The Three Brothers and Other Relations
By Sandra Cairncross
May 2012
Preface
This account arose out of a(n extended) letter which I wrote for my father on the occasion of
his 75th birthday in March 2012. I had it printed and bound and presented it to him as a
keepsake of our shared Cairncross history.
Growing up, I became aware of some famous namesakes – the economist, Sir Alex Kirkland
Cairncross, and his daughter, Frances, also an economist, John Cairncross the spy, Cairncross
the jewellers in Perth, and, from America, William O. Cairncross, the TV producer: exciting and
somewhat exotic, but also unconnected from my branch. From time to time I increased my
awareness of the general Cairncross history, treasuring a photocopy of Cairncross, by G.T.R .
Cairncross, which my father gave me along with the History of a Forfarshire Family by AF
Cairncross.
This interest re-awoke a few years later, with the launch, by Ian Cairncross of The Cairncross
Family Website, hosting many family trees from many different Cairncrosses. I found mine and
saw I was descended from a Robert Cairncross born in 1792 who married a Margaret Ogilvie in
1819. Where did they come from? What did they do? I knew from the current family tree was
that Robert died of apoplexy in Dundee in 1859, aged 67. Robert and Margaret had three sons –
the three brothers referred to by Anne King. One was another Robert Cairncross, my greatgreat-great-grandfather, or Robert the Dockgate Man, as I came to call him. Another was
James, a sailmaker, mentioned in the History of a Forfarshire Family. The third was John, of
whom nothing else was known; I wondered what became of him.
New technology awoke me from passive interest to the possibility of identifying distant cousins
around the globe. On the Net I found namesakes – Sandra Cairncross in America, who drove a
Ferrari, another in Australia who ran a horse saddle business. The biggest surprise was the day
I came across what, at first glance, was a picture of my sister, Jackie, but instead was someone
else in America – a Laurinda Cairncross, who is the same age as me. There had to be a connection
but a comparison of her family tree in Ian’s site, with mine revealed that, if there was, it goes
back at least to the 18th Century.
More recently another Cairncross – Jason – this time in New Zealand set up a Facebook Group,
Distant Cairncross, which soon grew and grew, with Cairncrosses from all around the world –
Scotland, England, America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. This further piqued my
interest.
This account of my findings to date is being shared more widely as it may be of interest to
other searching this and related Cairncross branches.
My own searches continue – I have still to find the link to Laurinda’s branch but now think we
may have shared roots in East Lothian.
Sandra Cairncross
May 2012
PS Thanks to my husband Thomas McEwan who helped with the editing and listened patiently as
I recounted my findings.
Page i
Dedication
This is dedicated to Aunt Aileen who died in 2008.
Dad and Aunt Aileen as children
Page ii
CHAPTER 1: ORIGIN OF THREE BROTHERS ........................................................................... 1
Fife Roots: Identifying the Grandfather of Robert, James and John ................................................................. 2
Setting up in Dundee ....................................................................................................................................... 3
CHAPTER 2: BACK IN TIME – GRANDFATHER ROBERT (B. 1769) .................................. 5
A Family in Fife ................................................................................................................................................ 5
Mary Hean nee Cairncross and family .......................................................................................................... 5
Was Patrick transplanted from the Lothians? .................................................................................................. 6
Digging Deeper ................................................................................................................................................ 7
Family Tree: The Early Generations.................................................................................................................. 8
CHAPTER 3: PUTTING DOWN ROOTS ..................................................................................... 10
Robert (b.1792)- from Logie in Fife, to the Wynds of Dundee ........................................................................ 10
Born in Dundee: Robert’s younger siblings .................................................................................................... 11
Isabella b.1803 ............................................................................................................................................... 11
Elisabeth b. 1805 ........................................................................................................................................... 11
Jane b. 1807 ................................................................................................................................................... 11
John b. 1809 ................................................................................................................................................... 12
Mary b.1811 .................................................................................................................................................... 12
CHAPTER 4: FROM THREE BROTHERS TO FIVE BROTHERS AND A SISTER.............. 13
John CAIRNCROSS
b: 8 Mar 1820 ................................................................................................................ 13
Robert CAIRNCROSS
b: 19 Sep 1821 .......................................................................................................... 14
James CAIRNCROSS
b: 28 Sep 1823 ............................................................................................................ 16
David CAIRNCROSS
b: abt. 1828 ................................................................................................................ 16
Alexander CAIRNCROSS b: ABT 1831 ............................................................................................................. 17
Isabell CAIRNCROSS
b: 17 May 1833 .......................................................................................................... 19
CHAPTER 5: JOHN MCFARLANE CAIRNCROSS ..................................................................... 20
John’s Early Years .......................................................................................................................................... 20
John and Isabella’s Married Life ..................................................................................................................... 20
Children ......................................................................................................................................................... 21
Page iii
Residences ..................................................................................................................................................... 21
CHAPTER 6: BACK TO FIFE AND BEYOND ............................................................................. 23
CHAPTER 7: REFLECTIONS ON THE JOURNEY TO DATE AND NEXT STEPS ............... 25
List of Figures
Figure 1 Origins of the Three Brothers (Anne King) ............................................................................... 1
Figure 2 James the Sailmaker ................................................................................................................ 2
Figure 3 Extract from Old Howff Burial Records for Robert Cairncross died 1829 and Jean Rollo died
1848 ........................................................................................................................................................ 3
Figure 4 Children of Robert Cairncross and Jean Rollo ......................................................................... 3
Figure 5 Jean Rollo in the 1841 Census ................................................................................................. 4
Figure 6 Search Result Scotland People: Children of Patrick and Isabel ............................................... 5
Figure 7 Extract from Old Howff Burial Records for Mary Cairncross (d. 1839) and David Hean (d.
1841) ....................................................................................................................................................... 5
Figure 8 Searching for Patrick Cairncross born in the 18th C ................................................................ 6
Figure 9 Search Result Scotland’s People: The Children of Patrick and Margaret ................................ 6
Figure 10 Search Result Scotland’s People: Early Cx in Inveresk & Musselburgh ................................ 7
Figure 11 Search Result Scotland’s People Death Margaret Cairncross 1751 ...................................... 8
Figure 12 Cx variants .............................................................................................................................. 8
Figure 13 Family Tree - the Early Generations ....................................................................................... 9
Figure 14 Robert Cairncross born 1792 and family, in 1841 census (transcription) ............................. 10
Figure 15 Robert and Margaret in Old Howff Records ......................................................................... 10
Figure 16 Possible parents for Margaret Ogilvie .................................................................................. 11
Figure 17 David Cairncross in another Cx family tree .......................................................................... 17
Figure 18 Certificate of Entry of Birth for John MacFarlane born 1867 ................................................ 20
Figure 19 Edward and Effie Cairncross ................................................................................................ 23
Figure 20 Isabella Cairncross nee Gray with Grandchildren Ronald and Aileen .................................. 24
Page iv
Chapter 1: Origin of Three Brothers
The starting point for this research is the Family of Robert Cairncross, 1792-1859, married
Margaret Ogilvie, one of the many family trees maintained by Ian Cairncross on his website
dedicated to the Cairncross Family1.
In particular I was drawn to a short account of The Three Brothers, Robert, a Dockgateman, my
father’s great grandfather (and so my second great grandfather), his brother James, who became a
sail-maker and third brother John, “of whom nothing else was known”.
Origins of the 3 brothers (researched by Anne King) 2
This story really starts somewhere about 1760, at a guess, with the births of Robert and John.
We think that they were probably brothers because their offspring were born only 3 years
apart, and lived in the same area.
a. Robert, born circa 1760, married Margaret Rollo or Rollie.
1. Robert, b. 1792, d. 1859. Flax weaver. Married Margaret Ogilvie on 19.2.1819.
Died at 67 of apoplexy at Logie, Dundee.
a. Robert, 1821 - 1883, Dockgateman, the first of the 3 brothers. Records
existed with Robert b. 1899, of title deeds for lairs of burial, taken out by
Robert Cairncross, the Dockgateman in 1875. He also had deeds taken out
earlier in 1866 by Robert Cairncross, seaman, of Murraygate, Dundee. This
is probably the same Robert's address when he was a sailor with the Arctic
whaling fleet and before he gave up the sea and settled down to a life on
shore as a Dockgateman. The house at nearby Gellatly Street, Dundee,
probably went with the job. Or was he perhaps a son of John, the cooper,
(below) who would be quite a few years younger than his sister Margaret. Or
was he another relative?
b. James, the second of the brothers and
c. John, the third brother.
b. John, born circa 1760, a cooper. Married Ann Abbot.
1. Margaret, b. 1789, d. 1855. Married Charles Smith. Lived in Seagate. Had 4
children.
Figure 1 Origins of the Three Brothers (Anne King)
The main family tree indicated that the second brother, James, became a sailmaker and that he was
mentioned in the History of Scottish Family by B.L. Cairncross3
1
The Cairncross Family Website: http://home.freeuk.net/iancx/index.html
2
Family of Robert Cairncross, 1792-1859, married Margaret Ogilvie http://home.freeuk.net/iancx/F-T-12.html
Page 1
JAMES Sailmaker
There used to be a James Cairncross, a sailmaker, in Dundee. His son Robert, now deceased,
acquired the business of the late Mr. Falconer at the foot of Castle Street, and this business is now
carried on by Robert's daughter, a rope merchant. Another son, Peter died a few years ago, and left a
widow and children in Dundee. A third son, James, a shipwright, has a confectioners shop in
Clepington Road. He is also married and has a family.
Figure 2 James the Sailmaker
Fife Roots: Identifying the Grandfather of Robert, James and John
Anne King’s research suggests that the paternal grandfather of Robert, James and John may have
been a(nother) Robert Cairncross, married to Margaret Rollo or Rollie.
The parents of the three brothers, Robert Cairncross and Margaret Ogilvie, appear in both the 1841
and 1851 Censuses; in the former, Robert came from Angus, but in the latter, he came from Logie in
Fifeshire.
Turning to the Scotland’s People site4 I found the baptism entry for a son of Robert Cairncross and
Margaret Ogilvie, also called Robert, from 1821. He is one of the three brothers and the extract
stated that his father was a weaver and that he was named for his grandfather, confirming Anne
King’s supposition that both the father and grandfather of the three brothers were called Robert.
The middle Robert (the flax-weaver) died in 1859. His death certificate reveals that his mother's
maiden name was Rollo, partially confirming Anne King’s supposition that his mother was Margaret
Rollo.
Robert died of apoplexy, which today we describe as a stroke, aged 67. This suggests that he was
born in 1791 or 1792. He died a weaver, living at Millers Wynd, Dundee. The death certificate also
tells us that both of Robert’s parents were dead by 1859, and that his father had been a joiner.
No record of the marriage of Robert Cairncross to Jean Rollie could be found in Scotland’s People
and other genealogy sites. This is not suprising as marriage records are often not found from this
period. However a baptism record exists for a Robert Cairncross born in 1792 to Robert Cairncross
and Jean Rollo in the parish of Logie.
Might this Robert Cairncross, who married Jean Rollie or Rollo, be the grandfather of the three
brothers, rather than the Robert Cairncross who married to Margaret Rollie or Rollo? The next step
in this investigation, was to explore what happened to this Robert and Jean, and their son Robert. Did
they move from Fife to Dundee, drawn to the growing jute mills, as so many other families were at
that time? Burial and census records suggest that this might be the case.
3
History of a Forfarshire Family by B.L. Cairncross Chapter VII
4
http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/
Page 2
Setting up in Dundee
Burial records from the Old Howff Cemetery in Dundee have been transcribed by volunteers and are
available from the Friends of Dundee City Archives Website 5.
There are a number of Cairncross burials including Robert and Jean.
•
•
•
174 CAIRNCROSS Robert 9 Feb 1829 58 years Leuchars Wright Fever
189 CAIRNCROSS (see Jean Rollo) Robert Wright
148 Rollo Jean 11 Sep 1848 80yr Logie, Fife Old Age wid of Robert Cairncross, Wright
Small's Wynd
Figure 3 Extract from Old Howff Burial Records for Robert Cairncross died 1829 and Jean Rollo died
1848
Wright is another term for joiner, so Figure 3 confirms that the grandfather of the three brothers was
born in Leuchars and that the correct birth record has been identified.
The record for Jean Rollo shows that she was born in Logie, which is near Leuchars, in about 1768.
Using these parameters to search the Scotland’s People database, a possible match is a Jean born
to James Rollo and Elizabeth Robertson in 1769.
We can now be relatively certain that Robert and Jean were born in Fife but moved to Dundee, with
their son Robert, at some point following his birth. A search of Cairncross births around this time, on
Scotland's People, suggests that they had a further five children in Dundee – four aunts and an
uncle for “The Three Brothers”!
1792
CAIRNCROSS
ROBERT
ROBERT CAIRNCROSS/JEAN ROLLIE FR351
LOGIE (FIFE)
1803
CAIRNCROSS
ISABELL
ROBERT CAIRNCROSS/JEAN ROLLO
DUNDEE
1805
CAIRNCROSS
ELISABETH
ROBERT CAIRNCROSS/JEAN ROLLO
DUNDEE
1807
CAIRNCROSS
JEAN
ROBERT CAIRNCROSS/JEAN ROLLO
DUNDEE
1809
CAIRNCROSS
JOHN
ROBERT CAIRNCROSS/JEAN ROLLO
DUNDEE
1811
CAIRNCROSS
MARY
ROBT. CAIRNCROSS/JEAN ROLLO
DUNDEE
Figure 4 Children of Robert Cairncross and Jean Rollo
Jean’s name changes from Rollie to Rollo but changes in spelling were not uncommon in old parish
records. The gap of 11 years between the birth of Robert and the second child, Isabell, is interesting.
If the mother, in each case, is the Jean Rollo (b.1769), whose birth record we have, then she would
have been 24 when she had Robert, 35 when she had Isabell, and 43, when she had her sixth, Mary.
This seems unusual but not impossible. It's possible Jean Rollie and Jean Rollo were two different
people, perhaps relations, with Robert marrying the second after the death of the first, but no records
were found to indicate such a possibility. The 1841 census record is consistent with Figure 4, for the
ages of Jean, Isabell(a) and John:
5Old
Howff Burial Records www.fdca.org.uk/FDCAHowffInfo.html
Page 3
Piece: SCT1841/282 Place: Dundee -Angus Enumeration District: 115
Civil Parish: Dundee Ecclesiastical Parish, Village or Island: Folio: 0 Page: 2
Address: Smalls Wynd
Surname
First name(s) Sex Age Occupation
Where Born
CAIRNCROSS Jean
F
70
Flax Yarn Winder
CAIRNCROSS Isabella
F
35
Hand Loom Sacking Weaver Angus
CAIRNCROSS John
M
30
Joiner Jnymn
BORRIE
F
12
Hand Loom Sacking Weaver Angus
Elizabeth
Remarks
Outside Census County (1841)
Angus
Figure 5 Jean Rollo in the 1841 Census
Elizabeth Borrie is the natural daughter of Robert and Jean’s daughter Jean Cairncross (b. 1809),
also known as Jane. She went on to marry her cousin James the Sailmaker (see Chapter 4)
The lives of Robert Cairncross (b.1792) and his siblings are explored in the Chapter 3.
Page 4
Chapter 2: Back in Time – Grandfather Robert (b. 1769)
In the previous chapter we traced the antecedents of The Three Brothers, back to Fife where their
father Robert was born in 1792 and their paternal grandfather, also called Robert, was born in 1769.
Their grandfather was a wright/joiner and married Jean Rollo, also from Fife. Robert senior and Jean
moved to Dundee when Robert junior was a child. The story of the latter is told in the next chapter,
Putting Down Roots. In this chapter we explore the background of the grandfather of The Three
Brothers, Robert Cairncross, born in Logie in 1769, starting with his younger sister Mary.
A Family in Fife
As we saw in Chapter 1, in 1769 a son, Robert Cairncross, was born to Patrick Cairncross and
Isabele Henderson, who had married on the 14th Dec 1765.
In addition to Robert, Scotland’s People suggests Patrick and Isabele had three other children, if we
accept that Patrick and Peter are commonly interchanged, and that Carncross is a common misspelling of Cairncross.
No Date
Surname Forename
Parent Names
Frame No.
S
City/
e Parish
County
x
GROS
Data
1
30/01/1772 CAIRNCROSS MARY
PATRICK CAIRNCROSS/ISABEL
HENDERSON FR163
F LEUCHARS /FIFE
445/00 0010
0157
2
29/01/1767 CAIRNCROSS MAURICE
PETER CAIRNCROSS/ISABELL
HENDERSON FR144
M LEUCHARS /FIFE
445/00 0010
0138
3
22/06/1769 CAIRNCROSS ROBERT
PATRICK CAIRNCROSS/ISABEL
HENDERSON FR154
M LEUCHARS /FIFE
445/00 0010
0148
4
29/01/1775 CARNCROSS JEAN
PETER CARNCROSS/
F LEUCHARS /FIFE
445/00 0010
0167
Figure 6 Search Result Scotland People: Children of Patrick and Isabel
Mary Hean nee Cairncross and family
No further trace has been found of Maurice and Jean. However, the Old Howff Archive suggests that
Mary also moved to Dundee, marrying a David Hean, who, like Mary’s brother Robert, was also a
wright.
•
•
188 CAIRNCROSS (see Hean) Mary 30 May 1839 67 years Parish of Leuchars, Fife
Decay of Nature Wife of David Hean Wright New Howff
1288 Hean [See Cairncross] Mary 30 May 1839 67 yr Parish of Leuchars, Fife Decay of
Nature Wife of David Hean,[Wright]
who was possibly:
•
1244 Hean David 18 Mar 1841 77 yr Parish of Dairsie, Fife Wright Water in Chest
Figure 7 Extract from Old Howff Burial Records for Mary Cairncross (d. 1839) and David Hean (d. 1841)
David and Mary Hean had a number of children. Two appear in old Parish Birth records: Alexander,
born in May 1795, and William, born in November 1808. Another two were subsequently identified
from their statutory death certificates: Peter “born abt. 1801” and David “born abt. 1803”
Peter became a builder and appears to have done well for himself. According to his 1851 Census
return he had retired by the age of 50 and had become one of the magistrates of Dundee. He was
living at Rosemount with his wife Elizabeth (nee Small) and seven children. One of his daughters,
Page 5
Helen, married a Thomas Thornton in 1857. Thomas went onto become the Town Clerk of Dundee
and was knighted in 1894, and his family business continues as one of Scotland’s largest
conveyancing firms and estate agents.
David was also a builder and died in 1878 of heart disease. He never married.
His path crossed with his cousin Isabella Cairncross in later years (see Chapter 3). Other online
family trees suggest further siblings.
Was Patrick transplanted from the Lothians?
Patrick the father of Robert and Mary, worked as a gardener at Pitcullo. The Scottish Castle
Association6 report that this was built in the late 16th Century.
The original owners of Pitcullo Castle were the Sibbalds, and it passed first to the Balfour family, and
then the Trents, a family of Quakers from England. Maurice Trent was the owner at the time Patrick
would have worked there.
Patrick Cairncross is clearly the great-grandfather of The Three Brothers but tracing his roots is more
complicated: there are fewer online records covering the 18th century. However Cairncross is a
relatively unusual name, and Patrick is an unusual name for a Cairncross. Repeated searches in
Scotland’s People for that name, and variants, born in the 18th century produced only four matches,
only one of whom seems to be worth considering a Cairncross:
You searched for: Surname: "CAIRNCROSS"; Surname Option: Fuzzy; Forename: "PATRICK"; Forename Option: Prefix;
Sex: "Any"; Date From: 01 January 1700; Date To: 31 December 1800;
1 20/08/1732
CAIRNCROSS
PATRICK
PATRICK
INVERESK AND
CAIRNCROSS/MARGARET M
/MIDLOTHIAN
MUSSELBURGH
YATES FR2363
2 08/05/1720
WHITECROSS
PATRICK
JOHN
WHITECROSS/CHRISTIAN
DOBBIE FR422
NORTH BERWICK /EAST LOTHIAN
3 13/12/1741
WHITECROSS
PATRICK
JOHN
WHITECROSS/CATHRINE
BARRY FR578
NORTH BERWICK /EAST LOTHIAN
4 20/10/1782
WHITECROSS
PATRICK
GEORGE
WHITECROSS/HELEN
ROBERTSON FR863
M NORTH BERWICK /EAST LOTHIAN
Figure 8 Searching for Patrick Cairncross born in the 18th C
The old parish entry for the Patrick born in 1732 reveals that his father was also a gardener, and also
called Patrick. Did the son follow in his father’s footsteps and become a gardener? Did he make his
way from Midlothian to Fife as a young man, marrying Isabele Henderson in 1765 aged 33? He was
the youngest of the three children
22/09/1728
CAIRNCORSS
MARY
PATRICK CAIRNCORSS/MARGARET YATES FR2280
F
2/07/1730
CAIRNCORSS
JAMES
PATRICK CAIRNCORSS/MARGARET YATES FR2326
M
20/08/1732
CAIRNCROSS
PATRICK
PATRICK CAIRNCROSS/MARGARET YATES FR2363
M
Figure 9 Search Result Scotland’s People: The Children of Patrick and Margaret
6
http://www.scottishcastlesassociation.com/rec-id-126-cat_id-3-highlight-2.htm
Page 6
The parents of Mary, James and Patrick were married in June 1727.
Margaret appears to have died at or just after the birth of her youngest son as her husband remarried
in 1734.
A search of 18th century testaments suggests that Patrick senior died in 1737.
Mary, James and Patrick have now lost their mother and father. Patrick junior is an orphan, a few
days before his fifth birthday. We don't know what happens to his stepmother of three years, Barbara
Nisbet.
Digging Deeper
In tracing or rather potentially tracing our roots back to Inveresk, I have assumed that Patrick junior, a
gardener at Pitcullo, is the son of Patrick senior, a gardener at Monktoun, who died in 1737. This was
on the basis of the name Patrick Cairncross being a very unusual combination, and on age, someone
getting married in 1765 could easily have been born in 1732. Doing a general search, for Patrick
Cairncross and variants, revealed only one other, a Patrick Cairncross (or, rather, Cairncros) born in
1659. If alive, he would be 96 in 1765 which seems somewhat old to be the father of the groom! I thus
ruled him out as a contender for Patrick junior’s father.
This left the puzzle of when, and where, Patrick senior was born. Initially I put this down to not all
births being recorded until one day, by chance, when searching using wildcards (Cairn*), I stumbled
upon a Patrick Cairnkors born in 1699 in Inveresk and Musselburgh to an Andrew Cairnkors and
Margaret Lamb.
This Patrick would have been 29 when Mary was born making him a very good candidate for Patrick
senior. It also adds another generation to the family tree (assuming that Patrick at Pitcullo is the
same as Patrick junior, orphaned aged 5) – Andrew Cairncross would be my 7th Great Grandfather.
Andrew and Margaret were married in 1693 in Prestonpans.
Further searches on Scotland’s People yields the following for Inveresk and Musselburgh
1694
05/10/1694
CAIRNCORS
ROBERT
ANDROU CAIRNCORS/MARGARET LAMB FR1435
M
1695
01/12/1695
KAIRNCORSS
JOHN
ANDROW KAIRNCORSS/MARGARET LAMB FR1451
M
1699
26/02/1699
CAIRNKORS
PATRICK
ANDREW CAIRNKORS/MARGARET LAMB FR1523
M
1701
16/03/1701
KAIRNCORS
MARION
ANDREW KAIRNCORS/MARGARET LAMB FR1564
F
1707
19/01/1707
CAIRNCORSS
BARBARA
ANDREW CAIRNCORSS/MARGARET CRICHTON FR1712
F
1708
01/02/1708
CAIRNCORSS
ESTHER
ANDREW CAIRNCORSS/MARGARET CRICHTON FR1746
F
1712
14/03/1712
CAIRNCORSS
ELISABETH
ANDREW CAIRNCORSS/MARGARET CRICHTON FR1844
F
1714
04/06/1714
CAIRNCORSS
ROBERT
ANDREW CAIRNCORSS/MARGARET CRICHTON FR1891
M
1717
01/09/1717
CAIRNCORSS
ANDREW
ANDREW CAIRNCORSS/MARGARET CRICHTON FR1981
M
Figure 10 Search Result Scotland’s People: Early Cx in Inveresk & Musselburgh
In addition to identifying Patrick senior, we now have found an aunt (Marion) and uncles (Robert and
John) for Mary, James and Patrick junior. Perhaps they helped their step-mother, Barbara, to raise
the children, when their father died in 1737?
The births of Robert, John, Patrick and Marion, to Andrew and Margaret Lamb, are followed by the
births of 5 other children to Andrew and Margaret Crichton. It is possible that this is same Andrew
and, indeed, Andrew Cairncross is even more of an unusual combination than Patrick Cairncross.
This would mean however that Margaret Lamb died at some time between 1701 and 1706 when
Andrew and Margaret Crichton were married. No record of Margaret Lamb’s death around that time or
Page 7
indeed later can be found. However the recording of burials/death does not appear to be universal at
this time. Margaret Crichton appears to have died in 1751.
1751
01/12/1751
CAIRNCROSS
MARGARET
CRIGHTON / ANDREW
CAIRNCOR
F
INVERESK AND
MUSSELBURGH
Figure 11 Search Result Scotland’s People Death Margaret Cairncross 1751
Given that one of the new children is also called Robert it also suggested that Robert born in 1694
died in childhood. Again no record of this can be found, but Robert was baptised the day after he was
born which is quicker than usual – was he perhaps a sickly baby?
Birth records at this time in Inveresk & Musselburgh tend not to give much information – generally just
the names of the parents, the child, and witnesses are recorded. On occasion the father’s occupation
is given. This is the case with the entry for Andrew, the youngest son of Andrew Cairncross and
Margaret Crichton born in 1717. His father’s occupation is gardener; both Patrick senior and junior
were gardeners so if each followed in their father’s footsteps then perhaps Andrew junior is the twicemarried father of Patrick senior.
These records solve one mystery – when and where Patrick senior was born. In doing so it opens
another – when and where Andrew was born! They also serve to show just how many variant
spellings there were of Cairncross.
Cairncross Cairncorss
Cairncorse Cairncors Cairnkors
Carncorse Carncross Kairncross
Kairncorss
Figure 12 Cx variants
Family Tree: The Early Generations
If we assume that the Patrick who married Isabele Henderson was the son of Patrick Cairncross and
Margaret Yates then we have succeed in taking back two generations the original family tree, that of
Robert Cairncross, 1792-1859, married Margaret Ogilvie.
We have also found that Robert was born in Fife but that his father came from Inveresk in Midlothian.
Page 8
ANDREW CAIRNCROSS. He married Margaret Lamb on 23 Nov 1693 in Prestonpans, East Lothian,
Scotland.



ROBERT CAIRNCROSS was born on 04 Oct 1694 in Inveresk and Musselburgh East
Lothian.
JOHN CAIRNCROSS was born in Dec 1695 in Inveresk and Musselburgh East Lothian.
PATRICK CAIRNCROSS was born on 20 Feb 1699 in Inveresk and Musselburgh East
Lothian. He died on 15 Aug 1737 in Mountain Inveresk, Midlothia, Scotland. He married (1)
MARGARET YATES on 06 Jun 1727 in Inveresk, Midlothian, Scotland. He married (2)
BARBARA NISBET on 24 Jun 1734 in Inveresk, Midlothian, Scotland. Patrick CAIRNCROSS
and Margaret YATES:
 MARY CAIRNCROSS was born in Sep 1728 in Inveresk, Midlothian, Scotland.
 JAMES CAIRNCROSS was born in Jul 1730 in Inveresk, Midlothian, Scotland.
 PATRICK CAIRNCROSS was born on 16 Aug 1732 in Inveresk, Midlothian, Scotland.
He married Isabell HENDERSON on 14 Dec 1765 in Leuchars, Fife, Scotland.
•
•
•
•

Maurice Cairncross c. 29th Jan 1767
Robert Cairncross (joiner/wright ) b.1769 died 1829 m. to Jean Rollie/Rollo
b. abt. 1768 died Jean 11 Sep 1848
Mary Cairncross c. 30 Jan 1772 married David Hean
Jean Cairncross b 1775
MARION CAIRNCROSS was born on 12 Mar 1701 in Inveresk and Musselburgh East
Lothian.
Figure 13 Family Tree - the Early Generations
Page 9
Chapter 3: Putting Down Roots
Robert Cairncross and his wife Jean Rollo moved from Fife to Dundee at the end of the 18th or start of
the 19th century. They were accompanied by their first son, Robert, who had been born in 1792.
Robert and Jean went on to have a further five children: four daughters (Isabell, Elisabeth, Jean and
Mary) and a second son John, all born in Dundee. This chapter recounts what happens to Robert and
Jean and their growing family.
We have already seen that Robert, a wright, died in 1829 of fever. He was 59 years old and buried in
the Old Howff. He was survived by his wife Jean who appears in the 1841 census. She is living in
Smalls Wynd. Despite being in her 70s, Jean is still working; her occupation is listed as a Flax Yarn
Winder. Her granddaughter Elizabeth Borrie and two of her children are still with her, eldest daughter
Isabella who is also working in the textile industry and her second son John, who is a joiner like his
father. Jean went on to live for a further 7 years, dying of old age 1848 at the age of 80.
Robert (b.1792)- from Logie in Fife, to the Wynds of Dundee
The 1841 census also tells us that Robert and Jean’s elder son, Robert, is also a weaver and is now
married with children.
Piece: SCT1841/282 Place: Dundee -Angus Enumeration District: 35
Civil Parish: Dundee Ecclesiastical Parish, Village or Island: Folio: 35 Page: 11
Address: East Wynd
Surname
First name(s) Sex Age Occupation
Where Born Remarks
CAIRNCROSS Robert
M
45
Hand Loom Weaver Angus
CAIRNCROSS Margaret
F
40
Angus
CAIRNCROSS John
M
15
Power Loom Weaver Angus
CAIRNCROSS Robert
M
15
Hand Loom Weaver Angus
CAIRNCROSS James
M
13
App Rope Maker
CAIRNCROSS David
M
11
Angus
CAIRNCROSS Alexander
M
9
Angus
CAIRNCROSS Isabella
F
7
Angus
Angus
Figure 14 Robert Cairncross born 1792 and family, in 1841 census (transcription)
Robert is incorrectly listed as being born in Angus in this census but the 1851 census shows him as
being born in Logie in Fifeshire. The Old Howff burial records provide further insight into the lives of
Robert and Margaret, including that Margaret’s maiden name was Ogilvie.
•
•
•
173 CAIRNCROSS Robert 22 Aug 1859 67yr Old Howff
190 CAIRNCROSS (see Margaret Ogilvie) Robert Mill Foreman
498 Ogilvie (Cairncross) Margaret 19 Oct 1853 59 Dundee Cancer in womb Wife
of Robert Cairncross, mill Foreman Miller's Wynd, Perth Road
Figure 15 Robert and Margaret in Old Howff Records
This also suggests that Margaret was born around 1794. Ogilvie was a common name and there are
a number of possibilities for the birth of Margaret Ogilvie.
2
26/05/1793
OGILVIE
MARGARET
JOHN OGILVIE/MARGT. RICHIE
Page 10
DUNDEE
3
24/12/1793
OGILVIE
MARGARET
ARCHIBALD OGILVIE/CLEMENTINA CAY
DUNDEE
4
08/11/1795
OGILVIE
MARGARET
WILLM. OGILVIE/JEAN BIRD
DUNDEE
Figure 16 Possible parents for Margaret Ogilvie
The middle record is the best match, giving 59 as age on death, in Oct 1853. This would give
Margaret two brothers, James, born in 1792 and David, born in 1796. Both names are re-used to
name children of Robert and Margaret.
Robert died in 1859, four years after the introduction of Statutory Records which allows us to confirm
details of his parentage along with other facts about his life.
Robert and Margaret had six children. This includes the three brothers, John, Robert and James that
were the starting point of this research. However the census records also show that the three
brothers also have two younger brothers, David and Alexander, and a sister, Isobel or Isabella. We
shall explore all their lives in the next chapter. First we find out more about their aunts and uncle.
Born in Dundee: Robert’s younger siblings
Robert’s sisters and younger brother were all born in Dundee.
Isabella b.1803
Isabella, the eldest of the four sisters, died in 1885 at the age of 82, outliving all her sisters and both
her brothers. She never married and we can build up a picture of her life from her census records.
In 1841, at age 38, she was living in Smalls Wynd, with her mother (Jean Rollo), brother John and
niece. She is working as a hand loom sacking weaver. Smalls Wynd runs between the Perth Road
and the Hawkhill and is now part of Dundee University. It was home to many of our ancestors.
At the time of the 1851 census Isabella was living in South Tay Street, two streets away with her
cousin David Hean, one of the three sons of Mary Cairncross and David Hean. He is single and a
retired builder, Isabella is listed as a house servant. David, like Isabella, lived in Smalls Wynd in 1841
and he moved to Smalls Lane by 1861 where he lived with his new servant, Susan Guild, who stayed
with him when he subsequently moved to Reform Street where he was staying in 1871.
Isabella was back in Smalls Wynd in 1861, this time living with her niece, Elizabeth Borrie (daughter
of Jane, see below), who is also the wife of her nephew James (the Sailmaker), along with one of
their daughters. James wasn’t present on the night of the 1861 census. Isabella remains with this
household for the rest of her life. In 1871 they are all, including James, living at 42 Annfield Row and
in 1881 in Corso Street. Her occupation is listed as an annuitant, that is, someone receiving an
annuity – but from where?
Elisabeth b. 1805
Elisabeth never married and died in 1835, two months before her 30th birthday. She is buried in the
Old Howff.
Jane b. 1807
On her baptism, Jane was registered as Jean, which appears in some later records, but not all. She
had a daughter, Elizabeth Borrie, in 1825. Elizabeth’s father was a military bandsman called Angus
Borrie. There is no record of Jane and Angus marrying.
Elizabeth, when older, lived with her grandmother, Jean Rollo. In the 1841 census she is, at age 12,
listed as a hand loom sacking weaver. She went on to marry her cousin, James, the Sailmaker.
Page 11
Jane went on to marry Peter Roy. Peter was from Crieff and worked in the mills. He is listed as a flax
mill werket in the 1841 census, as a mill overseer in 1851, and flax spinner tenter in 1861.They
had five children:





Janet Roy, born abt 1839
Wiliam Roy, born abt 1841
Robert C Roy, born abt 1844
Jean Roy, born abt 1846
Mary Smith Roy,born abt 1849
They lived in Smalls Wynds and Smalls Lane between 1841 and 1861, moving to 42 Anfield Rd by
the 1871 census.
Jane died in 1877 of a cerebral haemorrhage. She was survived by her husband.
John b. 1809
John became a journeyman joiner, following in his father’s footsteps. At the age of 50 he married
Susan Hogg in 1860. They set up home in Allen Street, Blairgowrie, but John died the following year.
Mary b.1811
Mary was born last in Jun 1811 but died first in Oct 1812 at the age of 15 months. She is buried in the
Old Howff.
Page 12
Chapter 4: From Three Brothers to Five Brothers and a Sister
In this chapter, having identified the origins of The Three Brothers we examine what happened to
them and to their previously undocumented siblings.
The original Three Brothers were born in Dundee to Robert Cairncross (b. 1792), a weaver born in
Fife but who moved to Dundee as child, and Margaret Ogilvie who was probably from Dundee. Their
sons were Robert the Dockgate Man, James the Sailmaker, and a third called John. Working back
from Margaret’s burial record in the Old Howff we can estimate her year of birth as abt. 1793. An
initial search on Scotland’s People reveals more than one Margaret Ogilvie born around this time.
Further work needs to be undertaken to establish her parentage.
As we have seen, Robert and Margaret can be found living at East Wynd in the 1841 census along
with six children - the well documented Three Brothers ( John, Robert, James) but also three “new”
siblings (David, Alexander and Isabelle).
Old parish birth records can be found for the original three brothers and their sister giving the
following birth dates:




John CAIRNCROSS
Robert CAIRNCROSS
James CAIRNCROSS
Isabell CAIRNCROSS
b: 8 Mar 1820 in Dundee, Angus
b: 19 Sep 1821 in Dundee, Angus
b: 28 Sep 1823 in Dundee, Angus
b: 17 May 1833 in Dundee, Angus
No record for David and Alexander’s births can be found. Alexander’s death record confirms that he
was also the son of Robert and Margaret. Working from that and the 1841 census record, we can
estimate their birth years as follows:


David CAIRNCROSS b: abt. 1828 in Dundee, Angus, Scotland
Alexander CAIRNCROSS b: abt. 1832 in Dundee, Angus, Scotland
We will now explore the lives of each of the siblings – the original three brothers, their two “new”
brothers and sister in turn.
John CAIRNCROSS b: 8 Mar 1820
John followed in his father’s footsteps working as a power loom weaver in the jute mills of Dundee in
1841, then as a starcher before becoming foreman in his later years. He married a Janet Moutrie in
1845 and they went on to have two children:


John
Robert
abt 1846
abt 1848
In the early years of their marriage John, Janet and their two children lived in Mid-Wynd in Dundee
and then moved to Millers Wynd. Sadly, their elder son, John, died at the age of 7, of water in the
head, in 1853.
Janet died in 1870 of a stomach complaint. John and his remaining son Robert (who followed his
grandfather's career to become a joiner) continued to live at Millers Wynd. Robert died in 1878 aged
29. The cause of death was given as phthsis which is the wasting away of the body commonly
associated with consumption or tuberculosis.
John lived for another 9 years and died in 1887 aged 67 of bronco-pneumonia. His death was
registered by his brother James. John left a will and an inventory of his estate which totalled just
Page 13
under £889, comprised mainly of various savings accounts but also household furnishings valued at
£12.
Robert CAIRNCROSS
b: 19 Sep 1821
Robert started his working life as a hand loom weaver in the mills, according to the 1841 Census
return, when he was still living with his parents.
Robert married Helen Mitchell in 1850. Helen was also known as Ellen, both before and after
marriage.
Helen was born in Ireland according to census records. Her father was John Mitchell, a handloom
weaver and her mother was Helen Hendry.
Robert and Helen were staying at 24 Mid Wynd at the time of the 1851 census along with their
daughter Margaret.
Robert’s elder brother John was also staying at the same address with his young family. There is also
a Martha Henery staying with the young couple. Her age is given as 59 and her relationship to Robert
is given as mother-in-law. It also states that she is a lodger. It may be that Henery is a mis-spelling of
Hendry. If this is case then Helen’s mother was known as both Helen and Martha. Alternatively she
may be another relation to Helen. The next household on the census record, also at 24 Mid Wynd is a
John Hendry. Could he perhaps be another relation?
There is a possible sighting of 10 year Helen in the 1841 census. If this is the correct record then it
suggests that Helen’s father was either away on the night if the census or had recently died, leaving
his widow with eight children aged between 1 and 15. Given that Helen had a number of younger
siblings, it is likely that some, at least, would still be with their mother in 1851. If this is the correct
young Helen Mitchell, then Martha Henery may not have been Helen’s mother. However Martha is still
with the family in 1851 and listed as Helen’s mother. The surname is spelt as Hendrey on this
occasion. Further research is need to identify whether Martha Hendry and Helen Hendry and the
same person and whether the Helen Mitchell aged 10 above is my ancestor.
Robert and Helen had eight children, not all of whom survived into adulthood.








Margaret
Martha
Isabella
Mary Graham
Robert
Helen
John MacFarlane
Robertina
abt. 1851.
abt. 1853
abt. 1855
abt. 1856
abt. 1861
abt. 1864
b. 17 Apr 1867
abt. 1870
Robert died first at the age of three of scarletina and dropsy in 1864. This was followed by the death
of sister Mary Graham, aged 16 of phthisis (tuberculosis) on 1st Sep 1872.
Robert left the mills in his twenties and become a seaman. Evidence for this can be found from the
1851 census return which sees him living at 24 Mid Wynd with Helen, their first born child, Margaret,
and his mother-in-law. His occupation is listed as seaman. This may have been in the Arctic Whaling
Fleet, if Anne King’s account in the Origin of the 3 brothers (see Figure 1) is correct; however, no
confirmation has been found of this whaling connection.
Page 14
His occupation is listed as Seaman Merchant Service, when the birth of his son Robert was registered
on 10th July 1861. However in the census carried out earlier that year his occupation is given as
Dockgate Man, suggesting that Robert may left active sea-going service around this time.
In 1861, the family comprised Robert and Helen, four children and Martha Hendrey. They lived at 17
Millers Wynd, Norris Land and the house had two rooms with at least one window, which is typical of
the time.
The 1871 census sees Robert and Helen living at 42 Gellatly Street with their seven surviving
children. Robert is still engaged as a Dockgate Man. Margaret (20), Martha (18), Isabella (16), and
Mary (14) are all power loom weavers. The census records that their house had 4 rooms with one or
more windows.
At the time of the 1881 census the family had moved to 67 Seagate, and only Isabella (26), Helen
(16), John (13) and Robertina (11) are still living with their parents. Robert is still a Dockgate Man and
Isabella continues in the mills as a jute weaver. Helen has become a fishdealers shopwoman and
the younger two are still at school.
Robert died in 1883 of congestion of the brain and diabetes. The family stayed on at 67 Seagate
Street. Robina has joined Isabella as a jute weaver in the mills, Helen now works as a draper's
assistant and John is a plumber. The family also has a lodger, George Dickson, a printer.
The 1901 census sees Isabella keeping house and possibly looking after her mother who is now 71.
George Dickson is still a lodger but now a public house manager, although his age appears
incorrectly listed at 13. Helen’s daughter Helen and granddaughter Isabella are also staying on the
night of the census.
Helen Mitchell died later that year in May. The cause of death is given as hemiplegia, which is
paralysis down one side of the body, commonly caused by a stroke.
The family tree on Family of Robert Cairncross, 1792-1859, married Margaret Ogilvie suggests
that Margaret married a Mr Finchaur and had a son Robert who became an hotelier in South Africa.
Scotland’s People reveals that her spouse was, in fact, Charles Fincham. They married on 11th Oct
1871 and he was a soldier at the time. The 1881 census sees them living in Lancashire where
Charles is now a police constable. They have six children:






Alice Pratt Fincham born abt 1875
Robert Fincham born abt 1878
Charles Fincham born aby 1880
Alfred John Fincham born abt 1881
Mary Helen Fincham born abt 1887
Rebecca Fincham born abt. 1889
Alice was born in Scotland and the rest in Lancashire.
No further references to Martha have been found after the 1871 census when she was still with her
parents.
Isabella never married. She died in 1930 aged 75, like her mother, of hemiplegia. She was living at 13
Union Place and her death was registered by her brother-in-law David Cross, the husband of Robina.
He appears to be the occupier of the house where Isabella was living.
Helen married John Edward in London in 1893. He was a Merchant Seaman (mate). Their daughter
Isabella was born in 1895. John might have been at sea then as the birth is registered by Helen
Page 15
herself. It also appears that he was away at the time of the 1901 census as Helen and Isabella were
staying with Helen’s mother on the night of the census.
Robina married David Ducat Cross in 1897. The 1901 census sees them living at 3 Step Row. David
is a hackle maker. They are still living in Dundee at the time of the 1911 census. The census record
shows that they have been married for 14 years and have had no children.
James CAIRNCROSS
b: 28 Sep 1823
James started his working life as a ropemaker and, as we have already seen, went on to become a
sailmaker. He married his cousin, Elizabeth Borrie. They had at least eight children (based on census
records):
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Isabella Cairncross b: 1851 in Forfar, Angus, Scotland
Susan Cairncross b: 1853 in Dundee, Angus, Scotland
Robert Cairncross b: 30 Mar 1855 in Dundee, Angus, Scotland,
Mary Cairncross b: 1857 in Dundee, Angus, Scotland
Peter Roy Cairncross b: 1861 in Forfar, Angus
Jane Cairncross b: 15 May 1868 in Forfar, Angus, , Scotland
Margaret Ogilvie Cairncross b: 03 Nov 1870 in Forfar, Angus
James Cairncross b: 1874 in Dundee Angus
Peter Roy’s eldest son, Roy, moved to Tyneside and some of his family are still in that area.
It is possible that James spent some time at sea – possibly as a sailmaker on an arctic voyage.
Certainly he was not at home on the night of the 1861 census and there is a large gap between the
birth of Peter in 1861 and Jane in 1869.
We know from The History of a Forfarshire Family that eldest son Robert carried on the family
business in Castle Street (coincidentally, where my stepson, Kyle McEwan, lived the last few months
of his life), and that the youngest son, James, opened a confectioners shop in Clepington Road.
James reached the age of 81, dying in 1905 of a cerebral haemorrhage.
David CAIRNCROSS
b: abt. 1828
Baptism entries can be found for John, Robert, James and Isabel in the Old Parish Records, available
on-line from Scotland's People, but not for David or Alexander. However Alexander’s death
certificate confirms that he was the son of Robert and Margaret and I therefore assume the same of
David. There is no further record of David in Dundee after the 1841 census however a possible
match can be found from another family tree on Ian Cairncross’s website.
This gives the correct father for David but identifies a different grandfather, with the same name but
different date of birth (1777 as opposed to 1769). However another entry on Ian Cairncross’s
website describes David’s grandfather as Robert Cairncross, born in 1771 and died 9th Feb 1869.
The latter is the same as our ancestor, increasing the probability that this is our David.
David’s death certificate has been ordered from the South Africa Records Office and hopefully this will
confirm that he is indeed a fourth brother to the original three. He married three times, had 8 children
and numerous grandchildren.
Page 16
Descendents of Robert Cairncross, born 1777, married Jean Rolls 7.
1. Robert Cairncross, born 1777. Married Jean Rolls. Robert died 9 Feb 1929, in Dundee.
a. Robert Cairncross, born 4 Mar 1792.
1. David Cairncross, born 1826, in Dundee, Scotland. David, who was a mason, emigrated to South
Africa when very young. He took up residence in Haarlem, in the Uniondale District of the Cape
Province and there, in 1850, he married the first of 3 wives, as the records of the Haarlem Mission
Station testify. He had eight sons, and those eight sons had 32 sons and nine daughters. David died at
Haarlem on 11th June, 1900. The 32 grandsons have also produced numerous sons and grandsons how many is impossible to say, as they have become dispersed all over the Cape Province and cannot
easily be traced. Such as have been traced are listed in the family tree attached. It is thought that their
numbers equal, if indeed they do not already exceed, those descended from William of Prestonpans, the
latter numbering 55 males living at the end of 1952. David was known to at least two members of the
first branch. William the Architect, about 1895, when supervising the building of the jail at Uniondale,
found he was one of the masons; and Thomas L. L. writing 23.2.1939, said, "While I was teaching at
Krakeel River, Lower Longkloof, I was introduced to a David Cairncross residing at Haarlem, Longkloof.
This must have been around 1890. This Mr Cairncross appeared to a man of 50 or 60 years of age at
that time. He once called on my late father on legal business at Uniondale. Naturally my father
questioned him on his history. He said he landed at Algoa Bay and tramped all the way from there until
he got to Haarlem, a German Missionary Station. He settled there and must have died there. My father
told me there was no doubt that he belonged to the Cairncross clan." A letter of 1st October, 1850, from
the Colonial Office to the Central Road Board conveys the Governor's approval of the following
appointments "at Bain's Kloof Convict Station, viz: David Cairncross to be Sub-Overseer from the first
ultimo inclusive, vice Doran, resigned. John Murphy to the Constable from the first ultimo inclusive, vice
David Cairncross, promoted."
Figure 17 David Cairncross in another Cx family tree
Alexander CAIRNCROSS b: ABT 1831
At the time of the 1851 census only Alexander and Isabell were still living with their parents. Robert,
like his brother James, had become a rope and sailmaker. Different accounts of his life can be found
in family trees online. In one, he marries a Sarah Green, and in another, an Elizabeth Pritt in Virginia.
However the reality was slightly different. He died in the poorhouse of paralysis.
Poorhouse records indicated that he was first admitted on the 17th January 1862 and then again on
the 9th of May of that year where he remained until his death in September.
Alexander’s life is in contrast to his second cousin, Helen Hean, who married Sir Thomas Thornton,
Magistrate and Town Clerk of Dundee. He founded the firm of solicitors, Thorntons, in 1857 which
still practises in Dundee today. Sir Thomas was a very influential figure in Victorian Dundee.
Alexander came from a large family – he was one of six siblings and his father had five siblings.
However, despite this, he ended his life in the poorhouse. He had been working, like his brother
James, as a ropemaker and sailmaker. Did he perhaps have some accident which prevented him
from working and lead to his death from paralysis? Were his family unable to look after him perhaps
because of the severity of his condition? Or had he become estranged for some other reason?
7
http://home.freeuk.net/iancx/F-T-40.html
Page 17
One wonders what their great grandfather, Patrick, would have made of the contrasting fortunes of his
descendants.
Page 18
Isabell CAIRNCROSS
b: 17 May 1833
Isabell never married and, like her father and eldest brother, she worked in the mills as a power loom
weaver making linens.
She lived with her parents and then had her own house, sometimes sharing with others, including her
brother John prior to his death.
I have not been able to trace Isabell in 1891 and 1901 censuses. She lived well into her 70s, dying of
heart problems in 1910.
Page 19
Chapter 5: John McFarlane Cairncross
John McFarlane Cairncross was born on 17 Apr 1867, the seventh child of Robert the Dockgate
Man and Helen Mitchell.
Figure 18 Certificate of Entry of Birth for John MacFarlane born 1867
John married Isabella Gray in December 1893. He was 26 and his wife 22. John and Isabella are the
parents of Edward Cairncross and the grandparents of Ronald Cairncross and Aileen Reilly (nee
Cairncross).
John’s Early Years
We can track John’s early years through the census returns for him and his family. 1871 sees him
living at 42 Gellatly St with his parents (Robert the Dockgate Man and Helen), five elder sisters whose
ages ranged from 20 down to 6 and one younger sister aged 1. His only brother, Robert, died as an
infant before John was born.
John is a common male name in our branch of the Cairncross family tree; middle names, however,
until now have been less common. One of John's cousins, Margaret Ogilvie Cairncross, born to
James “the Sailmaker”, was given Ogilvie, the maiden name of a Cairncross wife, as a middle name.
Another cousin, Peter Roy, bears a Cairncross aunt’s married name.
McFarlane does not appear to be a family name. However a John McFarlane, a Mill Porter, was the
neighbour of family of John’s uncle, James Cairncros, the Sailmaker, in the 1861 census.
Three of John’s sisters have left the family home by 1881 and 1891 sees John, his mother, and the
remaining three sisters living in the Seagate in Dundee. John is now aged 23 and is employed as a
plumber.
John and Isabella’s Married Life
John McFarlane Cairncross and Isabella Gray were married on the 8th of Dec 1893.
At the time of their marriage John was a plumber but shortly afterwards he become a water inspector.
Page 20
Children
John and Isabella had seven children:







HELEN Mary CAIRNCROSS was born about Oct 1893 in Dundee, Angus, Scotland. She died
on 19 Jan 1895 in Dundee, Angus, Scotland.
HELEN CAIRNCROSS was born on 03 Mar 1895 in Dundee, Angus, Scotland. She died in
Mar 1971 in Plymouth, Devon, England. She married GEORGE W DOUGLAS. He was born
in 1893. He died in Jun 1968 in Plymouth, Devon, England.
ANNIE CAIRNCROSS was born in Jul 1896 in Dundee, Angus, Scotland. She died on 28 Nov
1896 in Dundee, Angus, Scotland.
JOHN CAIRNCROSS was born in 1897 in Dundee, Angus, Scotland. He died in 1965 in
Dundee, Angus, Scotland. He married Meg.
ROBERT CAIRNCROSS was born in 1899 in Dundee, Angus, Scotland. He died in 1967 in
Dundee, Angus, Scotland. He married Elsie Duff in 1925. She was born in 1900. She died in
2002.
EDWARD CAIRNCROSS was born on 16 Jul 1907 in Dundee. He died on 04 Jul 1993 in
Glasgow. He married Euphemia Lessley MATTHEW, daughter of James Small MATTHEW
and Helen WEBSTER on 05 Sep 1935 in Dundee. She was born on 06 May 1908 in Dundee.
She died on 16 Feb 1988 in Dundee.
CATHERINE CAIRNCROSS was born in Oct 1910. She died on 22 Jan 1911 in Dundee
Angus.
Three of their children (Helen Mary, Annie and Catherine) died in childhood.
The death of the first two children is noted in the 1911 Census return for the family, which records
that John and Isabella had been married for 17 years, that Isabella had given birth to 6 children and
that 4 were still living.
Their first born child, Helen Mary, died in 1895 aged 15 months. Her death certificate has not been
traced. The third born Annie died at 5 months of pneumonia which had lasted for 12 days.
The last child to be born was Catherine only lived for three months. No obvious cause of death is
noted on her death certificate.
The remaining four children all live into adulthood and beyond – Helen died in 1971 aged 75; John in
1965 aged 68; Robert in 1967 aged 68, and Edward (my grandfather) in 1993 aged 85.
Residences
In the early years of their marriage, John and Isabella lived in Benvie Rd, Dundee. At some point
following the death of Annie and before the 1901 census the family had moved to 2 Paton’s Lane,
Dundee.
By the time of the birth of Edward Cairncross in 1907, the family had moved to 53 Taylor’s Lane.
According to the Dundee Directories which are available on the FDCA website the family remained
here until 1910 when they moved to Lintrathen Cottage, 375 Clepington Road. Lintrathen Cottage
was essentially a tied cottage belonging to the water board. Many years later the cottage was lying
empty and featured in a newspaper story as it was attracting considerable interest from would-be
buyers.
At the time of John’s death in 1931, he and Isabella were living in 24 Glenprosen Terrace, Dundee.
Isabella remained there until her death of cancer of the uterus in 1956.
Page 21
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Chapter 6: Back to Fife and Beyond
Edward Cairncross, my paternal grandfather, married Euphemia Lessley Matthew, my paternal
grandmother, in 1935. They started their married life in Dundee where they had two children, Ronald
Edward, my father, born in 1937 and Aileen Elizabeth, my aunt, born in 1939.
Edward worked as an administrator in an insurance firm and moved to Wormit with Effie, as my
grandmother was known, and my father and aunt in the 1950s, making the opposite journey from that
made by Logie’s Robert Cairncross, his wife Margaret Ogilvie and their son Robert in the late
1790s/early 1800s. Edward’s and Effie’s house, Craigower, 14 Hillpark Terrace looked across the Tay
to Dundee offering views of the city where the intervening generations had lived.
Figure 19 Edward and Effie Cairncross
Edward and Effie, (as she was always known) had two children, my father, Ronald Edward Cairncross
born in 1937 and Aileen Elizabeth born in 1939.
My grandmother, Effie Cairncross, died in 1988 and my grandfather, Edward Cairncross, died in
1993.
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Figure 20 Isabella Cairncross nee Gray with Grandchildren Ronald and Aileen
My father, Ronald Edward Cairncross, grew up to become an accountant and married my mother,
Georgina Crockett Thomson, a midwife, in 1961. My mother died in 2007. My parents moved to
Glasgow where I, my brother, Brian, and sister, Jackie, grew up. My parents moved to Fife following
my father’s retirement. He lives there now with Maureen Thomson, to whom he is engaged with the
wedding set for October 2012.
My aunt, Aileen Elizabeth Cairncross became a pharmacist and married a fellow pharmacist, Thomas
Gerrard Reilly. My aunt and uncle lived in Scotland, Iran, Pakistan, before settling in England, with
Bolton being their final home. They had three children, Elizabeth, Patricia and Sheila. My aunt died in
2008.
My grandparents now have four great children living in Scotland, England and the Netherlands but
none bear the name Cairncross as a surname.
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Chapter 7: Reflections on the Journey to Date and Next Steps
This account has focused on the Cairncross branch of our family. It has confirmed much that I grew
up believing – that the family came from Dundee, that my great great grandfather Robert Cairncross
born in 1821 was a Dockgate Man, and one of the three brothers referred to Ian Cairncross’s website.
It has also revealed much, much more about this branch of our family. Not only did I found out more
about Robert’s two brothers – James "the Sailmaker" and John "of whom nothing else was known" –
but I discovered that he had two other brothers – Alexander and David – and a sister Isabella.
Isabella, like her many namesakes in the family, never married and lived well into old age, often
keeping house for other family members. John married and had children but, sadly, he outlived them
all. There is a David Cairncross who emigrated to South Africa who may be Robert’s brother David. I
am waiting for a copy of his death certificate to confirm this and if this is the case then we have many
cousins there. Alexander died in the poor house in his early thirties. James the Sailmaker, like his
brother Robert the Dockgate man, had a large family, and the husband of one of his descendants is
researching that branch and kindly sent me photographs of a son and grandsons of James.
I also found out that, whilst our branch of the Cairncross family spent time in Dundee, they did not
originate from there. Robert the Dockgate man was the first of our Cairncross ancestors to be born in
Dundee. His father was born in Logie near Leuchars. This is not far from Wormit where my
grandparents moved, and Vickersford where they, and my mother, are buried. Robert’s father,
Patrick, if my assumptions are correct, came from Inveresk and Mussleburgh in Mid-Lothian. Further
work is needed to trace the line further back but it does suggest a link to the border Cairncrosses
rather than the Forfarshire ones.
Reflecting back on key breakthroughs in my research, a major piece in the jigsaw was establishing
the parentage of Robert Cairncross, married to Margaret Ogilvie. This meant not only discovering
their names, Robert Cairncross and Jean Rollo, but when and where they were born. Other family
trees which I came across had different dates and birthplaces, most generally a Robert Cairncross
born in 1777 and a Jean Rollo born in 1781. This didn’t feel right to me – not least because it was
have made Jean only 11 when her son was born! Serendipity played a part in establishing what, for
me, is the correct interpretation. As a result of general Googling I came across the Friends of
Dundee City Archive and its database of burials in the Old Howff. Through cross-referencing
records there with census records I established that Robert Cairncross was born in 1769 in Logie
near Leuchars, and that Jean Rollo came from that area and was born at around the same time. This
then lead me to discover that Robert's parents were Patrick Cairncross and Isabel Henderson.
My second big breakthrough was the discovery, from searching for Robert Cairncross and Margaret
Ogilvie in the census records, that, in addition to Robert the Dockgate Man, James the Sailmaker, and
John, there were two more brothers, David and Alexander, and a sister Isabel. I then found out more
about John "about whom nothing further was known". He married and had two sons, sadly one died in
childhood and the other as a young man.
Alexander died in his 30s in the poorhouse in Dundee. The cause of death was paralysis so perhaps
he had been injured at work. Like his brother James, he was a rope and sailmaker, and the injuries
perhaps were such that his family could not care for him, living as they did in cramped conditions of
Dundee tenements.
Isabell, like many of her namesakes, never married, instead keeping house for various members of
her family. There is possibility that David became a mason and emigrated to South Africa, the South
African death certificate may shed light on this.
The final breakthrough was finding a Patrick Cairncross born in Inveresk in 1732. He was the son of
another Patrick Cairncross, born in 1699 to Andrew Cairncross. Patrick’s mother died shortly after he
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was born and his father remarried. He then died, orphaning Patrick and his elder brother and sister. I
still wonder what then happened to them – did their step-mother bring them up? Did their aunts and
uncles help? I also wonder whether this Patrick, born in 1732, could be my Patrick who married
Isabell Henderson in 1765. The timings fitted and interestingly both Patricks were gardeners as was
Andrew. Moreover further searches on Scotland's People and elsewhere revealed no alternative
candidates for Patrick the gardener at Pitcullo in 1765, nor further details on Patrick orphaned in
1737. I therefore suppose that they are the same person, and incorporated this link into my family
tree. However I will continue to search for stronger corroboration and remain open to the possibility of
evidence that disputes this claim.
I learnt that many of my ancestors, especially the women, worked in the jute mills. This opens up a
whole new area of social history to explore. Initial forays really whet the appetite – it was not
uncommon for husbands and fathers, who were seasonal workers, to be unemployed whilst their
wives were working in the mills. The fact that many married women and mothers continued in the mills
prompted some social commentators at that time to comment that their children were being neglected
– nothing new, then, seeing today’s commentators with similar messages.
The mills, in searching for skilled workers, also employed weavers and spinners from Ireland. Again,
these were often women who either brought over husbands who then worked as labourers, or who
married local men. This led to a ratio of 11 women to 9 men in Victorian Dundee. I was aware of Irish
relatives on my maternal grandmother's side (the Timmons) but had not realised that my paternal
grandfather (Edward Cairncross) also had Irish relatives. His grandmother Helen Mitchell, who
married Robert the Dockgate Man was Irish, as was Ann Ardrey, the mother of Isabella Gray, who
married John MacFarlane Cairncross. Both of my grandfather’s parents were thus of half Scottish
and half Irish descent, making my grandfather also half Irish. When I include my mother's ancestors,
at least five of my great grandparents were born in Ireland and two others had at least one Irish
grandparent, making me 1/3 Irish, 2/3rd Scottish. The relatives on my mother's side came from
County Offaly and Country Antrim, but I have still to discover where Helen Mitchell and Ann Ardrey
came from.
My great grandmother Isabella Gray was born in Tain and grew up in Sutherland. Her father John
Gray was a travelling hawker but was originally from Dundee. Given her mother came from Ireland,
we thus don’t have roots in Sutherland, unless John Gray’s ancestors originally came from there. This
too requires further research.
There is also still the question of a connection to Laurinda Cairncross. The outcome of my research
so far can be found in the Appendices. Like me, she appears to come from the Mid Lothian/East
Lothian area and so in tracing back my roots I may also come across her roots and a common
ancestor.
A full tree can be found online at:
http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/34396968/family?cfpid=18636010695
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