James Muir family: from Cumnock Manse to Alexandria, Virginia

By Scott Daily

Rev James Muir

The Reverend James Muir, would go from  being one of at least 6 children born in the Manse of Old Cumnock Parish Church to the Rev George Muir and Isabel (Tibbie) Muir, to becoming a well-known minister in Virginia in the United States, associated with several key figures in US history, including George Washington.

The Rev George Muir, James's father, was born in the village of Spott, in East Lothian, in 1724.  He had intended to enter into the legal profession, but after attending the famous revival in the Cambuslang region in the summer of 1742, he felt a call to the ministry. He became ordained on 30 November 1752, becoming the minister for theCumnock Parish church (now called the Old Church).  On 12 September 1753, George married Isabel (Tibbie) Wardlaw, who was born in Dunfermline. 

George served for 14 years in Cumnock before accepting a call to serve the High Church in Paisley. He passed away while serving in Paisley. He had an accident that injured his foot, which led to an infection, eventually he became unable to walk and was carried into the church on a sedan chair and would preach from a specially made elevated seat. After suffering for a time, his doctor felt that the best choice was to amputate, the operation appeared to be a success, but the following night as he slept an artery burst and he passed away on 20 July 1771. 

To quote from the Cumnock Chronicles article about him, "Of the work of Muir in Cumnock and the spirit he showed in carrying it on, we happen to know more than of the work and spirit of any other of this time. The session records testify that after his settlement, new life came into the Church and new methods were adopted for the progress of religion in the parish. The sin of drunkenness begins now to be frequently referred to, and the ordinary discipline of the Church, apparently long in desuetude for this sin, revived. But the sessional discipline was only part of the effort of the Church to redeem guilty persons from insobriety. The private dealing of the minister, of which we can read between the lines of the formal minutes, would go far to win offenders back, and would be a work into which Mr Muir would throw himself with all the earnestness of his faithful spirit."

Grave of James Muir

Of the children of George and Isabel, the most famous, or at least most written about, was the Rev James Muir. He was born in the manse in Cumnock on the 12th of April, 1757. Just like his father he had planned to go into law, but (to quote from his biographer William Buel Sprague) "under the preaching of his excellent father, his mind became deeply impressed with the importance of eternal things." And so "his thoughts, which had previously been directed to the profession of the Law, were now fixed upon the Christian ministry."

After studying in Glasgow and Edinburgh, he travelled to London to further study under his cousin Rev Henry Hunter, where it is possible he also began preaching in one of Lady Glenorchy's chapels. 

Sometime around 1781 he was ordained as an evangelist to Bermuda. While in Bermuda he became the principal of an academy, and became the acting pastor for Christ Church in Warwick, Bermuda. In Warwick he met Elizabeth Wellman, who was from one of Bermuda's most respectable families. They were married on 29 February, 1783.  After serving for eight years in Bermuda, the Muir family intended to move back to Scotland, but due to bad weather their ship had to sail for the United States instead, where they would end up settling.

In 1789, James accepted a call to serve as minister at the Old Presbyterian Meeting House in Alexandria, Virginia, where he would serve for 31 years until his death in 1820. To quote from an Old Presbyterian Meeting House site "Rev. Muir’s influence extended far beyond the confines of the pulpit. As a leader in his community, he demonstrated compassion by spearheading Alexandria’s Poor Relief Committee, ensuring the welfare of those in need. Muir held the role of Chaplain at Lodge No. 22, the very lodge George Washington belonged to." And "recognizing the transformative power of education, Rev. Muir took on the role of the president of the Alexandria Academy, founded in 1785 with an endowment from George Washington. This commitment to nurturing young minds and advancing knowledge underscored his dedication to progress and intellectual growth. His influence in shaping the minds of future generations continues to echo through time, reminding us of the enduring impact of dedicated educators."

As for his preaching, many wrote he was a powerful preacher, however apparently his Scottish accent was so strong that it was felt he would never be an overly popular one. But he was certainly respected for what he did say. I like the quote of one United States Senator, who after having listened to one of Muir's sermons, remarked that he was "a short man, of short sermons, of short sentences."

A close family friend was Rev John Witherspoon, president of the College of New Jersey (later to become Princeton University) and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. It was probably in part due to Witherspoon's backing that Muir was awarded an honorary degree of Doctorate of Divinity from Yale University in 1791.

As for children, Sprague records: "They had had seven children ; but, at the time of his death, only four were living, —one son and three daughters. The son Samuel was, for some years, a post surgeon in the United States army, stationed on the south-western frontier. He had, however, resigned his commission, and, having married a daughter of one of the chiefs of the Sacs or Fox tribe of Indians [now called the Sauk and the Meskwaki tribes], was, for several years, regarded as one of the greatest men of the nation. About three years before his death, he had settled in an extensive medical practice at Galena,  and, during, the Black Hawk war, when the cholera broke out in our army under General Scott, with such terrible violence, he boldly went out, as a volunteer, to endeavour to stay its ravages. But, after saving the lives of many in the army, he was attacked by the disease himself, and in twentyfour hours was numbered among its victims. He was educated at Edinburgh, was a highly accomplished man, and a skilful physician."

His daughters, are listed on this linked site as Jane, Mary, and Elizabeth, and are thought to have remained unmarried, devoting themselves to teaching in the Sunday school set up by their father. 

The Ayr Bank Crash

 by Roberta McGee

Douglas, Heron & Company was a Scottish Bank with its Head Offices in Ayr. Also known as the Ayr Bank it had a small branch in Glaisnock Street, Old Cumnock. The bank opened in 1769 and folded in 1772, reopening briefly between September 1772 and August 1773, but on 12th August 1773 it was dissolved. 

The 1760s in Scotland brought many improvements to agriculture and manufacturing. More investment was required and credit was becoming harder to get. The two main Scottish banks. the Bank of Scotland and the Royal Bank of Scotland, were unwilling to make large advances so Douglas, Heron & Company stepped into the void to increase the supply of credit. 

Many of the 131 original partners were substantial landowners based in the south-west of Scotland. This made the Company seem very secure because the deposits were backed by the partners' lands as collateral. However, there were problems from the start. When the Ayr Bank was formed the nominal capital of the Company was £159,000 of which £96,000 was immediately subscribed. However, no more that 80% of the capital was ever subscribed. In addition, there was a lack of central control with each Branch acting independently of Head Office and having their own Board of Directors. 

None of the partners had much practical banking experience nor were they protected by limited liability. They had a rather cavalier attitude to lending and loans were handed out in abundance. Six months later they discovered that a great deal of money had flowed out and very little had been taken in. The Bank had granted many loans to favoured customers and issued bank notes to cover its position. It became akin to an Old Boys' Club. By June 1772 it had issued £1.2 million through advances and bills of exchange accounting for two thirds of Scotland's currency. The Bank relied on credit from the London bank Neal, James, Fordyce and Down which collapsed during the crisis of 1772. 

Heavily in debt and unable to meet demands for cash on its banknotes, the Ayr Bank closed on 25th June 1772. The Bank briefly reopened for a year but was eventually dissolved permanently. It took at least twenty years to be wound up. The collapse had a significant impact on Scottish landowning families, some of whom were forced to sell their lands to cover their debts. Those who could not cover their debts faced prison.

'The essential errors of the Ayr Bank were trading beyond their means; divided control by permitting branches to act independently; forcing the circulation of their notes; giving credit too easily; ignorance of the principles of business; and carelessness or iniquity of officers.

(Source: History of Banking in Scotland - William Kerr)

After its failure one of the observations during the inquest was that 'much of this credit was diverted into foreign trade, speculation in West Indian land, and expensive houses in Edinburgh rather than being invested in agriculture, manufactures etc.'

(Source: Precipitation and Fall of Messrs. Douglas, Heron & Co. Report, 1778)

Two local men who were forced into bankruptcy because of the failure of the Ayr Bank were John Mitchell of Sunnyside of Wallacetoun, who was sequestrated on 9th March 1774 and Alexander Mitchell of Hallglenmuir, who was named as Factor in John Mitchell's sequestration notice. Whether John Mitchell and Alexander Mitchell were related is uncertain.

The London Gazette 12/3/1774 

A few years later Alexander Mitchell himself suffered bankruptcy. His relative, Robert Boswell, Writer to the Signet, attempted to borrow money to aid Hallglenmuir. 

'Mr Robert Boswell to try if £1000 can be borrowed by me to relieve Hallglenmuir. (Alexander Mitchell of Hallglenmuir, a kinsman, was ruined in the failure of the Douglas, Heron Bank)'

Source: Catalogue of the Papers of James Boswell at Yale University - Vol. 2

'Alexander Mitchell (died between 1780 & 1795) was owner of the Estate of Hallglenmuir in Auchinleck Parish. The lands were sold to Hugh Logan of Logan c1775-1779 and Mitchell went abroad to escape his creditors in 1780. On a letter from Mitchell dated 18/5/1780 and written aboard the ship on which he was fleeing the country James Boswell wrote N.B. - he died abroad"

Source: The General Correspondence of James Boswell 1766-1769

Hugh Logan of Logan was also a victim of the Ayr Bank crash and had to sell off property including Logan House.

So where did Alexander Mitchell abscond to?

His parents were John Mitchell and Elizabeth Boswell, sister of John of Knockroon. One of Elizabeth's brothers was Charles Boswell. Charles emigrated to Jamaica about 1745 and was the resident attorney to the very wealthy Dawkins family of sugar planters. He was also attorney for the Worcester and Roundhill Plantations of William Hall from 1775 to 1793.

Perhaps Alexander Mitchell joined his uncle in Jamaica.

Charles, who was married, died in 1796 at St James, Montego Bay, Jamaica. He was 77 years old and had lived in Jamaica for fifty years.

An interesting entry in Cumnock Kirk Sessions

Cumnock History Group

Dr Patrick Douglas of Garrallan was another investor in Douglas, Heron & Co. and he faced potential ruin when it collapsed. He managed to hold on to both his Ayrshire and Jamaican properties through the expertise of the banker John Ballantine who helped him avoid financial ruin.

Patrick had extensive trading links with Virginia and Jamaica. His younger brother William Douglas had emigrated to Virginia about 1750 and owned the plantations of Garrallan, which lay along the Potomac River, and Montressor, both in Loudoun County, Virginia. These were probably tobacco plantations relying heavily on enslaved labour. When the British colonists arrived in Virginia they divided the land into large areas suitable for farming. The land was often taken from the Indians through cancelled treaties or violence. In 1782 William Douglas died a very wealthy man in Virginia. In his Will he left "the Negro wench Molly" her freedom. 

When the American War of Independence (1775-1783) interrupted his business in Virginia Patrick expanded his interests in Jamaica.

Another young brother, Charles Douglas, had left Scotland as a young man to become the resident manager of their Jamaican estates a few miles inland of Port Antonio. Between 1777 and 1799 they had several properties. The main property was Ayr Mount, a sugar plantation, whose mansion house was Springbank, a smaller one for animals called Nightingale Grove and Finches, which was 160 acres. Charles was also attorney to other plantations. 

1786 was Robert Burns's annus horribilis. He was short of money because Mossgiel farm was so unproductive and he and his brother Gilbert were barely scraping a living. His girlfriend Jean Armour was pregnant and her angry father, who was opposed to his daughter marrying a poor farmer, was looking for a financial settlement. So his way of dealing with his troubles was to embark on an affair with Highland Mary Campbell and to make his escape to Jamaica. 

John Ballantine was a patron of Rabbie's and was also a good friend of Patrick Douglas. He asked Patrick if his brother Charles in Jamaica might have a position for Rabbie. He did - as a book-keeper. However, a book-keeper on the plantation did not work with a pen and ink, he worked with a whip and dogs. Rabbie's job would have been to oversee the slaves. Whether he was aware of this or not is uncertain. Three times he was booked to sail to Jamaica but could not raise the nine guineas to pay for the fare so Gavin Hamilton suggested he try and sell his poems to raise the money. Rabbie took his advice and his book "Poems, Briefly in the Scottish Dialect", commonly known as the Kilmarnock Edition, became an overnight success. 

Jean Armour gave birth to their twins in September 1786 and they decided to remain together. Rabbie's plans to go to Jamaica were abandoned and an orphan boy, known to the Douglas family, went in his place.

When Charles Douglas died at Springbank, Ayr Mount, Port Antonio, Jamaica in 1815 he left his Jamaican properties to his brother Patrick's daughter, his niece, Jean Douglas who had married Hamilton Boswell in 1807. Hamilton's father was John Boswell of Knockroon who sold his property to James Boswell of Auchinleck on the failure of Douglas, Heron & Co. When Jean and Hamilton married it was written into their marriage contract that he must take the name 'Douglas' so he became Hamilton Douglas Boswell.

Escape from persecution - from Belarus to Cumnock

By Kay McMeekin with help from Michael Sloane and Judith Kaplan (Updated July 2024)

The Sloane family has been trading in Cumnock since at least 1891! This is their story.

1914

Joel in centre, William in uniform, Bessie standing, Mary seated, Solomon seated front middle and Hyman seated right

Joel Dunitz’s family lived in Slonim, in the province of Grodno, Belarus until about 1888. He was one of 4 brothers. They left because of the anti-Semitic pogroms.  The pogroms were are their worst in 1881-2 so they possibly left before that.

Grandson Michael Sloane thinks they arrived in Leith in 1888. Whether that was planned or whether they thought they were going to New York is unknown.  There are apocryphal tales of immigrants being  landed in Scotland instead of New York.  Joel changed his surname to Slonimsky after their home town as only one family member was allowed to leave. His brothers left under different names.

By 1891 Joel Slonimsky was in Kilnholm Place and working as a travelling draper. He went round the doors with a suitcase and the goods could be paid for by instalments. He was a  "credit draper".

He married Lena Dunitz, his niece, in Protski in Poland in January 1894. Protski is a fair distance from Slonim.  He must have gone back for her. Their son Wolf, later know as William and Michael’s father, was born in Glasgow in November 1894 in Glasgow although Joel’s address was given as Tower st, Cumnock.

Bessie was born in 1895. She married Solomon Zeff a tailor and lived in London.  

In 1901 Joel and Lena were in Tower street

Haym or Hyman was born in 1902. He died in Glasgow in 1969.

Queenie Leah was born  in 1905. She died a few days before her 2nd birthday

Mary was born in 1906

Solomon (Solly) was born in 1908 and  became a doctor in New Cumnock. He was also known as Oliver Stone. He ended up in London. Sadly Joel's wife Lena died in 1909 in Glasgow Royal Infirmary when Solomon was less than 2 years old. She is buried in the Western Necropolis where there had been Jewish burials since 1889.

In 1906, Joel had a partner Mr Michaelson and they had a shop in Barrhill Road with a wide selection of goods. In July 1914 they opened a shop at 18 Ayr Road.  I don't know who Michaelson is. There was a Simon Michaelson, a commercial traveller in drapery, living in Cathcart Glasgow at the time but I can find nothing to link them.

In 1911 widowed Joel 43 and his children and servant Mary Agnew 26 lived in 49 Barrhill Road. Joel was a general dealer.

1906

1914

In the 1921 census Joel 55 is still in Barrhill Road with his children plus a niece Rachael Davidson and her infant son Jack. Rachael  is indeed a niece, daughter of Joel's  brother Israel Brodie. Remember, the brothers adopted new names!

1921 census

Joel, a speaker of Russian, Belarusian and Yiddish, was friends with Cumnock socialist Keir Hardie and seemingly taught him some Russian.

William Sloane served in WW1, as a Lance Corporal in the AOC. He married twice and had a daughter Moyra Lena and a son Michael.

1915

By 1930 Mr Michaelson is out of the picture and Joel and his sons are now selling records and gramophones and wireless radios.

Gramophone needle tin

Joel Slonimsky died at 22 Latta Crescent, Cumnock in 1943. The children changed their name to Sloane after Joel died and they moved to Giffnock in 1946 where there was an established Jewish community and a synagogue. They kept their business interests in Cumnock. 

 

1955

William's son Michael, now in his eighties. still keeps his shop in Glaisnock street and delivers to his customers.

They swapped premises with Breckenridge and Henderson about 1957 and moved to 61 Glaisnock Street and Breckenridge and Henderson moved to 18 Ayr Road.

The four Dunitz brothers from Judith Kaplan.

L to R Jacob, Joel, Israel, Isaac Noah

Michael at his shop in Glaisnock Street, May 2024

Photos by Morag Gordon

John Kay, WW1 cartographer

By Kay McMeekin with cooperation of his descendants.

John Kay was born in Cumnock in 1856 to  John Kay and Jean Thomson (More of the Thomson family elsewhere)

He became a tailor in Liverpool and married a widow Ellen Charlotte Jackson widow of Charles Thomas Laidman. She had two little girls Helen and Alice. John and Ellen had a daughter Frances Mary and they emigrated on the Australia to New York arriving in September 1884. They were heading for Cincinnati, Ohio where Ellen's sister Frances and their mother were living in 1880 census. They fetched up in Americus, Georgia by the 1900 census. John Kay was not with his wife and family. He was a tailor's merchant, a boarder,  in Pueblo, Pueblo, Colorado. 

John went missing in January of 1910 for a few days as seen in newspaper reports in the Austin American Statesman. No reporting of how or where he turned up again has been found yet.

The WW1 story as related by his grandson-in-law James Beard:

During the First World War, there was no mass media.  The British government paid people in the US to give lectures on what was happening on the Western Front.  Probably with a decidedly British slant.

Papa Kay was born in 1856 in Cumnock, Scotland and had been in the British army as a young man in the 1870s and attached to a cartographic unit.  The Kay family moved from Britain in the 1880s to Americus, Georgia.  The Kays moved to Austin, Texas in the mid 1890s.  Mr. Kay operated a tailoring shop in downtown Austin.

The British Government in 1915 paid £1 British pound a month to the men giving lectures about the War.  A pound was worth about $5 in those days, and Papa Kay, being a good Scotsman, was not going to let that money slip away!  To put this amount in perspective, the best paying industrial job at the time was $5 for an 8-hour shift at the Ford Motor Company in Detroit. Or about 63 cents an hour.  So, $5 for a few hours a month was pretty good!

When Mr. Kay gave a lecture, he would draw a map so people could visualize the troop movements better.  After the war was over, he gathered as much information as he could and created a 20-foot by 40-foot map.  One inch equals one mile.  

Two Aerodromes are delineated, Orly, just north of Paris, and one near Amiens.  The red lines are railroads (I know after a visit here by an officer of the French Consulate in Houston, Texas.  He could not believe how accurate the map was.)

Please note that all the hospitals are outside the city of Paris.  Well, it turns out the so called "Spanish Flu" that supposedly broke out in 1918, was actually killing French soldiers in the trenches in 1916!  The French government was afraid of the flu spreading to the civilian population, so they placed the hospitals outside the city.  Well, that actually helped the guys, because the Spanish flu attacked the respiratory system and Paris was heated with coal at the time and the air in the city was full of smoke.  With the hospitals outside the city, the guys got fresh air and sunshine! 

Remarkable War Map. Copied from The London Times March 31, 1925 from a hand written copy of the newspaper article....the only name on the letter is "Sara"...Perhaps some friend or relative in Great Britain?

(from a correspondent)

In the shop of an Austin merchant tailor, hangs one of the most remarkable maps in existence.  It tells the whole story of the Great War, so accurate is it in detail, so perfect in workmanship and so valuable (illegible word) a historical document, that it is destined to become a treasured national possession.

The creator of the map is John Kay, a graduate of Glasgow University*.  John for many years carried on the profession of a mining engineer.   From day to day, he received every item of War news circulated by the Associated Press of America.  He obtained all the official documents that were available.  He followed every detail of the War Dispatches in "The Times".

The result is a map measuring 40 feet by 20 feet.  There are more than 72,000 names inscribed upon it.  There is not a road in France that is not indicated.  Every line of trenches is marked.  Wherever the American forces were fighting, there is a flag.  The fortunes of the American forces can be followed from the moment they landed in England or in France, to the positions they occupied at the Armistice.   There is a white cross where the first American soldier fell. There is a careful chart of the Battle of Jutland.  The sinking of the (HMS) Hampshire is marked as is the place where the Lusitania was torpedoed, accompanied by the statement, "This brought us into the war."

* not found him in the archives of Glasgow University

Obituary on newspapers.com

Obit found by Joanne Ferguson

From Northern Ireland to Old Cumnock

From Northern Ireland to Old Cumnock

By Roberta McGee

Over the years a great many Cumnockians emigrated world-wide in search of a better life. However, on the other hand, some families saw Cumnock as a thriving, bustling town, the perfect place to work and raise a family. By the early 1900s Cumnock had grown in population and attracted many Irish immigrants who found work in the coal mining industry. 

Elizabeth Clawson was my husband's grandmother. Known as Betty, she was born in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Northern Ireland in 1872. Betty was the sixth child of James Clawson and Margaret Dempsey who were married in 1858 in Rocavan, Co. Antrim. James, a labourer, and Margaret lived in Glenarm, Tickmacrevan, Co. Antrim.

Glenarm is a picturesque village and dates back to before the 17th century. It lies on the North Channel coast about twelve miles north of the town of Larne which is just a short distance from Stranraer in Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland. 

After their marriage James and Margaret moved to Carrickfergus where their eight children were born. James worked as a dock labourer. Carrickfergus, which sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, is one of the oldest fortified settlements in Ulster and is steeped in history. 

When and why Betty moved to Scotland is uncertain but in 1893 we find her in Stevenston, Ayrshire, where she married Thomas McGee, a foundry worker aged 22 years. They married in the Free Church Manse in Stevenston on 27th October 1893. Betty's occupation is given as 'field worker'. Her mother, Margaret Dempsey, is recorded as deceased.  

Tom McGee was born in Dimity Street, Johnstone, Renfrewshire. His father was James Campbell McGee and his mother was Elizabeth Menzies, both of Irish extraction. Tom and his seven siblings led an unsettled life. His father was a pedlar and they travelled around from area to area. 

The 1901 census shows Tom, now a bricklayer's labourer, and Betty living in 18 Windmill Street, Saltcoats, with their two children James Campbell McGee who was born in 1894 in Stevenston and Thomas McGee who was born in 1896 at 15 McDowall Street, Johnstone. Betty's sister Maggie and her husband were also living in Windmill Street. 

Tommy, Jimmy, Sam & Alex McGee

In 1901/1902 Tom found employment as an insurance agent and they moved firstly to Tower Street, Cumnock where they had four children, Sam, Alex, Maggie and Neil, then to 98 Townhead Street, Cumnock where they had their youngest child William. 

Tom McGee with sons Sam & Neil at Michie Street

Although Tom's job as an insurance agent brought the family to Cumnock, he soon realised that a mining town would always need a chimney sweep. His main work throughout his life in Cumnock was sweeping chimneys and he supplemented his income at times through the years by being a greenkeeper, lamplighter, town crier, bill poster and J.P. Court Officer. 

Cumnock Chronicle 1914

Tom and Betty's religion was very important to them. They were attracted to Gospel work and Tom would go out into the community to preach the Gospel with his sons Tom and Jimmy who were his Gospel singers. Later they were staunch members of Cumnock Baptist Church, then the Apostolic Church, before moving back to the Baptist Church. Tom was a strong Orangeman and held the rank of Grand Master. He was also a Knight, in the Red Cross Degree, of the Grand Royal Black Chapter of Ireland and his services as a speaker in that connection were much in demand. Betty was also very much involved in the Ladies Orange Lodge in Cumnock. 

Anne Griffiths recalls Irish soldiers visiting her house in Michie Street:

We were neighbours of the McGees and gave hospitality to the many soldiers stationed locally. Whilst visiting us they spotted Mrs McGee's orange lillies growing in her garden and, as the 12th of July celebrations were approaching, they asked her if they might pick some. They arrived back at Pennylands Camp to be stopped and told 'Only one bloom each - we don't want another war here'.

Tom came through the South African Campaign with the King's Own Scottish Borderers in 1900. He enlisted with the Royal Scots Fusiliers when he was nearly 42 years old in 1914 and spent some time in the trenches in France. 

Children of Betty Clawson & Tom McGee

James Campbell McGee (Jimmy) was born in 1894 at Stevenston, Ayrshire and died in 1978 at Ballochmyle Hospital his usual address being 23 Herdston Place, Cumnock. He married Annie (Nan) Harper Armstrong in 1917 at the Baptist Church, Barrhill Road, Cumnock. Jimmy was 22 years old when he got married and had been a coalminer at Whitehill Pit but, at the time of his marriage, he was a Sergeant in the Royal Scots Fusiliers and was based at Randalstown in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.  During WW1 Randalstown was an army training camp housing more than 5,000 British and Irish soldiers in preparation for the trenches of France where Jimmy was sent after his training. After WW1 ended Jimmy became a Sergeant Major in the Territorials and later, during WW2, he was in the Home Guard. 

Jimmy & Nan McGee - family photograph

Jimmy's faith was an important part of his life. He was 13 years old when he joined the Baptist Church which he attended and took an active part in for 21 years before becoming a lay preacher with the Apostolic Church in Cumnock. He also accompanied his father Tom preaching the Gospel in the community and, with his brother Tom, was one of his Gospel singers. He later rejoined the Baptist Church where he served as a Deacon for many years. Jimmy and Nan had no children but they fostered three girls who were sisters. Nan died in 1970 at Cumnock. They had been married for 53 years. Jimmy married a second time in 1971 to widow Mirren McMurray Kerr but sadly she died that same year of acute leukaemia. He married a third time to Mary Brown Jarvis in 1973. 

Thomas McGee (Tom) was born in 1897 in Johnstone, Renfrewshire and died in 1968 in Stirling.He married Kate Scott Ritchie in 1918 at Stirling. Tom was a coalminer but at the time of his marriage he was a Corporal in the 5th Battalion RSF. They had a son Robert Ritchie McGee who died, aged 4 years old, in 1925. At the time of his son's death Tom was an asphalt worker. Kate died in July 1941 at Stirling and he married for a second time to widow Jessie Kennedy Smith. The marriage took place at 2 Urbana Terrace, Cumnock. 

Samuel Menzies McGee (Sam) was born in 1903 in Tower Street, Cumnock and died in 1989 at 13 Michie Street, Cumnock. Sam served with RSF 15th Platoon. He married Marie Matilda Drummond Biggham in 1934 at Bridgeton, Glasgow. He and Marie met on a visit "Doon the Watter" to Girvan. Marie lived in Glasgow where her family had moved to from Perth. She was born in 1905 in Glasgow and  lost her mother in 1913. She died in 1991 in Ayr County Hospital. Sam and Marie had four children two of whom are still living. 

RSF 15 Platoon - Sam McGee top row 2nd from right

Sam & Marie McGee’s Golden Wedding

Alexander McGee (Alex) was born in 1905 in Tower Street and died in 1989 in Cumnock. He married Annie Murdoch Stewart in 1926 at Skares. Annie died in 1988.

'On leaving school Alex began an apprenticeship as a slater with Messrs. Baird at Lugar. After his marriage he became a miner at Whitehill Pit. In 1946 he went into partnership as McGee & Murdoch and their premises were in Barrhill Road, Cumnock. In retirement he became a Lollipop Man at the Tanyard. They were staunch members of the Baptist Church and had five children, Tommy, Betty, Ferries, John and Margaret." 

Extracted from Golden Wedding Notice Cumnock Chronicle 2/4/1976

Annie & Alex McGee - family photograph

Two of Alex and Annie's daughter emigrated. Betty who was born in 1931 in Cumnock met her future husband Tom Houston when he was 14 years old and she was 13 years old. They began seeing each other 3 years later. Betty had been baptised into the Baptist Church. Tom was baptised in 1951 and left for America to study the ministry in 1952. Betty followed 10 months later and they were married in Calvary Baptist Church, Niagara Falls where they stayed for 11 years. Tom became a Pastor and they eventually settled in Texas where Tom had his own church.  Sadly Betty died there on 13th April 2024.

Their youngest daughter Margaret was born in 1941 in Cumnock. She married and emigrated to Zimbabwe but was forced to flee with no possessions and no money when the white landowners were evicted from their properties. She died in Ashford-in-Kemt, England in April 2019. Her sister Ferries died a month later at Ayr University Hospital. 

Margaret Dempsey McGee (Maggie) was born in 1908 at Tower Street, Cumnock. She married Robert Watson ('Dishy'). After father Tom McGee died her mother Betty went to live with them in Townhead Street. Read more about Maggie in our 'Many a Lang Scots Mile' blog here. 

Maggie McGee with brother Alex - family photograph

Neil Martin McGee was born at Tower Street, Cumnock in 1910 and married Maggie McCartney Stewart Dunn in 1937 at the Wilson Hall, Catrine. Neil and Maggie lived in Catrine all of their married lives.  Neil died there in 1983.

Neil and Maggie - family photograph

William McGee (Willie) was born in 1913 at 98 Townhead Street, Cumnock. He was a Corporal with the 13th King's Regiment (Liverpool) and volunteered to become a Chindit. The Chindits were special operations units of the British and Indian armies during WW2. Their primary mission was to operate behind enemy lines in Burma and disrupt Japanese communications. Willie took part in the first Chindit expedition, known as 'Operation Longcloth' which began in February 1943.                                                                              

Willie was taken prisoner by the Japanese on 7th May 1943 and taken to Rangoon Jail. He was fortunate to survive and return home at the end of the war. Of the Longcloth Chindits who became prisoners of war and were held in Rangoon Jail, 62% did not return home. Willie was awarded the Military Medal for acts of gallantry and devotion to duty under fire. When he returned from Burma he settled in England and married widow Gladys Nuttal in 1946. He died in Lancashire in 2003. 

William McGee MM - family photograph

Tom and Betty led happy, successful lives in their adopted town of Old Cumnock. They were the first occupants of the newly built house at 15 Michie Street in the early 1930s. Tom sadly died in 1937 at the Western Infirmary, Glasgow. Some years after his death Betty moved in with her daughter Maggie Watson at 89 Townhead Street, which was across the road from where Tom and Betty lived when they first came to Cumnock. Betty died in 1965, the oldest lady in the Burgh, in her 93rd year.

4 Generations - Betty Clawson, son Alex McGee, granddaughter Ferries and great grandson

Betty Clawson McGee, son Sam & grand-daughters Rona & Christine 

Mitchell, Pioneer Settlers in Ontario, Canada

 by Roberta McGee

    Andrew Mitchell was born in New Cumnock in 1745, the year of the Jacobite Rising. He married a much younger Anne Kennedy in 1796 in Ochiltree and took on the tenancy of Burnockhead farm,

Ochiltree in 1798 where he farmed until 1827, raising a family of eleven children there. 

    The first of Andrew and Anne Mitchell's children to emigrate was Andrew Mitchell who was born in Burnockhead farm. He was 23 years old when he emigrated to Canada in 1833. He was one of the early settlers in Spencerville in the Township of Edwardsburgh, Ontario, along the St. Lawrence River, and married a Scottish girl, Elizabeth Irvine Graham, in 1843. A few years later they moved to Northeast Hope, then to Elma Township and finally to Molesworth which was in Wallace Township in Perth County where they lived across the road from his brother John and his family. Initially they lived in shanties. Andrew, a farmer and a carpenter, and Elizabeth had at least eight children. Andrew died in Wallace Township, Ontario, in 1897.

Andrew & Elizabeth Mitchell and family c 1870- Owen Mitchell

    Andrew and Anne's oldest son John Mitchell was born in Burnockhead Farm, Ochiltree, in 1798. He married Mary Gibson in 1826 in Old Cumnock. She was the daughter of William Gibson, a weaver then snuff box maker, in Cumnock. Snuff box making was a lucrative trade in the area in the first half of the 1800s. The boxes were made of wood, mainly sycamore, with highly decorative lids and fitted with a 'secret hinge' or 'invisible wooden hinge' to prevent evaporation of moisture in the snuff inside. The production of the boxes was at its peak between 1820 and 1830 but, after that period, it gradually died away mainly because the fashion of taking snuff began to decline. William Crawford was the self-acclaimed original maker of the snuff boxes. He was also, by his first marriage, the brother-in-law of William Gibson, Mary's father. In 1811 he introduced William Gibson to the snuff box making trade, who in turn spent five years teaching his son-in-law, John Mitchell, how to make snuff boxes. 

    In 1852 John and Mary Mitchell decided to emigrate to Canada where John founded Molesworth, a small community located in the town of Huron East in Southwestern Ontario. It was on the border of the Township of Grey in Huron County and also on the border of the neighbouring County of Perth, where it was adjacent to Wallace Township. 

    Canada was still a British Colony in 1852. Over the years Treaties had been made by the British Crown with the First Nations to purchase their land. The First Nations were formerly called Indians and were the descendants of the original inhabitants of Canada who had lived there for thousands of years before explorers arrived from Europe. The land, on the shores of Lake Huron, became known as the 

Huron Tract. It was acquired by The Canada Company, a land company formed in the United Kingdom, and sold off in Lots to early settlers. For the settlers the prospect of owning land was an incentive. Acquiring land was made easier in 1842 when The Canada Company began a leasehold system whereby settlers had ten years to pay for the land. The largest group of settlers to Huron County were from Scotland. 

    John immediately spotted an opportunity. He bought Lots 52, 53 and 54 which were situated beside a river. He believed that the intended Highway 86 would come through the river and, on this assumption, he built a store and post office on Lot 52. He sold Lots 53 and 54 to other settlers coming into the area. A dam was built on the river, followed by a sawmill, while also on Lot 52 a school and other houses and businesses sprang up. Pioneer settlers in Canada faced the challenging task of building homes and communities from scratch and initially they had to live in shanties. 

Mail carrier in front and John's daughter-in-law Maria and granddaughter in doorway
Source: Seaforth & Brussels and their Neighbourhood

    Molesworth became a thriving community and John, Mary and their family, and extended family, settled well into their new lives with John becoming a Justice of the Peace there. As well as owning a store and a post office, John was a farmer and a saw miller. Religion played an important part in their lives. Their roots were Free Presbyterian, however, on the 1871 census his religion is recorded as Christadelphian with further censuses recording his religion as Presbyterian again. 

    John died in 1873 but his family carried on in the community he had founded. In 1873 his son Charles built a Bee House on Lot 52 and became known as 'The Bee King', while his other son Robert, grandson Edward and great grandson Allen, carried on the tradition of storekeepers in Molesworth.

The Mitchell House & Apiary
Source: Seaforth & Brussels and their Neighbourhood

    John and Mary were joined in 1853 by sister Margaret Mitchell, her husband John McNeish and their family. They took a farm beside them in Molesworth. Margaret was born in Burnockhead in 1817. She married John McNeish, a blacksmith, in 1841 in Old Cumnock. In 1851 they were living on the north side of Townhead Street in Cumnock and in 1861 they were living in Wallace Township, next door to Margaret's brother. 

    The last child of Andrew Mitchell and Anne Kennedy to have links with Canada was Helen Mitchell who was born in 1803 in Burnockhead. Helen married Cumnock born Andrew Thomson in 1825 in Old Cumnock. Their first three children were born in Cumnock before they moved to Mauchline in 1832 where they went on to have another five children. In 1841 Andrew, Helen and their family were living in Cowgate, Mauchline. On the 1851 census the family was living in Cowgate Lane, Mauchline. Andrew was a shoemaker and sheriff officer. Helen appears to be deceased but I have been unable to track down her death. 

    Andrew and his children moved to Canada after Helen's death. The 1861 Canada census shows Andrew living alone in Hawick, Huron County, Canada West. His children had married and settled down around the area. 

His oldest son Alexander Thomson married Canadian born Belinda Meredith in 1854 in Gore County, Ontario and they lived next door to his Uncle Andrew Mitchell, his mother's brother, in the Township of Turnberry, Huron County.

Son Andrew Thomson married Ann Eliza Fergusson about 1854 in Ontario. He was a cooper and died in 1899 in Chatham, Kent, Ontario. 

Son Hugh Thomson, a blacksmith, married Margaret Mair in 1853 at Riccarton, Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. They settled in Waterloo, Canada West, where Hugh died in 1898. 

Daughter Jean Helen Thomson married John Adams in 1858 at Waterloo, Ontario and after his death married William Scott in 1876 at Wellington, Ontario. Her father Andrew was living with them in 1871 at Proton, Grey South, Ontario.

Daughter Agnes Thomson, like her brothers, married soon after she arrived in Ontario. Her husband, James Angus Cooper, was born in Monkton, Ayrshire and they married in 1856 at Galt, Ontario.

An interesting account of James & Agnes Cooper's life in Proton

Source: 'The Township of Proton, 1982'

James emigrated from Scotland to Canada in 1853 settling for a time in Georgetown where he worked on the construction of the Grand Trunk Railway. In 1856 he married Agnes at Galt, Ontario. In 1859 they settled on Lot 7, Con. 14 of West Luther Township. The settlers who arrived before them helped them build a shanty and log stable on their property, which they called "Stoney Hill Farm". James operated a lime kiln on the hills of his farm. Their house was replaced by a store with living quarters, built by James on top of the hill. It was a typical general store of the time selling groceries, yarn, hardware etc. Mrs Cooper was much valued for her role as a midwife and nurse for the early settlement. To assist with her nursing she grew herbs in her garden'.

The indigenous people must have roamed freely amongst them. One day a First Nations man walked into their house while they were having dinner, gestured James to stand up, then he sat down in James's chair and ate the rest of James's dinner! 

Middle Row left to right James Cooper, Andrew Thomson Snr., Agnes Thomson Cooper
Cooper Family - Ancestry - various

In 1881 Agnes's father Andrew Thomson was living with the Coopers. He died on 5th October 1887 at Luther West, Ontario. Agnes died on 29th July 1923 at Mount Forest, Wellington, West Luther having fractured her skull when she fell down some stairs at her home.

Youngest daughter Grace Thomson was born in 1845 in Mauchline and died on 21st June 1923 at Mount Forest, Wellington County, Ontario, one month before her older sister Agnes Thomson Cooper. She married her first husband James Hunter, a farmer, in 1865 at Grey, Ontario. James, who was born in 1828 in Berwickshire, Scotland and died in 1889 in Mount Forest, was a pioneer settler, having arrived in Canada with his three brothers in 1857 when they purchased a homestead of 100 acres. At that time the land was all bush and there were no roads. He paid $1.50 per acre for his land. In the early days he was appointed Justice of the Peace, holding the position until his death and established the Post Office at Egerton, Ontario, where he was Postmaster.

Grace Thomson Hunter - Ancestry shared originally by Brian Maier

Grace married a second time to John Moore in 1903 in Wellington County. She died on 21st June 1923 at Mount Forest, Washington County, Ontario.

The Canadian County Atlas Digital Project