James Reid of Auchterarder (1823-1894)

James Reid was a locomotive engineer and Art collector.

James Reid was born in Kilmaurs, a small Ayrshire town to the north of Kilmarnock on 8 September 1823. (1) He was the second son of William Reid described as a carter, or maybe a contractor (2) and his mother was Mary née Millar.  Scotland had for years offered primary school education for all and there is no evidence that he had proceeded any further with schooling although there were long established Grammar Schools in Irvine (3) and in Ayr. (4)

His first job was as a blacksmith’s assistant. He moved to the firm of Liddell and company in Airdrie, a firm of millwrights and metal workers and served an apprenticeship there.  (5)   Such firms relied on blacksmiths and it would have been progress from his previous employment. He next moved nearer to home to  Greenock where he initially joined Scott’s of Greenock  a shipbuilding firm principally at that time, producing engines for small vessels. (6 )  Staying in Greenock he joined another shipbuilding firm, Cairds and Company of Greenock which built seagoing, steam propelled ships. (7) Working in these firms would have exposed him to the various uses to which engines could be put and focussed his attention on their production.  At Cairds he rose to the position of chief draughtsman.                                                                    

He married Margaret Scott in Greenock in December 1850. (8 )  She was the daughter of a cabinetmaker. (9) A son William Scott Reid was born in February 1852 but died in April. He is buried in the churchyard in Greenock.

At this time, interest was developing in engines both stationary and for railway locomotives and the West of Scotland was well placed for their manufacture because of the local availability of iron and coal. He must have seen this as the coming thing so he moved to Springburn, in Glasgow, to Neilson and company at the Hydepark Works. At this time, he was living at St Vincent Street, Glasgow. (10)  Two children were born: Elizabeth (11) and James (12). He rose to become general manager of the firm until in 1858 he was replaced by Henry Dubs, a German engineer then working for Sharp Stewart and a company in Manchester which had extensive experience in the manufacture of railway engines. Dubs became a partner in the firm. (13)

James Reid then made an important decision and moved to Manchester to Sharp and Stewart for further experience. (14) In Manchester three more children were born: Hugh (15 ) John (16 )  and Andrew. (17) The family lived in Charlton upon Medlock. (18 )

In 1863 James moved back to Glasgow to the Hydepark Works now as a director of the firm which became Neilson and Reid. (19) He can be found in Springburn living at Wellfield House certainly until 1874. (20 ) Another three sons were born: Edward (21),Walter (22) and William(23). William died  aged 3 years.

About 1875 the family moved to 10 Woodside Terrace in the Park District of Glasgow, living in some style with four live-in servants. (24 ) (25)

   His wife, Elisabeth Ann died in August 1881 in Perthshire. (26)

James and family suffered another tragic bereavement in November 1882 (27) on the death of his oldest son James. The Glasgow Herald and other papers gave an account of the accident. (28 ) (29 ) (30 )  He had been shooting partridge on the Glenquaich estate with Mr Wilkes, the shooting tenant and his son. One of the party stumbled and his gun discharged all of its shot into James Reid’s thigh. All efforts were made to stop the bleeding and he was taken to the Royal Hotel, Crieff. The next day Professor Robertson of Glasgow performed a hind quarter amputation but James died that night from weakness and haemorrhage .
In 1886 James married Charlotte Geddes. ( 31) There is evidence that the family had visited Perthshire on occasions and in 1887 he bought Auchterarder house  (32 ) which was extensively remodelled for him by the architect Sir John James Burnett.

In 1894 James died of a heart attack on the golf course at St Andrews .  (33)  He is buried in the Necropolis in Glasgow.(34)

To his four sons he bequeathed not only material goods but also a legacy of public service, philanthropy and sound business sense.  His son Hugh became Managing Director and his brothers were all directors of Reid and Sons.

Public Life and Membership of Societies

James was involved in civic affairs as a Town Councillor and a JP being elected in 1877. (35)  In 1880 he took a prominent  part in the decision about the building of the new City Chambers. The Bailie (36 ) records his views on the proposal to limit the finance available which restrictions, he thought, showed Glasgow in a poor light compared to the proposals for other cities such as Manchester. In 1893, he became the Second Citizen of Glasgow when he became Lord Dean of Guild, Head of the Merchants House. (37 ) He died in office.

James Reid was a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers founded in 1857 and now the IMechE. He was President of the Scottish Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders 1882-84. (38.)

Because he had lived and worked in Springburn, he was Chairman of the Springburn School Board. He was a major donor to Springburn and gave land to the citizens for Springburn Park and bandstand. This is commemorated by a statue in the park, raised by public subscription in 1903. (39)

He was also a Director of the Tramways Company.

He was an art collector of note (40) favouring the Barbizon and Hague schools. He chaired the Royal Glasgow Institution of Fine Arts.

When he died his sons gifted ten important paintings from his collection to the City of Glasgow, now in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. These are among the best known and much valued paintings in the collection. (41)

Artist	Painting
J M Turner	I Pifferari
John Constable	Hampstead Heath
Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema	A Lover of Art
Sir William Quiller Orchardson	The Farmer’s Daughter
John Lanelli	Downward Rays
Patrick Naismith	Windsor Castle
Jean B C Corot	Pastorale
Constant Troyon	Landscape and Cattle
Josef Israels	The Frugal meal
Sir George Reid	James Reid of Auchterarder

In March 1914 an auction of his remaining 114 pictures was held at J and R Edminston. The catalogue includes paintings by Horatio McCulloch, William McTaggart, John Faed, Sam Bough and many others showing his interest in and support for the Scottish painters.

References

1. OPR Births and Baptisms 21.09.1823
2. National Records of Scotland Statutory Deaths 1894
3. Irvine Academy website
4. Ayr Academy website
5. Grace’s Guide to British Industrial history
6. Wikipedia  Scotts of Greenock website
7. Wikipedia Cairds of Greenock website
8. OPR Marriages 20.12.1850
9. National Records of Scotland Statutory Deaths 1881
10. Post Office Directories Glasgow 1852
11. National Records of Scotland Statutory Births 1857
12. National Records of Scotland Statutory Births 1858
13. Henry Dubs Wikipaedia
14. Grace’s Guide to British Industrial history
15. National Records of England Statutory Births 1860
16. National Records of England Statutory Births 1861
17. National Records of England Statutory Births 1862
18. National Records of England Census 1861
19. Grace’s Guide to British Industrial history
20. National Records of Scotland  Census 1871
21. National Records of Scotland Statutory Births 1862
22. National Records of Scotland Statutory Births 1865
23. Ancestry .co.uk 1871
24. Post Office Directories Glasgow 1871
25. National Records of Scotland  Census 1881
26. National Records of Scotland Statutory Deaths 1881
27. National Records of Scotland Statutory Deaths 1881
28. The Glasgow Herald  21 November 1881
29. The Glasgow Herald 22 November 1881
30. Leamington Spa Gazette 22 November 1881
31. National Records of Scotland Statutory Marriages 1886
32. Auchterarder House Wikipaedia
33. National Records of Scotland Statutory Deaths 1894
34. Find a grave website
35. Obituary in Grace’s Guide to British Industrial history
36. The Bailie no 407 August 1880. The Man you Know
37. Grace’s Guide to British Industrial history
38. Institution of Mechanical Engineers website
39. Springburn Park website
40. Frances Fowles. Impressionism in Scotland. National Galleries of Scotland in Association with Culture and Sport Glasgow. Edinburgh, 2008
41. Edmiston:  A catalogue of a valuable collection of pictures belonging to the late James Reid esq.10 Woodside Terrace and his representatives. Thursday 26 March 1914
42. National Railway Museum records
43. James W Lowe. British Steam Locomotive Builders 2014.  Kindle Edition, Amazon 2014

Appendix 1

Railway Locomotive Manufacturers in Glasgow.  

The firm of Neilson and Mitchell was established in 1836 to manufacture marine and stationary engines at Hyde Park Works in Glasgow. It was not until 1855 that they began to produce railway engines. The firm of Sharp and Roberts had been  originally established in Manchester in  1828 to manufacture stationery engines for cotton mills and to make machine tools. They built their first railway engine in 1833. In 1843 the firm became Sharp, Stewart and Company and had established an excellent reputation at home and abroad.

By 1861 Neilson and company had established an export business in locomotives exporting to Europe and India. Henry Dubs left the company and formed his own company at the Glasgow Locomotive works at Polmadie in 1863.

Walter Neilson branched out on his own to establish  the Clyde Locomotive company in 1884. In 1887 Sharp Stewart and Company, looking to expand their business moved to Glasgow and purchased the Clyde  Locomotive Company.

There were at that time three competing locomotive works in Glasgow: Neilson Reid and Company, Sharp and  Stewart  Company and The Glasgow Locomotive company. In 1903, they amalgamated and became

The North British Locomotive Company.

Information received from two main sources:

The records of the North  British Locomotive Company and constituent companies, Locomotive builders, Glasgow Scotland held in the National Railway Museum (42)

James W Lowe, British Steam Locomotive Builders (43)
Both these sources can be consulted for further information.