NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY

SIB FOLK NEWS ISSUE No 44 DECEMBER 2007

2 NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Issue No 44 December 07

From the chairOur winter programme got off to a great start when a gathering of 40 - 50 people met at Orkney College in October. Harold Esson, an ardent collector of memorabilia and artifacts pertaining to the West mainland, captured the audience with his fascinating stories about people and properties, gleaned from local people and his own experiences of the trades folk and worthies of Beaquoyside in Birsay. In his own particular style and with a fair bit of humour, he had everyone enthralled. He concluded his presentation by showing a selection of unique slides taken on the island of Fair Isle.

I had the opportunity, along with our President Nan Scott, to attend the Scottish Association of Family History Societies Council Meeting on 20th October in Edinburgh. We were fortunate to hear from George Mackenzie, the Keeper of Records in Scotland; Paul Parr, the Depute Registrar General and Dee Williams of the New Family History Centre on its progress towards a spring 2008 opening. Specific highlights were an insight into the work being done on the digitisation of the vast archive of paper records. They have already passed their 9 millionth page and hope to have digitised 10 million by the year-end. We can look forwardover the next couple of years to have on-line access to vital information on Church records, Sasines, Catholic records, Soldiers wills, Court records, OPR deaths and Valuation rolls. The latter is likely to be progressed initially with a midpoint inter-census year. Further refinements and easier search methods are planned.

Bad weather caused the postponement of the Society's Annual Dinner by a week with the event being well supported.Our first event in 2008 is a Members Night in February. This will enable members to tease out their own research queries; to hear of other members' stories and to make full use of the Society and Orkney Archive resources. Our full 2008 programme can be seen on page 9 of the newsletter.Among OFHS members across the world, as we say goodbye to 2007, there will undoubtedly be happy memories but also sad times. 2007 has been a busy and productive year for the Society and I hope you appreciate the benefits of your membership.I thank you for your continued support and on behalf of the Society, wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year

Alan Clouston

ORKNEYFAMILY HISTORY

NEWSLETTER

Issue No 44 December 2007

CONTENTSFRONT COVER

Winter over Scapa Bay

PAGE 2From the Chair

PAGES 3,4,5

In Search of a NameBy Tom Corston

PAGE 6

John O'Groats

PAGE 7

'Tumbledown'By Alan Clouston

PAGES 8 & 9Early Connections

to South Ronaldsay

PAGES 10 & 11

How the HBC Got Ahead

PAGES 12 & 13

An Orkney Son from Rousay

PAGE 14The Horseman's

Word

PAGES 15,16,17,18

The Shadow on the Blanket

PAGE 18A Blot in the Burn

PAGES 19 & 20William Smellie

PAGE 20Robert Whitton's

update

PAGES 21 & 22

Our Stromness Hero

PAGE 22

Picture Puzzle

PAGE 23A Thank you, A totem pole and a dinner

PAGE 24Membership

When Alan and Nan were at the SAFHS meeting held in the Mull room, Gillis Centre, Strathern Road, Edinburgh they were pleased to meet the Shetland representative, Mary Barron. She is a Shetlander living in Edinburgh and is a genealogist of some repute. While in Edinburgh Alan left the OFHS report for the next SAFHS bulletin with the newly appointed editor, Janet Bishop, and members might like to look out for that.

Since I was very young I have thought of the Corston name as being somewhat unique.

In the 1960’s my mother, Frances Corston, began a re-search into the Corston history. From that I came to real-ize that there was a history attached to the name that is a part of Canada’s rich tapestry itself. My personal love of all things historical instilled within me a desire to know more of its origins. Due mostly to her research, taken on in later years by cousin, Randy Corston, there grew within me a desire to go to the source of the family name…Orkney.

In 2003 that opportunity presented itself. Unfortu-nately, it amounted to only a half-day tour, but enough to instill within me the desire…indeed, the very need, to return. I was “smitten” with this ancient island, sitting out in the north Atlantic off Scotland.

The Corston name originated on the Islands of Ork-ney. Originally the remote, wind-swept islands belonged to Norway and its ancient history is closely linked with the nomadic Vikings. Historical evidence in Orkney today proves that Nordic Viking communities thrived centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ. Ancient sites, such as the “Ring of Brogdar” and the “Standing Stones of Stenness”, as well as numerous other excavations, continue to inter-est archeologists, historians and tourists alike.

The earliest record of the name is of a “Magnus” Corston in 1492 who owned a farm and a flour mill in Harray par-ish on Orkney’s main island. The name was pronounced “Korshtan”. (“Orkney Family Names”, by Gregor Lamb, 2003). Not much else is known other than there is some small evidence that Magnus entered into a dispute with a neighbour over land rights. Nothing seems to be known as to the outcome of that dispute. According to Lamb, the Corston name continued in the Stromness area until the early 1900’s, but then seems to have disappeared from local history

Many Orcadians came to Canada with the Hudson’s Bay Company. The HBC ships always put in at the sea-side village of Stromness, to take on fresh water and sup-plies before heading across the north Atlantic to Canada’s outposts. It was here that many Orkneymen signed on

NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETYIssue No. 44 December 2007 3

In Search of a NameTom Corston tells of his pilgrimage in May to Orkney, the ancestral home of the Corston Family

as “workers” for the company. Orkney has always been a land of subsistence farming. Life was hard for the “croft-ers”, with few breaks from the long days of eeking out a living. Hence, Orkneymen were hardened, not afraid of hard work and well used to lives of lone-liness and deprivation…just the kind of worker the “honourable company” needed to staff her isolated outposts in the James and Hudson Bay region. For many, the last sight of their homeland from the deck of the HBC ship as it slipped out to sea was the village of Stromness, the cliffs of the “Old Man of Hoy” and ever diminishing from their sight the rolling hills of their beloved Orkney.

The first “Corston” recorded with the HBC was a “Hugh” Corston who appar-ently starved to death near Little Whale River, (northern Quebec) in 1754.

Our family actually begins with a Wil-liam Corston of Rendall, Orkney, born in 1819. Evidence shows that he signed on with the Company on February 19, 1836 as a labourer for a five year term at £16 per anuum. He dis-embarked at Moose Fort on September 3, 1836 and was immediately posted to Rupert’s House, Quebec, arriving on September 27th. His history as a faithful employee of the HBC is well documented. He worked in many posi-tions in numerous posts along the east coast of James Bay, inland as far as Mistassini and in Ontario to Ogoki Post, far inland along the Albany River*. He and his wife Margaret McKay raised seven children…four daughters and three sons. William retired in 1893 after 57 years of faithful service and continued to live at Eastmain, Que-bec, on James’ Bay’s eastern coast... He died on April 7, 1898 in his 80th year. It is from this man that our branch of the family descends. (From “A Summary of the Corston Family in Canada”, by Randy Corston, Chapleau, On-tario, 1994)JOURNEY LONG AWAITED…

Browsing the internet one day in 2006, I came across a notice inviting all Canadians of Orcadian ancestry to join

an “Orkney Homecoming” tour in May, 2007. It sounded compelling.

I mentionedA

This is Stromness where the Orkney HBC agent was located. For many young Orcadians the view of the town nestling below Brinkies Brae was the last glimpse of their homes as the ship carried them away to their new life in Canada.

The Old Man of Hoy, a spec-tacular sea stack some 300ft high.

NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Issue No. 44 December 20074Fit to my mother and we decided to sign on. It turned out to be the long-awaited journey of a life-time that brought me back to the very heart of the rich history of Orkney and of my family name.

On May 15 of this year we joined with 52 other de-scendents of Orkney in Glasgow, Scotland. The trip had been arranged by “The Great Canadian Travel Company” of Winnipeg, Manitoba…the home of many Canadians of Orcadian ancestry. In 2004 the governments of Mani-toba and Orkney had signed a “Treaty of Friendship & Cooperation”, from which the idea of the “Homecoming” originated. Participants gathered from both Canada and the USA, from places like Toronto, Calgary, Fort Frances, Saskatoon, Ottawa, Hamilton, International Falls, Min-nesota, Boston, to name but a few. Certainly, those par-ticipating were evidence of the vast influence of Orkney in the history of our countries. (I was missionary at Ogoki Post myself, 1978-80…accessible even today only by boat & air).

Following a long day of travelling across the Scottish countryside, through the remote highlands north of In-verness, we arrived, (somewhat late) at the ferry docks at Scrabster where the boat awaited to take us on the hour and a half sail to Orkney. On board to greet us were numer-ous members of the media, from the Orkney newspapers, and the BBC radio, including at least 4 photographers. Our Guide, John Grieve, of the “Orkney Island Tours”, was also on hand to greet us and inform us of the numer-ous activities they had laid on for us to both sightsee over the following days as well as research our respective fam-ily histories. Indeed, the ‘Orkney Family History Society’ was well prepared to host us and attempt to answer every query about our respective histories.

We arrived at Stromness, the very port that William Corston left in 1836, to be greeted by a number of well-wishers with a large welcome banner, and the Pipes and Drums of Stromness. Photos and warm handshakes as-sured us that we were indeed, “coming home to Orkney”.

Our first full day on Orkney was to tour the “west main-

land” which included such sites as the “Churchill Bar-riers”, which were erected by Italian POW’s in the last war following the destruc-tion of the great battleship “HMS Royal Oak” which was lying at anchor at Scapa Flow. Scapa Flow was

a naturally protected harbour. It was made famous at the end of the First World War as it was here that the whole German Navy weighed anchor awaiting the Armistice. Prior to word ar-riving that the German surren-der had been signed, the German Admiral had the whole fleet scut-tled. Following the sinking of the “Royal Oak” at the beginning of the last war, Winston Churchill ordered that the natural harbours be protected with large barriers. Orkney became the site

of an Italian POW camp and the prisoners carried out the work. A top tourist attraction is the “Ital-ian Chapel” built by the Italian POW’s, at the campsite and still in use by Orkney’s small Roman Catholic community.

A highlight of the day was a visit with local entrepreneur,

Willie Mowatt. Willie has been the caretaker for many years of the grave of one of the HBC managers who, following his service, re-turned from Canada and whose gravesite is situated in the back garden of Wil-lie’s home. The story is that the Governor didn’t want to be buried in the churchyard because it was infested by rabbits! Willie is related to a number of Mowats who came out to Canada, notably the former Premier of Ontario, Sir Oliver Mowat (1820-1903) and Canadian author, Farley Mowat. Willie was an inter-esting and entertaining Orcadian to visit.

Our second day featured a tour of the “east mainland”, which for me was a highlight as it took us to the former lands of Magnus Corston in Harray parish. As we entered the parish, it was not long before we crossed “Corston Road”, where we asked the driver to stop in order to have our photo taken! An eye-opener here was the visit to “Cor-rigall Farm”, situated near the end of Corston Road. Cor-rigall farm continues today as a modern, busy enterprise, but the Corrigall family has left intact the ancient crofter cottage and barns, which is now an historical site.

The reading of the Corston history indicates that the family is intermingled with the Corrigall family. Being at the site certainly brings that connection alive. Our his-tory shows that they were close neighbours, so it is quite natural that there would be marriages between the two families. A personable young Orkneyman, Neil Leask, (whose name is connected to ours in historical censusA

Willie Mowatt

One of the Churchill Barriers today

The Royal Oak

The Italian Chapel

Fmaterials), was on hand to guide us through the old farm and illustrate the history of the difficult lives of the early Orcadi-ans. Life was so hard, it was no won-der many O r c a d i a n s jumped at the chance to get away to a new life and signed on with the HBC, not fully realizing, perhaps, that life with the “honourable company” would be just as hard, and in some cases, even harder as many perished struggling to sur-vive in the “new land”.

Here I was introduced to a young employee of the Ork-ney Island Tours, Ian Fraser. He was quite taken with our being Corstons and told us a most intriguing story. He remembered as a child growing up in Harray parish and playing on a hillside that is the site of a number of Corston graves. The story associated with the site he remembered from his grandmother. Harray is the only “land-locked” parish in Orkney and is therefore known only for farming, unlike the other parishes of the Island which are known for both farming and as fishing. As the story goes, one year the food was scarce as the crops had failed. People were starving. A group of Corston men decided to travel down to the sea to try their chances as catching fish. A winter storm came up and all of them perished. They are buried on a hillside, marked by a number of small gravestones. According to Mr. Fraser, the site can still be seen, although I was not able to get to it…something for another trip!

Later that evening, at the invitation of Neil Leask, we were delighted to attend the Friday night gathering of “the traditional Orkney Dance Society” in Kirkwall. Neil hosted an evening of dance, fun, food and laughter. We Canadians tried our best to fit into the various dance steps, but more often than not managed only to stomp and stumble. Our hosts laughed good-naturedly with us. I remember many a “soft-shoe” dance such as the “Moosonee Stomp” and the “Goose Walk”. As I watched our Orcadian hosts move through their steps, I saw with new realization where those dances of our history originated for there in front of me were the original dance steps brought to the new world centuries ago!

Saturday, May 19, was “John Rae Day” on the tour. John Rae, the famous surgeon, explorer and map-maker of early Canada, famous for his excellent journey in search of the lost John Franklin expedition, was an Orcadian. When he discovered the remnants of John Franklin’s failed journey, he found evidence that the expedition had degenerated into cannibalism. When he made that known in England, he was discredited and shunned by Victorian England as many felt he had insulted Franklin’s good name. Eventu-ally, he was re-established as the notable person that he was for early Canada. Today his grave is situated in the Churchyard of St. Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall and his

NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETYIssue No. 44 December 2007 5

Mother and I at ‘our road sign’ in Harray Parish

effigy is prominently dis-played inside the ancient Cathedral. We stopped at the remnants of John Rae’s home, out on a wind-swept piece of coastland. The place is an empty shell to-day, but plans are to make it into a modern tourist at-traction.

The day’s highlight was a meandering walk through the old village of Strom-ness, very much today as it has been for centuries, with narrow winding streets along the harbour. At the end of the village stands the old HBC warehouse, where hundreds of Orcadians signed on with the “Company” and from which many had their last sight of home.

Later that day we found ourselves in Orphir, an Orca-dian parish rich in history. Orphir was the residence of many of the Viking earls and it was here in the Bay of Hou-ton that King Haakon Ha-konsson of Norway beached his ships after the disastrous Battle of Largs in 1263. It was here also, that the Imperial German Fleet was scuttled in 1919. Orphir was also the site of the last battle fought in Orkney. When we arrived at the local community centre in village of Orphir we found that the Community Associa-tion and the Orkney family History Society had filled a room with local photographs,

family trees, school records, wartime memorabilia, maps, valuation rolls—even John Rae’s last will and testament.

It was here that we found a picture of a tall, handsome young man with wavy hair, typical of the 1950’s, by the name of “James” Corston. As far as we know, we have never had any historical connec-tions to Orphir so don’t know quite where he fits. . Interestingly, as I was leaving Orkney, literally stepping on the boat, a re-porter from BBC Orkney, following an interview with me, told me that he was raised in Orphir and wondered if I had seen the “Corston House” there. Unfortunately I had not. He told me that it is an old house that has changed some-what over the years from Corston to “Corstonophile” to “Corsen”…but it is known locally still as “Corston House.”

The Remains of John Rae’s Home today

Stromness today; much as it has always been

The exhibition at Orphir

Tom concludes his story in our March issue when he tells of preaching in St Olafs, the OFHS Open Day, his encounter with the Cog and a visit to Westray.

NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Issue No. 44 December 20076

Groats House, and although the house has long disap-peared, the story remains and deserves to be remembered as long as good inten-tions and good sense are appreciated.

The first account of the story was writ-ten in 1782 by Dr. John Morrison, Min-ister of Canisbay. The particulars were given to him by John Sutherland of Web-ster, whose father had seen the actual let-ter given by King James IV to the Groats. He also said that the remains of the oak table had been seen by many who had in-scribed their names on it.

Some writers have expressed doubts regarding the truth of the old tradition, because they have not seen the old house and because they find no references to the story in the accounts of some earlier visitors. The house of the story, created hurriedly to serve a temporary purpose, must have passed into ruins and decay centuries ago. The tradition remains and there is not wanting in historical setting of the Groats of John O’ Groats from the earliest extant charter granted to John Groat by the Earl of Caithness in 1496 down to 1741, when Sir William Sinclair of Freswick secured the lands by a forced purchase from Malcolm Groat. In 1649 Malcolm Groat of Warse was a mem-ber of the Committee of War and in 1702 a Donald Groat and a John Groat were Commissioners of Supply for Caithness.

Canisbay Churchyard holds the dust of many genera-tions of Groats and the curious lettered headstone with the date 1568 is evidence of the importance of the family at that early date.

Many distinguished visitors have visited John O’ Groats including King Edward and Queen Alexandra as Prince and Princess of Wales, Noblemen, writers such as Carlyle, Hugh Miller and many distinguished

Colonials. In the genera-tions to come many more will seek ‘Caledonia’s out-most rim’, and whatever be the manner bent, whether it be by foot as intrepid walk-ers have gone, or by cycle or motor, ever breaking previ-ous records, there will be at the end of the road the charm of Nor’land and its story. L

Towards the close of the 15th century or about the begin-ning of the 16th, Malcolm, Gavin and John De Groot, supposed to be three brothers and natives of Holland, came to Caithness carrying with them a letter in Latin from James IV, King of Scotland, recommending them to his loving subjects in Caithness. They purchased, or obtained by charter, cer-tain lands of Warse and Duncansby in the Parish of Canisbay from the Earl of Caithness.

In the process of time, by the in-crease of their families or sub-divi-sion of their properties, there came to be eight different proprietors of the name of Groat. An annual festival was established to celebrate the an-niversary in Caithness.

On the occasion of one of these fes-tivals a dispute arose respecting the right of taking the door and sitting at the head of the table and other points as to precedency and seniority. It came to such a height as would have proved fatal in its consequences to some if not to all of them.

At this point John Groat, probably the oldest of the clan, interposed. He pointed out the comforts they had hitherto enjoyed in the land of their adoption and the dangers arising from family quarrels. He, therefore, conjured by the ties of blood and their mutual safety, to return quietly to their several homes and he would sat-isfy them on all points of precedency at their next gather-ing. They all acquiesced and departed in peace.

Accordingly he had to fulfil his promise so he set to build a house, octagonal in form, with eight doors and windows and in the centre of the room he placed an eight-sided table. When the next meeting took place he invited each member to enter by his own door and sit at the head of the table. By this happy idea in which they found themselves on a footing of equality, the family disrup-tion was prevented and harmony and good humour restored.

Thus like the Arthurian Round Table, came into ex-istence the famous John O’

I am once again indebted to Davina Brown who suggested that this article might be of interest to our members. Despite making enquiries here and in Caithness I have been unable to discover the author’s name or indeed if the material is still in copyright. If anyone can supply this Information I will be delighted to include the appropriate credit in the next issue of our newsletter.

The map is part of Johan Blaeu’s Atlas Novus, which he en-graved in 1654. This shows the North east corner of Scotland and part of the Orkney Islands. Although John O’ Groats did not exist at this time the • shows its approximate location.

John O’ Groats

NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETYIssue No. 44 December 2007 7

RESIDENTS OF SCORRIDALE 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901

Peter Sinclair 27 - - - - -Margaret Sinclair (wife) 26 - - - - -Peter(son) 1 - - - - -Helen (daughter) 6mth - - - - -Catherine Knarston (servant) 15 - - - - -

Peter Sinclair was born in Orphir (Houton). His wife Margaret and Catherine Knarston, a general servant, were both born in Stenness (Ireland District). I believe Margaret and Catherine to be sisters

John Groundwater - 39 50 60 70Williamina Groundwater (wife) - 32 43 53 64 74Tomina (daughter) - 10 - - - -Isabella (daughter) - 8 - - - -Margaret (daughter - 5 - - - -John (son) - 2 12James F (son) - 6mth 9 20 - - Margaret Moncrieff (mother in law) - 59 68 - - - Thomas (son) - - 7 17 - -Ann (daughter - - 4 14 - -Alexander (son) - - - 9 19 - Charlesina Muir (schoolmistress) - - - - - 26 John Groundwater was born in Kirkwall. He was listed as a farmer of 14 acres in 1881 & 1891, having been a mason in 1861 &1871. His wife Williamina (nee Moncrieff) was born in Orphir and was a widow by 1851 when she was an innkeeper at “Keek” a half-mile from Scorridale. Charlesina Muir was born in Stenness.

Thanks to those who responded to our September Tumbledown feature on ‘Waterslap.’ A number of read-ers identified all families and a visitor to the office, a week or so after publication, was a descendent of the Clouston family. The Gunn sisters, of course, were sis-ters of the infamous ‘Isabel Gunn’ aka John Fubbister of Hudson’s Bay Company fame.

This Tumbledown article features SCORRIDALE probably the most photographed cottage in Orphir. It lies on the Scorridale Road in the valley between the Midland Hill, the Hill of Dale and Gruf Hill and looks westwards over Clestrain and Scapa Flow to Hoy, Graemsay and the town of Stromness..

From the census information available this cot-tage’s residents emanate from two families – Sinclairs and Groundwaters.

If your family was linked to the Scorridale residents and you have a story to tell, or ques-tions to ask, Alan Clouston will try to help. You can contact him at alan.clouston@virgin.net

Did your ancestors live at Scorridale?

By Alan Clouston – Member No 339

NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Issue No. 44 December 20078

I was sorry to miss the Society’s annual outing to South Ronaldsay in June 2007, having visited the island the previous two

weeks, staying in a cottage at St Margaret’s Hope. What a pleasant and interesting visit that was, in tracing some of my ancestors. Articles in the SIB Folk News about South Ronaldsay have often mentioned some connection to my family.I found everyone I met in Kirkwall Archives and S. Ronaldsay most friendly and helpful in tracking down relatives, and providing useful information. Daisy Wishart, herself a Horne descendant who knew my grandfather and incredibly even just remembered my great grandfather and his second wife ‘Aunt Issy’ (Isabella Dass), helped considerably in confirming locations in St Margaret’s Hope. What a memory!While a number of female relatives still re-main it seems that my grandfather Alexan-der Horne was one of the few male relatives remaining to live on S. Ronaldsay. He was born in St Margaret’s Hope in 1867 receiving an education which enabled him to become a teacher, first on Rousay, before moving to teach in Edinburgh. He always had a keen interest in the Orkneys and was Hon. Secre-tary for 31 years of the Orkney and Zetland Association for promoting education on Ork-ney and Shetland. This gave him the oppor-tunity to occasionally return to the islands and to St Margaret’s Hope where his father, my great grandfather also named Alexan-der Horne, was a successful merchant, living first on The Front and later on the Back Road West End.My great grandfather, born in 1832 died 1922, was one of 8 children, 5 girls and 3 boys. His wife Mary Wards had a milliners business in Hope. Three of their children , Margaret, Jane, and Michal married three Sinclairs: James, William and Sinclair A. Sinclair re-spectively. Cecelia married W. Dearness while brother John married Sarah Dass and farmed at Cauldhame, S Ronaldsay.One of his granddaughters, Jessie Mary Wards Horne, inherited the house on the Back Road and married Peter Murray in1920.

Later this be-came the Mur-ray Arms Ho-tel (see photo) where I had several enjoy-able meals on my recent visit. Now my great

grandfather’s father was also named Alex-ander, born in 1801, one of 5 children. He married Michal Thomson in 1829, and in 1841 was farming at Aikers S. Ronaldsay. His brother James (a cooper by trade) mar-ried Isobella Symison having 3 children, son James lived at Herston but unfortunately William and also I believe Thomas perished in the Dunbar ship disaster in 1857 when the captain missed the harbour entrance to Syd-ney Australia with the full rigged ship sailing straight on to rocks. 121 people were lost in-cluding 18 men from S. Ronaldsay, with only one survivor. His sister Cecelia lived at Her-ston marrying Thomas (King Tam) Loutitt in 1822 before an early death in 1827 when Thomas then married Ann McLeod.His sister Jane married William Tomison in 1815, son of Governor William Tomison. His father William was Governor of Hudsons Bay NW territory and founder of HBC Fort Edmonton 1795, having had a very success-ful career. Jane and husband William initial-ly lived at Halcro in 1821 but moved to the Governor’s residence at Dundas House in 1827. Willie Mowatt MBE kindly gave addi-tional details of the difficult times following the death of Governor William concerning disputes about inheritance and the untimely death of husband William. As a result Jane went to Australia with children and her niece Mary, returning to St Margaret’s Hope where she died in 1865. Quite a trip in the days of sail in the mid 1800’s. The Tomison Academy was endowed by the family to im-prove education in S. Ronaldsay. Following a full tour of his Smithy, Willie Mowatt provid-ed very welcome home brewed refreshment! (see photo). He was intrigued my ancestorA

Murray Arms – St Margaret’s Hope.

Photo Credit : Kirsty Smith By Les Horne, Member No 1444

Didyou know?

The rate of drug missuse in Orkney is well below the national average of 1.84%Source: Estimating the na-tional and local prevalence of Problem, Drug Abuse in Scotland NHS 2005

NATIONAL1.84%

NATIONAL1.84%

ORKNEY0.16%

ORKNEY0.16%

NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETYIssue No.44 December 2007 9

Didyou know

that in the parish of Birsay, on the Mainland of Orkney, over 20 families have farmed the same land for over 400 years.The woman in the sketch is dragging a back-break-ing ‘charlie’ rake. This implement of torture was used to glean straw from the harvest field. The crop itself would have been scythed and gathered by hand. Ah! The not so good old days.

Fwas a blacksmith near Flaws, although the Smithy was long since demolished.

Now my great, great, grandfather was also called Alexander….quite confusing to have so many Alexanders! We know he mar-ried Sissey (Cecy) Duncan in 1782 living at Flaws S Ronaldsay (photo), working as a blacksmith. I couldn’t find any record of

Sissey’s baptism but since both Alexander and Sissey are buried in the same grave at St Mary’s Burwick as George Duncan (Church Elder) and Elizabeth (Sinclair?) Duncan, I must assume they were her par-ents. Alexander died 1804 (from the grave headstone see photo) while I assume Sis-sey was younger and did not die until 1848 at Gaira S Ronaldsay, remarrying to Mal-colm Groat in 1804.

At this stage some details be-come dif-ficult to confirm, it being con-s i d e r e d that Alex-ander came to S Ron-aldsay from Wick Caith-ness, and possibly born 1746. I find great difficulty in making a definite connection to Wick, and assuming he came from the Caithness area there seem to be two possible families

Sampling the ‘Home Brew.’ Myself on left of picture.

having an Alexander of approximately the correct age. The most likely was Alexan-der son of George Horn and Janet Duren born at Bankhead Wick in 1746 although there was also an Alexander son of Adam Horn and Elspet Warse born at Canisbay Caithness in 1750 of a possible age. While Horn with an ‘e’ was more common in Caithness, it seemed to have been added about the mid 1800’s in S Ronaldsay.

It had been mentioned to me by George Esson that there could even be a tenuous connection to the renowned 1st World War general, General Lord Horne of Stirkoke one of four generals serving under Lord Haigh. Stirkoke is an estate near Wick, but I found it impossible to establish a connection with so many details missing.

Quite apart from the interest in my fam-ily tree, I found the Orkneys with their great historic sites remarkable and wor-thy of a special visit. If anyone can add to or correct any of the information provid-ed above, I would very much like to hear from you through e-mail: leslie.horne1@btopenworld.com (note: figure 1 not the letter L). L

Flaws –South Ronaldsay

Headstone at St Mary’s: Duncan/Horn

‘Members Night’ in Orkney Library & Archive 7.30pm Mrs Sheena Wenham, ‘St Mary’s in Holm’ 7.30pm James Irvine,‘DNA in Genealogy’ 7.30pm Society to participate in SAFHS Conference in Motherwell Concert Hall. Organised by the Lanarkshire & West of Scotland FHS

Annual General Meeting.Speaker & subject tbc 7.30pm

Depart Kirkwall Bus Station at 10.30am, returning at 5pm.Bus tour through Orphir to Stromness. OFHS Annual Out-ing - Stromness. ‘Street history& Hudson Bay Company.’ Lunch and return to Kirkwall via Stenness and Firth.

14 Feb 2008

10 Apr 2008 13 Mar 2008

26 Apr 2008

8 May 2008

15 Jun 2008

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OFHS . SYLLABUS 2008

NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Issue No. 44 December 200710

Is it thanks to Beaver Hatsthat the HBC got ahead?

If beaver hats had not become the ‘must have’ acces-sory in Europe in the 17th century t h e Hudson’s Bay Company might nev-

er have been formed. Fur had been in demand as long as man has been wearing clothes but some-one, sometime BC, discovered that by matting, condensing and pressing animal hair and wool you could produce a mate-rial that was waterproof, mould-able and hard wearing. Felt had arrived just in time to form a protective layer under armour giving rise to the slogan ‘Felt up and survive safely’.

Round about the fall of the Roman Empire, the same fate befell feltmaking in western Europe. It con-

tinued in the east, however, and by the 1600s feltmakers were making their way to the west to cash in on the demand for fine clothes and especially felt hats for those who wanted to get ahead.

Now unfortunately for the beaver it had

the best pelt for felt and demand had reached such levels that the Europe-an variety was now as scarce as hen’s teeth.

This made the hatters quite mad but sanity was restored when it was dis-covered that North America was awash with beaver; something that had not escaped the entrepreneurs of the day.

Appropriately enough the first entrepreneurs off their mark were a group of Frenchmen from San Malo who loaded up a ship with knives, beads and cooking pots and off they went to swap this load of tat for fine furs from the First Nations people of

North America.Keeping it in the family, so to speak, another

Frenchman, Samuel de Champlain, was soon to establish a permanent settlement and pursue his commission from

the King of France to develop the fur trade.The English soon discovered what was happening and

wanted, as they say, a bit of the action. As usual the Eng-lish and French were soon at each other’s throats and be-fore long had also involved the Iroquois and Huron tribes who were constantly warring with each other anyway. In 1609 the French sided with the Hurons in a war that

was only to end when the English finally defeated the French.

During this time two French fur traders, des Gro-seillers and Redisson, decided to venture further afield. They met up with people from the Sioux nation who told

them of the abundance of beaver to the north of the bay that had been discovered and named by Henry Hudson in 1610.

Before long they had filled 100 canoes with furs and made their way back to the French settlement. Instead of the warm welcome they expected they found themselves fined, furs confiscat-ed and des Groseillers incarcerated in the local lock-up; all because they did not have the proper licence.

Sacrebleu what a slap in the vis-age thought des Groseillers emerg-ing in high dudgeon from the dun-geon. In 1665 they packed their bags for England where they told the German Prince Rupert, cousin of King Charles II, of the rich pickings awaiting him across the sea. The proposition was put to

Charlie who instructed the necessary arrange-ment to be made forthwith.

Forthwith turned out to be three-with and in 1668, two ships set sail for North America with des Groseillers in the Nonsuch and Redisson in the Ea-

glet. The Eaglet was forced back by bad weather but the Nonsuch reached

James Bay in 1669. Here the crew landed, built a fort to store the furs

and provide protection, and later in the year they sailed back to England with the booty.

Evidently the Nonsuch did not produce a for-tune but Rupert could see the potential for mak-

ing money. The King was persuaded to grant a char-ter and monopoly to Rupert and his partners, known

as the Company of Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson’s Bay. A

A light-hearted look at the origins of the HBC by John Snclair, Member No 588

NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETYIssue No. 44 December 2007 11FOn May 6th 1670, Hudson’s Bay Company was formed and was given all the land whose rivers drained into Hud-son Bay, which became known as Rupert’s Land.

It was a licence to print money. The Company had sole rights to trade for fur without fear of competition.

T h e native people delivered the furs to their door so there was no need for the company to

hunt or seek new sources. HBC was becoming very profitable.

Things were to change in 1756. Britain and France, who had been constantly snip-ing at each other, were now to engage in a

war. This had a disastrous effect on the fur trade but when England emerged victorious in 1763, having taken the

area colonised by France and known as New France, HBC thought it would be back to business as usual.

Not so, however; things were just settling down when up popped a bunch of fur traders in Montreal who, in 1783, decided to form a rival company trading as the North West

Company. At one time they were em-ploying as many as 2500 people

and were no doubt a threat to HBC.

Competition between the two companies was fierce and often acrimonious but by 1821 it was over. Circum-

stances dictated that North West Company had no option but to merge with HBC. The amalgamated company now consisted of 97 trading posts that had belonged to North West Company and 76 to HBC who were now the most powerful organisation in North America.

Incredible as it may seem they controlled most of mod-ern day Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific and were also responsible for enforcing many of the laws.

This continued until 1870 when they gave up control under the Deed of Surrender.

This was the surrender of nearly all of the HBC land

to the British Crown who subsequent-ly transferred it in 1870 to the newly formed Dominion of Canada.

The fur trade was now changing rap-idly. New ways of treating furs were discovered.

The poor old coypu of South America who had spent its time lazin’ in the sun was about to be turned into felt that was as good as beaver but at a fraction of the cost.

Suddenly at the start of the 1970s furs were be-coming bad news. Campaigns by anti-fur lobbies saw

celebrities discarding their minks and ocelots. In Brit-ain sales plummeted by nearly 80% between 1975 and 1980 and the pattern was similar throughout much of the western world

HBC were, as always, on the ball and adapted quick-ly to the decline of the fur trade.

Much of the land they still held was sold to farmers, settlers and developers. Their depots then provided the goods required by these people. Trading Posts became retail outlets and in 1881

HBC opened their first modern retail store in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

After 1918 HBC developed the gas, oil and mineral potential of its land and this was profitable until 1929 when the company had once again to look to its future. Over the years this turned out to be an expansion of its retail stores. The Bay as it is now known is a chain of over 90 full line department stores that operate across Canada with flagship stores located in Canada’s largest cities.

In 1970 the HBC headquarters moved from London to Winnipeg, Manitoba. By 1991 it had left the fur trade completely selling all of its northern trading posts.

Today, after 337 years it is still going strong.

Beaver Hats came in many designs over the years. These are some of the early ones

The D’Orsay The Wellington The Regent The Paris Beau Cocked Hat Army Navy Cocked Hat Clerical 1820 1812 1825 1815 1776 1837 1800 18th century

From Left to right. The original seal with the Latin motto Pro Pelle Cutem—’a skin for a Skin.’ Next is the seal updated in 2002 with the Latin motto eliminated. The flag is the Red Ensign of the Hudson’s Bay Company. At the top right is the current HBC logo. Underneath is the logo of the Company’s stores. Known simply as ‘the Bay’ they are the largest retailers of department store merchandise throughout Canada.

Trading marks of the oldest commercial corporation in North America

NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Issue No. 44 December 200712

Montreal.Soon afterwards he was offered, and accepted, a call to the First Presbyterian Church, London Ont. They were married in June 1908. For their honeymoon they came to Orkney, stopping en route to visit John’s brother William, who was Fire Master in Aberdeen. When they arrived in Kirkwall John took Alice to see the shop where he had clerked in his teens, earning the money for his passage to Canada in 1889. (Maybe some other family member knows what shop that was?)They made the last leg of the journey to Rousay on “a delightful little steamer called the Fawn” Alice says she had a vivid picture in her mind of a rowboat with one

occupant, a man with pencil and paper, tossing about on the sea. That lonely boatman was the Canadian artist William (Bill) Smith who was spending the summer making sketches “of this little-known land and of the stormy North Sea Waters”Alice says that to avoid confusion with the contemporary artist Bell-Smith he adopted St. Thomas Smith as his name, St. Thomas being his home town. John visited Orkney again on his own in 1909, because Alice had given birth to their first daughter, Elizabeth, and couldn’t make the journey. A second daughter, Mary, was born in 1912, and that same year John again came to Orkney, this time with 3 year-old Elizabeth. In 1913, after preaching for 5 years in London, Ontario, John received a call from the First Presbyterian Church, Victoria BC. which he accepted.They stayed 8 years in Victoria, during which time their twins, Miriam and Ruth were born. Also at this time John met up with a boyhood friend, JamesA

John Gibson Inkster was born 18 Feb 1867, Cogar, Rousay, son of William Inkster and Mary Gibson. He emigrated in 1889/90, arriving in New York with $25 in his pocket, and went to the farm of Insgar, in the village of Copetown. An Inkster from Saviskaill (who would have been related to the Inksters of Cogar) had married there back in 1829, so John was welcomed into the family. Alice mentions meeting him (he was familiarly known as Jock) at Hamilton Collegiate Institute where “he put a lot of effort into sports, and enterprises such as the Literary Society where he got to know people rather than books.” One reason he stood out among the other pupils was the fact that he spoke differently. To quote Alice ”his accent was unlike any other we had heard, neither English nor Scottish, Jimmie being’ Chimmie’ and George being ‘Chorge’ He used many strange expressions, too, such as “short ago” for our “a little while ago” and ‘a glampsy day’. All this was explained when we learned he had come from the Orkney Islands.”She didn’t know then that many years later they would

get married. At this time John was an under-graduate. They saw each other fairly regularly but didn’t have a serious relationship, and went their separate ways in 1895. In Nov. 1907, during a chance visit to Montreal, Alice saw someone and said to her friends “If I didn’t know that he’d died I would say I’d just seen my old friend John Inkster” She’d been told that the congregation of a little church he’d started up in Marmora had put in a memorial window for him, and

she’d assumed he’d died, but here he was, large as life!They made an appointment to meet that afternoon, and he proposed to her! She kept him waiting until Christmas before she said “Yes”. By then Alice was 34 and John was 40. He was working for the Presbyterian Collegiate in

John Gibson Inkster was my great-uncle, but all I knew about him was that he was one of my many ancestors who had gone to Canada, until I was given a copy of “A Retrospective” written by his widow, a Canadian lady called Alice Inkster, (nee Rowsome) some years ago, and I have used excerpts from that to write this account.

Isobel Irvine Member No 338

Find out more about Rousay at www.visitrousay.co.uk

Presbyterian Collegiate, Montreal

The SS Fawn, passenger boat (1812-1917) at Rousay Pier. A Tom Kent photo courtesy of Kirkwall Library Photo ArchiveJohn Gibson Inkster

NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETYIssue No. 44 December 2007 13 FSclater, now Lt. Col. Sclater, resident in Vancouver.

The summer of 1919 was spent in Portland, Oregon, where John worked as supply preacher in the Presbyterian Church.

In 1921 John re-ceived a telegram asking if he would consider a call to the historic old Knox Church in Toronto, and he accepted.

John went ahead and 2 months later Alice and the family joined him.

It wouldn’t have been easy for Alice to make the 5 day journey involv-ing boat and train, with 4 young children. After

they got settled in their new home they acquired a sum-mer house on the shores of Lake Ontario. They named it Saviskaill, and spent many happy holidays there.

In 1933, to celebrate their Silver Wedding the family made a trip to Orkney with their 3 daughters, their oldest, Elizabeth, having died in tragic circumstances a few years earlier.

They drove from Toronto to Montreal where they board-ed the C.P.R. S.S. Montclair for Southampton. Alice doesn’t say how long this visit lasted, only that they would leave from Glasgow on the journey home.

Before they left they spent a couple of days in Glasgow with John’s brother Hugh, who “had a good job as an ac-countant. He never married, but saved money so that he was able to purchase Cogar and leave it, and quite a sum of money, to his sister Mary Ann”.

In 1938 King George V and Queen Elizabeth vis-ited Canada. John, being chaplain of the Toron-to Scottish (?), conducted the drum-head service with the Queen beside him as Hon. Col.-in-Chief. The service was broadcast but in the singing only the voices of the Queen and the chaplain, standing by the drum-head, were carried over the airwaves.

That evening John received a long-distance phone call from his friend Lt. Col. Sclater in Victoria BC saying, ‘Well, John, you may be able to preach a good sermon but as a vocalist you are a failure!’

In this same year John retired from the ministry of Knox Church, Toronto after 18 years, and he now decided it was time to fulfil a dream of his to go to New Zealand. A friend of his, an ex-moderator, had just returned from doing sup-ply work in Sydney, Australia. John made enquiries if there would be a similar opportunity him, but in New Zealand, and didn’t have to wait too long for a reply, saying there was a vacancy in Wellington for one year, if they could be ready to sail in two weeks.

They’d had plenty of practise in moving house, and this time it was just the two of them, so they were there, ready to set sail in late Aug. 1939.

When they went on deck the first morning they were greeted with the news of the outbreak of war and the sink-ing of the ‘Athenia’. Alice says “We knew at least 4 of our friends were on that boat.” It turned out that one of those four was indeed lost. Some passengers decided to leave the ship at Hawaii, but John and Alice continued on their jour-ney to Auckland, and by train to Wellington.

When their year was up plans for the homeward jour-ney had to be made. The route was to be train to Auckland,

boat to Sydney, C.P.R. boat ‘Niagara ‘to Vancouver. They left Sydney at midnight. At 3.45am they were

awakened with a violent jerk that threw things onto the floor. A steward came and told them to get dressed quickly and go to their lifeboat station, taking only one small item of hand luggage.

In the confusion John and Alice got separated and ended up in different lifeboats, neither knowing if the other was safe.

The oarsmen rowed hard to get them away from the sinking ship, and luckily it was a calm night. Watching from a safe distance they watched the Niagara go down as they waited in the lifeboats hoping for rescue.

In Alice’s own words, “Finally a freighter picked us up and deposited us on a passenger ship on its way to Auck-land. For me, the next thing was ’Where is John?’ A search of the ship showed he was not on board….there was noth-ing to do but wait. We were not allowed to gather round the ‘companion way’ to watch for the embarking of more refugees but had to disperse through the ship. Conse-quently when John finally boarded the vessel he did not, as expected, find me waiting for him with open arms at the top of the ladder, he had to hunt for me!! When he finally found me his first words after these hours of anxiety, were ‘Where have you been?’”

When they reached Auckland the first thing was to send a cable to let the family know they were safe. Already the family had been phoned by the newspapers, saying ‘Your parents were on the Niagara weren’t they? We un-derstand she was lost with all on board.’

Not knowing when they would get another boat home they went back to Wellington, and next day went to get some clothes, having lost everything.

After a few days they went back to Auckland to be ready if a passage home became available. It was more than a week before word came through that they were to board the Aorangi for Canada, heading homeward at last. As they pulled in to Victoria BC Alice says she couldn’t be-lieve her eyes, when she saw one of her daughters waiting for them. That must have been such an emotional return.

Because they had taken out insurance they put in a claim for their losses, which was disallowed, the sinking of the ship being an act of war. They then put their claim to the War Claims Commission, and it wasn’t settled un-til 1950, when the compensation made by Germany was $1500.00, largely due to accumulation of interest over the period of 10 years.

In the summer of 1946, which they spent at Saviskaill, John’s health wasn’t so good and in August he suffered a slight seizure. After a spell in hospital he came home and to quote Alice, “ recovered sufficiently to be able to carry on the normal life of a retired clergyman.”

A friend drove them to morning services and they went by street car to the evening service.

On a Sunday in late December John announced he wanted to go alone to evening service. So he set off alone. A few minutes later the phone rang; it was a neighbour telling her that as John was crossing the street to get the street car he was knocked down by a car.

By the time Alice got across the busy street the am-bulance was already away so a policeman drove her to the hospital and John was able to speak to her, but it was for the last time.

He went into a coma and didn’t regain consciousness. The following Thursday he died with Alice at his bedside.

Isobel Irvine, October 2007 L

The old Knox Church in Toronto

NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Issue No. 44 December 200714

Usually the place chosen was as remote as possible from human dwellings. An old barn on a farm called Instabilie, near Scapa Flow, Orkney, was much used last century for ini-tiations. It is agreed that what happened was this — When the ‘horsemen’ consented to receive a new member he was brought to them by one of their number prepared to act as sponsor. Others made the necessary arrangements at the barn, which included sealing windows and every aperture about the building with divots and old sacks. The initiation ceremony invariably took place in the winter, and generally at midnight. At that hour, the whole brotherhood being as-sembled, the candidate arrived with his friend. They were met by ‘guards’ armed with flail handles, who demanded the necessary password. The candidate had to bring with him a loaf of bread and a bottle of whisky. This contribution was in addition to his initiation fee, which might be anything from five to twenty shillings.

The ceremony began with what was perhaps an uncon-scious travesty of the older rites. The candidate was blind-folded. In an atmosphere as eerie as the ‘horsemen’ could con-trive, sulphur was burned and plough chains clanked. The candidate was invited to shake hands with the Devil. As he extended his hand he clanked the coven foot of an ox. It was only when his nerve had been tested by such antics that he was instructed into the secrets of horsemanship. At the end the whisky and bread were solemnly partaken. Whether they once had a ritual significance no one can say, but their pres-ence was considered to be essential.

The actual value of the ‘word’ itself is difficult to determine, but recently I met a man who had seen it in action. His father had known it, but had always insisted that it was a secret. My informant went on to say, ‘My father never actually for-bade me to join the society, but I could see that he would be happier if I didn’t. I remember that we once had a mare of uncertain temper, who used to fly at strangers if they crossed the field where she happened to be. One Sunday as we came home from church my father said, ‘We’ll take the horses to the stable with us.’ He opened the gate, but the mare didn’t know him in his Sunday clothes, and she came running at him fiercely. We never knew what he said, but in a moment the mare was rolling happily on her back on the grass. She got up and followed the other horses like a lamb. My father bluntly refused to tell us what happened.

Well that is the Horseman’s Word; and I am not asking for initiation. If it were the Broadcaster’s Word now, that would be a different matter.

This article is the copyright of Orkney Archives, Ref D31/72/1 and is not to be reproduced or published without their permission.

One of the best kept secrets in rural Scotland was the ‘horseman’s word.’ If you knew it you could do anything you liked with horses. Just whisper it into an awkward animal’s ear - or so people said - and it becomes docile as a kitten.

The mystery which surrounded this word (supposed to be a very shocking one) made the youthful farm servant avid for initiation. He would part with a considerable portion of his half-year’s fee to learn it. For a while he might be tantalised by hints and whispers, but sooner or later he would be of-fered, under a desperate oath of secrecy, the chance to become a member of the brotherhood.

For there was undoubtedly an actual secret society bearing the name of the Horseman’s Word, just as there was another known as the Miller’s Word. Such societies can sometimes be traced back to beliefs and observances that predate Christi-anity. But whatever its origin, the Horseman’s Word once had the understandable function of passing on to the proper per-sons the distilled wisdom of generations of horsemen. Like all the crafts, horsemanship had its jealously guarded secrets, not to be transferred to writing. If anyone divulged the slight-est hint of them he was subjected to summary discipline. The discipline may have extended even further, for I have heard tales of farm lads being beaten up, although not members, for just casting ridicule on the society.

One should not, perhaps, speak of the society in the past tense, for there is some evidence that it still exists, though not as an organisation with any practical function, but rather as a speculative body. Be that as it may, there are still in many districts old men who are pointed out as initiates of the robust fraternity that the Horseman’s Word is presumed to have been in its heyday. I have spoken to several of them. Some will let fall scraps of information, but most feign ignorance or offer the name of a more knowledgeable informant. It ap-pears , however, that the ‘word’ itself is not really shocking, indeed not even uncommon. ‘It’s in any good English diction-ary,’ one man told me, and went on, ‘The important thing to learn was not the word but the psychology of its application.’ Most definitely, I thought, the society moves with the times: that sounded to me a very modern phrase for a purveyor of magic!

‘What about initiation’ was a question I persisted in ask-ing. In a fit of confidence a friend said to me, his face bright-ening up with pleasurable reminiscence, ‘I’ll never forget the night when we initiated So-and-so and So-and-so.’ He men-tioned the names of two men whom I knew, and a place only a stones-throw from where I used to live. At the period of which he spoke I had never heard of the society, yet initiations were going on right under my nose.

Harold Esson related the tale of The Horseman’s Word at our October Open Meeting

The Shadow on the Blanket

More than a hundred years gone by, there lived in the Kalet district of South Ronaldshay a weaver called Gilbert Thomson, known to everyone as

Gillie. He was born a cripple, so was not able to seek his fortune by going to sea in ships, or serving with the Hud-son’s Bay Company in Western Canada, where a South Ronaldshay man, William Tomison was Governor of that vast territory - Alberta - and who provided employment for every South Ronaldshay man who could read or write.

In fact, Tomison was so anxious for his fellow country-men to succeed in life, that he provided free education from the year 1778 until 1884.

In those days, women would spin single yarn from their own sheep’s wool, winding the worsted into huge balls the size of one’s head, then when sufficient wool was spun to make a blanket, the wool would be put in a sack, and tak-en off to Gillie the weaver, who made blankets that lasted a lifetime. One of the last blankets he wove was when my father was a young lad - about 1876. He told me he helped carry some of the worsted along with his mother when she went to Gillie to do the weaving.

However, what I am really going to tell you about, is the greatest tragedy that ever took place on our Island. The year was 1834 when 30 able bodied men died of small-pox during the winter. Gillie the weaver had been weav-ing all day, and well into the night with the light of his kerosene lamp, that gave out more smoke than light, but Gillie didn’t mind for the moon was bright and the light was streaming in through the skylight above his loom. His wife Ann said ‘Come and get your supper Gillie. I have some nice porridge with cream on it, and then go to your bed.’ Gillie ate his supper but said he must work a while longer, for he had to make thirty new blankets for the Norwest men before they returned to Alberta in the Spring.

Ann went to her bed and was just about asleep when she heard Gillie hirpling through to the bedroom making strange noises. ‘Whits wrang wi ye Gillie?’ she said. ‘Oh Ann, there is something awful gan to happen. Dae ye ken, a shadow fell on the blanket while I was weaving-ye ken that means the cloot will no be a blanket to sleep under, but will become a winding sheet for a corpse instead - and very soon too. The same happened to the blanket I fin-ished yesterday’ Gillie groaned in torment ‘I cannot sleep Ann, that’s going to be two of them together that will die. God knows what is going to happen - the shadows never

NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETYIssue No. 44 December 2007 15

lie. I’ve seen it before.’ Gillie was a good Christian fellow, but very steeped in

the superstitions of the pre-Christian times. Nothing Ann could say could ease the foreboding torment that settled on poor Gillie. He felt poorly that night but he simply had to get up and finish weaving that ominous blanket.

When the blankets were ready, Ann would deliver them to the customers and collect the five shillings each for weaving them. Prices were low in these days - for instance I have a receipt for a coffin of that period which was for ten shillings and sixpence.

Many of you may be a bit bored with all my details and ask how I know all this; however, what I am now to relate may convince you of the authenticity of this narrative and the effect it had on our family.

The blankets were for my grandfather, John Annal of Stean and his brother William Annal of Cellardyke. Both men were newly arrived home to their wives after hav-ing served nine years away in Alberta with the Hudson’s Bay Company. Both men died ten days after they got the blankets and were buried in the blankets. No coffin was used; there was no one available to make a coffin; thirty men and many children were ill and dying in the Parish at that time.

When I was a young lad, I had seen old ladies who had suffered from smallpox when young children in 1830 - there were deep pock marks all over their faces - but because they had worked with cows, they had got immunity from being in contact with cow pox from which all cows suffer. Men who left home early and went to sea or the Norwest and had not worked with cows did not acquire this immunity. They usually died if they got the infection. There is proof that the smallpox virus will live for 100 years in clothing or in places like, for example, a thatched roof.

There had been no smallpox in Caithness or Orkney for more than 100 years, but in the year 1834 roofing slate had been discovered in Caithness and Sir John St. Clair, the Laird, was providing all his tenants with a new slate roof for their old thatched roof cottages. All the Caith-ness men were busy and an opportunity came for joinersA

© By the late Sandy T Annal in 1990. Published with permission. Suggested by Davina Brown No 327

NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Issue No. 44 December 200716their wives for the slightest contact gave infection and almost certain death. Some of them had not seen their families for several years and returned to Canada never again to come home knowing that the infection could re-main in their houses for many years.

One outstanding incident of this epidemic often comes to my mind. One of the Dunnet men of Lythe was a strong outstanding fellow, who had lived rough, surviving in snowstorms and sleeping in the open, very often soaking wet, who, when he felt ill, not realising he had smallpox, decided to try a quick cure that is still practised to the present day by open air fanatics and that is, if you feel fe-vered, you strip naked and plunge into the sea or a river and it is supposed to break the fever. However, as there was no river near Lythe he just plunged into a large well. The cure did not work and he returned to the house to die in agony.

The following year in the spring of 1835 was a season of gales and rain. There were few people left to cultivate the soil and gather in the crops. The North Parish people were still afraid to go and help for fear of infection so the old men were left to struggle on as best they could. Owing to the bad weather, however, crops were scarce.

Fish was a help; limpets were much used and skarfs (cormorants) were caught and eaten.

F from South Ronaldshay to roof some houses. My great grandfather John Annal and his brother William got the contract to roof two old thatched houses over 100 years old. What they did not know was that the Caithness men would not touch these old roofs because people had died of smallpox more than 100 years before in these houses. The result was that my two ancestors contracted the disease and came home and died, starting off the terrible epidem-ic that caused the death of thirty men and children. There is no record of any women dying of the disease as all had milked cows at some time in their lives and had derived immunity from the cow pox off the udders of the animals.

In these olden times, all the girls from an early age learned to milk a cow - otherwise, they were told, they would never get a husband. It is this cow pox serum off the cow’s udder that your present day doctor inoculates you with to provide immunity from smallpox.

In St Mary’s Church in Burwick there is still a stretcher like contraption with bier poles fixed across it for six persons to carry a coffin from the house to the cemetery. My grandfather told me when I was a boy, that this contraption was not made for carrying a coffin, but was made to carry a corpse wrapped in a blanket. Very few people were buried in a coffin when he was young.

My grandfather did not con-tract smallpox. He was sent to stay with his uncle Jack Flett. He was four years old at the time and he never returned to his mother again. In fact, he never went near his old home again for fear of small-pox. His uncle, who reared him, had been an officer on the Saint of Trinidad with Admiral Collingwood at the Bat-tle of Trafalgar, and who was always very correct in his speech, talking in what he called the King’s English. My grandfather always spoke in the same manner - very cor-rect, causing people to think that he had lived a long time outside Orkney when, in fact, Caithness was the farthest he had been. When a young man, he was the youngest hand on the Royal Mail, a six oared sail boat that plied between Burwick and Caithness every day until 1858, when a steam boat started to give a daily service between Stromness and Scrabster.

I think I should tell you a little more about this terri-ble year of tragedy in 1834. So severe was the smallpox, that three men of Lythe, all brothers, Dunnet to name, newly home from the Norwest, died in the same day and two brothers by the name of Gunn, next door neigh-bours, also died. All five were buried on the same day, alongside each other, wrapped in a blanket. Several graves in St Mary’s kirkyard state ‘This grave

is not to be opened’. This was for fear of smallpox infec-tion.There was more than one death in a lot of homes.

I am also aware that among the later arrivals of the Norwest men, when it was known that smallpox was in their homes, they were afraid to go home or even meet

My grandfather told me how his mother went to the field and cut a sheaf of oats, took it home, thrashed off the grain on the bilgit stone in the barn. The bilgit stone was a long shaped stone built into the barn wall about three feet above the floor level and protruding six inches out from the wall, She then carried the grain into her kitchen, dried the grain over the peat fire in a frying pan, then ground the grain into oatmeal with a quern, making porridge and oat bannocks.

Her oldest son was twelve years old and when he could not get off in the boat to catch fish, he used the small fish hooks attached to a sixty fathom line with bait on the hooks to catch skarfs at the cliffs. He sometimes would get several home with him. The skarf is not a very tasty bird, not considered fit for human consumption, but hunger was everywhere and a method for making skarf meat more edible evolved. A tub was filled with soft clay and the skarf was buried in the clay for more than a week. By that time the clay, acting like a poultice, had sucked out all the oil, impuriities and feathers, and I have been told that after cooking the meat tasted delicious.

About this time, a wicked man smashed all the oars in her son’s boat, but my great gran was a woman possessed of the foresight, who could predict the future, es-pecially for malefactors. She confronted this man for dam-aging their boat which he de-nied. She then told him ‘ I will prove to the whole world and yourself that you are guilty of this cruelty to me and my bairns’. She went on to say ‘You are guilty and you will soon be where you would be glad to have a boat and oars but there will be none for you. That will be your punishment for smashing our boat.’ The fellow drowned very soon after. The people of the district tookA

NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETYIssue No. 44 December 2007 17Fthis very seriously and decided that it was dangerous to annoy Mrs Annal of Steen and almost everyone avoided annoying her, or even helping her despite her many prob-lems for she had three young bairns. The youngest, Wil-liam, was born three months after his father’s death.

Mrs Annal of Steen lived to a great age. I have heard my father say that when he was a young man of eighteen years of age, he saddled his horse and went across the hills to see his gran in the darkness of a winter’s night. She would be lying in the box bed in the kitchen with a bright peat fire, everything nice and warm. She talked about his sisters and her son Peter, my grandfather, and did not seem to have anything amiss with her health. A lit-tle before midnight she suddenly said to my dad ‘Go home at once now Alex, for I will be dead before you get home. Keep a tight bridle on your horse, some-thing may startle him.’ My dad was rather shaken with all this; her last words were ‘Tell Peter I am gone.’ My dad did as she told him and mounting his horse he left immediately. About half-way home his horse bolted and it was only with great difficulty that he got it under control. He found out the next day that the horse had bolted at the exact moment his grandmother had died. When my dad got home he said to his father ‘I doubt granny is gone.’ His father replied ‘No doubts about i t boy, she died half-an-hour ago when your horse bolted.’ My dad said to him ‘How did you know that the horse bolted?’ Grandad just said ‘I knew that too and a lot more forbye that you will never understand.’ Helen Flett was her maiden name and she belonged to a place near Hou-ton in Orphir. She met my great grandfather when she was a waitress in a Stromness pub when he was on his way home from Hudson Bay. John Annal, after meeting this bonny lass with the dark hair, decided he would mar-ry her before he returned to the Norwest in the spring. This meant he must get a house for a home to live in but homes were in short supply for so many Norwest men were getting married. Very often young men built a cou-ple of rooms on to the end of their parent’s house. This had many advantages; first there was a site available and it saved an end wall, and as he would soon be earning money, more than enough for his wife, she would often help a little and her husband knew his folk would help out when babies came. However when men like John Annal had no old folks’ house to build near it compelled him to look for a site elsewhere. In those times it was almost impossible to get a building site from one of the numerous landowners. You had to go to one of the small lairds who only owned two or three small farms. Such a man was my Great Grandfather on the female side - Al-exander Foubister Taylor or Cameron. He was generous and leased the croft of Steen to John Annal and during the winter of 1819 he built quite a large house for that period. He gathered stones from the beach, the hills and the quarries. I never saw a house with so many different varieties of stone. Before John left for the Norwest in the spring he married Helen Flett and she was installed in her new home with enough money to support her until John returned from the Hudson Bay.

Now I will tell you an interesting and romantic story that developed after some years. We know that John died in 1834 and that his son, Peter, my grandad, was just four years of age. Well, as years went by Peter grew up to be a smart young man with shares in a large herring fishing boat, earning enough for himself and a bit more. Peter knew his mother found it difficult to find enough money to pay the rent so he took some of his own cash and went over to Aikers and paid the rent. I understand he did this for many years until he was 30 years of age. By that time his landlord’s rather pretty and charming daughter had grown up to be a very desirable young lady and no doubt the handsome, dark curly haired Peter, who paid his mothers’ rent, was well fed and entertained by the young lady. I do not know much more about this court-ship but it was a fact that her dad was known to have a large amount of gold sovereigns in his chest and that he owned some nine crofts, drawing a rent of £25 per annum. However one thing I know is they got married that year of 1864 and Peter lived in his wife’s house until he was 93 years of age. She died a few years earlier. I remember him very well. He died in 1924 and still had a head of towsy curly hair, while I was bald by the time I was 30. He smoked black twist tobacco and drank whisky as long as he lived. I can recall very well how, when that fine old minister, the Rev. James Irvine, born near Skaill, Sand-wick, came to visit my grandad, my aunt would give them each a large glass of whisky and after they had taken their first sip the minister would say ‘A little of this is good for you Peter, but never take very much or it can ruin your life.’ Grandad would reply ‘There is no fear of that for I could never afford to buy that much now, or, for that matter, ever at any time in my life. I am over 90 now but I have often felt the better of it.’ By this time the Reverend was quite warmed up and fit for the road so he would get into his four wheeled horse carriage and away he would trot up the road. I used to watch him go and thought if I could only have set his trap on fire it would be just like Elija going to Heaven in his chariot. Always, as he left, the good man would take my grandad’s hand wishing him good health and saying “I hope Peter you will be looking to the spiritual side of life now”. Grandad would say ‘You know I will.’ How true that was for before the minister was well out of the house he would say to his daughter ‘For God’s sake Helen give me a drap more whisky for am hid an aw-ful time wi’ the minister. I’m fair exhausted.’ Sometimes people teased grandad saying he just married Christine because she owned property. However his son always said this was not so - it was because he was lazy and found it too much trouble having to walk over once every year to pay the rent. Behind this was the fact that grandad was never known to visit his sweetheart except for the once a year when he paid the rent. He continued all his life as a fisherman until rheumatic fever put him ashore and afterA

NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Issue No. 44 December 200718Fthat he hired a man to go on the boat in his place while he repaired the nets and gear to perfection. His boat al-ways fished well. A hired man got £7 for the season and a small share. Grandad might have about £14 half of it going to the man, but I know some years his share was

from £30 - £40.I remember the old gen-

tleman today just as well as when he sat at the table near the window, looking out towards John O’Groats. He would tell you exactly how the tide was flowing any hour or day of the week; when to leave for Groats and which course to take. It took me many years to acquire this knowledge, often from trial and error. It would be

impossible to convey or learn this type of knowledge from a book. In those days vessels had no engines and any mistake in calculation of the tide in the Pentland Firth would mean being swept six miles east to the Kerries or west to Cape Wrath.

Another outstanding thing was a little saying he often repeated when the soup was served. It would be ‘That soup was nearly as good as Betty Manson’s’ or it would be ‘Betty Manson made better soup than that’ - but he never ever did say his daughter’s soup was better than Betty Manson’s.

We know that Betty Manson lived at Huna and that the Orkney men got shelter and warmth in her house when the Royal Mail would not return until next day. However, Betty Manson was a gener-ous kindly soul and always had a large pot of hot soup on the fire when she saw the boat coming. It must have been a god-send to the boatmen, often cold, wet and hungry on arrival.

One thing grandad never told us was whether Betty was young and beautiful or old and kindly. Was there a budding romance between gran-dad and Betty that failed when the Royal Mail ceased to cross after 1858?

Alex T Annal March 1990 © L

A Blot in the BurnRobbie o’ Northoose came hirplin in one bonny Sunday

morning jist as his mither wis makin fur the kirk. He planked himsael doon on the creepie an’ sterted tae tak aff his boot, the ain nearest the dresser, when his mither says ‘Whit are thoo daen beuy?’ By this time Robbie wis in a right raffle and he shouted ‘Me feets aafil sore Mither, me socks is walked doon under the sma o’ me feet.’

R o b b i e s o o n hid the socks off an the smell wis ow-ercomin’, guf-fan like some-thing oot o’ the middeen.

This upset his auld mither an she said ‘Beuy I’ll be back later fae the kirk but for mercy sake wash thee feet an’ change thee socks; there’s a clean pair on the raip abune the fire.

Weel it wis a boony day an’ Robbie took it intae his heid that he wid mak doon tae the burn an’ wash his feet there fur he liked the feel o’ the water lickin’ his taes. So of he went an’ when he got tae

the burn he bretted up his drawers ower his breeks an sat himsel doon amang the segs at the edge o’ the burn. Suddenly he heard a soond an’ lukkin’ up he spied the lass fae Up-per Biggan, Elizabeth Inkster all dressed up like something fae the aaf an’ her twa

white dogs aal dressed up in their peedie red jaikets tae match their mis-tress’s skirt. Weel fur a bit o’ devil-ment Robbie sterted tae wiggle his taes in the water wae the muckle ains poppin’ up an doon.

Weel this made the peedie dogs heysk an in they both jumped tryin to catch a muckle tay

apiece. Next thing the Inkster lass had jumped in tae the burn

tae tak her peedie dogs oot o’ the burn an aaf Robbie’s feet. Weel

wae that Robbie’s mither appears on the scene just in time tae see Robbie

in the burn wae the lass an’ the twa drookit dogs sittan watchin whit wis going

tae happin.Weel nothing mutch did fur his poor auld mither wis

left moothless wae all the carry-on in the burn afore their hoose. Aal she managed tae shout wis ‘Beuy, beuy git boot o’ there at wance; whit on earth will fowk think if they see thee, hid being the Sabbath. L

By Allan Taylor, Member 1055

NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETYIssue No. 44 December 2007 19

most crippled with rheumatic gout” in 1848; etc.). As is suggested by the last two lines of the paragraph above, he clearly was unhappy while there, possibly from poor health or from being jilted by Miss Grant (see below), but he was also very disgruntled at the “clerk” part of his job, which he saw as below his station as a medical doctor and which he detested. It is likely that he contrived to get himself relieved of his duties in order to leave York Fac-tory and return to Scotland. In 1849 he was dismissed from service by HBC before the end of his contract and put on the supply boat on 10 September 1849 for the re-turn to London. His signature, below, is from the medical journal he maintained while at York Factory, signed on 25 August 1849.

Soon after getting settled in Wick, Caithness, he launched a letter-writing campaign with HBC Governor George Simpson, charging the company with breach of his contract and threatening public exposure of the treat-ment he received from the company. His case must have been good, or maybe it was just his persistence, because after about a year of correspondence the HBC paid him a full year of salary, to the end of his original contract.

He died soon after, at Wick, on 13 December 1858 at the age of 37, after a “brief but severe illness”. A family story recounts that he died of something he caught while treat-ing victims of an epidemic, although his death register says simply “fever”. His obituaries refer to “sufferings of the previous ten days”, using typical Victorian wordiness without stating more details of the cause: “Naturally of a somewhat delicate constitution, late frequent illness, the labours of his profession (recently increased by two of his professional brethren being incapacitated for work) and other causes, had the effect of aggravating a chronic weakness of one of the vital parts, and he died after a very brief confinement to the house.”

There may well be some truth in the family story, be-cause local newspapers during the week before his death reported “5 sudden deaths”, and the week of his death a further “6 sudden deaths” (including his own “who had but a few days previously been in the pursuit of his profession”). In the summer following his death local A

William was born on 12 November 1821 at the St. Andrew’s Manse, Tankerness, Orkney, Scotland, the fourteenth child of James Smellie and Mar-

garet Spence (see article in previous issue).William received his medical degree in 1842 from Edin-

burgh University, and practised medicine on the island of Stronsay, Orkney for over 2 years in 1843-1845. Then on 16 May 1845 he signed a 5-year contract with Hudson’s Bay Company, at £100 per year, as a “surgeon & clerk”, to work at its fur trading post called “York Factory”, in Hudson Bay. He served as ship’s doctor on the six-week voyage there from Stromness, Orkney.

In 1855 he published a collection of poems under the pen name “The Scald” (an Orkney word borrowed from the Norse, meaning “story teller”), which he had written from about 1841 (at age 20) up to that time. Most were based on the journal he kept about his experiences trav-elling to Hudson Bay and his four years there. I have two copies of this book, which states “On the 27th day of June, 1845, I embarked at Stromness in the Hudson’s Bay Company’s ship “Prince Rupert”, bound to York Fac-tory, Hudson’s Bay … (and) ... “landed, six weeks after, on the swamps of Hayes River, where York Factory stands propped on wooden platforms…”.

He says that “I was afterwards induced, by the tedium of the long winter evenings which I passed in that locality, to turn my journal to some account; and I employed my-self in versifying the scenes through which I had passed.

Crossing the Atlantic, and witnessing the mighty ocean in its various moods; reaching the regions of drift-ice, and cruising among the icebergs; threading the many wind-ings of the ice-encumbered and tide-swept Hudson’s Straits; and forcing a passage across the no less cumbered waters of the great Hudson’s Bay, which is as large as the German Ocean (North Sea), were altogether a romance in themselves, and rendered the six weeks occupied in the voyage the more pleasant part of those years which I spent in my pilgrimage to the fur countries.”

There are scraps of information from HBC Archives that refer to his poetry writing and fiddle playing while he was at York Factory. During the four years he was stationed there on the west coast of Hudson Bay, which was also the exact period during which the Franklin Ex-pedition was lost in its quest to discover the Northwest Passage, he seems to have suffered poor health. There are references to “Quinsay” (tonsil inflammation) in 1846; frequently suffering from wet, cold feet chilblains?; “al-

By Ken Harrison, Member No 108

NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Issue No. 44 December 200720Christie then to someone else. No further correspondence is known in this series, but he was married, on 21 Febru-ary 1850 in Wick, to “Miss Miller of Wick, a young lady I had known 8 years ago, & with whom I had at that time slightly flirted”.

At the time of his death one elder brother was a Pres-byterian minister in Fergus, Ontario, Canada; anoth-er elder brother was a failed cotton grower in British Guiana and starting a long career as an accountant with Demerara Railway Co. there; an elder sister had moved to Edinburgh and set up a boarding school; one younger brother was a Free Church minister in Banff and start-ing a career which saw him retire as minister of Free Greyfriars Church in Edinburgh; and his youngest broth-er was a businessman in Hamilton, Ontario. His other twelve siblings had by then died, either in Orkney or else-where, leaving no-one with the family surname in Ork-ney.

If any reader can correct or add to any of the state-ments above, please contact me. Was a Miss Grant mar-ried in Stromness in May 1847? Did the Christie family have any connection to Orkney? L

Ken Harrison, e-mail:- kenharrison11@cs.com

Fnewspapers clearly referred to cholera being present in the area. A gravestone in the southeast corner of the graveyard of the Old Parish Church in Wick marks his burial, on the side of an obelisk dedicated to the memory of his parents-in-law.

Before leaving Orkney for Hudson Bay, William was en-gaged to marry a Miss Grant in Stromness, but learned during his four years there that she had married a lawyer in Stromness in May 1847. On landing in London in No-vember 1849 on his return from Hudson Bay, he proposed to a Miss Christie, who had lived at York Factory. Her parents (father Alexander Christie, retiring as Chief Fac-tor of the Red River Settlement) had returned to London on the same ship with him. She accepted his proposal, but her father required that William become established in his profession before marrying.

William immediately left for the north of Scotland and within weeks had set up medical practice in Wick. He obtained a house on Bridge Street and wrote to Miss Christie, specifying a marriage date in March 1850. Her father replied with the further condition that William should have an established clientele and income first, to which William replied that he would not be dictated to, and would be married on the date specified, if not to Miss

Robert Whitton’s update onMary Ann Ritch (mn Mowat)

 A Daughter of the Shreve family, Genevive was born at 65 Frederick Street, Edinburgh on the 31st August 1868 while her father Octavius Barrell Shreve was continuing his medical studies in Edinburgh and most likely Mary Ann was hired to look after the child and went with the family to Salem rather than obtaining a position in Salem from Scotland. The fact that she was buried in the Shreve family plot shows how they must have appreciated her. The Shreve family was well known in Boston and Octavius’s father Benjamin lived at the Pickman-Shreve-Little House Chestnut Street, Salem—founder of the famous Boston Jewellers Shreve Crump and Low.

Genevive Shreve married Dr Edward Lawrence Peirson a descendant of another famous Boston family the Peir-sons. Their ancestry has been traced back (not by me!) to Samuel PEIRSON who resided before 1699 in Yorkshire, England. He may have come from near Dewsbury (just

south of Leeds) where a Rev. Samuell Pier-son (sic) was the Vicar and whose children had names that generally match with Samuel’s children. Samuel Peir-son was of the Society of Friends (a Quaker) and it is believed that he came over in about 1699

to join the settlement of Quakers near Philadelphia that had earlier been established by William Penn’s “Holy Ex-periment.” During the second week of November 1682,

the ship “Discover” landed at the head of Delaware Bay car-rying about 100 Quakers, an expedition Penn organized based on the principal that the “Friends” should be able to wor-ship according to the dictates of their own conscience. Penn had acquired “Pennsylvania” from King Charles to satisfy a claim against the Crown inher-ited from his father for services as an Admiral. On his second and final visit to Pennsylvania, Penn sailed from Cowes on the Isle of Wight in Aug. 1699 (landing in Nov/Dec of that year). Family legend has it that Samuel Peirson was part of that expedition.

 On another tack, I have been looking at the “Park” families in Orkney in the 1800’s based mainly in Burray to see if I could prove or disprove a particular individual’s ancestry. So far I have not had any success but in the process I have collected a file of 366 Orcadian people either called “Park” or related to them. If any of the SIB News readers has an interest in families  with  that  name  I  would  be  happy  to  examine  my records for them.                                                               L Robert Whitton Member No 218

William Penn. 1644 - 1718

Assembly of Quakers

The PARK FAMILIES of Orkney.Have you an interest in them?

Follow-up toRobert’s articleIn issue No 41

NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETYIssue No. 44 December 2007 21

My Orkney paternal grandfather, James Greig, was born in Young Street, Kirkwall in 1869, the only child of Robert Nicholson Greig and his second wife, Barbara Sandison. As he moved to Glasgow before my fa-ther was born and died when his fam-ily were still children, my father knew virtually nothing of his Orkney heritage or of any re-lations in the isles.It must have been in the late 1950s that my parents decided to visit Orkney for the first time to see if they could trace any relatives. Of course there was no Family History Soci-ety to help them, but they asked around and were soon put in touch with the South Ron-aldsay Greigs and Bobby Greig in Stromness, all of whom they discovered to be sib folk. I remember that my father was quite excited to discover that one of his relations had been a famous coxswain of a Stromness lifeboat.This relation was actually his uncle, Robert Heddle Greig, the son of Robert Nicholson Greig and his first wife Margaret Heddle, and so the elder half-brother of my grandfa-ther James Greig. Robert was born in Kirk-wall in 1854, and like his father, was a sea-man. At first he worked on sailing vessels out of Kirkwall, but when he joined the Princess Alice, one of Langlands steamers which called regularly at Stromness, he made Stromness his home. Following a bad knee injury sustained some years later when he was working on the steamer John O’Groat, he turned to fishing for the rest of his life. A skilled seaman he became a member of the first Stromness lifeboat, the Saltaire, a 33ft by 8ft 6in, 10 oared self righting vessel. The Saltaire was replaced in 1891 by a 12 oared boat, Good Shepherd. Bob joined her as sec-ond coxswain and seven years later he was appointed coxswain.It was in the Good Shepherd that he achieved his greatest distinction, exactly 100 years ago, in December 1907. In the early hours of the 11th of December the steam trawler Shake-

speare of Hull proceeding on her way eastward went ashore at the Point of Spoil near Breckness. The morning was boisterous with a fresh breeze from the southwest and although the sea was not very heavy in Hoy Sound there was a consider-able swell on the shore with much broken water. Soon after striking the vessel became submerged and the crew had to take to the rigging. As soon as the vessel struck, the whistle was sounded to attract attention, but ultimately the crew had to take to shouting. They were heard by a Mr Clouston of Breckness who, on seeing the dan-gerous position of the vessel, immediately set off for Stromness to inform the Hon Secretary, G.L.Thomson of the Lifeboat Committee, of the crew’s plight. The maroons exploded above the town calling the lifeboat crew to their station and within seven minutes of Mr Thomson reaching the Lifeboat House the Good Shepherd was on its way to the stricken vessel.When the lifeboat reached the Shakespeare they discovered that two men had already been lost in an ill-fated attempt to launch the ship’s lifeboat. Two more had been swept overboard and lost. The remainder had climbed the mizzen mast, foremast and funnel stays. Just before the Good Shepherd reached the scene two of the men had fallen from the mizzen mast and were drowned. Conditions were atrocious as coxswain Greig ma-noeuvred the lifeboat into the lee of the wreck. Bringing the boat within 12 yards of the Shake-speare the coxswain was able to throw a grap-nel on board and two of the wrecked sailors were hauled to safety. After a few further attempts they were also able to get a line to the man on the funnel and he too was rescued. A

Robert Greig, photographed in October 1929. The Good Shepherd is in the background.

By his grand neice, Anne Cormack, Member No73

Many years ago outside the old kirkyard at Stromness there was a pile of stones.It was the custom that as each mourner passed he would throw a stone on to the pile.What was the significance of the pile? Well it covered the spot where a suicide was buried for at that time they could not be buried within the kirkyard. The reason for this strange custom is unknown but equally strange was the rule that when the church eventually allowed suicides to be interred within the kirkyard they could not enter by the gate but the coffin had to be passed over the wall.

Did you know

NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Issue No.44 December 200722FMeanwhile the Rocket Brigade, who had also been alerted to the tragedy, arrived and were able to drag the three remaining crew men to the shore.

Speaking afterwards of the event cox-swain Greig said, ‘I am exceedingly glad that we arrived there in daylight, as had it been dark we could not possi-bly have effected a rescue. The place where the trawler went ashore is a very bad one, difficult enough to negotiate in day time, and I don’t think we could have done anything if it had been at night.’

For the skill and bravery he had dis-played dur-ing the rescue Robert Greig was awarded, on January 23 1908, the silver medal of the RNLI, a decoration reserved for extreme gal-lantry.

R e c e n t l y a day by day record of the Good Shep-

herd’s activities written by Robert Greig was discovered in the Lifeboat shed in Stromness. The page for Wednesday, December 11th 1907 covers the rescue as a routine entry of less than 60 words. It is interesting to see that he noted

that ‘each man received £1.2s.6d, (112 new pence) for this serv-ice.’Robert Greig remained cox-

swain until 1915 when he re-signed owing to ill health.In later years, in the summer months, he, along with a Linklat-

er man would live in two black tarred huts at the Geo of Yes-naby from where they went to the creels. The famous Orkney artist Stanley Cursiter loved to visit the Geo, presumably to

enjoy a yarn with the two old sea-dogs. I can remember being

very proud of my forebear when I first saw the dramatic painting of

Greig and Linklater that used to hang in the old library in Laing Street in Kirkwall.

Robert Greig survived to a good old age, dying in 1938, and is buried in Stromness Kirkyard.

His obituary observed: ‘Judged by the standard of this world’s goods, he would be considered of humble position but he leaves behind him which the highest in the land might envy.’ ~L

Linklater & Greig at Yesnaby. Stanley Cursiter in cloth cap

The Page from Greigs journal

Picture PuzzleHere Is a photograph which was

found in the Orkaid Charity Shop in Anchor Buildings. There is no indication of who handed it in.

No name on back but Provost Flett could be a strong contender. The lady might be the Queen Mother. Before passing it to the Archives Department of the Kirkwall Library it would be nice if any of our members remembered the occasion and could perhaps confirm the identities. If you think you know you can e-mail me at Johnsin@gotadsl.co.uk and I will publish in our next edition. Ed.

Oscar Garden, born in 1903, the son of Robert Garden from Kirkwall. By the time he was 27 he had done a number of jobs, none of which had satisfied him. Returning from New Zealand in 1930 a chance remark from a fellow passenger—Why don’t you learn to fly—was to change his life. Flying lessons were taken at Norwich Flying Club and after only 12 hours and twenty minutes he obtained his licence and was able to fly solo.Next step was a commercial licence but this required 100 hours of flying at £5 an hour. Oscar couldn’t afford that but to him the answer was obvious; fly to Australia and this would give him the hours and experience required. A second-hand Gypsy Moth was purchased from Selfridges and eventually off he went—the fourth person to fly solo to the antipodes. After a series of hair-raising adventures he touched down in Wyndham, Western Australia. The trip had taken him 18 days of which 14 were spent flying—the third fastest time so far. The journey was not yet over–he still had to get to Sydney and such a trip he was told was ‘stark staring mad’. It too was not without incident but eventually he landed in Sydney to a ‘hero’s welcome’. One of the first things he did was to send a telegram to Selfridges ‘your department store sells good aeroplanes’. He spent the following years as a commercial pilot and during this time laid the foundations for Air New Zealand and Tasman Empire Airways.Suddenly in 1947 he severed all ties with aviation and became a virtual recluse.He died on 2nd June 1997 and at his request his remains were donated to the University of Aukland School of Medicine.

NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETYIssue No. 44 December 2007

There was great excitement in the Parish of Holm at the end of September when many willing hands hoisted the Holm Community Totem Pole into posi-tion.

The 40ft Douglas Fir for the project was a gift from the Forestry Commis-sion and the carving was undertaken by Kenny Grieve and visting carvers from the Canadian First Nation Squamish Region.

The result stands proudly in a prime position at the first Churchill Barrier at St Marys.

TOTEM POLE

A big thankyou to the Socitea ladiesAfter being the OFHS 'Tea

Ladies' for eight years Mags and Annie Rendall have decided to retire. Mags' looks belies the fact that she is over eighty! The com-mittee decided to send representa-tives to visit them and present them with flowers and gift tokens. The visitors were welcomed at Garrioch Street and they went on to express the appreciation of the society for the faithful services of Mags and Annie over the years

Left to Right: Davina Brown, Annie Rendall, Mags Rendall and Nan Scott

23

Good Food, Good Wine and Good Company at our Annual Dinner held on the 15th November at the Kirkwall Hotel. A vote of thanks to everyone who helped make the night such a success, especially Hazel Goar who had to reorganise the evening after bad weather forced the rescheduling of the original date.

Our Annual Dinner

George Gray is having email problems and his new email address has not been received as we go to press. By the time you receive your news-letter we hope to have it on our website at

www.orkneyfhs.co.uk

Our newsletter depends on a con-stant flow of articles, long or short, from our members.

Submissions can be one or two pag-es or even longer; generally about 750 words makes a page and this allows for inclusion of a photograph. Shorter submissions are welcome too. Even a paragraph will fill a corner.SUBMISSIONS

If possible please type your article, ‘Word’ is fine and send on a floppy or as an email attachment. If possible include a hard copy in case I cannot open your file. Remember handwritten copy has to be retyped and this can cause delays.

PHOTOGRAPHSIf possible please provide an original

image, but not your only copy.Scanned material is ideal. Pictures should be scanned as greyscale 300dpi or you can attach as high quality JPEG files.Photocopies are not suitable. Please send a stamped addressed envelope if you wish anything returned.VIEWS EXPRESSED

Are those of the author and not those of the Society. The editor reserves the right to amend any material submitted. DO NOT INFRINGE COPYRIGHT.

Finally; emails and attachments can be set to the editor johnsin@gotadsl.co.uk

ARTICLES FOR MARCH 08 BY JAN 10th PLEASE

The Orkney Family History SocietyM

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in 1997 and is run by a committee of volunteers.

It is similar to societies operating worldwide where members share a mutual interest in family history and help each other with research and, from time to time assist in special projects con-cerning the countless records and subjects available to us all in finding our roots.

The main objectives are: 1 To establish a local organisation for the study,

collection, analysis and sharing of information about individuals and families in Orkney.

2 To establish and maintain links with other family history groups and genealogical societies throughout the UK and overseas

3. To establish and maintain a library and other reference facilities as an information resource for members and approved subscribers.

4.To promote study projects and special interest groups to pursue approved assignments.

We are located on the upper floor of the Kirkwall Library next to the archives department and are open Mon–Fri 2pm–4.30pm and Sat 11am–4.30pm.

Our own library, though small at the moment, holds a variety of information including:

The IGI for Orkney on microfiche.The Old Parish Records on microfilm.The Census Returns on microfilm transcribed

on to a computer database. Family Trees.Emigration and Debtors lists.Letters, Articles and stories concerning Orkneyand its people.Hudson’s Bay Company information.Graveyard Surveys (long term project). This material is available to members for ‘in

house’ research by arrangement.Locally we have monthly Members’ Evenings

with a guest speaker.We produce a booklet of members and interests

to allow members with similar interests to correspond with each other if they wish.

We also produce a newsletter 4 times a year and are always looking for articles and photographs of interest. A stamped addressed envelope should be included if these are to be returned. Back copies of the magazine can be purchased at £1 per copy.

We can usually undertake research for members who live outwith Orkney but this is dependent on the willingness of our island members giving up their spare time to help.

ORDINARY Family membership (UK only) £10.00

FAMILY MEMBERSHIP Spouse, Partner and Children under 18 £15.00   

SENIOR CITIZENS Single or couple (UK only) £7.00

OVERSEAS Surface Mail £12.50

OVERSEAS Air Mail £15.00

Membership of the Society runs from 1st March to 28th/29th February and subscriptions should be renewed during the

month of March. All subscriptions should be sent to the Treasurer at the OFHS address below.

New members joining before the 1st December will receive back copies of the three magazines for the current year. From 1st December new members will receive membership for the remainder of the current year, plus the following year, but will not receive the back copies of the magazine.

The present subscription rates are as follows:

Overseas members should pay their fees in sterling or its equivalent. If it is not possible to send pounds sterling please check the exchange rate. Our bank will accept overseas cheques without charging commission. Receipts will be issued with the next magazine. Members residing in the United Kingdom may pay their subscriptions by Bankers Order and if they wish can have their subscriptions treated as gift donations. Forms will be sent on request.

Cheques should be made payable to: ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY

and forwarded to

ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Orkney Library & Archive

44 Junction Rd, Kirkwall, Orkney  KW15 1AGTelephone 01856 873166 extension 3029

General enquires should be addressed to the office in writing or to Treasurer George Gray (e-mail: george.gray@unisonfree.net)General Secretary. Elaine Sinclair (sincs01963@yahoo.co.uk)

Research Secy. Adrianne Leask (e-mail: amerswyck@freeuk.com)Editor. John Sinclair (e-mail: johnsin@gotadsl.co.uk)

Orkney Family History Society website— www.orkneyfhs.co.uk

Articles in the newsletter are copyright to the Society and its authors and may not be reproduced without permiss- ion of the editor. The Society is a registered charity in Scotland and a member of the Scottish Association of Family History Societies. The Society’s newsletter, Sib Folk News is registered with the British Library under the serial number ISSN 1368-3950.