MUDIES OF ANGUS i MUDIES OF ANGUS THE MUDIES OF ANGUS by Sir Francis Mudie, K.C.S.I., K.C.I.E., O.B.E and Commander Ian M. N. Mudie, M.B.E., R.N. 1959 ii MUDIES OF ANGUS PREFACE MUDIE is one of the oldest of Lowland Scots names. In the thirteenth century, and probably earlier, it was spelt Modi and has been spelt in a great many ways since. Now there are, practically speaking, only two spellings, Mudie and Moodie. With only one exception that we have been able to find, all families of Angus origin use the former spelling and, again with only one exception, all those whose origin is outside Angus use the latter. Mudie is the older spelling, originating about the beginning of the sixteenth century. Moodie started to become common in the eighteenth and its adoption would appear to be the result of the increased contact with England which followed the Union of 1707. Nothing definite is known of the origin of the Mudies. Traditionally they are of Norse descent and this receives some confirmation from the fact that in early times they are found, almost exclusively, in those parts of Scotland raided by the Norsemen: in Angus along the coast from Dundee to Montrose: in Fife on the Forth near Dunfermline; on the Firth of Clyde below Glasgow and on the shores of the Pentland Firth. In Angus the Mudies early spread from the Sidlaw Hills, which seems to have been their original home, to the towns of Dundee, Arbroath, Montrose, in which many of them attained considerable prominence in public life in the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This movement to the towns was accelerated by industrialisation in the second half of the eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth centuries. The main attraction was the Dundee linen trade, in which Mudies had for long taken a leading part. The result is that Dundee and its surroundings is now the Mudie area in Angus. Except for a few migrants from that area, there are now none in Arbroath or Montrose, or in the country round them. There has been very little Mudie migration to other parts of Scotland, but early in the nineteenth century emigration from Scotland started on a considerable scale, first to England and, somewhat later, Overseas, particularly to Australia. In the last hundred years it has been on a very large scale indeed. For various reasons it is impossible to be categorical in these matters, but, as far as we can see, of the seventeen families of which we give accounts, there are only three which are, or will in a few years be, represented in Angus in the male line. Of the remainder three have died out in the male line altogether, five are, or will in a few years be, represented wholly in England, two wholly in Australia, one wholly in South Africa and three divided between England and Overseas. At first children were given only one name, and it was almost always a family one. James and John were the commonest Mudie names for boys and occur almost equally often. A considerable distance behind comes a group of David, William, Robert and Thomas in that order. For girls the commonest names were Margaret and Elizabeth, a good way ahead of Ann and Jean. About the year 1800, or a little after, two "Christian" names became fashionable, but they were still, generally, family names. "Fancy" names came in early in the twentieth century, particularly for girls. We have given accounts of as many families as we could, but of course, there are many omissions. In some cases, those whom we approached were not interested: in others they could give little information. There are, however, many loose ends in our pedigrees and perhaps, should they wish to do so, those whom we have not mentioned will be able to connect themselves with one or other of the families which we have included. We are very grateful to those who have given us information and particularly to the late Mr. E. W. Mudie of Hunts Cross, Liverpool, who spared no trouble to help. His sudden death, just before publication of this book, was a great loss to us all. Finally, we apologise for any mistakes which we have made, particularly those mistakes in the spelling of names, which are so irritating. Our excuse is to be found in the fact that the book contains over 3,000 names. iii MUDIES OF ANGUS CONTENTS Contents PREFACE .......................................................................................................................................................... iii CONTENTS ....................................................................................................................................................... iv CHAPTER I - THE NAME ............................................................................................................................... 11 ORIGIN AND EARLY DISTRIBUTION ...................................................................................................... 11 THE SPELLING OF THE NAME ................................................................................................................. 13 PRESENT DISTRIBUTION .......................................................................................................................... 14 THE ARMS OF MUDIE ............................................................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER II - SOME EARLY MUDIES .......................................................................................................... 17 CHAPTER III - DUNDEE BURGESS ROLL .................................................................................................... 20 MERCHANT BURGESSES .......................................................................................................................... 21 CRAFTSMEN BURGESSES ........................................................................................................................ 21 SHIPMASTER BURGESSES ........................................................................................................................ 22 OTHER BURGESSES ................................................................................................................................... 23 CHAPTER IV - EARLY DUNDEE MERCHANTS .......................................................................................... 25 GEORGE MUDIE ..................................................................................................................................... 26 DAVID MUDIE ........................................................................................................................................ 27 ROBERT MUDIE ...................................................................................................................................... 27 JAMES MUDIE......................................................................................................................................... 28 HENRY MUDIE........................................................................................................................................ 31 SIR THOMAS MUDIE .............................................................................................................................. 31 THOMAS MUDIE—Dean of Guild ........................................................................................................... 36 CHAPTER V - DAVID MUDIE, TAILOR AND REFORMER ......................................................................... 39 CHAPTER VI - DUNDEE BURGESSES .......................................................................................................... 41 FIRST FAMILY ............................................................................................................................................ 41 I - JAMES MUDIE .................................................................................................................................... 43 II - JOHN MUDIE ..................................................................................................................................... 43 III - JOHN MUDIE .................................................................................................................................... 43 IV - ROBERT MUDIE .............................................................................................................................. 43 V - GEORGE MUDIE ............................................................................................................................... 45 VI - WILLIAM MUDIE ............................................................................................................................ 45 VII – WILLIAM MUDIE........................................................................................................................... 47 VIII - JOHN MUDIE ................................................................................................................................. 49 IX - JAMES MUDIE ................................................................................................................................. 51 AUSTRALIAN BRANCH ............................................................................................................................. 52 X - GEORGE DEMPSTER MUDIE .......................................................................................................... 52 XI - WILLIAM HENRY MUDIE .............................................................................................................. 55 XII - WILLIAM AINSLIE MUDIE ..........................................................................................................