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, whichmy 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 great-great-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.
Dedication
This is dedicated to Aunt Aileen who died in 2008.
Dad and Aunt Aileen as children
Chapter 1: Origin of Three Brothers
Fife Roots: Identifying the Grandfather of Robert, James and John
Setting up in Dundee
Chapter 2: Back in Time – Grandfather Robert (b. 1769)
A Family in Fife
Mary Hean nee Cairncross and family
Was Patrick transplanted from the Lothians?
Digging Deeper
Family Tree: The Early Generations
Chapter 3: Putting Down Roots
Robert (b.1792)- from Logie in Fife, to the Wynds of Dundee
Born in Dundee: Robert’s younger siblings
Isabella b.1803
Elisabeth b. 1805
Jane b. 1807
John b. 1809
Mary b.1811
Chapter 4: From Three Brothers to Five Brothers and a Sister
John CAIRNCROSSb: 8 Mar 1820
Robert CAIRNCROSS b: 19 Sep 1821
James CAIRNCROSSb: 28 Sep 1823
David CAIRNCROSS b: abt. 1828
Alexander CAIRNCROSS b: ABT 1831
Isabell CAIRNCROSS b: 17 May 1833
Chapter 5: John McFarlane Cairncross
John’s Early Years
John and Isabella’s Married Life
Children
Residences
Chapter 6: Back to Fife and Beyond
Chapter 7: Reflections on the Journey to Date and Next Steps
List of Figures
Figure 1 Origins of the Three Brothers (Anne King)
Figure 2 James the Sailmaker
Figure 3 Extract from Old Howff Burial Records for Robert Cairncross died 1829 and Jean Rollo died 1848
Figure 4 Children of Robert Cairncross and Jean Rollo
Figure 5 Jean Rollo in the 1841 Census
Figure 6 Search Result Scotland People: Children of Patrick and Isabel
Figure 7 Extract from Old Howff Burial Records for Mary Cairncross (d. 1839) and David Hean (d. 1841)
Figure 8 Searching for Patrick Cairncross born in the 18th C
Figure 9 Search Result Scotland’s People: The Children of Patrick and Margaret
Figure 10 Search Result Scotland’s People: Early Cx in Inveresk & Musselburgh
Figure 11 Search Result Scotland’s People Death Margaret Cairncross 1751
Figure 12 Cx variants
Figure 13 Family Tree - the Early Generations
Figure 14 Robert Cairncross born 1792 and family, in 1841 census (transcription)
Figure 15 Robert and Margaret in Old Howff Records
Figure 16 Possible parents for Margaret Ogilvie
Figure 17 David Cairncross in another Cx family tree
Figure 18 Certificate of Entry of Birth for John MacFarlane born 1867
Figure 19 Edward and Effie Cairncross
Figure 20 Isabella Cairncross nee Gray with Grandchildren Ronald and Aileen
Page 1Chapter 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 Family[1].
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. Cairncross[3]
JAMES SailmakerThere 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 site[4] 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.
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:
Piece: SCT1841/282 Place: Dundee -Angus Enumeration District: 115Civil Parish: Dundee Ecclesiastical Parish, Village or Island: -
Folio: 0 Page: 2
Address: Smalls Wynd
Surname / First name(s) / Sex / Age / Occupation / Where Born / Remarks
CAIRNCROSS / Jean / F / 70 / Flax Yarn Winder / Outside Census County (1841)
CAIRNCROSS / Isabella / F / 35 / Hand Loom Sacking Weaver / Angus
CAIRNCROSS / John / M / 30 / Joiner Jnymn / Angus
BORRIE / Elizabeth / F / 12 / Hand Loom Sacking Weaver / 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.
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 mis-spelling of Cairncross.
No / Date / Surname / Forename / Parent NamesFrame No. / S
e
x / Parish / City/
County / 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 inold 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, 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 Association[6]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 Brothersbut 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 inScotland’s Peoplefor that name, and variants,born in the 18th century produced only four matches, only one of whom seems to beworth 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 CAIRNCROSS/MARGARET YATES FR2363 / M / INVERESK AND MUSSELBURGH / /MIDLOTHIAN2 / 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