THE HISTORIAN - Tay Valley, Ontario · 2018-03-19 · Deputy Chair of Council - Angus Gellatly Hon. Secretary - Helen Beat Hon. Treasurer - Peter McBride Hon. Editor - Mary Daun Bookshop

The 108th edition of the

JOURNAL OF THE

TAY VALLEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETYOctober, 2017

THEHISTORIAN

THEHISTORIAN

Fees, UK Category of Membership and Overseas

Individual Member £20.00

Family (2 or more at one address) £25.00

Institution Member £25.00

Subscriptions for year 2016-17

TAY VALLEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETYRegistered Charity in Scotland SC016560

CONTACT INFORMATIONThe Family History Research Centre, 179-181 Princes Street, Dundee DD4 6DQ, Scotland

Telephone: 01382 461845e-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 SoutarChairman of Council- Vacant

Deputy Chair of Council - Angus GellatlyHon. Secretary - Helen Beat

Hon. Treasurer - Peter McBride Hon. Editor - Mary Daun

Bookshop - Christine Bailey

MEMBERS OF COUNCILJenny Blain, Evelyn Radford, George Watson and Elizabeth Waine.

Correspondence

Correspondence to the following should be addressed to the relevant person at the above address:

General Enquiries ...................................... TVFHS

Membership ................ Rod & Anne Mackinnon

Research Requests ........................... Helen Beat

Bookshop .................................... Christine Bailey

Library ......................................................... Vacant

Volunteer Co-ordinator ................... Clare Nicoll

200 Club ............................................. Ann Graham

Publicity & Pedigree Charts ........... Barrie Jack

Webmaster ....................................... Fred Connor

Graveyard Recording .................. Murray Nicoll

OPENING HOURSMonday 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.

The suscription year runs from 1st January to 31st December.

Payments: Cheques (in Sterling) should be made payable to “Tay Valley Family History Society“ and sent, together with your completed membership form, to:

The Membership Secretary179-181 Princes StreetDundeeDD4 6DQScotland.

For PayPal payments please visit our website.

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.108 October 2017

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Contents

Page 2 Comments from the Editor : Mary Daun

Page 3 The Journal of Genealogy and Family History : Jessica Feinstein

Page 4 A Presbyterian Luminary : Donald M. Abbott FSA Scot.

Page 5 GRO Births & Deaths Index Update : Fred Connor ( 2528)

Page 6 James Henry Foley - Part 2 : Duncan D. F. McColl (5069)

Page 9 The Flemish in Dundee and Surrounding Areas : John Irvine FSA Scot.

Page 12 More on Benvie : Jack Blair (714)

Page 14 Cadet Branches of Ogilvy of Balfour : Jack Blair (714)

Page 20 Wateresk School, Glen Clova : Frank Leighton

Page 24 The Morning After The Night Before : Angus Gellatly (3309)

Page 26 Help Wanted

Page 28 Obituary

Journal of the Tay Valley Family History Society No. 108 October 2017

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Comments from the Editor Mary Daun

In the last Journal I announced that I wished to retire from the position of Editor. Violet Jardine, a member who lives in Galloway, has volunteered to take on the role. In the past, Violet was editor of the Galloway Journal and so comes with experience (something I did not have!). I met with Violet and we have agreed to work together on the February edition to make the changeover as easy as possible. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this one. However, we are in need of more articles, I have only a few unpublished pieces left. When typing your articles It would help in editing if

• you did not use double spacing anywhere • when adding references, please just add to the end of the article and not as a

footer because in your version the footer will come at the bottom of the page, but when your article is converted to A5 it may well appear in the middle.

The February Journal is the start of our Great War stories, so please get writing, tell us the stories of your grandparents, of those who returned as well as those who died. Remember without your contributions there would be no Journal. I want to take this opportunity, on behalf of the members, to say a big thank you to Murray for being the Chair of the Society for the past two years. Unfortunately, no one has so far come forward to take on the role. Angus Gellatly, Vice Chairman, is currently acting Chairperson for the Council meetings. If you are not volunteering because you are not sure what it involves, please contact Angus and he will explain. I have enjoyed my time as editor but it is time to retire. Thank you for all your support over the last few years.

TVFHS LIBRARY The Library at the centre contains a variety of publications relevant to the Tay Valley area. It also has a number of Members’ Family sheets which are accessible to members who visit the centre. If you are local, why not come in and see what we have. If you are not local, but interested in information in the Family tree sheets, just contact us and we can look up the information for you.


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The Journal of Genealogy and Family History Jessica Feinstein A new journal was launched in April this year which should be of interest to members of Tay Valley Family History Society. The Journal of Genealogy and Family History is open access and online only. No subscription is necessary. The articles are freely available to all readers, anywhere in the world, who have Internet access, and you can register on the journal website to be notified as soon as new articles are published. The journal will publish papers in a variety of fields relating to genealogy and family history and we welcome articles that report original research, reflect or question current thinking and practice, or discuss theoretical and speculative ideas and concepts. We are interested in the following topics:

• Personal, local, community and social histories. • Demographic studies; migration and translocation. • Onomastic studies: first names, nicknames, surnames, place names • Prosopographical studies: collective biography or studies of

social groups within a particular historical context. • Locational studies: places and people Property and family relationships. • Imagery and ancestry (painting, photography, video). • Heraldry. • Palaeography. • The use of DNA analyses to better understand kinship, ancestry and populations. • The application of new technologies to the field. Best practice, standards, and the

pursuit of excellence. • Research initiatives and new theoretical frameworks.

I encourage you to get in touch if you have an original article that might fit within the Aims & Scope outlined above, or would like to write one. Each article is peer-reviewed (anonymously) to ensure that it meets the highest scholarly standards. This provides an opportunity for you as an author to receive feedback which can improve your work, and also offers reviewers experience of developing their critical

200 Club

August winners; £100 Peter McBride, Dundee

£50 Robert Kiell, Maidstone, Kent £50 Margaret Mill, Dundee.


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skills and giving constructive feedback. We offer full guidance and support to peer reviewers and authors, so that if you have not acted as a peer reviewer or written for a journal before, please do not let that put you off. Quality and speed of publication are important to us. Articles will be published as soon as they have been through the peer-review, copy-editing and typesetting process. This means that, as an author, you have the satisfaction of seeing your work online, claiming the credit for your research, and getting feedback from readers reasonably quickly. We use professional copy editors and typesetters so that your article will be produced to a high standard – something you can be proud to share. We would encourage you to make the most of social media in promoting your article to as many readers as possible, and we can support you to do this, helping you to raise your profile as a writer or academic, increasing citations, and bringing your article to the attention of people, in other fields or other parts of the world, who may be interested in your research topic. For full details, including our Editorial Board, please see http://www.qualifiedgenealogists.org/ojs/index.php/JGFH/index If you have any questions about the journal, please contact me at [email protected]

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A Presbyterian Luminary

Revd Dr John Cairns (1818- 1892.) By Donald M. Abbott FSA Scot. John Cairns was born at Ayton Hill farm, Berwickshire on 23rd August 1818, to a family of the Secession tradition. The family moved to Dunglass and he was schooled at Cocksburnpath where he was taught the shorter Catechism, the Bible, the secular subjects taught generally then, as well as Latin and Greek. His teacher, John McGregor was from Perthshire. John entered the University of Edinburgh in November 1834 and when he graduated in 1841 with an MA degree, he had come first in Classics and Philosophy and was bracketed first in Mathematics. He had obtained also the Writer to the Signet’s Gold Medal for Latin and first place in Greek. He attended also the Divinity Hall of the Secession Church when the University was in recess, first entering that Hall in1840.By 1843,John Cairns had sympathy with the Disruption, but remained loyal to the United Secession Church, which was to evolve in 1847 with the Relief Church to become the United Presbyterian Church. By 1845, he found himself as the minister of the Golden Square United Secession congregation in Berwick on Tweed which by 1859, moved to a new United Presbyterian church in Wallace Green, Berwick.


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He was much involved in the 1860s and 70s with moves to amalgamate with the Free Church of Scotland and wrote regularly for the Free Church publication, The North British Review. In 1874, his ministry at Berwick ended when he was appointed firstly as Professor of the United Presbyterian College and later its Principal. By then this bachelor was living in Edinburgh and was a member of Broughton Place church. He died in his Edinburgh home at Spence Street, in 1892. He had a funeral as well attended as that of the Revd Dr Thomas Chalmers of Free Church fame. Luminaries from the Church of Scotland, the Free Church of Scotland were present together with a phalanx from his former congregation at Wallace Green Berwick, as well as a huge gathering from the U.P. Church. This fine churchman who echoed the Secession of 1733, had been moderator of the U.P. Synod in 1872 and held the degrees of D.D. and LLD. He is buried in Elcho Bank Cemetery, Edinburgh.

GRO Births & Deaths Index Update Fred Connor. ( 2528)

General Register Office launches new indexes. The General Register Office has launched new online indexes of births and deaths for England & Wales which not only make ordering of certificates easier, they provide additional information that will make it easier than ever before for family historians to find the right entries. The key features of the new indexes are

• Constructed from scratch Rather than digitising their existing indexes - which we are all familiar with from sites like FreeBMD, Ancestry, and Findmypast - the GRO have based the indexes on transcriptions of their registers made during the aborted DoVE (Digitisation of Vital Events project). This means that errors and omissions made in the construction of the original indexes, or when handwritten indexes were recast as typeset indexes, are likely to have been avoided. This is not to say that the new indexes are error-free (they aren't) but it's likely that the errors will be different errors. It's important to remember that whilst we can search the existing indexes at several different websites, they've all based their transcriptions on the same source.

• Limited range The new indexes include births from 1837 to 1915 (ie more than 100 years old), and deaths from 1837 to 1957.

• Extra information - mother's maiden name The mother's maiden name was only added to the original indexes with effect from July 1911, which means that finding births prior to that date has often been problematic - this was highlighted 8 years ago when the 1911 Census went online and we could see, for the first time, that children had been born to our ancestors who didn't live long enough to appear on any census. Even if the surname was fairly rare, without knowing when they were born, what their forenames were, or even their gender it was difficult to find the entries.


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• The mother's maiden name is now shown from 1837 onwards, which also helps us to identify illegitimate births.

• Extra information - age at death The age at death only appears in the original indexes from 1866 onwards, which means that ordering the death certificates for ancestors who died between the introduction of Civil Registration in July 1837 and December 1865 has been very difficult. The age at death is now shown from 1837 onward.

Please note that the existing indexes will continue to be available online at the usual sites. To view the GRO indexes you'll need to log-in at their site, and you may be required to verify your email address. Note: some locally-compiled indexes of births and deaths already include the extra information, but they only cover a small part of the country. This article is courtesy of Lost Cousins

J H Foley Part Two

by Duncan D F McColl (5069) Emigration to Canada Oak Lake is a small town in Manitoba, Canada. It suffers extreme weather, “long, cold winters” and very warm summers. The local economy was based on furs, agriculture and more recently, oil. It no longer has a railway station. It is not clear why this was the destination of choice of first the Lamond and then the Foley families. The Lamond family travelled from Liverpool on the ‘Empress of Ireland’ during March 1909, disembarking at either Halifax, Nova Scotia or Saint John, New Brunswick. Annie (51) went with her sons John, Peter, William and Robert and daughter Annie. John Gow Lamond, born in Glenshee in 1880, was now designated the official head of household. Their destination was Oak Lake, Manitoba. In 1911, at Oak Lake, the Canadian census recorded Annie (53) with her four sons and one daughter. Jemima and Bella travelled out later. The Great War Several of the Canadian Lamond family participated in the Great War. Jeannie’s brother Robert volunteered on his 18th birthday in 1916 and her brothers Peter and Willie were called up in 1918 but never served in action. Jeannie’s cousin, another Robert Lamond, joined the Canadian 5th Battalion and was killed in action near Loos, France in August 1917. 1921 Emigration to Canada In 1921, the Foley family left London and emigrated to Canada to join Jeannie’s mother Annie in Oak Lake. Jeannie and the four children went in September followed, in November, by James. In her declaration on entry to Canada, Jeannie stated her objective was “to join her mother, brother and sisters”; she was employed as a dressmaker; Presbyterian; destined for Oak Lake, Manitoba. James was still living in Rostrevor Avenue, London.

Jeannie (42) and her children, daughters Annella (17) and Cynthia (14) and twins John and Delia (11) left Liverpool bound for Quebec on the SS Melita. The children declared themselves to be Irish and Roman Catholic. Annella was looking for work as a


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domestic servant; Cynthia intended to become a teacher; Delia’s objective was education, while John’s objective was education with the intention of becoming an engineer.

James Henry arrived on the 4th November 1921 intending to remain in Canada and support his wife and family, religion Roman Catholic. James died in Winnipeg on 2nd August 1937. He was survived by his wife and four children. John and Annella had returned to London. Genealogical Cast Introducing the cast, the usual spelling for their names, and significant events. It should be borne in mind that the Great War of 1914-18 and the Irish War of Independence 1919-21 provided a political backdrop to this family’s life. ▪ Annie LAMOND (nee GOW) (1854-1929) married James LAMOND (1843-98) in 1877;

emigrated to Oak Lake with family in 1909. ▪ Peter ASH (1872 – 1942) attended Fechney Industrial School; married Jessie Young

Norwell in Free Church Manse, Kinnoull in 1892; moved to Edinburgh before 1911 census.

▪ Jessie Young NORWELL (1875 – 1931) attended Perth North Port School; married Peter Ash in 1892; moved to Edinburgh before 1911 census.

▪ James Henry – Jack - FOLEY (1876-1937) boarded with the Lamond family circa 1901; married Jeannie Marjory Lamond in 1903; emigrated to Oak Lake to join his family in 1921.

▪ Jeannie Marjory FOLEY (nee LAMOND) (1878-1967) first daughter of Annie and James Lamond, married James Henry Foley in 1903; emigrated to Oak Lake with their family in 1921.

▪ John Gow – Jack - LAMOND (1880-1963) first son of Annie and James; emigrated to Oak Lake in 1909.

▪ Jessie Hall – Tot - LAMOND (1883-1957) second daughter of Annie and James; emigrated to Oak Lake in 1910; married Frederick SCRIMSHAW in Oak Lake in 1915 after he enlisted.

▪ Jemima – Mina - LAMOND (1885 - 1973) third daughter of Annie and James; lodged in Perth in 1911; emigrated to Oak Lake in 1913; married Norman LESLIE in Edmonton in 1916.

▪ Alexander McDonald LAMOND (1887-1969) second son of Annie and James; it is uncertain when he emigrated to Canada; he married Eleanor Louise WILLSON (1883-1961) in Vancouver in 1910, they later moved to the USA where Alexander worked as a real estate agent.

▪ Bella Duncan LAMOND (1889 – 1977) fourth daughter of Annie and James; stayed with aunt and uncle in 1901; living with Jeannie and James in 1911; emigrated to Oak Lake in 1914 via Vancouver; married Valentine McLEISH in Oak Lake in 1920.

▪ Peter LAMOND (1891 - 1977) third son of Annie and James; emigrated to Oak Lake in 1909 where he worked as a butcher (1918); called up for military service in June 1918 category A2.

▪ Annie LAMOND (1893 - 1960) fifth daughter of Annie and James; emigrated to Oak Lake in 1909; married Francis PARSONS in Oak Lake in 1913.

▪ Willie Gow – Wiggie - LAMOND (1895 - 1946) fourth son of Annie and James; emigrated to Oak Lake in 1909 where he worked as a teacher (1918); called up for


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military service in May 1918 but category D3; married Myrtle LANG in Oak Lake in 1920.

▪ Robert LAMOND (1898 - 1960) fifth son of Annie and James; emigrated to Oak Lake in 1909; enlisted for military service in January 1916 and again in March 1917.

▪ Ellen Lamond FOLEY (1900 – unknown) illegitimate daughter of James Henry Foley and Jane Lamond (sic), informants James Henry Foley and Annie Lamond (grandmother); 1901 census “child in to nurse” with Ash family; 1911 census “adopted” into Ash family; no further information found.

▪ Annellie or Annella – Nella - Geraldine FOLEY (1904–1979) daughter of James Henry Foley and Jeannie Lamond; emigrated to Oak Lake in 1921; teacher of dance 1930. She returned to London: married Stephen Austin HERBERT (1907-1988) circa 1936; married Augustus CR SKYNNER in 1948.

▪ Cynthia Jemima H FOLEY (1907–1997) daughter of James Henry Foley and Jeannie Lamond; emigrated to Oak Lake in 1921 intending to train as a teacher. She worked as a singer and dancer; married James Burns –Hamish- McGEACHY (1899-1966) either in London or Toronto circa 1946.

▪ John James Lamond FOLEY (1909-1974) son of James Henry Foley and Jeannie Lamond; emigrated to Oak Lake in 1921; dancer in 1930. He returned to London where he married Kathleen Gandy in 1950.

▪ Delia –Ena- Helen Lamond FOLEY (1909-1997) daughter of James Henry Foley and Jeannie Lamond; emigrated to Oak Lake in 1921; aka Bridget; married John Gorrie SCOTT (1906-unknown) in Winnipeg 1930; later aka “Ena Foley Scott” singer.


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The Flemish in Dundee and Surrounding Areas John Irvine FSA Scot (1290)

The research on the influence of the Flemish on Dundee and the surrounding area has drawn upon a wide range of primary and secondary sources (see the list of references at the end). Up to now the work has concentrated primarily, but not totally, on people with the name Fleming and its variants, although there is a number of other Flemish rooted names that are common in the area – Bell, Erskine, Lindsay, Murray, Spalding, and Sutherland, to name a few. The Earliest Flemings The Flemish people may have settled in the area around Dundee as long ago as the 12th and 13th centuries. In the time of King Alexander II (1198 – 1249) a knight called Bartholomew of Flanders, or the Fleming, can be found in Angus.[[1&2]] Where he settled initially is not known with certainty, but probably the lands of Flemington, near Forfar, had belonged to him, and received their name from his nationality (see box below). Bartholomew later settled with his followers in the district of the Garioch, Aberdeenshire. By one account his son, Malcolm de Leslie, was the progenitor of the Leslie family, although this is disputed in some quarters. Flemington: Flemington is situated in Aberlemno, Angus. “Fleming Toun” literally means “settlement associated with Flemings”. Flemington comprises a farm and Flemington Castle (or tower house) that is of late sixteenth or early seventeenth century build. The castle was therefore not built by the original Flemish owner of the land, Bartholomew, but by a later resident of the area. It is about three storeys in height and stands on the left bank of the rivulet called Henwellburn, which flows through the Parish and passes Melgund castle. One author described Flemington as “a nice compact little property, the land being of good quality and the situation pleasant”. The name itself likely goes back to at least 1331 when the area was known as “Flemyngtoune”. However the name has been recorded in many different forms since that time, for instance Another local Fleming of note is Michael De Fleming. He was one of six barons of the name, who — following the English invasion of Scotland in 1296 — “submitted” to King Edward I at Berwick in 1296; and the remaining five, with two others who took the oaths at Aberdeen, were all from counties in the south and west of Scotland, and among them was the ancestor of the Earls of Wigton. Ironically it was Scotland’s close links with Flanders, including its trading relationship, which was one of the factors leading to the invasion of Scotland.[[3]] Trade with Flanders For much of the period from the 12th century through to the late 15th century the wool trade with Flanders – with good quality Scottish wools being sent primarily to Bruges – was effectively the engine of growth for the Scottish economy. During that period it was often the Abbeys that farmed the sheep and took the initiative to ship the wool to Flanders. Coupar Angus Abbey, it is thought, produced wool that was shipped through Perth or Dundee.


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AC Lamb in his Dundee book[[4]] examines the nature of the trade with Flanders. He consulted customs records dating back to the 14th century. Entries include payments made to Faskyn, Merchant of Bruges, for importation of materials for the King. The principle exports at the time were wool, sheepskins and hides, up to the middle of the 15th century. The shipping records from the Dundee City Archives and work on shipping lists undertaken by Dr. David Dobson — for 1580-1589 and 1612-1618 — confirm that relatively strong trading links between Dundee and Flanders were maintained through to the late medieval/early modern periods. Immigrants from Flanders As noted above, some of the earliest Flemish arrived in Scotland in the 12th and 13th centuries. Later with the significant growth in trade there may have been Flemish seamen and merchants living in Dundee to facilitate the trade between Scotland and Flanders. Some of these may have stayed in Scotland. Others will have returned to Flanders in due course. The Scots decided that there was value to be had from not just farming sheep but also by weaving the wool. Accordingly, AC Lamb[[4]] tells us that in 1601, it was arranged that twelve Flemings should be sent from Leiden to Scotland, and distributed to various parts of Scotland so that they might teach the natives the art of weaving. Three were named as being sent to Dundee: Claus Lossier, Cornelius Dermis, and Henry De Turk. A slightly different version of events is given by Warden.[[3]] His interpretation was that a number of “strangers” were brought in 1609 headed by a John Sutherland and a Fleming named John Van Headen, and in 1601 seven Flemings were introduced to improve cloth manufacture in Scotland. AC Lamb also tells us that Flemings, who had been settled in small colonies around Scotland, were weaving cloth to be exported. Interestingly, in an Act of Parliament in 1587, aimed at the Flemish weavers in Scotland, all cloth manufactured by them had the same duty levied on it as cloth made and imported from Flanders, Holland and England. Immigration of Flemish tradesmen was not confined to the weaving trade but also, during late 1500s, the malting trade. This led to Flemings being involved in the setting up of the Maltman Incorporation in Dundee in 1623, Thomas Fleming and David Fleming swearing to uphold various acts of trade at that time.[[5]] The list of masters, apprentices, and excise men shows they continued in the trade for at least another 200 years. The Burgess Rolls[[6]] for Dundee show that a number of Flemings are recorded, having gained the rights to become a burgess in the early 1600s. These included Merchants, Maltmen, a Brassworker and other occupations. Migration from Surrounding Areas By the 18th century the number of families with the name Fleming in Dundee had reached more than a hundred. Where did they come from? It is unlikely that they were direct immigrants from Flanders by that stage. Some of the increase in the number of families reflects the organic growth of existing families. It is noteworthy, for instance, that the number of surviving children in families began to rise in the late 1600s and more so in the 1700s and 1800s. This of course would have spawned a general growth in the population and in family numbers. Some of the Fleming family growth is likely to reflect movement to Dundee from rural areas. The industrialisation of Scotland began in late 18th century and early 19th century and this would have created an incentive for people to move from the rural areas of Angus, Perthshire, and Forfarshire. It is likely that many of those migrants with the name Fleming


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would have come from the “Flemings of Moness” lineage that was dominant in Northern Perthshire, while those coming from Central Angus may have been descendants of Flemings from the Flemington area. Some of the migrants will have been poorer Flemings seeking work and better pay in some of the evolving industries of the time. Meanwhile, family history resources shed light on the movement of some notable and ultimately very successful Fleming families into Dundee. John Fleming of Kirkmichael in Perthshire, for instance, was one such migrant. His two surviving sons Robert and John became well known, John as head of one of the most prominent timber importers and suppliers in Scotland, and, Robert as one of the founders of the financial trusts in Dundee, later founder of Flemings Bank (as well as being grandfather to Ian Fleming of James Bond fame). Both sons were to become philanthropists in Dundee and one of the first modern housing developments was sponsored by The Fleming Trust and is still occupied to this day. Another major family moved to Dundee from Inverarity, Angus. It was the family of David Hood Fleming, a manufacturer who was head of the firm DH Fleming Sons & Co., spinners and manufacturers Gray Street, Lochee. It is believed this branch is also connected with the Orkneys and Fife. Conclusion To conclude, there had been people with Flemish ancestry in Dundee and surrounding areas from the earliest recorded times in the town’s history. The area was likely the beneficiary of all of the phases of Flemish immigration: the original settlers in the 12th century as well as the weavers and religiously persecuted in the late middle ages and early modern period. The name Fleming remains a common one in Dundee and the surrounding areas to this day and some of the families of that name — while likely no longer feeling any identity with their distant Flemish roots — have had a noteworthy impact on the city. References [1] A.J. Warden, Angus or Forfarshire the Land and People (Charles Alexander, Dundee 1881), vol. 2, p. 315 [2] D.M. Peter, Baronage of Angus & Mearns (Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh 1861), p. 61 [3] A.J. Warden, Angus or Forfarshire the Land and People (Charles Alexander, Dundee 1881), vol. 2, p. 349 [4] A.C. Lamb, Dundee, Its Quaint and Historic Buildings (George Petrie, Dundee 1895) [5] A. Pellow, The Maltmen, Customs & Excise men of Dunee 1700-1850 (Tay Valley Family History Society, 1991) [6] Burgess Rolls, Friends of Dundee City Archives Records. Examples from Burgess Roll of Dundee are:

1. Thomas Fleming entered 18th April 1615 – son of Thomas Fleming 2. George Fleming, 23rd September 1609 – son of Thomas Fleming 3. John Fleming entered 24th November 1561 4. Alexander Fleming, Maltman, entered 1695 – his grandfather 5. James Fleming – 20th June 1531 – simple burgess

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More on Benvie Jack Blair, (714)

The article on Benvie and its kirk by Donald Abbott in the June 2016 Journal gave a summary of the ownership of Benvie from Anglo-Norman times. This indicated that Benvie had passed from the de Valognes (Valoniis) family to the Maules of Panmure who held it in early 1600’s and then to the Scrymgeours of Dudhope in 1615. It seems that the Maule and Scrymgeour remarks are founded on entries in Retours of Services of Heirs (1544-1699) but this needs further interpretation. The Maules were for centuries feudal superiors of Benvie which was incorporated into the Barony of Panmure and held of the Crown. The Scrymgeours were owners of Benvie and Baluddery held of the Maule’s. The fuller history of possession is well recorded. About 1200 King Willian “the Lion” granted the lands of Benvie and Panmure (Bannevin and Pannemor) to William de Valoniis. About the beginning of the reign of Alexander II, Peter de Maule lord of Foulis married Christina, daughter and sole heir to William de Valoniis and thus the Maules became Barons of Panmure and owners of Benvie and Baluddery. As described in the Tay Valley publication, “De Dundee” (AN048), Christina de Valoniis granted the lands of Benvie and Baluddery to Master Ralph de Dundee and this was confirmed by a charter of her son, Sir William Maule of Panmure, at the Townhouse of Dundee on 16 September 1292. Thus from that date Master Ralph was owner of Benvie including the patronage of the kirk and the mill of Benvie to be held of the superior, Maule of Panmure, for six pence feu duty. It was not until 1325 that a Final Agreement was made between Sir Henry Maule of Panmure and Master Ralph’s son, John de Glassary regarding these lands. Thereafter king Robert I granted John confirmation of the charters of Benvie and Baluddery that had been conveyed to his father. Charter on Benvie by Sir Henry Maule to John de Glassary 1325


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Donald Abbott’s article also mentioned the old gravestone at Benvie bearing the arms of the Gray family. Indeed, Benive and Baluddery were soon acquired by Patrick, the Master of Gray and following his death, George, Earl of Panmure granted in 1674 a Precept of Clare Constat to Marjory Gray recognising her as the rightful heir to her brother in these lands. When Marjory died, James Earl of Panmure granted the lands of Benvie and Balluddery to John Lord Gray, her husband, in liferent and to their eldest son John Master of Gray subject to a very lengthy tailzie which has valuable genealogical information on line of succession. This Charter of 1713 confirmed that the lands of Benvie and Balluddery and the mill of Benvie would be held of the granter in feu-farm for the yearly payment of six silver pennies payable on the Feast of Pentecost ( Whitsunday being one of the old Scottish Term dates for transactions.) Still the same feu duty paid by Master Ralph in the 13th century! Like Donald Abbott, I have forebears who had links to Benvie. Patrick Gray of Balledgaro married Margaret Scrymgeour and her father, the Constable of Dundee, provided her tocher of a sum of money and a tak of part of the lands of Drymmie and a third part of Benvie and its mill but in November 1568 her brother, then Constable, recovered the Benvie part from them by exchanging the East-half of Drymmie. 1Two rich printed sources for the above information are the Registrum de Panmure published in 18742 and the Inventory of Documents relating to the Scrymgeour Estates, 1611, published by the Scottish Record Society in 1912.3 Also, the on-line catalogue of the National Records of Scotland has informative abstracts of many of these under the references GD45 for the Maule muniments and GD137 of Scrymgeour writs. John’s son and heir, Gilbert de Glassary agreed to the marriage of his eldest daughter, Agnes, to Alexander Scrymgeour Constable of Dundee about 1360 and transferred almost all of his vast estate in Dundee, Perthshire and Argyll to Alexander and Agnes. Thus the Scrymgeours of Dudhope gained ownership of Benvie and held it until 1654 when the lands were appraised from John, Viscount Dudhope at the instance of John Fythie, merchant burgess of Dundee, for a debt of 5540 merks. Patrick Earl of Panmure granted a charter of the lands of Benvie and Baluddery to John Fythie and his wife on 28 July 1654 to be held of the Earl for feu duty of six silver pennies paid annually at the manor-place of Benvie.

____________________________ 1 NRS GD68/1/80 1 https://archive.org/details/registrumdepanm00ofgoog 3 https://archive.org/details/scottishrecordso30scotuoft

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Cadet Branches of Ogilvy of Balfour

By Jack Blair (714) In my book “Ogilvy of Balfour” printed by the Society in 2008 (Ref.No AN066), I made reference to two published genealogies by families claiming that they sprang from that family. The first of these, Ogilvy of Ruthven, I dismissed showing that in fact the Ruthven branch was a cadet of Ogilvy of Clova. The following paragraph is a clarification of that. According to Wilson in his history of Airlie, the Ogilvys of Ruthven claimed to be a cadet of the Ogilvys of Balfour. The statement being that Robert Ogilvy of Glen Caley in Glenisla and of Auldallan in Lintrathen was grandson of David Ogilvy of Glenmoy who flourished in 1556 and whose grandfather was reputed to be Walter Ogilvy ancestor of the Ogilvys of Balfour and third son of James first Lord Ogilvy. While James Lord Ogilvy appears to have had a son named Walter, my book had already shown that the fourth son, Oliver, was the progenitor of the house of Balfour. Robert Ogilvy of Glencally and Auchleuchrie was indeed grandson to David Ogilvy of Glenmoy. And in turn his grandfather was a Walter, however, he was Walter Ogilvy of Wester Pearsie (1500c-1575c) who was younger son to Thomas Ogilvy of Clova (1465c- 1533). The family of Balfour - Ogilvy of Tannadice and Balgillo also claimed descent from Walter Ogilvy, the so-called forebear of the Ogilvys of Balfour. This claim is made in Burke's Landed Gentry via Charles Ogilvy of Tannadice and Balgillo who married in 1802 but no earlier lineage is supplied to support this. The claim is clearly flawed in regard to Walter as there was no such laird of Balfour but a link to Oliver Ogilvy of Cookston, the progenitor of Ogilvy of Balfour appears justified, as the Balfour-Ogilvy cadet springs from Ogilvy of Murtill and earlier by Ogilvy of Logie. The Obituary of David, Earl of Airlie in 1849 refers to his father-in-law as “Dr. John Ogilvy of Murkle, physician in Forfar, heir-male of the Ogilvys of Balfour.” 4 The line can be traced as follows:Ogilvy of Logie: "Information for Sir Robert Sibbald anent the Shyre of FORFAR by Mr Ouchterlony of Guinde" about 1680 states in the description of the parish of Kirriemuir that the Ogilvy of Logie family was a "Cadett of Balfour".5 One would expect that at the time of writing his description, the laird of Gynd had established this information directly from the family and so was a link authentic. This claim is further reinforced in Nisbet's "System of Heraldry" published in 1722 where the reference to Ogilvy of Balfour reads: "Ogilvy of Balfour in Angus, a cadet of James, 1st Lord Ogilvy and his second wife, a daughter of the Earl of Angus, carried Ogilvy with a suitable Brisure; and Thomas Ogilvy of Logie, descended of a second son of Balfour, carries the same with a brodure Gules, charged with eight crescents Argent for his difference; Crest - a lion rampant issuing out of a wreath holding bewixt his forepaws, a sword in pale Proper." This additional information seems relatively sound as it is correct as far as it goes in the origins of the Balfour cadet and thus may be assumed to be equally correct that the Logie cadet came from a second son of one of the lairds of Balfour. This house of Logie can be traced back to Colonel John Ogilvy of Baldovie, laird of the neighbouring estate to Balfour, in Kingoldrum and brother to James Ogilvy of Shannally. These brothers were also cousins to George Ogilvy of Barras, although in a letter written at Shannally 4 The Gentleman's Magazine Nov 1849 Vol. 186 p533 5 McFarlane's Geographical Collections


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on 29 September 1660, James addressed George as “my much honored and lowing brother” . The most probable progenitor is John, second son of Master James Ogilvy of Balfour, by his third wife Margaret Gray. As detailed in the above mentioned book, John was half brother to Christian Ogilvy, the grandmother of George Ogilvy of Barras. He was born about 1565 - 1570. As a child, he received a gift from his aunt, Kathleen Ogilvy, in 1576. John was described as their second born son when he was seised in the lands of Nether ? Mill, following on a charter of 7 April 1578 granted at Balfour and witnessed by William Fenton.6 John was witness at Balfour to the sale of part of Peattie on 15 May 1589.7 It is not discovered whom he married. It is assumed here that it was his elder son James who purchased Logie but his younger son, John, who was progenitor of the house of Logie:

1. James of Shannally (1595c - 1674). James Ogilvy received a charter of Shannally on 12 April 1632, granted at Dairsie by John the Archbishop of St Andrews. At Baikie on 8 August 1642, Francis Ogilvy of Newgrange wrote to George Ogilvy of Baldovie (later to be designed of Barras) regarding the sale of Baldovie which he had earlier sold to George who was son of William Ogilvy of Lumgair. He mentioned that the sale was for a “friend yt iff I wald tell you his nam ye wald do him yt fauor as to mak him your merchand befoir any wther in all Angous.” The unnamed friend was James Ogilvy who was first cousin once removed to George. The following year, James purchased Baldovie in March and deponed of it to his brother, Captain John shortly thereafter. James married, firstly, Helen Hay (1579 - 1650c,) the widow of James Gray of Kirkland, she being described as wife of James Ogilvy of Shannally in 1648 when her daughter Eupham Gray married Alexander Lyell of Murthill.8 Helen Hay had three sons and two daughters by her first marriage. It seems that James Ogilvy was close to the younger of these, as Master James Gray the third son witnessed at Shannally the charter when James Ogilvy purchased Kinclune on 1 December 1648.9

Secondly, he married Margaret Dundas and it was presumably by this marriage that he had two daughters, Elizabeth who married George Crocket, merchant burgess of Dundee10 and apparently Anna who married late to Thomas Sharp, wigmaker in Edinburgh in 1722 .

The Royalist cause, in support of Charles I, was led by James Graham, Marquis of Montrose and was strongly supported by the earl of Airlie and many Ogilvy families. They had many successful encounters with the Covenanting Army but were defeated at Philliphaugh in September 1645 by a superior Covenanting Army under General David Leslie. King Charles surrendered himself to the Covenanters in July 1646 and Montrose went into exile in September. In November 1646, Major General Middleton according to the ordinance of parliament, produced a list of the names of those Royalist supporters to whom he had granted remissions and assurance upon

6 GD121/2/3 Bundle 1 and bundle 4

7 Reg. of Great Seal; No.1760 30 Jul 1590. 8 RS34.3/79

9 Forfar Sasines RS34.3.77

10 Reg. of Deeds Dal. Vol.35 p.256 16 Jun 1673. Geo Crocket is shown in the 1696 “A Perfect List of Several Persons Residenters in Scotland”


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their enacting themselves by 1 November 1646. James Ogilvy of Shannally was recorded on this roll. In 1651, William Ogilvy, the son of Sir George Ogilvy of Barras fled from Dunnottar when his parents were besieged by Cromwell’s army and took refuge with his kinsman at Shannally.

Sir David Ogilvy of Clova made a bond on borrowing 5400 merks from James on 14 January 1665.

About 1664, James purchased Logie and his brother german, John, assumed the title of Shannally. James was designed of Logie and was alive in October 1673 when the daughter of his step-son, Mr James Hay, married James Ogilvy in Ascreavie. He died about a year later without male issue.11 His nephew, Thomas, was his heir. 2. John of Baldovie. (1600c - 1671c). Captain John Ogilvy obtained the lands of Baldovie in the parish of Kingoldrum in 1643 from his brother, James.12 He had served with distinction as a colonel in the Swedish Wars and was in the Royalist army under the banner of the Marquis of Montrose in 1644/1645. He was in command of the Ogilvy cavalry under the Earl of Airlie at their famous action in the Battle of Kilsyth on 15 Aug 1645. John Ogilvy of Baldovie received a pardon for his Royalist activities, his name appearing, like that of his brother, on the roll drawn up by Major General Middleton. He was designed Colonel in many later documents. He had no family by his first wife, Janet Lyon. His second wife was Catherine Lyell, relict of Col. John Falconer, and by her had issue: i. Thomas, later known as Capt. Thomas Ogilvy of Logie and Murthill. See

below. ii. Helen who married firstly Robert Farquharson of Broughdearg. Their son

Alexander was a country surgeon and author of the Broughdearg Manuscript. Their daughter Margaret married in 1696 to John Smith in Braidfauld near Balgavies (parish of Guthrie).13 After Robert's death in 1673, Helen married Alexander Ogilvy of Peel.14

iii. Katherine who married John Lyell of Murthill. She was mother to Robert Lyell of Castleton.15

On his elder brother taking the title of Logie, John adopted the title of Shannally.16 Colonel John died about 1671.17 Catherine Lyell survived him. In 1676, she and her son were pursued for repayment of a bond on £230 6s 8d Scots made by her deceased husband in February 1661. 18

11 CC20/4/13

12 Register of the Great Seal; 1429 dated 7 Aug 1643 at Edinburgh and SIG1.128/2

13 Farquharson genealogies from the Brouch dearg MSS of 1737

14 Forfar Sasines

15 Forfar Sasines RS35.1.141

16 Forfar Sasines

17 RSC Vol. iv. Third Series and Comm.of St.Andrews Test. 26 Nov 1673

18 GD16/41/576


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Thomas Ogilvy of Logie (1645c-1698c) Thomas was heir to his father. He was also heir to his uncle, James Ogilvy of Logie who died about 1674. He was designed variously as of Balgavies, Baldovie, Logie and Murthill. Thomas married Agnes Scott, their contract being dated 27 January 1671.19 He sold Baldovie, and Shannally to Patrick Hay and later he sold Logie, about 1685, to John Wishart of Balgavies, a Commissioner of Edinburgh and descendant of the earlier Wishart lairds of Logie.20 In December 1683, Agnes Scott, Lady Logie, made a Supplication to the Lords of Privy Council for Thomas who stood accused of the murder of Alexander Leslie 21, an agent in Edinburgh who had married the daughter of Mr Thomas Lundie of Glasswell. The victim died in an altercation that broke out on their meeting on the highway while accompanied by armed companions.22 Ogilvy claimed that Leslie had earlier debauched his wife, making her believe that her husband had the French pox so that she refused to bed with him. 23 Latterly, from about 1690, Thomas was proprietor of Murthill. He had sons:

i. John his heir ii. Thomas who briefly held the title of Murthill iii. Charles who entered the army and was an ensign in the regiment of foot

commanded by Lord Strathnaver, earl of Sutherland and was described in his testamant registered on 7 February 1709 as “brother german to John Ogilvie of Murtle”24

Described as Captain Thomas Ogilvie, late of Balgavies, he transferred a bond of 1651 to John, his eldest son, on 27 December 1693. 25 Captain Ogilvy died before 1700 and was survived by Agnes Scott who was described as his relict in a Horning of 3 July 1701.26 Agnes made a bond in favour of the masters of the new College of St.Andrews on 24 July 1704.27 John Ogilvy of Murthill (1676c- 1719c) John was designed of Murthill by 1699.28 He attended King’s College, Aberdeen from 1693. Mr Robert Gilles, formerly schoolmaster at Forfar, was assignee for payment of his lodgings in Aberdeen.29 He married in 1696 to Cecilia Fothringham, relict of James Kinloch of Kilry.30 He died about 1719 without surviving male issue and was succeeded by his brother, Thomas. 31

19 GD16.17.5

20 See “Wishart of that Ilk” at www.stirnet.com by Jack Blair

21 Alexander was second son of James Leslie of Achorsk

22 RSC Vol.viii Third Series

23 Lauder, Sir J.; Historical Notes of Scottish Affairs Vol.2. p.482

24 Edinburgh Commissary Court 1 CC8/8/84

25 GD16/42/585

26 GD230/71

27 GD137/3466

28 CS236/S/1/62

29 GD244/1/256

30 Gen. Reg. Of Sasines and RH9/7/276

31 Comm.of St.Andrews Test. 8 Jan 1720


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Thomas Ogilvy of Murthill (1680c-1722) Thomas Ogilvy, born about 1680 -1685, was the next laird of Murthill. He married and had issue. His young son, Thomas Ogilvy, died in 1722 and was buried at Tannadice with the use of the small mortcloth. Thomas Ogilvy of Murthill also died in 1722 when a charge of £5 .16s .0d was made for the use of the velvet mortcloth for his burial.32 He was survived by his son John. Dr John Ogilvy of Murthill (1717 – 1780c) In a Decreet of Adjudication, dated 9 February 1727, the next laird was styled John Ogilvie, now of Murthill, eldest son of the deceased Thomas Ogilvie of Murthill. He was charged to enter heir in special to his said father, John Ogilvie, his uncle and Captain Thomas Ogilvie, his grandfather, of the lands and estate of Murthill.33 Given that his brother was still a child in 1722, we can identify John as the last Ogilvy laird of Muthill who was born in 1717.34 The above adjudication was brought by the executor dative of the David Ogilvy of Clova who in 1696 had pursued Captain Thomas Ogilvy of Murthill for payment of £1056 Scots. 35 It appears that this burden on the estate led to Dr John Ogilvy resigning the title of the lands about 1744.36 He practiced as a physician in Forfar for many years. He married Margaret, the daughter of John Ogilvy of Inshewan and his spouse Mary Keith. John and Margaret had issue born in Forfar:

i Mary born 1758 ii Charles born 1759 afterwards designed of Tannadice more of whom

follows. iii Margaret born 1761 iv. Jean born 1762 who became Countess of Airlie. She married on 12

November 1780 as second wife to Walter Ogilvy of Clova, titular Earl of Airlie due to his elder brothers part in the 1745 Jacobite Rising. They had five sons and six daughters. Jean and Walter divorced in 1798. Jean died 11 June 1818.

v. Walter born 1763. Graduated M.D., and was engaged during forty-two years as a military surgeon, in the service of the East India Company, and for several years before his death filled the important situation of President of the Bengal Medical Board. On his return voyage to Britain, he died on 1st of May, 1826, aged 62 years, and his body was committed to the deep.37

vi. Dr John Ogilvy appeared as a witness in the notorious trial in June 1765, widely recorded as the Eastmiln Trial. Katharine Nairn and her lover Patrick Ogilvie were arrested and convicted of murder, by poisoning, of her husband, Thomas, who was Patrick’s elder brother. Dr John Ogilvy had been requested to investigate by the sheriff depute of Forfar but as he attended at Eastmiln in Glenisla some six days after the death the body was too putrified to carry out a full post mortem examination. 32 Tannadice OPR

33 GD16/19/6

34 Record of East Milne Trial 1765: Dr John Ogilvy witness aged 48

35 GD16/41/714 and 911

36 CS175/520 Court of Session 28 Jun 1744

37 M.I. at St Johns Episcopal Church Edinburgh


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Charles Ogilvy of Tannadice (1759- 1835) Charles followed his father into the medical profession and served as a medical officer in the East India Company where he acquired considerable wealth. On returning, he purchased the lands of Tannadice where, about 1805, he built the mansion of Tannadice. He married Mary MacDonald eldest daughter of James Macdonald and Mary Allardice at Marykirk on 22 June 1802. They had issue :

i. Mary, baptised 29 June 1804 . Heir to her brother :see below ii. Margaret who died 25 October 1805 aged 3 weeks iii. Walter, born 20 June 1807 his heir . iv. Grace, born 26 March 1809, lived at Tannadice House with her mother in

1851. Unmarried. v. Ann Sarah, born 5 August 1811. Married John Ogilvy of Inshewan by

whom she had ten sons and five daughters. She died 26 June 1885.

Charles died 23 December 1835. Mary lived into her 80’s . She and her spouse, Charles, were buried at Pert. 38 Walter Ogilvy of Tannadice (1807 – 1844) Walter Ogilvy succeeded to the estate of Tannadice on the death of his father in 1835. He served as a Captain in the 8th Regiment of Foot. Walter died without issue in 1844.39 Tannadice then became the property of his elder sister Mary who had married in 1833 to David W Balfour. Mary Balfour- Ogilvy of Tannadice (1804 – 1876) Mary, the eldest daughter of Charles Ogilvy of Tannadice, married on 31 January 1833 at Tannadice to David William Balfour who at that time served in the East India Company.40 David was son to Lt. Col. Balfour of the 82 Regiment of Foot. About 1840, David, then being an Army Half Pensioner, moved from Edinburgh to Burnside House, Rescobie with Mary and their children. They were accompanied by three relations and ten servants in 1841. Three children were born there. On the death of her brother, Walter, Mary inherited Tannadice in 1844 leading her husband to take the name Ogilvy. Thus the family name became Balfour-Ogilvy of Tannadice, a fortuitous coincidence in that this Ogilvy line traced its origins to Ogilvy of Balfour. They resided in Tannadice House from about 1845. They had issue: William (1836), David (1839), Charlotte (1841), Walter(1843), Mary (1845) and Edith (1847). David William Balfour-Ogilvy served as a Colonel in the army in the Danube and Crimea. He contracted cholera and died at Balaclava on 12 July 1855, aged 44.41 Mary Balfour-Ogilvy sold the estate of Tannadice in 1870 to William Neish of Clepington. She died 15 April 1876, aged 71.

38 Jervise: Epitaphs & Monumental Inscription p375

39 Edinburgh Sheriff Court SC70/1/66

40 The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British, Foreign India, China and Australia Vol. 10

40 St. John’s Church, Forfar memorial in porch.


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Wateresk School, Glen Clova

Frank Leighton

The document which follows concerns the 1853 bills of carriage of materials for the building of the “new schoolroom” at Wateresk, Glen Clova and lists all of the tenants in Cortachy & Clova who contributed. It was given to me by Alison Irvine, the niece of the late Betty Volume, headteacher at Carroch School, Kirriemuir Parish. Betty`s father and her grandfather had both been teachers/headteachers at various schools in the Angus glens, including Wateresk (at Braeminzion, Glen Clova). Both of the Guthries listed, James at Dillafrocket (now called Glencuilt), and the Charles, James`s uncle – at Hindhaugh (now called GlenMoy) are related to me on my mother`s side. James is my 2x gt. Grandfather. A pendicler at Dillafrocket in Glencuilt, he was born at Hindhaugh (c. 13th December 1795), married to Margaret Ogilvy on 24th January 1824. Margaret, the mother of ten children, died at Dillafrocket on the 9th of May 1858. James then married Anne Sandeman on 20th of November 1858 and in 1861 was a gamekeeper at The Shank, GlenMoy. He died at Redhall, in Kirriemuir Parish on 27th of August 1876, and was buried at Piperhillock, Cortachy. The Archibald Whyte of Braedownie mentioned is the forebear of the famous Whyte farming family of The Spott in Glenprosen.


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The Morning After The Night Before Angus Gellatly 3309

It is every family researcher’s dream to find something out of the ordinary recorded on a certificate. In my case it was on the death certificate of my Great Great Grandfather Peter Gellatly. The cause of death was recorded as “Internal chest injuries caused by a crush from an electric car”. I had no knowledge of this event, and decided to research what had happened. With the help of the Perth and Kinross Archives, I was able to source the Council Minutes and records of the events leading to the death of Peter. This was followed up with looking through copies of local publications to learn a bit about the Tramways Company, as well as reports of the incident.

The Perth and District Tramways Company commenced service in1895, taking over from horse drawn carriages which operated between Scone and Perth from the 1860s.

The operating company sold out to Perth Town council (c1900) who continued to expand the service and modernised the tramways and cars with the introduction of a new electrified service.

The inaugural service commenced on 31st October 1905 with typical pomp of the time and to the strains of the Town Council Band. The tram and passengers, comprising members of the Town Council and invited guests set off from High Street, Perth to the terminus at Scone.

The following is, in the main, a factual account of the events leading to Saturday 3rd March 1907, the date of the incident with a bit of poetic license from me as regards some of the narrative which is in the form of the style of reporting at that time.

Friday 2 March 1907

The second annual social meeting of the Perth and District Tramways Company was under way in the Co-operative Hall. Following on from the excellent meat tea purveyed by local baker, Mr R Shaw, Councillor Crystal, in his capacity as Convenor of the Tramways Committee, addressed those in attendance.

“ I am privileged to welcome you all tonight, in recognition of your service to the people of Perth”. He went on to state, that he was generally disheartened to be connected in a non profit making concern but he was glad of the opportunity to testify to the loyal, devoted and faithful service given by all the staff. This accolade received great applause from those present.

Councillor Crystal continued in praise of the new tramcars and how they were kept clean and tidy, and the punctuality record was the best of all tramcar organisations in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee. He then went on to outline plans for expansion of the tramcar service to entice more fare paying passengers.

Councillor Crystal concluded by praising “the great carefulness of all employees in conducting their work, their immunity from serious accident was sufficient proof of this alone” …………………………


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Saturday 3 March 1907

Peter Gellatly, 62 years of age, who resided in Murray Road New Scone, arrived at the Tramways terminus and garage in Perth Road, Scone at approximately six o clock in the morning to begin his day as a tramway cleaner. His duties were to keep the tramway clear of debris, which could derail the tram cars, and repair any minor damage to the rails.

Peter, with his handcart and tools was well known on his route between the Terminus at Scone, through the village and onwards to the Perth suburb of Bridgend. He was a friendly individual who always had time to discuss the matters of the day with those who knew him.

On arrival at the tramcar garage, Peter met up with several other employees, including William Baxter, who were either starting or finishing their duties for the day.Tthe main topic of discussion that morning was the Tramway Employees Ball, held the previous night.

Both Peter and William went into the tram shed where tram No.6 was getting the sand hopper filled for the first run of the day. William mounted the tram to check it out prior to starting off for Cherrybank with the workman’s tram, his last duty of the day.

John Cair, a tramway linesman, arrived in the garage yard at approximately 06.15 and observed Willie Baxter at the controls of tramcar No.6 and, shortly after, as the tramcar moved out of the garage, John heard a cry and a moan from within the garage. He immediately shouted “For God’s sake Wullie, stop, stop now”.

As Willie stopped the tram, Peter stumbled clear of the car towards John Cair “Are you all right Peter, are you hurt?” After a few moments, Peter responded that he did not feel well, and took out his pocket watch and looked at it.

Peter then collapsed and died.

Later that day, Doctor E.L. Paton of Athol Place, Perth, who was the Perth and District Tramways Physician, examined the body of Peter Gellatly and in his report he noted,

“There was no evidence of external violence apart from a few abrasions to the backs of Peter’s hands and it was impossible to give an exact cause of death without a full post mortem examination”. The Perth and District Tramways Company did not authorise a full post mortem examination, due to the costs involved, but accepted the doctor’s opinion that “Death was due to syncope, consequent upon severe pressure of the abdominal organs, leading to shock and mainly heart failure, arising from the crush injuries he had received”

Wednesday 28 March 1907

Fatal Accident Enquiry into the death of Peter Gellatly –

• a jury, under the leadership of Sheriff Sym, considered the circumstances into the death and determined that death was due to crush injuries.

• The jury noted that the clearance between the garage wall and the tram car, as it turned into the yard was only 6½ inches whereby the board of trade requirement was a minimum of 15 inches.

• The jury also noted that the tramcar driver was unable to see along the sides of the car as it turned into the yard.

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This information was passed on to the Procurator Fiscal for consideration of further action against Perth Town Council.

Several months later, having fully considered the events leading up to the death of Peter Gellatly, the Procurator Fiscal considered that no fault lay with Perth and District Tramways Company, the working practices or any individual employee. However, the Fiscal instructed Perth Town Council to increase the clearance between the tramway rail and the gateway leading into the yard.

Whilst there were several fatal accidents involving tramcars and pedestrians during the existence of the Perth and District Tramway Company, Peter Gellatly was the only employee to lose his life as a result of what is now known as a workplace accident.

Peter Gellatly was survived by his wife, Jessie, sons Alexander (my GreatGrandfather) and John, daughters Margaret, Isabella and Jean.

The Perth and District Tramway Company continued to operate, although it never realised a profit during the existence of the company, until it finally succumbed to the motorised bus company (which was also operated by the Perth Town Council) in 1928.

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Help Wanted

William Baxter Member ID: 7188 Email: [email protected] Relation Name: Baxter / Bell / Small? Place: Dundee Marriage: William Baxter, Weaver, and Margaret Bell, daughter of David Bell. Dundee, 20 April, 1807. Children: David, 1808 / Bain, 1810 / Agnes, 1812 / Margaret, 1815. All Dundee William's Parents? William Baxter, Sailor, and Margaret Small. Their children - Catherine, 1784?, William, (Weaver, as above), 1787. Both Dundee. Can anyone link William the Weaver with William the Sailor?

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Sometimes You Find It, Sometimes You Don’t. Murray Nicoll 1697 Having been the organiser of the graveyard inscription collections, I am asked quite a few times to find gravestones / lairs. The method is simple, when said quickly. Having the serial number of the lair should be enough to locate it, but the deceased’s family names and dates of death really supply the confirmation. Remember that not every lair has a gravestone, and because a person is in the lair, they may not be mentioned on the gravestone and if a person is mentioned on the gravestone, they may not be in the lair under it. First of all, make sure you are at the correct graveyard. In Dundee, there is sometimes confusion between the Western Cemetery, Perth Road, and the Western Necropolis, or to give the latter it’s better known name, Balgay Hill Cemetery. If making a trip to another town which you are not familiar with, phone / email the local FHS centre and ask advice on locations and best travel directions. FHS centres are staffed by local members in the area and should know their way around. You may well find that the correct official name and the name used by locals can be different. If the cemetery is large enough to be divided into sections, find the section on the cemetery map, which is usually displayed at the entrance to the cemetery. A quick click of the map into your digital camera can be referred to when navigating through the graveyard. Large graveyards are divided into sections, with the lairs being identified by a section letter and lair number allotted to them by the body responsible for the ground, generally the local Council. Small graveyards, with no sections, have numbers only. Sometimes, but not a lot of times, this identification is incised into the stone. It can be anywhere on the stone, there is no hard and fast rule, but most often it is on the plinth. Once at the correct section, look around the stones till one is found with a section letter and number. This will confirm the section and the lair number. Search along the same row in both directions till another gravestone is found with a letter and number. This will show in which direction the lair order is running, then search in the direction of the searched for lair. My formula is simple and obvious. “Using the number of last identified gravestone and the number of searched for gravestone, subtract the lower number from the higher number.” This will give the distance in number of lairs to the searched for lair. Lairs are generally 1 yard wide. It is now just a case of measuring from the last identified gravestone to the searched for lair. Use either long 1 yard paces, or 2 short paces per yard till the searched for gravestone or the unmarked lair is reached. If the graveyard is large enough to have a permanent staff, call round to the offices or workshop and ask directions to the lair. Most workshops have a lair map of the cemetery. The workmen will be very helpful with first hand knowledge of the area.

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Obituary Harry Sheldon. Harry was the husband of the late Muriel Sheldon who died in 2002. Muriel was a founder member of the Society and she willed money to the Society. The Council, at that time, used it to set up the Muriel Sheldon award for the three articles considered to be the best each year. This award continues to this day. When TVFHS bought the princes Street premises, Harry helped the Society with legal advice. Tay Valley wish to send their condolences to the family of Harry.

SAFHS TVFHS is a member of SAFHS (Scottish Association of Family History Associations).

This means that as a member of Tay Valley you can visit other Socities, who may help with your research, without becoming a member of that Society.

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Journal of the Tay Valley Family History Society No.106 February 2017

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

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.

To place an advert here costs £20 per issue.

Our only stipulation is that your product/

service relates in some way to Family History.

Contact the Editor for further information.

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space?

We Need Your Help

Librarian Wanted

We have not had a Librarian for several months now. If you think

you could help please contact

Claire Nicoll,Volunteer Co-ordinator

at the Centre.

As well as the daily volunteers, we need people willing to cover

for holidays and illness.

Tay Valley Family History Societycovers the area of the counties of

Angus, Fife and Perth and Kinross

ISSN 2056-8797

Printed by Bruce Clark Printers, Dundee 01382 622724