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THE STORY OF THE SMITH FAMILY OF BARTONHOLM IN THE PARISH OF IRVINE, AYRSHIRE

This is a narrative history of my Smith ancestors. Family group charts can be viewed by clicking on underlined names.

The Origins of the Name

The name Smith is derived from the occupation and is the commonest surname in Scotland, as well as in England. It is first recorded in Scotland in the late 12th century.

Samuel Smith

The first of our known ancestors to bear the surname Smith was Samuel Smith. Little is known about him except that he was a blacksmith and is believed to have come originally from Cumberland in the north of England. In 1820 he married Elizabeth Beveridge in Stevenston in Ayrshire (see "The Story of the Beveridges"). Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry Beveridge and Janet White, the family having come from Fife to Ayrshire around 1817. Samuel and Elizabeth (or Betty) are known to have lived in the parish of Irvine in Ayrshire and to have had at least three children, William, born c1823, Henry c1824 and Samuel junior c1827. Samuel senior probably died some time after 1827, as Elizabeth remarried in 1833. Her second husband was Adam Jordan (or Jardine), aged 49, i.e 16 years older than Elizabeth. Adam came from Dreghorn, a village near Irvine, and was a Chelsea pensioner, i.e. he was in receipt of an Army pension. He had served in the Royal Horse Artillery from 1808 till 1830, and had fought in the Peninsular War, including the Battle of Vittoria in Spain in 1813. He also fought at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. He served in Lt Col James Webber-Smith's F Troop and was awarded the Vittoria Clasp and the Waterloo Medal. Adam and Elizabeth had one daughter, also Elizabeth, who was born in Stevenston in 1833, but in 1841 they were living in the nearby village of Dreghorn with Samuel junior. In the 1851 census, Adam was recorded at John Walker's Land, Townhead Street, Stevenston, while Elizabeth and their daughter were recorded as visitors at a friend's house in Glasgow. Adam died before 1855, but although Elizabeth was probably still alive in 1870, it is not known what eventually became of her.

William Smith (c1823-1869)

William was the first son of Samuel Smith and Elizabeth Beveridge and was born c1823 in the parish of Irvine. In 1841 he was living with his maternal grandmother, Janet White (Mrs Beveridge), who was by then a widow, at Little Dubbs farm, just outside Stevenston. At that time he was working as a coal miner. There were several pits in the vicinity, all part of the Auchenharvie Colliery complex, one of the largest coal mining enterprises in Scotland at that time. In 1844 William married Janet Jaffrey, a daughter of David Jaffrey and Agnes Chalmers, and they had at least ten children - Samuel, born c1846, Agnes, c1848, William, 1850, Elizabeth, c1853, David, 1855, Andrew, 1857, Ellen, 1860, Alexander, 1863, James Small, 1865 and Henry Beveridge, 1869. By 1848, William and Janet and their growing family had moved to the nearby town of Kilwinning, where in 1851 they were staying at the Double Row at Eglinton Ironworks, a very large industrial enterprise. William, however, was still working as a miner. After several years in Kilwinning, they were on the move again in the early 1850s, this time to the mining community of Peesweep near the town of Dalry, a few miles north of Kilwinning. In 1861 they were living at No 1 New Row. By this time William had found better employment as a colliery engine-keeper, the same trade as his younger brother Samuel. The family were still staying at Dalry in 1869, when their last child, Henry Beveridge, was born. It is likely that William died in 1869, as the Dalry burial register records the burial of a man of that name. His death does not, however, appear to have been officially registered.

Of the children, little is known, but in 1861, Samuel, aged 15 and William, aged 11, were working as pit firemen, and Agnes as a housemaid. It is not known what eventually became of William's wife Janet.

Henry Smith (c1824-1870)

Henry was the second son of Samuel Smith and Elizabeth Beveridge and was born c1824 in the parish of Irvine. His whereabouts in 1841 are not known, but in 1844 he married Mary Reid, the daughter of Charles Reid and Elizabeth Esdale. Henry became a coal miner and in 1851 he and Mary and family were living at the Misk near Stevenston. The Misk is both a farm and a colliery. Henry and Mary had at least six children, all born in Stevenston parish - Elizabeth, born c1845, Easdale (a girl), c1850, Samuel, c1852, Jean, 1855, Charles, 1857 and Henry, 1860. . By 1861, the family had moved into the town of Stevenston and were staying at No 67 Townhead Street. They then flitted to Cowroading Street (now called New Street), where they were residing in 1866, before returning to Townhead Street by 1870.

Around 1856, Henry contracted asthma, probably as a result of his occupation as a coal miner, respiratory diseases being a hazard of the job. By 1857, he had given up the pits and by 1861 had become a grocer. Despite having this business, Henry seems to have had difficulty supporting the family and needed to apply for poor relief between 1857 and 1870. In that year he unfortunately succumbed to his asthma, leaving his widow Mary to continue running the grocer's business after his death.

Of the children, Elizabeth was working in service in 1866. Easdale had presumably died by 1861, as she was not with the family in that year's census. Her unusual Christian name is her grandmother's maiden name. Samuel became a baker, married Helen White in 1874, and they had at least 5 children. He died in Irvine in 1923. Jean was still living in the family home in 1881. Charles was a coal miner in 1868 at the age of 11, but by 1871 he had become an apprentice baker. In 1881 he was still a baker, like his elder brother Samuel, and was still staying in the family home in Townhead Street, Stevenston. Henry was still alive in 1871, but there is there is no further information on him. In 1881 their mother was still in Townhead Street and working as a grocer.

Samuel Smith (c1827-1901)

Smith Family Gravestone, Shewalton Cemetery, Irvine	The Bungalow, 3 Main Street, Dundonald	Samuel Smith (1857-1916)

Samuel Smith (1857-1916)

Samuel, known as Sam, was the eldest of the ten children of Samuel Smith and Marion Hunter, being born in the parish of Irvine, probably at Bartonholm, in 1857. He first found employment in the pits at 11 years of age, but later found a new job, probably as a seaman, as he became active in the Glasgow Railway and Seamen's Union. In 1882 he decided to emigrate to Australia, and settled in Sydney, New South Wales, where he found work as a ship's fireman. There he helped found the Seamen's Union, becoming Assistant Secretary in 1890, and Secretary in the following year, remaining in this post until 1902. He was closely involved in the great maritime strike of 1890. At some time he also served as President of the Stewards' and Cooks' Union and the Shore Drivers' and Firemen's Union. In 1887, Samuel married Ellen Gorman and they had six children - twins Ellen and Annie, born 1889, Agnes 1892, Mabel, 1894, Elizabeth, 1896 and Samuel James, 1897. In 1896 Samuel fell foul of the law when he was found guilty of fraud in connection with his position as Director of the "Daily Post" newspaper, and served two months in prison before the conviction was quashed. As well as various trade union and labour movement positions, Samuel was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1898 and served for four years until 1902. He also served on Sydney City Council from 1900 till 1902, reaching the position of alderman. He resigned from these positions on his appointment to the new Arbitration Court. In 1905, however, he had to resign for health reasons from his position as workers' representative on the Court, and never resumed his public activities. Sam eventually died in 1916 in the Hospital for the Insane at Callan Park, Sydney, at the age of 68.

Sam is buried in the Presbyterian section of Rookwood Cemetery, Sydney. He was known as the "Plimsoll of Australia" because of his efforts to improve safety in shipping.

Of Sam and Ellen's children, Ellen, known as Nelle, married Eric Hibble. They had six children, two of whom died as infants. Eric became a bank manager, and the family moved around New South Wales and Queensland, eventually retiring to Forster, New South Wales. Nelle died about 1970 and Eric about 1977. Little is known of Annie, Agnes, who was known as Marge, and Elizabeth. Mabel never married, and worked as a secretary in Melbourne, where she died in the 1970s. Samuel junior became a bus driver and also a leading trade unionist like his father. He married Jessie May Robertson in 1928 and they had two children, a boy and a girl. Samuel junior served on the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1931 till 1940 and died in 1964.

Robert Hunter Smith (b1859)

Robert was the second child of Samuel Smith and Marion Hunter, being born in 1859. By the age of 11 he was working in the mines like his father, but in 1877 he enlisted in the 79th Regiment of Foot, or Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders. For some reason he initially used the alias of John Smith. After two years in the new Maryhill Barracks in Glasgow, the regiment sailed in June 1879 to Gibraltar to join the garrison there. Robert progressed rapidly through the ranks, and by 1882 he had become a colour sergeant.

In 1882, a crisis arose in Egypt, when Arabi Pasha led an Egyptian army revolt against the government. Britain decided to intervene, and soon captured Alexandria. The Camerons were transported there in August and later taken to Ismailia on the Suez Canal, from where the British force marched to El Magfa, a very arduous and thirsty trek. On the early morning of the 13th September, the regiment, along with the Gordons and Black Watch, led the famous night march by 17,500 men on Arabi's fortress at Tel-El-Kebir. The attack began at dawn, the British storming the Egyptian fortifications with bayonets fixed, not a shot being fired until the Egyptians and Sudanese had been driven from their trenches after a stiff fight. Tel-El-Kebir was soon in British hands and the revolt was effectively over, a great victory having been won. Fortunately Robert survived the battle unscathed, and was awarded the Egyptian Medal with Clasp and the Khedive's Star.

Although most of the Camerons remained in Egypt until 1887, Robert returned to Britain in December 1882, where he served at the regimental depot at Fort George near Inverness. In 1883, Robert had the honour of representing the regiment at the ceremony of placing the old colours of the Scottish regiments in St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh, when he escorted the flags of the 79th in the procession from Edinburgh Castle.

In 1884, while stationed at Fort George, Robert married Margaret MacNiven, who was from an army family, having been born in Gibraltar. They had at least two children - James Austin, born at Campbelltown, Ardersier, near Fort George in 1885 and Samuel, born at Diriebught in Inverness in 1887. In 1885, Robert was transferred to the 1st Regiment of the Guernsey Light Infantry (also called the Guernsey Militia). In 1891, the family was living at Mill Cottage, Arsenal Road in St Peter Port. In 1890 Robert was promoted to the rank of sergeant-major. From that date until his discharge from the army in 1901 he worked in the orderly room under the adjutant. In his discharge papers he is described as thoroughly trustworthy, a very good clerk and accountant and an excellent shot and drill instructor. Robert did not take long to find employment, as at the time of the census in April 1901, he was living at High St, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire and working as a publican. His wife Margaret is believed to have died, as in 1906 he married Emma Harris at Biggleswade. By 1909, Robert and Emma had taken up residence in Leith near Edinburgh, where he obtained employment as a civilian warden in an army barracks. Later he got a job as a newspaper branch manager, and moved to No. 5 Connaught Place in Edinburgh, where he died in 1938 at the age of 79. Emma continued to live at Connaught Place with her daughter Louise until her death in 1954.

Robert and Emma had two children, Robert Hunter, who was born in 1909, and Muriel Louise (known as Louise) in 1912. Robert junior became a journalist, married Helen Dorothy Bain, and had at least one son. He died in 1966, aged 56. Louise lived at Connaught Place all her life, never married, and worked as a post office clerkess. She died in 1978, aged 66.

Elizabeth Beveridge Smith (1861-1926)

Elizabeth was born in 1861, the third child of Samuel Smith and Marion Hunter and in 1888 she married William Carson, son of Jane Carson, who worked at Nobel's Explosives Factory at Ardeer, Stevenston. Elizabeth and William had seven children. Following William's tragic death in an accident at work, Elizabeth remarried in 1907, to James Robertson Paton. The marriage was not a happy one, and they were divorced in 1923, Paton having been convicted of bigamy at the Old Bailey in London. Elizabeth died in 1926. More details of her life are given in the "Story of the Carsons".

Elizabeth Smith c1905

William Hunter Smith (1863-1924)

William was born in 1863, the fourth child of Samuel Smith and Marion Hunter. As a young man he moved to the town of Renfrew on the south bank of the River Clyde, where he worked as a carpenter in a shipbuilding yard. In 1886 he married Jeanie Sim, the daughter of William Sim and Jeanie Sommerville, and they had at least five children - Samuel, born 1887, Jeanie, born 1890, Marion Hunter, born 1892, Jeanie Sim, born 1887 and William Sim, born 1899. The first Jeanie unfortunately only lived about 18 months and died of whooping cough in 1891. In 1887, the family were living at 24 Orchard Street in Renfrew, but by 1890 they had flitted to 11 Dunlop Street. By 1892 they had moved to 5 Hamilton Street in Yoker, just across the River Clyde from Renfrew, but by 1897 they had flitted to 1 Campbell Place, also in Yoker. By 1899 they had moved again, to Cross Place, Ferry Road Head, also in Yoker. At the beginning of the 20th century the family decided to emigrate to North America. In 1903 William travelled alone to Montreal on the SS "Sardinian", then continued his journey to Toronto, before crossing Lake Ontario to Buffalo in the USA. From there he journeyed on to Seattle in Washington state on the Pacific coast. In February 1906, his wife Jeanie and three of their children Marion, Jeanie junior and William junior sailed to New York and travelled overland to Seattle to join William. William became an American citizen in 1910. In 1920, William and Jeanie were lodging in Vancouver, Clarke Co, Washington State, where William was working at his trade in a shipyard. He died in 1924, aged 61. Jeanie was still living in Seattle in 1930, at 10,021 65th Ave South.

William and Jean's son Samuel appears not to have emigrated to North America with the rest of the family. He became a merchant seaman, and eventually rose to be chief engineer on a large liner. William junior married Nellie Anna Paton and had three children. He died in Pasco, Washington state, in 1954. Marion went to Australia, where she married in Melbourne and had 3 children. About 1923 Jean married John H McClure, a bank cashier from Pennsylvania. They are believed to have had no children. Jean lived for over fifty years at 3804 24th Ave South, Seattle and died in 1985 at age of 88.

Jane Paterson Smith (b1865)

Jane or Jean was born in 1865, the fifth child of Samuel Smith and Marion Hunter and was working as a dairymaid when in 1890 she married James Richmond, a gardener, the son of William Richmond and Ann Connell. Later James became a tomato grower at the village of Loans near Troon, a few miles down the Ayrshire coast. Jean and James had at least nine children - Marion Hunter, born 1891, Ann Connell, 1893, William, 1895, Jane Paterson Smith, 1897, Agnes Hunter Smith,1900, Isabella Hamilton, 1903, James, 1905, Helen Hunter, 1907 and Elizabeth, 1909. Jane senior died at home at Roseberry Cottage in the Loans in 1953, aged 88, her husband James having died earlier. Marion, known as Minnie, and Elizabeth, known as Bessie, never married, both becoming schoolteachers. They both lived in the Loans, possibly together, where Marion died in 1981. Elizabeth, who had suffered from diabetes, died in 1993 at Drumchapel Hospital in Glasgow. Helen also never married, and worked as a housemaid. Latterly she lived at Acharn on the banks of Loch Tay in Perthshire, and died in nearby Aberfeldy in 1989.
	Marion Richmond 1964	Elizabeth Richmond 1964

William married Ellen Duncan and with his brother James became a market gardener at the Loans like his father. They had two children. William died in 1966, aged 71.

Jane was a sub-postmistress in Motherwell in Lanarkshire when in 1924 she married Robert Scott, a newsagent in the town. They had one daughter.

Isabella married John Dale, a schoolteacher from Wishaw, in 1932. They went to live in Knightswood, Glasgow and had one daughter.

James joined the Army as a regular soldier about 1928 and served in the Second World War. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his bravery during an attack by the Italians on Sollum Barracks in Libya. He reached the rank of Company Sergeant-Major. After the war he ran a market garden at the Loans with his brother William.

Nothing is known of Ann and Agnes's lives.

Agnes Hunter Smith (b1867)

Agnes was born in 1867, the sixth child of Samuel Smith and Marion Hunter. In 1901 she was living at Barkip, Dalry, when she married a widower from Stevenston, Joseph Anderson Carey. Agnes was a saleswoman at the time of her marriage and Joseph was a railway signalman. At first Agnes and Joseph went to live in Ardrossan on the Ayrshire coast, where they had three children, Agnes Hunter Smith in 1902, Mary Anderson in 1904 and Hugh in 1906. Later the family moved to Green Street, Bellahouston, in Glasgow, where James was born in 1911. They stayed there until at least 1921. At some point the family flitted to Elderslie in Renfrewshire, but later they moved to London.

By 1933, Agnes junior had gone to live in London, and her parents may have gone there in their later lives to be with her.

Mary became a typist and married James Johnston in 1933. They had at least one son.

Nothing is known of the lives of Hugh and James.

Alexander Hunter Smith (1868-1923)

Alexander, known as Sandy, was born in 1868, the seventh child of Samuel Smith and Marion Hunter. He never married and worked firstly as a joiner. In 1901 he was living with his parents at Greenbank near Irvine, but by 1903 he was staying in Raise Street, Saltcoats, the next town to Stevenston, where he opened a shop. In 1903, he was described as an ironmonger, and in 1904 as a grocer and hardware merchant. In 1903, he owned four houses at 84 Boglemart Street, Stevenston. In 1911 he appears to have had two shops in Saltcoats, one in Raise Street and another at 64 Canal Street. He still had a grocer's or confectioner's shop in Raise Street until 1915, but in that year he appears to have had to do war work, first as a miner and then in Nobel's Dynamite Works at Ardeer, Stevenston. Sandy died in 1923, aged 54, of natural causes, probably heart failure.

Henry Beveridge Smith (1870-1927)

Henry was born in 1870, the eighth child of Samuel Smith and Marion Hunter. He studied medicine at Glasgow University, graduating M.B., C.M. in 1894. He must have been a remarkable person, for this was certainly very unusual for the son of a mine-worker at that time. On first qualifying, he stayed at the family home in Bartonholm, but he soon commenced his travels, which were to take him to several places in England and abroad. In 1897, he was living at Chapeltown, near Sheffield in Yorkshire, but by 1900 he was living at 2 Hall Lane, Bradford, Yorkshire. Later that year he found employment as a junior medical officer in the Shropshire and Montgomeryshire County Asylum, but soon he went out to South Africa to serve as a civilian surgeon with the South African Field Force in the Boer War between 1900 and 1901. While returning by ship from the war in 1903, Henry met Jane Sarah Edwards, a divorcee from Ladysmith, and they married later that year. At first Henry and Jane went to live at Whitehurst Park farm, where his parents were tenants of a cottage, and apparently they continued to live there until 1905 while his parents went to stay at the nearby village of Dundonald in a house Henry had bought or built. In 1906, he and Jane had a son, Henry Hunter, and later a daughter, Jane Sarah. By 1909 the family were back in England, staying at 8 Ormond Avenue, Hampton-on-Thames, Middlesex, but they were soon on the move again, this time to Willow Grove, Hiss, near Brandon in Suffolk. In 1915, Henry was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Royal Army Medical Corps, and was later promoted to captain, then major. After the end of the war, in 1919, he transferred to the Royal Air Force, where he held the rank of flight-lieutenant and honorary squadron-leader. In 1920, a tragedy occurred when his wife Jane was killed by a train at Lakenheath level crossing, very close to the Hiss. Henry continued his RAF service, becoming medical officer at the No 1 Flying Training School, Netheravon, Salisbury, Wiltshire from 1922. He retired from the RAF on 6th April 1927 to take up farming full-time, but his life came to a sudden and tragic end a fortnight later, when he was gored to death by a bull at his home at the Hiss. He left an estate of £6,061, a very large sum for the time.

James Hunter Smith (1875-1945)

James was born in 1875, the eleventh child of Samuel Smith and Marion Hunter. He was also a clever boy, who attended Irvine Academy, then trained as a pharmacist at Glasgow Technical College. In 1907 he married Grace Barr, a drapery saleswoman from the Gorbals in Glasgow, and they had three children, Mary Ethel Mowbray (known as Ethel), born 1908, James Rodger, known as Rodger, born 1910 and Norman Barr, born 1913. By 1916 James and Grace had gone to live in Westerton Garden Suburb in Dunbartonshire, as great a contrast to the slums of the Gorbals as it is possible to imagine. They were among the first residents of Scotland's first garden suburb, where James was known as 'Chemist Smith'. By 1920 James had founded the pharmacy firm of J. Hunter Smith & Co. Ltd., who had premises at 9 Virginia Street in the city centre of Glasgow. About 1924 the firm moved a short distance to the prime position of 12 Glassford Street. In 1942, after Grace died, James married Elizabeth Simpson, a tea-room manageress from Lenzie, Dunbartonshire. They went to live at 7 Kirklee Quadrant, Kelvinside, Glasgow, but only three years later James died at the age of 69. The pharmacy in Glassford Street continued trading as J H Smith & Co after James's death until 1950.

Of James and Grace's children, Ethel married William Fulton Gibson, a banker. They lived in Westerton and had three children. William died in 1964 and Ethel in 1991. Rodger became an art teacher and married Lucy Frances Bain in 1945, and they had 4 children. The family went to live in Comrie, Perthshire, where Rodger died in 1986 and Lucy in 1991. Norman married and worked as a colour matcher. He died in the Victoria Infirmary in Glasgow in 1980.

© Robert James Carson 2008. All rights reserved.

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