Lossiemouth

A Kidney Pill Recommendation

jahunteruk 4 Comments

Dear blog reader.

My paternal 3 x great uncle not only left behind my all-time favourite door lintel (see below) but I was also intrigued when I spotted a recommendation by him for a particular kidney pill in the Banffshire Advertiser newspaper (commonly known as the Buckie Squeak) in 1910.

Below, in my usual family history style, I’ll outline William Murray’s life events then I’ll look at his tablet recommendation.

Jacqueline

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William was born on 23 December 1842 in Rathven parish, Banffshire, Scotland to my 3 x great grandparents, James Murray Farmer and Ann Mair Shavie.

I’ll explain the ‘Farmer’ and ‘Shavie’ here as the ‘Farmer’ will get another mention below (in connection with my favourite door lintel). In the fishing communities of Scotland there are few different surnames and so tee-names or by-names are used as suffices to the surname in order to differentiate between families. My Farmer ancestors originate from the Rathven area and spread out from Buckie, Banffshire to Lossiemouth, Moray and my Shavie ancestors originate from the village of Portknockie near Rathven.

In the 1851 census William was aged 8 and living in Buckie in the ‘Lane North West of the Market’ with his mother and his siblings Helen, Margaret and James (his father was a fisherman so was perhaps away at sea on the day of the census). In the 1861 census William was a 17 year old white fisher and living at 42 Top of the Brae, Buckie with his parents (his father was listed as a white fisher) and his siblings Helen, Margaret, James, George, Ann, Jane and Jessie.

On the 17th of January 1868, William married Ann McKenzie at High Street, Buckie.

In the 1871 census William (a 27 year old fisherman) and Ann were living at 10 Brae Top, Buckie with their sons James and John. In the 1881 census William (a 33 year old fisherman therefore claiming to have only aged 6 years in the 10 years since the last census) and Ann were living at Braeheads, Buckie with 5 of their children, James, John, Ann, William and Lydia Ellen.

In the 1891 census William (now a 48 year old fisherman) was living at 9 Seaview Road, Buckpool, Banffshire with Ann and 8 of their children, James, John, Ann, William, Lydia, Jessie, Nellie and George Alexander. The lintel that William had installed at 9 Seaview Road still exists and ensures that the Murray Farmer tee-name will never be forgotten locally:

Lintel at 9 Seaview Road, Buckpool

I suspect the year perhaps indicates what William and Ann thought was the year of their marriage.

In the 1901 census William (a 58 year self-employed fisherman) and Ann were living at 9 Seaview Road with 4 of their children, Lydia, Jessie, Nellie and George Alexander. In the 1911 census William (a 68 year old self employed fisherman) and Ann were still at 9 Seaview Road with only their son George Alexander still living with them.

(There will be a separate blog post about George Alexander in the future as his death was extremely tragic. In 1943 the Red Cross ship, Australian Hospital Ship Centaur, of which George was Captain, was sank off the Queensland coast in Australia by a Japanese torpedo. Of the 332 people onboard 268, including George, died).

In the 1921 census William was living at 9 Seaview Road by himself (Ann had died earlier that year) as a 79 year old retired fisherman.

On the 16th of April 1925 William died at his daughter Ann’s house at Netherfield, St Peter’s Road, Buckpool from bronchitis.

William and Ann and several of their extended family are buried in Buckpool New Cemetery:

William’s family gravestone

We shall now look at William’s kidney tablet recommendation. I shall simply reproduce the newspaper advert word-for-word as it is very detailed.

The Banffshire Advertiser, Thursday, August 18, 1910

Buckie Result.

What is the result here in Buckie? We have heard the good news from neighbouring towns, but somehow nothing has just the same weight with us as the result in our home town. A Buckie result like the following, however, must impress us all.

Mr W Murray, of 9 Seaview Road, Buckie, says:- ‘For no less than twenty years I have been subject to lumbago – a trying pain in the small of the back, just over the kidneys. At times it was very bad, and it was all I could do to get to work. Now and again I was laid up for a week – I often had to walk about bent.’

‘But I am pleased to say that I have found a genuine remedy in Doan’s Backache Kidney Tablets. They have never failed to give me the ease I needed, and to free me from the pain. They surely go to the source of the trouble, and I can heartily recommend them. (Signed) William Murray.’

Do you have rheumatic pains? Backache? Pains in the loins and sides? Dizzy spells? Is the urine high-coloured, painful in passing, scanty or gravelly? Are your eyes puffy? Your ankles swollen? Are you irritable and depressed? Do you soon get tired? If you have to answer ‘Yes’ to any of these questions, you have kidney trouble, and should begin at once with Doan’s Backache Kidney Pills,of which your neighbour speaks so highly. But if you neglect kidney trouble it may end fatally.

Doan’s Backache Kidney Pills are two shillings and ninepence per box, or six boxes for for thirteen shillings and ninepence. Of all chemists and stores, or post free direct from the Foster-McClellan Co., 8 Wells Street, Oxford Street, London, W. Be sure you get the same tablets Mr Murray had.

Sources: birth, marriage and death details and census entries from the Scotland’s People website, newspaper article from the British Newspaper Archive website and photographs taken by Jacqueline Hunter.

David West Artist

jahunteruk Leave a comment

Dear blog reader

This blog post is about David West, an artist from Lossiemouth, the 5th cousin of my paternal great, great grandfather John Murray.

I was inspired to blog about David West because the Lossiemouth Heritage Association blogged about David recently but unfortunately their sources hadn’t been checked correctly and they managed to combine 2 different artists.

As is my usual family history blogging style, I’ll outline David’s standard family history events, birth, marriage, death and census entries, then I’ll quote David’s extensive newspaper obituary which contains much excellent detail of David’s life.

David was born on 12 November 1868 at Branderburgh, now part of Lossiemouth, to James West, a master mariner, and Margaret Reid. In the 1871 census the West family are split between different households, 2 in King Street and 1 in Smithfield, all Lossiemouth. In the 1881 census David was a scholar living at the Deaniry in Lossiemouth with 3 of his siblings in household headed up by a couple in their 70s, William and Margaret Humphrey.

In the 1891 census David was describing himself as a landscape artist and was visiting a couple, John and Isabella Russell, at Wester Covesea farmhouse near Lossiemouth. In the 1901 census David was living at ‘The Studio’ in Lossiemouth and was describing himself as an artist.

On 15 April 1908 David married Jessie Christie at St Gerardine’s Church, Lossiemouth. I shall look at firstly the official government record as per David and Jessie’s marriage certificate and secondly the newspaper report of their wedding.

On their marriage certificate David gave his occupation as RSW (which stands for the Royal Society of Scottish Painters in Watercolour), was living at Chilkoot, Lossiemouth and at age 38 married 24 year old Jessie Christie who was the daughter of William Christie who was hotel keeper of the hotel in Stotfield (now part of Lossiemouth) that Jessie was living at when she married.

The Aberdeen Press & Journal dated 17 April 1908 gives a more human account of the wedding you might say:

‘An exceedingly pretty wedding was celebrated in St Gerardine’s Church on Wednesday afternoon, the contracting parties being Miss Jessie Christie, second daughter of Mr William Christie, of the Stotfield Hotel, and Mr David West, artist. The Church was beautifully decorated for the occasion. There was a large number of guests and the general public was also well represented. The bride was given away by her father; and her bridesmaids were Miss Coney Christie, sister of the bride, and Miss Gray, a niece of the bridegroom. Mr West was supported by Mr John Peterkin. The marriage ceremony was performed by Rev Norman McLeod, minister of St Gerardine’s, assisted by Rev J W Robertson, High United Free Church, Lossiemouth. The music and hymns were appropriate to the occasion, and Mr Boothroyd, Elgin, presided with much acceptance at the organ. After the ceremony, the guests adjourned to the Stotfield Hotel, where a sumptuous luncheon was served, and the health of the couple heartily pledged. Shortly afterwards, Mr and Mrs West left by motor for the south. A dance was held at the Stotfield Hotel in the evening. Presents to the bride and groom were numerous’.

In the 1911 census David and Jessie were living at Chilkoot in Lossiemouth, with David describing himself as a painter (artist). In the 1921 census David and Jessie were still at Chilkoot, with their two eldest children, Hamish, 7 and a scholar, and Ronald, 2.

David suddenly died on Glasgow in 1936 after having a seizure at an art exhibition. Similar to David and Jessie’s wedding, I’ll look at David’s death certificate first and then David’s extensive newspaper obituary.

David’s death certificate confirms that David West, an artist painter, married to Jessie Christie, died on 8 October 1936 at 152 Bath Street, Glasgow (usual residence Chilkoot, Lossiemouth), parents James West, master mariner, and Margaret Reid with a cause of death of probably natural decay and cardiac failure. I find that cause of death very interesting because David’s unofficial cause of death is a seizure. Possibly the seizure description came from witnesses.

This is David’s gravestone in Lossiemouth cemetery:

David’s obiturary in the Aberdeen Press and Journal, dated 9 October 1936, is incredibly detailed about his life:

‘LOSSIE ARTIST’S DEATH.

MR DAVID WEST’S SEIZURE AT ART EXHIBITION.

FAMOUS SEASCAPE PAINTER

Mr David West, Chilkoot, Lossiemouth, the well-known north of Scotland artist and seascape painter died suddenly yesterday morning in Glasgow.

Mr West had a seizure while visiting the Royal Art Exhibition there, where he had several of his works on view. He was sixty eight years of age.

LIFE OF ADVENTURE

A son of the late Captain James West, Lossiemouth, who was in command of a sailing schooner which plied between the Moray Firth and the Baltic, Mr West had a varied life full of adventure.

He was educated at Lossiemouth and Aberdeen Grammar School, and on leaving school he went to sea in his father’s ships. As a young man he saw a large part of the world.

In 1898 he took part in the memorable Klondyke gold rush.

Always fond of his native Morayshire, he returned to Lossiemouth and set up a studio. His exceptional ability in oil painting was not long in being recognised, and when still in his twenties he had won for himself wide repute as a landscape painter. As a painter of the sea, the sandy wastes and the sky along the Moray Firth coast, and of old sailing boats, he was unsurpassed.

SEASCAPE SCENES

Some of Mr West’s pictures of typical Moray land and seascape scenes have been on view at the Aberdeen Artists’ Society exhibitions and in many parts of the counrty.

Recently the Duchess of Northumberland, while on holiday in Lossiemouth, visited his studo and purchased two typical Moray seascae works.

Morat Firth people resident in foreign parts treasured his pictures.

Some years ago Mr West went to America, and sold a number of his pictures there. Since then Americans visiting this country have sought out his studio to make purchases.

He was on the council of the Royal Scottish Water Colour Society.

WAR SERVICE

During the Great War Mr West served in an ambulance corps.

Keenly interested in the affairs of the community, he took a big share in the public life not only of Lossiemouth, but also in that of the county. His wide experience and knowledge were invaluable in the administration of the town, and during his term of office in Lossiemouth Town Council and Moray Education Authority he was a thoroughly respected member.

A scratch golfer in his youth, Mr West always retained connection with the Moray Golf Club, although latterly he could not take part in active competition.

EXPERT ANGLER

As a rod and line angler he was a recognised expert, and spent much of time fishing in the rivers Spey and Lossie.

Mr West had been failing in health for some time.

He is a survived by a wife, who is the daughter of the late Provost Christie, Lossiemouth, and two sons, the elder of whom is in the R.A.F. abroad, and the younger is still at Elgin Academy.

Dr J R Levack, Aberdeen, is a cousin.’

Finally, I can’t show you any of David’s paintings here due to copyright but David’s paintings are truly gorgeous. Please just Google ‘David West artist’ in order to admire David’s amazing talent.

Sources: Scotland’s People website for birth, marriage, death and census entries, Find a Grave website for David West’s gravestone and British Newspaper Archive for David West’s obituary.

A Photo Surprise

jahunteruk Leave a comment

Hi blog readers.

This blog post is about an amazing surprise during a British Newspaper Archive webinar a few years ago when I suddenly spotted a family photo that I’d seen bits of before but never the whole photo.

This is the photo and story that appeared in ‘The Sketch’ (an illustrated weekly journal) on 28th September 1898:

Five generations of the Murray family.

‘Here is an interesting family of five generations.

The patriarch of the five generations is John Murray, who lives at Jamestown, Buckie, N.B. [North Britain]. He was the first fisherman to discover the use of herring bait for catching white-fish, and, though now in his ninetieth year, continue to enjoy excellent health.

His son, William Murray, is sixty-nine; he follows the vocation of his father at Lossiemouth. Mr John Murray’s granddaughter, Margaret Murray, or Cowie, thirty-eight years of age, resides at Buckie; she, again, has a daughter, Margaret, in her nineteenth year, whose infant son, aged six months, constitutes the fifth generation of this unique family of fisher-folk.’

I will now describe the lives of the five people in the picture above.

John Murray is my paternal 4 x great uncle:

John Murray

John Murray’s baptism record doesn’t appear in the records of any Church though he clearly believed that he was born in 1808, hence the family photo to celebrate his 90th birthday. John Murray and Margaret Geddes, both of Rathven parish, were married on 13th July 1834 in Rathven parish.

In the 1841 census I suspect John was away fishing as there’s an 1841 census entry in Nether Buckie, now known as Buckpool, for Margaret, 24, and their 3 eldest children, Helen, 6, William (in the main photo above), 4 and Peter, 2. In the 1851 census John, 40 and a fisherman, and Margaret, 38, are living in the lane north west of the market in Buckie with their children, Helen, 16, William, 14, Peter, 13, James, 10, Janet, 7, and Margaret, 2.

In the 1861 census, the family are working away from home at Wilkhaven Shore, Tarbat, Ross and Cromarty and we have, together, John, 48, Margaret, 46, Peter, 22, James, 16, Janet, 14, Margaret, 12, Isabella, 10, John, 6, and George, 3, along with 2 domestic servants Betsy Higgerty and James Geddes. John and Peter were working as fishermen. and John (junior) was at school. In the 1871 census, John, 58, was living at Kinneddar Street, Lossiemouth with his wife Margaret, 57, and their children Margaret, 18, Isabella, 16, John, 13, and George, 11. In 1871 John was a fisherman and John, junior, and George were at school.

In the 1881 census John, 69, and Margaret, 68, were still living at Kinneddar Street and John was still a fisherman. In the 1891 census John, 79, and Margaret, 78, were living at 19 Kinneddar Street and John was now a retired fisherman.

In 1900 John died at 9 Blantyre Place, Ianstown, Buckie, aged 91 years, with a cause of death of decay of old age.

The next oldest person in the photo is John’s son, William:

William Murray

Similar to his father, there’s no record of William’s baptism in any Church records. We’ve already seen William in the 1841 and 1851 censuses. William married for the first time, on 28th December 1856, to Isabella Smith, a 20 year old from Portessie. Isabella was a domestic servant, William a fisherman and banns were according to the forms of the Established Church of Scotland. In 1861 William and Isabella were clearly near William’s parents: at Wilkhaven Shore, Tarbat, Ross and Cromarty there’s a household comprising of William, 26, Isabella, 26, their 2 daughters, Margaret, 5 (in the main photo above), Ann, 1, and Isabella Sutherland, a domestic servant. Tragically Isabella died of phthisis pulmonalis (ie tuberculosis) on 8th June 1865 at Buckie.

On 28th September 1866, William re-married to Catherine Thomson (who’s actually also related to me on a different ancestral line) at Branderburgh (now part of Lossiemouth) after banns according to the forms of the Roman Catholic Church. In the 1871 census William and Catherine are living at Kinneddar Street, Lossiemouth with 3 children, one from William’s first marriage. William’s household in 1871 consists of William, 37, Catherine, 37, Margaret, 9, John, 3, and Peter, 1. William was a fisherman and Margaret was at school. In the 1881 census William and Catherine are living at 21 Kinneddar Street, Lossiemouth with 4 of their children: the household was William, 44, Catherine, 42, John, 13, Peter, 11, Mary, 6, and Helen, 4. William was a fisherman, John was recorded as both at school and a fisherman and Peter and Mary were at school.

In the 1891 census William and Catherine were living at 42 Kinneddar Street, Lossiemouth with 2 of their daughters as a household of William, 53, Catherine, 53, Mary, 15, and Helen, 14. William was a fisherman and Mary and Helen were both domestic servants. In the 1901 census William and Catherine were still living at 42 Kinneddar Street with a servant, the household comprising William, 63, Catherine, 63, and Agnes Dowie. In 1911 William was a 75 year old retired fisherman and a widower, living at 42 Kinneddar Street, Lossiemouth with his daughter Helen, 34, his son-in-law Alexander Cambell, 37, and his grandchildren, Jessie, 9, James George, 7, Catherine, 5, and Alex, 5 months. Alexander was a fisherman and Jessie, James and Catherine were at school. William died at 42 Kinneddar Street on 10th March 1913 from apoplexy (probably a stroke).

The next oldest person in the photo is John Murray’s grand-daughter Margaret:

Margaret Murray

Margaret was born on 8 May 1859 in Buckie to William Murray and his first wife Isabella. We’ve already seen Margaret in the 1861 and 1871 censuses. On 27th September 1878 19 year old Margaret married a 20 year old fisherman, Alexander Stewart, at Kinneddar Street, Lossiemouth after banns according to the forms of the Church of Scotland. In the 1881 census Margaret and Alexander were living at 15 James Street, Lossiemouth with this as the household: Alexander, 23, fisherman, Margaret, 21, and Margaret, 6 months (in the main photo above). Tragically Alexander died at sea, off Aberdeen, on the 7th of August 1885. In the 1891 census Margaret was living at 57 Queen Street, Lossiemouth with this household: Margaret, 31, with her daughters Margaret, 10, Isabella, 8, and Alexandrina, 5. Margaret was a grocer and all 3 of her daughters were at school. Margaret re-married on 15th December 1893 at Queen Street, Lossiemouth, after banns according to the forms of the Baptist Church, to a 47 year-old fisherman from Portessie, George Cowie. Margaret was quite the entrepreneur – I guess perhaps she had to be in order to keep her family especially when widowed -when she re-married in 1893 she was a grocery merchant.

In the 1901 census Margaret and George had moved from Lossiemouth and were living at 65 West Church Street, Buckie, with 3 generations as this household: George, 55, Margaret, 41, Margaret (Stewart), 20, Alexandrina (Stewart), 18, Alexander, 6, James (in the main photo above) (Stewart), 3, and Catherine, 6 months. James was Margaret’s grandson and Margaret and Alexandrina were Margaret’s children by her first husband. In the 1911 census Margaret, George and 2 of their children had moved to the west coast to Mallaig (of course another Scottish fishing port) with this as a household: George Cowie, 65, Margaret, 57, Alexander, 16, Catherine, 10, and Amelia Flett, a domestic servant. George and Alexander were fishermen and Catherine was at school.

Margaret died on 24th March 1922 at 35 Ritchie Street, West Kilbride, Ayrshire from apoplexy (a stroke, the same as Margaret’s father William) and hemiplegia ie paralysis (presumably from the stroke).

The next oldest in the photo is John Murray’s great grand-daughter Margaret:

Margaret Stewart

Margaret Stewart was born 27th September 1880 in Lossiemouth. We’ve already seen Margaret in the 1881, 1891 and 1901 censuses. On the 22nd of February 1907 at 67 Oswald Street, Glasgow, 24 year old Margaret married a 20 year old journeyman slater, William Martindale, who was living at Osborn House, Largs. Margaret was living at 222 Elliott Street, Glasgow. This marriage was away from any Church and took place by warrant of the sheriff-substitute of Lanarkshire in front of witnesses Alexandrina Stewart and Mary Elliott. Thus 67 Oswald Street was probably a solicitor’s office. Such a form of marriage usually was due to wanting a quick wedding (often in wartimes there were such marriages via a sherriff’s warrant) or a quiet wedding. We already know that Alexandrina was Margaret’s sister.

In the 1911 census William and Margaret were living at 34 Gateside Street, West Kilbride, the household being: William, 25, Margaret, 29 and their two daughters, Alexandrina, 3, and Margaret, 2. William was a slater and an employer. Margaret died on 20th February 1955 at Silverae, Orchard Street, West Kilbride from a cerebral thrombosis (ie a stroke, similar to the previous 2 generations).

Now to the youngest in the photo, John Murray’s great, great grandson, the baby James:

James Stewart

James Stewart was born on 22nd February 1898 at 65 Church Street, Buckie. James was illegitimate, ie his parents were not married, and his birth certificate has no father’s name. We’ve already seen James in the 1901 census with his mother and grandparents. In the 1911 census James is not with his grandparents or his mother. From then on unfortunately James is a mystery to me. If anyone has James in their family tree please get in touch!

Sources: The photo and article from the British Newspaper Archive website, 1841 to 1901 census entries from the Ancestry website and birth, marriage and death certificates and the 1911 censuses from the Scotland’s People website.