John Jarvie- Merchant (1822-1879)

Figure 1. Graham-Gilbert, John; Mrs John Jarvie; © CSG GIC Glasgow Museums Collection (http://www.artuk.org)

In October 1950 Mrs. Helen Percy presented to Glasgow Museums a portrait of her mother by the artist John Graham Gilbert.

Her mother was Elizabeth Bannatyne, wife of Glasgow merchant John Jarvie who was heavily involved in trade with China and the Far East during the middle of the nineteeth Century.

This article looks at both their family backgrounds and how he became  a ‘foreign merchant’ particularly in Singapore, who was not always successful.

John Jarvie’s grandfather was William Jarvie, a coal master of Pollokshaws. He married Agnes McGie in 1754[1] and they had at least four children, three girls and one boy. They were all baptised on the same day in 1762 in the parish of Eastwood, their birth dates ranging from 1755 to 1762.[2]

William was a coal master at a time in Scotland when essentially miners were no better than slaves and were legally tied to mines (bondsmen) by an Act of Parliament (1606), unless their master agreed to release them. Another Act in 1672 authorised ‘coal masters, salt masters and others, who had manufactories in this kingdom to seize upon any vagabonds or beggars wherever they can find them, and to put them to work.’ [3] This state of affairs continued until the beginning of the 19th Century. For more on the history of coal mining in Scotland the Scottish Mining Website (http://www.scottishmining.co.uk/index.html) is an excellent source of information.

Whilst his main occupation is given as coal master he also farmed at various locations within Sir John Maxwell’s Pollok estate, including at Clogholes farm, PolIocktoun and Northwoodside. His will, he died c.1767, details the value of equipment and crops at each of these locations and others, and also includes the value of tools, equipment and instruments associated with his coal works at Napiershall. When household goods, furniture and so on are included his estate was valued at £334 2s., his wife Agnes being his named executrix.[4]

His son Robert was born in July 1758 at Shaws.[5] His initial schooling has not been established, the only certainty being that he did not attend the University as the matriculation or graduation records do not include his name. It’s probable he worked for his father at some stage but again nothing has been found to indicate what he did in the early part of his life.

Robert eventually became a merchant in Glasgow however his first appearance in the Post Office Directories does not occur until 1806 where he is described as a merchant with James Hamilton, Sen. and Co., his home address being given as Charlotte Lane,[6] which is where he lived until 1815.[7] He remained with that company for the rest of his active life, eventually becoming a partner in the business and others. He was also a director of the Chamber of Commerce from 1829 until 1833.[8]

He married in 1814 Jane Milligan,[9] the daughter of William Milligan, merchant, and Jean Ure of Fareneze Printfield, Neilston.[10] They had seven children, five sons and two girls. The family home was at Maxwellton Place from 1815 until 1824, at which time they moved to 19 Carlton Place.[11]

Robert died at home on the 28th April 1843. At the time of his death his movable estate was valued at £8378 9s 3d,[12] equivalent to £800,000 today by simple RPI changes, in terms of economic power it equates to several millions of pounds.[13]

However, that does not tell the whole story of his wealth. In 1830 he set up a Trust Disposition and Settlement which dealt with his heritable estate in Glasgow plus what is described as his ‘stock in trade’ including his ‘share of same’ from other co-partneries with which he was involved. Included was property/ground bounded by the west of Robertson Street and the Broomielaw, subjects in Queen Street, property in Carlton Place and other properties and ground.

Eleven trustees were named whose function was to manage the trust to support his wife and children and if need be, their children. There are three codicils to the deed the last of which in 1836 names his eldest son William as a trustee.[14]

Four of the five sons, William, Robert, James and John,more of whom later, all matriculated at the University between 1829 and 1837,[15] and all became merchants in due course. There is no evidence to suggest the youngest son Alexander became a merchant or attended the University, however there was a bit of a mystery about his whereabouts after 1856 which led to a petition for him to be presumed dead.

In 1885 Robert’s sister Agnes, the widow of Isaac Buchanan, resident in Hamilton, Canada, sought to have Alexander presumed dead in accordance with the 1881 Presumption of Life Limitation Scotland Act. In her submission to the Lords of Council and Session she stated that her brother had sailed from New York to Melbourne, Australia in 1856 and had not been heard of since. She also stated that he was unmarried at that time.

Deposited in a bank account in his name was his share of his father’s estate which was finally settled in 1865, plus other bequests and interest accrued amounting to £1644, all of which had remained untouched since the account had been set up.

Judgement was given in her favour and Alexander was presumed to have died on or about the 23rd February 1864. Why that date is not made clear however a reasonable guess would be that since he was presumed to have died before his father’s estate was settled then his share would automatically go to his siblings, otherwise it should go to any heirs (children) he may have had which would have entailed a difficult search for proof.

In the event with Alexander being declared dead Agnes, as the only surviving sibling, was confirmed as executrix and sole beneficiary of his estate in January 1886.[16]

When I tried to find out if he did die in Australia only one possibility arose in that an Alexander Jarvie died in Wellington, New South Wales in 1902. The data from the NSW web site is sparse but intriguingly the first names of the parents quoted in the document were Robert and Jane. Pure coincidence or could this have been the long lost brother?[17]

The other brothers’ stories are also somewhat interesting. The eldest, William, started on his own account as a commission agent in 1839 in Robertson Street. By 1846 he was a partner in Rainey, Jarvie and Co. and by 1848 he was declared bankrupt and had his assets sequestrated.[18]  He never appears in the Post Office Directories again.

Very little is known about James except he died in 1867 at Lismore, Argyllshire. The registration document describes him as a merchant, no other source has been found to confirm that, and that he died of ‘excessive drinking’.[19]

A little more is known about Robert. He undoubtedly was a merchant but it’s not obvious with whom in Glasgow. The most likely is Buchanan, Hamilton and Co. as in 1860 a partnership was established in Shanghai between Buchanans, Robert Jarvie and William Thorburn, which was styled Jarvie, Thorburn and Co.[20] This partnership lasted until Robert’s death in Shanghai in 1866.[21]

John Jarvie, the second youngest of the brothers was born in 1822.[22] He matriculated at the University in 1837[23] and by 1842 he was in Singapore donating 20 Spanish dollars for raising a spire and tower for St. Andrew’s Church there.[24]

He was essentially to remain there for the next eighteen years, travelling around the Far East as required by business. In 1848 he was acting as an agent for the Glasgow firm of Hamilton, Gray and Co.[25] and in 1852 he became a partner of the company in Singapore and also of Buchanan, Hamilton and Co. in Glasgow.[26] During that period, he travelled to and from Hong Kong,[27]Siam[28], India,[29] and Australia.[30] His travels continued to these destinations and others until he returned home circa 1860.

In 1854 he was appointed Consul for Denmark in Singapore, an appointment he fulfilled well on behalf of that country.[31] In 1858 he travelled to Siam accredited to the Royal Court there by King Frederich VII of Denmark. His task was to negotiate a treaty with the ‘first and second kings’ of Siam and their ‘magnates’. As he was well known to all of the personnel involved he had no difficulty in concluding a treaty of friendship and commerce along the same lines as other countries had done before.[32]

He played his part in Singapore civic life serving on several grand jurys between 1849 and 1854. In 1853 he served on a jury whose calendar comprised of eighteen cases including two murders.[33] In November 1850 he was elected Master of the local Masonic lodge from the position of Senior Warden.[34]

In 1859 in recognition of his service to Denmark he was created a Chevalier of the Royal Order of Danebrog by the King of Denmark.[35]

He returned to Glasgow in 1860 and married Elizabeth Bannatyne in November of that year. She was the daughter of Andrew Bannatyne, writer, and Margaret Millar.[36]

Her paternal grandfather was Dugald Bannatyne[37] a prominent citizen of Glasgow in the early part of the nineteenth century. He was a stocking weaver who was influential in the development of George Square around 1800. He formed, along with Robert Smith Jr and John Thomson,  the Glasgow Building Company.[38] He was able to attract English capital to what was a speculative venture through Thomson’s brother-in-law, an English stocking weaver called Johnston.[39] By 1804 the Square had buildings on each side which were being described as ‘elegant, particularly on the north (side).’[40]

He was appointed Post Master General in 1806 and was secretary to the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce from 1809 to 1830.[41] In 1817 he was a member of a committee of the Glasgow Merchants House charged with bringing about the building of a new Merchants Hall.[42] Dugald’s wife was Agnes Stirling, who was a descendant of the Stirling family of Drumpellier.[43]

John and Elizabeth had 11 children, six boys and five girls. Sadly, with two exceptions they all died before they were forty-five years old, the exceptions being Helen the donor of the painting and her sister Agnes. Two died as infants, four as teenagers, two of whom, Andrew and Robert, died from pneumonia within 8 days of each other in 1878.[44] [45] The other five all married, more of which later.

John continued in partnership with Buchanan, Hamilton and Co. and others this time based in Glasgow, the family living at 13 Park Circus.[46] Unfortunately this situation did not last for very long. In 1865 the funds of all the partnerships he was involved with and those of the individual partners were sequestrated. The companies involved were Buchanan, Hamilton and Co., Jarvie, Thorburn and Co., and Hamilton, Gray and Co., the partners being Walter Buchanan, William Hamilton, John Jarvie and George Henderson.[47] The process of dealing with creditors lasted until 1876.[48]

John however around 1866/67 had already formed another partnership with George Henderson apparently unaffected by the sequestration problems they both faced. They were known as Jarvie, Henderson and Co, in Glasgow [49] and J. Jarvie and Co. in Shanghai. However, this was another venture which ended up in failure, the funds of the companies and those of the partners being sequestrated on the 2nd June 1873.[50]

There is no evidence that he formed any other partnerships following that with George Henderson, as from 1874 on his entries in the Post Office Directories simply state that he is a merchant.[51] [52]

He died intestate in 1879 at 9 Lyndoch Crescent, the family home since 1866. When he died his occupation was recorded as wine agent.[53] The value of his estate was eventually given as £642 5s 7d.[54] John’s wife Elizabeth died in Bournemouth in 1924.  Her estate was valued at £9690 16s, probate being granted to her daughters Agnes Bannatyne and Elizabeth Helen Percy.[55]

The five surviving children of John and Elizabeth were George Garden Nicol, Norman Alexander, Helen (Elizabeth Helen), Agnes and Susan Evelyn.

George married Sarah Elizabeth Tuffin at St Peter’s Limehouse in 1900. He was 29 years old and Sarah was 22. At the time of his marriage his occupation was given as mariner.[56] They had a son in 1903, George Norman who died a few months after his birth. George’s occupation at that  was time given as ‘independent’.[57] Not much more has been established about him except that he died on the 10th May 1907, age 36 at the Deddington Arms, a beer house in Poplar, Middlesex. He left estate valued at £30.[58] He seems to have been the landlord of the establishment as two years later his wife was still at the same address.[59]

Norman spent some of his life in the military. In 1895 he was given a commission as a second lieutenant in the 3rd/4th battalion of the Highland Light Infantry.[60] As a lieutenant he acted as aide-de-camp to Colonel Thackery, his battalion commander, when the Duke of Connaught, son of Queen Victoria and the battalion’s honorary chief, visited the battalion in June 1899.[61]

He eventually attained the rank of temporary captain and was an Instructor of Musketry when he was seconded to a line battalion in South Africa early in 1900 at the start of the second Boer War.[62]

It seemed his military career was progressing satisfactorily though it came to an abrupt end a few months later whilst he was in South Africa. In the London Gazette of the 1st May 1900 it was announced that Captain N.A. Jarvie was to be appointed second lieutenant.[63] I have not been able to ascertain what caused this demotion but worse was to follow. About seven weeks later his new appointment was cancelled[64]  to be followed by his dismissal from the army in November, the official Gazette notice stating that he was ‘removed from the army, Her Majesty having no further occasion for his service’.[65]

Norman married Edith Nora Ferguson in Huntingdon in 1903.[66] By the 1911 census they were living in a private apartment in Llandudno with no family. Norman’s occupation was given as actor working on his own account.[67] You can’t help but get the impression that he had led a rather nondescript life since his dismissal from the army.

However, there are two postscripts to his army life. In 1905 there was a further entry in the London Gazette about him, which stated that the paragraph about his removal from the army in the November 1900 issue was to be substituted by one that simply said that Captain (temporary) N.A. Jarvie has retired from the Military.[68]

The other is that three weeks after Great Britain declared war on Germany on the 4th August 1914 Norman enlisted as a private with the King Edward’s Horse at the age of 41. He did not see any active service as he died on the 13th December of that year at a hospital in Hounslow, cause of death not stated but seemingly from an accident or an illness. The army documentation which records his enlistment and his death also records that his estate was not entitled to any war gratuity as he had not served for six months.[69] His estate was valued at £11.[70]

Figure 2. Lieutenant (Acting Captain) Ninian John Bannatyne (HU 113287) The King’s (Liverpool Regiment). © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205290045

Agnes married chartered accountant John Allan Bannatyne in 1894.[71He was the son of her mother’s brother John Miller Bannatyne, that is, they were first cousins.[72] He was a partner in Bannatyne, Bannatyne and Guthrie when the company was founded in 1892[73] but after 1902 he is no longer mentioned in the directory and the company name has changed to Bannatyne and Guthrie.[74] What he did subsequently is unknown. They had a son Ninian John, born in 1896, who was killed in action in France in 1917.[75] John died intestate in Sierra Madre, California in 1909, leaving £688 2s 7d, probate granted to Agnes twenty years after his death.[76] She died in Durban, South Africa in 1949.[77]

by Camille Silvy albumen print, 19 December 1861 NPG Ax56602 © National Portrait Gallery, London
Figure3. Frederick Robertson Aikman, by Camille Silvy albumen print, 19 December 1861 NPG © National Portrait Gallery, London

Susan Evelyn married Duncan Forbes Robertson Aikman in 1903 in Westminster, London.[78] He was a member of the Robertson Aikman family of Ross House and New Parks House Leicester. His father was Hugh Henry Robertson Aikman whose brother Frederick Robertson Aikman[79] won a V.C. during the Indian Mutiny in 1858.[80] The marriage was childless and did not last very long as Susan died at the age of 32 in 1908.[81] He died in 1920.[82]

Helen, the donor of the painting was born in 1868.[83] She married Edward Josceline Percy in 1907 in London.[84] He was the son of Hugh Josceline Percy who was descended from Hugh Percy, the 1st Duke of Northumberland (great grandfather), via the 1st Earl Beverly (grandfather),and the Rev. Hugh Percy, Bishop of Rochester and then Carlisle, his father.[85] Edward died in 1931, probate granted to Helen, his estate being valued at £7898.[86] She died in 1954.[87] There were no children of the marriage.

In the Necropolis in Glasgow, the family lair has fifteen family names inscribed on its headstone starting with Robert Jarvie and his wife Jane Milligan. They are followed by John Jarvie and his wife Elizabeth Bannatyne and all of their children. Not all of them are buried there however, the exceptions being George Garden Nicol Jarvie and Susan Evelyn Jarvie.[88]

When it’s considered that Robert Jarvie left a very significant fortune when he died in 1843 it’s difficult not to come to the conclusion that none of the adult sons took advantage of the start in business that had been given to them. In fact, the family fortune went in reverse due to their combined lack of the business acumen shown by their father.

On a sadder note, despite having eleven children there are no direct descendants of John Jarvie and Elizabeth Bannatyne.

[1] Marriages (OPR) Scotland. Govan. 11 November 1754. JARVIE, William and MCGIE, Agnas. 646/ 10 379. www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[2] Births (OPR) Scotland. Barony. 23 September 1755, JARVIE, Margaret, Shaws. 1 July 1758, JARVIE Robert, 12 June 1760, JARVIE, Agnes and 23 June 1762. JARVIE, Janet. 562/  20 30. www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[3]Barrowman, James. Slavery in the Coal Mines of Scotland. http://www.scottishmining.co.uk/index.html

[4] Testamentary Records. Scotland. 21 September 1767. JARVIE, William. Testament Dative and Inventory. Glasgow Commissary Court. CC9/7/66. www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[5] Births (OPR) Scotland. Shaws. 23 June 1762. JARVIE, Robert. 562/ 20 30. www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[6] Directories. Scotland. (1806) Glasgow directory. Glasgow: W. McFeat and Co. p. 54 https://digital.nls.uk/87881372

[7] Directories. Scotland. (1815) Glasgow directory. Glasgow: A. McFeat and Co. p. 81. https://digital.nls.uk/83285081

[8] Directories. Scotland. (1832-33) Glasgow directory. Glasgow: John Graham. p. 32 https://digital.nls.uk/87847018

[9]Marriages (OPR) Scotland. Glasgow. 15 May 1814. JARVIE, Robert and MILLIGAN, Jane. 644/1 280 220. www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[10] Births. (OPR) Scotland. Neilston. 21 March 1786. MILLIGAN, Jean. 572/  20 22. www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[11] Directories. Scotland. (1824). Glasgow Directory. Glasgow: W. McFeat. p. 113. https://digital.nls.uk/83292027

[12] Testamentary Records. Scotland. 21 June 1843. JARVIE, Robert. Inventory. Glasgow Sheriff Court. SC36/48/29. www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[13]Measuring Worth (2016). https://www.measuringworth.com/m/calculators/ukcompare/

[14] Testamentary Records. Scotland. 21 June 1843. JARVIE, Robert. Trust Disposition and Settlement. Glasgow Sheriff Court. SC36/15/19. www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[15] Addison, W. Innes. (1913). The Matriculation Albums of the University of Glasgow 1728 – 1858. JARVIE(12247/1829, 12655/1830, 13175/1833 and 13828/1837). Glasgow: James Maclehose and Sons. p. 574. https://archive.org/details/matriculationalb00univuoft/page/n7

[16] Testamentary Records. Scotland. 18 February 1886. JARVIE, Alexander. Edinburgh Sheriff Court. SC70/1/247. www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[17] Deaths. Australia. Wellington, New South Wales. 1902. JARVIE, Alexander. 3574/1902. https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search/result?3

[18] London Gazette (1848) 14 January 1848. Issue 20815, p. 157. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/20815/page/157

[19] Deaths. (SR) Scotland. Lismore, Argyll. 18 June 1867. JARVIE, James. 525/1 11. www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[20] Advertisements. (1860). Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Adviser. 16 August 1860. JARVIE, Robert. Company Notice. p.2c. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers

[21] Testamentary Records. Scotland. 8 November 1872. JARVIE, Robert. Trust Disposition and Settlement. Glasgow Sheriff Court. SC36/51/62. www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[22] Births. (OPR) Scotland. Gorbals. 2 September 1822. JARVIE, John. 644/2 40 57. www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[23] Addison, W. Innes. (1913). The Matriculation Albums of the University of Glasgow 1728 – 1858. John Jarvie. Glasgow: James Maclehose and Sons. p. 420. https://archive.org/details/matriculationalb00univuoft/page/420

[24] Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. (1842). The Free Press, Church subscriptions. Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Adviser. 10 November 1842. p. 3d. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers

[25] Advertisements. (1848). The Straits Times. 10 May 1848. JARVIE, John. Company Notice. p. 2a. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers

[26] Advertisements. (1852). Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Adviser. 6 February 1852. JARVIE, John. p. 1c. . http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers

[27] The Straits Times. (1846). Batavia. The Straits Times 3 June 1846. p. 2d. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers

[28] The Straits Times. (1852). 13 April 1852. p. 4c. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers

[29] The Straits Times. (1848). 1 April 1848. p. 2d. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers

[30] The Straits Times. (1848). 26 April 1848. p. 2c. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers

[31] The Straits Times. (1854). Notice. The Straits Times. 20 June 1854. p. 4b. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers

[32] The Straits Times. (1883). FBI (treaty). The Straits Times. 12 March 1883. p. 3b. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers

[33] The Straits Times (1853) Criminal Session. The Straits Times. 12 April 1853. p. 4b. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers

[34] Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. (1850). 22 November 1850. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers

[35] Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. (1859). Notice. The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. p. 2e. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers

[36] Marriages. (SR) Scotland. Anderston, Glasgow. 27 November 1860. JARVIE, John and BANNATYNE, Elizabeth. 644/8 252. www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[37] Maclehose, James. (1886). Memoirs and Portraits of One Hundred Glasgow Men. Glasgow: James Maclehose and Sons. http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/mlemen/mlemen008.htm

[38] Kellet, John R. (2002)’ Property Speculators and the Building of Glasgow, 1780-1830.’ In: Pacione, Michael, ed. The City: The City in Global Context. London: Routledge. p.79.

[39] Ibid.

[40] House, Jack (1972) The Heart of Glasgow. 2nd ed. London: Hutchinson. p.148.

[41] Stewart, George (1881) Curiosities of Glasgow Citizenship. Glasgow: James Maclehose. p175. http://www.archive.org:

[42] Ewing, Archibald Orr. (1866). View of the Merchants House of Glasgow. Glasgow: Bell and Bain. p. 310.

[43] Sterling, Albert Mack (1909). The Sterling Genealogy. Vol. 1. New York: The Grafton Press. p. 162.  https://archive.org/details/sterlinggeneal01ster/page/n13

[44] Deaths. (SR) Scotland. Greenock, Renfrew. 8 November 1878. JARVIE, Andrew William. 564/3 817. www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[45] Deaths. (SR) Scotland. Kelvin, Glasgow. 16 November 1878. JARVIE, Robert John Louis. 644/9 958.  www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[46] Directories. Scotland. (1860-61). Glasgow Directory. Glasgow: William McKenzie. p. 151. https://digital.nls.uk/83905458.

[47] London Gazette (1865) 28 July 1865. Issue 22995, p. 3777. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/22995/page/3777

[48] Edinburgh Gazette (1876) 1 February 1865. Issue 8657, p. 78. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Edinburgh/issue/8657/page/78

[49] Directories. Scotland. (1866-67). Glasgow Directory. Glasgow: William Mackenzie. p. 186. https://digital.nls.uk/84382057

[50] Edinburgh Gazette (1873) 3 June 1873. Issue 8377, p. 335. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Edinburgh/issue/8377/page/335

[51] Directories. Scotland. (1874-75). Glasgow Directory. Glasgow: William Mackenzie. p. 238. https://digital.nls.uk/84416633

[52] Directories. Scotland. (1878-79). Glasgow Directory. Glasgow: William Mackenzie. p. 264. https://digital.nls.uk/84188397

[53] Deaths (SR) Scotland. Kelvin, Glasgow. 13 April 1879. JARVIE, John. 644/9 332. www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[54] Testamentary Records. Scotland. 16 June 1880. JARVIE, John. Inventory. Glasgow Sheriff Court. SC36/48/92. www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[55] Testamentary Records. Scotland. 8 May 1925. JARVIE, Elizabeth. National Probate Index (Calendar of Confirmations and Inventories), 1876-1936. 1925, p. J10. https://www.ancestry.co.uk

[56] Marriages (SR) England. Limehouse, Tower Hamlets. 30 July 1900. JARVIE, George Garden Nicol and TUFFIN, Sarah Elizabeth. England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1932. https://www.ancestry.co.uk

[57] Births (SR) England. Poplar, St Stephen, Tower Hamlets. 10 May 1903. JARVIE, George Norman. London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1917. https://www.ancestry.co.uk

[58] Testamentary Records. England. 18 July 1907. JARVIE, George Garden Nicol. Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate. 1907, p. 325. Collection: England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995.  https://www.ancestry.co.uk

[59] London, England, Electoral Registers, 1832-1965. Poplar, Tower Hamlets. 1909. JARVIE, Sarah Elizabeth. https://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=try&db=LMAelectoralreg&h=90738852

[60] London Gazette (1895) 4 June 1895. Issue 26631, p. 3204. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/26631/page/3204

[61] Glasgow Herald. (1899) The Duke of Connaught at Lanark. Glasgow Herald 22 June. p. 11ab. https://www.nls.uk/

[62] Glasgow Herald. (1900) Military Appointments. Glasgow Herald 14 February. p. 8d.  https://www.nls.uk

[63] London Gazette (1900) 1 May 1900. Issue 27188, p. 2762. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/27188/page/2762

[64] London Gazette (1900) 19 June 1900. Issue 27203, p. 3814. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/27203/page/3814

[65] London Gazette (1900) 16 November. Issue 27247, p. 7021. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/27247/page/7021

[66] Marriages (SR) England. Huntingdon. 1st Qtr. 1903. JARVIE, Norman Alexander and FERGUSON, Edith Nora. England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915. Vol. 3b, p. 630.  https://www.ancestry.co.uk

[67] Census. 1911. Wales. Llandudno cum Eglyws-Rhos. RD 632, ED 05. Piece: 34540; Schedule Number: 119. https://www.ancestry.co.uk

[68] London Gazette (1905) 3 January. Issue 27750, p. 29. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/27750/page/29

[69] UK, Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, 1901-1929. 13 December 1914. JARVIE, Norman Alexander. https://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=60506&h=470547&indiv=try&o_vc=Record:OtherRecord&rhSource=60506

[70] Testamentary Records. England. 14 June 1916. JARVIE, Norman Alexander. Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate. 1916, p. 285. Collection. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995. https://www.ancestry.co.uk

[71] Marriages (SR) Scotland. Hamilton, Lanark. 4 December 1894. BANNATYNE, John Allan and JARVIE, Agnes Marion. 647/ 195. www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[72] Births (OPR) Scotland. Glasgow. 30 May 1829. BANNATYNE, John Miller. 644/1 320 551. www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[73] Directories. Scotland. (1892-93) Glasgow Directory. Glasgow: William Mackenzie. p. 128. https://digital.nls.uk/84659894

[74] Directories. Scotland. (1901-02) Glasgow Directory. Glasgow: Aird and Coghill. p. 64. https://digital.nls.uk/84742750

[75] Imperial War Museum.  Lieutenant (Acting Captain) Ninian Norman Bannatyne. https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205290045

[76] Testamentary Records. Scotland. 26 November 1929. BANNATYNE, John Allan. National Probate Index (Calendar of Confirmations and Inventories), 1876-1936. 1929, p. B15. https://www.ancestry.co.uk

[77] Testamentary Records. England. 30 June 1950. BANNATYNE, Agnes Marion. Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate. 1950, p. 317. Collection. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995. https://www.ancestry.co.uk

[78] Marriages. (SR) England. London. 1st Qtr. 1903. AIKMAN, Duncan Forbes Robertson and JARVIE, Susan Evelyn. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes, 1837-1915. Vol. 1a, p. 768.  https://www.ancestry.co.uk

[79] The Peerage. Frederick Robertson Aikman, Hugh Henry Robertson Aikman and Duncan Forbes Robertson Aikman. pp. 65290. http://www.thepeerage.com/p65267.htm#i652896

[80] The Comprehensive Guide to the Victoria and George Cross. Frederick Robertson Aikman. http://www.vconline.org.uk/frederick-r-aikman-vc/4585908729

[81] Deaths. (SR) England. Faringdon, Berkshire. 2nd Qtr. 1908. AIKMAN, Susan Evelyn R. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915. Vol. 2c, p. 157. https://www.ancestry.co.uk

[82] Deaths. (SR) England. Faringdon, Berkshire. 4th Qtr. 1920. AIKMAN, Duncan Forbes Robertson. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915. Vol. 2c, p. 318. https://www.ancestry.co.uk

[83] Births. (SR) Scotland. Anderston, Glasgow. 13 March 1868. JARVIE, Elizabeth Helen. 644/8 529 www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[84] Marriages. (SR) England. London. 1st Qtr. 1907. PERCY, Edward Josceline and JARVIE, Elizabeth Helen. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes, 1837-1915.  Vol. 1a, p. 868.  https://www.ancestry.co.uk

[85] The Peerage. Hugh Josceline Percy. pp. 1048, 1049, 1052, 1057. http://www.thepeerage.com/p1057.htm#i10565

[86] Testamentary Records. England. 8 August 1931. PERCY, Edward Josceline. Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate. 1931, p. 679. Collection. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995. https://www.ancestry.co.uk

[87] Testamentary Records. England. 11 April 1954. PERCY, Helen Elizabeth. Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate. 1954, p. 377. Collection. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995. https://www.ancestry.co.uk

[88] Historic Graves. GLA-NECR-SIGF-0092. Glasgow Necropolis.  JARVIE Lair. https://historicgraves.com/glasgow-necropolis/gla-necr-sig-0092/grave

 

James Turner of Thrushgrove 1768-1858

Figure 1. Macbeth, Norman; James Turner of Thrushgrove (1768-1858), a Former Magistrate of the City. © CSG GIC Glasgow Museums Collection.

Jessie Turner bequeathed a portrait of her grandfather James Turner by Norman Macbeth to Glasgow City Council in 1927. Jessie was born in 1837 in Laurieston, Glasgow to William Turner, an ironmonger and Elizabeth Paterson, whose family were from Ayr.(1) They married in 1834 in Glasgow.(2) Williams’ parents were James Turner, a tobacco spinner, and Jean Hardie (3) who married in 1797 (4) and it is James who is the subject of the portrait.

James was born on 29th April 1768 in Glasgow (5) and became a wealthy tobacconist, living at Thrushgrove House in the district of Garngad, an area which became a centre of social unrest in the early nineteenth century. 

In Recollections of James Turner Esq of Thrushgrove 1854 by J Smith, he is described as ‘rather under the middle size, of firm make and benevolent aspect. …an adorable portrait by Mr Macbeth gives an admirable idea of what he was when an octogenarian.’ (6) James Macbeth was born in Greenock and  spent some time in Glasgow and Edinburgh as a portrait painter. He became a full member of The Royal Scottish Academy in 1880. (7)

James was the son of William Turner, a shoemaker in Glasgow. (8) He appears to have been a very obstinate boy as he refused to go to school. His father resolved to punish him by making him a tobacco boy. James served with several tobacconists before entering the employment of a Mr Hamilton as an errand boy at sixteen pence a week. Mr Hamilton  regularly read to his employees and James decided that he should be able to read and write. Although some of his education would have been from home, he benefited from his employer’s benevolence. Following  a nine years apprenticeship James continued as a Journeyman. In 1798 he set up his own business as a tobacconist and tobacco spinner with a shop at 275 High Street near the University. (9)(10)

Figure 2. Site of tobacco shops at 275 and 104 High Street Glasgow, shop at Gallowgate and Duke Street prison, Street Guide to Glasgow (probably 1920’s) owned by author

On 4 June 1797 James married local girl Jean Hardie (11) and rented their first house using part of his savings of around £100, a larger than average amount for a newly wed at the time.

The business flourished and he moved to premises at The Cross Well, farther down High Street at number 104, and he remained there till 1831 when he retired.(12)(13) The couple had a total of eleven children, only three surviving at the time of James death; George, William and James. In 1813 he was able to afford his own small estate of Thrushgrove on the edge of Glasgow at Garngad, now Royston. (14) The property ran from Castle Street to Garnock Street and the area was later intersected by Turner Street (in memory of James Turner), Villiers Street, Cobden Street and Bright Street, also named after men who shared Turner’s radical views. (15) He lived there till 1838 (Jane died in 1837) when he moved to London Street followed by St Andrew Square and East George Street, and finally to Windsor Terrace. (16)

Figure 3. Approximate site of Thrushgrove Estate, Street Guide to Glasgow (probably 1920’s) showing Turner Street centre of highlighted area

It was in the aftermath of the Napoleonic wars that James Turner came to public notice. There was great discord in the country, high unemployment, and dissatisfaction with living conditions and the lack of representation in local and national government. There was universal outcry for parliamentary reform, and public meetings became a common occurrence. In 1816 both the town council and the owners of land normally used for meetings refused permission for a meeting to demand political reform. It was during this emergency that James Turner came forward and offered the radicals the use of the fields of Thrushgrove, as it lay just outside the jurisdiction of the magistrates of Glasgow. 

 It is believed that upward of 40,000 attended the meeting on 29 October 1816, which lasted from twelve till four pm. It was the largest radical gathering ever seen in Scotland. The City Council was so afraid of trouble that the 42nd regiment was drawn up in arms within the barrack square in Gallowgate in readiness. However order prevailed throughout and physical intervention was not required.

James chaired the meeting and his speech included calls for an overhaul of The House of Commons and voting rights for citizens to elect members of Parliament and representatives of town councils.

A petition of nineteen resolutions was sent to His Royal Highness, The Prince Regent. James Turner was later charged with high treason and was imprisoned in the Bridewell Prison in Duke Street. However he was never brought to trial and was soon released. (17) The Bridewell was rebuilt as Duke Street prison around 1825 and survived till 1955, when it closed and was finally demolished in 1958. (18)

Figure 4. Thomas Sulmans 1864 Bird’s Eye View of Glasgow.      https://universityof glasgowlibrary.wordpress.com/2015/08/01

A contemporary east end poet, Sanny Roger penned the following verse amid the foment going on in the city at the time. He is better known for The Muckin’ o Geordie’s Byre. (19)

        Vile sooty rabble what d’ye mean

        By raisin’ a’ this dreadful din

        Do you no ken what horrid sin

        Ye are committing

        By haudin’ up your crafts sae thin

        For sig a meeting?

When the demand for political reform was renewed in 1830, Turner became a leading member of the Glasgow Political Union, which aimed to unite working class supporters of reform of Parliament. When the Reform Act of 1832 gave the vote only to the middle class, Turner continued to campaign for further reform and for a further extension of the franchise to include all householders. In 1833 a democratic electorate was introduced in politics and Turner was elected to the new town council as a representative of the First Ward. He remained an active member of the council until his defeat in 1847, when he became a Baillie. He continued his interest in reform and was regularly asked to chair political reform meetings, although he did not go as far as The Chartists did, in supporting universal suffrage. He remained convinced of the importance of re-establishing the links between middle class and working class reformers. (20)

James acquired many properties, mainly around High Street, Gallowgate and adjacent to the Thrushgrove Estate. Flats, shops and land were passed on to his three surviving sons on his death. In his Will, probated on 13 July 1858, he describes two shops ‘just under Blackfriars Church and on the east side of High Street’ (Blackfriars Church stood next to Glasgow University which was later demolished to make way for The City of Glasgow Union Railways College Station). 

Just to the north of Thrushgrove was land bordered by the site of Charles Tennant and the Company of St Rollox. (21) Charles Tennant discovered bleaching powder and founded a mighty industrial dynasty and the St Rollox Works soon grew to be the largest chemical plant in the world. (22) Charles Street was named in his memory and had just been formed when Turner made his Will. Some 1433 square yards of land between St Rollox and Thrushgrove is part of Turner’s bequest to his sons. (23)

On 20 May 1858 James died at the ripe old age of 90 at his son’s house in Windsor Terrace, Glasgow (24) and was laid to rest in the Necropolis, adjacent to Glasgow Cathedral. The Glasgow Herald reported in his obituary that ‘in private life he was highly esteemed by all…in personal matters he was uniformly kind and conciliatory.’ (25)

DS

References

  1. Births 1837 (644/002 0050 0006 Gorbals ), https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/
  2. Marriages 1834 (644/001 0410 0514 Glasgow) https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/
  3. Births 1805 (644/0010200 0249 Glasgow) https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/
  4. Marriages 1797 (644/001 0270 0233 Glasgow) https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/
  5. Births 1768 (644/001 0150 0057 Glasgow) https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/
  6. Smith J, Recollections of James Turner Esq of Thrushgrove 1854, printed at The Examiner office, Glasgow 1854. Collection University of Guelph, Toronto.
  7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Macbeth
  8. Deaths 1858 (644/07 0340) https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/
  9. Smith J, Recollections of James Turner Esq of Thrushgrove 1854, printed at The Examiner office, Glasgow 1854. Collection University of Guelph, Toronto.
  10. (10) No 275 High Street, Post office Directories 1819
  11. (11) Marriages 1797 (644/001 0270 0233 Glasgow) https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/
  12. (12) Smith J, Recollections of James Turner Esq of Thrushgrove 1854, printed at The Examiner office, Glasgow 1854. Collection University of Guelph, Toronto.
  13. (13) 104 High Street, Post Office Directories 1825
  14. (14) Smith J, Recollections of James Turner Esq of Thrushgrove 1854, printed at The Examiner office, Glasgow 1854. Collection University of Guelph, Toronto.
  15. (15)http://roystonroadproject.org/archive/history/garngad_royston.htm
  16. (16) Smith J, Recollections of James Turner Esq of Thrushgrove 1854, printed at The Examiner office, Glasgow 1854. Collection University of Guelph, Toronto.
  17. (17) Smith J, Recollections of James Turner Esq of Thrushgrove 1854, printed at The Examiner office, Glasgow 1854. Collection University of Guelph, Toronto.
  18. (18)https://universityofglasgowlibrary.wordpress.com/town-plan-of-glasgow-duke-street-prison/
  19. (19)http://roystonroadproject.org/archive/history/garngad_royston.htm 
  20. (20) Smith J, Recollections of James Turner Esq of Thrushgrove 1854, printed at The Examiner office, Glasgow 1854. Collection University of Guelph, Toronto.
  21. (21) Wills and Testaments 1858, Turner, James (SC36/51/38, Glasgow Sheriff Court Wills)
  22. (22)https://gracesguide.co.uk/Charles_Tennant_(1768-1838) 
  23. (23)Wills and Testaments 1858, Turner, James (SC36/51/38, Glasgow Sheriff Court Wills)
  24. (24) Deaths 1858 Turner James (644/7 340 https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/
  25. (25) Glasgow Herald, obituaries twenty second of May 1858