"a very bad girl and very restless"

Ada McGlashan was one half of the Sino-Scottish couple convicted of providing the drugs that killed the actress Billie Carleton. The trial in 1919 was sensational and she was given the relatively heavy sentence of 5 months hard labour.

Recently I have uncovered evidence of Ada's life in Scotland. She was born in the Paisley poorhouse in February 1884. The town of Paisley was, in Victorian times, relatively prosperous. There was ample but poorly paid work to be had in the cloth factories and in the production of sugar amongst the many other enterprises in the towns around Glasgow 'the second city of the empire'.

However, Sarah, Ada's mother, had been deserted by her husband 2 years previously. She had borne 2 children by him, Margaret and Isaac and in 1883 found herself pregnant again by a man called 'Samuel Clay' who played no further part in her life.

The town of Paisley made provision for the poor and the records show that Sarah and her 2 children were admitted to the poorhouse because she had no income.

Sarah left the poorhouse the following year but by 1887 she had abandoned all 3 of her children to 'the Parish'. Isaac eventually went to live with an uncle but Maggie and Ada (then known as Sarah and only 3 1/2 years old) were 'boarded out' at 3 shillings a week.

Many years later Ada applied for poor relief after the birth of her own daughter. A Mrs Turnbull, with whom Sarah had once boarded was interviewed by the parish officer. She remembered Ada well and described her as "A very bad girl and very restless".

The parish were good at keeping tabs on their claimants and especially good at recording their residence and workplaces. This gives a fascinating insight into Ada's life at the turn of the century.

The responsibility of the parish to house and school Ada ended when she was 13 years old. By this age she was expected to find a job.

Her marriage record shows that she had been a boot saleswoman,The poor law records show that Ada variously worked in a dairy and many other jobs considered suitable for a girl from her background.

Sarah applied for poor relief again after the birth of her child. She gave the little girl the surname of her future husband - Debrovitz but her middle name 'Urquhart' seems to have come from the name of someone she lived with at the time of the birth. He, or she, was mentioned in passing in the poor low records.