Helen Carnie

Helen was named as such on son John's death record and the 1861 census, Ellen on her own death record, Hellen in the 1851 census, Helena on Henry's death record and Eleanor in a Familysearch marriage record.  They are all the same person though and the Carnie is consistent throughout even although it is considered the same name as Kearney and Carney elsewhere in Ireland and Cairney in Scotland.  Her story is pretty much the same as husband Henry's as there is no detail of her life before her marriage.

The 1766 Religious Census of Ireland suggests that anyone of that surname is very likely to be Roman Catholic and it is surprising then that she married a Protestant.  However, her mother's maiden name was Holmes, predominantly a Protestant name, suggesting that she came from a mixed marriage herself.  This wouldn't normally be of any consequence but religious tensions were high in Ireland at that time and a mixed marriage could see you alienated from both sides.  This could have been a contributary factor in their emigration to Scotland.  It wasn't strictly emigration, of course, as it was within Great Britain but there was less of a stigma in Scotland although that was to change as more and more Catholic Irish flooded into Protestant Scotland.

Her father John was a linen weaver but that's all we know about him.

In her job as a "Keepess" I dread to think what mess she had to deal with as this would have been a pretty low-life establishment with rough and ready types who were probably drunk every night and whose personal hygeine left a lot to be desired.