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James Irvine BLACK
1874 - 1952 (78 years)
Has 2 ancestors and one descendant in this family tree.
Set As Default Person 
-
Name James Irvine BLACK Relationship 
with Teresa Ann GOATHAM Born 26 Jul 1874 Lasswade Reg Dist, Midlothian, Scotland 
- From index on ScotlandsPeople website Actual date from 1939 register
Gender Male Residence 1901 Glencorse, Easter Howgate, Roslin, Midlothian, Scotland - With his wife, baby son and an apprentice.
Will 5 Aug 1949 Written - When James wrote his will he was a widower, whose only son had predeceased him, leaving a wife but no children.
James left an estate whose net value was given in the probate statement as £2969 5s. 5d. Of this it would have been necessary to meet his funeral costs, £50 was left to Ronald Allen, one of the executors and his gold watch and chain to his daughter-in-law.
The remainder was left to May (Henrietta) Goatham. May, a spinster, lived at the same address, though the electoral registers show there was normally more than one household at the address, so neither householder / lodger or boarder nor a romantic relationship can be assumed. Whatever the relationship between them, it would seem May was important to James. Perhaps she cared for him in his old age. He may like so many men of his generation have lacked domestic skills and struggled after the death of his wife when he was 66. The relationship may have been more like that of father and daughter, the daughter James never had. May was 25 years his junior, and having lost both of her parents before she reached her 10th birthday may have appreciated a fatherly concern for her.
Residence 1952 67, Heathfield Road, The Grove, Wandsworth Common, London, England - James' home at the time of his death. His will shows that May Goatham was living at the same address at the time.
Died 8 Oct 1952 St. John’s Hospital, Battersea, London, England - GRO ref: BLACK, James I q4 1952 aged 78 Battersea RD 5c 25; GRO online index shows middle name as Irvine
Actual date and place from probate calendar entry
Probate 20 Dec 1952 London, England Calendar entry - "Black James Irvine of 67 Heathfield road Wandsworth London died 8 October 1952 at St. John's Hospital, Battersea, London Probate London 20 December to Ronald Allen commercial clerk and May Goatham spinster. Effects £3027 15s. 2d."
Occupation Blacksmith - Like his grandfather, shown as a heavy worker in the 1939 register so it appears he was doing true blacksmith manual work, not working in a managerial position. Despite this when he wrote his will ten years later he described himself as a gentleman.
Siblings1 brother and 1 sister Patriarch & Matriarch 
John BLACK, b. 1847, d. 1928 (Age 81 years) (Father)
Jessie Nicol IRVINE, b. 1846, d. 1902 (Age 56 years) (Mother)Person ID I28278 All | England: Kent Group (in Go(a)tham One-Name Study), All in the Goatham / Gotham One-Name Study Last Modified 22 Jun 2024
Father John BLACK, b. 1847, d. 1928 (Age 81 years) Mother Jessie Nicol IRVINE, b. 1846, d. 1902 (Age 56 years) Married 24 May 1869 Peebles, Peeblesshire, Scotland Family ID F10915 Family Group Page | Family Chart
Family Marguerite ESSLINGER, b. 18 Apr 1879, France , d. Jun Q 1940, Chelsea Reg Dist, London, England (Age 60 years) Married 1899 St. George Reg Dist, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland - From index on ScotlandsPeople website.
The only family mentioned in James' will was a daughter-in-law, Dolly, suggesting he probably left no surviving children. In the 1911 census there was only one child with James and Marguerite, their son James, who subsequently married Dolly. If they had any other children they probably died in infancy.
Children 1. James Emile BLACK, b. 28 Jan 1901, 6, Dundas Street, Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, Scotland , d. Dec Q 1930, London City Reg Dist, London, England (Age 28 years)▻ Dorothy Agnes (“Dolly”) ALDERSON m. 9 Jul 1927Last Modified 21 Jan 2020 Family ID F10912 Family Group Page | Family Chart