A Tragedy in Idaho

by Roberta McGee

        William Murdoch, the son of James Crawford Murdoch and Mary Murray of Gasswater, Auchinleck, married Janet Lennox of Muir, Cumnock in 1846 in Cumnock. They had six children. Janet died in 1877.

          Obituary Janet Lennox - Salt Lake Herald      

At Kilmarnock Scotland 20 December 1877 Jane Lennox Murdoch, wife of William Murdoch, Muirkirk. She was born at Moor, Old Cumnock 22 September 1821, obeyed the Gospel in 1854 and lived and died a faithful Latter Day Saint.

        Five months later William and their five surviving children emigrated to Utah. They were unaware of the tragedy that lay ahead some years later.  This is the story of their daughter Margaret Murdoch who married John Adamson from Muirkirk on 16 January 1879 at Salt Lake City, Utah. 

        John and Margaret had six children, John, William, Isabelle, James, David and Edith. They were very much involved with the Mormon Church and, after living in Utah initially, finally settled in Carey, Blaine, Idaho. John was a director of the Carey State Bank, a farmer and a chief church official of the Boise Stake, one of the organisational and administrative units of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Image - Arrington88 Ancestry

        Their daughter Isabelle married William Henry Cameron in 1905 in Blaine, Idaho. He was born in Melrose, Montana to Scottish parents. Isabelle would only agree to marry him if he joined the Mormon Church and he did so, somewhat reluctantly. After their marriage he refused to attend to his church duties and be involved in the church as he had agreed to and, over the years, this caused much friction in the family. He turned to drink and in 1915 he was arrested and jailed for beating his wife. When he was released on bond pending his trial he found that his wife and children had moved in with her parents and they avoided all contact with him.

        WH Cameron was the proprietor of the Carey Idaho Hotel. He also kept a livery stable, was a mail carrier and ran a jitney, which was a small bus. Isabelle Cameron's life revolved around her husband, her children, her parents and her church and on running the hotel. However, the problem with her husband's inability to embrace her church seemed to fester over the years and the marriage broke down when he began to drink heavily. He repeatedly tried to persuade his wife to return to him and told his father-in-law that, unless she did return 'there would be the damdest funeral ever seen in Carey'. Isabelle filed for divorce.

Isabelle Adamson Cameron - image Renee Surgeon, Ancestry

        Cameron devised a plan. He purchased a Colt 45 automatic revolver then went away on business for about eight days. When he returned he headed for the Adamson's house, armed with the gun, in search of his wife.

        The first person he encountered was his father-in-law John Adamson, who was putting the Cameron baby, Estasta aged eighteen months, to bed. Cameron shot him and the baby dead before turning the gun on his mother-in-law Margaret Murdoch Adamson and his brother-in-law James, who was playing the piano when he heard the shots. In the scuffle James's shirt was torn to shreds in his fight to disarm him. Margaret and James were both shot dead. 

        Isabelle, on hearing the shots fled the house, only to be followed by Cameron who eventually caught up with her in a field and shot her through the head before shooting himself. Her sister Edith Adamson and the remaining three Cameron children were in another room when the shooting started and managed to escape. 

        Wood River Times TE Picotte, Publisher November 1 1915 

                  Burial of Victims of the Tragedy 

                  Wood River Times TE Picotte, Publisher November 1 1915 

                      Burial of Victims of the Tragedy 

                  The five victims of the tragedy of last Friday night at Carey were buried there yesterday afternoon from the beautiful new church just completed at a cost $11,500.00. Ex-Bishop Rawson, First Counselor of the Boise Stake, conducted the services. The funeral called to Carey the biggest crown ever seen there on occasion, mourners having come from Cassia County, Boise, and Southeastern Idaho. There was not even standing room in the new edifice though the benches were not yet in, these being the first services ever held in the church. There were four caskets. One was for Mrs WH Cameron and her babe that was held in her arms, one contained the body of Mrs John Adamson, one that of John Adamson and one for James Adamson. The internment was in the Carey cemetery.

                  Wood River Times Daily TE Picotte, Publisher November 2 1915

                  Echoes of the Tragedy                    

             

      William H Cameron left all his papers, those in the Casey State Bank and elsewhere to his sister, Mrs Joe Danills, of Soldier, to whom is entrusted the letter to the descendant's eldest daughter as the following open letter, which was found in the Cameron Hotel after the tragedy. It will be seen that it must have  been written as the unhappy demented was about to set out for the scene of the tragedy. The letter is as follows:

                            Carey Idaho October 29 1915 - Friends and Relatives;

                            There is nothing in this world for me to live for. They have taken my wife and babies from me. My heart has turned stone cold for revenge on the one who has broken up my home. I thank you all for what you have done for me in my troubles. Don't say after I am gone 'he was crazy' for I am not. You will never know unless the same thing happens to you just how I feel, but I hope it never happens to any of you. Goodbye.

                            I am leaving a letter for Lexie when she gets older. See that they are cared for. WH Cameron. Lexie was the eldest of the four Cameron children.

        William Henry Cameron's funeral service was held in the Presbyterian Church in Bellevue,

Idaho. 

 

     

William Murdoch, Inventor

 by Roberta McGee

William Murdoch, the inventor of gas lighting, was born at Bello Mill, Lugar in 1754, the third child of John Murdoch and Anna Bruce. 

Father John was born in 1725 at Skerrington Mill, Cumnock. In 1747, when he married Anna Bruce, whose brother James was a land agent for the Dumfries Estate, John was in Orchard farm, Auchinleck. According to a Cumnock Chronicle report of 1975 he had previously joined the army  and fought in Flanders during the Austrian Succession War (1740-1748). He most likely would have fought at Dettingen under Lord Stair. Dettingen was the last time a British monarch led his troops into battle. Dettingen Wood, on the Dumfries Estate, commemorated this great battle of 1743. John also supported the Government Forces during the Jacobite Rebellion.

John and Anna and their family moved to Bello Mill, Lugar in 1754. They were tenants of James Boswell's Estate in Auchinleck. 

John was a farmer, millwright, miller and inventor, who, in 1760, invented the first iron-toothed pinion gear wheel to be made in Britain. Also, with the assistance of his son William, who showed signs of mechanical genius at an early age. 'made a wooden horse on wheels, on which, by the assistance of propelling poles, he used to visit Cumnock' (Source: The New History of Cumnock, John Strawhorn, p58) This pre-dated Kilpatrick MacMillan's first bicycle by about 75 years.

William Murdoch - Image wmgaz.pl

William Murdoch was schooled firstly in Cumnock and then in Auchinleck. He excelled at mathematics and the principles of mechanics under William Halbert, a well respected author of an arithmetic text book. He also assisted his father working in metal and wood. In addition he carried out experiments in coal gas using coal heated in a copper kettle in a small cave by the River Lugar near his father's mill. 

Entrance to Murdoch’s Cave - Image Wikimedia 

In 1777 he (purportedly) walked 300 miles from Lugar to Birmingham to find work at the Soho Works of James Watt and Matthew Boulton. James Boswell, the Murdoch's landlord, had made several visits to the Boulton and Watt factory and most likely gave him a letter of introduction. At first they were reluctant to employ him but then Boulton noticed his wooden hat made on a lathe of his own design. They were so impressed that they gave him a job. So began his career with Boulton and Watt who manufactured steam engines which were used to drain Cornish tin and copper mines. He moved quickly from making patterns for machine parts into fitting and erecting steam engines and also repairing and refining the ones which the company had installed at various pits and factories.  

In 1779 Murdoch was sent to Redruth in Cornwall as their agent and leading engineer where he was responsible for the erection, maintenance and repair of Boulton and Watt steam engines in the Cornish tin mines to make them more efficient at pumping water out of the mines. He was kept busy travelling around the area and, after being met with some hostility initially, because he had also been engaged by Boulton and Watt to make reports against competitors to determine whether patents had been infringed, he became very well respected there. 

On Christmas Eve 1785 William Murdoch married Anne Paynter at St. Mewan, Cornwall. Sadly, it was a short marriage as Anne died five years later following the birth of their son John. 

Whilst based in Redruth Murdoch spent his spare time at his home, Murdoch House, in Cross Street,working on an idea for a 'horseless carriage' known as The Murdoch Flyer. In 1794, in order to see properly, his spare time being in the evening, he illuminated his house with a gas that he had extracted from coal, also putting a lamp outside, thus making Cross Street the first street in the world to be lit by artificial light. The coal gas was generated in an iron retort at the bottom of his garden, then piped into his house, where he lit the rooms with a variety of burners. 

He built several working models of The Flyer, and it is said that he used to travel from mine to mine in a full-sized version which had a portable gas lantern. 

The Murdoch Flyer from original oil painting by Gordon Grogan

In 1795 he demonstrated methods for producing and storing gas at Neath Abbey, South Wales. Back in Birmingham he lit up the Soho factory in 1802 during the celebrations for the signing of the Treaty for  the peace of Amiens, and in 1816 he lit up his newly-built house at Sycamore Hill by gas supplied from the Soho factory. 

Throughout his time in Redruth and Birmingham Murdoch had made many inventions and improvements to the basic steam engine designs used by Boulton and Watt, who took the credit, their excuse being that Murdoch was their employee so whatever he invented while employed by them was, by rights, theirs. In 1786 Murdoch attempted to patent his steam carriage but was talked out of it by Boulton. His employers did all they could to discourage and hinder Murdoch from pursuing his experiments and, it has been argued, by removing evidence of the origin of some of the inventions they patented. Murdoch, however, was entirely loyal to their interests and he proved an invaluable help to Watt, becoming his right-hand man. 

In 1799 Murdoch invented a much simpler and more efficient steam wheel. This was an early version of the steam turbine. It allowed steam pressure to turn a wheel directly. By this time, Murdoch's contract had changed, and he could patent the device himself. 

Image - IQSdirectory.com

Murdoch is best known for being the inventor of gas lighting and inventing the first steam engine carriage in Britain. However, he had many other strings to his bow. Some other examples of his genius are: -

• Sun and Planet Gear and D slide valve. The 'Sun and Planet Motion' which is included in Watt's patent of 1781 was contrived by Murdoch (Lives of Boulton & Watt 1874 p245)
• Oscillating cylinder steam engine
• Steam gun and steam cannon
• Developed the pneumonic tube message system which worked by using compressed air to propel a message in a cylinder through a tube to its intended destination. It became used in big department stores.
• Worked on one of the first British paddle steamers to cross the English Channel.
• Iron cement used to fix and harden the joints of steam engines.
• A special type of paint for ships' bottoms.
• From 1784-1795 built working models of steam engines.
• In 1795 he developed a replacement for isinglass which was used in the clarifying of beer to remove impurities. 
• The bell crank engine
• Making stone pipes (patent 1810). Sold to Manchester Stone Pipe Co. to supply the City with water.
• Stone and wood borers
• In 1807 designed and built the engine for the North River Steamboat, the first steamboat on the Hudson River.
• In 1815 designed and installed the first modern gravity fed piped hot water system at The Royal Pump Rooms in Leamington Spa.
• In 1817 he moved into a large new house which he had built in Sycamore Hill, outside Birmingham. The house had many innovative features such as gas lighting, a doorbell which worked with compressed air and an air conditioning system.

In 1808 Murdoch was awarded the Rumford Gold Medal, which bears the inscription Ex Fumo dare lucem, which translates as 'to give light from smoke'. This was for 'both the first idea of applying, and the first actual application of gas to economical purposes'.

In 1882 the National Gas Institute founded the Murdoch Medal which is awarded periodically to the authors of useful inventions connected with gas making. 

The town of Redruth holds an Annual Murdoch Day in June. In 2007, they had a parade and the first public journey of a full-sized working copy of Murdoch's Steam Carriage. The whole day is dedicated to the legacy of his creativity and innovation. Thousands of people flock into the town for the festival with street entertainment, workshops, food, street stalls, steam engines, a traditional fairground and the Murdoch Day Parade. (Source: Celebrating Murdoch Day - Discover Redruth)

William Murdoch died 15 November 1839 at his Birmingham home and was buried in St Mary's Churchyard, Handsworth, Staffordshire, England near the graves of Watt and Boulton. There are statues of him at the Wallace Monument, Stirling and in Centenary Square, Birmingham. In 2019 William Murdoch was added to the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame. A truly remarkable man.

Gilded bronze statue of Boulton, Watt and Murdoch in Centenary Square, Birmingham
Image - Wikimedia Creative Commons Attribution License

William Murdoch on the Cumnock Connections tree

The Murdochs - Carpenters, Stonemasons and Bridge Builders in the Carolinas

 by Roberta McGee

In order to explain the connections between the carpenter/stonemason/bridge builder Murdochs who emigrated to the Carolinas in the 1800s we have to go back to Andrew Murdoch and Elizabeth Baird of Ochiltree Mill who married on 5th June 1784. They had at least seven children:

John Murdoch who was born in 1785 and who married Jacobina McCulloch

Andrew Murdoch who was born in 1788 - not verified

Alexander Murdoch who was born in 1789 and married Helen Peden

William who was born in 1792

Hugh who was born in 1793 and married Isabella Fernie

Margaret who was born in 1795 and married James Paterson

Sarah who was born in 1797 and married Arthur Miller

Andrew and Elizabeth's son Hugh emigrated to the USA in 1835 with his wife Isabella Fernie and their six children who were all born in Old Cumnock. Hugh was a cabinet maker and became an American citizen in 1848. According to the US Federal Census Hugh and Isabella settled in Fairfield, Connecticut where they both died - Hugh in 1864 and Isabella in 1867.

THE FAMILY OF ALEXANDER MURDOCH AND HELEN PEDEN

Alexander Murdoch, the third son of Andrew Murdoch and Elizabeth Baird, married Helen Peden in 1810 in Ochiltree. 

Their first son was WILLIAM MURDOCH, who was born in the Knowe, Auchinleck in 1811. He emigrated to New York in the early 1830s, then moved to Raleigh to work on the North Carolina State Capitol. In 1831 a fire had destroyed the North Carolina State House and William Murdoch was one of a group of Scots-born stonemasons and stonecutters who were recruited to work on the new State Capitol reconstruction. He married Sarah (Sally) Colburn, the sister of a fellow stonemason, while working there in January 1838. The couple then moved to Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina, where William worked on the construction of the massive United States Arsenal which, incidentally, was destroyed in 1865 by General Sherman's troops during the American Civil War.

North Carolina State Capitol, Raleigh, NC
Image - The Built Heritage of NC: NC University Libraries

Grant’s Creek Viaduct - Contractor Wm. Murdoch 1856/57
Image NC Architects & Builders

At the time there was a rapid expansion in railroad construction and William moved into planning and constructing stone bridges for numerous railroad companies. By the 1850s William and his family were settled in Salisbury where the railroad brought new prosperity and opportunities. He successfully continued with bridge building and other businesses. Between 1858 and 1860 he was involved in building the Gothic Revival brick Thyatira Presbyterian Church.

Thyatira Presbyterian Church - Image SHPO, Raleigh, NC

Everything changed on 12th April 1861 when Fort Sumter in South Carolina was bombarded by the Confederates signalling the beginning of the American Civil War. Over the next four years much of the infrastructure was destroyed and by the end of the war on 26th May 1865 the Carolinas lay in ruins. New railroads and bridges had to be built and this was where William's skills came into demand. 

The Ayr Advertiser of 24/2/1888 reports: 'Mr Murdoch has been a worker in stone for the last sixty years, and we do not think we say too much when we state that Mr Murdoch has constructed more stone-work than any man in the United States.' 

Read more details about William Murdoch's long and successful working life in the USA here.

William and Sarah had four children - Miriam, born 1838 in Fayetteville, who married Samuel H. Wiley, Helen Peden born 1841 in Raleigh and who sadly died aged two years old, William Alexander born 1844 in Charleston who became a medical student in Glasgow and eventually became a doctor in Waynesville, North Carolina and Lemuel who was born in 1846 in Graniteville, South Carolina and died aged sixteen years old in Chatham County, North Carolina.

In 1868 William and his wife Sally sold their house and lot to their daughter Miriam and her husband Samuel H. Wiley, a successful businessman, and the foursome replaced the old frame house with a large brick residence with Italianate features and a rooftop cupola. This became the home of both families and was known as the Murdoch-Wiley House.

The Murdoch-Wiley House
Image - NC Architects & Builders

William liked to travel and he visited Scotland a few times. The Glasgow Herald of 9/5/1874 reported his attendance at a meeting in Glasgow for the Glasgow Institution for the Deaf & Dumb and the Ayr Advertiser on reporting his Golden Wedding of 16/1/1888 wrote;

 

'Through frequent correspondence and occasional visits to his old home, he still maintains a warm friendship with many there.'

Ayr Advertiser 24/2/1888

William Murdoch died on 30th December 1893, his son-in-law Samuel Wiley died on 2nd July 1894 and William's wife Sally died on 14th January 1895.  Samuel and Miriam's daughter Annie Shannon Wiley married the Rev. John Fairman Preston in 1903 and they served as Presbyterian missionaries in Korea from 1903 to 1940. They were appointed by the Presbyterian Church in the US to serve in Mokpo, Kwangju and finally Soonchun from 1913 to 1940. Miriam decided to join her daughter in Korea and spent three years there arriving back in the USA in May 1907. Miriam died at her house in Salisbury, Rowan County in May 1912. 

Miriam's son William Murdoch Wiley was born in 1863 in North Carolina. In 1887 he married Marion Easton Paterson, by Declaration, in Glasgow. On his marriage certificate he described himself as a journalist living in Inns of Court, London. In 1900 he was a gold miner in Rowan and in 1910 he was a mining engineer in Manhattan, New York. Marion's father was Andrew Paterson from Ochiltree and her mother was Marion Merry from Catrine. So Marion E. Paterson was the grand-daughter of Margaret Murdoch from Ochiltree Mill whose parents were Andrew Murdoch and Elizabeth Baird! William and Marion went on to have a son Samuel Hamilton Wiley who became the American Consul in Oporto, Portugal and later in Cherbourg, France.

Another of Alexander Murdoch and Helen Peden's sons was HUGH MURDOCH, who was born in 1819. He was a joiner to trade and married Margaret McLaughlan (various spellings) in 1847 in Ochiltree. In November 1851 Hugh, Margaret and their two young sons, Alexander and John, set sail on the 'Harmonia' from Glasgow to New York. Accompanying them were Hugh's brothers Alexander and Andrew. Hugh obtained work with the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad Company and the family moved to New Bern where he supervised the building of a bridge over the Trent River. The family then moved to Morehead City, Carteret where he continued his work as a bridge builder and bridge inspector. Hugh fought in the American Civil War (1861-1865) on the Confederate side and after the War he bought a farm at Wildwood, Carteret County, Connecticut where he died in 1898 just over a year after celebrating his Golden Wedding.

ANDREW MURDOCH, who was born in 1828, was the fourth son of Alexander Murdoch and Helen Peden. He emigrated along with his brothers Hugh and Alexander in 1851. In 1860 he was living in Dutch Fork, Lexington, South Carolina. He had married Tirzah Theresa Epting and was working as a carpenter. Much of the town of Lexington was destroyed by Union Forces in 1864 during the American Civil War and on the 1870 census they were living in Fairfield, South Carolina where he was working as a house carpenter. By 1880 they were still in Fairfield and Andrew had moved into bridge building. Andrew died in Lexington, South Carolina in 1890.

ALEXANDER MURDOCH, who was the youngest son of Alexander Murdoch and Helen Peden, was born in 1830. He emigrated with his brothers in 1851. In 1859 he married Minnie Peterson and 1860 finds the couple living in an hotel in Salisbury. Alexander's occupation is given as bookkeeper. On 27th May 1861 Alexander enlisted in the Confederate Army firstly in Company 'H' of the 2nd North Carolina Infantry as a sergeant and from 1863 he was 2nd lieutenant with the 38th North Carolina Infantry Regiment.

A description of a  letter from Alexander to his brother (doesn't say which one) on 10th August 1863 is as follows:

'Description: Ordinance Sgt. Alexander "Sandie" Murdoch, Co. H, 2nd North Carolina Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Camp near Orange C.H., August 19 1863, to his brother. Murdoch mentions that he has been on the sick list since the 26th July but not off duty. He has been making inquiries about John D. Scott and a man named Steel who were missing with varied reports of dead and buried together, only wounded etc. Murdoch then begins a narrative of the actions of the Iverson and Ramsay Brigades of Rodes'....

Musselman Library's Special Collections and College Archives Catalogue

Alexander Murdoch died from typhoid fever at the General Hospital in Staunton, Virginia, on 1st July 1864.

Moving on to Andrew and Elizabeth Baird's oldest son John Murdoch who was born in Ochiltree and who married Jacobina McCulloch in Ochiltree in 1809. Their eldest son was Andrew Murdoch of Gallowlea Cottage and later quarrymaster of Coalburn, New Cumnock. He married Agnes Wallace.

JOHN ANDREW MURDOCH was born in 1840 at Gallowlea Cottage in Ochiltree. He was the oldest son of Andrew Murdoch,  stonemason, and Agnes Wallace.  He married Margaret Kennedy Baird in 1868 at Ochiltree. Margaret was the daughter of farmer Thomas Baird who was born in Old Cumnock. He farmed at Nether Heiler and then South Logan Farm, Sorn. In 1871 he was a grocer in Main Street, Ochiltree and retired to Windyside Cottage, Glaisnock Street, Cumnock where he died in 1882. Margaret's mother was Margaret Kennedy, a farmer's daughter, born in Farden Farm, New Cumnock. 

John and Maggie had nine children. The 1871 census finds the family living in Back Street, Cumnock with their first two children, Margaret aged 1 year and Agnes who is only 6 days old. Daughter Isabella was born at Ayr Road, Cumnock in 1874 followed by Jacobina in 1875, Lizzie in 1877 and son John Wallace Murdoch in 1879. John's skills as a stonemason had him working on many important local building contracts including St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Cumnock with stone supplied by his father Andrew from his quarry at Coalburn. 

The family then moved to England and in April 1881 they were in Islington where John was working as a credit draper. Another son, Ebenezer, was born there that same year. Margaret's brothers James Kennedy Baird and Ebenezer Baird were also drapers in Islington. In October 1881 John, Maggie and their seven children emigrated to North Carolina, USA where their son William Wallace Murdoch was born in 1883. Daughter Mary Baird Murdoch was born in Asheville, Buncombe, North Carolina in January 1891. According to the Irvine Times of 27/3/1891 John then spent three months in Scotland. He was, at that time, an overseer at Biltmore Estate and when he returned to Asheville he resumed his duties there. 

Biltmore Estate, which nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, was constructed between 1889 and 1895. The lavish 250 room mansion was commissioned by George Washington Vanderbilt II. a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family which amassed a huge fortune through steamboats, railroads and various other business enterprises. The project was immense and John, being such a skilled stonemason. was employed there for many years. John was also a champion draughts player.

Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald 18/1/1895

By 1887 John was in partnership with another ex-Cumnockian, James Colvin. He was the son-in-law of John Kay, Tanyard, Cumnock. Messrs Murdoch & Colvin secured some large contracts for the stonework on some of the bridges of the three C's road in Lancaster County, South Carolina.

Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald 28/10/1887

According to a newspaper report in the 1880s half a dozen young masons were selected by Andrew Murdoch of Coalburn to accompany him from Scotland to fulfil a contract in South Carolina. James Colvin and William Thomson arrived there in June 1880. George Davidson, Hugh Crawford (young mason from Roadside) and William Findlay arrived there in 1887.

Asheville had quite a colony of Cumnockians according to the Irvine Times of 27/3/1891:

Alex Colvin, James Colvin, Douglas McKinnon, William Findlay, George H. Davidson, Hugh Crawford, John Miller (son of Robert Miller, Tanyard) and Robert Mair. 

In 1891 John was employed as a street inspector. In 1900 John and Maggie were living in Asheville, Buncombe in a farm named Wallace. John was working as a stonemason. Maggie died of pneumonia in January 1901 in Asheville. She was 54 years old and left John her 25 acre farm in Hazel Township and two other properties in the city. Around 1894 John had transferred his property to his wife. When his brother David died in 1891 John was made executor of his Will. He was charged with mis-appropriating David's estate for his own use and a restraining order was made against him to prevent him from selling the land.  To safeguard his assets he transferred his properties to his wife declaring himself insolvent. A complaint was made against him and he was removed as executor of David's Will because he unlawfully disposed of the assets of his estate. 

North Carolina Estate Files 1863-1979 - March term 1895 - Complaint 

John A. Murdoch is charged with mis-appropriating estate to his own use and refused to account to HB Stevens, administrator, for about $10,000 or more. John had sold off 20 lots and was taken to court. He conveyed all his property to his wife and refused to give David's widow any money. Statements were taken from several acquaintances, eg George Davidson, Douglas McKinnon and James Colvin, saying that John had a drink problem both in Scotland and the USA and was so drunk at times that he was unfit for business. When his brother David died John took possession of all the rights etc of the estate. John borrowed $600 from his brother Andrew but never repaid him. He was unfriendly towards his brother's widow and her child and often cursed and abused her and told her she was not entitled to the legacies in her husband's Will. Lillie, David's widow, said there was enough money to pay the legacies to David's children in Scotland and to repay the $600 debt to brother Andrew.

On 29th September 1909 John's grand-daughter Catherine was shot by her father. She was only five years old and her father, hotel keeper Arthur Allen, was found guilty of second degree murder and received five years imprisonment.  John returned to Scotland in August 1911 residing firstly in Old Cumnock, then New Cumnock and finally moving to Inverleith Gardens, Edinburgh, where he died in 1919. His brother Andrew from Coalburn, New Cumnock was the informant on his death certificate.

DAVID MURDOCH, the younger brother of John, was born at Gallowlea in 1842. He was also a stonemason. In 1864 he married Mary Meikle at Rigghead Farm, New Cumnock. Mary's parents were Hugh Meikle, farmer and Marion Boyd. Their first child, Eliza, was born and died in 1864. Their second child was Eliza Meikle Murdoch who was born in 1865 in Ochiltree and their third child was Andrew Murdoch who was born in Rigghead in 1868. Three months later Mary died of puerperal mania, a condition linked to childbirth. 

After his wife's death David emigrated to North Carolina. He left the children with their grandparents and made a new life there. The name of his farm was 'Annandale' although in his Will he referred to it as 'the Jarrett Place'. In December 1886 David married Lillie Ann Brooks, who was 22 years younger than him. Their son David Scott Murdoch was born a year later. 

David died of consumption on 11th February 1891 and his funeral service was at Wallace Farm the residence of his brother John. In his Will David left his daughter Eliza and son Andrew, who still lived in Scotland, $3000 each. In 1894 the Asheville Baseball Club announced it had leased Allandale Field from the heirs of David Murdoch. The local newspaper, the Asheville Citizen, reported:

'The name has long attached to the grounds as the domain of the Murdochs'

In 1897 the Superior Court of Buncombe County requested that Eliza and Andrew appear in person at the Superior Court, Buncombe, to finalise the administration of David's estate.

Ashfield Citizen 1887

ANDREW MURDOCH, third son of Andrew Murdoch and Agnes Wallace, was born in 1845 at Gallowlea in Ochiltree. In 1861 he was living in Ochiltree with his parents and siblings. He doesn't appear on the 1871 census but in 1881 he is found visiting his late sister's family in Ochiltree. He had, most likely, been in Asheville, Buncombe Co., South Carolina. He had secured a large contract in the Carolinas and had selected half a dozen young masons from Cumnock to accompany him there. It was reported in the Irvine Times of 27/3/1891 that he had returned to Asheville after a year or more spent in Scotland and was intending to remain there. However, in 1901 he was back in Scotland living in Old Coalburn, New Cumnock with his father who was 84 years old. His father died in 1906. In 1911 Andrew was still living in Coalburn. In 1919 his brother John died in Edinburgh and Andrew was the informant on his death certificate, giving his address as Coalburn, New Cumnock. Andrew died in Dalricket Mill, New Cumnock in 1927 with his usual residence being Coalburn. His brother Alexander, who lived in Paisley, was the informant. 

Irvine Times 27/3/1891

 

 

Alexander Gemmell Prospers in England

Alexander Gemmell, Benefactor who never forgot his Cumnock roots.

Link to him on Cumnock Connections tree

By Joanne Ferguson, Kay McMeekin and the late Bobby Grierson

Alexander Gemmell

Alexander Gemmell was born in 1850 when his parents were living at The Green in Cumnock. This is now the area of the staff car park behind the Tanyard Medical Practice and directly behind the Box Church at the Dub.

His father, John, was a Stonecutter Quarryman who married Elizabeth Andrew in Cumnock in 1834. They had 8 children – 3 girls and 5 boys with Alexander being the youngest son. His mother, father and some siblings are buried in Cumnock old cemetery on Barrhill Road.

Alexander married Margaret Murdoch in 1873 at Crossriggs Cottage in Cumnock which is now Crossriggs Veterinary practice. They had six children – 3 boys and 3 girls.

Alexander started his working life as a bank accountant with the Royal Bank of Scotland, Glaisnock Street in Cumnock. Around 1877 he moved to Keighley, Yorkshire, where he was appointed branch manager of Bradford Old Bank. After a succession of mergers and further appointments the bank became United Counties which was then acquired by Barclay and Co Ltd in 1916 when Alexander was appointed branch manager of the Bradford group.

in 1903 Alexander chaired the annual Glasgow-Cumnock Reunion at the Trades Hall in Glasgow. This caricature accompanied the report in the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald - Friday 27 February 1903.

In 1916 Cumnock celebrated the 50th anniversary of Cumnock becoming a Police Burgh in 1886. To mark this Alexander came back to Cumnock and presented the gold chain and badge of office to the Provost James Richmond in his term of office. The chain is 42 inches long and made of enamel and 15 ct gold.

 

The provost’s badge and chain are on display in the Baird Institute Museum in Cumnock.

Post WW1 he provided the Cumnock Parish Medal made of silver and enamel. They were individually inscribed with the soldier’s name and with “In grateful remembrance or for services” and presented to the soldiers or their families at the welcome Home Dance in Cumnock .

Alexander Gemmell died on 13 January 1923 in Bradford, Yorkshire, at the age of 73 and his will reveals he had effects of £20,552.

In 1925 Cumnock Town Council completed a scheme of houses to the south of the town hall and one of the streets, Gemmell Avenue was named in Alexander’s honour.

Mary Murray Murdoch

From Commondyke to Zion

by Roberta McGee 

A Brief History of the Murdochs of Commondyke

James Crawford Murdoch's grandfather Robert Murdoch was born on 14th March 1713 at Murdochstown, Auchinleck and died on 12th November 1792 at Commondyke, Auchinleck. He married Margaret Wyllie on 2nd June 1737 at Auchinleck. Margaret was born in Kilmarnock. Their children were Janet born 1738, Ann born 1746, John born 1748, Robert born 1750, James born 1752 and Euphemia born 1757, all at Commondyke. 

It is interesting to note that Robert, who was born in 1750, married Grizzel Broadfoot on 8th February 1781. Their daughter Marion, who was born on 2nd May 1797 at Clockclounie, Old Cumnock married David Reid who was born 24th May 1793 at Auchengibbert, Old Cumnock. David Reid was tragically shot dead in the Poachers' Riot in Old Cumnock on 10th January 1833.

Learn more about the Poachers' Riot here -  Poaching (ayrshirehistory.org.uk).

Marion Murdoch on Cumnock Connections - Family Tree 

James Crawford Murdoch and Mary Murray

James Crawford Murdoch was born on 3rd July 1786 at Commondyke, Auchinleck. His father James was also born at Commondyke in 1752 and died there in 1846. His mother was Janet Osborne, who was born on 21st April 1756 at Fogston, Ochiltree and died before 1802 which is when widower James married Veronica Kirkland who was born at Commondyke in 1752.

James Crawford Murdoch married Mary Murray on 10th January 1811 at Auchinleck. Mary was born on 13th October 1782 at Glencairn, Dumfriesshire. Her father was John Murray and her mother was Margaret McCall.

James and Mary lived in Gaswater, a small hamlet on the Muirkirk Road, which was initially built to house workers from the lime works and for the miners from the small local mines. Gaswater Limeworks, a large lime quarry and limekilns, was established in the early 19th century to convert limestone into lime. A number of bell pits were sunk to supply coal for the works. It was here that James Murdoch lost his life.

pre-1855 Accidents - Scottish Mining Website

The Scotsman 2/11/1831

Two Men Suffocated

On Fri. last, the 21st ult., at Grass-water Limeworks, in the Parish of Auchinleck, two young men of the name of Baird, sons of a farmer in the neighbourhood, came to a coalpit five fathoms deep that was sinking. One prevailed to the other to let him down the pit to see it, but, when near the bottom, he fell down from the effects of the choke-damp. The brother gave the alarm, when a man of the name of Murdoch, came to his assistance, and went down the pit, but he shared the same fate. David McLeod, another man, now went down, and he also shared the same fate. James Davidson, a third person, next went down, but, before reaching the bottom, he called out to be taken up. He got a rope fixed round his body and attempted it again, but did not succeed. A fire was got and let down into the pit and one of them was heard to moan. The smoke was quite close in the pit and nothing could be seen. However, when the windlass was turned it was found some of the three persons below were attached to the rope, and when the windlass was hoisted to a certain height, there appears but one of the men, David McLeod, hanging by one hand to the rope. He was immediately rescued by the people at the pit mouth. The other two men were dead before they could be got out. We understand Murdoch has left a wife and young family to lament his loss. McLeod recovered so far as to be able to walk home to Auchinleck in the evening.

So, at 49 years old, Mary was left a widow with a family of six. The children were Janet born 8/12/1811 Boghead, James born 29/7/1814 Gaswater, Veronica born 16/6/1816 Gaswater, Mary born 23/11/1819 Gaswater, John Murray born 20/2/1820 Gassater and William born 3/7/1825 Gaswater. James and Mary had had two further children who had died in infancy - Mary born 16/6/1813 Boghead and Margaret 30/12/1822 Gaswater. She also had the responsibility of raising her orphaned niece Margaret Murray who was 4 years old.

Mary Murray Murdoch was only 4 feet and 7 inches in height and weighed about 90lbs. She came to be known as "Wee Granny". Mary was a hard worker and a few years after the death of her husband she built, with the help of her children and some neighbours, a small stone cottage with a thatched roof.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

About 1850 Mormon elders began arriving in the UK to preach the restored gospel. Their aim was to convert as many people as possible to Mormonism and convince then to move from the UK to Utah (Zion). James Steel, the brother of Mary's daughter-in-law Ann Steele, was one of the first to be converted to the faith. James had been in England for some time and had been converted by his future wife Elizabeth Wyllie. James then visited his brother-in-law John and his wife Ann Steele, his sister, in Kirkconnel and persuaded them to embrace Mormonism. After he returned to England he sent missionaries to John's home where they held many Church meetings. John and Ann were baptised into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 29th November 1850.

James Steele

                                                

                                                               "Yes my native land, I love thee

                                                               All the scenes I love them well,

                                                               Friends, connections, happy country,

                                                            Can I bid you all farewell

                                                             Can I leave thee

                                                           Far in distant lands to dwell"

                                                                                        LDS Hymn Book

On 10th January 1852 John Murray Murdoch, his pregnant wife Ann Steele and their two children Elizabeth, who was three and a half years old, and James who was one and a half years old, boarded the ship "Kennebec" at Liverpool to start the first stage of their perilous journey to America. The journey would take nine weeks and their first stop would be New Orleans. Nearing the end of the voyage they ran out of food and water and both children took ill from lack of nutrition. No-one had any food to share and they were nearing starvation. When they reached New Orleans they were transferred to a steamboat on the Mississippi River. The steamboat was crowded and there was still no food. The children were crying with hunger and they grew weaker by the day. Sadly young John died on the steamboat on 20th March 1852 and they buried him in a woodyard on the banks of the Mississippi. They landed in Saint Louis where, tragically, daughter Elizabeth died on 4th April 1852.

After remaining in Saint Louis for about a month, they again boarded a ship and sailed up the Missouri River to Kansas City where they picked up their equipment for crossing the plains. However, cholera broke out and they had to wait until it had passed. On 20th May 1852, in the midst of a thunderstorm and in a tent, Ann gave birth to their daughter Mary Murray Murdoch, named after her grandmother. Then started the long trek across the plains to Zion with Ann walking while carrying her new baby almost all the way. Finally, on 3rd September 1852, the travellers reached Salt Lake City, safe but very, very weary. It was a bitter-sweet end to their long journey from Scotland. Sadness because they had lost two children on the way. Joy because they had reached Zion.

Mary Murray Murdoch's Journey

Mary Murray Murdoch, who was known affectionately as "Wee Granny", was baptised a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 22nd December 1851 by her son John. When John left for America he promised his mother that he would save enough money to pay for her journey to join him in Utah (Zion). True to his word he did, so, on 25th May 1856 Mary boarded the "Horizon" and sailed out of Liverpool heading for Boston on the first part of her journey to join him. She was a 72yr old widow and was determined to be with her son in Zion. She was accompanied by James Steele, who was her daughter-in-law Ann Steele's brother, James's wife Elizabeth and their two children James aged 3yrs and George aged 1yr. Also accompanying them was James's mother-in-law Mary Ann George Wyllie. The ship was chartered by the Church.

When they arrived in Boston on 28th June they then travelled by rail to Iowa City, arriving there on 8th July 1856. It would not have been a comfortable journey as they would have had to travel in converted freight cars and sit on wooden benches. At Iowa City they made their way to the Mormon encampment site where they received their handcarts. Mary was assigned to the Martin Handcart Company which was one of five handcart companies participating in the migration of members of the LDS Church to Utah using handcarts to transport their belongings. Handcarts were used as a low cost and more efficient way of transportation where pioneers pulled the wooden carts themselves instead of using wagons which were pulled by oxen. Martin's handcarts turned out to be poorly made and unfit for the job they were supposed to do, and, because the handcarts and tents were not ready, they were forced to wait until late July to continue on their journey, with disastrous results.

Willie and Martin handcart companies - Wikipedia

The Martin Company was the last to leave Iowa City in 1856. The Company consisted of 576 people, 146 carts, 7 wagons, 30 oxen and 50 cows and beef cattle. The first leg of the handcart journey across Iowa to Florence, Nebraska, was 277 miles long and would take them about four weeks. They started out in the stifling heat feeling quite upbeat. However, the problem with the badly constructed handcarts soon raised its ugly head.  They were breaking down frequently. The heat was unbearable, they encountered numerous sand hills making it difficult to push their carts and they began to run out of food and water. It was a relief to them when they crossed the Missouri River and arrived in Florence, Nebraska, the last settlement for hundreds of miles. 

They had a short stop in Florence where they stocked up on food and equipment and repaired the broken handcarts. There had been some concerns voiced by the Willie Handcart Company that they would encounter freezing cold and snow in the Rockies and it had been suggested that they should winter along the Platte River in Nebraska, but it had been over-ruled and the Willie Company had decided to carry on with the journey. The Martin Handcart Company decided to do the same. 

The Martin Handcart Company left Florence on 25th August 1856. Mary had another 900  miles to walk before she reached the Great Salt Lake and Zion and the journey was expected to be difficult. Some way into the journey the presence of the herds of buffalo on the prairie caused their cattle to stampede which resulted in the loss of milk cows and ended their rations of beef. By the time 73 years old Mary had walked 500 miles she was beginning to struggle and her body was giving up. She was exhausted and weak. 

Mary Murray Murdoch finally succumbed and she died on 2nd October 1856 about 10 miles northeast of Chimney Rock, Nebraska. She had been suffering from diarrhoea or dysentry. Mary was one of eighteen members of the Martin and Willie companies who died during the mid-September to early October period before the severe winter weather hit. James Steele, his wife Elizabeth and his mother-in-law were with Mary when she passed. Her last words were "Tell John that I died with my face toward Zion".  Wee Granny was buried near Chimney Rock, Nebraska, in a shallow grave by the side of the wagon trail.

                                                 Tell John I died with my face toward Zion

The Family of James Murdoch and Mary Murray Murdoch

Janet Murdoch was born on 8th December 1811 at Boghead and married Alexander Smith, a coalminer, on 20th December 1833 at Auchinleck. According to the 1861 Census the family were living at Birnieknowe, Auchinleck. Janet died on 28th June 1866 at Auchinleck.

Mary Murdoch was born on 16th June 1813 at Boghead and died that same year in Boghead.

James Murdoch was born on 29th July 1814 at Gaswater and died on 12th September 1884 at Lambhill Street, Glasgow. He married Margaret McCall on 24th November 1841 at Leadhills, Lanarkshire. James never embraced Mormonism but regularly kept in touch with his sisters and brothers in Utah. James was an aerated water manufacturer. He must have lived in Old Cumnock at one time because one of his sons, John, was born there in 1846

Veronica Murdoch was born on 16th June 1816 at Gaswater. She married George Caldow, a drainer, on 15th February 1839 at Auchinleck. In 1841 and 1851 George and Veronica and their children were living in Muirkirk. George died about 1858 (cannot find his death certificate) and 1861 finds Veronica living at Long Causay (North Side), Old Cumnock. She is a handsewer and with her on the census is her grandson Alexander Gold (daughter Mary's son). Although Veronica had been baptised into the Mormon Church, neither her husband nor her children had been converted. George and Veronica were supposed to have had eleven children but this is not certain. Only Mary, George, James and John can be verified.

Some sources also have in addition  Alexander, William, Thomas, Joseph, David, Brigham and Nephi. When Veronica (or Vachey as she was known) was 62 years old  she decided to join her siblings in Utah. None of her children joined her so she travelled with her brother William and family on 24th May 1878 on the Nevada. It took nineteen days to travel by sea and rail to Heber where the party rented a small house belonging to Thomas Giles, a widower. Veronica married Thomas Giles on 3rd July 1879. She never saw her children again and she died in Heber City on 4th October 1908.

                                                                     Veronica Murdoch

Mary Murdoch was born on 23rd November 1819 at Gaswater. She married Allan Mair on 4th June 1841 at Cronberry. Allan and Mary had nine children, John, James, Allan, Mary, Andrew and Alexander. Three children, Matthew, William and Janet died in infancy. When the Mormon missionaries arrived in Auchinleck Mary embraced their religion and was baptised into their church on 4th June 1851. Her husband Allan could not be persuaded to join so Mary devised a plan to leave him, taking their three youngest children with her, and joining her fellow Mormons in Utah. With the assistance of her daughter Mary and a member of the Mormon church, she began to transport their belongings in small parcels to the station where the member forwarded them on. The church also supplied her with money for her fare. She told her husband that she and the children were going to Utah for a short trip. They sailed from Liverpool on 6th June 1866 on the ship "Saint Mark". She never intended coming back. After she left her husband found out the truth. Her two oldest sons, John and James, had previously emigrated to Maryland, USA, in search of a better life so Allan sent them a cablegram asking them to try and intercept them in New York before they left for Utah. They were too late and Allan never saw his wife and three youngest children again. On first December 1866 in Salt Lake City, Mary became the plural wife of Thomas Todd but the marriage did not work out and they separated. She then married Daniel McMillan, a blacksmith and widower, on 26th June 1871 in Salt Lake City. Her two eldest sons, who lived in Maryland and Kansas, did manage eventually to pay her a short visit in Utah. Mary died on 5th December 1900 in Heber City. Her husband Allan Mair had died on 2nd May 1897 in Auchinleck.

                                                                        Mary Murdoch 
                                                                                  

John Murray Murdoch was born on 29th December 1820 at Gaswater. He was the first of Wee Granny's children to emigrate to Utah. As previously described, he had a difficult and tragic journey from Scotland to Utah. He had married Ann Steele on 24th February 1848 at Kirkconnel, Dumfriesshire. After many ups and downs they made a good life for themselves in the USA.  Ann had given birth to thirteen children there two having died on the journey from Scotland. On 9th August 1882, in obedience to the LDS teachings at that time, John took a plural wife, Isabella Crawford, a Scottish girl whose family had disowned her because she had become a Mormon. Isabella gave birth to seven children and they all lived in harmony for many years. Of the 22 children born only fifteen survived, seven having died young. Ann died on 15th December 1909 in Heber City and a heartbroken John died six months later on 6th May 1910. They were buried beside each other. Isabella died six years later.

                                      John Murray Murdoch with his two wives Ann and Isabella

   

Margaret Murray Murdoch was born on 30th December 1822 in Gaswater and died in infancy.

William Murdoch was born on 3rd July 1825 at Gaswater and baptised into the Church of Scotland. He married Janet Lennox on 23rd June 1846 in Old Cumnock. Janet, or Jessie as she was known, was born in Muir, Old Cumnock and died in Kilmarnock on 20th December 1877. She is buried in Muirkirk Graveyard. William and Jessie had six children. William converted to Mormonism and on 24th May 1878 emigrated on the steamship Nevada his final destination being Salt Lake City. Marriage No. 2 on 29th June 1882 in Heber was to a Scottish girl, Christina Graham. Unfortunately the marriage did not work and they got divorced. Marriage No. 3, on 26th November 1887 at Heber, was to Mary Reid Lindsay who was born in Glasgow. William and Mary had three children and he was 69 years old when the third child was born. William became an American citizen on 18th March 1884. When he was 75 years old he sold his farm and bought a house in Heber. He died on 12th March 1913 in Heber City.

 

Sources:

The Long Road to Zion

The Final Journey of Mary Murray Murdoch  -  Author Kenneth W. Merrell, May 2001

The James and Mary Murdoch Family History by The James and Mary Murdock Family Organisation