THETHE HISTORIANHISTORIAN
The 107th edition of the JOURNAL OF THE TAY VALLEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY June, 2017 TAY VALLEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Registered Charity in Scotland SC016560 CONTACT INFORMATION The Family History Research Centre, 179-181 Princes Street, Dundee DD4 6DQ, Scotland Telephone: 01382 461845 e-mail: [email protected] website: http://www.tayvalleyfhs.org.uk OFFICE BEARERS 2016/17 Hon. Presidents - Earl of Strathmore & Kinghorne Hon. Vice-Presidents - David Dobson, Douglas Soutar Chairman of Council- Murray Nicoll Deputy Chair of Council - Thelma Thornton Interim Hon. Secretary - Helen Beat Hon. Treasurer - Peter McBride Hon. Editor - Mary Daun Bookshop - Christine Bailey MEMBERS OF COUNCIL Angus Gellatly, Evelyn Radford, George Watson and Elizabeth Waine.
Correspondence Subscriptions for year 2016-17 Fees, UK Correspondence to the following should Category of Membership and Overseas be addressed to the relevant person at the above address: Individual Member £20.00
General Enquiries ...... Murray Nicoll Family (2 or more at one address) £25.00 Institution Member £25.00 Membership ...... Rod & Anne Mackinnon
Research Requests ...... Helen Beat The suscription year runs from 1st January to 31st December. Bookshop ...... Christine Bailey Payments: Cheques (in Sterling) should be made payable to Library ...... Vacant “Tay Valley Family History Society“ and sent, together with your completed membership form, to: Volunteer Co-ordinator ...... Clare Nicoll The Membership Secretary 200 Club ...... Ann Graham 179-181 Princes Street Dundee Publicity & Pedigree Charts ...... Barrie Jack DD4 6DQ Scotland. Webmaster ...... TBA For PayPal payments please visit our website. Graveyard Recording ...... Murray Nicoll
OPENING HOURS Monday to Friday 10.00 - 16.00 • Saturday 10.00 - 12.00 Tay Valley Family History Society covers Angus, Fife, Perth and Kinross. The Research Centre in Dundee has a wide range of source material for all these areas.
All rights reserved no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or translated into a machine language, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the authors. Journal of the Tay Valley Family History Society No.107 June 2017
Contents
Page 2 Chair Chat / From the Editor : Mary Daun
Page 3 Annual General Meeting Notice
Page 4 Agenda
Page 5 Accounts
Page 9 McManus 168 Project
Page 10 Barefoot Over the Snow : Colin R. Paterson (4883)
Page 11 Help Wanted
Page 12 Dundee Jute Workers in Brazil : Murray Nicoll, (1697)
Page 16 James Henry Foley : Duncan D. F. McColl (5069)
Page 19 Eminent Judges from Pitroddie : Donald M. Abbott F.S.A. Scot.
Page 20 Grandfather Unknown : J. D. Pirie (6563)
Page 22 Women’s Suffrage in Scotland
Page 23 Muriel Sheldon Award 2016 : Eleanor Fordyce
Page 26 My Love Affair with Perthshire : Evelyn (Wiseman) Mitchell (7124)
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Chair Chat Murray Nicoll
This is my last chair chat as I have now served the statuary maximum of 2 years as chairman. It has been an interesting and enjoyable time. I have met a steady flow of visitors through the doors with varied and interesting questions and tales. This has left little time for my own research which has been put on semi hold during my time. Other past holders of the position all agree with me. Now I can get back to research, visiting libraries, museums and other repositories. I have thoroughly enjoyed myself representing the society at quite a number of events and have met a lot of interesting persons, both locally as well as throughout Scotland. This travel has given me the chance to mix business with pleasure as representing the Tay Valley is made up of travelling to and nosing around in distant places which are generally reserved for the holiday times. I wish my successor and the council the very best of regards and know they will continue to oversee the workings of the Tay Valley. Regards to all
From the Editor
Once again thank you very much for the many interesting articles you have sent us. It has been difficult to choose what to include and what to leave out and also have a balance of topics. If your item has not been included in this edition, do not worry it should appear in the next one. The AGM is on Wed 16th August 2017. Details are included in this Journal. The minutes of the previous AGM were included in the October Journal and a copy of the accounts are included in this issue. We look forward to seeing as many members as possible there. At this time, we are looking for new Council members. Please give this serious consideration, as new people can bring fresh ideas and save us from the ‘This is the way it’s always been done’ mindset. Thanks to Murray for all his hard work over the last two years. Now he gets his life back. Finally, I am planning to step down from the Editor’s position. I am willing to edit the October and February Journals but would step down sooner if a volunteer came forward. Deadline for articles for inclusion in the October Journal 1st September 2017
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Tay Valley Family History Society
Tay Valley Family History Society
Notice is hereby given that the Society’s Annual eneral eeting ill be hel at the Notice is hereby niversity given o that Abertay the Society’s ell Street Annual un ee General on Meeting e nes ay will thbe August held at the at University of Abertay, Bell Street, Dundee on Wednesday, 16th August, 2017 at 7.15pm. he ollo ing vacancies re uire to be ille hair an The following e uty vacancies hair an require to be filled: ouncil e bersChairman or years ouncil e ber or year Deputy Chairman
3 Council members for 4 years No ination or s or the above vacancies ay be obtaine ro he onorary1 Council hair an Member at the for esearch 1 year entre An shoul be returne to the onorary hair an by no later than Nomination forms for the above vacancies may be obtained from The Honorary e nes ay Chairman uly at the n Research Centre And should be returned to the Honorary Chairman by no later than All co lete or s re uire to be signe by the no inee ro oser an secon er Monday, All No inees July 31st ro osers 2017 an secon ers ust be current e bers o S
All completed forms require to be signed by the nominee, proposer and seconder. All Nominees, proposers and seconders must be current members of TVFHS.
nco assing the or er ounties o Angus erth i e an inross
egistere as a harity in Scotlan S
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Tay Valley Family History Society Notice of the Annual General Meeting to be held at the University of Abertay, Bell Street, Dundee on Wednesday 16th August, 2017 at 7.15pm
AGENDA
1. Apologies for absence 2. Minute of 2016 AGM 3. Chairman’s report 4. Treasurer’s report 5. Honorary President 6. Two Honorary Vice Presidents 7. Confirmation of existing Council Members and Honoraria currently occupying the following positions: Hon. Secretary Hon. Treasurer Three Council Members: E Waine, E Radford, C Bailley
8. Election of : Chairman Deputy Chairman Four Council Members 9. Confirmation of Independent Examiner – Peter McBride
10. 200 Club draw
11. AOCB
12. Close Meeting
13. Announce Speaker – Steve Nicoll
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Tay Valley Family History Society, Scottish Charity No: SC016560
Receipts and Payments Account Year ended 31 March 2017
Unrestricted Unrestricted Total Total Note 2017 2016 £ £
Receipts Donations 3 17,202 16,244 Legacies 3 5,000 - Gross trading receipts 3 5,845 8,278 Income from investments other than land and buildings 3 2 2 Gross receipts from other charitable activities 3 503 472 TOTAL RECEIPTS 28,552 24,996
Payments Gross trading payments 4 3,027 5,836 Payments relating directly to charitable activities 4 17,030 16,027 Governance costs 4 1,020 1,320 TOTAL PAYMENTS 21,077 23,183
Surplus/(Deficit) for the Year 7,475 1,813
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Journal of the Tay Valley Family History Society No.107 June 2017
Tay Valley Family History Society, Scottish Charity No: SC016560
Statement of Balances as at 31 March 2017
Unrestricted Unresticted Total Total Note 2017 2016 £ £
Bank & Deposit Balances Cash & bank balances at start of year 50,664 48,851
Surplus / (Deficit) shown on receipts and payments account 7,475 1,813
Cash & bank balances at end of year 58,139 50,664
Assets Heritable property 40,000 40,000 Plant & machinery 452 4,223 Office equipment 3,888 18,299 Stock 7,936 9,239 PAYE debtor 27 - Other debtors 1,251 1,353 53,554 73,114
Liabilities
Accruals 850 1,294 Advanced subscriptions 3,609 3,840 4,459 5,134
The Accounts were approved by the Tay Valley Family History Society on 7 June 2017 and signed for and on behalf of the Members of Council by:
Murray Nicoll, Chairperson
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Journal of the Tay Valley Family History Society No.107 June 2017
Tay Valley Family History Society, Scottish Charity No: SC016560
Notes forming part of the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2017
1. Trustee Remuneration and Related Party Transactions
(a) No trustee or connected person received remuneration during the year.
(b) No trustee received expenses during the year.
2. Nature and Purpose of Funds
All of the funds held are unrestricted. The balance in hand at 31 March 2017 is £58,139.
Unrestricted Unrestricted Total Total 2017 2016 3. Analysis of Receipts £ £
Donations Subscriptions 15,372 14,691 Donations 664 351 Tax recovered under gift aid 666 702 200 Club donation 500 500
17,202 16,244 Legacies Legacies 5,000 -
Gross Trading Receipts Book sales 1,661 1,599 Research 479 516 Advertising 40 324 Scotland’s People vouchers 3,550 5,583 Training 90 180 Session fees 25 76
5,845 8,278 Income from investments other than land and buildings Bank interest 2 2
Gross receipts from other charitable activities Photocopy charges 503 472
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Journal of the Tay Valley Family History Society No.107 June 2017
Tay Valley Family History Society, Scottish Charity No: SC016560
Unrestricted Unrestricted Total Total 2017 2016 4. Analysis of Payments £ £
Gross trading receipts Books 287 236 Scotland’s People vouchers 2,740 5,600
3,027 5,836
Charitable activities Journals 4,258 5,076 Wages 1,587 1,605 Computer costs 1,196 580 Meetings, venue expenses 137 312 Library & printed materials - 11 SAFHS & tourist board subscriptions 935 894 Stationery 218 250 Admin postage & printing 597 268 Bank & credit card charges 528 732 Insurance 999 939 Heat & light 1,748 2,163 Telephone/broadband 1,323 900 Repairs & maintenance 2,787 1,490 Equipment hire 672 672 Travelling - 58 Miscellaneous expenses 45 77
17,030 16,027
Governance costs Independent examination fee 1,020 1,320
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McManus 168 Project: Information
Would you like to take part in an exciting and unique local heritage project? The Albert Institute (now the McManus, Dundee’s Art Gallery and Museum) was established in 1867 as the first civic museum and art gallery in Dundee. This project is to mark the 150th anniversary of the Gallery and Museum. The aim of the project is to collect information on the original 168 subscribers, working with two of Scotland’s most prominent historians Professors Jim Tomlinson and Chris Whatley. Most of the subscribers were not Jute Barons but working people. The list includes nautical instrument makers, grocers, hecklers, waiters, ship’s chandlers, dyers, bleachers and flax spinners. We will create a ‘toolkit’ to assist volunteers in getting information on the subscribers. The toolkit will include guidance on sources, a checklist of information sought on each subscriber, and a template to record that information. There will also be training sessions and a supporter for each person who is new to this kind of work. Our Project planning group includes the archivists from the city and from the University of Dundee, the former Perth City archivist, the Director of the McManus who is also in charge of libraries, and people like me and Sandra who have no expertise but lots of enthusiasm! The project will be open to all. We have already recruited about 30 ‘lead’ researchers who have some previous experience of historical research. We are now looking for people who have no experience but are keen to learn. If you are thinking of doing your family tree this could be a good way to start as it will show you the key sources and how to access and use them. The lead researchers will mentor 2-3 volunteer researchers who will not have previous experience. We will work with libraries and archives in Dundee and ensure that those without access to IT in their own homes can take part. We plan to launch the project early in June. If you decide to take part, you will be uncovering the hidden history of Dundee and will be learning new skills. Each volunteer will leave a lasting legacy, as the information you collect will be held on a website, free and accessible to all. This is about your city and your history! For this project all you need is enthusiasm and an interest in the past. We also ask that you live in or near Dundee as the training sessions will be held in the city and our Heritage Lottery application requires us to focus on the involvement of local people. If you would like to take part or want to hear more please contact me: Sue Moody at [email protected]
If you'd like to speak to me about this please phone me on 01382 641582.
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Barefoot over the snow
Colin R Paterson (4883)
When I was a teenager my parents brought my grandmother to live with us because, it was said, she was no longer able to look after herself. I asked her about her family and wrote down what she told me. Apparently her mother, Isabella Coutts, as a teenager, had emigrated to Australia with her parents and twelve siblings in the 1850s. Her father, David Coutts, had been a baker in Montrose with premises at the Rossie Mills (now a private house). The family settled in Ballarat at the time of the gold rush, where he set up as a baker and prospered. Isabella married a Scotsman and returned to Montrose. The rest of the family remained in Australia. My grandmother had a detailed recollection of what became of each member of the family, her first cousins and their many descendants. She had never visited Australia but carried on a regular correspondence. Fifty years later, after I had retired from academic life, I wondered what had become of the family I knew so much about. I tracked down one member who had posted an enquiry about Rossie Mills. He was astonished when I told him the names of his father and grandfather. I later contacted many other family members and confirmed that what I had been told by my grandmother was entirely accurate. She might have been failing in some ways but her encyclopaedic memory of her family’s details was in excellent shape. Among the papers passed on to me was a postcard of Mount Dandenong, overlooking Melbourne. I am not sure how accurate was the description of the hardships of life in Montrose in the 1850s but Australia must have seemed a different world. I used this photograph one year as a Christmas card for my newly found relatives in Australia. The tearoom has now been replaced with an up-market restaurant and the bell is no longer in place. The text beside the bell reads: ‘This bell is over 100 years old. Originally used at Rossie Mills, Montrose, Scotland to call the millhands to work – they came barefoot over the snow at 6 am with shawls on their heads - they were too poor to buy shoes or hats. The bell was brought to Australia in the Champion of the Seas in 1854 by David Coutts with thirteen children and grandma.’
Editor’s note The picture to accompany this article has been used on our front cover. ***************************
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Help wanted
Evelyn Mitchell from Western Australia Researching names: Wiseman, Ovens, Young, Rose, Marshall, Steel, Molloy, Kennett, Mills, McCormack, McBlane and any others that connect. Place my ancestors have been: Perthshire, Moray, Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire all in Scotland Laios or Queen's County in Ireland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Fiji. Gloucestershire, Kent in England. Contact: [email protected]
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[email protected] Information please on Hampton/Hanton families from Brechin, Angus. Charles Hampton married Mary Hanton in 1863. Both born Brechin. Parents Alexander Hampton, a weaver & Mary or Helen Langmuir (longmoor, Lonmuir , Langmure) and Thomas Hanton, a brewer & Isabella Smith. Additional: 4 children born Brechin 1864-73. My grandmother Mary Jane born Barrow, Lancaster 1875. Married Robert Kirke and came to Aust in 1910.
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Moffat Clan Is your surname Moffat (any spelling),or does the name occur in your ancestry? If so you are entitled to become a member of Clan Moffat UK. There is a comprehensive website which includes an ancestral database of nearly 40,000 individuals which continues to be updated. This is available at no charge. Members receive a quarterly magazine and are eligible to attend our AGM which is held each August in Moffat. Events of interest are usually included in the AGM weekends. We have a sister organisation in America. If you are interested in joining please contact our membership secretary at [email protected] or write to 1 Pearmount Villas, Park Road, Dumfries, DG2 7PN
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Dundee Jute Workers in Brazil
Murray Nicoll 1697
Jute is generally most associated with the Indian Sub Continent, and flax with the Baltic area. Brazil is not the first place you think of when the words Dundee, jute spinners and weavers, and foreign countries are mentioned in the same sentence. It may be a surprise to learn that, in the 1890s, there were groups of jute workers, from Dundee, travelling to Brazil, to teach the local women the art of weaving with power loom machines. This was coupled with the required machinery being built in the foundries of Dundee, exported and the engineers required for installing, setting up and maintenance of the machines, travelling over there as well. Lancashire, famed for cotton weaving, also exported the spinning and weaving machines as well the expertise to keep the factories working. This surprising news emerged with a visit into the Tay Valley centre by a Kathleen Rhodes, who was visiting Dundee, to further her research into her grandmother, Annie Brown Forrest, born 5 January 1867 at Dundee, third child and elder daughter to James and Annie Brown Forrest. She had found that from the early 1870s till 1890s, Annie’s family lived in Craigie Street and Albert Street, Dundee, just north of the TV centre. She is listed in both the 1881 and 1891 census as working in the Dundee mills, and then turned up, in Brazil, at mills in the north eastern State of Pernambuco. Experienced jute workers from Dundee, being recruited to teach the locals girls the crafts of weaving and jute processing, was one of the first thoughts. After she had returned home, Kathleen Rhodes sent the TV a scan of a newspaper article from a Dundee Courier dated 1893, of the trials and tribulations of these girls.
The following is a synopsis of the newspaper article SCOTTISH GIRLS IN BRAZIL dated 23 June 1893 - Dundee Courier - Dundee, Angus, Scotland
The article shows that in 1892, jute work in Dundee was slack, and the promise of a good life abroad in Brazil, teaching the local girls the weaving craft, was advertised in newspapers. Several spinners, weavers and tenters
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took up the challenge and enrolled in the scheme by signing a binding 3 year contract. The factory was located in Pernambuco, a State in north eastern Brazil, lying between the lines of 5 and 10 degrees south of the equator where Brazil pushes out into the South Atlantic. All was not as rosy as painted in the advertisements. The first unwanted surprise was the promised expenses for the trip turned out to be boat fare only. No thoughts of the costs of accommodation, travel or food during the trip from home to Southampton, in the south of England as well as at the other end on landing in Brazil. A search, for passenger carrying ships sailing to South America from the UK in the early 1890s, showed the “Tagus”, master W J Smith, sailed from Southampton on 2 November 1892 bound for various ports including Recife, Pernambuco in Brazil. The passenger list, for the “Tagus”, threw up a group of consecutive entries for 5 unmarried adult females, all travelling to Pernambuco. The 5 girls are named as, Misses M Miller, J McDonald, E Bruce, A Horsburry and A Forrest. Single males with local names of Petrie, Neave, and Middleton also figured on the lists, travelling to the same area. The Tagus is an important river in Spain. The journey outwards to the port of Recife in Pernambuco was second class and appeared to be pleasant for the passengers. The change in climate for the girls, coming from a November in Scotland, 50 degrees north of the equator, to the unbearable equatorial heat where the temperature around the early part of the year averages 70F – 80F must have been a real eye opening shock to them. On arrival in Brazil, the next unwanted surprise was finding that the mill manager had arrived 12 months before them and taught the local girls their weaving craft. With no teaching work to be carried out, the Dundee girls were ordered to take over two power looms each and get to work. Their weekly wage was agreed at thirty shillings, ( £1.50 ). £5 forwarded to them at the agreement signing had to be paid back out of their wages. This, of course, equated to almost the whole of one month’s wages. The girls were allotted accommodation in groups of 2 or 3 per room. On the plus side of things, the factory was newly built, equipped with modern machinery and incorporated modern design ideas. One of the ideas was having the roof built to hold a shallow layer of rain water from the many tropical showers. This water was allowed to remain lying on the roof, giving a partial shield to the intense solar heat.
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There were many fever diseases, such as Yellow Fever, rife in the area. The UK girls, having no resistance, quickly contracted them. The local doctor’s cure for this type of medical condition was to administer a mixture of arsenic and quinine. The mill manager always blamed any illness among the workers on the consumption of white rum, whether or not consumed. This drink appears to have been the national drink. Working conditions at home were no doubt one of the main reasons for the idea of changing continents, but, there does not appear to have been any difference in them between Dundee and Brazil. The same seemingly harsh petty rules were applied by the foreman in charge of the girls. The price of basic food was astronomical and no fresh vegetables were available. Tea and butter were priced at around 5/-, about one sixth of their weekly wage. Beef was cheap and easily obtained, but due to the climate spoiled very quickly. Basic necessities of clean drinkable water, sanitation and drainage were nonexistent, and in the intense daily heat, this generated a generally foul atmosphere all around. The frequent sudden tropical downpours of rain soaked everything and left stagnant water puddles lying everywhere. This water was a breeding ground for the fever carrying insects. Although there were engineers on site at the mills, with anything more than a simple breakdown, the machinery was shipped over to the UK and returned when the repair was completed. Some of the Scottish girls only lasted a few months in Brazil before being forced to return home to Dundee in a sickly state, having learned the hard way not to believe all they read in the newspapers adverts. The journey home was fine till arrival at Southampton, when misfortune again took charge of their lives. After more let downs and broken offers, assistance eventually was found for the girls. They all eventually arrived safely back home.
Annie Brown Forrest was lucky and fared better than most as she met William Midgley, a British engineer working in the area. They were married in the British Consulate in Recife on 26 April 1893. After 3 years in Brazil, in 1896, the family of William and Annie Midgley, now with 2 children, moved back to the UK and settled in Yorkshire, England. The incoming passenger registers of Liverpool on 5 July 1896 have a listing of William, Annie and 2 children, Benjamin and William, arriving, ( spelling Midgeley). William senior has given his occupation as Gas Engineer.
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In a later Yorkshire census, he and his sons are listed as “manufacturer of woollen rugs” with it looking like Annie eventually putting her weaving teaching skills to good use. Annie, despite enduring the deprivations of Brazil, was mother to 6 children and lived to the ripe old age of 97, dying in 1964. The attached image shows Annie ( seated ) and her husband (wearing a top hat ) relaxing with friends in Brazil. The other girl on the left is Flora McDonald.
This article was written after advice from Kathleen Rhodes, granddaughter of the Annie Brown Forrest or Midgley, and from studies of newspaper report from the Dundee Courier and UK Shipping passenger lists.
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James Henry Foley
Duncan D F McColl (5069)
Part One
This is about James Henry Foley and his wife Jeannie Marjory Lamond. James Henry Foley (1876-1937), known as Jack, was born in Queenstown, Cork, Ireland to John Foley and Ellen Walsh. Jeannie Marjory Lamond (1878- 1967) was born in Perth to James Lamond and Annie Gow. James and Jeannie married in 1903. Before looking into James and Jeannie in more detail, first is a tale of siblings marrying siblings. Gow and Lamond marriages Jeannie’s parents, James Lamond and Annie Gow, were married in Glenfernate, Moulin parish, in Perthshire in December 1877, according to the forms of the Free Church of Scotland. James (33) was a farmer’s son from Reidoroch Farm Glenshee and Annie (21) was a shepherd’s daughter, normally domiciled in Moulin. Glenfernate is within 11 miles of Pitlochry, 35 miles north of Perth. James’ parents were Robert Lamond and Jane Lamond, maiden surname Cameron. Annie’s parents were John Gow and Marjory Gow, maiden surname McDonald. Robert Lamond died at Tomb Farm, Spittal of Glenshee in 1885. He farmed three farms: Reidoroch, Tomb and Caams. In the Inventory to his estate, Robert owed wages to nine unnamed servants and two named individuals; his net estate came to £1,986 10/3. At the time of his death, his children resided on the farms: sons James (Reidoroch), Donald (Tomb), Robert junior (Caams) and daughter Jessie (Tomb). In 1888 James’ sister Jessie Lamond (36) married Annie’s brother Alexander Gow (39). Jessie and Alexander were married in Leonard Street, Perth, according to the forms of the Free Church. Of their parents, only John Gow was still alive. Both Alexander and Jessie gave their usual residence as Tomb, Glenshee. John Gow and Jeannie Cameron acted as witnesses. Jeannie Marjory Lamond (1878-1967) Jeannie was called by several variants of her forenames and although her birth was registered in Perth, her birthplace was also later given as Glenshee, Perthshire. Jeannie was born in February 1878, an early addition to the Lamond family. By 1881, the Lamonds were well established and living in a hamlet at Slochnacraig School, in Glenshee. The household comprised James (37), a
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sheep dealer, his wife Annie (25), their two children Jeanie May (3) scholar and son John Gow (1). Appropriately they had a lodger, a teacher, originally from Ballater. The census return suggests that the Lamond family spoke only Gaelic, although this is more likely to indicate that as well as English, they also spoke Gaelic. When James’ father Robert Lamond died in 1885 the family may have inherited a portion of the estate. In 1891, the Lamond family, without Jeannie, were living in Auchtenny Farm, Path of Condie, Forgandenny, just south of Perth. Jeannie was living with her aunt and uncle, Alexander and Jessie Gow, in Blairgowrie (all three were bilingual in Gaelic and English). By this time the family had grown and the parental household comprised two sons and three daughters as well as two servants. James and Annie were bilingual but no language information was given for the children. When James died in 1898, the family, including Jeannie, relocated to Perth. The Lamond family moved to Keir Street, Kinnoull, where they settled into town living. The accommodation had seven rooms and was sufficiently large to allow them to take in boarders; coincidentally there is a guest house there today. In 1901, Annie (46), widow, was head of household looking after nine of her children and one lodger, James Henry Foley (24), excise officer. Another child, Bella Lamond, aged 12, was living with her aunt and uncle, Alexander and Jessie Gow, in Kirkmichael, Perthshire. James Henry Foley (1876-1937) James was born in April 1876 in Queenstown, Cork to John and Ellen Foley (nee Walsh). His parents sent him to Clongowes Wood College, County Kildare, where he is reputed to have been a contemporary of Oliver St. John Gogarty and James Joyce. From about mid-1900, while working as an excise officer, he boarded with the Lamond family in Keir Street, Kinnoull, Perth where he played football for a local team. Marriage between James and Jeannie – 1903 The marriage between James (27) and Jeannie (24) in May 1903 took place under the forms of the United Free Church of Scotland. Banns were also read in James’ home parish in St. Columba, Bradford, West Yorkshire, a parish now incorporated as part of the Roman Catholic diocese of Leeds. The wedding was held in Jeannie’s home in Pitcullen Terrace, Kinnoull. James’ domicile was stated as Catherine Slack, Bradford. At the time of the marriage James’ father, spirit merchant, was a widower and Jeannie’s mother was a widow, her late husband a farmer. The minister presiding was John Addie, Minister of Wilson United Free Church, Perth. This was a mixed marriage between a Presbyterian Scot and an Irish Roman Catholic. Later evidence suggests that the children were brought up as Irish
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and Roman Catholic. This may explain any delay in organising the wedding, adoption of their pre-marriage daughter and arrangements for reading the banns. James and Jeannie’s family By 1911 James and Jeannie had a growing family and were living in a terraced house in Rostrevor Avenue, Tottenham, London. They had been married for eight years and James (34) was working for London County Council as a taxation officer. Jeannie (31) was stated as having had four children, all still living. Two daughters, Geraldine (7) and Cynthia (4), were at school and their one year old twins, John and Delia, were only infants. All the children, except Annella who was born in Queensbury near Bradford, were born in London. James’ aunt, Bridget Walsh (53), and Jeannie’s sister Isabella (22), who was working as a typist, were also living in the household. The children are reported as being “dramatic” and having appeared as fairies in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night at the Aldrich Theatre, London, in 1916. Ellen Lamond Foley (1900-unknown) Ellen was born in 1900 at 14 Keir Street, Kinnoull. She was the illegitimate daughter of James Henry Foley and Jane Lamond (sic); the informants on the official birth register were James Henry Foley and Annie Lamond (grandmother); in the 1901 census Ellen was “child in to nurse” with the Ash family; by the 1911 census Ellen had been “adopted” into the Ash family and was living with them in Edinburgh; no further information has been found. In July 1963 Ellen’s register entry was amended to include the 1903 marriage of her parents. In the second part of this article, I examine the emigration of the Lamond and Foley families to Oak Lake, Manitoba.
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200 CLUB
The winners of the April draw for the 200 Club;
Maureen Smith, Elgin £100 Dawn Giel, Auchterhouse £50 Stewart Hill, Monifieth £50
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Eminent Judges from Pitroddie Donald M. Abbott, F.S.A. Scot.
Two sons of prominent ministers of Pitroddie church, Secession, then United Presbyterian, were eminent Judges on the North American continent. The Revd William Proudfoot’s son William became The Hon. William Proudfoot, Vice Chancellor ( Justice) of the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice of Ontario from 1874. As a third son of his family, he had been born in the manse of Pitroddie in November 1823. His father had served at Pitroddie kirk from 1813 until 1832, prior to emigrating to Upper Canada, the Ontario of today and becoming a leading servant of the Church there. William Jnr died in 1903. Alexander Burr had been born in Pitroddie manse in February 1871, the son of the Revd Alexander Burr, who moved from Pitroddie firstly to Trinidad, then to Canada and finally to Bismarck in North Dakota. Alexander Burr was a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of America from 1926 until 1937 and maintained strong links with Bismarck and with his Church in North Dakota. He served as Moderator of the Synod of the Presbyterian Church in North Dakota in 1904. His early legal career had seen him serve as a States Attorney and as a District Judge. He died in 1951. These prominent men with their birth links to the manse of Pitroddie, built between 1808 and 1810 are not recorded locally in any way and perhaps it is time that they were, this to assist visitors, particularly from North America.
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September Doors open – Tay Valley premises will be open What’s On all day on the Saturday. Confirmed date will be on the website 23 September "Gees A Job, I Could Dae 'At" 43A Skene Terrace Aberdeen AB10 1RN, 2.30pm (Aberdeen and North East Scotland Family History Society)
19 Journal of the Tay Valley Family History Society No.107 June 2017
GRANDFATHER UNKNOWN
J. D. Pirie 6563
I never knew my grandmother or my grandfather on my father’s side but I have, for nearly seventy years, since I was a very young boy, wondered what kind of man my grandfather was. My father, James Warden Pirie was born in Dundee on the 5th December 1904 and had always said that his mother had died when he was very young. His father had remarried and gone to America leaving him to be looked after by an aunt. I had always thought that a bit strange. I can remember, as a young boy, visiting my great great grandmother, Mrs Cartmill and my father’s two aunts, Meg and Liz, in their house in Balmore Street, Dundee. After my great great grandmother died and I was older I still visited Aunt Liz and Aunt Meg as I called them. Aunt Meg was the aunt who brought my father up. She was a lovely woman, softly spoken and very likeable, who always made me feel so very welcome. She had married just prior to the first world war but was widowed when her husband was killed in 1915. Trying to find out about my grandfather, by looking at my father’s family tree, I was soon to find that it came up with as many questions as it did answers. I believe that I found out things that even my father did not know, but it did throw a little light on my grandfather. My grandfather John Will Pirie was born in Panmuirfield, Monifieth in 1881. He married Anna Mary Hynd on the 10th October 1902 and they set up house at 37 St Salvador Street. He was 21 and she was 19. I can remember well my father telling me that he was brought up in St Salvador Street. Searching for his mother’s death in Dundee, in the years when my father was a young boy, drew a blank. However, John Will Pirie was listed in the 1911 census as staying in lodgings at 164 Temple Lane but there was no mention of Anna Mary his wife. It was easy to find that my grandfather did sail to America on the SS Menominee, steerage class on the 3rd April 1912. There was no record of any other marriage prior to him going, and as far as I could see he was traveling alone. He was bound for Ludlow Massachusetts. There was a death in Glasgow, however, but not until 1917, which was much later than I would have expected by the way my father had spoken. But it turned out to be correct and there was no doubt that it was my grandmother as the death had been witnessed by her mother Mrs Cartmill.
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Had the marriage broken down I wondered and my grandmother gone to live in Glasgow? It would be so much easier and less hurtful to tell a child that his mother had died than to tell him that she had just gone away and left him. But my father had always said that his father had married again. I spent some time searching for the marriage in America without any success. At last I found that he had indeed remarried but not in America as I would have expected. John Will Pirie married Elizabeth Taylor on the 19th December 1918 at 11 Ward Road Dundee, witnessed by Jemima Taylor his wife’s sister. He had returned to Dundee for the special purpose of getting married. This was the year after my grandmother had died and so he was now free to marry again. His stay in Dundee, however, was short, sailing back to America on the 8th February on the R M S Carmania. His new wife was to follow arriving in America on the 5th July 1919. It is hard to imagine that my father was aware of these facts. He never said or indicated that he had ever seen or even heard from his father again after he had originally left. John Will Pirie had two children while married to Elizabeth but, unfortunately, his marriage to Elizabeth was short lived as she died in 1924. It is recorded that Jemima, his wife’s sister, arrived on the 22nd of June 1924, on the S.S California, from Glasgow. The immigration Certificate at New York tells us that she was to join her brother in law. It would appear strange that it did not say that she was to visit her sister who would have been a nearer relative. It could possibly be assumed that, by the time Jemima arrived in the US, her sister had already died and she had gone to look after her sisters two young children. On the 7th June the following year Jemima sailed with the children on the SS Tuscania back from New York to Glasgow. She is listed in the ships manifest as ‘Housekeeper’ and it stated that her address was 5 Parker Street, Dundee. This was her parents address.
At this stage, I wondered if my grandfather had left the two children to be looked after by Jemima. I was once told never to assume anything and this turned out to be very true in this case. In December of that same year, John Will Pirie sailed back to Glasgow from New York on the S.S.Transylvania arriving on the 19th December 1926. On the 23rd of that same month he married Jemima at 74 High Street, Lochee, Dundee. His stay in Dundee was short, sailing again for America on the
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S. S. California on the 7th January. His new wife and the two children left for America on the 9th April 1927. But what of my own father during this time. He had joined the army in June of 1923 and had been posted to India in 1925. I do not believe that he knew anything of his father’s travelling or his later marriage. We never had any reason to ask Aunt Meg about his mother’s death and even when I was older there was no reason to think that his mother had not died when my father was young, just as he had always said. Possibly Aunt Meg was in her own way being kind, by shielding my father about his mother’s death and his father’s later marriage. These happenings were only discovered after I had simply tried to find out about my grandfather. And it leaves so many questions that will never be answered. All this leaves me with is another problem, however. Do I go further Father’s side to find out about his family or do I start with my mother’s parents who came from Sussex. My mother’s father was a charcoal burner ! But that is another story. . . . .Perhaps !
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Women’s Suffrage in Scotland.
I have been commissioned to write an up to date book on Women’s Suffrage in Scotland. I am enquiring with historical societies around Scotland as to whether any members of the group, or relatives of members were part of the suffrage movement? I would really like some real life tales to tell with photos! If you can help with this, contact Carol at: [email protected]
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Muriel Sheldon Award 2016
Eleanor Fordyce
I was delighted to be asked to choose the three best contributions to the 2016 editions of The Historian. Family history is a fascinating subject. My own roots lie in deepest Aberdeenshire, with a father the youngest of eleven, a mother the eldest of ten and emigration involved in the ancestry of both. The articles in The Historian illustrate how perseverance and painstaking research can be inspirational to people who, like myself, are keen to know more. The piece I thought most worthy of first prize is not related directly to the writer’s family, but instead is an engrossing delve into local history. In the February edition, Stuart Hay presents us with what he terms ‘an alternative investigation into Logie Cemetery, Dundee’. As he rightly says, ‘most family tree investigations in cemeteries centre on individuals on particular gravestones’, but it is well documented that gravestones themselves provide so much more in terms of social history. Logie was a small cemetery – just over 100 gravestones – and therefore ideal for statistical analysis. We learn that the first gravestone was erected in 1795 and the last internment in 1871. Most of the interred were local, the most popular place mentioned being Lochee, then merely a village. But of course, the dates encompass the Industrial Revolution, meaning a tripling of the population, largely due to the jute industry. The article then looks at what kind of people were buried there: local landed classes including farmers, a flour miller; those in Commerce such as grocers, merchants; skilled workers – masons and wrights; textile workers, largely skilled handloom weavers. The writer deduces that these cemetery residents would have been relatively welloff as most Dundonians would have been buried with no gravestone at all. He does note, however, there are no wealthy internees – no jute barons, factory owners. Perhaps most enlightening are the conclusions drawn from the death rate in Logie, in particular the large number of infant deaths. About one-third of the inscriptions were for children under ten years of age. Surprisingly, those who survived infancy generally lived into their sixties, seventies and beyond. But then these were relatively prosperous people. Working class families fared less well. In May 1861, of 233 deaths in Dundee, 118 of them were under five years of age – a shocking statistic. In his summary the writer concludes that his research highlights the huge variations in the city: ‘the educated, the skilled, the enterprising and the lucky among our ancestors had a chance to live their three score years and ten’.
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This is a hugely engaging article and Stuart is to be commended for presenting more than just facts, in an informal chatty style directly involving the reader. Having compiled the information, he has made interesting deductions from the statistical evidence – a worthy winner indeed.
Runner-up is a piece which takes an anecdotal premise and researches its authenticity. In the June edition, John Ross’s article titled ‘Father of Radar, Son of Brechin’ asks the question, ‘Was Robert Watson-Watt descended from James Watt?’ Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt was born in Brechin in 1892 and was a leading figure in the development of radar. James Watt, of course, was the steam engine pioneer. The writer has no connection with either but was intrigued since there are biographical references to a link but no research to prove it. John first researches the history of James Watt, born in 1736 in Greenock. It is believed that his great-great grandfather was a farmer in Aberdeenshire but James himself lived only in the Greenock/Glasgow area until moving to England. Records show he was married twice. Two sons and a daughter left no descendants, but a daughter, Margaret, married a Mr Miller and had two daughters who subsequently had offspring. As John says, ‘for the James Watt ancestry to be established, it is necessary to discover if one of the daughters could be an ancestor of Robert Watson-Watt.’ But no trace could be found of the name Miller in the Watson-Watt family tree, which he includes in the article. The conclusions are interesting in that the connection seems very unlikely, taking into account three key points: the difference in location – Angus/The Mearns and Greenock/England; James Watt left no male descendants and no names match in relation to the same generation of grandparents/granddaughters respectively. John speculates that perhaps the story came about through repetition of the idea which then became accepted as true. Or that Watson-Watt himself perpetuated the myth, because of his ‘tendency to pomposity’ and the suggestion that he left his first wife because she couldn’t keep up with him socially. As well as being clearly structured with a well set out conclusion, this was an intriguing piece of research which must have been an absorbing task.
The third placed piece is chosen for its inspirational qualities. In February, in his article ‘Who Did I Think I Was?’ Mike Dorward writes enthusiastically about the joy of discovering relations and ancestors far and wide. He attributes the success he has had in some part to luck and to following up family stories and hearsay. From an initial contact with David Dorward in Alberta he has not only built up a relationship with his Canadian relatives adding scores of names to respective family trees, but also visited Edmonton
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to meet them in the flesh. This, in turn, led to a meeting with Ingrid Kramer, a Dutch descendant of Janet Dorward. The next major breakthrough came with the discovery of a distant cousin in Chile. Later, Mike and his wife visited this South American cousin and as a result, added over eighty names to the tree. All told, he has met relatives from Australia, South Africa, Canada and the USA. What is important to the writer, though, is how such research has so many additional benefits – meeting new people with a similar interest, travelling to new destinations, exchanging information and experiences. He also says not to ignore family folklore and to remember the importance of perseverance. All in all, this is a very encouraging, inspiring piece. There were, of course, other articles informative, entertaining and worthy of commendation. The task has left me with a desire to dig further into my own family roots, so thank you.
Eleanor Fordyce is our new judge for this award. She is a retired English teacher who has had work published in various publications. She has also judged at literary competitions in Scotland.
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Commemoration of the end of The Great War 1918-19
Tay Valley wish to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1 during 2018-19. We are asking members to contribute stories and photographs of their relatives who took part in the war. These would be printed in the Journal but might also be used in our window display. If submitting photographs please e-mail or send copies, not the originals. We also intend to have a window display throughout the year. Members are asked if they can contribute any items suitable for display. These would be returned after they had been used. If we have enough items we could change the window several times throughout the year. Photographs of the windows would be included in the Journal. I am aware that soldiers from other countries also fought in the war and we would be pleased to have contributions from members abroad who have stories to tell. Please do not send display items at present but e-mail the editor with information and possible photo of what you have.
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My Love Affair with Perthshire Evelyn (Wiseman) Mitchell (7124)
Christmas 1967 was the first year, I had spent Christmas, away from my immediate family. I was 12 years old. School had finished for the year and my Granny was taking me on a holiday to South Australia. This required us to travel on two trains from Perth, Western Australia. In South Australia we stayed with my Uncle Malcolm (dad’s brother), and his family in Port Pirie celebrating Christmas. Then he took Granny and I on a trip to Victoria. In various places, we met people who were relations of some sort or another. Although I was interested in the stories these people told and was fascinated, I did not appreciate the significance until many years later.
We met Wisemans who were cousins, aunts and uncles of my Grandpop, William Alexander Wiseman. We went to where he was born and his grandparents were buried. I still remember one Samuel Wiseman who treated one awkward girl with kindness and respect. He was in his nineties. Uncle Malcolm was researching then into the family tree of Wiseman’s, who came from Elgin in Scotland. The main story then was that Margaret McPherson Grant married a Lewis Wiseman and was William Wiseman disinherited for that act. Lewis was later caught poaching rabbits, and due to his wife’s connections, it was suggested he remove himself to Australia. In 1852 he arrived, with a brotherr. Two years later his wife and sons follow. It’s a story I remember and have been told many times. If it’s true, I do not know. The other family members we met were from Granny’s side. They were all from the Rose family. My years pricked up. The Roses came from Perth. I came from Perth. I have, since, learnt a little about the Rose family and the others connected to it, in Australia and Scotland. William and Betsy (nee Marshall) Rose immigrated to Port Phillip in 1864, with one daughter Nicholas, from Methven, Perthshire. William’s brother John had previously immigrated. His sister also came out. William & Betsy settled in Malmsbury, Victoria where William was a stone quarrier. The blue stone of Malmsbury was famous and used in many prominent buildings. The Rose family grew with many children, one girl was Euphemia Jane.
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Around 1884 John Young from Methven sailed to the colonies. I have not yet ascertained when. A story reveals he came out bearing sad news. He visited an Aunt Helen (nee Young) Comrie, in New Zealand, and he visited his half cousin, Betsy in Australia. In which order I do not know. The news he bore was that Dr William Marshall, a physician to Queen Victoria had died. William was the older brother to Betsy and a half cousin to Helen in NZ. As a young person, I was confused with all these half cousins and wondered for years what this meant. Betsy (nee Marshall) Rose and John Young were half cousins. They had the same Grandfather, James Young (b1775) and each was a grandchild, descendent from one of his two marriages. James married Elizabeth Miller in 1879, their eldest child was Nicholas (female). Nicholas married John Marshall and they had 8 children, two of whom were William and Betsy. In 1817, Mary McVicar married James. One of their sons, Archibald, was John’s father. When John Young met the daughters of William and Betsy Rose, he was smitten by Euphemia. John did not stay in Victoria but went on to the goldfields, in the area, which is now Kalgoorlie, in Western Australia. He may have gone for the gold prospecting, but he fell sick, and more money was made selling goods to the miners, than in mining itself. Lewis Rose (Euphemia’s brother) may have travelled with John, as he too was in WA. From a newspaper report - while John was away visiting in Victoria (I think to see Euphemia), Lewis died of typhoid fever, he was 19 years old. John Young and his half first cousin once removed, Euphemia Rose, married a year later in Perth, 1896. The eldest daughter of William and Betsy Rose returned to her birthplace of Scotland to housekeep for Dr Marshall before he died. She married a William Stothard of Crieff in 1887 and raised a family. Nicola died in 1946. Her father had died in 1890 after a wagon of stone overturned and crushed him beneath. William Rose and his family are one of my brick walls. In 1841 Census, he with his parents are living near Fowlis Wester, there is also a brother named John. By 1851 the parents have disappeared, presumed dead; John and two other siblings are paupers living with a Mrs McPherson. William Rose appears again in 1861 in Tibbermore. He marries Betsy Marshall in 1862 in Methven,
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Over the years I have heard so many stories of the Youngs and Marshalls but not many of the Rose family, who all came from the Methven area. The Marshalls lived in Crieff and Meckphen. Farm
James Young brought much of his family up at Newburn farm. His son Archibald was a produce merchant in Methven. Dave Young later ran the “Wee Sweetie Shop”, I presume from the same location, a distinctive round ended building set back from the main street, on a corner of Church St. We have many postcards from a Jessie Young to her brother, John, and his daughter Jessie. Jessie Helen Martha (nee Young) Wiseman was my granny, the one who took me on that holiday. I named my youngest daughter, Jessie Helen in her memory. I would love to visit Methven and surrounding areas. Soak in the history that I feel will surround me, if I just sojourn awhile. I would bring my photos and postcards and see the places my forebears frequented. Perhaps I’ll meet someone there, who can tell me more tales of my beloved Perthshire family.
Dave Young’s Old Home – Methven
Inscription on the back of this photo reads ‘Granny Young’s House.
This is the house where Nell and J(?) G (?) were married. The door in the corner was opened by mother to make a shop door. Dave Young’s name was over the door. We don’t owen (sic) this house now. It was sold when mother died in 1924.
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Visiting your roots?
Barrie and Olwyn Jack, members of Tay Valley Family History Society, offer four star en-suite B&B accommodation in their elegant country house. Built in 1826 by the Scottish architect William Burn for the descendants of David Graham, cousin of Bonnie Dundee, Duntrune House is an ideal base for those interested in heritage and family history.
Special rates for FHS Members Further information from
Mr & Mrs B A Jack Duntrune House, Duntrune DUNDEE, DD4 0PJ Tel / Fax +44 (0) 1382 350239 e-mail [email protected] web http://www.duntrunehouse.co.uk Tay Valley Family History Society covers the area of the counties of Angus, Fife and Perth and Kinross
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