Elspet Webster, Alec Miller's great-grandmother, was baptised on 28 November 1809 in Nigg, Kincardineshire (the county of Kincardineshire is bordered on its north by Aberdeenshire). Elspet's parents were William Webster and Anne Forbes.
On 17 April 1830, Elspet Webster and Alexander Morrice declared their intention to marry. One month later, on 15 May 1830, they were married in the St. Clements Parish of Nigg, Kincardineshire.
At some point after being married in 1830, Elspet and Alexander moved from Nigg to Footdee, Aberdeen. According to the 1841 Census for the St. Clements Parish of Aberdeen, Elspet is 30 years old and living at South Square (street address not listed) in Footdee with her husband Alexander (38), a whitefisher, and their children James (9), Ann (5), Elspet (2), and William (2 months). Because Elspet was born in late 1809, she probably was actually 41 years old at the time the 1841 Census was taken, but as noted elsewhere throughout this website, age discrepancies between censuses and official records in general was commonplace, therefore not much stock should be placed in slight variations such as this.
Per the 1851 Census for the St. Clements Parish of Aberdeen, the 40 year old Elspet is living at 23 South Square with her husband Alexander (45), a pilot, and their children James (19), a whitefisher; Ann (15), no profession listed; Elspet (12), a scholar; Jane (9), a scholar; Archibald (6), a scholar; John (3), a scholar, although 3 seems young to be in school; and Margaret (3 months). The Census lists both parents as born in Nigg, Kincardineshire, and all the children born in Aberdeen. No longer listed, however, is son William, who was just two months old in the 1841 Census. Because William would have been only 10 years old in 1851 and thus legally too young to leave his parents to work elsewhere, it is assumed he died in the intervening years.
In the 1861 Census for the St. Nicholas Parish of Aberdeen, Elspet is 50 years old and living at 16 South Square with her husband Alexander (54), a pilot, who is head of the household. Also listed are their sixc children: James (30), a pilot; Elspet (23), a "rag cutter" (one who cut up rags into small pieces to be used for making paper, etc); Jane (18), no profession listed; Archibald (16), a scholar; John (14), a scholar; and Margaret (11), a scholar.
On 1 October 1867, Elspet's husband Alexander Morrice died at the age of 60 in Aberdeen. He was later buried in the town of his birth, Nigg, Kincardineshire.
According to the 1871 Census for the St. Nicholas parish of Aberdeen, Elspet was still living at 16 South Square, but now just her daughter Margaret. Elspet was 60 years old, widowed, head of the household, worked as a "fish woman," and was born in Torry, Kincardineshire (Torry is a small village in Nigg). Her daughter Margaret was 21, unmarried, worked as a "provision curer," and was born in the St. Nicholas parish of Aberdeen. And while the census doesn't say exactly what "provisions" Margaret was curing for her job, it was likely either meats or tobacco.
Elspet Webster Morrice died on 13 January 1875. The cause of death was bronchitis, and her son James was present at her death. The record says that Elspet was the widow of Alexander Morrice, a Harbour Pilot, and that her parents were William Webster, a whitefisher, and Ann Webster (nee Forbes), both deceased. Although the record lists her age as 63, this may not be correct (as often happens with ages in official documents) because she was baptised in November 1809, which would have made her 65. Finally, the record says she died at 26 South Square in Footdee, not her previous address of 16 South Square; therefore, at some point after the 1871 Census Elspet must have moved, possibly to live with her son James.
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