Grace Street, Partick, Glasgow

The McErlane family

John McErlane (1862-??) was born in Ballynease, County Derry but spent most of his adult life in Scotland. John married Elizabeth Clyde (1864-1895) in Dumbarton in 1885; Elizabeth was born in Scotland (Old Monklands) to Irish parents, William & Sarah from Aghaderg, County Down.

The couple had five children and their birthplaces bear testament to the itinerant life of the Irish navvy in the late nineteenth century. Jane, born 1886 Queensferry (Forth Rail Bridge); Margaret, born 1888 Clydebank; Henry born 1889 Port Glasgow: Sarah born 1890 Port Glasgow; John born 1895, Partick.

Partick, Glasgow

In the late 18^th century into early 20^th century Partick was transformed from a village to a busy, industrial part of the city, with an influx of ‘migrant’ workers – mainly Irish emigrants and Scots who had made their way south from the Highlands. In 1851 the population of Partick was 17,000; by 1901 it had reached 54,000.

Tenement housing was built to cope with the population growth but the tenements became (famously) overcrowded themselves. Partick / the West End was (and is) an area where some of the richest Glaswegians lived but Dumbarton Road marked the class divide – the poorest classes lived to the south, closest to the River Clyde.

Grace Street

At some point between 1891 (when the census recorded the family as living in Port Glasgow) and 1895 John, Elizabeth and family moved to Grace Street in Partick, where John worked as a Shipyard Labourer.

Grace Street is no longer there but was just south of Partick Cross. You can clearly see the street pattern from the ordinance survey map of 1894 preserved in the modern street layout (Google Maps).

1894 Douglas Street = Purdon Street; 1894 Kelvin Street = Keith Street.

Grace Street has gone but it’s easy to figure out where it was…the tree just at the end of Walker Court marks the line where Grace Street ran along.

Grace Street houses

I can’t find a photo of Grace Street (yet) but this is an old postcard (1901) of Kelvin (or Keith) Street, just a few steps away. These particular houses were demolished in the 1930s – no doubt Grace Street met the same fate at the same time.

Elizabeth Clyde McErlane

Elizabeth died at 9 Grace Street, Partick on 4^th October 1895, just a month after her child John was born. She died of gastro-enteritis and cardiac failure, aged 31.