that there is a Public tree on Ancestry that I think could belong to one of them, so I shall make contact and keep my fingers crossed!

Here’s the direct link to the Public family tree I have compiled for the family on Ancestry: Jeannie Hutchinson/McQuillan

Of course, there is one question that I would like to know the answer to and that is what happened to Jeannie‘s husband John Wood McQuillan. I did find that he is on the list of wounded soldiers on the website ResearchingWW1

‘Casualty List for the 1st Dragoon Guards for the 2nd Battle of Ypres on 13 May 1915: 8712 Lance-Corporal McQuillan‘ If you remember the couple married later in 1915, the last quarter, so maybe before he was declared fit again? There is a possible record for him in the Labour Corps on Fold3 but I don’t have a sub to that. I have checked the CWGC website just in case he was killed later in the war but came up with nothing.

I am unable to find any trace of him at all in other records on various sites that I have access/subscriptions to. But I shall see if my new friends over on the Great War Forum might be able to help me, thanks for the recommendation by Twitter/X friend @chiddickstree Paul Chiddicks, they’ve recently been wonderful in helping with lots more information about an old military photo I have and they are so knowledgeable.

Of course, I will add an update if I do manage to find out more!

And I have, so please look at the next Blog to see what happened to John…….

Till next time then…….