Champion ploughman Maurice Smith (1817 – 1853) and ploughing matches in the north east of Scotland

The origin of ploughing

About 10,000 years ago some human populations evolved from being nomadic hunter-gatherers to becoming settled farmers, growing crops and keeping domesticated animals.  An essential element in this process was the development of methods to prepare the soil for the reception and growth of crop seeds.  Soil which has never been cultivated is often compacted and drains poorly.  Essential nutrients for plant growth can be depleted in the surface layers.  Thus, breaking up the soil to create a loose structure and returning deeper minerals to the surface layers are desirable to aerate the soil, improve its drainage and thus ready the ground for planting.  Hand tools were initially used for this process, but domestication of horses and cattle resulted in the development of the plough, pulled by traction animals, for soil preparation, which greatly increased the efficiency of the process.  The creation of the plough was fundamental to the evolution of modern agriculture.

The earliest ploughs were made of wood.  They broke up the surface layer of the soil but did not penetrate to a significant depth.  Also, they disturbed the soil rather than inverted it as a modern plough does.  They were called, not surprisingly, scratch ploughs.  In Britain during the 17^th century a typical wooden plough was pulled by four or more oxen and steered by a ploughman, with an ox-driver urging the animals on with a goad, and the entourage being followed by a group of women and children breaking up the bigger clods with sticks.  The addition of an iron point to the front of a wooden plough increased its durability and ease of penetration of the soil.   From the early 18^th century and especially during the industrial revolution, plough design entered a development phase from which emerged a succession of models, increasingly efficient in use and suited to a variety of ground preparation tasks.

The Rotherham Swing Plough

One of the most significant advances in ploughing in Great Britain was the so-called “Rotherham swing plough” invented and patented by Joseph Foljambe in 1730.  It could be operated by a ploughman alone. It was pulled by two horses and it was a commercial success.  This plough had a wooden beam from which the cutting parts were suspended and had two wooden handles at the rear by which the ploughman could steer the implement.  The plough blade had an iron share for penetrating the soil at the front and an iron-covered mould board for inverting the sod.  The ploughshare was preceded by a coulter, a knife for slicing through the sod, to aid the work of the mould-board.  This fundamental design survived for the whole of the subsequent period when ploughing was accomplished by the horse- or ox-drawn plough.

James Small and the Scotch Plough

James Small was a Berwickshire man who had been apprenticed as a carpenter.  In 1758 he took employment in Doncaster and there became familiar with the Rotherham swing plough.  When he returned to Berwickshire in 1764, he was set up in business by a Mr. Renton to improve plough design.  Small experimented with the design of the mould board.  He produced a cast iron structure which was more efficient in turning the soil and required less motive power to pull it through the ground.  These iron mouldboards were cast at the Carron Iron Works near Falkirk.  Small’s plough, which would be known as the “Scotch plough”, won a competition between various plough designs at Dalkeith in 1785 and became very successful.

The earliest ploughing matches

Ploughing improvements were recognised as being essential for increased farm productivity.  There was a general lack of fodder for animals in winter and occasional bad harvests, such as that of 1782, occurred, which brought near-famine to parts of the country.  At first farm servants had difficulty adapting to the use of both the Scotch plough and a pair of horses.   It was about this time that the ploughing match made its appearance, the first such competitions in Scotland being held at Alloa and at Inverkeithing in 1784.  Although such matches were used as a test of the skill of the ploughman, many of the early competitions were searching for the most economical plough designs and configurations.  The following quotation from the Reading Mercury of 18^th April 1785 illustrates this point.  “Last Thursday Mr Henry Vagg of Norton Down with the Norfolk plough and two horses without a driver ploughed two acres statute measure in 5 hrs 38 min.  And Mr Billingley the same quantity of land in the same field with his double-furrow plough and three horses in 3 hours 50 minutes.  The soil in the field was a heavy stone brash fit for wheat or pease.  The depth of ploughing was 5in and the whole was executed in a compleat and husbandlike manner, in presence and to the satisfaction and astonishment of many respectable farmers who were present.  Monday last the ploughing match between Mr Thomas Robins of Bowldown near Tetbury and Mr Billingsley was decided in favour of the latter before a large number of gentlemen and farmers who attended on the occasion.  The land was a stone brash, rather heavy than light and had a wheat crop on it last year.  Mr Billingsley’s double-furrow plough did an acre and a half in 3 hours the greater part of the time with three horses.  Mr Robins used his own plough with two horses without a driver and ploughed something more than ¾ acre in the same time and then declined any further contest.  After the matter was decided Mr Billingsley’s plough ploughed several furrows in a very compleat manner without being held at all by the ploughman who only drove the horses.  These instances must evince that would farmers in general use such ploughs as Mr Billingsley’s. Mr Robins’ and Mr Vagg’s half the expense and labour they at present so inconsiderately throw away by using the clumsy ill-constructed ploughs commonly made in this country might be spared.”

Further innovations were introduced in other ploughing matches at the end of the 18^th century.  Mr Lewen Tugwell used a one-man, one-horse plough at Bowldown in 1785 which managed to plough half an acre in 2 ½ hours.  At a ploughing match held near Plymouth in 1793, a double plough with two small wheels and pulled by six oxen was trialled and it appeared to work well.  This diversity of ploughing configurations continued at other ploughing matches.  At the Bath Agricultural Society ploughing match near Dorchester in 1794, eight ploughs started the competition.  Of these, five were “common one-wheeled ploughs, some with drivers, some without.  Also present was a two-furrow plough drawn by oxen, which gave up early, another double plough and a single plough, both of which also retired.  The same year a ploughing match of the Cornwall Agricultural Society Liskeard was reported in which eleven ploughs competed for the premium (usually a money prize).  The winning plough was a “double-share or skim plough” “simple in construction and of little additional expense beyond the common plough”.  The winner gained 3gns and his driver 5s.

Improving the skills of ploughmen

Testing the skill of the ploughman was the aim in other ploughing competitions in the 1780s.  The second annual Alloa ploughing match in 1785 was described in the Caledonian Mercury as follows.  “We hear from Alloa that the Farmer Club of Clackmannanshire having intimated their annual Ploughing Match for Friday 21^st curt to be performed on a field in the neighbourhood of Alloa, 32 ploughs started that day having taken their stations on the field by lot.  After they had performed their tasks they left the field when the judges determined the lots ploughed by Robert McGowan ploughman to John Francis Erskine of Mar Esq  - Allan Gilbert ploughman to Mr Stein of Kennetpans to be the best work and the premiums adjudged to Robert McGowan as victor was a silver medal having the plough engraved on the one side  and on the other an inscription expressive of the donation from the Farmer Club to the merit of the victor.”  The criteria used by the judges were not mentioned but, after the public match had been concluded, two further ploughs held a private competition to see who could plough the straightest line.  At a match at Hanwell, Middlesex in 1786 prizes were given to ploughmen who ploughed in the straightest manner.  Straight ploughing ensured even coverage of the ground, with no area left undisturbed.

Other ploughing matches also emphasised ploughman skill in the decision-making process, including the Jedburgh Farming Society, the Inverkeithing Farmer Club and the Clackmannanshire Farmer Club competitions in 1786.  The report on the last-mentioned match said, “The work was generally well-executed, and the skill of the ploughmen met with great applause.”

Farmers were not simply testing the capabilities of their ploughmen against each other for boasting purposes.  Ploughing matches were being seen as a device to encourage farm servants to improve their skills in ground preparation and thus add more value to the ploughing operations on farms.  The Caledonian Mercury reporting on a match at Hillend on the estate of Sir Thomas Dundas said, “The farmers were happy in seeing their ploughmen so attentive to their work and are determined to encourage them in it.”  A great ploughing match was held at Pennycuick House in 1794 with 33 ploughmen competing for premiums given by the landowner, Sir John Clerk.  Proprietors of land also saw a shared interest with tenant farmers in improving the cultivation of their land, thus improving its value and ensuring a good rental flow.  The Scots Magazine reported following this match that, “It is much to be wished that other parts of Scotland would oftener adopt these ploughing matches which certainly do much good by creating an emulation among that class of people.”

The ploughing match as a social occasion

The Hanwell match, mentioned above, also had an air of fun about it with contestants sporting cockades in their hats and the horses being decorated with ribbands.  “Everything wore the aspect of innocent rural festivity.”  The landowners, farmers and ploughmen all began to derive their own preferred forms of pleasure from this day out.   In 1792, following the Inverkeithing Farmer Club ploughing match, “The Club dined after the match and concluded with a ball in Wilson’s, Vintner.” The ploughing match progressively became established as an important event in the rural calendar.  It was generally held in the winter months as opposed to that other significant farming event, the agricultural show, which was usually held in the summer.

Iron ploughs and wooden ploughs

Although iron ploughs (ie ploughs with iron ploughshares) were invented in the 18^th century, wooden ploughs continued to be used by some contestants at ploughing matches for many decades.  For example, at the Fettercairn Farmers’ Club, Kincardineshire, annual ploughing match in 1840, 82 ploughs started, of which 57 were wooden and 24 iron (the construction of the missing plough is not known).  Similarly, at Keith-hall, Aberdeenshire, in 1849 15 of 46 ploughs were still wooden and at the Cromar ploughing match in 1851 there was a separate competition section for wooden ploughs.

Horses and oxen as draught animals

The 18^th century swing plough was designed to be used by two horses, but oxen continued to be employed as draught animals throughout the 19^th century.  In Aberdeenshire the “twal owsen ploo” (twelve oxen plough) was widely used in the last quarter of the 18^th century.  Possibly the first ploughing match held in Aberdeenshire was staged at the Garioch farm of Westhall in 1809, when all 11 ploughs were drawn by oxen.  At the ploughing match at Farrochie, Stonehaven in 1811, of 43 ploughs entered, 35 were drawn by two horses, six by a pair of oxen and one by a horse yoked to an ox.  “With a little practice they (oxen) may be made to go without a driver and are nearly as fast as horses”.  They were certainly capable of good ploughing and even won ploughing matches, for example at Little Clinterty in 1820, Tullynessle and Forbes in 1846 and Leochel-Cushnie in 1848 (all Aberdeenshire) and at Fettercairn (Kincardineshire) in 1843.  Nor were oxen teams always slower than horse-drawn ploughs.  At the Glenbervie ploughing match in 1849, the first ploughman to complete the task was William Marr with a “superior pair of oxen”.  By the time of the Garioch ploughing match in 1816, 28 of 29 ploughs were then drawn by two horses and in the remaining case where oxen were still deployed, their number had been reduced from 12 to two.  By 1818 in the same match, only horses were present.

The two-horse, one-furrow plough becomes standard

Although the single furrow plough became standard the mid-19^th century, various attempts were made to introduce two-furrow ploughs pulled by three horses, which could complete twice the work of a single-furrow implement.  Such a trial was run by the Garioch Farmers Club in 1868 but although the machine performed well it was never generally adopted.  The main reason for rejection of the two-furrow plough seems to have been the conservatism of the ploughmen.  Ploughmen held that they were engaged to work a pair of horses and resisted the introduction of three-horse teams to the point where the two-furrow plough was abandoned.

     

The farmer – farm servant relationship

The relationship between the farmer and his farm servants, while cordial but subservient in some instances, was often one of mutual suspicion and distrust.  Farmers generally considered the servants as a class to exhibit bad habits, such as drinking, swearing, failing to husband their limited financial resources, lacking ambition, not raising their children competently, living in squalid conditions, being untrustworthy and immoral and omitting to keep up religious observances.  In the face of a suspicious and disdainful master, the farm servant, who was poorly paid and worked long hours, often in bleak weather, would typically avoid doing more than the necessary level of work and never do more than required by the terms of his engagement.  He would be disloyal and move farms frequently, often every six months and some had no qualms about leaving unpaid debts behind.

This situation of mutual distrust can be summed up with two traditional references.  Farmers often held to the old saying, “He that by the plough would thrive, himself must either hold or drive”.  This saying comes from a time when a ploughman was normally accompanied by a driver (possibly early 18^th century) and implies that servants are not to be trusted to work hard. 

The attitude of the farm servants is summed up in the words of the Scottish traditional song, “The Barnyards o’Delgaty”, a reference to ploughing work on an actual farm located near Turriff, Aberdeenshire.  A young ploughman is engaged by a dishonest farmer at Turriff feeing market, being promised a good pair of working horses, which proved to be old or badly cared for.  The ploughman’s thoughts, perhaps in consequence, were not on his job but on his extra-curricular activities of drinking, fighting and making sexual conquests.  He could not wait to change his place of work.

As I cam' in by Turra market,

Turra market for to fee.

I fell in wi' a farmer chiel,

The Barnyards o' Delgaty.

He promised me the ae best pair,

I ever set my e'en upon;

When I gaed tae the Barnyards,

There was naething there but skin and bone.

The auld black horse sat on his rump,

The auld white mare lay on her wime;

For a' that I could 'Hup' and crack,

They wouldna rise at yoking time.

When I gaed to the kirk on Sunday,

Mony's the bonnie lass I see,

Sitting by her faither's side

And winking ower the pews at me.

I can drink and no' be drunk

And I can fecht and no' be slain

I can lie wi' anither man's lass

And aye be welcome to my ain.

My cannle noo it is brunt oot

The snotter's fairly on the wane;

Sae fare ye weel, ye Barnyards,

Yell never catch me here again.

Aberdeenshire farms get bigger

From about 1820 in Aberdeenshire and surrounding counties, the larger landowners progressively squeezed out the smaller cottar and crofter tenants and amalgamated their landholdings with others, thus creating fewer but bigger farming units.  These were then let to the most skilful and enterprising farmers, who often had access to capital.  They produced more and better crops than the previous army of small tenants, which resulted in higher rents.  Farmers built new houses for themselves and their families but became increasingly reluctant to take servants into the farm kitchen for their living accommodation.  Some married servants and their families lived in farm cottages but, because of the expense of construction, there were never enough of this kind of dwelling.  Unmarried farm servants sometimes lodged with married farm servants, but demand exceeded supply.  This progressive evolution of rural life led to the increasing use of bothies for the accommodation of single farm servants.

The bothy

Bothies were simple buildings with a stove for heating water, a table and a few chairs and storage bins for the meal allowance of each servant resident.  The sleeping accommodation might be in the same building or separate from it, for example over the stables.  Occasionally the bothy would be cleaned by female servants during the working day, but more typically the male servants were responsible for the upkeep of the bothy.  It was often in an unkempt state.  A ploughman returning to the bothy cold, wet and hungry after a day’s labour might then have to light his own fire, prepare his own meal (inevitably brose) and attempt to dry his own clothes.  The population of the bothy was essentially unsupervised and unregulated during non-working hours.  Most of the residents were young, in their teens and early 20s, with some boys as young as 12 being accommodated.  Boastful talk of sexual conquests, suspicion of and alienation from the farmer in his big house, singing of obscene songs, carelessness with money, drinking, a drift from organised religion and common morality and a failure to pursue reading and self-education were claimed to be typical characteristics of the bothy culture.

Searches of the British Newspaper Archive between 1700 and 1800 for references to “bothy” or “bothie” yield very few results.  These rare instances referred to the likes of hut-type accommodation on the coast for salmon fishermen, but never described a system of accommodation for unmarried male farm workers.  References to bothies as farm accommodation appeared more frequently from about 1820 and then boomed in the 1840s.   Another correlated change, after the removal of cottars and crofters from the land, was the subsequent decrease in average age of the labouring population.

The feeing market

Feeing markets existed in Aberdeenshire throughout the 19^th century but there was a progressive increase in their frequency between 1820 and 1840.  Farm servants of all kinds and both sexes would attend if they were looking for a new appointment and farmers would be present if they had a shortage of labour.  Appointments were typically for six months at a time.  So many young people gathering together led to feeing market days becoming a focus for bad behaviour, drinking, fighting and the chance to make sexual conquests. A particular trouble spot was the feeing market held in Aberdeen, where town lads would gather to bait the teuchters (offensive term for country servants) coming in from the rural areas to seek new positions.  At the end of May 1829 there was a running fight from the feeing market in Mealmarket Lane, all the way up King Street to Old Aberdeen, where a lad called Charles Bean, who was on his way home to Belhelvie, was hit on the head and later died of his injuries.  The same year there was another death associated with a feeing market, this time at St James-green, Roxboroughshire, the venue being attended by numerous gypsies.  Two young men and their girlfriends were returning home from the market when they were set upon by four of the “Gipsy tribe”, resulting in the death of one of the lads.

A debate on the causes of bad servant behaviour

A heated debate ensued about the effects of feeing markets and bothy accommodation.  It was an easy step for the law-abiding middle classes to conclude that the bad behaviour of unmarried farm servants was caused by these two elements of the agricultural economy.  The county police gave similar opinions.  However, it is not clear that this was inevitably the case.  A farmer, Mr AD Buchan, wrote to the editor of the Aberdeen Journal in 1848.  He had farmed in Aberdeenshire for 28 years and his men-servants had been living in the bothy for the last 20 years.  Female servants were sent in to clean up in the bothy when the men were out, and he had not known of any immoral act during all that period.  Further, he pointed out that immorality also occurs on farms lacking bothy accommodation.  Few bothies existed between the river Spey and John O’Groats, he said, but farm servant morals were much the same there too.  He blamed feeing markets and spirit houses for the decline in morals.  At feeing markets hundreds of male and female servants left the market to travel many miles together, probably after drinking and this gave opportunities for licentiousness.  Employers came in for a share of blame from other correspondents for the condition of farm servants, since many of the farmers exercised no supervision of the bothy.  They gave no encouragement for servants to use their leisure time productively, rather than spending their evenings in lewd and ribald jesting “where every social and sacred feeling is held in derision”.  In contrast, the practice of William McCombie of Tillyfour, the famous cattle breeder, towards his servants was particularly enlightened.  He gave trust to his employees, assured them of the continuation of their jobs and consulted them about what kind of accommodation they preferred on the farm.  A majority actually nominated the bothy as their preferred accommodation.  (see “William McCombie (1805 – 1880), “creator of a peculiarly excellent sort of bullocks”” on this blogsite).  It seems clear that while the bothy was often associated with unpleasant behaviour and attitudes, this was not necessarily the case, especially where the farmer took an interest in the welfare of his unmarried employees.

Premiums to change servant behaviour

  

Landowners and farmers sought to change the behaviour of the servant class by offering premiums, typically money, to servants and their families who exhibited desired behaviour, both at work and at home.  Premiums consisted of a sum of money, typically of 1gn – 3gn (In 1800 1gn was worth about £115 in 2018 money.  By 1850 the value had risen to about £126). Occasionally the prize was not monetary.  At Wrexham in 1797 the first prize in a ploughing competition was a pair of buckskin breeches.  By the following year the buckskin breeches had been supplemented with 2gns. 

The ploughing match was one such competition where premiums were awarded, but there were others.  Although the relationship between farmers and farm servants deteriorated further in the mid-19^th century with the increasing use of feeing markets and bothy accommodation (see above), these relationship problems had a much earlier genesis.  In 1797 the South Devon Agricultural Society advertised a forthcoming meeting at Totnes which would stage a ploughing match for premiums.  The Society also made the following request.  “Certificates of hoeing turnips, long servitude and rearing families are to be sent to Secretary a week prior to the meeting.”  In South Devon, there were clearly other prizes to which compliant farm servants could aspire. 

The Sussex Agricultural Society in 1799, in addition to advertising a ploughing match, also offered “premiums to the industrious poor”.  “Fifteen guineas to five labourers who shall have brought up to the age of 2 years the greatest number of children in habits of industry with the least proportionate relief from the parish, 5gn to the most deserving, etc.  Ten gns to be given to four wives or widows of labourers who shall have done the greatest number of days work in husbandry between 2^nd day Oct 1798 and 2^nd day Oct 1799, most industrious to get 4gns.  Five gns to be given to two household men servants under the age of 25 who shall have received wages during the greatest number of years (not less than five) in the same service and shall produce certificates from their masters of their continued good behaviour.  Better to get 3gns.  Five gns to be given to two household men servants employed in husbandry above the age of 25 years who shall have lived the greatest number of years (not less than 7) in the same service and shall produce certificates from their masters of their continued good behaviour.  Better to get 3gns.  Ten gns to be given to three labourers who shall with the assistance of their wives and children under 10 years of age in working by task during the present harvest earn the most money in proportion to the prices at which they shall have taken their work.  Certificates to be signed by employers.  Five gns to be given to two women servants in every kind of service under the age of 25 years who shall have received wages during the greatest number of years in the same service and shall produce certificates from their masters or their mistresses of their continued good behaviour.  Ten gns to be given to four labourers in husbandry who shall have lived the greatest number of years (not less than 7) in the same service and who shall produce satisfactory certificates from their employers of their continued good behaviour.”

The situation was similar in the north-east of Scotland.  The ploughing match at Westhall, Inverurie in 1809, in addition to offering premiums for ploughing, also offered premiums for long service and “to the person who has brought up the largest family and given them a decent education on the smallest means, he or she being a person of good character”. In 1845 the Fettercairn Farmers’ Club held a competition for the best-kept cottage, with premiums offered by Sir John Stuart Forbes and Capt McInroy.  Four servant families received an award.  The Aberdeen Journal, in reporting on the competition offered the following opinion on its value.  “There can be no question that habits of industry, feelings of moral purity and a laudible spirit of well-directed ambition are much more likely to be fostered when regard is had to outward comfort and propriety than when slovenliness and filth deaden and debase the feelings and affections.”   

The general intent behind these awards was crystal-clear.  The landowners and farmers wanted hard-working, well-behaved, long-serving farm servants, with industrious wives, who would produce large numbers of employable children, available to provide casual labour as required by the operations of the farm year, and families which took care of their farm accommodation and did not depend on the parish for poor-relief.

In Scotland, the Highland and Agricultural Society sought to use premiums to encourage agricultural improvement, in a similar way to English societies.   The first ploughing match at which this Scottish agricultural society offered premiums was held in 1801 on the Hoddam estate, Dumfriesshire.  By 1806 premiums to be competed for at ploughing matches were being offered to a number of different districts around Scotland.  In 1820 the Aberdeenshire Agricultural Association Aberdeen District ploughing match took place at Little Clinterty.  Thirty-eight ploughs were entered, six of which (including the winner) were drawn by oxen. The conveners and stewards of the other seven districts of the County had been given the sum of 5gn each to be awarded either at a ploughing match or to the ploughmen of the best-ploughed farms.  In most cases winners were decided at ploughing matches.  In 1850 the Highland and Agricultural Society distributed about 60 medals to winners of district ploughing competitions.  By mid-century the Society was also awarding medals to those responsible for innovations in plough design.

The rise of the ploughing match

If reports of ploughing matches in the British Newspaper Archive at February 2019 are taken as an approximate measure of the growth of this phenomenon, there was a steady rise from the 1780s to the 1820s but then an explosive increase in numbers in the 1830s and 1840s.  Nationally, the frequency of ploughing match reports peaked in the 1860s and then subsequently declined.

By about 1820 the ploughing match had taken on an almost routine, formulaic structure which typically contained the following elements.

Sponsorship and venue

Ploughing matches were mostly promoted by Farmers’ Clubs, supported by the major local landowners, who were expected to provide money for premiums and to make courtesy appearances at the match and at its associated events, though not infrequently they would send their factors as substitutes.  The match itself would be organised by the farmers, with one of their number providing a field, or occasionally several fields, as a venue.  The host farmer benefitted in getting help with his own ploughing but, in return he provided a dinner for the bigwigs after the event and he supplied victuals during the day to feed the ploughmen and the spectators.  It could be difficult for small farmers to participate by providing a venue, because they usually lacked a sufficiently large field to accommodate the match.  Another consideration was the need to provide a ploughing area which was reasonably uniform in character.  Occasionally, if the match spread over several fields, the participants in each field would be treated as being in separate competitions.  Fields employed would often be those which had lain fallow or were stubble fields from the last harvest.

Qualification for entry

Competitions were usually limited by geographical area, sometimes to servants of the tenants on an estate, or in a parish, or in a group of contiguous parishes.  Sometimes the restrictions were more complex.  For example, in 1828 the Banffshire Farmer Club held a ploughing match open to servants of Club members whether resident in the County or not and to all County ploughmen, except those in the Cullen and Boyne districts “where ploughing matches have already been held”.  This last restriction seems to have been an attempt to spread the prizes as widely as possible and such engineered “fairness” was also apparent in other competitions, where previous winners were excluded from future competitions.

Match premiums

The value of the match premium varied between competitions but first prizes of 2gns or 3gns were quite common.  Another important feature was the fraction of entrants who received a premium.  Remarkably this proportion was usually between 1/3 and ½ of all entrants, though the premium value declined down the order of merit.  In many instances, all entrants received a small money prize.  For example, at Kinellar in 1808 there were major monetary prizes for the first three ploughmen, but all the others received half a crown (30d, equivalent to about £11 in 2018 money), “a plentiful dinner and much praise from the judges”.   In a ploughing match at Brechin Castle in 1823 all entrants received 5s and, in addition, the first three ploughmen in the order of merit received a further 5s.  Premiums could take a non-monetary form.  At the Drumoak Agricultural Association ploughing match in 1842, the minister of the parish presented the committee with three “elegantly-bound” bibles as prizes to farm servants for general good conduct and length of service.  Only seven out of 25 ploughmen made application!  Perhaps they would rather have had a money prize?  Occasionally, ploughing matches were organised on a sweepstake basis, with the premiums being directly apportioned from the entrance fees received.

Benefits to farmers and landowners

Taken together, the significant number of ploughmen entering a competition from the same farm, the participation of many farms in the designated area covered by a competition, the frequency of matches and the prize structure rewarding many entrants, all conspired to spread a good ploughing culture widely amongst working ploughmen.  Every participating ploughman was at least well-supplied with food and whisky (see below) during the day, he had a high chance of winning significant money prizes and may, in any case, have routinely received a small monetary reward.  He had a day away from the home farm, got to meet his friends from other farms and, in most cases got to go to a dance (see below) with the chance to establish liaisons with village girls.  It is not surprising that farmers and landowners should have been almost universally in favour of ploughing matches and readily supplied time and money, year after year, to the competitions.  They reaped their rewards in terms of the better preparation of their land and the consequent improvement of crop yields.

Size of ploughing matches

There was a practical limitation to the area from which ploughmen could be drawn for a competition.  The horses or oxen had to walk from their place of abode to the ploughing venue, taking the plough with them, and then walking back again at the end of the competition.  This was tiring for the animals and the ploughmen and was potentially disruptive of ploughing operations on the home farm.  At a ploughing match held in Clackmannanshire in 1798, 46 ploughmen from 18 different farms (about 2.6 ploughmen per farm) took part and some competitors came from four or five miles distant.  About five miles seems to have been the practical limit that a ploughing team could walk to a match.  Of 78 observations on plough numbers entering competitions collected during this study, 57 (73%) fell within the limits of 20 to 49 and the average number of ploughs was 34.  Numbers of ploughs greater than 50 were rare, no doubt due to the restrictions brought about by a practical walking limit of about 5 miles and a limited availability of a ploughing area that could accommodate more than that number of ploughs.  One of the largest assemblages of ploughmen for a match took place in the Parish of Tarves in 1846, when 93 teams assembled on the farm of Newseat of Tolquhon to contest an open event.  It was estimated that the value of horses, harness and ploughs on display at this event was over £6,000 (about £700,000 in 2018 money).

Time limits

The land to be ploughed by each plough in a competition was very variable in extent in the early days, but from about 1840 an area of 0.5 acre was use routinely.  (A rectangle of 90m x 22.5m has an area of 0.5 acre.)  Before a match the ploughing areas were pegged out and the competitors then drew lots so that variability in ploughing conditions was randomised between entrants.  In early competitions at the end of the 18^th century, on occasions where two horses were used, the time to complete 0.5 acre could be as little as 1hour 50min.  However, matches in the period after 1840 returned times of three to five hours, which probably indicated that the furrows by that date were deeper and/or wider and/or the ploughmen were travelling more slowly to achieve straighter and more evenly packed furrows.  Indeed, at a competition at Kintore in 1845, a time limit of 5 hours was applied, which suggests that ploughmen were deliberately travelling slowly.

The ploughing match season

Ploughing matches predominantly took place in winter.  Of the 229 ploughing matches reported in the Aberdeen Journal between January 1840 and December 1844, the distribution between months was as follows.  November 2.6%, December 59.0%, January 16.6%, February 14.8%, March 6.6%, April 0.4%.  Matches could take place on any day of the week except Sunday.  Some days were obviously avoided - Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve, for example and there was a cluster on 4^th and 5^th January, the time of Old Yule, which was widely celebrated in rural Scotland.

Daylight and Winter weather

Ploughing in winter inevitably brought other problems in 19^th century Aberdeenshire, in the form of a short day-length and bad weather.  In December, when most ploughing matches took place, Aberdeenshire only got about seven hours of daylight, from about 8.30am to 3.30pm.  With organisational matters at the start and end of a competition and a ploughing time of five hours, it was necessary to make a prompt start at daylight, in order to complete the competition before dark.  Aberdeenshire weather in the mid-19^th century was often bitterly cold and windy, with snow, hail or rain falling and with snow frequently lying on the ground.  The month of December 1844 in Kincardineshire (adjacent to Aberdeenshire) was referred to as “Grizzly December”, because rain, hail, sleet or snow fell on 20 days in the month.   Temperatures often dipped below 0 deg C, making the ground too hard for the ploughs to penetrate, or at least disrupted the quality of the ploughman’s work.  Although the ploughmen were a hardy lot, continuing despite “the pelting of the pitiless storm”, matches often had to be postponed due to frozen ground.  Ploughmen in Aberdeenshire referred to the state of frozen ground as “gay’an scramfy”.  For example, at Monquhitter in 1844 the match originally set for 5^th January, Old Yule, had to be reset several times due to frost and finally came off on 17^th January.  The Aberdeen Journal commented on one bitter competition day at Huntly in 1839.  “… notwithstanding the extreme inclemency of the weather and there being a considerable quantity of snow upon the ground, 21 ploughs started and the task of two riggs (ridges) each was performed very creditably by the ploughmen – who amidst continued blasts of snow and hail, horses feet snowballing, frozen molehills and like annoyances (sore triers of the temper on such occasions) – went through the work of the day with great good humour”.

Charitable objectives

The clustering of ploughing matches in winter led to their association with charitable gestures, since there was considerable hardship at that season in rural Aberdeenshire, “poorer brethren who are at this season of the year exposed to the iron grip of adversity”, as one newspaper put it.  A typical charity ploughing match was held on the farm of Barnyards of Delgaty (made famous by the popular bothy ballad of the same name – see above) in the parish of Monquhitter in 1844.  Forty-two farmers started the competition after contributing a firlot of meal as their entrance fee.  Further donations of meal were made by the townspeople of Huntly.  In total 40 bolls of oatmeal were gathered and distributed between 100 poor families.  The firlot was a measure of dry volume, with 4 firlots being equal to 1 boll (about 80 litres).  The ploughmen also played their part.  Any money surplus from the ball, traditionally organised by the ploughmen following a ploughing match (see below), was donated to a charitable objective.  This happened at Drumoak and at Banchory Ternan in 1842, when money was contributed to the parish paupers.  In 1848 the Old Machar Agricultural Association donated its ploughing ball surplus to the Old Aberdeen soup kitchen.  Sometimes the charitable donations were aimed at nourishing impoverished minds.  At Nigg in 1846 a sum of £15 (about £1740 in 2018 money) was raised from a farmers’ ploughing match and donated to the minister of the parish for the purchase of bibles, testaments and other necessary books to be distributed by him for the use of poor children attending the parochial and the two side schools of Cove and Charleston, the Sabbath evening scholars at Torry and at Cove and for the purchase of prizes to be awarded to the scholars attending the various schools in Torry.  But charity was not always qualified by need in isolation from other factors.  At the Skene ploughing match in 1846, entry fee and donation income of both meal and money was given “partly to regular paupers in the parish but chiefly to the industrious poor not in receipt of any parochial aid – a class which deserves to be encouraged”.

Farmers also used to give help to a neighbouring farmer with his ploughing, if he had been ill, if he was new to the property or if he was behind with his work.  Many ploughs would turn up on an agreed day and get the ploughing done.  Often the need was used as an excuse to hold a ploughing match and for farmers and ploughmen to have some fun in return for their efforts.  At the large farms of Sibster and Hopevillebank in Caithness in 1829, the incoming tenant received the help of 56 ploughs to cultivate 80 to 90 acres of turnip break, in the form of a ploughing match.  Mr Porterfield, the farmer at South Mains of Ardmellie, Aberdeenshire in 1852 had been unable to carry out his ploughing due to ill-health, so his neighbours organised a ploughing match on his land to help their unfortunate neighbour.

Ploughing match competitors 

   

Most ploughing match entrants were farm servants whose annual routine included ploughing.  The next most frequent category contained farmers’ sons, young men learning their trade.  Occasionally, farmers themselves were entrants in open competitions, along with crofters and other small landholders, such as blacksmiths or other country craftsmen, who worked some land in association with their main occupation.  Many ploughmen were still only boys and often a separate category was set aside for them.  At the Gordon Castle ploughing match in 1843 there was a category for “Ploughboys under 12 years of age”. In the following year at the Duke of Richmond’s ploughing match held at Huntly, the work of two ploughboys aged 13 and 14 years was so good that they were awarded special premiums.  Similarly, at the Auchindoir annual ploughing match in 1847, Robert White, aged 14, performed so well that a special collection was made for him, which amounted to more than was awarded to the first premium winner!  At the Monquhitter match in 1848 one entrant, John Brown was 70 and, although not placed in the premium list, an additional prize was awarded to him. From about 1845, when ploughing matches took on charitable objectives (see above), some ploughing competitions were restricted to farmers themselves who, at least on the larger farms, may not have held the plough for many years.  This was the case at Savock of Deer in 1844 and at the Vale of Alford and at Skene, both in 1845.  In the latter case some of the farmers had not held a plough “since the wooden ploughboard was in fashion”.

Disabled ploughmen

Quite remarkably, given that a ploughman with a two-horse plough had to control both the horses and the plough simultaneously, several instances were uncovered of disabled ploughmen who were good enough to enter ploughing matches.  At a match held at the farm of Mr Walker (a well-known cattle-breeder), Mountbletton, Banff in 1839, the Aberdeen Journal reported as follows.  “We must not omit to mention that Alexander Morrison, who gained the 5^th premium and with a very inferior pair of horses, was some years ago deprived of his left arm by a threshing mill and has since got an iron stump to his shoulder blade.”  The following year Alexander Morrison was again placed 5^th and the Earl of Fife, who was present, made a donation to him.  At Inverkeithny in 1844, a ploughman competed who had one arm disabled by disease, which made it much weaker than his opposing limb.  He too was rewarded for his pluck.  Another ploughman at Banchory in 1847 had lost his left hand but still “ploughed in a good style” and at Forgue in 1849 a ploughman with a wooden arm was placed 8^th in a ploughing match.

Improvements in plough design

Once the fundamentals of the so called “Scotch” plough had been decided, there was continued interest in making the design more efficient.  This was particularly so regarding the draught of the plough, the force required to pull the implement through the soil.  From the early 1840s, draught gauges were available and were frequently employed in association with ploughing matches to compare the efficiency of the ploughs from different manufacturers.  After the Old Machar and Banchory Devenick Agricultural Association annual ploughing match held in 1842, the Society’s officials tested the merits of six new swing ploughs on a uniform piece of land using a draught gauge.  The winner was a plough made by Mr Fyfe of Dancing Cairns, Buxburn, which required a force of 27 stones (171.5Kg) to draw it when turning a furrow 6in deep by 9in wide.  The second and third placed ploughs were both manufactured by Joseph Neil of Aberdeen.  It was claimed that this was the first occasion on which a draught gauge had been used to evaluate plough efficiency in the north of Scotland.  At the 1847 Daviot ploughing match the first prize winner also employed a plough bought from Mr Fyfe of Dancing Cairns, Buxburn.  He was also successful that year in the Old Machar and Banchory Devenick competitions and by that time the draught was down to 22 stone (140Kg).

Aberdeenshire plough manufacturers

During the first half of the 19^th century there appeared to have been many small local plough manufacturers in Aberdeenshire.  Indeed, almost every blacksmith seems to have been involved in producing a few ploughs on a craft basis.  Sometimes ploughmen were responsible for the manufacture of their own ploughs.  At the Slains annual ploughing match in 1847, the first prize was awarded to William Cruickshank, a farmer.  “It is but justice to Mr Cruickshank to state that although never bred to the wright business the plough with which he gained 1^st prize on this occasion was made by himself, as were likewise the ploughs which carried off 2^nd and 5^th prizes.”  However, specialist plough manufacturers started to emerge.  At the Longside match in 1850, most of the ploughs on the ground were manufactured by Thomas Pirie & Co, Nether Kinmundy “who have devoted much of their attention to this department with success both upon this and similar occasions in the Buchan district.”  Many other small manufacturers were active in plough production.  This was well illustrated by the Estates of Horn and Logie Elphinstone annual ploughing match in 1847. Ploughs by four local tradesmen, Mr Andrew Diack, Warthill, Mr William Christie, Blacksmith, Old Rayne, Mr John Smith, Wright, Pitmachie and Mr Forbes Morrison, Blacksmith, Old Westhall, were evaluated for draught and a further seven other ploughs from different manufacturers on the ground were also tested.

George Sellar of Huntly

Out of this sea of small-scale innovation, one designer-cum-manufacturer quickly became supreme and that was George Sellar of Huntly.  He was born in Cullen and became a blacksmith there in 1822.  By 1847 he had moved to the town of Huntly, where he quickly developed a reputation as an agricultural implement manufacturer and received many awards, particularly for his ploughs.  At the Highland and Agricultural Society show at Aberdeen in 1847, “Many specimens of Wheel and Swing Ploughs were shown, very neat in appearance, and apparently embodying the principle on which they were designed – namely ease of draught conjoined with efficiency of work.  Those especially exhibited by Messrs George Sellar and Son, Huntly deserve attention.  There were three ploughs each of which cut different shapes of furrows and either of them can be made with the greatest ease to cut furrows of any shape.  On two of them is an improved Mould Board which had been severely tried in a number of ploughing matches throughout a wide district of country and has almost invariably carried the first prizes; and at a trial by dynamometer held by the Strathisla Farmers’ Club one of them was found to be on an average of 5 stones (32Kg) less draught than any of eleven ploughs tried: - Price £4.”  In 1856, the Highland and Agricultural Society awarded a further 3 sovereigns in each of the classes for the best two horse plough for general purposes, the best trench or deep furrow plough, the best double mould board plough for forming drills; it also gave a commended prize for the best two horse plough for general purposes to George Sellar.   His ploughs were used by the noted ploughman Maurice Smith, reckoned to have been the most skilful practitioner of his age (see below) and by other crack ploughmen too.  For example, in 1848 at the Great Ploughing Match at Leochel-Cushnie, which was won by Maurice Smith using a Sellar plough, five out of the first ten competitors also used ploughs from the same manufacturer.

Bad decision-making 

The appearance of specialist plough manufacturers producing superior implements was not uniformly welcome in ploughing match circles, perhaps because the possession of a superior plough could be thought of as conferring an unfair advantage.  Even if a ploughman did not possess a superior plough, he might seek to borrow one for the duration of a competition.  A critical report in the Aberdeen Herald and General Advertiser in 1850, which it referred to as “dodging”, though it did not name the ploughing match concerned, reported a case of retrospective action by officials against ploughmen using borrowed implements.  “A ploughing match which lately came off in the vicinity of the town was made the occasion of another very unworthy trick.  The ploughs had started and got nearly halfway through their work when the Committee of the Association – some new idea striking them – agreed that no man with a borrowed plough should have a prize.  Such a rule is we believe quite unprecedented as in the circumstances it was extraordinary and unfair and the object of it appeared rather suspicious when at the conclusion of the match it was found that the judges were unanimously of opinion that the best man was one who happened to have a borrowed plough.  It was rather singular that at the same time the individual who received the third prize had also borrowed his plough for the occasion.  Comment on such circumstances is unnecessary.”

Ploughing match spectators

Ploughing matches were very popular and attracted large numbers of knowledgeable spectators, often running into several hundreds, to witness an event.  As early as 1811 at a match held at Farrochie, Stonehaven, “The weather being fine, a great concourse of spectators including a considerable portion of beauty and fashion attended to witness the scene which at all times is interesting but which, from the uncommon number of ploughs at work, was on this occasion particularly attractive.” The Great Ploughing Match at Leochel-Cushnie, held in 1848, “which has excited for some months great interest in this district” was another occasion which was witnessed by many attendees.  “Six hundred persons who notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather were present expressed in strong terms their admiration of the superior style in which the labours of the day were performed.”  They were, of course, privileged to witness the work of the famous Maurice Smith.

Ploughing match judges

Disputes as to the management and judging of ploughing matches were rare.  Associations and Societies organising competitions were careful to recruit judges, usually three, from some distance away from the venue and, in any case excluding anyone from this role who had his own ploughman in the competition.  Any partial judge would have been quickly found out by the discerning eyes of the competitors and the spectators.  One rare occasion where the decision of the judges was held to be in error was a match held in 1846 by the Tyrie, Forbes and Fordyce Agricultural Association, held at Tilnamount.  To resolve the disagreement, all the competitors met again in a new competition.

Ploughing match competitions

Ploughing matches usually contained two, occasionally three, separate competitions, firstly, the best ploughman and secondly, the best kept harness and best-groomed horses.  Occasionally, the second competition was split with separate awards for harness and horses.  Although all three competitions were naked attempts to mould ploughman behaviour, as far as the ploughmen were concerned, it was the ploughing competition which carried the bragging rights and it was only occasionally the case that the same ploughman won both competitions.  Some ploughmen did not much bother with cleaning their harness and grooming the horses.  At the Old Machar and Banchory Devenick competition in 1846.  “The committee and judges were much pleased with the fine display of well-kept harness which did great credit to the ploughmen.  There were however three or four whose appearance was so disgraceful that they themselves seemed to be ashamed of it and tried to keep their horses and harness out of sight in sheds and behind hedges while the prizes were being awarded.”

Ploughing match catering

For farmers and ploughmen, the ploughing match was an opportunity to have a grand day out, away from the home farm.  Landowners were perhaps more ambivalent but saw the need to keep up appearances and to have the opportunity to chat with their tenants.  But the social divide between servants on the one hand and the tenant farmers and landowners on the other was usually evident in the eating arrangements.  The ploughmen were typically catered for in the field during the competition, while the farmers, officials of the promoting organisation, judges and proprietors normally dined together privately from mid-afternoon, at the close of the competition.

The farmer hosting a ploughing match or, more accurately, his wife and servants provided food for the ploughmen.  Occasionally they sat down to dinner after the competition, sometimes even in the company their betters, but normally they were fed in the field on the margins of the competition area.  Usually a cart loaded with food and drink would be wheeled to this venue.  At a match held at King Edward in 1840, Mr Soutar, the host, “very generously placed a cart with beef, beer and plenty of our mountain beverage in a corner of the field to regale not only the competitors but also the spectators”.  This was typical fare, except perhaps for the provision of beef. A supply of cheese was more usual.  Provision of an alcoholic beverage was de rigueur, most often whisky, usually referred to by a euphemism such as “mountain dew” or “glen extract”, or the local distillery of origin, such as Glengarioch (distilled then, as now, in Oldmeldrum), Glendronach (from Forgue near Huntly) or Royal Lochnagar (produced at Crathie on Deeside).  Occasionally the beverage was ale, “good brown ale” or porter.   In 1849 when a ploughing match was held adjacent to the Glendronach Distillery, the manager, Mr Scott, gave a gratuity to every ploughman and “as regards the Glen Extract all had as much of it as they could hold their face to”.  The host farmer also had the responsibility to feed the visiting horses before they and the ploughmen “homeward bent their weary way”.

At Old Yule 1845, 4^th January, the annual ploughing match of the Enzie district took place.  In accordance with Scottish tradition the ploughmen were fed with kale brose.  The brose was made from oatmeal mixed with boiling water, to which kale leaves were added. It was traditionally consumed by the unmarried young people in a household, in the following manner, in the period immediately before Lent.  A bowl of kale brose was placed in the middle of the table and a ring was immersed in the opaque concoction.  Each participant in the ritual had a spoon and took it in turn to dip into the brose.  Once the ring had been claimed it was then transferred to a second bowl of kale brose and the process was repeated.  When someone found the ring twice, he or she left the table.  Tradition had it that those finding the ring a second time would be married in the coming year.  The ploughmen, most of whom were unmarried young men, competed enthusiastically to find the ring.

The ploughing match dinner

At the end of the competition the farmers, officials, proprietors and judges sat down to dinner, the numbers attending being limited by the capacity of the available space.  At the Barnyards of Delgaty in 1844 following a charity ploughing match, 74 farmer-ploughmen, judges and friends sat down to dinner in a loft at the farm.  Other venues could be pressed into use such as mills, barns and local inns.  After the Monquhitter ploughing match in 1848 the dinner party sat down to eat in the loft of the brewery in Cuminestown and spent a “happy and harmonious evening”.  Presumably this event did not require much organisational skill! The dinner was paid for by the host farmer and often provided by his wife and servants, though if the venue was an inn, the innkeeper was usually commissioned to carry out this task. 

The dinner was presided over by a local dignitary who might be the laird, the laird’s factor or a senior farmer, who, following a substantial meal, kept the party amused by calling for and contributing to speeches, toasts, stories and singing.  The chairman was assisted by a croupier in this task of keeping the party amused.  If the laird was present it would be essential for speeches to be made praising his enlightened proprietorial actions, as a public act of obeisance.  Following the annual ploughing match at Inverkeithny in 1844, the dinner was chaired by Thomas Abercrombie Duff of Haddo. One of those who had been a guest at the dinner, presumably a farmer, subsequently wrote to the Aberdeen Journal to praise Duff for his generosity and wit.  The correspondent, GM, also composed a poem in the Doric of cringing obsequiousness, describing the after-match dinner.   It is repeated here, and it illustrates the length that some individuals felt they had to go, to stay in the laird’s good books. 

We met o’er a bowl of bliss sae fu’

That it held nae drap o’ sorrow;

We spent an evening to Hope sae true,

That it left nae pang for the morrow! 

And who was it sat at our blithe board-en’

But the gude Gudeman o’ Haddo,

Wha flang sic a light roun’ us a’ that night,

That it left nae corner in shadow!
 

O! his is a witchery that never should cease

 – An art that has nae misgiving;

That leaveth the dead to rest in peace,

But raises the spirits o’ the living! 

We ha’e met afore, at rant and splore,

When joy led on the chorus;

And we’ll meet again, the blither men

For an evening like this before us! 

Occasionally a piper would attend the dinner to play between speeches and every speech required a reply from a recipient of the complements imparted in the presentation.  The speech list was usually very long.  At the dinner following the Leochel-Cushnie ploughing match in 1842 the following speech list contained 24 items.  “Her Majesty the Queen, Prince Albert and the rest of the Royal Family; Duke of Wellington; Army and Navy; Her Majesty’s Ministers; the Chairman; Committee of Management; Judges; Successful Candidates; Unsuccessful Candidates; Success to the Leochel-Cushnie Association; Sir John Forbes (the proprietor of much local land, resident in Craigievar Castle); Mr McCombie, Lynturk (William McCombie, Laird of Easter Skene and Lynturk); Rev Mr Taylor (Minister of Leochel-Cushnie and son-in-law of William McCombie of Easter Skene); Mr McCombie, Tillyfour (famous dodded black cattle breeder); Good sale to cattle; Better sale to grain; Farmers of Leochel-Cushnie; Mr and Mrs Murray (innkeepers at the Muggarthaugh Inn, near Alford); Aberdeen Press; Tradesmen of the Parish, Strangers present; Wives and Sweethearts; Batchelors of the Parish; Goodnight, and a merry ball.”  At the dinner following the annual ploughing match at Crathie, adjacent to Balmoral Castle, in 1849, one of the Highland farmers present was not pleased with the usual form of drinking to Royalty and asked for a toast, when he spoke in the Gaelic.  “Slaint Tuanaich urr Bavorall no bic a an’s duich hic’a do cord na obir du” which translates as “Health to the new Tenant of Balmoral – if he (Prince Albert, who purchased the remaining portion of a lease on the castle in 1848) were in the country he would come and view our day’s work”.    

All this was accompanied by much consumption of alcohol, usually whisky toddy, a concoction of whisky, hot water and sugar or honey, though occasionally other beverages such as North Port, but always consumed in “flowing bumpers”.  Following a ploughing match at Mountbletton in 1839, the host, Mr Walker, “entertained the judges and a numerous party to dinner in his usual hospitable style and it was truly remarked that if the entertainment had preceded the competition not one straight furrow would have been drawn”.  In 1849 a ploughing match was held at Forgue, near Huntly in a field which was let to the Glendronach Distillery Company.  Mr Scott the “very popular” manager of the distillery was the host and “after the match was over a large party of gentlemen sat down at Mr Scott’s hospitable table, and it is unnecessary to say that they spent a most agreeable evening”.

The ploughmen’s ball

From about 1820 the tradition became firmly established that the ploughmen would organise a dance following a ploughing match, which was open to all and sundry.  “Ball” was the term usually used for the dance, but that term should not be understood to imply a genteel occasion with ladies in long dresses and gentlemen in formal suits waltzing to the sound of an orchestra.  In truth it was a ceilidh, a social gathering with food, drink and traditional Scottish dances, such as the Gay Gordons. “They reel’d, they set, they crossed, they clickit.”  Musical accompaniment was usually provided by one or more fiddlers, perhaps with an interlude of bagpipe music.  The ball was typically arranged to start about 8.00pm or 9.00pm, allowing the farmers and their friends a short break after the extended afternoon dinner to change their attire, from garb suitable for the fields to clothing appropriate to vigorous dancing.  Attendees would include many of the local farm servants and their sweethearts, some farmers and their wives, local tradesmen and professionals and perhaps even the Laird.  It is interesting that newspaper reports of ploughing match balls invariable referred to “farmers and their wives” and to “ploughmen and their sweethearts”, probably reflecting the youth of much of the labour on Aberdeenshire farms in the mid-19^th century.  Increasingly, after 1820, some of those present would be wearing the kilt.  Numbers of attendees were often mentioned in reports of ploughing match balls and the presence of 200 was not unusual.  Finding a venue for such an event could be a challenge.  Lofts, granaries, barns, even the village schoolroom or the local town hall, could be pressed into service.  Occasionally the leading ploughman would have his achievement marked by a ribband on his right arm, as happened at Methlic in 1843. There was usually a break for food during the proceedings, typically oatcakes and cheese, washed down with more whisky punch, or occasionally tea.  The Aberdeen Journal’s correspondent at the ball following the ploughing match held at Drumoak in 1847 was clearly taken with the country girls enjoying themselves at the dance and compared them favourably with their more sophisticated sisters from the upper classes.  “The ploughmen held their ball in the barn where they met with their fair and blooming sweethearts, whose becoming dresses so simply neat, their light elastic bounding step beating in cadence to the native reel would have struck with surprise the artificial dame of rank who can have no conception of the artless natural mirth, the soul-reaching hilarity which enrobe her charming peasant sisters at a Deeside ploughman’s ball.”  It was usual, indeed expected, that the ball would continue long past the “wee short hour ayont the twal” and would break up “jist in time” to resume the labours of another day.

Newspaper reports of ploughing matches

In 1813 ploughing matches had become sufficiently frequent for the Aberdeen newspapers to create a separate section for these events and to cluster the results of recent contests together for the benefit of their rural readers.  The first such report detected in this study gave information on three matches, held respectively at the lower district of Uras and at Durris, both Kincardineshire and at Elsick, Aberdeenshire.  By 1840 the ploughing match section of the Aberdeen Journal could often contain reports on ten or more matches.  The growing frequency and uniform format of the ploughing matches themselves led to standardised and clicheed reporting of these events.  In the 1840s and 1850s it was clear that the correspondents writing about ploughing events fell into routine, even lazy, reporting habits.  For example, it was consistently announced that the judges had great difficulty deciding between the work of the ploughmen, but this pattern applied to all aspects of the match and its following social events.  Such casual behaviour of the part of newspaper staff occasionally led to fictitious reports appearing.  In turn, this demanded embarrassing corrections.  In 1844 a ploughing match took place at Rathen and a report of this event, written in the usual glowing but routine terms, duly appeared in print.  A correspondent then pointed out that the description of the match was a farce.  Just a few youthful ploughmen had turned up and because the weather was foul, decided they needed fortifying with whisky before they started the ploughing task.  The result was haphazard coverage of the ground.  The following year, 1845, the Aberdeen Herald and General Advertiser included an apology for having published a fabricated report of a match at Fintray, King Edward.  On another occasion the Aberdeen Journal had to include an apology for a ploughing match report, which it had copied from the Aberdeen Banner, that turned out to be fake.

Taken in the round, erroneous press reports were uncommon and should not be used as evidence which invalidated the detailed reporting of the names of agricultural workers, which otherwise rarely reached the print media, and then only when they fell foul of the law, through poaching, stealing or fighting.  In fact, ploughing match reports are an excellent, possibly unique, means of tracking the movements of ploughmen who potentially changed their employment every six months.

Competitions for elite ploughmen

In 1830, following the ploughing match held at Echt, one of the unsuccessful ploughmen wrote to the Aberdeen Journal to thank Mrs Shewan of the New Inn for treating every ploughman to an excellent dinner and “a hearty glass” afterwards, in return for their efforts.  This correspondent also suggested that every parish should have an annual ploughing match and that every three years there should be a higher-level competition for those 1^st - and 2^nd -placed in parish competitions, to test their skills against other top-level performers.  This suggestion was not immediately taken up but by 1843 the idea of champions competing against each other was clearly established.  In December of that year a separate competition for first prize winners at previous competitions was instituted at Durris.  The following year, 1844, the Strachan annual ploughing match was split into two sections, one of them accommodating three ploughmen who had gained a first prize previously.  In 1845 Drumoak copied the Strachan plan, as did Banchory-Devenick in 1847.  This new type of ploughing match for experts clearly had its genesis in a belt of rural Aberdeenshire stretching between Aberdeen and Alford. 

Also, in 1845, William McCombie of Cairnballoch farm near Alford became involved in higher level ploughing competitions.  (This William McCombie was a cousin of both William McCombie of Easter Skene and William McCombie of Tillyfour.  In addition to farming, William McCombie of Cairnballoch was a self-taught philosopher, author and the co-founder and first editor of a successful newspaper, the Aberdeen Free Press – see “William McCombie (1809 – 1870), farmer, self-educated joint founder and first editor of the Aberdeen Free Press” on this blogsite.)  The winner of this competition for elite ploughmen was Maurice Smith, of whom much more later (see below).  Maurice Smith also won the elite “Great Ploughing Match” at Leochel-Cushnie in 1848 and was placed second in a similar match organised by the Bennachie Farmer Club in 1850.

Maurice Smith (1817 – 1853) Aberdeenshire’s most famous ploughman

Maurice Smith became famous as a ploughman, but he was also known as the registered father of William McCombie Smith (1847 – 1905), a successful polemicist, author, Highland games athlete and sometime collaborator and brother-in-law of Donald Dinnie, perhaps the most famous Highland Games heavy athlete of all time – see “The Life of Donald Dinnie (1837 – 1916) Revisited” on this blogsite.  The claim has been made by descendants of William McCombie Smith that Maurice Smith was not his biological father, but that William McCombie, Laird of Easter Skene, was.  An examination of this claim has been made in “William McCombie Smith (1847 – 1905) – who was his biological father?”, on this blogsite.  So, what is known about the life of Maurice Smith, champion ploughman?

Maurice Smith’s parents, Robert Smith and Elspet Cormach, were married in December 1806 at Huntly, Aberdeenshire.  They had at least seven children between 1807 and 1827, five boys and two girls.  Maurice Smith was the 5^th son and 5^th child, born in 1817.  All the boys were baptised at Drumblade, which lies about 4 miles east of Huntly.  The address of father Robert Smith was given as Corse Knows throughout the period 1807 to 1817.  Corse is a small settlement about 1 mile east of Drumblade.  This observation together with the description of Robert Smith at the 1861 Census as a retired farmer, suggests that the Smiths were a farming family.  The two Smith girls were both baptised at Huntly, so it is likely that the Smiths moved from Drumblade to Huntly sometime between 1817 and 1824. The two witnesses at the baptism of the five Smith boys at Drumblade remained constant, James W Cormach and Alexander Morison.  The identities of these two men have not been established, though “Cormach” was the family name of Elspet Smith.

Ploughing matches and the employment of Maurice Smith

The first ploughing match report detected in which Maurice Smith featured was held on the home farm at Mountblairy, near Turriff, Aberdeenshire in 1839.  Premiums were given to the value of £6 Sterling by Alexander Morrison Esq of Bognie, the proprietor.  Maurice Smith, then a 22-year-old servant to William Aitken of Auchintoul was placed 4^th and was awarded a premium.  William Aitken was the largest landowner in that parish and a Commissioner of Supply for Banff.  It is unlikely that the ploughing match host, Alexander Morison of Bognie, was the “Alexander Morison” who witnessed the baptisms of the Smith boys, as he would have been too young, as well as having a rather elevated status, for such a mundane task.  By the Census of 1841, Maurice Smith had changed his place of work.  He was then found living, with five other labourers, in bothy accommodation at Barnyards of Troup in the parish of Gamrie, which lies near the coast of Banffshire, 20 miles north-east of Huntly.

By December 1843, when the Leochel-Cushnie ploughing match was held on the farms of Westerleochel and Westside, Maurice Smith had moved to the service of William McCombie of Tillyfour, the famous cattle breeder.  Maurice Smith was placed first out of 41 ploughs which started the competition, which was judged by Mr Geils, Greenloan, Mr Reid, Kildrummy and William McCombie, Cairnballoch.  A third William McCombie, the Laird of Easter Skene was also involved.  His servant John Nicol from the Lynturk estate was placed 17^th.  William McCombie of Tillyfour chaired the dinner which followed the match.  A ball followed the dinner when “the ballroom was filled to overflowing with the beauty and fashion of the district”.

The Laird of Tillyfour rented the home farm at Tillyfour, which consisted of about 200 acres, from his brother Charles until, on the death of the latter in 1874, William bought the property.  William McCombie of Tillyfour also rented two other main properties.  Sometime before 1843 he took on the farm of Bridgend (230 acres) which was part of the Lynturk estate owned by William McCombie of Easter Skene.  He then leased the farm of Dorsell (640 acres) prior to 1858.  Maurice Smith was employed at the farm of Bridgend and may have been engaged at the time that the farm was first acquired by the Laird of Tillyfour. 

The next ploughing match in which Maurice Smith is known to have taken part was held at Smiddyhill, near Alford in January 1844.  The judges were William McCombie of Cairnballoch, Mr Paterson of Newbigging and Mr Allardyce of Bridgetown.  Fifty-two ploughs contested the match in poor weather.  The first placed ploughman was John Thom from the farm of Mains of Tonley.  Maurice Smith, Bridgend, was placed second.  About a year later, the Leochel-Cushnie Ploughing Association annual ploughing match was held at Mains of Cushnie and Balchimmie, when 44 ploughs entered the competition.  The judges, Messrs McCombie of Cairnballoch, Geils of Greenloan and Dunn of Kincraigie awarded first place and the Highland Society Medal to Maurice Smith, who was still at this date described as “servant to Mr McCombie Tillyfour, Bridgend”.  George Murrison (sometimes spelled “Murison”), a fellow servant at Bridgend was placed second in the order of merit.  After the premiums were awarded the members of the Association and others to the number of 60 “partook of an excellent dinner prepared by Mr Murray, Muggarthaugh”, with William McCombie, Laird of Easter Skene in the chair.  It was not recorded in the newspaper reports if a ploughman’s ball was held.

The area around the Vale of Alford was becoming well-known for the status of its ploughmen and a further competition, the Tough parish match, was held on the farm of Mains of Tonley, Tough, on 4^th February 1845.  The weather was very frosty, so much so that after the 24 entrants had cut their fiering furrow, some were forced to withdraw, including “several of known celebrity”.  Not so Maurice Smith and George Murrison, though on this occasion Murrison was placed first with his Bridgend colleague second.  The judges again included McCombie of Cairnballoch, along with Mr Allardyce of Enentier and Mr Paterson of Newbigging.  Similarly, on this occasion, the newspapers did not report on a following ploughmen’s ball.

William McCombie of Cairnballoch now became more directly involved in organising ploughing matches in the Alford area.  At the end of March 1845, a match was held on his farm for 26 ploughmen, many of whom had already been placed first in parochial and district competitions.  On this occasion William McCombie, as host farmer, was not involved as a judge, that role being fulfilled by four experienced farmers from outside the immediate area, Mr Giels of Greenloan, Mr Paterson of Newbigging, Mr Reid of Kildrummy and Mr Emslie of Pittuthies.  Maurice Smith was placed first with George Murrison second in the order of merit.  On 16^th December 1845 the Leochel-Cushnie Ploughing Society annual ploughing match was held on the farm of Bridgend, though it is possible that by this time Maurice Smith was working at Tillyfour farm.  The judges were Mr McCombie of Cairnballoch, Mr Emslie of Pittuthies and Mr Dunn of Kincraigie.  Maurice Smith was again placed first out of 35 ploughmen who started the competition.  William McCombie of Easter Skene also had a ploughman, Alexander Tocher, placed (10^th) in the match.

The next ploughing contest in which Maurice Smith is known to have been a participant was held at Titaboutie, near the village of Coull, in mid-January 1846.  The venue was a difficult seven mile walk over the hills from Bridgend farm for the horses.  A local ploughman, Thomas Macdonald, won the competition, with Maurice Smith placed second and Alexander Tocher, one of the Laird of Easter Skene’s ploughmen, coming third.  Alexander Duffus, another of William McCombie of Tillyfour’s servants was in sixth position. The match was followed by dinner and a ball.  Maurice Smith also participated in the annual Tough competition held at General Byers’ farm of Tonley on 20^th January 1846.  Maurice Smith came first and his colleague, Alexander Duffus was in 7^th place.  The following dinner was held at the Tonley Arms and was succeeded by the ploughmen’s ball. Apparently, this was the last ploughing match of the 1845 – 1846 ploughing season which involved Maurice Smith.

In 1846, possibly at the June quarter day, Maurice Smith changed his employer.  This change was detected through the results of the annual Buchan Agricultural Association ploughing match held at Oldtown of Cynach on 10^th December 1846.  Of 64 ploughmen who entered, 61 actually competed.  There was an added qualification in this match.  All ploughmen had to complete the task within three hours to be considered for premiums and nine failed to comply, including “several of whom would otherwise have stood high in the premium lists”.  Maurice Smith, now a servant of Mr George Ferguson, laird of Pitfour, was placed first.  Pitfour was a large estate in Buchan, more than 50 miles and a trying cross-country journey from the environs of Alford.

Maurice Smith’s employment with George Ferguson at Pitfour did not last long.  Certainly, by March 1848 he was back in the employment of the Laird of Tillyfour and it is possible that his re-employment with William McCombie dated from late 1847, or even earlier in that year.  On 7^th December 1847, the Buchan Agricultural Association ploughing match took place at the farm of Yockieshill, when 58 ploughs started the competition.  It is likely that Maurice Smith was not one of them, since he did not appear amongst the prize-winners.  Probably, he would have been both an entrant and a prize-winner had he still been employed at Pitfour.

On 1^st March 1848, a “great ploughing match for prize ploughmen in the parish of Leochel-Cushnie” was held on the farm of Drumdage occupied by Mr Alex Hosie.  Apparently, the match had “excited for some months great interest in the district”.  Prize money was contributed by the Highland Society, entry fees and “a liberal contribution from William McCombie Esq of Easter Skene”. Twenty-six ploughs from the parishes of Leochel-Cushnie, Tough, Alford, Tullynessle, Coul, Towie, Kieg and Monymusk started, 14 of the ploughmen having gained 1^st and 10 second or third prizes at former competitions.  As in the Cairnballoch match three years previously four judges were employed, Mr Geils of Greenloan, Mr Porter from Monymusk House, Mr Elmslie of Tillyfourie and Mr Farquhar of Seats.  Almost inevitably, Maurice Smith was placed first and was awarded a premium of 2gns and the Highland Society’s medal.  The Aberdeen Herald described the match and Maurice’s performance in the following terms.  “The farmers’ sons and farm servants in the Alford district have been for a considerable period distinguished as ploughmen.  On no previous occasion, we feel ourselves warranted to say, have they displayed in this important department of agriculture so high a degree of excellence.  Six hundred persons who, notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather, were present expressed in strong terms their admiration of the superior style in which the labours of the day were performed.  An almost mathematical regularity characterised the work of Morrice Smith (author’s emphasis) who has obtained at nine ploughing matches first prize and been honoured five times with the Highland Society’s medal.”

The importance of this competition was marked by two particular features.  Firstly, the size of the crowd (600) which came to observe proceedings, despite the bad weather.  This was a large number for this decidedly rural area.  Secondly, the identification of the plough-maker in newspaper reports for each of the ten contestants awarded premiums.  Such an inclusion was highly unusual and seemed to emphasise the elevated status and serious nature of this competition.  Ploughs manufactured by George Sellar of Huntly were markedly to the fore, ploughmen placed 1 – 4 and 6 all used a Sellar model.

Press accounts claimed that Maurice Smith “has obtained at nine ploughing matches first prize and been honoured five times with the Highland Society’s medal.”  This does not tally with the newspaper reports of ploughing matches located during this study to the time of the March 1848 Leochel-Cushnie great ploughing match.  Maurice’s bag amounted to seven 1^st prizes, three 2^nd prizes and one 4^th prize.  The Highland Society medal was only reported as having been awarded to Maurice Smith on two occasions.  The reasons for the discrepancies can only be speculated upon.  Perhaps not all ploughing matches were reported in the papers?  Or perhaps newspaper correspondents were not always accurate with their accounts of events?  What remains as an incontrovertible truth is that Maurice Smith was the most skilled ploughman of his generation in the wider Alford area.

Another mark of the status that Maurice Smith had secured by early 1848 was his appointment as a judge at the ploughing match held on the farm of Westside, Leochel-Cushnie on 15^th March.  He joined Mr Dunn, Kincraigie and Mr Dunn, Enentier in evaluating the performances in a sweepstake match.  He again served as a judge at the Midmar ploughing match held in January 1849.  On both occasions his affiliation was given as “overseer to Mr McCombie, Tillyfour”. 

By December 1849, Maurice Smith had left the employment of William McCombie of Tillyfour again.  In that month, Maurice Smith competed in a ploughing match on the farm of Ardfork, Meldrum, about 12 miles as the crow flies, but rather more by the country roads, from Alford.  At the 1851 Census the farm was employing four labourers. Twenty-nine ploughs competed in the match “for a’ the pelting of the pitiless storm”.  Maurice Smith was placed 3^rd in the order of merit, not a typical position for him.  Maurice was now described as a servant to Mr James Philip of Portstown farm, which was located about two miles east of Inverurie and was part of the estate of the Earl of Kintore.  James Philip was a successful farmer and cattle-breeder.    On 20th February 1850 the Glack and Mounie ploughing match was held on the farm of Mains of Glack.  There were 34 ploughmen on this occasion and Maurice Smith was placed in first position, still a servant to Mr Philip at Portstown.  The competitor placed second was Alex Low, servant to Mr Duguid of Collyhill.  It may be significant that Collyhill would become Maurice Smith’s place of work about a year later.  Two days after the Mains of Glack match, Maurice again competed with the plough, this time at the Bennachie Farmer Club match on the farm of Drimmies.  The competition was divided into two classes and Maurice Smith was placed second in the premier category behind Alex Low of Collyhill.  Further, Maurice was placed 4^th in the best-groomed horse competition, with Alex Low placed 3rd.

By the time of the 1851 Census (30^th / 31^st March) Maurice Smith had again moved employer, to Mill of Collyhill, Bourtie, Inverurie.  This farm was tenanted by Alexander Duguid, a Shorthorn breeder.  The farm contained 236 acres and eight labourers were employed there.  In January 1852 a sweepstake ploughing match was held in Drumblade on the farm of Sliach.  It was open to ploughmen from the parishes of Forgue, Drumblade and Gartly.  The ploughing competition was divided into two sections, for first-class and second-class ploughmen.  Maurice Smith was a competitor in the premier competition and was placed 5^th.  He was also placed 2^nd in the competition for best-groomed horses.  Maurice Smith’s affiliation was now given as servant at Craigenseat, Drumblade, a farm of about 80 Scotch acres (a Scotch acre was equivalent to 1.3 acres Imperial measure).   The tenant farmer was Mr Alex Stewart, who bred Shorthorn cattle. 

The last ploughing match in which Maurice Smith has been detected as a competitor was the Forgue annual ploughing match held on 27 February 1852.  At this time Maurice had again moved employment, to that of Mr Walker of Drumblair. Charles Walker was a cattle farmer, mainly specialising in polled Aberdeenshire beasts.  Drumblade lies about three miles east of Huntly and Drumblair is located about three miles further out in the same direction.

Unusual features of Maurice Smith’s employment

The pattern of Maurice Smith’s employment as a farm servant had some unusual features.  At the start of his career he appeared to have been a bit foot-loose, having three known employers between early 1839 and late 1843.  Due to lack of data, it could easily have been more.  This was typical for a young, unmarried farm servant.

From late 1843 to early 1846 Maurice appeared to serve continuously as a servant to William McCombie of Tillyfour.   It is likely that the Laird of Tillyfour took references concerning Maurice’s previous employment before he offered him an engagement.  William McCombie attended cattle markets all over the north east of Scotland on a regular basis and clearly had the opportunity to seek an informal opinion on a potential future employee.  But equally, after employment Maurice would have been treated with respect and consideration and would have continued to hold his job so long as he wanted it.  The Laird of Tillyfour was proud of the achievements of his employees and would surely have taken pride in Maurice Smith’s undoubted proficiency as a ploughman.  Indeed, Maurice seems to have been indulged by his employer, appearing in nine ploughing matches over a period of three ploughing seasons, despite the cost to the work on the home farm.  In these nine matches, Maurice Smith achieved six 1^st and three 2^nd places.  

William McCombie of Tillyfour was a particularly enlightened employer of farm labour.  He wrote a paper on his philosophy regarding farm servants in 1873, in which he said the following.  “I cannot agree with a great deal that has been said against our Farm Servants, the Feeing Market and the Bothy System.  The farm servants are a very hard-working class and are highly deserving of comfortable dwellings and kind treatment.  They are accused of being a restless, troublesome and wandering class.  I cannot deny that some are restless and that some do wander.  It is our duty to consider what are the causes of their desire of change and what may be done by us to ameliorate their condition.  I cannot generally retain in my employment unmarried men of the best class for more than a year.  I think myself singularly fortunate if I can keep them two years (Maurice Smith stayed for more than two years in his first stint of employment with William McCombie).  My married servants seldom or ever shift (author’s emphasis).  I have three married men in charge of three different farms who have been with me for many years and the understanding between us is that they are to hold their present situations.  I ask them no questions.  I trust them, and the confidence is mutual.  I find that if we treat farm servants as men like ourselves that they will generally do us justice if we are careful in our selection.  ….  In the Vale of Alford, we engage few farm servants without being acquainted with their character and history.  Faithful servants deserve the respect and esteem of their masters and they ought to be looked upon not as inferior beings, but as our friends and as members of our own family.”

Given the benefits of his employment with William McCombie of Tillyfour, it is a considerable surprise to the distant observer as to why Maurice Smith should have changed his employment between January and December 1846.  There must have been some compelling reason for him to move from such a beneficial posting.  It is likely that the actual date of Maurice’s move was at the quarter day (24^th June) following the May round of feeing fairs.  Speculation on the circumstances concerning this upheaval in Maurice Smith’s life will be indulged after a consideration of the rest of his employment pattern.

Perhaps even more remarkable than Maurice Smith’s departure from the employ of the Laird of Tillyfour was his return to the same farm after only a year, or a year and a half’s absence (June 1846 – December 1847, or June 1846 – June 1847).  What is also noteworthy is that Maurice became the overseer at Tillyfour, either immediately on his return, or at least by mid-March 1848.  It appears that Maurice left because he was dissatisfied in some way with his circumstances but that his employer still held him in high regard as an employee and may even have encouraged his re-engagement.  But it appears that Maurice’s discomfort, whatever its nature, was not for long assuaged.  Probably at the June quarter day, 1849, he moved from being overseer at Tillyfour to becoming an ordinary farm servant with James Philip at Portstown farm, Inverurie.  This change of employer was even more unexpected than the first time he left Tillyfour.  The next stage for him, which characterised the career paths of other Tillyfour overseers, should have been to take a tenancy of a small farm himself.  For example, William Milne who was overseer to William McCombie of Tillyfour from 1850 to 1858, left to become tenant of the farm of Broomhill, Tough and there were other, similar, examples of the Laird of Tillyfour encouraging his trusties to move on to positions of responsibility in society.  Did the cause of Maurice Smith’s unhappiness, which engendered his departure in 1846, re-emerge, or had some new crisis blighted his life?

Between late 1849 and early 1852, a period of a little more than two years, Maurice Smith had four known, different employers.  This pattern of frequent change of employer was not typical of an older, married farm servant, as has been discussed earlier.  Maurice Smith no longer played the role of judge at ploughing matches, possibly due to his having lost the status of overseer, but he did plough competitively from time to time.  In this late period of his working life his results were two 1^st, one 2^nd, one 3^rd and one 5^th places, indicating some decline from his stellar performances during his first period of employment at Tillyfour.

Maurice Smith’s marriage to Elizabeth Frazer

No mention has so far been made of Maurice Smith’s married life.  He married Elizabeth Frazer, who was born at Lumphanan about 1825, or at least it is presumed that the pair was married, since Elizabeth took the surname of “Smith” and Maurice gave his family status as “married” at the 1851 Census.  However, no formal record has been found of the event.  It is presumed that Maurice Smith met his future wife after his move to Bridgend about 1843     A son was born on 7 September 1847 at Kintocher, Lumphanan.  The Smiths’ son was baptised “William McCombie” at Lumphanan on 9 December 1847 by Rev Charles McCombie, the eldest brother of William McCombie of Tillyfour, and the father’s name registered as Morice Smith.  Kintocher was a small settlement which lay about two miles north of the village in the direction of Alford.  It consisted of a number of properties including two called simply “Kintocher”, “East Kintocher”, Mill of Kintocher”, “Roadside of Kintocher” and Hillhead of Kintocher”.  One of the properties called “Kintocher” was a farm and one was a one-storey thatched cottar’s house belonging to Sir William Forbes of Craigievar.  The cottage called “Cleikimin”, where Elizabeth was living at the time of the 1861 Census was also located close to “Hillhead of Kintocher”.

    

His birth date implies that William McCombie Smith was conceived in early January 1847.  When Maurice Smith left the employment of William McCombie, probably during June 1846, the reason for his departure was not known but his leaving was unexpected.  It was also not known if he moved with his wife to his new employer, George Ferguson, or if she stayed behind in Lumphanan.  The journey from Alford was substantial, over 50 miles, predominantly on country roads.  If Elizabeth Smith did not move with her husband, they may have been living apart at the time that Elizabeth became pregnant.  There is an informal claim by descendants of William McCombie Smith, based on family hearsay, that his biological father was not Maurice Smith but William McCombie, the Laird of Easter Skene (see William McCombie Smith (1847 – 1905) – who was his biological father? on this blogsite).  Too many uncertainties surround the departure of Maurice Smith to Pitfour in 1846 to claim that these circumstances add more than slight circumstantial evidence in favour of this claim of extra-marital paternity.  But what was clear was that if Maurice Smith left for Pitfour without his wife, she was not at the time pregnant and so that is excluded as a reason for his departure.  Thus, if the couple separated at that point, there must have been some other, currently unknown, reason.

As has already been pointed out, Maurice Smith leaving the employment of William McCombie of Tillyfour was remarkable but his return a maximum of 1 ½ years later and to an immediate or imminent promotion to overseer of Tillyfour farm was even more so.  It seems more likely that William McCombie invited Maurice Smith back, rather than that he was hired in the normal way.  On his return, did he continue to live with his wife Elizabeth, since he would surely have been provided with farm accommodation in his now elevated position?  It is not known.

Maurice Smith’s second period of employment with William McCombie of Tillyfour did not last long and he departed again, probably on the June quarter day 1849, from the role of overseer to the diminished role of farm servant.  From that time to the end of his life he had multiple employers and changed jobs frequently, reminiscent of the behaviour of an unmarried farm servant.  It is inconceivable that his wife and small child were living with him during these frequent moves and some evidence can be adduced to support that contention.  At the 1851 Census of Scotland, Maurice Smith was recorded as a married servant, but with no indication of the presence of his wife or son at or near his location.  Indeed, his wife, Elizabeth and his son, William McCombie, have not been discovered anywhere in the 1851 Census returns.  Some indication of the whereabouts of Elizabeth in the early 1850s can be deduced from the birth information on two daughters subsequently born to her.

Catherine was born in the St Nicholas parish of Aberdeen on 5^th April 1850 and Elspet arrived in the world during 1854, this time in the St Machar parish of the Granite City.  These data clearly suggest that for much of the period of Maurice Smith’s wanderings, his wife was living in Aberdeen.

These data also imply that the dates of conception of the two girls were respectively early July 1849 and April 1853 – March 1854.  Thus, Catherine was probably conceived shortly after Maurice Smith left his position as overseer at Tillyfour and Elspet was conceived well after Maurice’s death in early January 1853.  If Maurice Smith was not the biological father of at least one of these two girls, who was?  It is an almost inescapable conclusion that things were awry in the marriage of Maurice and Elizabeth Smith, possibly from as early as 1846.

The death of Maurice Smith

Maurice Smith died on 4^th January 1853 near Huntly, at the early age of 35.  Both his last two engagements as a farm servant had been at Drumblade, the parish of his birth. Two newspaper reports of his death have been uncovered.  The Aberdeen Journal said that he died “suddenly” at Bridge of Marnoch (10 miles north-east of Huntly), while the Banffshire Journal said that he died “after a few days’ illness” at Causewayend, Drumblade.  This property was a dwelling house which was part of a farm steading belonging to the Duke of Richmond.  Neither report mentioned a widow or children, which may be significant if his wife and family were not with him near Huntly.  Because Maurice died before 1855, when death registration became compulsory, the cause of his death is unknown.  Was it significant that death occurred so close to Hogmanay and Old Yule, when Scotsmen traditionally welcome the new year by drinking whisky to excess?

The enduring reputation of Maurice Smith

After the death of Maurice Smith and for a period of many years, there were occasional references to his prowess as a ploughman.  In 1853, the Aberdeen Journal said the following of him. “He was well-known in this county as the best ploughman of his day; and to his skill and ingenuity much of the improvement in ploughing in the Alford and other districts of the county is to be attributed.”  The Banffshire Journal had its own comment on Maurice shortly after his death.  “His talents and kind obliging manner gained him many friends wherever he went – his proficiency as a ploughman is well known in many parts of Scotland.”  In 1864 the same newspaper published further relevant remarks.  “The late Morris Smith from the Huntly district gave the first great stimulus to the improvement of ploughing in the Vale of Alford.  It was thought by many when he made his first appearance that he was gifted with more than natural powers and we believe that no ploughman has appeared superior to him in this or any country up to the present day.”  William McCombie of Tillyfour still held Maurice Smith in high regard more than a decade after his demise.  In proposing a toast of “Success to the Leochel-Cushnie (Agricultural) Association” at their annual show in 1864, he said the following.  “Morice Smith gave an impulse to the ploughmen of Leochel-Cushnie which has made them celebrated throughout the whole north of Scotland.  Morice had a worthy successor in Samuel Dunn.  Both these ploughmen are gone the way of all the earth, but their memories are still revered.”

Perhaps the most telling memorial to Maurice Smith did not make its appearance until 1868, 15 years after his death.  Maurice had been buried in Kinnoir churchyard, about one mile east of Huntly and not far from his birthplace of Drumblade, but apparently without a headstone.  It was decided to rectify that omission.  The Huntly Express tells the story.  “We lately intimated that it was intended to set up a memorial stone in Kinnoir churchyard over the grave of Morrice Smith, whose name is so intimately associated with the more important improvements in ploughing.  Subscriptions for this object were received by Mr McCombie Tillyfour and Mr Sellar Huntly who took charge of the matter and have at length brought it to a successful issue.  On Thursday afternoon the monument was set up in the south-east end of the churchyard where it presents a very conspicuous appearance.  It is in the form of an obelisk rising to a height of 8ft 8in with elegant cornice between the die and the obelisk proper and is entirely formed of the well-known free stone of Auchindoir, at which quarries it was prepared and finished.  On the base the following inscription is cut :- “In memory of Morrice Smith, who died 4^th January 1853 aged 34 years.  Erected by his friends and fellow servants to commemorate the benefits which as the great improver of ploughing he conferred on Aberdeenshire.”

The aftermath of Maurice Smith’s death

The aftermath of Maurice Smith’s death was almost as interesting as his life for his surviving family.  At the time of his demise, Maurice’s wife Elizabeth was probably living in Aberdeen, since her daughter Elspet was born there in 1854.  Sometime between that year and 1861, she moved back to Lumphanan and in the Census of that year she and her daughters, but not her son, William McCombie, were living at “Clickim Inn”, Kintocher, Lumphanan.  This was not a public house but a one-storey, thatched croft house in the ownership of Sir William Forbes of Craigievar.  William McCombie Smith was found elsewhere, living as a “lodger” at Tillyfour House, the residence of William McCombie of Tillyfour.  After the demise of Maurice Smith, the Laird of Tillyfour had become his guardian and taken him to live at Tillyfour.  William McCombie of Tillyfour remained a bachelor all his life but he had two resident female domestic servants, who probably looked after the new loon in the house.  An account of William McCombie Smith’s colourful life can be found in “William McCombie Smith (1847 – 1905) – who was his biological father?” on this blogsite.

Elizabeth Frazer, the wife of Maurice Smith, has proved to be a rather enigmatic and elusive character.  Little is known of her family background other than that she was born in Lumphanan.  No formal record of her marriage to Maurice has been found, nor any record of the birth of her daughters, in 1850 and 1854, in parish registers.  Even the registration of her death has so far eluded the present author.  Perhaps the most telling account of her personal attributes comes from an acquaintance of William McCombie Smith, Alexander Mitchell.  He wrote as follows about Elizabeth Frazer.  “I have often seen Mr Smith’s mother; she was of medium height stoutly built with round and most comely features and dark crimped hair.  In her younger days I should say such a handsome woman was very seldom met with and it would be impossible now” (author’s emphasis).  If it was true that the Laird of Easter Skene was the biological father of Elizabeth’s son, this description may explain why he was attracted to her.  Did the ploughing matches, in which Maurice Smith was regularly the star performer, and the ploughmen’s balls which usually followed, introduce the Laird of Easter Skene to Mrs Smith?  This suggestion is entirely plausible.  William McCombie of Easter Skene was frequently involved in ploughing matches in the Alford area, where he owned the Lynturk estate and he enjoyed social interactions with people at all levels in society.

The widow of Maurice Smith eventually remarried in 1864 to Alexander Esson a journeyman wright and a batchelor.  The marriage took place at Elizabeth’s home, Clickumin.  Alexander was also a resident of Lumphanan.  At the following Census in 1871 the couple were still living in Lumphanan but had moved their place of abode to the railway station.  There were then three adopted children in the house, William M Smith, Cathrin Smith and Elspet Smith.  Cathrin subsequently married Lumphanan farmer William Middleton, their first child, a son being born in 1884.  Interestingly, he was baptised “Morrice Smith Middleton”, suggesting that Cathrin was in no doubt that Maurice Smith was her biological father, which impression must have been passed down by her mother.

Was William McCombie Smith conceived outside marriage?

As has been mentioned above, the claim has been made by the descendants of William McCombie Smith that his natural father was William McCombie, the Laird of Easter Skene and Lynturk.  There is little value in rehashing the general evidence for this hypothesis contained in “William McCombie Smith (1847 – 1905) – who was his biological father?” on this blogsite, as the reader can readily gain access to that story.  However, the present study has unearthed much more detailed information on the life of Maurice Smith, as well as a wide description of the phenomenon of the ploughing match, especially as it operated in Aberdeenshire.  So, how does the new evidence concerning Maurice Smith’s brief life as a farm servant, champion ploughman and sometime husband of William McCombie Smith’s mother stack up in relation to his son’s paternity?  If the veracity of claim on the Smith boy’s paternity is assumed to be correct, how might this help to explain the unusual features of Maurice Smith’s life?  The following hypothetical explanation is consistent with the known facts but remains just that: a hypothesis.

A hypothetical account of the major events in the life of Maurice Smith

Maurice Smith was a naturally gifted ploughman, but it was not until he entered the employment of William McCombie of Tillyfour that his talents were fully recognised.  The Laird of Tillyfour was a considerate employer of farm labour and encouraged his servants to take pride in their work and their other achievements, such as performance at athletic games.  His support for his ploughmen included allowing them to appear in local ploughing matches, even though this was detrimental to the work programme on his farms.  Maurice Smith’s abilities were soon acknowledged, and he spend nine days away from the farm at ploughing matches over a period of a little over two years.  During this time his successes showed him to be the most talented ploughman in the area around Alford. 

Recognition brought Maurice into contact with other skilled ploughmen and their employers and his standing was generally acknowledged.  He could have gained employment on other farms, but he was happy in his work for the Laird of Tillyfour, who valued his labour and wanted him to stay.  This was in marked contrast to the relationship between farmer and servant on many other farms, which was one of lack of trust and appreciation on the part of the employer, and truculence and disloyalty of the part of the servant.

Soon after arriving at Bridgend farm south of Alford, Maurice Smith made the acquaintance of an attractive local girl, Elizabeth Frazer and the couple decided to marry.  In the meantime, Maurice’s celebrity as a ploughman meant that the couple attended the ploughmen’s balls which followed most ploughing matches.  There they mixed with members of the agricultural community from all social levels.  This included William McCombie, the Laird of Easter Skene.  He owned not only the Easter Skene estate, located half way from Alford to Aberdeen, but also the Lynturk estate near Alford.  He was a wealthy, dominant and influential farmer and landowner.  However, he had suffered tragedy in his personal life.  His wife died when young and his only son did not survive many more years.  The Laird of Easter Skene did not remarry but enjoyed the company of people at all levels of society, including female company.  Ploughing matches brought him into contact with the attractive sweetheart, then wife, of Maurice Smith and he started to pay attention to her.  Maurice resented the situation but could do little about it.  His employer was the cousin of the Laird of Easter Skene, as well as being his tenant.  Also, Elizabeth perhaps did not resist the advances of McCombie of Easter Skene as determinedly as she might have done.

Eventually the situation between Mrs Elizabeth Smith and the Laird of Easter Skene became unbearable for Maurice Smith.  In spite of the otherwise comfortable conditions of work that he enjoyed at Tillyfour, he found a new employer at Pitfour in distant Buchan in the far north east of Aberdeenshire.  Maurice wanted to escape from the torment of his life on the farm near Alford.  George Ferguson, his new employer, happy to have a champion ploughman on his farm allowed Maurice to enter local ploughing competitions.  But while Maurice Smith was working in Buchan, his wife became pregnant by her gentleman suitor and a son was born in September 1847 at Elizabeth’s home in Kintocher, Lumphanan.  The couple did not divorce, the shame of which would have been too much to bear.  But Maurice’s price for the couple remaining married was that the child should be baptised with the name of his true father, “William McCombie”.  The baptism was performed by Rev Charles McCombie, the brother of the Laird of Tillyfour, who was probably aware of the significance of the child’s given names.

The Laird of Tillyfour, an honourable and fair-minded man, felt some guilt at the disruption which had been wreaked on his champion ploughman’s marriage by his cousin.  About a year after the birth, McCombie of Tillyfour asked Maurice Smith to return to his employment by tempting him with the incentive of becoming the overseer at the Tillyfour farm.  Perhaps McCombie of Tillyfour was creating the conditions for a reconciliation between Elizabeth and her husband.  Maurice, missing his many friends in the Alford area, gained through his celebrity as a ploughman, agreed to return.  This new position was a major promotion for Maurice.  By then, the mid-1840s, William McCombie of Tillyfour was being recognised as one of the leading feeders and breeders of the black hornless cattle, later to be known as Aberdeen Angus, as well as being a successful arable farmer.  As overseer at Tillyfour Maurice would have major responsibilities for all the farming operations and the control of other servants, as well as higher wages.

Unfortunately, the attraction between the Laird of Easter Skene and Mrs Elizabeth Smith did not subside and about a year after his return to Tillyfour and despite his status as overseer, Maurice Smith again felt compelled to move away.  About June 1849, he left one of the best farm servant jobs in Aberdeenshire to become an ordinary ploughman again, this time with James Philip at Portstown, Inverurie.  Maurice’s situation must have been truly desperate for him to take this drastic step.

For the next three and a half years, Maurice Smith drifted from job to job as a ploughman, living the life of an unmarried farm servant.  He continued to compete in ploughing matches, but his enthusiasm was waning.  He increasingly found jobs close to his place of birth in Drumblade, where he had both friends and family.  Being depressed at his now straightened circumstances Maurice may increasingly have taken to drink.  He died suddenly just after the New Year, 1853 and was buried in an unmarked grave at Kinnoir, close to his birthplace.

When Maurice Smith left Tillyfour for the second time in mid-1849, Elizabeth Smith was deprived of an income and went to live in Aberdeen where there was work available to her as a dressmaker.  She was still an attractive woman and she continued to have sexual liaisons in the town, but she sought to deflect attention from her circumstances by not having the two girls, born in 1850 and 1854 baptised.  Also, by accident or design, she omitted to complete the census form in 1851.

After the death of Maurice Smith, the Laird of Tillyfour, now feeling even more guilt at the outcome of his cousin’s liaison with Mrs Smith took the drastic step of removing William McCombie Smith, then a seven-year-old boy, to Tillyfour House where he acted as his guardian for many years.  Elizabeth Smith, being short of money agreed to this move, while her then only daughter remained with her.  After the birth of her second daughter, Maurice Smith’s widow, Elizabeth, moved back to her home village of Lumphanan, where she eventually met and married a bachelor, Alexander Esson, who was a wright to trade.

Some years later, a collective effort was made by Maurice Smith’s former colleagues and friends, also the Laird of Tillyfour and George Sellar, the plough manufacturer, to raise the funds necessary to commission a substantial obelisk, which was installed over the grave of Maurice Smith in Kinnoir churchyard as a memorial to Aberdeenshire’s greatest ploughman.

Although this hypothesis may not stand the test of time, due to the discovery of further relevant facts, for the present, it is an explanation of the unusual and not easily understood features of Maurice Smith’s life.  It may at least serve to stimulate the researches of others into this famous but enigmatic Aberdeenshire farm servant.

Don Fox

20190327

donaldpfox@gmail.com