'Naval Lieutenant Widow Recently'

When I first read those four sad words in the 'Occupation' column of an entry in the 1851 Census I knew that I had to know more.

Una Robertson was 45 when someone sitting in Kenneth Street, Stornoway wrote those words. With her was her House Maid and fellow Stornowegian, the 14 year-old Margaret Maclean. Ten years earlier things had been rather different for the 30 year-old Mrs Robertson living in South Beach Street in the house of her brother, the 35 year-old Surgeon, Roderick Millar for she had her two daughters, 12 year-old Jessie and 10 year-old Catherine, for company whilst her husband was away.

Eunice Millar had married the Royal Navy Lieutenant James Robertson on the 6th of October 1826 in Stornoway and Janet Millar Robertson had been born two years later on the 14th of October 1828. She would later marry Alexander Maciver, the 'Landed Estate Factor's Clerk'. Catherine Robertson followed her sister into the World in 1832 and she too married into officialdom in the form of Fisheries Officer David Corner.

Widow Una remained in Stornoway and in 1861 was living at 14 Kenneth Street with her two grandsons, 6 year-old Andrew F Corner born in Rothesay, Bute and his 4 year-old brother Roderick Millar Corner who was a Stonowegian. Catherine Morrison, a 22 year-old from Harris, was there too as a Servant.

By 1871 Una had moved to 25 Kenneth Street and had a new Domestic Servant, Annie Maciver, who was 17 and from the town. Lodging with her was a 38 year-old 'Supervisor Inland Revenue' called William Stewart Turner who hailed all the way from Kidderminster in Worcestershire.

We last see Eunice Robertson at the age of 75 in 1881 at 26 Kenneth Street accompanied by granddaughter Eunice Corner who had been born 20 years earlier in Stornoway and their General Servant, 22 year-old Henrietta Macdonald from the town. The inevitable Lodger took the form of a 50 year-old Fish Curer called Murdoch Smith from Nigg in Ross-shire.

Una died on the 6th of October 1881, exactly 55 years since her wedding day.
She had been a widow for at least 30 of those years.