The Lindores Family

Attempts have been made to put names to the old photos on the slide shows on the Family History Forum and now we are trying to fit the people depicted into family trees

One of the oldest photos is of James Lindores. James was born in 1857, the oldest son of Thomas Lindores and Agnes . The ancestors of Thomas Lindores had their origins in where they can be traced back to 1660. Thomas and Agnes Greenlaw had several children who did not survive past infancy. They had married in 1855 at Lamberton Toll. James was their firstborn. The 1861 census in which James is listed is extremely difficult to find but it shows that James was 3 and his siblings Janet and Mary were 2 and 5 months respectively. The 1871 census lists James 14, Janet 12, Mary 10, Thomas 3 and John less than 1 month. In the ten years between the census Thomas and Agnes had 5 children who died including twins. By 1881 their older son, James had left home. He married Elizabeth Martin on the 21st December 1877 at Ayton Manse. Elizabeth was the daughter of William Martin and Susan Kerr. She was born in Ross, in 1853. James and Elizabeth lived in Cowdrait in a cottage with 2 windows. By 1881 they had two sons, Thomas born 1878 and William born 1879. On the morning of the 14th of October 1881 James went to sea from Burnmouth Harbour aboard the Transcendent. The skipper of the boat was Thomas Kerr, Elizabeth’s cousin. As the events of that awful day unfolded the Transcendent was one of the Burnmouth boats unaccounted for. News came through that the Excellent had come ashore at Goswick. It was evening before the crew got back to Burnmouth and their news was not good. They had seen the Transcendent go down. Despite this a report in the Scotsman on the 18th of August stated that ‘no intelligence had been received about the Transcendent.’ However by the 22nd all hope was gone and Elizabeth’s brother. George Martin, registered James’s death. No body had been found. The Transcendent had gone down with all crew off Holy Island. James had been 25. At the time he was lost Elizabeth was pregnant with their third child. Their daughter Jemina was born prematurely on the 7th of March 1882. She lived for 19 days. Her grandfather, Thomas Lindores, registered her death. The next time we can trace Elizabeth, known as Libby by her family, is in the 1891 census. She was 37 and was employed as a fishworker, probably gutting and packing fish in barrels. Her son Thomas was 13 and William was 11. Unlike other widows she did not send her sons out to work at an early age. They were both still at school. By the time the of the 1901 census the boys were 23 and 21. They were living in the Cowdrait house on their own. Thomas was the head of the household and they were both fishermen. So what had happened to their mother? She has moved to Ross to live with her older brothers William and George Martin who were both bachelors. Presumable she was acting as their housekeeper. William, George and Elizabeth were the only surviving offspring of William Martin and Susan Kerr . Susan had been acting as housekeeper for her unmarried sons but in 1900 Susan died and it looks as though Elizabeth took over her mother’s duties. There was another member of the Martin household in 1901. Thomas Martin, aged 29, was Elizabeth’s nephew. He was the son of Thomas Martin, Elizabeth’s brother, who had drowned in 1876. Thomas’s widow, Isabella Havery, went to live in Spittal with her widowed mother after her husband’s death. So Elizabeth had three men to look after in Ross and presumably she would have to help her sons in Cowdrait. Thomas was the first of Elizabeth’s sons to marry. He married Rachel Aitchison in 1903. William married Mary Helen Kerr later in the same year. Mary Helen Kerr’s step father was Arthur Johnston, the son of William Johnston and Jane Wood. Below are two photos of Arthur, one in naval uniform and the other taken on Burnmouth pier with his dog Prince.

The photo above on the right is of William Lindores in the foreground, and his wife Mary Helen Kerr and their children. William died on the 23rd of July 1921. He was only 41.The photo on the right is his mother Elizabeth Lindores ms Martin [Libby]. Libby lived until she was almost 84. She died on the 2nd of November 1936 at no. 2 Cowdrait, the family home. Her son Tom registered her death which had been certified by Dr Edgecombe.

William’s wife, Mary Helen Kerr, picture to the left, lived until 1973.

William and Mary had four children. William Martin Lindores [Wullie Mottie] born 1900, James born 1903, Helen born 1908 and Arthur born 1910. Opposite is a photo of the three brothers, from left to right, William, James and Arthur fishing at Marshall Meadows.

To the left is William Lindores mending a net on the beach at the harbour. The small photo above is the only one we have of his sister Helen Kerr Lindores. William married Catherine Wilson Sinclair [Katy Connie] in 1927. Helen married Peter Johnston [Pete] in 1930.

Elizabeth’s son Tom Lindores and his wife Rachel Aitchison lived at 2 Cowdrait. They named their first child James, born 1903, after his paternal grandfather. Their daughter, born 1905, was named Elizabeth Martin Lindores. James married Margaret Fairbairn the daughter of Walter Fairbairn and Helen Kerr in 1927. Elizabeth married Alexander Craig.

Four generations, seated Elizabeth Lindores, standing on the right her son Thomas, on the left her grandson James. The little girl is her great grand daughter, Ella Lindores.

Following this article is a three generation family tree showing the descendants of James Lindores and Elizabeth Martin.

Descendants of James Lindores

James Elizabeth Lindores Martin b: 1857 b: 1853 in d: 14 Oct Ross 1881 in Mordingto Lost off n the d: 02 Nov Transcend 1936 in 2 ant Cowdrait Burnmout h m: 21 Dec 1877 in Ayton

Thomas Rachel William Mary H. Kerr Jemina Lindores Aitchison Lindores b: 04 May Lindores b: 1878 b: 22 Oct b: 21 Nov 1882 in b: 07 Mar d: 17 Aug 1880 in 1879 in Burnmout 1882 in 1950 in 2 Burnmout Burnmout h Burnmout Cowdrait h h d: 1973 in h Burnmout d: 24 Mar d: 23 Jul d: 25 Mar h 1961 1921 in m: 18 Sep 1882 in m: 23 Jan Ross 1903 in Burnmout 1903 in Occupatio Burnmout h Burnmout n: h h Fisherman

James Margaret J. Elizabeth M. Alexander Nancy A. William S. William M. Catherine W. James Helen K. Peter Johnston Arthur Lindores Fairbairn Lindores Craig Lindores Lindores Lindores Sinclair Lindores Lindores b: 1900 in Lindores b: 20 Aug b: 21 Aug b: 07 Jun b: 1904 b: 03 Nov b: 1911 in b: 16 Dec d: 22 Sep b: 05 Dec b: 1908 Norham b: 1910 in 1903 in 1903 in 1905 in 1907 in Burnmout 1900 in 1980 1903 in d: 2003 in d: 21 Oct Ross Burnmout Burnmout Burnmout Burnmout h Burnmout m: 30 Dec Ross Eyemouth 1990 in Mordingto h h h h d: 14 Oct h 1927 in Mordingto Eyemouth n m: 30 Sep d: 16 Jul 1911 in d: 02 Apr Ross n m: 11 Apr d: 2000 in 1927 in 1996 Cowdrait 1986 1930 in Eyemouth Burnmout Burnmout Burnmout h h h