Category: In Print

Rousay Diamond and Silver Wedding Anniversaries

Celebrating their Diamond and Silver Wedding anniversaries in Rousay on February 27th 1939 –
Magnus and Helen Craigie, and their son Alexander and his wife Rose.

Magnus Craigie, Falquoy, later Ploverha’, was born on April 24th 1856, the son of Alexander Craigie, Whoam later Falquoy, and Ann Murray, Tofts, Quandale. At Holm on February 27th 1879 he married Helen Cooper, born on February 7th 1859 at Sound, Egilsay, daughter of David Cooper and Douglas Craigie. Her name was spelled Ellen Couper on the marriage certificate, and she was living at Newbigging, Holm, at the time. The ceremony was carried out by the Rev Charles Runcieman, and the witnesses were James B. Craigie, and Margaret Manson.

Magnus and Helen raised a family of 13 children: Alexander was born at Newbigging, Holm on the afternoon of April 17th 1879; Maggie Ann was born on May 17th 1880 when the family were living at Claybank, Wasbister – where the rest of her siblings were born: Magnus, on August 4th 1881; Betsy, on August 20th 1882; Wilhelmina Logie, on August 25th 1883; Clara, on May 5th 1885; James, on July 18th 1886; Mary Jessie Inkster, on July 22nd 1887; David, on August 9th 1888; John, on February 18th 1890; Lily, on May 11th 1891; Alice Gibson, on October 9th 1893; and Helen Mary, who was born on August 5th 1898 after the family moved the short distance to Ploverha’.

Alexander Craigie was a 34 year old ploughman living at Furse when he married Rose Ida Violet Hourston Gibson on February 27th 1914. She was born in 1885, the daughter of farmer David Gibson, Hullion, and Ann Craigie Sinclair, Newhouse. The ceremony at Hullion was performed by the Rev. Alexander Spark, and witnessed by the groom’s brother James Craigie, and cousin Sarah Sinclair Craigie.

Extremes of longevity existed in the family: Maggie Ann lived to the age of 108; Lily, 101; Helen, 95; Magnus, 90; Alexander, 85; Alice, 80; David, 70; and Wilhelmina, 63. Their brother John was 29 years of age when he died in 1917, and is remembered on the Rousay war memorial. Mary Jessie died at the age of 2, and Betsy died at birth.

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[My thanks to Muriel Marwick, Innister, for bringing this cutting from The Orcadian
to my attention for inclusion on the website.]

A Rousay Family
in an old
Australian Visitors’ Book

by John Marwick

Published in the Newsletter of the
Orkney Family History Society,
Issue No 62, June 2012

Some of you may be familiar with the book Rousay Roots which contains the histories of most of the old families of the Parish of Rousay. It was researched and written by my uncle Robert C Marwick (member 34) and he later put all the details online at www.rousayroots.com together with a wealth of other information. I now maintain the website on behalf of Robert.

I receive several email queries through the Rousay Roots website, usually from people of Rousay descent who are seeking further details about their roots, or who have family information or old photos which they would like to be added to the website. However, last year I received a query from a Rolf Lunsmann in Sydney, Australia for an unusual and fascinating reason. Rolf, who has no Orkney connection himself, was researching people who had signed a Visitors’ Book in a house on the outskirts of Sydney. The Visitors’ Book covered the period 1894 to 1945, and during his research Rolf established that one visiting family had a Rousay background.

A brief history of the house, the Visitors’ Book and Rolf’s research –

In all, the book includes the names of over 300 individual visitors. Until recently Rolf knew little about the people represented, but he then took on the formidable task of identifying them all and trying to put together at least some biographical information on each of them. Doing so seemed to bring the book to life and it helped to enliven the history of the house. After more than 12 months’ work, primarily using internet based resources and a few trips to the State Library of NSW, he had identified about 200 people and had at least some information about the majority of those 200. Practically all the visitors to Yangoora were prominent members of Sydney society.

The Rousay background –

Some of the visitors to Yangoora included the wife and children of a Dr John Gibson, although not, apparently, Dr Gibson himself. Rolf established, with some help from Rousay Roots, that Dr John Gibson was born in Rousay in 1856 and his wife Isabella Gibson (ms Gibson) was also born in Rousay in 1856. (Their daughter Janet Winifred Gibson was born in Edinburgh in 1887 and son Alfred John Gibson was born in Edinburgh in 1888.) This family went to Australia in 1889. Dr John Gibson became a prominent member of Sydney society, as you will see from his obituary below.

It would appear from the Visitors’ Book that Isabella Gibson and Marion Simpson were close friends. Alfred John Gibson, his wife Ailsie Talbot and their eldest child Ailsie Jean Talbot Gibson, were also regular visitors to Yangoora.

Tribute to Dr John Gibson from the British Medical Journal, 23 July 1910, kindly provided by Rolf Lunsmann –

(From our Special Correspondent)

Death of Dr John Gibson

Dr John Gibson who practised at Windsor, New South Wales for the past twenty two years died from chronic Bright’s disease and uraemia off the coast of New Guinea during a cruise for the benefit of his health on 5th May. He was in his 54th year. He was born in the Orkney Islands on 17 November 1857. He entered the University of Edinburgh, where he studied for two years in the Faculty of Arts. He then proceeded to the study of medicine, and after a distinguished career graduated MB, CM in 1879. He at once proceeded to Evie in the Orkney Islands where he engaged in private practice. He was there appointed medical officer to the parochial board of the parish of Rousay and Egilshay.

After six and a half years’ residence there he resigned his position and returned to the University of Edinburgh where he entered on special studies in pathology and bacteriology. There Professor Greenfield secured his assistance in carrying on some original researches on behalf of the Fishery Board of Scotland. For two years he held the position of second assistant in the pathological department under Professor Greenfield, and during that time he prosecuted some researches on waxy and hyaline degeneration, and for his thesis on this subject he received a gold medal on graduating MD in 1887.

He came to Sydney in 1888, and was appointed acting house-surgeon at the Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney. This position he resigned after three months to take up private practice at Windsor, where he resided for the rest of his life. At Windsor he was appointed honorary medical officer to the Hawkesbury Benevolent Asylum and Hospital, and also Government medical officer for the Windsor district; both these appointments he held at the time of his death. For some years after he went to Windsor he did a good deal of pathological work, especially microscopic examinations of specimens of cancer and tuberculosis in cattle for the New South Wales Government. At the Intercolonial Medical Congress in Sydney in 1892 he read a paper on certain worm nests or worm knots occurring in the cellular tissue of the brisket of cattle. The worm nests contained parasitic worms and filaria ova; these filaria have subsequently been named Filaria Gibsoni. In 1897 he was appointed medical officer to the Hawkesbury Agricultural College, a position which he held up to the time of his death. He laboured hard on behalf of the Hawkesbury Benevolent Asylum and Hospital, but he did not live to see the completion of the new buildings, for the erection of which he helped very largely to secure the necessary funds. The committee and subscribers of the Benevolent Asylum and Hospital, in recognition of his distinguished services, elected him President in 1909.

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John Marwick, the writer of this article, is a 1st cousin 3 times removed of Dr John Gibson.

I received a query from DeAnne Valentin who lives in Kamloops, a south-central city in British Columbia. She had been researching her husband’s family history and became particularly interested in one of her ancestors, a Jean-Baptiste Lanor.

Jean-Baptiste Lanor turned up in Kamloops some time before 1868 accompanied by his children, but no wife. Very little was known about him prior to then except that he was from northern British Columbia and had worked there for the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) for several years. He had married in the 1840s, but as the church didn’t exist in that part of British Columbia in those days, the marriage would have been what the Canadians termed a “Country Marriage”, probably to a First Nation Canadian (aboriginal/indigenous) or to a person of First Nation Descent. It was assumed that Jean-Baptiste’s wife had died and he had left for Kamloops after her death. Her name is not known.

At that time, Kamloops was a village or a fort and was originally called Fort Thompson after its location on the Thompson river, before there was a change of name to Fort Kamloops.

According to Canadian census records for the children, their father, Jean-Baptiste Lanar, was born in Scotland and their mother, no name given, was born in British Columbia.

It struck DeAnne that it was unusual for a Scotsman to be named Jean-Baptiste – until she discovered that it was fairly common in British Columbia for a man with the English name John to become Jean or Jean-Baptiste owing to the strong French influence in the area.

Deanne then searched a British Columbia archives site and found a baptism record for John-Baptist Lanor. He was baptised on 28 Dec 1868 and his birth was listed as 1813. His father was Peter Leonard and his mother was Jane Louttit. The record also indicated that John was a native of Hortenez Island, which, after a process of elimination, was assumed to be a phonetic version of Orkney.

She also found a marriage record for the same date (28 Dec 1868) for J Baptiste-Lanor and Marguerite Silortssa. The groom’s birthplace was shown as Hockney Island and the father was Peter Lanor.

The conclusion was that Jean-Baptiste Lanor (or whoever) had been born in Orkney, and after further research of Orkney records it was also concluded that Jean-Baptiste Lanor began life as John Leonard, born on 15 May 1811 in Rousay to parents Peter Leonard and Janet Louttit!

It might seem unusual that Jean-Baptiste was baptised and married on the same day. But research indicates that the church in British Columbia did not recognise the Country Marriages which were common among European men and First Nation women, and the church priests were travelling round the various villages and forts having a “blitz” on baptisms and marriages, so the marriages could be recognised by the church. Most of these proper marriages took place around 1868.

Since Helen Leonard is described as a pauper in the censuses, it seems highly unlikely that she received any money from her husband, who after all was supporting another family in Canada. John Leonard does not appear in any Scottish census and there is no indication that he ever made a return visit to Orkney or had any contact with his wife Helen.

Some of John Leonard’s children from his first Canadian marriage settled in Kamloops and he had several children with his third wife Marguerite, most of whom also settled in Kamloops. Leonard became a well known name in the area.

John Leonard drowned in the Thompson River in Kamloops on the 28th December, 1868. His widow Marguerite had children with another man in 1873, 1877 and 1880 and married this man in 1879.

John Leonard’s pattern of behaviour was somewhat unusual as he was married with children when he was recruited by the HBC. There were some other married recruits but the vast majority were young single men, generally aged between 18 and 25. Like John Leonard, several of the recruits remained in Canada but most of the men returned to Orkney at the end of their (standard 5 year) contracts. Some of those who returned to Orkney had also married First Nation women, only to up and leave them and their children when they left Canada.

The HBC has extensive archives (now a Canadian national treasure) which are housed in Winnipeg. It is almost impossible to research the archives from a distance as the HBC does not provide assistance and a visit to Winnipeg is recommended or the hire of a professional researcher – both of which are expensive. However, the archives are very gradually being made available online. The archives include a biographical profile of each employee and there is an online profile of John Leonard, although it is very vague. According to the HBC profile he entered service c1840 in Montreal, where the HBC headquarters were located at that time. But another British Columbia archive suggests that he was recruited in 1834 in Stromness (where most Orkney men were recruited). His working life was spent as a Middleman in northern British Columbia in the Thompson River district and in New Caledonia. He left the HBC’s service in 1862.

If you are interested in discovering more about John Leonard and his family just Google John Leonard, Settler in British Columbia to view the extensive site managed by DeAnne Valentin.

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My thanks to John Marwick for submitting these articles for inclusion here –
and to Orkney Family History Society for the use of their images.

Orkney Ghost in a New Zealand Garden

[written in 1959 by an anonymous author]

Just this week I was given the loan of one of those fat weekly illustrated papers which they go in for in New Zealand and Australia. This one, lent to me by Mr R O Watson, Kirkwall, was “The Weekly News” of Auckland, New Zealand – full of bright little articles, pictures, cartoons and so on.

Quite naturally, being an expert gardener, the article which had caught Mr Watson’s eye was headed “Friendly ghost in my garden”. What was even more interesting was that it had a very direct reference to Orkney.

Speaking of cleaning up her garden in autumn, the writer, who signs herself merely Katherine, says, “Often I think of the woman who toiled, nearly a century ago, to carve this garden out of a windswept hillside. For over 23 years she has been beside me – a friendly ghost.

In 1823, away in the Orkney islands, she was born Betsy Marwick, and at the age of 19 she was married there to Hugh Yorston. With six children the couple emigrated in the ‘Alpine’, arriving at Dunedin in 1859.”

The article describes how after arriving the family walked over the hills to Taieri Ferry where they stayed in the hotel before taking the farm high on the hills.

“The father and boys carried the family’s possessions, and the new baby, Richard, born on the voyage, was looked after by the pioneer mother and daughters. Though she lived till she was 83,” the article says, “the mother never again went to Dunedin.”

After twenty years of pioneering the family eventually moved to the building which had first sheltered them, the Ferry Hotel, which they converted to a dwelling-house.

The article concludes, “A semi-circle of huge pines and macrocarpa trees, steadfast against south-west storms, are a living memorial to Mrs Yorston, who planted them long ago. How strange the everlasting green bush in the gully in front of the house and the white waving snow grass on the hilltops must have looked to eyes accustomed to the bleak Orkneys and what a wonderful country where my garden ghost could plant and grow as many trees as she wished.”

Mr Watson said when giving me the magazine that it would be interesting to see if this Yorston family could be traced. He had an idea that they might have come from Rousay.

Shortly afterwards I met Dr Hugh Marwick who read the article with great interest, and the mystery was solved. Hugh Yorston was Dr Marwick’s grand-uncle. Before going to New Zealand he had been to the Nor’ Wast but he returned from there and married Betsy Marwick who, Dr Marwick says, was a cousin on his father’s side of the family. After raising a family they decided to emigrate but the sea chest that Hugh Yorston had had with him in the Nor’ Wast was found to be too big to take with them and it was left here in Orkney. It is still in Dr Marwick’s house at Alton, Kirkwall.

This document comes from the Tommy Gibson Collection.

The Orkneys and Shetland; Their Past & Present State

by

John R. Tudor  –  London, 1883

CHAPTER XXVII.

[Section covering Gairsay, Wyre, Egilsay, Rousay, & Eynhallow]

A small steamer, the Lizzie Burroughs, plies regularly between Rousay and Kirkwall, calling at Egilsay, Veira, Gairsay, and several places on the east side of the West Mainland. As, however, her head-quarters are in Rousay, she is, on her regular trips, of no service to the tourist who wishes to return to Kirkwall the same evening after visiting the three smaller islands. One day in every week she is generally off the passage and remains at either Sourin or Trumland, and persons anxious to visit Egilsay and the other two small islands, might arrange to hire her for the day. The only place, at present, in Rousay where lodgings can be obtained, is at Mr. Reid’s, at Sourin. [Thomas Balfour Reid was Inspector of Poor and the island’s Registrar. He lived at Old School with his wife Betsy]. A sailing-boat however can always be got in Kirkwall, and if tides suit Egilsay, Veira, and Gairsay might all be visited in the course of a long summer day.

GAIRSAY

The chief object of interest in this island is the old mansion house of the Craigies, now turned into a farmhouse, situated on the western side of the island.

It is said to have been erected by that William Craigie whose marriage to Mrs. Buchanan of Sandside in 1690 has already been referred to.

The house consists of buildings on the north, east, and south sides of a court with a rather ornate curtain wall, loop-holed for musketry, containing the entrance. Outside are the ruins of the chapel.

No traces have as yet been found of the big drinking-hall said to have been erected by Swein. It was probably like the Icelandic sketlas, composed chiefly of wood. On the narrow isthmus which connects the promontory known as the Hen with the island, is a grass-grown tumulus, which may or may not cover the remains of a broch or later building. The situation is an admirable one for a Viking station, as, in case of bad weather coming on, the boats had only to be taken from one side to the other round the Hen to ensure smooth water, and might even, if necessity compelled, be dragged across the isthmus. The name of Swine, applied to the holm on the east side of the island, is clearly a misnomer, and should be Swein. A very pretty view of the Northern Orcadian archipelago is to be got from the top of the little conical hill which constitutes the greater part of the island.

VEIRA

Veira, Weir, or Wyre, the Vigr of Norse days, is a peculiarly shaped island, that from Rousay appears not unlike some huge cetacean lying on the water.

The grass-grown mound, which is now all that remains of Kolbein Hruga’s fortalice, locally called Cobbe Row’s Castle, is about a quarter of a mile from the shore on the west side of the island, where the ferry crosses from close to the Established Church in Rousay. According to Wallace’s description it must have been of no great size, as he says ” It is Trenched about, of it nothing now remains, but the first Floor, It is a perfect Square the walls eight feet thick, strongly built, and cemented with Lime, the breadth or length within Walls not being above ten foot, having a large Door or Slit for the Window.”

The fosse or ditch is still to be traced. About thirty yards or so from the mound is the old church, now roofless, which, as Dryden is of opinion that it was erected in the twelfth or thirteenth century, may have been built by Kolbein Hruga, or his son, Bishop Bjarni.

It consists of nave and chancel, of which the nave measures 19 ft. 2 in. by 12 ft. 10 in. The door is at the west, and “is 2 ft. 6 in. wide at the bottom, with a semicircular head, the feet of which are set back at the impost 2½ in. at each side. This mode of fastening the arch on was probably done to give a support to the centre on which the arch was built. The jambs are parallel, 3 ft. 2 in. thick, and having no rebate for doors, nor any traces of there having been one. There is no cap. The impost is 4 ft. 11 in. above original stone sill.” Such is the technical description. The semicircular head may be described, for the non-technical visitor, as being composed of a number of thin slaty stones set on edge, and radiating like the spokes of a wheel. An arch, with a like semicircular head, leads into the chancel, 7 ft. 10 in. by 7 ft. 2 in.

All the windows are on the south side, two in the nave and one in the chancel. Only one of those in the nave is supposed to be original, and it is flat-headed, 1 ft. 10 in. by 8 in., and splays inwards to a width of 2 ft. 3 in. The one in the chancel, supposed to have been round-headed, is 2 ft. 7 in. by 11 in., and splays inwards to a width of 2 ft. There is no trace of ambry, altar, or altar place. In the chartulary of the Monastery of Munkalif, near Bergen, is preserved a deed, by which Bishop Bjarni gave to the monastery certain property known as Holand, near Dalsfiord, north of Bergen, in order to provide masses “for the souls of his father, his mother, his brother, his relations, and friends,” a tolerably comprehensive list. According to Barry, the churchyard of Veira contains graves of an extraordinary length, but, when the writer was there, it was in the usual disgraceful state common to Orcadian “bone-yards,” so much so, that even the boatman who had ferried him across commented on it.

EGILSAY

Crossing over from Sourin, on the eastern side of Rousay, you land at Shelting, which is about a quarter of a mile from the church. On your road to the church you pass a green knoll on which local tradition says Jarl Magnus was executed. The church consists of chancel, nave and circular tower, access to which is from the nave. Internally the nave measures 29 ft. 9 in. by 15 ft. 6 in., entrance to which is by two doorways facing each other on the north and south sides, each having a round arched head, and being 2 ft. 6 in. in width. On the north and south sides are windows, each 3 ft. 3 in. high, and 8½ in. wide, splaying inwards to a width of 2 ft. 9 in. On the south side are also two other windows, not original.

The chancel is 14 ft. 11 in. by 9 ft. 5½ in., and is roofed with a plain barrel vault, of which the semicircular chancel arch forms part. There was no window at the east, and but one on the north, and another on the south sides, each semi-circular headed, 1 ft. 7½ in. by 11 in., and splaying inwards to 2 ft. 1 in.

Over the vault of the chancel is a chamber entered by a doorway semicircular headed, 6 ft. 4 in. by 2 ft. 2 in. above the chancel arch. This chamber is lighted by a flat-headed window in the east end, 1 ft. 6 in. in height, and is called by the natives the “grief-house,” from some idea that it was used as a prison.

Each gable was corbie stepped, and from the drawing in Hibbert, the roofs seem to have been formed either of stone slabs, or of very coarse slates. The feature of the building is, however, the round tower, 14 ft. 10½  in. in diameter, external measurement, at the ground, and 7 ft. 8 in. internally. The entrance is by a semicircular headed doorway from the nave 2 ft. 5 in. wide. At present the tower is 48 ft. in height, and 15 ft. is said to have been removed many years back. In Hibbert’s sketch it is surmounted by a conical cap. In its original condition the tower is supposed to have had four chambers, the fourth of which was lighted by four windows facing the cardinal points; below these, on the east side, is a flat-headed opening, and below this again a semicircular headed opening 4 ft. 1 in. high by 1 ft. 9 in. wide. There are also small windows on the second and fourth stories looking north, and a modern one near the ground on the south side. In addition, above the door leading from the nave 16 ft. 3 in. from the floor, is an arched opening 5 ft. 4 in. high by 2 ft. 3 in. wide. All the windows and the north doorway have now, for preservation, been built up, and an iron gate has been placed in the south door, the key of which is kept at North Toft farmhouse.

The churchyard is surrounded by a good modern wall, and is a marvel of neatness for the Orkneys. The church itself has been used for service within the present century. What is the date, at which this almost unique church was built, will probably be never satisfactorily settled. Munch is of opinion that the Norsemen found a church here, and joining the Celtic or Gaelic word for a church, eaglais (derived from ecclesia) to the Norse ey, an island, made Egilsey. Others, again, Mr. Karl Blind amongst them, are of opinion, that the Egils is taken from the genitive of the Teutonic and Scandinavian name Egil. There is, by the way, an Egilsay in Shetland, in which, so far as the writer is aware, no trace of a church has ever been found. Assuming Munch to be correct, and that this is the original church, and not a second building erected on the site of the first, we should have to go back to the ninth century at least, if not earlier.

The round tower has made many people assign it a Celtic origin, but, after weighing the pros and cons both for Celtic and Norse buildings, Dryden is of opinion that it was built after the Irish model shortly after the re-conversion of the islands to Christianity in 998. Be the date of its erection what it may, when standing by the old walls covered with the marks of a hoar antiquity in the grey and yellow lichens which give such a variegated appearance to the whole building, and especially to the tower, you cannot help letting your thoughts go back to that 16th of April, 1115, when the bloody tragedy was being enacted on the green mound between here and the beach. You see Magnus, surrounded by his followers, watching Hakon’s vessels crossing from Wyre Sound into Howa Sound; then, the mass being celebrated in fear and trembling by the priests of the church; the execution itself; and, finally, when the drink had begun to tell on Hakon, Thora, mother of the murdered one, imploring his murderer to allow her to give his victim Christian sepulture.

ROUSAY 

This, the Hrolfsey of the Saga may be roughly described as a circular island, from five to six miles in diameter. On its eastern, southern, and south-western shores it slopes gently to the sea, whilst from Scabra Head round to Faraclett, or the Knee of Rousay, as it is called on the chart, with the exception of a small portion of the bay of Saviskaill, the coast is more or less precipitous. On the south-east side a range of hills, of which Blotchinfield (811 feet) and Knitchenfield (732 feet) are the highest points, runs from a little to the west of Sourin to nearly above Westness; north of this again a valley, of which Muckle Water (322 feet) is nearly the summit, runs across the island; north of which is another hill range, of which the pointed peak of Kierfea (762 feet) is the highest point [and pictured below].

One special peculiarity about the Rousay Hills is the terraced outline of their slopes. This is very marked above Westness and again on Kierfea. Following up the valley down which the Sourin Burn flows from Muckle Water, you come on the southern side of the burn to the Goukheads, a very rough bit of broken-up bog ground overgrown with heather, and fissured with numerous holes, which, to save a sprained ankle or worse, necessitate very careful walking. This is the habitat of the Pyrola Rotundifolia, and is said to be the only spot in the Orkneys where this flower, known in the island as the ” Round-leaved Winter Green,” is to be found. On a line between the eastern end of Muckle Water and the top of Blotchinfield is a curious ridge called the Camp of Jupiter Fring, some 600 yards long by 40 or 50 broad, and having very steep scarped sides on its northern and southern sides. How it came by this name no one knows ; Wallace referred to it two hundred years ago, and seemed to think the name had been given by some dominie from Jupiter Feriens on account of its being frequented by Jove’s bird. From the camp to the summit of Blotchinfield is a very short distance, and the view from the top, in clear weather, must be very fine. It is said that, not only Fair Isle, but even Foula has been seen at times from either Blotchinfield or Kierfea.

From the top of Blotchinfield a course, a little to the south of west, will bring you to Westness, the gardens of which, planted almost entirely by the late Dr. Traill of Woodwick, a former proprietor of the island, are the most beautiful thing of their kind in the group. Standing in them, on a warm summer’s day, when a shower has brought out the full fragrance from tree and plant, when the wild bees are flitting from flower to flower, and the whole atmosphere full of the sounds of insect and bird life, and looking out on the rapid-flowing sound below you, it is hard to realise that you are not in the land of clotted cream and cider, and that you are on the north side of the Pentland Firth of evil repute. About a mile further west you come to the church of Swandro, till quite recent days the parish church of the island. It is a parallelogram, 52 ft. 11 in. by 14 ft. 5 in. inside. The doorway is on the south side, near the west end, and on the same side are three flat-headed windows splaying inwards and outwards. There are also windows at the west end, north side, and east end. Close to the door is a recess, probably for holy water.

North-west of the church, and just outside the churchyard are the remains of mason-work, which local tradition says formed part of Sigurd of Westness’ dwelling-house. West again of this are the grass-grown remains of one if not more brochs. To the east of the churchyard are some curious impressions on the rocks, as if made with naked feet.

On the south side of the little islet of Eynhallow (the Eyin-Helga, Holy Isle of the Saga) were discovered some years back the remains of an old chapel, which, a gentleman informed the writer, have since been wantonly thrown down by a yacht-full of gorillas. It is somewhat rough on the gorilla, and, one could hardly realise such a piece of gratuitous vandalism, had there not been the case of the Logan Rock in Cornwall. The chapel, so far as could be made out, consisted of a nave 20 ft. 7 in, by 12 ft. inside, at the west end of which was a round arch, 4 ft. 3 in. wide, leading to a building 7 ft. 9 in. by 7 ft. 5 in., which Dryden is of opinion might have been a sacristy added at a later date, the doorway leading to it being the original entrance to the church, and the south doorway being opened when the chancel was added.

There was a regular chancel at the east end, 12 ft. by 8 ft. 9 in. Outside the south door of the nave was a square addition, 8 ft. 1 in. by 7 ft. 7 in. inside, with a radiating staircase. The building had long been occupied as a dwelling-house, and of course had been very much mutilated; but summing up the probabilities, Dryden is of opinion that the nave and chancel were nth or 12th century work; that a new chancel arch was put up in the 14th century, at which date the buildings at the west end and on the south side were added. Mr. Karl Blind is of opinion that the name Eyin Helga meant “The Sanctuary (Heiligthum in German) of the Isles,” and that the islet held the same position to the rest of the group that Heligoland did to the Frisian Isles.

On the north-western and south-western sides of Eynhallow are the Burger and Wheal Rostis, which, as the flood-tide, with springs, runs seven knots an hour, must be a sight to see, when a nor’-wester has for some days been piling the waters of the Atlantic on the Orcadian coast. A little west of Swandro Church is a geo, rejoicing in the significant name of Paradise, in which boats sometimes take shelter, till the tide turns. Somewhere about here Swein captured Jarl Paul, when hunting otters near Scabra Head, and the name of the district, Swandro, appears to have some connection with that incident. A cave on Eynhallow Isle bears the name of “the Cave of Twenty Men,” which may also have owed its name to the abduction of Paul.

A short distance beyond Paradise Geo you come to a series of gloups, or blow-holes, known as the Sinions of Cutclaws. The first is about thirty yards from the sea, thirty yards long, and twenty-four broad; the second a few yards beyond, circular, and about ten yards in diameter. Before, however, coming to the Sinions, and between them and Scabra Head, are some curiously formed arches, known as the Hole of the Horse, and Auk Hall; and without being of any great height, the cliffs are very picturesque and bold. A mile further you come to another sinion, known as the Kiln of Dusty. Here Bring Head commences, a very fine stretch of cliffs in places overhanging the water, the highest point of which, Hellia Spur, is probably about 300 feet. Close to Hellia Spur is the Stack of the Lobust, a long, narrow portion of rock which has slipped away from the cliff, from which it is now separated by a chasm not much over twenty feet in width. A little east of this is another similar stack in process of formation.

[The two walkers on the top of Sacquoy Head give a sense of perspective, and show just how high – and dangerous – the cliffs in the North-Western part of Rousay are.
To the right is the ‘storm beach’ at Sacquoy Head, littered with boulders thrown up by the action and power of the sea.]

From this point you get a very pretty view of Sacquoy Head, with Westray behind it. Close to Sacquoy Head are the Kilns of Brin Neven, before coming to which is a gigantic edition of the well-known Grind of the Navir in Shetland, though not so accurately cut. The sea has seized hold of a weaker than usual spot in the stratification of the cliff here, and has carved out a huge gateway, or embrasure, the stones from which lie piled in heaps to the rear. The Kilns are a series of three gloups, extending about 200 yards, from east to west. The western one is a gruesome abyss. Both of the eastern ones have arches opening seaward, through one of which you get an exquisite peep of the sea outside. All this coast line, to be properly appreciated, should be seen from a boat, and there are any amount of caves to be explored. Owing, however, to the strong tideways off the points, and the “lift ” of the sea close to the rocks, the weather must be something exceptional to render it worth a trial. Probably a week or so of light winds from east or south-east and tides at dead neap would be most favourable.

From the Kilns of Brin Neven it is best to make straight for Saviskaill, as the rest of the coast-line is not worth following round. The loch of Saviskaill, or Wasbister, though not more than forty-five acres in area, is one of the best in the islands for fishing, as the trout average nearly three-quarters of a pound each. On a small holm in the loch, where quantities of wild duck breed, are said to be the remains of a small chapel, known as the Chapel of Burrian — a name which looks as if it had been built, like the chapel dedicated to St Tredwell in Papa Westray, on the site of an old broch. There must have been in ancient days a perfect nest of these small chapels around this loch, as at the north end, close to the old burial-ground, was one known as Corse, or Cross Kirk; on Bretaness, a small promontory jutting out on the east side, was another; and N.N.E. of Langskaill, close to the sea, and dedicated to St Colm, a fourth.

[Above left is an eastern view from the top of the Sourin Brae, with the farm of Bigland in the
foreground, the northern ends of the Holm of Scockness and Egilsay, and the western coast
of Eday across the firth. To the right is a view of Kierfea Hill from the Bay of Ham in Sourin.]

Here you strike the carriage road again, a splendid instance of misplaced ingenuity, being carried over the shoulder of Kierfea Hill, instead of, as might have been done with very little trouble, round it From the highest point (411 feet above the sea), you get some good views of Faraclett Head, in the face of which is said to be a very fine cave, access to which can, with the aid of a rope, be had from land, by a steady head and strong arms. The whole round from Sourin past Westness, if Blotchinfield and Jupiter Fring are not visited, will take some eight or nine hours. There ought to be very fair sea-trout fishing with wind off shore, and water slightly coloured by rainfall, at the mouth of the Sourin Burn; but, as a portion of the shootings is let, and the proprietor, Lieut-General Burroughs, C.B., generally has a houseful of visitors staying at Trumland, the tourist must not expect to get any fishing…..

Extracted from

The Orkneys and Shetland; Their Past & Present State.

by

John R. Tudor

Printed in London by
Edward Stanford, 55, Charing Cross, S.W.
Kirkwall: Wm. Peace & Son. Lerwick: C. & A. Sandison.

1883

Some History of the Craigie Family

by

W. T. CRAIGIE

11th March 1980

Introduction: My Craigie relatives of the older generation used to claim that the Craigies had royal blood in their veins. My own generation paid no attention;’ there were no signs of royalty in our way of life. My father’s cousin, Peggy Yuille, in the last years of her life, urged me to trace the family history. Someone in Edinburgh had done it before; she couldn’t remember who, but she said it was worth doing. She died in her eighty-eighth year. After her death, I started digging into old books and records relating to the Craigie name. I have scanned the records at Register House, Edinburgh, and I have read various history books in the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, and the National Library, Edinburgh. The result of my researches was inconclusive but the exercise itself was very interesting to me, and I write these notes in thye hope that others of the family may find them equally interesting. Indeed, they may be able to fill in some of the gaps which I have been unable to fill.

There are substantial gaps in the records at Register House and some are so badly written as to be illegible. No records for the Orkney Isles exist prior to 1657. At that time the Orkney records were shipped to Edinburgh but the ship and its contents were lost in a storm at sea. Thus it appears impossible to establish any link which my family had with the shadowy “Blue-blooded,” ancestors who lived in Orkney in the fifteenth century other than accept the word of my older relatives that our family is in the direct line of succession and that my father was the oldest son, of an oldest son – and so, to the beginning of the line.

The investigations proved to be interesting. Members of the Craigie family were big fish in a little pond in Orkney for three hundred years. Since then, they have become little fish and middling sized fish, but occasionally a fair sized fish has surfaced. Sir Alexander Craigie edited the Oxford Dictionary and a Norse Dictionary; Sir Robert Craigie was ambassador to Japan from 1938 to 1941. Another Sir Alexander Craigie wrote a Primer on the poet Robert Burns in 1896.

The Orkney Craigies appear to be descended from James Cragy of Hupe and from their mother’s side, descended from the Norse Earls of Orkney and the Kings of Norway. It has also been surmised that James’s wife was also descended from the Stuart and Bruce royal lineage through David, Earl of Strathearn, who was the legitimate oldest son of King Robert II and Euphemia Ross. It appears more likely that James of Hupe’s bride was descended from the previous Strathearn line which was extinguished when the Earl of Strathearn was killed at the Battle of Halidon Hill in 1333 [part of the Second War of Scottish Independence, near Berwick-upon-Tweed.] This Earldom reverted to the Crown and was given to the aforementioned David.

CHAPTER 1

The name Craigie indicates that it was a name of territorial origin and it was spelt variously – Cragy, Cragyn, Craguli, as well as the more modern Craigie. The earliest reference to the name concerns Johan de Cragyn of Linlithgowshire who rendered homage to the English King Edward I in 1296. He did this along with two thousand other Scottish landowners (including Bruce) under duress in order to retain his lands. In history, the list of signatures was known as the “Ragman’s Roll”. His seal bears the device of a winged griffin respecting.

Craguli appears to be Craigielea. The ruins of Craigie Castle lie on the farmlands of Craigie Mains near the village of Craigie in the parish of Craigie, in Kyle, Ayrshire. The property was carried by the heiress to Wallace of Riccarton (Richardston) who became the Laird and was known as Craigie. Adam Wallace of Riccarton was the cousin of Sir William Wallace. His descendant, known as Craigie, was second in command under Hugh Douglas, Earl of Ormond at the Battle of Sark, 1448 [Part of the Anglo-Scottish Border Wars at Gretna, Dumfries and Galloway]. The victory over the Earl of Northumberland’s army was achieved principally owing to the judicious conduct and intrepid valour of the gallant Laird of Craigie who died of his wounds after the action.

Bryce de Cragy was a Burgess of Edinburgh in 1317. John de Cragy obtained a charter for the lands of Merchamstom (Merchiston) Edinburgh in 1367 and rendered homage to Robert III in 1371. He sold some, or all, of these lands before 1400. Alexander de Cragy was Bailie of the Templelands of St John, Ayr. Persons of this name early made their way to Orkney, where John de Krage appears as one of the prominent men in 1427, and Craigie of Gearsay were a family of long standing in the islands.

Craigie Place Names

The parish of Craigie in Kyle, Ayrshire, contains the ruins of thirteenth century Craigie Castle, Craigie Mains farm, and the village of Craigie with its old church and graveyard, inn, and surrounding houses, many of which are modern better-class ranch style bungalows. The early thirteenth century castle stands on a small eminence commanding wide views of flat farmland fields in all directions. The most of two walls of the main building face each other and contain handsome inside window frames with steps leading up to the small window apertures. Below each of these high windows is a line of loopholes. The collapsed curtain wall lies scattered round its original position with only the entry gate walls standing. This was the castle of the Ayrshire Craigies. It stands in the modern Craigie Mains farm lands. This farm has a large house which is almost a mansion, as well as a very nice bungalow nearby. The Kilpatricks who own the farm used to have the finest stud farm of Clydesdale horses in Britain. Now, they have an attested herd of Friesian cattle.

The small village of Craigie in Perthshire lies about a mile off the road between Dunkeld and Blairgowrie. It stands high above a small loch which contains an island upon which stand the ruins of Clinie Castle. It is a very small village but the view over the loch to the northern hills is beautiful.

There is an even smaller village of Craigie a few miles north of Aberdeen, and there are districts of Craigie in Perth and Montrose.

The Orkney Craigies have no places named after them in the Islands. The lands they held retained their original Norse names, such as Rousay, Wyre, and Gairsay.

Craigie Hill Fort is an iron-age fort lying adjacent to Cramond, near Edinburgh. Nearby, is Craigie Hall, a building of some age, now used as Headquarters of Scottish Army Command.

The poet Longfellow lived in Craigie House, Boston. There was a James Craigie who lived at the time of the American Revolution and was known as a roué. Whether the house descended from him, or from some other Craigie in America, is not known but it indicates that Craigies settled in America in Colonial days in the nineteenth century – possibly from Orkney?

Orkney Craigies

No firm date can be traced of when the first Craigies went to Orkney. The first date I can trace is contained in a document dated 1418, which refers to the “Auld Privilege of the Craigies.” Another refers to the Craigie brethren. What took them to Orkney, and when? One can only guess. Henry Sinclair, Lord of Roslin, near Edinburgh, married the sole heiress to the Orkney Earldom, and became Earl of Orkney in 1379. He would need knights to assist him in the administration of the Islands (which were under the crown of Norway). Maybe, John de Cragy of Merchiston had met with hard times! He sold his lands! Manybe he had many sons to provide for, and younger sons had to seek their own fortunes. Neighbour Sinclair of Roslin may have provided the answer, or some of it! The Craigie brethren were settled with lands of Pow, and others, by 14th February, 1418, and by 1422 James of Cragy, Laird of Hupe, was married to the eldest daughter of Lord Henry Sinclair and his lawful wife Margaret, daughter of the late Earl of Strathearn. A testimonial (or passport) reads,

“James Cragy of Hupe, Goodman 1424, and Hirdman of the King of Norway, 1422, married Margaret, Eldest daughter of Henry St Clair before 1422. Testimonial given to James of Cragy by Lawman of Orkney, Canons of St Magnus, and citizens of Kirkwall, November 10th, 1422.

William son of Thurgys (Thorgil), Lawman of Orkney, Nicolas of Anyud, and Lawrence of Turay, Canons of St Magnus Church, John Magnusson, William of Erwin, Peter of Paplay, Walter Andresson, citizens of Kirkwall, testify that James of Cragy, dominus of Hupe, the bearer of these presents is a liegeman of the King of Norway residing in Orkney and that he is married to Margaret, lawful daughter of Elizabeth of Strathearne and Lord Henry St Clair late Earl of 0rkney ( Elizabeth being lawful daughter of the late Lord Malise of Strathearne, Earl of Orkney. The lawful birth of and the merits of James of Cragy are set forth, and it is particularly mentioned that he was the firmest supporter of the late Bishop of Orkney, John of Colchester, and endured many troubles through the adversaries of the said Bishop. The seals of the granters of this testimonial are appended at Kirkwall, November 10th, 1422.

Endorsement: Ane testimoniall annentes the auld privilege of the Cragys, aviss har (rest illegible.)”

The testimonial was probably written to enable James to travel to England. Earl Henry St Clair was in command of the expedition which set out to take the young Prince James (afterwards King James I) to France. Their ship was captured by the English off Flamborough Head and the whole party was kept prisoner by the English king for many years. During this time there were many comings and goings between Scotland and England, hostages exchanged, and negotiations for release made. James Cragy as kinsman of the Orkney Earl would almost certainly be involved. Beyond that he would have a leading role in governing the Islands during the absence of the Earl.

In due course, James’s eldest son John was appointed Lawman of Orkney, a position he held from 1455 to 1480. John’s son William succeeded as Lawman and held the position from 1480 to 1495, and William’s son John became Lawman from 1495 to 1509.

The Lawman was the President of the “Thing,” (Norse-type Parliament). He was the Keeper and Expounder of the Law book and Chief Judge of Orkney. The Lawman was, therefore, the chief magistrate under Norwegian law. An important part of his duty was to uphold the rights of the citizens under Udal Law and to keep the Law book. It has been said that the Scots Lawmen did not understand properly their duties and so the Norse “liberties,” were gradually eroded.

Under Udal Law when a landowner died his land was divided between all his children. Thus, in time, the land holdings tended to become smaller and smaller. In practice, one of the heirs bought out the other shares and so preserved the estate. The Lawman and his magistrates in council confirmed the settlement and registered it in the Law book.

In 1468 the Princess of Norway (and Denmark) married King James III of Scotland. Part of her dowry was the Orkney Isles and so, for the first time Orkney became part of the Scottish realm. But it was confirmed that the old Norse Law and privileges would be respected. In 1472 James III decreed that the fee of the Lawman was to be paid only on the authority of the king. In 1470 he contracted an agreement from the Earl of Orkney that the crown take over the Earldom. Lord Sinclair was given lands in Fife, at Ravenscraig, in compensation.

John Craigie continued to preside over “The Thing,” (the Orkney Parliament in which the king, earl, bishop, Odallers, and Odal born, were equals. In 1509 the office of Lawman passed out of the Craigie family. By that time, John’s son Magnus had become Laird of the whole Island of Rousay. In 1503 Sir Thomas Craigie and John Craigie were registered as Tacksmen of the lands of Quhan, Rousay, and James Craigie and his wife were Tacksmen of the Isle of Wyre. In 1564 Sir Nicol Craigie was Vicar of Holm. In 1580 William Craigie of Pabdale (Kirkwall) was Provost of Kirkwall and Commissioner to Parliament. Magnus Craigie was a Kirkwall councillor in 1580 and another Magnus was a councillor in 1615. (He officiated at several of the trials of witches.)

The Coat of Arms on the tombstone of Sir William Craigie of Gairsay, 1620, continues to show the Ermines of the Law as does that of Provost of Kirkwall, David Craigie in 1680. Patrick Craigie was Provost of Kirkwall in 1662, and other Provosts were Thomas Craigie of Saviskaill, 1548, William Craigie of Pabdale, 1624, and Hugh Craigie, 1690. As Provost each was Commissioner to the Scots Parliament representing the Royal Burgh of Kirkwall. Robert Craigie was a Member of Parliament to Westminster, 1742-7, but I do not know if he was a Provost.

The Craigies of Gairsay were substantial merchants and landowners. Provost David Craigie of Oversanday, on his own behalf and on that of Hugh Craigie of Gairsay, paid the Bishop of Orkney for a seat in St Magnus Cathedral and for space to inter deceased members of their families, a cash consideration, and an undertaking to maintain the stained glass window [pictured below] bearing the Craigie arms above the plot.

In the year 1529 a battle was fought at Summerdale between two contending Sinclairs. The one was resident in Kirkwall. He was competent and well liked, but he was a bastard. The other, resident in Caithness, was legitimate but he was not well thought of by the Orcadians; he had the authorisation of the young Scottish King James V. He invaded the main island with a force of five hundred men which was totally wiped out by the resident army. Accepting the position, James pardoned the Orkney leaders amongst whom were James Craigie of Brough, John Craigie of Banks, Gilbert and William Craigie.

Patrick Craigie was the most colourful of the Kirkwall Provosts. He fought many diplomatic battles against the Earl of Morton to establish the rights and liberties of the Royal Burgh of Kirkwall. Here is his story.

Provost Patrick Craigie of Kirkwall

Patrick Craigie came of good stock. The Craigies were one of the oldest Scottish families in the Orkney Islands. His father, William, was a successful merchant who had served Kirkwall first as its Thesaurus [treasurer?] and afterwards as a bailie for twenty years. Patrick was the third son of the family. His mother, Marion, belonged to the Irving family, another Scots family whose roots were equally deep in Orkney history. His wife was Ann Ballenden, the daughter of another old Scots family. The lives of his brothers have not been recorded but Patrick’s name has lived on as a man of courage and resource who fought long and hard for the Royal Burgh of Kirkwall. He was born in 1620 when his father was treasurer of the burgh. Patrick was brought up in affluent circumstances and he received a good education at Kirkwall’s deep rooted grammar school.

The magistrates of the burgh in these days were men of substance; some were of Scots descent while others belonged to the old Norse families. Most of them were landowners, tacksmen, or merchants. They kept a strict watch over the affairs of the town and malefactors were punished severely. A man or woman convicted of petty theft was often ordered to be stripped to the waist and lashed with a rope by the hangman. Sometimes the sentence was carried out at the rampart on the shore, and sometimes the offender was paraded round the town and flogged to the beat of the town’s drummer at the Mercat Cross and at the town’s head. After that, some were banished from the town for life. Some were sentenced to the jougs [an iron collar fastened by a short chain to a wall, often of the parish church, or to a tree or mercat cross] and some were hanged. Convicted witches were sometimes burned to death. Thus order was maintained at this period in the seventeenth century.

To compensate for having to inflict such unpleasant sentences upon the common citizens these Justices of the Peace marked the occasions of national joy or sorrow: a sovereign’s birthday, a military victory or defeat, brought the Provost and Magistrates together to mull over and to discuss thoroughly the event. This they did aided by copious draughts of wine and brandy the cost of which was charged to the town.

Kirkwall was not an ordinary town. It was a Royal Burgh, an honour conferred on it in 1468 by King James III when the Islands which were then Norwegian were impignorated to the Scottish Crown as part of the dowry of James’s Norwegian bride. This honour was confirmed by James V in 1540 and it was one of which the citizens of Kirkwall was proud. From 1468 the Earldom of Orkney belonged to the Crown but it was the custom of succeeding monarchs to lease the Earldom to a high nobleman who possessed at least some royal blood. Two such recent incumbents, Patrick and Robert Stewart, were executed in Edinburgh for rebellion but before Patrick Stewart was apprehended he destroyed all the Records of Kirkwall as well as the ancient Lawbook of the Islands. Thus Kirkwall, among other lost documents, did not have a copy of its ancient charter. [The young Robert Stewart was hanged for treason in Edinburgh on 1 January 1615. Patrick Stewart was beheaded, also in Edinburgh, on 6 February 1615: only after his efforts to evade execution by blaming his son for the uprising had failed. At the time the most damning indictment of his character was that his execution had to be deferred in order to give him time to learn the Lord’s Prayer, which he didn’t know. The Earldom of Orkney was extinguished with Patrick’s death.]

In the reign of Charles I the Earldom was leased to the Earl of Morton. After the inter-regnum of the Protectorate under Cromwell the Earldom was again leased to Morton by Charles II. The Earl set about mulcting the Islanders for as much as he could. He saw a chance of adding to his revenues by depriving Kirkwall of the revenues which as a Royal Burgh it was entitled to collect. It was during this period that Patrick Craigie came into the picture.

Some years after the death of his father, Patrick became a bailie which office he held until 1651 when he, along with all the town’s officers who were Royalist to a man, stood down. Cromwell’s army in Scotland under General Monk had invaded the islands and a military government was imposed. The military machine was effective in controlling the Orkneymen but it rode rough shod over them. It did not concern itself with the maintenance of the Burgh’s properties which, in particular, included the cathedral church of St Magnus. The burghers, seeing the deterioration of the town’s properties through lack of repair and control, called on the former magistrates to resume their duties but it was not until 1656 that these gentlemen were re-constituted and Patrick resumed his position as a bailie.

After much deliberation the councillors decided to try to come to terms with the Protectorate and to seek its co-operation so that they could resume their functions which included the levying of revenue in order that their properties might be maintained or restored. The Burgh lacked both a Town House and a Tolbooth, and the church needed repair both inside and outside. It was resolved to send a representative to Edinburgh and the man they chose was Patrick Craigie. By this time Patrick was thirty-eight; he was in his prime, handsome, strong, clever, and literate. He had eloquence and money and he impressed people. He did things in the grand manner as befitted one of the magnates of the Orkneys. The distance from Kirkwall to Edinburgh was the best part of three hundred miles and the journey could be made by sea, or by land and sea. On land there were only rude paths and travellers went on foot or on horseback hoping they would not be molested either by the soldiery or by brigands. On sea there were the dangers of storms and pirates.

Patrick crossed the Pentland Firth and from Caithness he made the journey on a hired horse. His mission took eleven months to accomplish and he returned to Kirkwall in July, 1659. He had been successful and he had secured an Act discharging Justices of the Peace and Others from encroaching on the Burgh which was to resume its liberties and to enjoy the same. The cost of the expedition was £2,119 7s 6d most of which was legal fees. His colleagues were very satisfied with the result and Patrick was appointed next Provost of Kirkwall.

In the year 1660 Cromwell died, the Protectorate ended, and Charles II came to the throne. Once more, the Earldom was leased to the Earl of Morton who was a Douglas and one of the leading Earls of Scotland. Morton did not live in the Orkneys. His chief interest in the Islands was to extract as much revenue from the inhabitants as he could and to this end he instructed his local representatives. Until this time he was empowered to tax the lands of the Earldom but not the lands of the Royal Burgh of Kirkwall which was entitled to collect its own taxes. The Earl decided on a plan to deprive Kirkwall of its rights and so to enhance his own revenues. The plan was to demonstrate to the Privy Council that Kirkwall had co-operated with the rebel Cromwellians against the King and that the Provost, Magistrates, and Councillors should be declared rebels, debarred from office, and all their estates confiscated. Using this charge and wielding his considerable influence in Edinburgh with his fellow peers he secured on the 21st November, 1660 an Order by the Commissioners of the Estates “Discharging the pretendit Provost and Bailies of Kirkwall.”

Meanwhile, in Kirkwall, in December, unaware of the Action in Edinburgh, but alive to the threat, the Kirkwall Councillors elected Patrick Craigie to be their Commissioner for Kirkwall in Parliament. He was instructed principally:-

To get maintenance for the Kirk,
To formalise the registry of Kirkwall as a Royal Burgh,
To authorise levies for the erection of a Town Hall and a Tolbooth,
To ensure that the system of weights and measures was not interfered with (as had sometimes been done by previous Earls in the past.)

Early in January, 1661, William Young, the Earl’s servitor, appeared in Kirkwall and informed the Council that it was “discharged.” He then presented summonses against Patrick Craigie and the other officers of the Burgh namely the bailies John Edmundson, Thomas Wilson, George Spence and John Pottinger, and against Patrick Spence, the Treasurer. They were to appear before the Privy Council on 15th February. Young would not, or could not, provide written authority for his demands but he was treated seriously enough for action to be taken. The Burgh Fathers did not welcome having to undertake this trip in the dead of winter as it entailed travelling through the storms of that season when few ships ventured from port. Even the journey from Caithness to Edinburgh in the winter snows was a daunting prospect. The Provost rose to the occasion. He obtained the ready assent of his colleagues to go by himself and to represent them all. A week later he set out and attempted to cross the Pentland Firth from South Ronaldsay. Twice the vessel was driven back by storms but on its third attempt it managed to cross the stormy waters to Caithness.

Patrick had armed himself with sword and pistol, and he had sent both his man and his trunk by sea. On reaching Caithness he engaged the services of the Caithness Post, Hucheon Jock, to act as bodyguard and to take the hired horses back to Caithness after the journey to Edinburgh had been accomplished. The journey was not an easy one. They had to cross moor and mountain, river and flood, in rain, snow, sleet, and ice, in the depth of winter riding along rough tracks. After a journey of six weeks they reached Edinburgh on the first day of March.

The news which met him was disquieting. The Kirkwall men had been summoned to appear before the Council of the Estates on the fifteenth of February and as they had failed to appear the Earl’s Petition was granted. The Provost and Magistrates of Kirkwall had been denounced as rebels. Patrick had to act with care. If he was captured he would lose all his worldly goods as they were forfeit. Fortunately, he had friends who gave him shelter and subsequently found him lodgings. He was playing for high stakes and he decided to act a bold but cautious part. He ordered suits of clothes, shoes, stockings, and linen of the finest quality and thus clad in the height of fashion with golden garters and with roses on his shoes set about his business. By this time Hucheon Jock was on his way home but his own man had arrived. Patrick saw him suitably attired to accompany his flamboyant master. He visited lawyers and advocates and he met members of the Privy Council privately explaining his case and soliciting their support. He visited frequently the Convention of Royal Burghs and the Scottish Parliament on the town’s business, civil and ecclesiastical, all the while making friends and trying to enlist sympathy for his own and Kirkwall’s cause. Having thus softened up the ground he petitioned Parliament complaining of the Act which had been passed; he explained the cause of his late appearance and the true position of his town. Indeed, he explained his case so well that the Privy Council suspended the offending Act and Patrick found himself a man free to go about his lawful occasions. It was but a temporary triumph – the Act was only temporarily suspended – but he believed he had won total victory for Kirkwall, his colleagues, and himself. He threw a party, a kind of open house, for his friends and he paid a bill of £20 for strong ale. Then he caught a convenient ship at Leith and sailed home after a very eventful trip to the Capital.

The citizens of Kirkwall were delighted with the news that their officers had been re-established and Provost Patrick was the hero of the hour. He was suitably lionised. The only little fly in the ointment was that Patrick had funded these two missions from his own pocket. Up till that time Kirkwall had been without funds and had agreed to pay Patrick interest at the rate of six percent on the money spent which now amounted to several thousand pounds. The account remained outstanding and Patrick, who had perforce allowed his own business to languish during his long absences, found himself on the horns of a dilemma between public service and personal interest.

The Earl of Morton was not so easily beaten. He belonged to the inner ring of power in Scotland and he was on intimate terms with the key noblemen on the Privy Council. Craigie had not long left Edinburgh before the crafty Earl petitioned the Privy Council again to have the Kirkwall Councillors discharged from their duties. The Privy Council granted his Petition without bothering to summon to a Hearing or even inform the absent Orcadians of its action. Thus the Kirkwall Councillors proceeded with their duties unaware of the ban which had been placed on their activities.

The great Lammas Fair of the Orkneys was held at Kirkwall at the beginning of August. It had been held annually for generations and it was heralded by a procession of the Provost and Councillors through the streets headed by the town’s two drummers. The whole Council was present, proud to demonstrate that their rights as an ancient Royal Burgh had been recognised. On the Sunday, they occupied the Kirkwall magistrates’ seats in St Magnus Kirk for the same reason. The minions of Morton reported these deeds to their lord. This was his chance; he reported these misdemeanours to the Privy Council. Thus Provost Craigie and the Councillors were summoned for trial as rebels at Edinburgh on the twenty-third day of September, 1662.They made the journey by sea and encountered such rough weather that four hours after the ship reached Leith it foundered. Fortunately, the passengers were ashore before the vessel sank.

On the day of the Trial the Councillors appeared but their accuser, the Earl did not. It did not suit him. The Trial was postponed but it was agreed that Patrick should represent the other Councillors who were permitted to return to Orkney. Patrick then tried to have the matter settled out of court but the Earl would not agree. He also called at the Abbey at least nine times requesting to meet the President of the Council and each time he was refused. At last, the Earl’s agent arranged a date mutually convenient to both parties. Two days before that date the Earl arrived at Court and submitted his Petition. Not only was he admitted but also his Petition was upheld and Patrick Craigie, in his absence, was declared a rebel and put to the horn; he was now a fugitive! A Messenger-at-Arms called Carnegie was put on his trail and he had many lively moments escaping from this officer of the law.

Through his advocate, Patrick addressed a long letter to the President of the Council asking for justice. In it he wrote amongst other things that “In defending the Burgh for two years he had to neglect his own business: he had risked his life at sea during winter; his wife had died of grief leaving four motherless bairns. But though broken hearted, ruined, and unjustly declared a rebel, he was true to his trust and he would not betray the Burgh. The Earl had no just reason to persecute him anent what he had done to defend the privilege of Kirkwall. The Earl had not even met him in his lifetime.” He kept his advocates busy trying to get the sentence suspended but without result.

A new door opened. During his social occasions he had chanced to meet influential ladies friendly with the Earl but sympathetic to his plight. They gave him advice which he followed. Accompanied by the Laird of Glentochie and a Mr Buchanan and their servitors they called on my Lord of Morton at his house at Aberdour where, strangely enough, they were entertained for a week. During this time Patrick did his best to come to terms with his noble aggressor and he took the liberty of offering to his Lordship a fine gun and twenty-four pounds in cash as a placatory gesture. The Earl was graciously pleased to accept but he still drove a hard bargain. If Craigie would cease to try to have the decision against him reversed, the Earl was prepared to call off the Messenger-at-Arms and Craigie could return to Orkney. Patrick agreed and took ship for Kirkwall.

The Kirkwall Councillors continued in office, but with the help of the lawyers whom Patrick had retained, negotiations were continued in Edinburgh. During Patrick’s visits to the Capital “ane large parchment,” had been discovered in Edinburgh Castle which put Kirkwall’s case as a Royal Burgh beyond doubt, but it was not until 1668 that the Charters were finally confirmed and the decrees against the Burgh suspended. The Lords of the Treasury gave an order to the Earl of Morton “not to meddle with the town of Kirkwall or its inhabitants.” The Orkney Islands reverted to the Crown and the Earl of Morton was relieved of the Earldom of Orkney. An Act of Parliament of 1670 confirmed Kirkwall’s rights.

Thus Provost Patrick Craigie’s efforts on behalf of his native town were finally successful. His own affairs, however, had been neglected. The total money advanced by him, £7,328 15s 4d (most of which had been expended on legal fees and maintenance) was not repaid for many years and his business was ruined. He had become further embarrassed by standing security for some friend who defaulted and Patrick could not lay his hands on the money to pay up. He was put in the Tolbooth as a debtor. Later, in 1675 he was asked to fulfil a mission to Edinburgh on the town’s behalf – his fourth one! The result was said to be satisfactory. His health failed and his affairs failed to prosper; he got into debt several times and he spent his last days in the Tolbooth where he died on a Sunday morning in February, 1682. All his days he had lived in the grand manner, dressing and behaving like an openhanded lord, handing out gratuities and presents as the occasion demanded. In the end, he died in prison owing the basic sum of sixteen pounds and thirteen shillings.

Notes. Sir William Craigie of Gairsay (17th Century Tacksman and Merchant) built a handsome mansion on Gairsay. It is not possible to ascertain to which of the three lines of family he belonged.

Roithman (Norse): Magistrate.

Lawman (Norse): Chief Magistrate and Keeper of the Lawbook of the Orkneys.

Norse Earls of Orkney

Harald Maddadson, Earl of Orkney (and a descendant of the Kings of Norway). His daughter married Gilbride, Earl of Angus, and his descendant, Isabella, daughter of Magnus, the last Norse Earl, married Malise, Earl of Strathearne, who was killed at the Battle of Halidon Hill, (1333.)

Angus Earls of Orkney

Gilbride was the first Angus Earl, a Scot, with a Norse wife (mentioned above) to whom he owed the succession to the Earldom of Orkney.

Strathearn Earls

Malise, Earl of Strathearn, (another Scot) married Isabella and through her lineage became Earl of Orkney. He was killed at the Battle of Halidon Hill (1333). His son Malise, Earl of Strathearn, Caithness, and Orkney, married

(1) Johanna, daughter of Sir John Menteith, and

(2) Marjory, daughter of Hugh, Earl of Ross (circa 1350).

Malise had no male issue but his daughter Elizabeth married Henry St Clair, Lord of Roslin, who was made Earl of Orkney.

This Henry was the son of William St Clair, Lord of Roslin, who had married Isabella, the daughter of Malise, Earl of Strathearn.

The eldest daughter of Henry and Elizabeth named Margaret married James Cragy, Laird of Hupe, before 1422.

Note. With the death of Malise at Halidon Hill the male Strathearn line died out and the Earldom reverted to the Crown. David, the oldest son of King Robert 11 and Euphemia Ross became the next Earl of Strathearn in 1379.

Pedigree of the Craigie Family from the late Sixteenth Century

As far as I can trace no written records exist to establish the family connexions for two main reasons.

1. During the Earldom of Patrick Stewart, Patrick rebelled against the Crown and before he was apprehended and executed, he destroyed the Records of Kirkwall as well as the ancient Law book of the Islands (with the object of seizing the lands and properties which he coveted).

2. During the Cromwell Protectorate all the remaining records were ordered to be sent to Edinburgh for safe keeping. The ship in which they were dispatched sunk in a storm at sea. Thus the remaining Records were lost forever.

However, members of the Craigie family continued to display the Ermines of the Law on their Heraldic shields thus claiming descent from their Lawman ancestors.

Throughout the Seventeenth Century there were prominent Craigies – merchants, tacksmen, and provosts – who appeared to come from various branches of the family. Then in the Eighteenth Century there is no mention of a prominent Craigie with the exception of Robert Craigie of Glendoig who became Member of Parliament, 1742-47.

The Records of the Islands exist from 1657 but they are incomplete and some of them are illegible. I have scanned them in Register House, Edinburgh, and I have failed to trace my own descent further back than two hundred years. In spite of the claims of my older relations that my father was the head of the major branch of the family, I can find nothing to substantiate, or disprove it. It was owing to “hard times,” that my grandfather and his brothers left Orkney to seek their fortunes in Glasgow or Edinburgh a hundred years ago. Throughout the century prior to that our family were either artisans or tradesmen. How a leading family with several important branches should all lose their prosperity during the same period remains a mystery.

The family tree annexed is derived from these searches. The first James Craigie mentioned is the only one of that name which fits into the pattern but it cannot be substantiated. All the rest is substantiated.

It is possible that the other main lines of the family returned to the mainland of Scotland at various times during the eighteenth century as, apart from Craigie of Gairsay, no other main line Craigies appear in the registers of births, marriages, or deaths. Jim Inkster, the husband of the daughter of William W. Craigie, showed me in Kirkwall Cemetery the headstone of James Craigie (who was born in 1799). Jim became the junior partner of William in the latter’s cabinet-making business which involved extensive travelling throughout Scotland and England. Eventually, the trade declined and the business was wound up. The said William presented a handsome silver trophy for competition at Kirkwall Bowling Green which I saw during my visit.

[James Craigie (1799-1874) married Margaret Hutton Flett (1811-1884) in November 1840. The 1851 census records James being a shoemaker in Albert Street, Kirkwall, employing four men. The two images above show both ends of Albert Street, the hand-tinted postcard showing the ‘big tree’ at the Cathedral end – and the other at the junction of Bridge Street, courtesy of Orkney Library & Archive.]

[The photo below shows the Craigie family headstone in St Magnus Cathedral graveyard.]

My grandfather, along with two brothers, migrated to Glasgow before 1870, while another brother went to Edinburgh.

Grandfather James became a salesman. He married Magdalene Hoey (of Huguenot ancestry) who came from the farm of Strathruddie, near Aberdour, Fifeshire. He became a sergeant in the Volunteers and took part in the famous “wet revue,” (1880?) as a result of which he caught pneumonia. Thereafter he was afflicted with a chest weakness which encouraged him to emigrate to Australia and to join relatives already settled there. He died at sea in the Indian Ocean.

My father, his eldest son, was aged about twelve when his father died and he was forced to leave school. At first he worked in a coal merchant’s office. Then he became apprenticed to a firm of architects, Clark & Bell. At the School of Art he became top student and won a scholarship which enabled him to study in France and Italy. In due course, he became a partner of the firm of Clark, Bell, & J. H. Craigie. When war was declared against Germany in 1914, Captain Craigie (although aged 44) joined up, as did his partner, George Bell Junior. They closed the office for the duration of the war and only resumed business in 1919. In public life he was a Justice of the Peace, Chairman of Cathcart Parish Council, and Member of Cathcart Ward Committee.

His most notable works of architecture were the re-construction of the Glasgow Law Courts, the re-construction of the Grosvenor Restaurant, and the building of Lewis’s Department Store, in Argyle Street, Glasgow. He was an Elder of the Church of Scotland and he was a keen member of Newlands Bowling Club. He was an upright man and a good father.

My brother James was his eldest son. He became a member of the Pharmaceutical Society and practiced all his life in Surrey, except for the years of Hitler’s War when he saw service in England, the Middle East, and Burma, in the Survey Section of an Artillery unit. He died in 1979, aged 70, leaving his widow, Irvine, and two sons, James and Robert.

The writer of this article was William Thom Craigie [b. Glasgow 19/08/1910 – d. Glasgow 29/09/1991]. He was the son of James Hoey Craigie [1870-1930, Glasgow], whose second wife was Roberta Jean Thom [1886-1920].

James Hoey Craigie’s father was James Craigie [1842-1882] of Kirkwall, Orkney, whose wife was Magdalene Hoey [1844-1929 of Glasgow].

The above James Craigie [b.1842] was the son of James Craigie [1799-1874 of Orkney], and his wife was Margaret Hutton Flett 1811-1884.

That James Craigie [b.1799] was the son of James Craigie and Jean Flett – and that James Craigie was the son of James Craigie [b. 1772, Kirkwall] and Marjory Reid.

…………………….

[I am indebted to Janet Craigie-McConnell of Victoria, Australia, for sending me a copy of this document for inclusion on the Rousay Remembered website.]

by

Huw Gwynn-Jones, 2018

Photos by Nicki Gwynn-Jones, FRPS

www.nickigwynnjones.zenfolio.com

Written in January 1980

by

LEONARD CORSIE

Born on November 25th 1906, Leonard Corsie was the son of Malcolm Corsie, Brendale,  [1858-1927] and Agnes Kidd, South Queensferry, [1860-1958]. His father Malcolm’s parents were William Corsie, Nears, later Brendale [1830 -1917] and Ann Leonard, Digro [1833 -1924].

[The following information was assembled by Leonard Corsie of Canada on visits to Orkney in 1970 and 1972 and thereafter with assistance from his cousin Janet Cameron of London. The documents  and all photographs [unless otherwise accredited] were amongst family memorabilia kept by the late Vicky Aitken, Dunedin, New Zealand, and were forwarded to me for use on Rousay Remembered by her daughter Paddy Rapson, of Melbourne, Australia.

Vicky’s maternal grandmother was Ann Corsie, daughter of William Corsie and Ann Leonard. Leonard Corsie’s father Malcolm was also a child of William Corsie and Ann Leonard. The document was typed up in 1980 by Janet Cameron who for many years lived in London and worked at Selfridges. She was the daughter of James, another son of William and Ann.

The NZ Connection was written by Vicky Aitken to fill in the gaps and correct errors about her grandmother Ann Corsie’s family – written at the behest of Janet Cameron.]

When I was growing up in Scotland, I was under the impression that we were an isolated group consisting of our family  and  my father’s  brothers  and  sisters  and  their  children. We were aware that there was a family named Corsie in the town of Kirkwall, Orkney, but did not consider them to be related.

There was also a family named Corsie in Aberdeenshire who were related, but we had never met any of them, except once when a Miss Corsie, a cousin of my father, visited us when we lived in Broxburn. She was a nurse and never married.

In the late 1960’s I became interested in the family history and, to my amazement, found that there are many families of the name of Corsie. There are several in the South of England and also throughout Scotland.

The family in Kirkwall is certainly related, though there is not any definite proof.

We do not know the origin of the name. The book ‘Black’s Surnames’ does not list ‘Corsie’ but does list ‘Corse’, an old surname in Rousay, from ‘Corse’ a farm in the parish of St. Ola.

Mr. J. Storer Clouston in his book “The People and Surnames of Orkney” mentions the Corsies of Rousay as an example of a territorial name, and this would suggest that the name was originally Corse. There are people living in Orkney named Corse and in Edinburgh at one time, perhaps even today, there were people named Corse living in Rousay. The Rousay parish records start in 1733 with a blank period between 1746 and 1798. The earliest record of the name I have is a Will made in 1632 by an Edward Corsie. It is unreadable, being hand-written in a mixture of Latin and Old Norse. I have extracts from the parish records 1734 to 1744 listing many births and also 1807 to 1813 listing many marriages.

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The first record of my particular family is of my Great-Great Grandfather, Hugh Corsie. He was born in 1770 and married Christina Sinclair in 1797. There is no record of his death, and no record whatever or Christina Sinclair’s death – or birth.

Hugh Corsie and Christina Sinclair had two sons, one of which there is on record John born Nov. 11th 1880 [78]. There is no further record of him of which I am aware. Malcolm, the other son, was my Great-Grandfather and was born 17th November 1798.

MALCOLM CORSIE 1798 – 1878

Malcolm Corsie was born 17th Nov. 1798, married lsabella Louttit 7th Dec., 1827. He was 29 – she was 30. In the 1851 census he is listed as the tenant of the farm of Nears (Nearhouse) Rousay, 52 years old. Isabella, his wife, 53 – son John, 22, employed on the farm; son, William, 20, tailor; son James 18 employed on the farm. Daughter Isabella, 16, employed at home, and son George, 12, scholar. I do not know how long he had been at Nears before 1851 but I think he must have been there since they married in 1827. He died at Nears 18th January 1878 and he was 79. His widow Isabella died 17th March 1888, aged 90, also at Nears. Her death was registered by John Robertson, her son-in-law. In the 1881 census John Robertson was listed as farm manager at Nears. Then in 1891 census John Robertson is listed as farmer at Banks. Apparently John Robertson had managed the farm of Nears from Malcolm’s death until lsabella died.

Malcolm spent many years with the Dundee whalers, which meant that he was away from home every year from early Spring until late fall, while Isabella managed the farm. He must have been a fairly successful man, as he was worth, in Bank Deposits, farm stock, implements and household effects, over £500, which in 1878 was quite a respectable sum of money. He must have been a man of strong character and his descendants still refer to him as if he had died ten years ago, instead of a hundred. When Malcolm was away, Isabella had many of her grandchildren at Nears and practically raised them, my father included.

My father told me of once when a pack of gypsies had come around the farm – they were common at that time. They must have thought that Isabella was alone, as they had tried to intimidate her and had actually laid their hands on her just as Malcolm had come around one of the buildings. Malcolm took a whip and beat them up. On occasions, sailing ships would seek shelter between the islands and would signal for a pilot. As many men as could would try to get the job, but, while they were bargaining with the master, Malcolm would board the ship, start giving orders and settle with the Master after  the  ship  had  anchored. I wonder what his neighbours thought of him and his high-handed ways?

The landowner in Malcolm’s day was a retired army General, a General Burroughs of Indian Mutiny fame, and from all accounts a most exacting landlord. The writer, Edwin Muir, in his auto-biography published in 1954 claims that the General’s exactions drove his father off the farm on the Island of Wyre of which he was tenant. My father once told me that once General Burroughs met Malcolm on the road which circles the Island of Rousay, and apparently not for the first time, brought up the subject of Malcolm buying the farm of Nears, saying that he believed that Mr. Corsie was a rich man. Malcolm replied that indeed he was a rich man – he had four sons and a daughter.

Malcolm Corsie and Isabella Louttit had four sons, John, William, James Sinclair and George William Traill, one daughter Isabella.

JOHN CORSIE 1829 – 1913

Malcolm Corsie and Isabella Louttit’s oldest son John married Elizabeth Martin on September 6th 1861 in Aberdeen. She was a daughter of William Martin, Grain Merchants’ Agent, and at that time was farming in the parish of Cleat on the island of Westray. Between 1863 and 1866 John Corsie and his wife moved to Millbrex in Aberdeenshire, and in the census reports or 1871, 1881 and 1891 he is listed as a school teacher, and, for each of these census takings he was acting as the Registrar. There were four daughters and one son of this marriage. Elizabeth, born in Westray 1863 married in 1891 to a William Rae, a Congregational Minister. She married a second time to a J. Strachan and there was a son Malcolm Strachan, a school teacher, who died in the 1970’s. Georgina born 1866, married James Horne, a farmer, in 1893. There were two …. [the rest of this paragraph is missing].

John Corsie’s wife died of cancer on 10th June 1888 aged 53. John died August 26th 1913 at Peterhead. He was 84 and living with his son Malcolm who  was  a  marine  engineer. He had spent several years at sea and then became the owner of a small shipyard at Peterhead. I am not sure but I imagine the scope of the work would be limited to small trawlers, drifters and such like craft. He operated this yard until he retired, and died on 17th July 1949 at the home of his daughter Mrs Robert Smith, 82 years.

Malcolm married Margaret Alexander and there were four daughters Elizabeth (Mrs E. Ramsay), Agnes (Mrs. J. Harper), Christina (Mrs. Robert Smith), and Margaret (Mrs. A. Steel). There are eight grand-children and eighteen great-grandchildren, none  of  whom, of course, has the surname of Corsie. Several have Corsie as a second given name. A son of Christina is a marine engineer and is at sea. I have met him. He is also called Malcolm – Malcolm Corsie Smith. I also met his parents. Another son of Christina is a Government Official in Rhodesia. Margaret, Mrs. Steel, has a son Colin who is a Professor at Brandie University, Boston, Mass., U.S.A.

WILLIAM CORSIE 1830 – 1917

In this 1871 census William is listed as a fishermen, but I suspect that this was only a part time occupation and that he also farmed and worked as a tailor on occasion. In 1881 they were still at Catholes and the census lists William as Master Tailor, and Sheriff Officer, Kirkwall Court. In 1882 their oldest son William died. According to my father, they were then on the farm of Brendale and farmed there until, I think, 1889 when they retired to Kirkwall. After retiring from active farming, he was skipper of the “Star of Bethlehem” and of “The Gleaner” both owned by a Kirkwall merchant named Robert Garden. The Gleaner, I know, was fitted as a shop purveying groceries etc. round the Islands. There is an entry in the Kirkwall Harbour Master’s records dated  22nd  July  1894  of  the “Star of Bethlehem” arriving or departing from and to the North Isles, Master Corsie. “The Star of Bethlehem” was still afloat in Kirkwall Harbour in 1972 fitted out as a pleasure craft. “The Gleaner” was built in 1884 and was rammed and sunk in the Firth of Clyde during the Second World War while employed as a Balloon ship. William was active after his retirement with the Royal Naval reserve and also the Coast Guard at North Queensferry. He and Anne Leonard celebrated their Diamond Wedding in 1913 and the account from the Kirkwall newspaper “The Orcadian” follows. William died in Kirkwall on 31st July 1917 aged 86. Anne died Oct. 3rd 1924 aged 90, in Kirkwall.

Account of Mr. & Mrs. Wm. Corsie’s Diamond Wedding – 1913

There was an interesting and interested gathering at the home of Mr. & Mrs. W. Corsie, 11 Albert Street, Kirkwall, on Monday evening. The occasion was the celebration of the aged couple’s diamond wedding – an event which the members of the family fittingly honoured.

William and Anne Corsie were married on February 10th 1853. The husband is 83 years of age as the following Certificate shows: – “March 6th 1831. William, son of Malcolm Corsie and Isabella Louttit, Frotoft, was born 24th August 1830 and was baptised 6th March 1831 before witnesses. (Extracted from the Register of Births and Baptisms of the united parishes of Rousay end Egilshay, by George Robson, Session Clerk).

“Anne, daughter of Peter Leonard and Isobell McKinlay, Digro, Sourin, was born 23 September and baptised 8th December 1833 before witnesses”. (Extracted from the Register of Births and Baptisms in the Pariah of Rousay and Egilshay, by James Gardner Minister of Rousay and Egilshay”).

Mr. Corsie served an apprenticeship as a tailor in Kirkwall and afterwards worked at his trade on his father’s farm. He also occupied the farm of Brendale on the Rousay estate, and, on retiring in 1889, came to Kirkwall to live.

Mr. Corsie was for many years a member of the Volunteer Naval Reserve and is now the doyen of the National Reserve in Orkney. Mrs. Corsie is a sister or the late Mr. Peter Leonard, Cabinetmaker, Kirkwall, and it is of interest to note that her brother James, who acted as best man to her husband, is still alive and is resident in Oban. Mr. Corsie’s only sister, who was Mrs. Corsie’s bridesmaid, died many years ago.

Of the marriage, thirteen children were born – eight sons and five daughters, of whom six sons and all the daughters now survive. The Grandchildren number sixty-five, of whom fifty-seven are alive, and the Great-grandchildren were twenty-three, of whom eighteen survive. The table annexed gives these particulars in more detail.

Children	Grand-children	Great-grandchildren
Margaret	Six (1 dead)	Seventeen (3 dead)
Annie	Four	–
William	(dead)	–
Malcolm	Six (3 dead)	–
James	Six	–
Peter	–	–
George	Eleven (2 dead)	–
John	Thirteen (2 dead)	Six (2 dead)
Charles	–	–
Frederick	Ten (2 dead)	–
Minnie	–	–
Jessie	Seven	–
Bella	Three	–

lt is interesting to note that the combined ages or Mr. Corsie and the eldest of the three succeeding generations total one hundred and ninety-one years.

The company which met with Mr. and Mrs. Corsie on Monday night numbered about thirty-five, including six of their children. Malcolm the eldest, came all the way from S. Queensferry; Minnie from Edinburgh; James resident in Kirkwall, John from Rousay, Margaret from Egilshay and Annie from Evie. Of the five remaining children unable to be present, most of these were in Midlothian and one as far away as South Africa. The Rev. William Pitcairn Craig of St. Magnus Cathedral was asked to preside and opened the proceedings with prayer.

Thereafter he read Mr. and Mrs. Corsie’s marriage certificate, which is in the following terms: –

“Rousay 9th February 1853. This is to certify William Corsie in Nears and Anne Leonard in Digro nave been regularly proclaimed with a view to marriage, and no objection offered. Geo. Robson S.C.

Digro 16th February 1853. I have this day married the above parties. James Gardner, Minister of Rousay and Egilshay.”

Mr Craig heartily congratulated Mr. and Mrs. Corsie on attaining the unique distinction of celebrating their diamond wedding. Referring to the extreme rarity of such celebrations, he remarked that they were impossible without an unusual conjunction of circumstances, those of great longevity on the part of both husband and wife, and also an early marriage. After contesting an ordinary wedding and its thoughts of anticipation and prospects, with a diamond wedding and its thoughts, largely of retrospect and thanksgiving, he went on to speak of the early life of Mr. and Mrs. Corsie in their Island home, and of their joy in the reflection that of their large number of descendants, almost, he said, the population of a village, there was not one who was not a credit and a comfort to them. In this connection he recalled the old wedding wish “Long life and prosperity and may all your troubles be little ones” and said that Mr. and Mrs. Corsie had had no fewer than “thirteen little troubles” who had all however turned out “great blessings”. He concluded by speaking of the many excellent qualities of their venerable friends and by wishing them happiness and peace in the eventide of their life. On behalf of the family he then presented Mr. Corsie with a handsome purse of sovereigns to mark the interesting occasion.

Mr. Corsie replied in a speech reminiscent of his younger days and concluded by handing over the purse to ‘his better half’ who bowed her acknowledgement of the applause with which the company greeted her. Later in the evening Mr. Craig presented Lena Patton, one of the Grand-children whom Mr. and Mrs. Corsie had brought up, since the death of her father, with a Bible and Hymnary to commemorate the notable event. The company then sat down to a sumptuous supper presided over by Mr. Craig, and the remainder of the happy evening was spent in song and sentiment. Before leaving, Mr. Craig was awarded a hearty vote of thanks proposed by Mr. Hugh Robertson (son-in-law) of Egilshay.

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JAMES SINCLAIR CORSIE 1833 – 1875

The next child of Malcolm Corsie and Isabella Louttit was a son, James Sinclair Corsie, born 1833. He is somewhat of a mystery. In the 1851 census he is listed as 13 years old and living at home at Nears. There is no further trace of him until his marriage on 20th November 1873 to a Mary Marwick Low aged 19 years. He was 40 years old. On February 9th 1875 he died of internal injuries and haemorrhage. His wife gave birth to a son, also named James Sinclair Corsie. Malcolm Corsie, the baby’s grandfather, in his Will dated 10th May 1878 provided Ten Pounds towards the boy’s education. In the 1891 census, the widow of James Sinclair Corsie and her son are listed as living at Lower Banks farm with her parents. There is no further record of this boy. The date of his birth was 17th August 1875. My father told me that one of his uncles had been abroad for many years, taken part in some gold rush, returned to Orkney in middle age and later had been killed by a fall on the cliffs while collecting birds’ eggs. The Gold Rush in Australia happened in 1851. In the 1881 census his widow is listed as formerly “sailor’s wife”. I feel that it is fairly certain that James either emigrated, worked his passage to Australia, or went to sea and left his ship in Australia, then spent several years there, returning in 1873 or perhaps some time before that.

A headstone in Rousay’s Westside kirkyard contains the following inscription: ‘Erected by Mary Corsie in memory of her dearly beloved husband James S Corsie who died 19 Feb 1875 aged 42 years. “A few short years of evil past: We reach the happy shore: Where death divided friends at last. Shall meet to part no more.” Also the above Mary Corsie who died 22 Dec 1925 aged 71’

ISABELLA CORSIE 1835 – 1906

The next child of Malcolm Corsie and Isabella Louttit was a daughter, Isabella, born in 1835. She married John Robertson in 1870. They are listed as living at Nears in the 1871 census, and apparently John Robertson was working for her father, Malcolm Corsie. In the 1881 census they were still at Nears and John Robertson was listed as Farm Manager, Malcolm Corsie having died in 1878. There were four daughters, Isabella nine years old; Mary Ann 7 years, Elizabeth five years and Margaret three years old. In the 1891 census the family was resident at Banks. I have no further knowledge of the family. Isabella died on January 21st 1906. She was buried in the churchyard of the ruined Westness Church. I found the gravestone in 1972 and it was in very good condition then.

GEORGE WILLIAM TRAILL CORSIE 1839 – 1917

The last child of Malcolm Corsie and Isabella Louttit was George born 1839. He is mentioned in his father’s Will which was drawn up at Kirkwall in 1878 May 14th when he would have been thirty-nine years old. At that time he was farming at Sandwick, Orkney. He died in South Ronaldshay in 1917 aged seventy-nine.

This completes the account of Malcolm Corsie, my Great-Grandfather and his family, and will now continue with my father and his brothers and sisters.

WILLIAM CORSIE

The second son of Malcolm Corsie and Isabella Louttit, he was my Grandfather. There were thirteen children – five daughters and eight sons. There were numerous descendants and I do not know them all, but will give what account I can of those I know.

On the left is Jemima Jessie Corsie Mowat/Shaw (Minnie) 1890-1977 Huddersfield,
Yorkshire. Standing centre is Eliza Jane Mowat/Kirkness (known as Jean in NZ)
1883-1957 Otago, NZ, and standing to the right is Victoria Williamina Beattie
Mowat/Groat (Vicky) 1887-1921 Evie. Seated between her parents is
Mary Ann Mowat/Johnston (Nannie) 1881-1970 Evie.

MALCOLM CORSIE 1858 – 1927

Malcolm, the fourth child and second son, was born at Catholes 31st Oct. 1858. In the census report of 1871 there is an entry as follows: – “George Scarth farmer of 92 acres, Catherine Scarth wife 54, six children and three servants, one being Malcolm Corsie, 12, cowherd.” In 1877 he and William, his elder brother, were working on neighbouring farms near Ellon, Aberdeenshire. I believe they were there since 1875 or 1876. The date 1877 is positive as my father himself told me that he and his brother were working in the fields when William had waved him over to the fence and said “not to tell anyone, but they had a baby sister.” This was Isabella (Auntie Belle) their youngest sister. The next year, father and his brother James (who was the next youngest) emigrated to Canada. Mrs. Janet Cameron of Chiswick, London, who is a daughter of James, tells me that her father was seventeen years old and my father was 19. My brother Malcolm confirmed this. It was in the spring or early summer and they went by river boat and train to Toronto, Ontario. At the St. Lawrence Market, which in 1980 is still there, they hired out the next morning to farmers from the village of Agincourt, about twelve miles North East of Toronto. Agincourt is now absorbed into metropolitan Toronto. Mrs. Cameron thinks that her father, James Corsie, was in Canada for about 13 years. At any rate, he ended up in hospital in St. Johns., Michigan, U.S.A. Father remained in Ontario working on farms, field work in the summer and land clearing in the winter months. He also worked on what would be a railroad section gang, on track work, and part at least he spent with a cousin named Mainland near Owen Sound.

Their older brother William died Sept. 1882. Their father William was then the tenant of the farm of Brendale and my father went back to the Orkneys to help him run the farm. This, I believe, was in the fall of 1882 as I know that he took the train from Toronto through Niagara Falls to New York and sailed from there. From what father told me, the ships were steamships but carried sails. Sea travel, at least by steerage (the cheapest class) must have been quite casual. Passengers supplied their own bedding, paid their fare at a dockside office and went aboard. No passports – no fuss.

When father got back to Orkney, the three youngest boys were at home – John 16, Charlie 14 and Fred 12 – also the three younger girls, Jemima 9, Jessie 6 and Isabella 5. From what I have been told, father was a hard worker himself and expected everyone else to be the same. Together they made a great many improvements to the farm of Brendale, built up the fences, drained the land etc. Today, almost a hundred years later, Brendale is still a very good farm. Whatever went wrong I don’t know, but father and grandfather did not seem to get along, and in 1884 father left the Orkneys. I would guess the whole affair was wrong and when father was an old man he told me himself that the biggest mistake he ever made was to leave Canada. All the savings he made had gone into the farm, and he had to borrow the steamer fare from Kirkwall to Leith. A younger brother, Peter Leonard, was already a member of the West Lothian Police, stationed at Linlithgow, so he walked from Leith to there a distance of 18-20 miles. Father applied and was engaged at once in the Police and took up duty as a constable 27th March 1884. He retired 37 years later as Inspector on 27th March 1921. When he arrived in Linlithgow he was wearing some sort of a cap or bonnet which he had brought from Canada and of which he was very proud. When he told Peter that he had been engaged, Peter’s remark was – “that being the case, the first thing you have to do is to get rid of that awful hat!” With that, Peter took the hat and stuffed it into the open coal fire in the office. I don’t think father ever really forgave him for that. Father had the reputation of being a good Police Officer, and was well regarded by all. Several times he had differences with the Chief Constable and the Deputy Chief Constables. Twice he was prepared to resign – once had the position of County Clerk of Shetland arranged, but at the last minute decided to remain with the Police. Another time he and my mother were prepared to go to Canada, and that cleared up also. One time there was a row over delayed promotion to the rank of Inspector, and when the promotion was made it was only to Acting rank in 1906. After he retired, he went back to Queensferry to live. For several years father acted as Procurator Fiscal for the Burgh of Queensferry. He was active in Church affairs and was a Member of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. He suffered from a heart condition and died suddenly on 27th March 1927.

Father and mother, (who was AGNES KIDD, youngest daughter of John Kidd of Dumbarton, formerly of Leuchars, Fife, where mother was born 11th Feb. 1860) were married at Dumbarton 20th June 1888. Mother died 16th Sept. 1958 in her 92nd year.

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Click > here < to read newspaper articles regarding
Malcolm Corsie’s Retiral and Death

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There were six children in the family. Three died as children, and three lived to old age as follows: –

William, born 1889, died 18th June 1894
Isabella, born 31st July 1890, died 13th Nov. 1976
John, born 1893, died 30th Sept. 1896
Malcolm, born 17th Dec. 1896, died 10th March 1979
Leonard, born 25th Nov. 1906
Edward, born 24th Feb. 1910, but died just 8 hours old.

William and John both died of diphtheria, which was a very common childhood disease in the days.

Isabella was a well-known Nurse in and around Edinburgh for many years. She suffered from tubercular glands; she underwent twelve or fourteen surgical operations and twice she suffered from tuberculoses of the lungs. She also had various other operations to correct problems caused by previous major operations. She never married.

Malcolm joined the Civil Service when he was fifteen, as a boy clerk, at first in the Home Office and then in the Inland Revenue. Except for service in the Amy during the first War, he was never in any other kind of work. Malcolm married Dora Webster or Ripon, Yorkshire, in 1922.

There were three children – Malcolm who only lived a few weeks. David born on 13th July 1925 married June Margaret Martin Sep. 13th 1952. They have two daughters – Linda, born Jan. 8th 1956 and Wendy born 15th Feb. 1959. David is a factory manager with the Clark Shoe Co. in Bath, England. Ian was born 4th July 1931 and married his cousin Kathleen Mary Husband, March 31st 1959. They have three daughters – Gillian born 3rd Aug. 1961, Helen born 31st Dec. 1962, and Clare born 28th Aug. 1967.

LEONARD CORSIE (myself)

I was born 25th Nov. 1906. I went to school in Queensferry, Broxburn and Edinburgh. I was at sea for two years and then emigrated to Canada. I came back to Scotland for two years and then returned to Canada where I have lived ever since. I was Plant Superintendent of Sarnia General Hospital for twenty-two years, retiring in 1972.

JAMES CORSIE 1859 – 1932

James, the fifth child and third son of William Corsie and Anne Leonard, was born at Catholes in Rousay in 1859. He had a healthy happy childhood – helping on the farm, bird-nesting on the rocks and crags, boating, peat-cutting, harvesting etc.

In severe winter weather, when he was a small boy, he sometimes went to school with a peat tied on top of his head, for there was no coal on the island and of course no gas or electricity in those days. When each child brought a peat, both teacher and children had the benefit of a fire at least part of the day.

In 1876, when James was 17 and Malcolm 19, they left together for Canada. Malcolm stayed in Canada, returning to Orkney in 1882, but James moved West into the State of Michigan U.S.A. where he worked in a sawmill for a while. His daughter Janet recalls a story of the load of logs that crashed through the ice on the lake. James leapt to the ice, slashed the harness, grabbed the reins and managed to rescue the horse and ride him madly to safety and home!

In 1888 the family heard that James was in Hospital in St. John’s, Michigan, with rheumatic fever, and destitute. He was in Hospital there for two years and had a stiff leg for the rest of his life. His brothers were able to get him home to Orkney but he had lost his trunk, with all his belongings, while in hospital.

He was a gifted musician and in the 1891 census he is listed as a Teacher of Music and was qualified to teach, not only Practical Singing but the Theory of Music as well. He held at least seven Certificates from the Tonic-Solfa College of Music in London, England, dating from 2nd January 1889 to 29th May 1890 and was qualified to act as an Examiner. He was appointed Singing Master to Kirkwall Burgh Public School and held this post for many years. He was also Choir Master in St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, Orkney, and for some years acted as superintendent of the Sunday School there. When he left Kirkwall, in appreciation of his interest in and all that he had done for the children, he was presented with a silver-headed ebony walking-stick, suitably inscribed. This is now in the proud possession of one of his grandsons.

James was for 19½ years Honorary Agent for the Shipwrecked Mariners and Fishermen’s Society and the many nightcalls are remembered when he had to make a hasty dressing and receive a crew of wet and shivering men for whom he would have to find accommodation, food and clothing first of all and then make arrangements for their sea and rail transport to their homes – often to a foreign country. On one occasion, during the first War, he had 103 men to care for in one week-end.

In the winter months, James was always invited by a Minister of one of the Parishes in the West Mainland (Evie, Sandwick and Harray) to take Singing Classes there on Wednesdays, which was the half-day in Kirkwall when his barber shop was closed, and on special occasions for a Sunday afternoon or Evening Service, he would take two or three male singers of his Class in Kirkwall, for part-time singing, and always his daughter Janet (then about 12 years old) to sing alto. On one occasion, a Sunday he and she had been invited to sing their special duet “Lead Kindly Light” and, when he went to arrange the transport – a horse and gig from Sinclair’s, he was regretfully told that at that moment they had only one young horse not yet broken in to harness. After his life in Canada he was undaunted and said he would take this horse. The test soon came when at the Ayre Mills they met one of the town’s doctors coming in his motor car (one of a very few in Orkney at that time), The horse decided to turn round and ‘run for it’, but James took real control, and, while she was on her hind legs rearing madly, he stood on the shafts, gave a smart crack of the whip over her head that took her down to earth and on the way to Finstown. Later he heard that the doctor had queried his sobriety on a Sunday morning!!

James went to Sanday as best man to his cousin James Grieve who was marrying Mary Ann Cumming of Hillside there. Benjamina the youngest Cumming sister was Mary Ann’s bridesmaid. The outcome of this was that James married Benjamina (or Mina as she was called) on 12th June 1895 and they had six children: –

William was born in 1896
Janet Harcus Cumming, in 1897
James, in 1899
Jane Cumming Harcus, in 1901
Thomas Cumming, in 1903
Bena Marion, in 1907

Bena’s lovely name was a concoction of Benjamina and Mary Ann – two sisters who were very close in their relationship. This close relationship of course became extended to the children of the two families whose mothers were sisters and fathers were cousins. Many happy family holidays were spent together on the two farms at Hillside, Sanday, where the children ran wild and enjoyed the pleasures of both sea and country.

The family of James and Mina Corsie: –

WILLIAM CORSIE 1896 – 1951

William was born on 31st January 1896 and was educated at Kirkwall Burgh Public School, where he obtained his School Certificate and joined the Bank of Scotland in Kirkwall. As he was a member of the Band of the Royal Garrison Artillery (T.A.), he was called up in 1814 and served at first at Stanger Battery guarding Scapa Flow. Later he went to France where he was a range-finder on one of the long-range guns. After the War, he returned to the Bank in Kirkwall and later transferred to the Head Office in London for a few years prior to sailing to Calcutta in 1921 to take up a position in the Bank of Scotland there. Some years later he joined a Jute firm in Calcutta and in due course became chairman of that Company. During the Second War he was appointed Chairman of the Sugar Commission for all India.  He married Netta Pratt, only child of Mr. And Mrs. J. Pratt of High Street, Kirkwall, the ceremony having taken place in Calcutta. He retired in 1946, and, after spending a year with Netta touring the India he had been too busy to see, they returned to Kirkwall. He had hoped to find a suitable hone in Orkney where they could settle and which would be a holiday attraction for the rest of the Corsie family – they had no children of their own. He had brought to Orkney from India all the furniture, furnishings, silver etc. necessary to carry out this aim, but things were difficult in this post war period in Britain and he must have found it all restricting. After visiting his sisters in London en route from India, and learning of the rationing of meat etc. there, his sister Janet received from the postman a slightly blood-stained parcel one day, which, on being opened, revealed four ribs of lovely Orkney beef – the nicest they had ever tasted. There was no rationing in Orkney as in the rest of the country, as they were virtually in the War Zone and to separate civilians from service people too unwieldy. After the second such parcel he was asked to ‘hold it’ as Food Inspectors were known to inspect larders in London at that time and punishment sometimes followed.

William had the good looks of the previous generation, such as John Corsie of Knarston and Malcolm of Linlithgow, was good at golf and snooker, a clever musician who could write and transpose music, a staunch friend, the soul of honour, slightly aloof, a man’s man – he ended his own life in Kirkwall in 1951.

JANET HARCUS CUMMING CORSIE 1897 – 1988

Janet Corsie, the first daughter and second child of James and Mina Corsie was born in Kirkwall on 2nd June 1897. On leaving K. B. P. School she learned shorthand and typewriting in the legal office of T. P. & J. L. Low on Broad Street, Kirkwall, and, after three years there she went to Highland Park Distillery for a similar period. In January 1920 she went to London as secretary to a director of a firm of Engineers’ Furnishers with offices in the heart of the City. After five years she was offered a post in Grand Buildings, Trafalgar Square, as secretary to a director of Dominion Motor Spirit Co. then in process of being formed. When the offices moved to the City, she was engaged at working out delivery costs per gallon, for each Board meeting, which proved rather boring to her and in 1926 she joined the National Flying Services at Hanworth, Middlesex, in process of formation under the Chairmanship of the late Lord Sempill (at that time The Master of Sempill) where she soon was in charge of the supply and control of petrol and oil – not only there but for eight aerodromes in other parts of England. However, too much travelling was required for her liking and in 1930 she obtained an interview at Selfridge’s and was selected as secretary and later personal assistant to a director who was also General Manager. There she found such a variety of interests and problems, meeting people from all countries and all stations of life, helping in the control of 4,000 staff, so that even although she married Joe Cameron in 1941, it wasn’t until 1949 (after nearly 20 years’ service at Selfridge’s) that she finally retired to Chiswick Village. Joe Cameron was a Higher Executive in G.P.O. Telephone Headquarters and holds a certificate of 40 years’ service, from the P.M.G. of that time.

JAMES CORSIE 1899 – 1971

James junior was also a R.G.A. bandsman but on the outbreak of War had to be a Bugler as he was under 14 and of course could not be sent abroad. He did, however, serve some time at one of the Batteries guarding Scapa Flow. When Lord Kitchener was lost at Marwick Head, James and another young bugler played “The Last Post” in Magnus Cathedral at the Memorial Service – a most impressive event with two young boys high up in that ancient Cathedral making melancholy music.

James followed William to India in 1923 and spent his time in Eastern Bengal in the Jute growing business, where Jeannie Tait, second daughter of Mr. James Tait, cabinetmaker, Broad St., Kirkwall, joined him in marriage. She returned to Kirkwall for the birth of their only child, James, in 1933, and when James senior left India they settled in Bournemouth where very happy holidays were available to all family and friends. Both of them were the very best of hosts and he was the kindest of men who would have given all he had to anyone in need.

The Tait house on Broad Street, Kirkwall, became available in 1970 when Jim and Jeannie decided to return there as their son had by then gone to Kuala Lumpur for the Norwich union Assurance Co.

Unfortunately they did not have a long retirement there as he was rushed to hospital one night when he became seriously ill of some internal obstruction. He had immediate operation but did not survive. He died on 8th July 1971 – a sad loss to all who knew him. A few months later, Jeannie died of shock when an oil heater caught fire in her sitting room. She tried to telephone but was so incoherent that the operator felt that something was wrong and sent someone round to see if all was well. He extinguished the fire, but the fright had been too much for Jeannie’s weak heart. She and Jim had been so close since their schooldays that to all who knew them it seemed in some ways right that they should not be too long apart.

Young JAMES, on leaving School in Bournemouth, joined the Norwich Union Assurance Co. in Bournemouth, was later sent to Singapore where he met and married ANN GILES from Australia, whose father was in charge of Tin Mining in Malaya. They married in Kuala Lumpur and their oldest daughter Alison was born in Sydney, Australia. Ann came to Kirkwall for the birth of their next child, another daughter, Fiona. The third daughter, Trina, was born in Bournemouth and the fourth child, lain was born in Calcutta, surely an International family! They have been since 1970 in Perth, Western Australia, where Jimmy is Norwich Union Assurance representative for West Australia.

[The following information on William Corsie (1896-1951) and James Corsie (1899-1971) was sent to Janet Cameron by Jimmy Corsie (son of James) from Perth, Western Australia, in a letter dated 2 Sep 1980. Jimmy could not remember the names of the companies they worked for in India but Janet remembered that the firm they started with in India – and for which William left the Bank of Scotland in Calcutta – was Sinclair Murray & Co.

‘Bill’s real claim to fame was the marketing (and consumption) of CAREW’S GIN, which is now regarded as one of the world’s best Indian gins. It all started when he teamed up with a distiller in the middle 1930s and through his company he launched the product which never looked back. You may recall that after the War the entire Board of Directors voted themselves out of office in order to give returned soldiers more rapid promotion within the Company. While in India I met a couple of clerks who remembered him.

Father’s (Jim’s) career fell apart with the demise of the European jute grader plus his inability to get other work during the depression. I also feel that mention might be made of his Trade Union activities which took up much of his time and interest and also earned him his Imperial Service Medal when he retired.’]

JANE CUMMING HARCUS CORSIE 1901 – 1981

JANE was born on 25th July 1901 and promptly named ‘Polly’ by the older children as she had arrived at the same time as an African parrot to Hilda Farquhar who lived next door! In London she was re-named ‘Pete’ and, in spite of her father’s efforts against it this name stuck.

Jane also obtained School Certificate standard at K.B.P.S. and worked for a short while in Kirkwall Post Office as a telegraphist, but in March 1920 she joined Janet in London at the same Engineering Office where she did Costing and some typing. She met and married Charles B. Woodward in 1925. He was born in London but had been taken to New Zealand by his parents while he was very young. He was a major in the N.Z. Army and in that capacity had returned to this Country during the War, but when he met Jane he was working for British Ropes Ltd., and this soon earned him the nickname of ‘Ropey’, which, again in spite of her father’s protests, became attached to him for good. Charles was a widower, twelve years older than she was and with two young children who stayed with their grandparents in S.E. London most of the time. Jane and Ropey bought a house in New Malden, Surrey, and her father James Corsie went to stay with them. There, his first grandchild, James Corsie Woodward was born and proved a great and delightful companion to him.

After James senior died in 1932, Pete and young Jimmy accompanied Ropey to the West Indies where they had a house in Port of Spain, Trinidad. They travelled a good deal, in the Caribbean and down through South America as far as Argentina. Often Pete and little Jimmy came to London to spend many months with Janet (who was then at Selfridge’s, unmarried, and had a little flat in W. Kensington) while Ropey did concentrated business tours in and around the Caribbean. They returned to England and went to live at Kingston Hill to enable Jimmy to attend Tiffen’s School in Kingston-upon-Thames where he distinguished himself in Geography by earning the highest marks in England for his School Certificate. At that period, his ambition was to join the Navy, but when his opportunity came, during the war, his eyesight did not pass the test. He decided to study the Wool Industry and to this end he went to Buenos Aires and now has his own Wool Export Business there, keeping close contact with London….. two sons William and Andrew, and a daughter Deborah.

Charles B. Woodward died in 1973, since when Jane has slowly and now completely lost her memory. She stayed with Joe and Janet Cameron in Chiswick for four and a half years, and for over two years now has been in hospital where she is very well cared for and her sister is able to visit her regularly.

William J. Woodward has just graduated from Brunel University; Andrew has shown an interest in his fellow-man, has been studying the German language and is currently assisting in one of the Group-Captain Cheshire homes situated in Kent. Debbie completed a Secretarial Course at St. Godric’s Secretarial College in North London. She is a keen horsewoman.

THOMAS CUMMING CORSIE 1903 – 1969

Tamo (as he was known) was born in Kirkwall on 28th May 1903 and, after being educated at KBPS joined the Commercial Bank of Scotland in Kirkwall. Following the family to London, after the death of their mother, he obtained a transfer to the Commercial Bank of Scotland in the City of London, and, after some years there he became the youngest Bank Inspector in the Country. In 1931, he married Christina Shiells and he became Manager of the Markinch Fife, branch of his bank and stayed there many years. Chris died or cancer in 1955, after years of suffering most courageously borne. They had one son, Olaf John Corsie, who graduated in Engineering from St. Andrews University. Tamo came to London and spent some time in Bournemouth with Jim and Jeannie, and also to the Camerons in Chiswick where he met and married Elizabeth Cameron, younger sister to Joe. They lived at first in London but later went to Deal on the Kent coast where Tamo found great interest in the channel shipping, but unfortunately his health gave way and after a short period of illness he died in 1969. Bess returned to London and a recurrence of cancer operations at St. George’s Hospital, Hyde Park Corner, but all to no avail, and she too died in 1979. Olaf had married Doreen Kinnaird, whose father was a farmer in Fife, and they have moved around in Scotland and England as his engineering projects dictated. They have one daughter, Jane Elizabeth, and they live near Kirkcaldy in Fife. Although Jane has had a very interrupted education, moving from one school to another between England and Scotland, it does not appear to have affected her in any way and she holds her place – at the top.

BENA MARION CORSIE 1907 – 1925

BENA, the youngest member of the family was born on 23rd Feb. 1907, a beautiful girl who was more interested in home-making than in study, and consequently did not extend her schooling like her sisters. Her mother became unwell and Bena nursed her, but the illness was found to be tubercular and Mina died in January 1923. Bena came to London with her father and joined Janet and Pete in New Malden, Surrey, where they had bought a house. However Bena also had contracted the trouble and died in London in 1925. She was just eighteen years old, an outdoor type with a lovely gay nature, and was Ladies’ Golf Champion before she left Kirkwall.

PETER LEONARD CORSIE 1862 – 1943

GEORGE CORSIE 1864 – 1912

GEORGE, the seventh child of William and Anne Corsie, was born 22nd August 1864. I don’t know much of Uncle George and do not remember him at all. I have met one or two of his children many years ago but know nothing of them now.

In 1890 he married Eliza Bella Lennie in Kirkwall where he was employed as a mercantile clerk. He was 24 and she was 18 years old. Between 1890 and 1894 they moved to the Edinburgh area. A daughter Anne Leonard Corsie, aged 1 year and 10 months, died of pneumonia in 1894. The address given was 9 East Thomas Street, and George was working as a salt-man. He died on 11th February 1912 and his wife a few years later. What became of the children, of whom there were nine, I do not know.

JOHN CORSIE 1866 – 1948

The eighth child of William and Anne Corsie was a son, John. I have no knowledge of his early life, but as long as I remember he farmed Knarston in Rousay. Knarston was really two crofts, and totalled, I have been told, thirty acres. One croft had been willed to George, the youngest son and youngest child, by his maternal grandfather. John raised Clydesdale horses, Cattle, Sheep and Pigs. Barley, Oats, Turnips, Hay and Potatoes were all grown. My father figures in the early 1920’s that John was worth in horses alone in the neighbourhood or a thousand pounds. That was a considerable sum of money in those days.

Below are photos [courtesy of Orkney Library & Archive]
of four of John and Margaret’s children in later life:-

John and his wife had 13 children. She died in 1906 when George, the youngest, was born, and she was 37 years old. Of the sons, two remained in Orkney, and three went to Canada. John had a blacksmith’s business at Orphir and his son Jackie still carries on the business. A younger son Leonard is a police officer in Kirkwall and his son is the chief of police at Heathrow Airport, England. William farmed the Glebe farm, alongside Knarston. Peter Leonard went to Canada, had an electrical business in Port Arthur for many years then went to British Columbia. He was in business there for years in the heating trade and is now (1980) living in retirement in New Westminster. George is retired in Thunder Bay – he was a paper maker in the paper mills there. Tom also went to Canada and after some years or farm work etc. as was usual he joined the Fort William City Police Force. After a few years there he joined the Ontario Provincial Police in 1928 retiring in 1964 with the rank of superintendent. Tom died in 1968 and the following is from the Fort William newspaper at his death: –

OPP Vet. T. Corsie dies at 71

One of North Western Ontario’s best known and popular policemen over four decades, retired OPP Superintendent T. G. (Tom) Corsie, died in hospital here on Friday night. He was 71.

Native of Rousay, Orkney, Mr. Corsie emigrated to Canada and Hamilton 50 years ago. He came to Fort William in 1924 and joined the City Police. Transferring to the Ontario Provincial Police 3½ years later, Mr. Corsie devoted the following 40 years to maintaining law and order in the Northwest, serving at one or another in every area west of White River.

Promoted to Sergeant in 1939, he became Inspector at Kenora in 1948 and retired as Superintendent, when the family moved back to Fort William to establish residence at 2708 Park Row.

Mr. Corsie was an active member of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, of the Masonic Order, A.F. and A.M. 287 Port Arthur Superior Lodge of Perfection, Nannabijou Chapter Rose Croix, North Star and Moore Consistories of Scottish Rite. He is survived by his wife, the former Maude (Penny) McNichol whom he married here in 1940; one daughter Geraldine (Mrs. J. Spence) Thomas Jr., Dryden; Robert Nestor Falls; Allan, Fernie B.C. and Douglas, Winnipeg. Also surviving are three brothers, William in Scotland; Peter, New Westminster, B.C., and George Corsie, 363 N. John St.; six sisters – Mrs. Jean Nicholson, New Zealand; Mrs. Janet Sinclair, Mrs. Anne Grieve, Mrs. Robert Seatter, Mrs. Minnie McFarlane and Mrs. Cilla Nicholson – all of the Orkney Islands. He was predeceased by his parents, one brother John, and a sister, Mrs. John Craigie in the Orkneys.

As a gesture of affection and respect OPP at Kenora named a new 26 ft. patrol boat the “Thomas G Corsie” after he retired.

George also went to Canada and settled in Fort William. He was a paper mill employee. Peter also went to Canada and for several years was in the electrical business in Fort William. He moved to New Westminster B.C. and was then in the heating business, just when natural gas became available there, and he did very well. He is now retired and lives in New Westminster.

Tom had one daughter and four sons, one of whom, Robert, is a member of the Ontario Provincial Police. George has two daughters. Peter has two daughters and several sons. The remainder of John Corsie’s family stayed in the Orkneys. John was a blacksmith at Orphir, and a son still carries on the business and a son of his runs a garage at Scapa Pier. He is named James Sinclair Corsie.

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The two photos below were taken on August 30th 1955 when relatives from
far and wide gathered for a family get-together at John and Marie Corsie’s
house, Smithy Cottage, Orphir.

CHARLES CORSIE 1869 –

Charles was the next child of William and Anne Corsie. He was born on 11th October 1869. The date of his death is unknown but must have taken place in the 1950’s. He was somewhat of a mystery and no one seems to know much about him. In the late 1890’s he was a member of the Mid Lothian County Police, and I think that Lindsay, who married his sister Jessie was also in the same Force. From all accounts, they lived high, wide and handsome. They were always up to some sort of mischief and always in trouble. Charlie became the father of illegitimate twins. This was towards the end of the South Africa war, and he went to South Africa. The following is an account of what happened, according to Mrs. John Ivory of San Diego, California. She is the daughter of my Uncle Fred – and my cousin: –

“Anyway, did you know the story of why he went to South Africa? When I was old enough to understand, my mother told me. Seems he was being hunted by the police in Mid Lothian and around there, the charge being that he had fathered twins to some dame and he was in no mood to be tied up to her, so he decided to get out of the Country – and that he did. (I don’t understand how the police came into it, but that’s the story). His brothers George and Fred (my father) and probably your Dad too were all on this escape. They planned that he go quietly by himself to Haymarket station, and my father (who resembled him very much except in height) was to walk along the Waverley Station as if he was Charlie, and the cops would think it was Charlie – and that’s what actually happened, and when they grabbed my father he could prove he wasn’t Charlie – so Charlie by this time was well on his way and they never caught up with him.”

According to Margaret Ivory, Charlie used to write occasionally to his sister Jemima who had loaned him money to get to S. Africa. I have heard that he engaged in railroad building. He was in France as a Sergeant in a native labour battalion. At that time he visited Edinburgh while on leave and also visited his mother in Kirkwall. My father had a postcard from him, posted in Southampton, apparently on the eve of sailing for South Africa. To my knowledge that was the last time my father ever heard from him. When we lived in Broxburn, my father used to hear of him through people visiting Broxburn from South Africa. Margaret Ivory tells me that he married a 19 year old French girl when he was in his 40’s. This seems convincing as he would be about that age during the War. When he visited Scotland on leave from France he told every woman in the family a different story. He told one he was single, another that he was married to a negro woman, another that he had married a Chinese woman – whether he was married or not, no one really knows. Personally I wouldn’t be surprised if we had several cousins in South Africa, and they are liable to be any colour. I am not sure, but I believe he got in touch with his sister Isabella in Australia, but I am not certain of this, shortly before his death.

FREDERICK BURROUGHS CORSIE 1870 – 1950

Uncle Fred was the next child of William and Anne Corsie. He was born on 19th December 1870. Of all my father’s brothers and sisters, I knew him best of all. I don’t know when he came to the Edinburgh area and the first I remember of him was him driving the four-horse brakes which used to bring sightseers to the Forth Bridge on Sunday afternoons before the first war. At one time he was a driver on the horse-drawn street cars, while Leith, which was a separate city then, changed to electric cars, and Fred went over to the Leith cars. For a time he was training new horses. This was a steady job as the turnover of horses was high. Their feet and legs gave out with the constant pounding on the hard surfaces of the streets. Edinburgh and Leith became one city in the 1920’s and the cable cars disappeared. Fred drove the last cable on Princes Street. This was quite an occasion and there was a picture of it in one of the newspapers. My sister had a copy but it got lost when she died.

Fred’s wife died quite young leaving three children. Louie, who in later life went to Australia – a daughter of hers also went to Australia; another daughter, Adeline of whom I have no knowledge; and William, who I believe was in the London, England, Fire Service.

Fred married again, and of that marriage there were seven children. Margaret, Mrs. John Ivory of San Diego, Cal. U.S.A. She is a widow and has one son and two daughters. There are also several grand-children. Jean (Mrs. Sandison) living in Scotland and also a widow has no family. Angus (who never married) died in 1976. Charlie still living in Leith never married (1979). Fred was a Marine Engineer with the Currie Line of Leith. He died but left some family, John and Donald, whom I never met. Uncle Fred retired before the last war but was recalled and drove street cars during the war finally retiring when it  was  over.  He died in 1950.

JEMIMA CORSIE 1874 – 1916

Jemima (Aunt Minnie) was born on 23rd August 1874. She was the eleventh child. My first recollection of Minnie was when she and Isabella (Belle) were working for a dentist, the name of Finlayson at Manor Place near the Haymarket. Minnie was the dental assistant and Belle was cook-housekeeper. Belle (Mrs. Patton) was a widow and Minnie was unmarried, though I believe she was engaged to be married. Minnie died in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on April 12th 1916, of a ruptured appendix. She was 42 years old.

JEMIMA CORSIE 1874 – 1916

Jemima (Aunt Minnie) was born on 23rd August 1874. She was the eleventh child. My first recollection of Minnie was when she and Isabella (Belle) were working for a dentist, the name of Finlayson at Manor Place near the Haymarket. Minnie was the dental assistant and Belle was cook-housekeeper. Belle (Mrs. Patton) was a widow and Minnie was unmarried, though I believe she was engaged to be married. Minnie died in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on April 12th 1916, of a ruptured appendix. She was 42 years old.

ISABELLA CORSIE 1877-1959

The thirteenth and last child of William and Anne Corsie was Isabella, Aunty Belle. Belle married a man named John Dunn Patton, whom I never knew as he died before I remember. There were three children – Anne Leonard (LENA), Jack, and Charlie. Lena was brought up by her grandparents in Kirkwall [and lived to the age of 102]. Jack and Charlie were in Donaldson’s Hospital, a school for orphan boys. The school is still standing in the Morningside district, in Edinburgh, but it is not now used as an orphanage. Both Jack and Charlie became Electrical Engineers, receiving their training at the Bruce Peebles Co. As soon as Jack finished his training there was a period of severe unemployment and he had little or no chance so he put in about two years at Knarston, Rousay. I remember my Uncle John lamenting to my father that Jack had left just when he was beginning to be a useful man at the ploughing. When Charlie finished his training, the working position was the same, so Auntie Belle, with Lena and Charlie followed Jack to Australia.

Both Jack and Charlie worked for a time on farms – then both got back into their profession. Lena married Jack Kenyon, a Royal Air Force Officer whom she met in Kirkwall and he also went to Australia where he became famous as a stage designer. He died a few years ago. Jack became Chief Electrical Inspector of the city of Melbourne. Once when I was in London, England, I talked with a daughter, Heather, whose husband Noel Svensson is Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of New South Wales, Australia. They have two children, Adrian and Jane now almost completing their education. Jack is dead. Charlie visited Great Britain a year ago but Jack or Lena never did.

Janet Cameron tells of an occasion, before she married Joe, when she returned home from Selfridges and was astounded to see a light on in her sitting-room. On entering she found her Aunty Belle sitting on the one comfortable chair with her feet soaking in warm water and that was the first indication she had that her Aunt wasn’t at home in Australia! It transpired that she (Aunty Belle) had enquired of a neighbour where the landlord lived – luckily nearby – she had called on him and he allowed her into the flat. At that time she took a course of Chiropody in London and I understand that she did very well with the result of this in Melbourne later. One grandson is a well-known cartoonist in Australia. Aunty Belle was a most enterprising lady – unfortunately no longer alive.

---

This completes to the present (January 1980) the history of our branch of the Corsie family. The Corsies, according to Tom Corsie of Racine, Wis. U.S.A., have always been leaders in the community where they live. Until my father’s generation, they have always been tenant Farmers. My grandmother’s people, the Leonards, appear to have been crofters and woollen weavers.

My mother’s people, the Kidds, have been resident for over two hundred years around Leuchars, Fife, Scotland. Mother was the youngest of eleven – there were two brothers and eight sisters.

Her oldest brother Alexander married the niece of the then managing director of the North British Railway and there was a statue of him in Waverley Station. I never met Alexander and I think he cut himself off entirely from his family. He had two daughters who never married. The other brother Tom was also a railway man with the NBR. He had at least one son. Grandfather Kidd was, I believe, a farm worker, and, with the help of his sons, moved to Dumbarton where mother received her education. An older sister, Mary, had married a John Seth who was the landlord of the Cross Keys public house in Bo’ness where father was stationed as a constable and they were married in 1888. Mother’s sisters all married shipyard workers -carpenters, platers, caulkers, marine engineers and what have you. Some of the Aunts considered themselves much superior to a mere police constable. There are still cousins living around Dumbarton, and quite a few emigrated to the United States, around Pittsburgh. When my parents were first married and up until they lived in Linlithgow, there was quite a friendship with the sisters in Dumbarton – after that a decided coolness developed.

The other family of Corsies who are resident in Kirkwall, for as long as I remember, are definitely related to us. There was a common ancestor in the late 1700’s. There are several Corsies living in Edinburgh who are our relations. In the South of England there are several Corsie families and I do not doubt that they also are related to us. The relationship is not close and it would be impossible to establish it now. There are a tremendous number of younger people who are Corsie descendants, but do not carry the name. In many cases Corsie is used as a second name. This is quite common and personally I am very glad to see it.

My Great Grandfather, Malcolm Corsie, claimed he was indeed a rich man. He had four sons and a daughter, and I have no doubt that could he see the many prominent people who are his descendants, he would still consider himself a rich man.

LEONARD CORSIE

Sarnia, Canada
January 1980

____________________________________

[Leonard passed away in 1989, and is interred alongside his wife
Louella Longhurst [1899-1986] in Lakeview Cemetery
(Section: R), Lambton County, Ontario]

His Retiral and Death

Inspector Corsie’s Retiral. Sketch of his Career

From the “West Lothian Courier” of Friday Nov. 4th 1921

On Tuesday last week, Police Inspector Malcolm Corsie, Broxburn retired under the age limit from the West Lothian Police Force, in which he has spent the long period of 37 years and 7 months.

The subject of this little sketch was born in the island of Rousay, Orkney, and was the fourth child in a family of thirteen. His father was a tailor to trade in early life and in later years he took up farming. His death occurred but two years ago.

Having received his education in the Parochial School at Rousay, the boy left school at the age of 13 and for four years assisted his father in farm work. At the age of 17 he left the Islands and went to Aberdeen where for three years he pursued his previous calling. Then he heard the call of the West and went out to Canada. Again farm work claimed his attention for the most part, at the township of Scarborough near Agincourt about 20 miles out of Toronto. After 3 years, he returned to his home in Orkney and again went into the fields but he found the Islands much too quiet for his freshly acquired tastes. So he went South to Edinburgh and made straight for the County Building, having made up his mind to enter the Police Force. He was appointed on the spot and took up duty at Linlithgow on 27th March 1884. Capt. Munro was then Chief Constable.

The next four years were served between Linlithgow, Bathgate and Bo’ness. Champileurie Oil Works were in the heyday of their prosperity. After 11 months he was transferred to Uphall as Senior Constable and served there for three years. Uphall was a busy and a rather wild place in those days. Next he was sent to Armadale as Senior Constable and remained there for three years. There was a deal of work there at that time, scarcely a week passing without Court having to be attended. It was a common sight to see large batches of witnesses being driven down to Court in the old horse-drawn brakes. He was promoted Sergeant in 1900 at the close of the Armadale service, and was transferred to headquarters at Linlithgow as Office Sergeant. His duties there were the recording of crime, compiling statistics and generally keeping the Police Books – rather a big job in those days. Having occupied this job for 6 years, he was transferred to Queensferry and promoted to Inspector. There he remained for 8 years to a day. While stationed there his duties demanded the exercise of much vigilance, owing to the visits of the North Sea Fleet, when large numbers of men were sent ashore on leave and great crowds visited the Ferry to see the leviathans.

In the year in which Sir Charles Beresford visited the Forth with practically the whole fleet, the crowds that flocked thither were enormous. The ships lay there for over a fortnight, and on a certain Sunday the influx of visitors from Edinburgh and all the surrounding districts, and as far off as Paisley, numbered from fifty to sixty thousand people. The number of vehicles and bicycles was extraordinary, and as the day wore on, the place became congested. The inspector and his men kept all vehicular traffic on the move in one direction only, namely from East to West through the narrow thoroughfare. Thus regulated, the congestion was relieved, the huge crowds got rid of, and at the close of the eventful day it was found that not a single accident had happened. Exactly how the inspector managed to deal with the hordes of undesirables of both sexes who congregated in the town in those days, the writer does not know, but that he did ultimately succeed in clearing them out is well known. In 1914, about one month after the outbreak of War, Inspector Corsie was transferred to Broxburn. Previous to that, Broxburn was a Police Section under Bathgate, but it was then raised to the status of a Division and is now called a sub-Division. Notwithstanding the great circulation of money during the war period, and the large population, crime in Broxburn reached its lowest level on regard. It is now a place for respectable people to live in, and Inspector Corsie during his 7 years’ service there, has helped beyond the ken of many to make it so.

His motto has always been “Prevention is better than cure”. To detect crime was his duty – to prevent was his delight.

No police official in the County has come more into contact with Royalty and eminent personages than he has.

In 1864, 3 months after joining the force, he was sent to Dalmeny House, and was on duty there for two weeks during a visit by the late King Edward, then Prince of Wales, Queen Alexandra, then Princess of Wales, together with their family, including the Duke of Clarence and the present King and other members of the Royal Household. Also on the occasion of a visit by the late Mr. W. E. Gladstone, and in 1886 he was on duty in Lothian Road, Edinburgh, when the late Queen Victoria visited the Industrial Exhibition in the meadows.

The next important occasion was when the Ex-Kaiser of Germany visited Lord Roseberry at Dalmeny and went aboard his yacht “Hohenzollern’ at the Hawes Pier.

Later he was on duty when Queen Alexandra drove down to the Hawes Pier and joined the Royal Yacht there.

On the occasion of the opening of Colinton Hospital by the late King Edward, he was in charge of number of men at the entrance gates and he was also present at the opening or the Forth Bridge by the same Monarch. When King George and Queen Mary visited the Marquis of Linlithgow at Hopetoun House, he was in charge of the local police at Queensferry, who were responsible for guarding the road.

While stationed at Kingscavil, he was detailed for night duty in the corridors of Hopetoun House when the late Sir Stafford Northcote paid a visit there.

Among many other distinguished visitors to this Country, whom he was called upon to guard, was Li Hung Chan, the eminent Chinese Statesman.

During his long career, he had wide experience in criminal investigations and was called upon to deal with two local tragedies.

One thing he scorned to do was to encroach on the preserve of another police official, and the writer could narrate cases in which his name would have figured prominently had he cared to violate this principle.

He holds two Police medals – one given by the late King Edward and the other by King George, The latter medal was for good conduct and long service. Only three of these medals were given to the West Lothian Police Force.

He retires with a pension and has secured a cottage at Queensferry overlooking the Firth of Forth where he has taken up his abode. A lover of gardens, of flowers and of books, time is not likely to hang heavily on his hands.

Before leaving Broxburn, he narrated to the writer the following incident which he regarded as one of the funniest that occurred during his service. A Company of Volunteers were being paraded for inspection at Armadale. The Captain, passing along the line, found fault with a private for being untidily dressed. Incensed at this being put to shame, the private threatened to resign on the spot, and, suiting the action to the word, he doffed his busby, tunic and trousers and marched off the field clad only in his two remaining undergarments.

The Inspector was a man who commanded respect everywhere, was possessed of an amicable disposition, had a reputation for punctuality, a fine sense of humour and had great patience with the exuberance of youth. It was a grief to him when his duty compelled him to invoke the law against a boy or girl. His effort to maintain peace and order without undue severity was crowned with success.

---

DEATH OF MR. MALCOLM CORSIE

From the “West Lothian Courier” – Friday April 1st 1927

By the sudden death of ex-Inspector Malcolm Corsie, which occurred after a very brief illness, on Sunday evening at his residence, Bridge View, Dalmeny, a well-known and much respected County and Local Official and one who identified himself in many ways with movements of more than merely local interests has been lost to the community.

Mr. Corsie was 68 years of age, retired from the County Constabulary fully five years ago and was living in retirement at Bridge View near the South end of the Forth Bridge.

He was a native of Rousay, Orkney, and joined the constabulary service on 27th March 1884. His whole period of service having been connected with West Lothian, Mr. Corsie was promoted to Inspector on 2nd Dec. 1906 and carried out his duties as such for eight years and for a similar period at Broxburn. He retired from the Service on 25th Oct. 1921 and took up his abode at Bridge View. Since 1921 Mr. Corsie has acted as Burgh Fiscal for Queensferry. He held the office of Elder in the Church of Scotland on coming to reside permanently in the district, joined the Kirk Session of Queensferry Parish Church of which he was a much respected member whose energies were directed to various channels tending towards the welfare of the Congregation and the furtherance of schemes connected with the Church. He was appointed representative elder to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and had recently his commission for the forthcoming Assembly in May. Among his other activities he was a very keen Free Mason and took an active part, not only in the various Lodges, but lent much appreciated assistance to the establishment of more than one Royal Arch Chapter.

Mr. Corsie is survived by his widow, a daughter and two sons for whom widespread sympathy has been expressed. His demise, since he was only laid aside on the previous Friday with a heart attack came as a shook to his many friends and acquaintances. The funeral took place in Bathgate cemetery and was attended by a large and representative company.

[The NZ Connection was written by Vicky Aitken to fill in the gaps and correct errors in Leonard Corsie’s text about her grandmother Ann Corsie’s family – written at the behest of Janet Cameron.]  

As a far-off N.Z.er living in isolation from most of the Corsies I must begin by saying how thrilled I was to receive a copy of the family history from Janet Cameron and written by Leonard Corsie (Canada). When I visited Britain in 1948 & 49 I enjoyed Janet’s hospitality many times and from her learnt much of my family’s background. It still holds a certain mystique for me as so many are unknown to me. In fact, when I left N.Z. I did not even know she existed. When the ship I travelled in – “Mataroa” – left here it stopped at Melbourne to load on cargo (of rabbits) – food for the still rationed Britons, The 360 passengers disembarked to fill in the scheduled three weeks break, but fortunately for me (though unfortunately for many of the others who ran out of the very-hard-to-get-out-of New Zealand money) the stay was extended to 6 weeks. I was able to spend most of this time with my mother’s Aunty Bella, the youngest of my grandmother’s family. (Sister.) My aunt in Orkney had sent us her address when it was known that I would be calling there and so I got to know our previously unknown Australian cousins. (I still keep contact with them and have made two visits there since.) Just before my arrival they had had an unexpected visit of a Peter Corsie from Canada who was a sailor on a boat. It was Aunt Bella who gave me Janet’s address in London, and that was the first of several stepping stones.

It intrigued me greatly to read that my mother had 65 cousins on the maternal side – I’m sure she could not have seen many of them. In contrast, today, my sister’s children have only one cousin – my daughter! One of my nieces tells me that people think there must be something wrong with them when they say that. In reference to Leonard’s document where he mentions that Jack and Charlie Patton (Bella’s sons) were in Donaldson’s Hospital – a school for orphan boys, I would like to say that my grandmother kept Charlie and looked after him at Woo, Howe, Evie, when he was small for quite some time. I have photographs of him there in his knickerbockers and he also remembers it. Referring again to Leonard’s document and the statement that the origin of the name Corsie is not known, I have read that it means “fighter”, and that is where the Corsaire fighter planes used in the last war derived their name from. I understood it to be of Norse origin, and also that our line was descended from pirates. It has always been a joke in our family that the reason we wear out the sides of the heels of our shoes first is because our ancestors had to “hang on” while walking the slippery decks! I have a paternal cousin who is married to a Corse and I think he may be of Rousay extraction. He also has been a policeman in Kirkwall for many years and is now the only undertaker in Orkney. I think I counted eleven through the pages who have been – or are – policemen, including Willie and Dave Robertson, sons of Margaret Mainland Corsie (1854-1943). These 2 came to N.Z. and spent their lives here in the Police Force. I can remember Dave being involved in some famous murder cases in the North Island, and before that when he lived down south. I last saw him when he lived at Otorohanga and was visiting a son in Auckland. He died not all that long ago. He was married three times – all his wives predeceasing him. Willie lived latterly in Wanganui and retired there but died at Palmerston Nth. 11/11/61. I recall visiting their brother Hugh at Swannay when I was in Orkney. (He and his wife were living with their daughter there then. They had a son at that time in Australia – something to do with Cow & Gates products there.)

It is interesting how often the name Leonard crops up – and likewise Ann – through the family. There is a Leonard family living in Balclutha today (where I was brought up) whose grandparents came from Rousay and I knew there was some sort of distant relationship. I can see now where the tie-up is through my great grandmother being a Leonard. I remember being told this too when I was in Orkney. Anyway when I went overseas this family gave me addresses of their connections to contact and I can remember while going round the Corsies in Rousay with my cousin Betty visiting a Miss Leonard and her son. I think it was about Digro or Sourin – I can still picture them.

After all these menfolk mentioned being in the Police Force maybe we here can claim to have the first female member. My eldest niece has been computer girl in the Oamaru Police Station since she left school. Perhaps I had better explain where we come into the family. I seem to belong to a great line of females so we have long lost the Corsie name. My daughter’s last baby was the 12th girl in a row descended from my grandmother Ann Corsie (1855-1936) and through my mother. (I have just read somewhere that this phenomenon is caused by the wife sleeping on the left side of her husband – I must remember to tell my daughter about this.) Ann Corsie married William Mowat. (1847-1926) and lived at Woo, Evie, and I think spent some later time at Harbour Cottage, Evie, too. In her last years she lived with her eldest daughter Mary Ann (Mrs. Peter Johnston) on their farm at Dale, Evie. To my knowledge the Mowats were never out of Orkney. They had four daughters – Mary Ann (Nannie), Victoria (Vicky), Eliza Jane – my mother, and Jemima Jessie Corsie (Minnie).

MARY ANN MOWAT 1881-1970

Married Peter Hunter Johnston of Birsay. They came out to New Zealand after their marriage at the beginning of this century. They lived in Dunedin for some time. He must have had some engineering experience as he had something to do with laying the tram lines in this city (now all removed) and also with the building of the graving dock at Port Chalmers – the Port of Otago – living there meanwhile. They also worked at Kurow and Totara in North Otago. Returned to Orkney and were actually in London on their way back to N.Z. when they got word to say her sister Vicky had died so they went back and stayed though their luggage came on to N.Z. After selling the farm of Dale in 1937 they again came to N.Z. intending to stay but Orkney pulled them back to farm at Nigley in Evie until retiring in the cottage of Smithfield nearby. At this stage she told me that they had made a mistake by not staying in N.Z. from the beginning. They had no family. She also kept the post office at Evie for some years.

VICTORIA 1881 – 1921

Vicky was known as the lively one of the family – always full of fun and playing tricks on people. After two broken engagements the third time proved lucky and she married David Groat from Westray and a blacksmith at Rendall. She had a daughter ELIZABETH (BETTY) and then died in childbirth when her son DAVID was born said to be through infection being carried by the Dr from another woman in the district. Vicky – as she was called – was named after Queen Victoria. My father’s youngest sister was named Victoria after my aunt. They thought it such a nice name, and as I was born after her early death was given the name too. The next generation saw Betty name her daughter Vicky after her mother too. Betty married David Miller and they succeeded the Johnstons farming at Nigley where they are today. They both visited Canada not long back and also Norway more recently. They have six of a family – four sons (one in Norway, another in Melbourne) and two daughters.

Vicky’s son DAVID GROAT (born 1921) died of a heart attack in 1971. He married Margaret Louttit and farmed firstly in partnership at Nigley and then at Cloke, Dounby. He had three of a family – two sons and one daughter.

ELIZA JANE – 1881 – 1957

Married William Stephen Kirkness from Sandwick while he was working at Howe, Evie, in 1903 and they emigrated to N.Z. shortly after and lived in the province of Otago all their lives. Visited Orkney in 1913 for 6 months after a lot of homesickness at a time when it was not so easy to travel as today, but found then that they were happy to return to N.Z. getting back just before the Great War of 1914-18 broke out. They took up a farm near Balclutha and retired in 1953 to Oamaru in North Otago. On this voyage out they were accompanied by her cousin Maggie Jean (daughter of John Corsie 1866-1943) and her husband John Nicolson who after some time at Dunback took up residence in Dunedin for the rest of their lives. For many years they operated a grocer’s shop and were well known in the community. They had no family but evidently suffered from the RH factor of which nothing was known in those days as she had several miscarriages and I think one maybe did live a few days. When neighbours were cleaning out the house after her death a few years back they found tucked away in the bottom of a drawer an old small baby’s blanket – the only memento left of many sad years. Her love of children was very noticeable – she had many young callers and she always stopped to admire any baby – friends’ or strangers’ alike. Both were cremated and their ashes were scattered over the sea at St Clair nearby where they lived for so long.

ANNIE JOYCE EVIE (Joyce). Born 1927. Named firstly after her grandmother, then for the joy she brought as a sister and latterly after her mother’s birthplace in Orkney. Lived at Balclutha and Oamaru and then went to Benmore Hydro as one of the pioneer residents and started the first tearooms and shop there. Married Stan Orr there and after a few years returned to Oamaru where they live today operating an auto-electrical business. Had 3 daughters.

JEMIMA JESSIE CORSIE 1890 – 1977

Minnie or Mima, as she was known, was the fourth and youngest daughter of Ann and William Mowat.

Went south and married a widower – Edgar Shaw (1883-1936) with one daughter Monica. He was a partner with his brother in the business of John Shaw & Sons manufacturing printing machines. (They are used here in N.Z.) The family lived in Huddersfield, Yorks, but she later spent some time in Edinburgh and Harrogate. See p17 reference to Peter Leonard Corsie living at Slateford House in Edinburgh. Peter and his wife had no children and in their later years Mima, who was by this time a widow, went with her youngest child Angela and lived there and looked after them until they died. He was affectionately referred to as “Peter the Apostle.” The Shaws had five of a family, and all but the youngest was brought up in boarding school.

JOHN – He was brought up by his father’s brother who had no family and so inherited their wealth and business. Married Doreen – divorced and remarried. Had 2 girls plus ?

WILLIAM – Rather the “black sheep” of the family and was sent out to N.Z. in 1939. War broke out shortly after his arrival and he volunteered for the N.Z. Expeditionary Force. Did service in the Middle East and was wounded three times. Returned to England but was promptly sent back again! Whereabouts unknown today but last heard of in the Auckland area here.

GRENVILLE – Accountant. Joined RAF – trained in Canada and shortly after returning to England crashed on night flying near York and was killed.

MARGARET – Died about 1966. Joined Wrens (Women’s Naval Forces.) Married Major Wm. D. Johnston, nephew of her aunt Mary Ann’s husband, a chartered accountant, and lived in Elgin, Morayshire, Scotland. They had twins – boy and girl – born about 1946.

ANGELA – Was first engaged to an Edinburgh lawyer but then married Michael ——– in Huddersfield and emigrated to Canada. Contracted polio there. Divorced and remarried to an Army Officer. Had 2 daughters of the first marriage.

Written in August 1980 by:-

Mrs Vicky Aitken,
Studholme Hall,
127 Clyde St.,
DUNEDIN.
NEW ZEALAND.

PREFACE

My grandmother, born Hughina Mainland, of Frotoft, Rousay, in 1860, came to New Zealand in 1878, meeting the people of Craigie-Lea soon afterwards. She later married Richard Craigie, junior, and my childhood memories of her are of tales by the fireside or bedside about life in Orkney but especially the exploits of members of the Craigie family.

In 1945, after war service in Italy, I was able to pay a brief visit to Orkney, where I stayed in Frotoft with Hughina’s sister, whose son took me about Rousay, indicating the sites of the homes of our ancestors, the Craigies of Brugh, Westside, as well as the Marwicks of Scockness and Trumland House, home of the later owners of Westside.

These experiences stimulated my interest in family history, and for its continuance I must record my appreciation of the assistance and encouragement given to me by my mother, named Mary Craigie Craigie, so that the name Craigie would remain alive for at least another generation; her sister, Pearl Craigie Harrington, Captain Clifford Craigie, as well as members of the booklet committee, Messrs George Craigie and Howard Perkins.

ORKNEY

Known as the Inse Ork to the ancient Celts and Orcades by the Romans, Orkney is an archipelago of about 70 islands containing 375 square miles of land spread over a space of 56 by 29 miles of the North Atlantic Ocean, within sight of the north of Scotland, from which it is separated by the stormy Pentland Filth. Ward Hill, in Hoy, at 1,564 feet, is the highest point in the group overlooking Scapa Flow, that famous natural anchorage surrounded by the southern isles and of considerable strategic importance in both world wars.

North of the principal island, Mainland, are the Inner North Isles which include Rousay, home of the Craigies as well as the Marwicks, who provided two wives for a Craigie, an island rounded in shape with central hills rising to 821 feet, giving views, including Fair Isle, far to the north and Foula, a mere speck on the northern horizon. Magnificent views are to be obtained from the road which encircles the island.

AVERAGE RAINFALL

The average rainfall in Orkney 125 years ago was 40.91 inches (1,035 mm.) on 105 days, ranging from 7.82 inches on 23 days in October to 0.94 inches on six days in April, while temperatures averaged 12.9 degrees celsius in July and 3.25 celsius in January. This mild weather at such a latitude (59 deg 10″ N) is understood when the effect of the warm North Atlantic Drift is considered. The sea is often so much warmer than the atmosphere that it is reputed that our ancestors, when out fishing during winter in their open boats, would jump into the sea to warm up their bodies.

Ample evidence is to be seen of the long occupation of Orkney by mankind, but nowhere more so than in a half-mile or so of the shoreline of the western side of Rousay, where the ancient monuments of the past include three broch-mounds, a huge stalled burial cairn, the ancient, long disused parish church of St. Mary, ruined buildings of the farm of Sigurd of Westness at Skaill, and the remains of the homestead of Brugh (or Brough) formerly the seat of the Craigies for over 400 years.

ORIGINS OF THE FAMILY

Researchers have traced a family tree from the 5th century, when King Erc ruled over the realm of Dal Riada, in present-day North Antrim, Ireland. His son, Loarn, was appanaged [a provision made for the maintenance of the younger children of kings and princes, consisting of a gift of land] in Lorn, Scotland, a dependency of Dal Riada. A later king of this line subdued the early residents of the Isle of Man. The family ranged across Scotland by the time of the death of Malcolm, King of Moray, who died in 1029 A.D. Malcolm’s daughter married Earl Sigurd the Stout, of Orkney, who was descended from the “Peace-Kings of Uppsala,” Sweden, whose great burial mounds, dating to the 7th century, are prominent features of the landscape.

They were the ancestors of a great family of Norsemen, one of whom, Whiteleg Halfdan, King of the Upplanders in Sweden, was the father of two kings whose descendants, Torf Einar and Grelod married. Einar was Earl of Orkney in 894 A.D. while his brother, Rolf, was the ancestor of the Dukes of Normandy and the English monarchs. Sigurd the Stout, killed in battle at Clontarf, Ireland, in 1014, was a great-grandson of Einar.

About 1162, there is a trace of a Henry de St. Clair, of Herdmanston. He was the descendant of a family which lived at Saint-Clair-sur-Ell, near St. Lo, in the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy, whose great-grandson, Sir William Sinclair of Roslin, Scotland, married Isabella, a descendant of Sigurd the Stout. Their son, Earl Henry Sinclair I, of Orkney, a great figure in his day, having made many epic voyages including crossing the North Atlantic to Greenland, Markland, Helluland and even Vinland, had, as an aide, one James Craigie of Huip, who later married his masters daughter Margaret.

JAMES CRAIGIE

James Craigie was descended from a family resident in Linlithgowshire, Scotland, in the reign of David I (about 1120-1130), when Joannes de Craigie witnessed the signing of a charter. The name Craigie is derived from the Celtic word “creagach,” meaning a craggy ridge, and was applied to land in Linlithgowshire, later known as Craigiehall. The name of John de Craigy appears on the Ragman Roll of 1296. Another John de Craigy of that ilk was present at the coronation of King Robert II of the Scots, in 1371. In 1367, he had married Margaret, daughter of Sir John de Monfode. Their family included James Craigie of Huip, another son whose fate has not been discovered by the author, and Margaret, whose descendants maintained Craigiehall for many generations. James, well known to the Earl, Henry Sinclair I, of Orkney, acting as his aide when he went to meet the King of Denmark, acquired much property and influence in Orkney, owning land in Stronsay at the time of his marriage to Margaret Sinclair. By 1422, James had acquired sufficient estate and prestige to be admitted to the “hird,” of the King of Norway as a hirdman.

A “hird” is a bodyguard of hand-picked, well-born warriors through which ranks lay the road to high position in the State. In due course, he was recognised as being a “goodman ” or member of the “godings,” the aristocracy of Orkney. He was also described as “armiger,” that is, he was entitled to bear arms.

By 1443, the armiger entitlement was held by John Craigie, who was also a “lawman,” a paid Crown position which, in 1468, carried a salary of £12 per annum. John’s son, James Craigie, of Brugh, fought at the Battle of Summerdale in Orkney on June 7, 1529. Also included in the victorious Orcadian force were John Craigie, of Banks, Rousay, William Craigie, and Gilbert Craigie.

BRUGH

The farm of Brugh, sometimes written Brough, is named from the “broch” on the coast nearby. The name means a fortified place, and is derived from the same origin as the present-day words of borough and burgh. It occupied a sizeable part of the ancient estate of Westness, owned by Sigurd of Westness in 1126-1137, the remainder forming the farm which was called Skaill. This ancient Westness is further west than the present-day farm of Westness, and was later known as Westside.

Some of the Craigies left Brugh and became involved in commercial activities, but the fortunes of the family at Brugh seemed to have early waned so that in 1556 the farm was sold to Sir Magnus Halcro of South Ronaldsay, a controversial clergyman of the day, but the Craigie family remained in residence.

In 1584, however, the farm was taken from the Halcro heirs by means of a rather dubious process of law by Lord Robert Stewart, a close friend of Lord Darnley and illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland, our ancestors remaining as tenants.

FEMALE HEIRS

At the beginning of the 17th century, the tenancy was left in the hands of female heirs, so to ensure the continuance of the name, a marriage was arranged with a relative, a Craigie from Dumbarnie in Scotland. The official positions previously held by the Brugh family now devolved on the next males in line, the Craigies of Gairsay, one of whom, Sir William Craigie, in 1653 was one of the wealthiest men in Orkney, owner of the Skali, or mansion, of Sweyn Asliefson, the last of the Viking chiefs, killed in a raid on Dublin in 1171, which was then known as Langskaill. Sir William added to this building, including a two storeyed wing.

Returning to Brugh, we find that in 1803, Isabel Craigie, of Brugh, married Hugh Craigie, Jnr. We do not know which branch of the family he came from, but they later became tenants of the Brugh estate, now owned by the Traill family, where their son Hugh was born in 1804. Hugh grew up to be a typical young man of his day, kept occupied with woodworking, fishing and agricultural pursuits to occupy his time. When he was 18, he married a widow, Margaret Harrold, née Marwick, 25, who was mother of two sons, James (5) and Sinclair (3) of the earlier marriage.

HUGH AND MARGARET

Hugh and Margaret went to live in the village of Sourin at a house called Grindally, where their two daughters were born and later, on September 9, 1828, a son, Richard, arrived. Grindally would have been a typical house like the majority of those on Rousay at the time, with only two rooms called the but and the ben, both being used for all purposes, including accommodation for the household pets, which would include pigs, dogs and geese.

The walls of stone, three feet thick, would not have exceeded six feet in height. They would be unbroken, apart from the door-way. The low-pitched thatched roof would have an opening about two feet square, with an 18-inch high wooden “lum,” serving to provide light and ventilation near one gable end. Smoke from the smouldering peat on the hearth-stone, some distance away would eddy about the cottage (or cott), before making its way out through the lum. The doorway would open from a porch called the oot-by which also gave access to the back where the calves were reared and the fowls roosted.

The only sign of ornamentation would probably be the house door, made of deal boards, secured to the rails by square-headed wooden pins, set diamond-fashion on the outside.

IN THE KAIL-YARD

In the kail-yard, Hugh would grow his cabbages, as well as the “bere,” or barley, keeping a watch on the tide, so that he would be able to catch sufficient fish for the household as well as for bartering for other needs.

At certain seasons, large flocks of sea-birds would indicate the presence of shoals of small fish, known as sillocks, which, when fried whole and eaten with home-made bere bread, made a delicious meal, enjoyed by Orcadians to this day.

Often he would see sailing ships pass on the horizon, laden with deck cargoes of timber, which, if jettisoned because of bad weather, may wash ashore on the Orkney coasts. As duty had to be paid on the timber recovered, it often happened that soon after bad storms, the local residents would decide to do some ploughing, hiding the good planks from sight until the Customs men had returned to Kirkwall, when it would be salvaged for use in furniture-making or boat-building.

HALF-BROTHERS LEAVE

Richard grew up to see his half-brothers leave home to go to sea, James travelling to Rupert Land (now part of Canada) with the Hudson Bay Company as a seaman and trader, no doubt enlisting in the company’s service at Stromness. Sinclair, though also a seaman for a time, preferred to stay nearer to home. In due course, Hugh and Margaret returned to Brugh, where they were one of some 30 or 40 families spread over about 500 acres forming the district of Westside. All of those families were housed in thatched-roofed cottages, with windowless stone walls, though Brugh was larger than the rest, with three rooms.

OWNED BY ONE MAN

Most of Rousay, an exception being Frotoft, was owned by one man, who lived at Westness House, not far from Brugh. This extensive holding was inherited by Lieut-General Burroughs, who, after retirement from Army service, including a long period in India, decided to live at Rousay. As the old Traill homestead at Westness was too small for his needs, he erected a large and imposing mansion, Trumland House, about four miles east of Westness, where he established the first trees to grow on Rousay for more than 1,000 years.

Deciding to convert his holdings at Westside into a large sheep farm, he evicted all his tenants, providing them with passages to the colonies. Because he claimed the houses were insanitary, he set them all alight. The stone walls of most remain to this day.

Before Hugh and Margaret left Orkney, one of their daughters died of smallpox. After packing their effects, including the shawl Margaret wore on her wedding day, they sailed from Orkney for London. Before they could embark for the long voyage from London to New Zealand, their other daughter died of measles.

TO NEW ZEALAND

At London, Hugh and Margaret, saddened by the loss of their daughter, boarded the ship Bernicia. Their son Richard was among the 60 passengers. Also on board were Margaret’s two sons from her earlier marriage – James Harrold (31), with his wife Agnes (17), and Sinclair Harrold (29), whose wife Barbara was 34 at the time.

The ship also carried a cargo for the Infant settlement of Dunedin. It included “canvas, Europe rope, twilled blue shirts, bottled ale, porter, bottled wine, Martells brandy and prime Havana cigars.” Captain Arnold gave the orders to cast off on July 7, 1848, and soon the little ship was heading down the Thames toward the English Channel.

Little is known of the experiences of the company until the ship made its New Zealand landfall at New Plymouth, the first port of call here. From there, she visited Nelson and Wellington, before finally reaching Dunedin on December 12, 1848. The ship’s passengers would have experienced better weather, because of the season, than earlier immigrants on the run.

Our travellers would have been able to read, in the first issue of “Otago News,” published on the following day, the local headlines and also see the prices of food: Beef, 7d (6c) lb; bread, 10d (8c) a 4 lb loaf; butter, 1s 8d (17c) lb, fresh, or 1s (10c) lb, salt. Probably they all stayed on the ship for a few days, until they had unloaded their baggage and found suitable accommodation ashore.

EARLY DAYS IN NEW ZEALAND

Less than a month after the arrival of our family in Dunedin, on January 7, 1849, the ship Ajax arrived, bringing, among its passengers, one W. H. Valpy, a very wealthy man. He soon established a sawmill at Leith Valley, which was quite close to the section of land granted to our family at North-East Valley, finally sold by ‘Ina Craigie in 1921.

Soon, however, James Harrold set off for Scrogg’s Creek, site of the later Allanton railway station, from where he operated a punt service to the head of Lake Waihola, near Clarendon, leaving Agnes to live with the rest of the family. As the main south road was extended south, James saw the need for a ferry across the Taieri River. He soon established this amenity, using a 40ft by 10ft square-ended vessel, which was operated for him by Robert O’Neill, commonly known as “John Bull,” a former whaler from North America.

ACCOMMODATION HOUSE

By January 1851, James had established an accommodation house on the south bank of the river at Taieri Ferry and installed his young wife as manageress. The house was, years later, moved in two parts to form additions to other houses, one of which remains to this day. A return trip across the river by punt took about two hours. Motive power was provided by the action of the tide on the vessel’s rudders.

The Rev. T. Burns visited the site, as well as North-East Valley during his visitation.

About 10 years later, James and Agnes moved to Stewart Island, where they kept a boarding house for a number of years. Agnes acted as midwife for many years, while James engaged in boat-building activities, as well as owning a ship which ran between Bluff and Australia. In later years, he conducted a store, which was afterwards run by the only son Joseph, who was born on the island in 1868, but never married. Many relics of the HarroIds remain on the island, many of them in the Half Moon Bay Museum.

Besides owning a grant of farmland, later incorporated in Craigie-Lea, Sinclair Harrold and his wife Barbara owned a shop in Duddingstone, North-East Valley. They had no family so the Harrold property was taken over by Richard Craigie on Sinclair’s retirement, though he lived on in his old home on “Razor Back” until his death about 1890.

MOVE TO “CRAIGIE-LEA”

Meanwhile, Richard had started to build a house at Craigie-Lea but before he had advanced far (he was engaged in shipping activities) his parents persuaded him to build them a little house. This was done and the small “punga” or tree-fern house was built for them about 1851, on the south side of the Taieri River, about a mile or so down-stream from the Ferry. Richard had an interest in the small coastal trader Endeavour (16 tons), which made news in 1853, when, after a week-long voyage from Lyttleton, arrived in Dunedin on November 5 with news of the passing of the New Zealand Constitution Act. Captain Raki skippered this ship for a time.

Richard, in partnership with his half-brother, the Harrolds, and another man, Peter McGill, established a sawmill at Anderson’s Bay, near the site of what was later a petrol station. There, timber was prepared for building activities in Dunedin, as well as for building a schooner, the Brother, of 16 tons.

The native forest, which, at the time, was down to the water’s edge, provided the mill with adequate supplies. However, the partnership was soon dissolved, as the new ship was used to begin trading from Dunedin to Taieri Ferry, Balclutha, Bluff and even as far as Auckland.

TAIERI MOUTH SHIPWRECK

On a voyage from Dunedin to Waihola, with a cargo of wheat, potatoes and other produce, including perhaps, barley – ostensibly for poultry food, but possibly also for distilling “moonshine” whisky in some of the less accessible gullies in the locality – the little ship, in September 1855, grounded on the bar at Taieri Mouth. It became a total loss.

To replace her, the partners built another ship on Otago Harbour. It was called the Hope. A cutter of 21 tons, registered number 40,354, she was 45.5 feet long with a beam of 15.6 feet and a depth of 5 feet. The Hope, which resumed the trade in 1856, was later sold and was finally wrecked at Moeraki on July 26, 1876.

A wharf shed built by the brothers in those far-off days is still standing, now half a mile from the river at Port Molyneux, the river course having changed during the 1878 flood. At times, the trip from Dunedin to Balclutha by ship took from a week to 10 days. The journey can now be accomplished by a car in an hour. Richard is reputed to have been the first to have worked Port Molyneux, in the Endeavour.

Hugh Craigie lived in the fern-tree cottage until his death at the age of 66. That occurred in 1870. His wife Margaret lived to the age of 88.

In 1857, there arrived from Scockness, Orkney, in the ship Jura, Thomas Marwick, a widower, with his daughters Mary and Isabella. Both were to have Craigie family connections.

It was in 1858 that Richard Craigie, with assistance from local tradesmen, completed the first part of Craigie-Lea homestead, near the fern-tree cottage.

RICHARD MARRIES

On April 15, 1859, he married Mary Marwick, who lived in the new house until her death on February 27, 1862. Then on October 1, of the same year, Richard married Isabella Marwick (born 1843).

Elizabeth Marwick had married Hugh Yorston on March 28, 1842 in Orkney, coming to New Zealand in the ship Alpine in 1859. Her daughter Betsy married Edward Perkins, whose son William married Mary Ann Craigie, fourth child of Isabella.

The Marwicks of Scockness had earlier been associated with the Craigies. A boy born about 1814 was christened “Craigie” but I have not been able to trace any connection between Margaret who married Richard Craigie, and the Scockness family.

Richard’s first son, Hugh, lived for less than three months. In those days, before the institution of the Plunket Society, his mother’s inability to breast-feed the infant proved fatal.

The second son, Richard, was fed by another woman, but his birth proved too much for Mary, who wasted away and died on February 27, 1862, aged about 21.

Richard married again soon after – on October 1, 1862 – this time Isabella Marwick, aged 19, and their family consisted of James, Thomas, Elizabeth, Mary, Joseph, Margaret, William, Isabella, Hughina, and Maud.

On March 2, 1887, Isabella died and her eldest daughter, Elizabeth, 20 years old, took over as housekeeper until New Year’s Day, 1890, when Richard again married. This time, his wife was Eliza Mackay, a daughter of a local settler who had come from Caithness, Scotland. There were no children from the third marriage.

MAGNIFICENT VIEW

The house at Craigie-Lea commanded a magnificent view of the river and the surrounding country, made up of rich flats, hills and ridges, many of them steep and bushclad. In the river opposite the side of the old home is an island more commonly called “Craigie’s Island.” Although never actually part of Craigie-Lea, it was once used for keeping the household pigs.

On the farm itself, many kinds of poultry were run. A wide selection of tree-fruits – raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries, apples, pears and so on – were grown in addition to vegetables, thus ensuring the provision of a varied menu of good food, for which Craigie-Lea was renowned.

RICHARD’S CAREER

Richard Craigie was for many years active in local affairs. He was chairman of the Taieri Ferry School Committee and among many other offices he held was that of member of the Waihola Road Board.

He was also greatly respected by the Maori people in the district. One indication of that was the presentation to him by Chief Korako Matene of a treasured paddle when the chief was no longer able to use it. The relic is now in the Otago Early Settlers’ Museum, Dunedin.

CRAIGIE-LEA FARM

Craigie-Lea farm contained about 900 acres. At one time, Richard also owned two farms on the Taieri, managed by his sons. They carried both sheep and cattle. Ultimately, what became a partnership was broken up.

Most of Craigie-Lea was sold to members of the Sinclair family in 1913. The exception was a ten-acre block surrounding the homestead.

Eliza Craigie died in April 1915 and Richard’s death followed on July 12, 1917. Hughina (Ina) remained in the homestead until her death in 1953, which followed a long illness. In 1953, the property was sold to the neighbouring Bungard family. Since then, it has again changed hands. The cottage and Craigie-Lea homestead have been demolished and most of the old landmarks, including Richard’s smithy, have disappeared.

The widow of the last surviving member of the family, James, who died in 1959, at the age of 95, undertook much research into its history. This poem, which she composed, caught some of the nostalgia which had gathered around the homestead:-

“FAREWELL TO THE OLD HOME”

In Craigie-Lea a bellbird sings
(Dear Craigie-Lea, on Taieri stream),
Its melody sweet memory brings,
Of days departed, as a dream.

The lofty bluegums, straight and tall,
Old sentinels of long ago,
Their sickled leaves still softly fall
On scattered gumnuts far below.

O Craigie-Lea where bellbirds sing
In lofty tree and bushy glade,
To youthful days we fondly cling,
For never can their influence fade.

The stately river flows along,
‘tween bushclad hillsides standing high,
Murmuring still its ancient song,
Of dusky warriors long gone by.

0 Craigie-Lea – dear Craigie-Lea!
Such treasured thoughts our memories fill,
And sacred shall those memories be,
Of loving hearts forever still.

Some of the bluegums still stand; Craigie’s Island still bisects the river, but hollows have been filled with spoil from the rises and a new house commands the river vista, so long a part of our family’s life.

RICHARD CRAIGIE’S FAMILY

A. HUGH: Born January 27, 1860; died April 20, 1860.

B. RICHARD: Born September 20, 1861; mother died February 1862; Richard married Jane Hughina Mainland (born March 28, 1860) on June 2, 1891. She had come to New Zealand in 1878 from Frotoft, Rousay, with a letter of introduction to the Craigies.

Richard lived at Craigie-Lea till marriage; then moved into “Uncle Tom Marwick’s house” on the farm; in 1900, he went to Pukeran, where he became the storekeeper; moved to 128 Albany Street, Dunedin, after five years; then dairy farming at “Hilton Hill,” Anderson’s Bay; wife died October 10, 1937; Richard died July 26, 1940. Interests: Book-keeping, fishing net-making and draughts.

C. JAMES: Born February 4., 1864; married Ethel May Meeking on August 7, 1902; died April 29, 1959; learned trade of cabinetmaking; then, with his brother Joseph, farmed at Pukeran; partnership dissolved after some years; he then leased and afterwards bought from the estate of Edward Perkins “Eden Farm,” later called ” Wairere,” Waikaka Valley. Interests: Violin playing; former member of Gore Orchestral Society; used to accompany his sister Mary, who played the piano, at functions in Taieri Ferry school; Murihiku Mounted Rifles officer.

D. THOMAS: Born July 29, 1865; married (1) Annie Bruce, 1892; (2) Christina Potts, November 26, 1911; died September 8, 1918; farmed at Craigie-Lea and then Milburn. Interests: Violin player. (See ” Dickie Family History” and “Strong is the Lion.”)

E. ELIZABETH: Born June 22, 1867; married Daniel Bruce, brother of Annie, who married Thomas, February, 1893; died, April 28, 1958; housekeeper at Craigie-Lea; then, with husband, farmed at Momona (“The Firs”) until 1917; later, lived at Bruce Rocks, Brighton. Interests: Piano and Scottish soloist; often accompanied her husband, who was a champion bagpipe player. (See “Strong is the Lion.”)

F. MARY ANN: Born August 8, 1869; married William Perkins, whose grandmother, Elizabeth Marwick (wife of Hugh Yorston), was eldest sister of Mary and Isabella, who both married Richard Craigie; died April 30, 1940; lived at Craigie-Lea until marriage; then, with husband, farmed at Waikaka Valley until retirement to Gore. Interests: Piano, singing; was at one time member of East Gore Presbyterian Church choir; later, was president, for a term, of Baptist Women’s Missionary Union.

G. JOSEPH: Born October 20, 1871; married Mary Martin, 1901; died February 8, 1952; farmed at Pukerau in partnership with James; then storekeeper at Drummond, Southland; for a time was manager of Hukariri Sheep Station, Heriot; farmed Te Tipua, near Brydone, Southland; worked at Glencoe sawmill, near Mataura, and before retiring to Christchurch conducted, with his wife, a store in Invercargill.

H. MARGARET: Born February 15, 1874; never married; drowned in Taieri River; November 1893. She is believed to have walked in her sleep at Stewart Island during a visit there some months before her death. It is said that on the night of the tragedy, she left her bed and dressed.

Mary, her sister, is believed to have wakened just as Margaret went out and, in reply to a question, Margaret said she would be back soon. Later, footprints were found along the river-side where pedestrians normally walked, but, instead of turning left to cross a floodgate on a creek, they continued straight into the water at the mouth of the creek. Searchers found the body in the river a few days later.

I. WILLIAM: Born March 27, 1876; married Catherine Knarston, August 1908; died February 8, 1944; farmed at Craigie-Lea, Henley and Owaka; was fond of horses and dogs; indicative of his attachment for dogs was his success in inducing Lassie to jump up and sit in front of him while riding his horse. Like Joseph, he had a dry sense of humour and played many practical jokes at Craigie-Lea and later.

J. ISABELLA (Bell): Born September 11, 1879; married. John Graham, November 1914; died November 11,1921; nursed in Wellington Hospital before marriage to John, who was variously a dredgernaster, flaxmill manager and farmer, ultimately near Riverton.

K. HUGHINA (Ina) MAINLAND: Born April 4, 1882; never married; died January 24, 1953; named after the wife of her brother Richard; had sketching ability and played the piano; visited Orkney a few years before her death; lived all her life at Craigie-Lea; with her sister Maud, cared for her father until his death.

L. MAUD: Born September 4, 1884; never married; died October 16, 1920; also nursed in Wellington and privately; like her sister was good sketcher, Richard intended to call her Madeline, but mis-spelt the name when registering the birth.

SOME INTERESTING ENTRIES IN REGISTERS AND FAMILY BIBLES

” Novr. 27th, 1803: Craigie and Craigie – Hugh Craigie and Isabel Craigie, Brough, Westside, were married before witnesses.”
” Septr. 16th, 1804: Craigie, Hugh, son to Hugh Craigie, jun., and Isabel Craigie, Brugh, Westside, was born, 24th, baptised ye 16th Ser. before witnesses.”
Hugh Craigie was born 27th January, 1860.
Richard Craigie was born 20th September, 1861, 9 o’clock at night, Friday.
James Craigie was born 4th February, 1864, at 2 o’clock, Thursday morning.
Thomas Craigie was born 23rd July, 1865, 9 o’clock Sabbath morning.
Elizabeth Craigie was born 22nd June, 1867, 5 o’clock, Saturday, p.m.
Mary Ann Craigie was born 8th August, 1869, 5 o’clock, Sabbath, a.m.
Joseph Craigie was born 27th October, 1871, 11 o’clock, Friclay, a.m.
Margaret Craigie was born 15th February, 1874, 9 o’clock, Sunday, p.m.
William Harrison Craigie was born March 27th, 1876, at the houre of 2 o’clock in the morning, Tuesday.
Isabella Jane Craigie born 11th Sept., at the hour, ½ past 11 o’clock, a.m., 1879, Thursday.
Hughina Mainland Craigie born 4th April, 1882, at the hour ½ past 8 o’clock p.m., Tuesday.
Maudlin Craigie born 4th September, 1884, on Thursday, at 2 o’clock p.m. (14-day moon age).
Mary Craigie, wife of Richard Craigie, died on 27th February, 10 o’clock, 1862.

BURIAL PLACES OF EARLY MEMBERS OF FAMILY

Hugh Craigie (1804-1870), Clarendon.
Margaret Craigie (1797-1885), (formerly Harrold, nee Marwick), Clarendon.
James Harrold, Stewart Island.
Agnes Harold, Stewart Island.
Joseph Harrold, Stewart Island.
Sinclair Harrold, Clarendon.
Barbara Harrold, Clarendon.
Richard Craigie (1828-1917), Otokia.
Mary Craigie, nee Marwick (died 1862), Clarendon.
Isabella. Craigie, nee Marwick (1843-1887), Clarendon.
Hugh Craigie (1860-1860), Clarendon.
Richard Craigie (1861-1940), Andersons Bay.
James Craigie (1864-1959), Gore.
Thomas Craigie (1865-1918), Clarendon.
Elizabeth Bruce (1867-1958), Mosgiel.
Mary Perkins (1869-1940), Gore.
Joseph Craigie (1817-1952), Invercargill.
Margaret Craigie (1874-1893), Clarendon.
William Craigie (1876-1944), Owaka.
Isabella Graham (1879-1919), Otokia.
Hughina Craigie (1882-1953), Otokia.
Maud Craigie (1884-1920), Otokia.

DIRECTORY

125th Anniversary Celebration, Dunedin,
May 11-13, 1973.

President: Richard Harrington.
Secretary: Ronald J. Stuart, 17 Embo Street, Dunedin.
Treasurer: Robert Stuart.
Programme Convener: George Craigie.
Committee: Robert Flett, Winifred Geeves, Joan McGregor, Roa McElrea, Morva Kreft, Hilton Harrington and Howard Perkins.
Principal Speakers: Friday evening, May 11, Irvine Craigie. Saturday evening: Rev. F. R. Belmer, toastmaster. Messrs Roy Miller and Andrew Robert Craigie.
Church service, Sunday: Preacher, Rev. F. R. Belmer.

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anderson, William – ” The Scottish Nation,” 1863.
Clouston, J. Storer – “A History of Orkney,” 1932.
“Cyclopedia of New Zealand,” (Otago and Southland), 1905.
Hocken, T. M. – “Contributions to the Early History of New Zealand (Otago),” 1898.
Ingram, C. W. N., and Wheatley, P. 0. – “New Zealand Shipwrecks,” (third ed.), 1961.
Lemon, D. – ” More “Taieri Buildings,” 1972.
Marwick, H. – “Orkney,” 1951.
Moncrief and Hicks. – “The Clans of Scotland,” 1966-67.
Shaw, Margaret S. and Farrant, Edgar D. – “The Taieri Plain,” 1949.
Shearer, John and Mackay. – “The New Orkney Book,” 1966.
Wainwright, F. T. – “The Northern Isles,” 1962.
“The Dickie Pioneers and Descendants,” 1964.
“Strong is the Lion” – The story of the Bruces, 1972.
Taieri Ferry and Henley – “Our Native Place,” 1941.

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The author of ‘Craigie-Lea’ Ronald John Stuart was the son of Robert William Francis Ferguson Stuart [1884-1961] and Mary Lydia Isabella Elizabeth Craigie [1893-1987]. Mary’s parents were Richard Craigie [1861-1940] and Jane Hughina Mainland [1860-1937]. Richard Craigie’s parents were Richard Harold Craigie [1828-1917] and Mary Mainland Marwick [1834-1862]. Jane Hughina Mainland’s parents were John Mainland [1819-1907] and Lydia Mowat [1825-1903], Cruseday, Frotoft, Rousay.

Jane Hughina went to NZ to act as housekeeper to her two elder brothers who had emigrated some years earlier. She had a letter of introduction to the Craigies who also hailed from Rousay. Husband Richard was born in NZ but both his parents were born in Rousay.

Ronald John Stuart was married to Joyce Jensen, and they had three children: Marion, Brian, and Graham.

Ron served with the NZ Forces in Italy during WW2. At the end of hostilities in 1945 he visited Rousay to meet his Mainland relatives. He made a return visit in 1984.

Ron passed away in 1989.

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I am indebted to Janet Craigie-McConnell of Victoria, Australia, for sending me ‘Craigie-Lea’ for inclusion on the Rousay Remembered website. Born and raised in Southland, New Zealand, Janet is the daughter of Irvine Craigie and Margaret Cooper, and is also related to the booklet’s author.

A deep interest in her Craigie family roots began when she started a ‘pen-pal’ friendship in 1963 with Mary Craigie [nee McDonald], of Warsett, Egilsay. Janet is also directly connected to the Marwicks of Scockness and has visited Orkney a number of times, visiting her relation Robert C. Marwick on the way, who she says has been an invaluable source of information regarding her Craigie forebears.

Janet is No 1 bass drummer with the City of Melbourne Pipe Band. She also plays pipes, though only socially nowadays. Work and the Band involvement takes up most of her time – as do her four grandsons. A short while ago she sent me a large package containing not only a photocopy of ‘Craigie-Lea’ but a number of other documents of great interest – which have since been reproduced within this website.