James Melvin (1823 - 1869), Founder of the Aberdeen Choral Society

Early life of James Melvin
James Melvin was born in 1823, the third child and first son of James and Sarah Melvin, in the St Nicholas ward of Aberdeen.  James senior was a Shore Porter, a member of a cooperative of workers who were responsible for transporting goods to and from Aberdeen Harbour, though he is thought  to have died before 1841.  In the Census of that year, Sarah and her children Margaret, Sarah and James were recorded as living in Shiprow, a very old and, then, important street which snaked upwards from the harbour to Castlegate in the heart of the oldest part of the city.  Margaret was recorded as a milliner, Sarah junior as a starchmaker and James, then 18 years old, as a foundry apprentice.  Mother Sarah was living by independent means, possibly an annuity derived from her husband’s membership of the Shore Porters’ Spociety, which also operated a superannuation scheme for its members and their widows.  The Melvins were thus a working family.  Like other working class Scots of the early 19^th century they were probably educated to a level of competence in reading and writing but would have had little opportunity to pursue advanced education or had access to cultural instruction in music or literature.

As a foundry apprentice, James Melvin would have learned the techniques associated with casting objects by pouring molten metal into moulds, typically made of a special kind sand and, after the metal had solidified and cooled, breaking away the material of the mould to free the cast object.  It is likely that James worked with iron as he was later referred to as an iron moulder.  We know very little about James’ early adult life but it does not seem to have been confined to Aberdeen.  In the Census of 1851 James was a visitor in the house of John Craig, a sealing wax manufacturer and commission agent living in the St Enoch parish of Glasgow.  It is unclear why James was visiting John Craig in Glasgow.

James Melvin marries Margaret Gray

In June, 1851, James married Margaret Gray, the 22 year old eldest daughter of Alexander Gray, the Aboyne village baker.  Margaret was born in 1829 in Aberdeen and was christened in Keith some 50 miles north west of the city.  She would soon be living in Aboyne since her father was established in his bakery business in that village from about 1830.  In the Census of 1841 the Gray household in Aboyne was a rather crowded one.  Alexander Gray and his wife Margaret, still only 30, had a family of 8 children, of whom the youngest was 10 months and the eldest was Margaret, still only about 12 years.  By the Census of 1851 the Grays had produced another 4 children.  Margaret was no longer living at home in Aboyne but was living with her brother Alexander, a blacksmith in the adjoining village of Birse, along with her young brother, 2 year old George.  Perhaps this was necessary to relieve pressure on limited space in the house in Aboyne?

James Melvin's musical talents

At the time of his marriage in 1851, James Melvin was 28 years of age and a journeyman iron moulder.  Family rumour recounts that James was also a self-taught musician who had the gift of perfect pitch.  How his musical talents came to be recognised and developed is not known but may well have been the result of church attendance and involvement in church music.  By 1853 he was living in Red Lion Court, Guestrow, opposite Marischal College and was in office as precentor in nearby St Paul Street United Presbyterian Church.  The precentor led the congregation in singing and in Presbyterian churches this was often accomplished using conducting techniques and was sometimes unaccompanied.

Foundation of the Aberdeen Choral Society
James’s love of music also found expression in his establishment of the Aberdeen Choral Society in 1853.  This musical society, amazingly, catered to working lads and lasses and James was also the Society’s first conductor. The fees of the Aberdeen Choral Society were low and the members sang part-songs, glees and the more capable individuals performed solos.  Their concerts were called “Open Rehearsals” and were held in the Mechanics’ Hall located in George Street, where the audience seemed to consist mainly of “friends and family”.  What the singers may have lacked in sophistication they made up for with hearty and tuneful music-making.  Two commentators of that time both remarked that, in spite of being self-taught, James Melvin was sound in musical theory but that his tastes were “unpretentious” and may have lacked “refinement”.  The following extracts from the Aberdeen Journal show that this child of the working classes was mostly received with approbation.  7^th July 1858. “The Aberdeen Choral Society gave, in the Mechanics’ Institution Hall, on Friday evening, a semi-public concert to their friends.  The programme was long and varied, and the singing, in the majority of pieces, drew forth hearty applause from an audience that filled the hall.  The choralists form a numerous body, conducted by Mr James Melvin…..”.  5^th October 1859.  “On Friday evening, the Aberdeen Choral Society gave another of their pleasing private concerts in the Mechanics’ Hall, under, as formerly, the competent leadership of Mr Melvin.  The programme contained an excellent selection of glees, madrigals, part-songs, and choruses, all of which were rendered by the choir, which numbers over 40 members, in a manner that won warm and ready applause.  Miss Wilson presided at the piano, giving ably (besides accompanying the choral pieces) a solo; and with her sister a duet.  The whole performance gave much delight to a large and most respectable audience.” 

Other musical societies sprang up in Aberdeen during the 1850s.  Aberdeen was a wealthy and intellectually prominent city, having two separate universities, King’s College and Marischal College, until their merger in 1860 and there was an enthusiasm for musical culture.  Towards the end of 1852 the Aberdeen Musical Association came into being.  Its original membership of about 20 gentlemen were mostly from professional callings and prominent in the city.  They could afford to appoint Mr Richard Latter, an Englishman living in Aberdeen, as their first conductor.  Latter was formally trained and later left Aberdeen to join the staff of the Guildhall School of Music in London.  The Aberdeen Choral Society and the Aberdeen Musical Association formed the extremes of a spread of about half a dozen musical societies which co-existed in the 1850s.

The revival of Psalmody and the initiation of the Aberdeen Music Hall project

Eighteen fifty four saw the start of a revival in psalmody, the singing of psalms as part of services of religious worship in Britain.  In that year the cross-denominational Aberdeen General Association for the Improvement of Psalmody was established.  Perhaps reflecting his involvement in this revival in psalmody, James Melvin now took on the title of Leader of Psalmody at St Paul’s Street UP Church.  The General Association created a choir of 160 voices drawn from different congregations and staged a number of public performances.  Fifty pounds from the proceeds of the third such event on 9^th April 1856, held in the East Church, were devoted to the establishment of a fund to pay for the construction of a large music hall in the Granite City, a facility which it then lacked.  The initiative caught the attention of a wealthy music supporter in the county who made a donation of £100 for the same purpose.  Late in 1856 a public meeting was held to further the aims of the music hall project and a committee was established for this purpose.  It was agreed that the music hall needed to have accommodation for about 2,500.  Two possible means of achieving this aim were proposed. The first was to construct an entirely new building, possibly on Union Street, in front of Union Row and the second was to adapt and extend the City’s Assembly Rooms.  This building was opened in 1822 and constructed to a design by the Aberdeen architect, Archibald Simpson.  The latter alternative was eventually pursued.  At the end of 1856 the General Psalmody Association proposed that its large choir be constituted into a permanent Choral Union for the city.

The British Association for the Advancement of Science plans to visit Aberdeen
There was a gradual progression towards the aim of building a music hall and by the end of 1857 a proposal was made at a public meeting, chaired by the Lord Provost, to establish a joint stock company with a capital of £5000, the anticipated cost of the new building and subscriptions for stock were solicited at the meeting.  The city grandees had also realised that there was another and quite pressing reason to build a venue for large meetings, in addition for the need for a concert hall.  The British Association for the Advancement of Science was due to meet in Aberdeen in 1859 under the presidency of Albert, the Prince Consort.  It would not do to have the BAAS programme, with its royal patron, spread around the city in cramped and inappropriate accommodation.  By early 1858 the sum of £4,358 had been raised and the Aberdeen Music Hall Company was established.  One of the subscribers (£10) was Professor James Clerk Maxwell of Marischal College, the subsequently famous physicist.  Sadly for Aberdeen, Clerk Maxwell was given the heave-ho in 1860 on the merger of Aberdeen’s two universities.  There was no room for two professors of Natural Philosophy in the new University of Aberdeen and Clerk Maxwell departed for King’s College, London.  Another subscriber was a “Mr JM” (£5).  Is it possible that this was James Melvin, modestly hiding his identity in august company?

In May 1858 the Aberdeen Music Hall Company announced that they had acquired the County Rooms, which would be available for let until the new Music Hall was completed.  The first meeting of the Aberdeen Choral Union was held on 10^th November 1858.  The minutes of that first meeting ran as follows.  “At Aberdeen, and within the Music Hall Buildings there, on Wednesday, the 10^th day of November, 1858, at a meeting held immediately after a conference of the conductors and secretaries of the various musical societies in Aberdeen with the Music Hall Company, at which a basis for the formation of a Choral Union in Aberdeen in connection with the Music Hall Company had been agreed on….”  James Melvin was one of the attendees and subsequently became a member of the committee of the Aberdeen Choral Union.  The directors of the Music Hall Company were instrumental in promoting the success of the Aberdeen Choral Union by offering generous terms.  The actual stated purpose of the Choral Union was the “study and practice of choral music with a special view to performances in the Music Hall”.  The Choral Union could use the Music Hall buildings for meetings and practice and the Aberdeen Music Hall Company would meet the costs (and appoint) a conductor and an organist.  Richard Latter (who had been with the Aberdeen Musical Association) and Mr RH Baker, another formally trained musician, were appointed as conductor and organist respectively.  Membership of the Aberdeen Choral Union was open to both men and women at the differential subscription of 2s 6d for men and 1s for the fairer sex.  In effect, the Aberdeen Music Hall Company was ensuring that it had a competent resident choir capable of performing sophisticated choral music.

The Music Hall, designed by James Matthew, was finally completed, including the installation of an organ from Willis of London at a cost of £1000, early in September 1859, just in time for Prince Albert to open it  formally in his role as President of the BAAS.  The Aberdeen Journal was moved to say the following week,   “The past week has been the most brilliant that Aberdeen ever witnessed.  The city has teemed with strangers of rank and eminence from all parts of the country….”  Thus did Aberdeen gain its Music Hall.  The revival in psalmody in 1854 promoted cooperation between the different congregations in the city to create a joint choir, which, by its size, focussed attention on the lack of a large concert venue.  In turn the Aberdeen General Association for the Improvement of Psalmody addressed this deficit by making the founding donation to a fund to build a music hall and by proposing the incorporation of their choir as a Choral Union for the city.  These actions caught the attention and enthusiasm of the public, resulting both in the building of the music hall and the creation of the Aberdeen Choral Union.  The extent of James Melvin’s involvement in these momentous events is not clear.  He was prominent in church music in the city and, as conductor of the Aberdeen Choral Society, he was a joint founder of the Aberdeen Choral Union and a member of its committee from 1864 to 1867 but his status as a working man without formal musical training, within a rigid social hierarchy, probably precluded him playing a leadership role.

The Aberdeen Choral Society continues 

The formation of the Aberdeen Choral Union in 1858 did not bring about the demise of the Aberdeen Choral Society, unlike some other musical societies in the city.  The Union’s  annual membership fee of 2s 6d for men (equivalent to about £12 in 2013 money) may well have acted as a deterrent to the young working class people of the Choral Society and they may also have been deterred by the different social strata to be found in the new choir.  The Choral Society continued as before and regularly attained a membership of 40 to 50.

James Melvin and the Temperance Movement

At that time the consumption of alcohol was rife in Aberdeen.  In 1837 it had a population of about 60,000 but had 870 public houses.  Excess alcohol consumption, especially by the working classes caused a great deal of social distress.  Interestingly, James Melvin was a member of the Temperance Society, which, among other events, held an annual soiree at Methlick.  At the soiree of mid-December 1859 “Mr James Melvin, of St Paul Street UP Church and friends ably conducted the music.  Presentations were made by the Society to Mr James Morrison, of Shakespeare’s Works and Jamieson’s Scottish Dictionary; and “My Schools and Schoolmasters”, and Walker’s English Dictionary, to Mr James Melvin, as a recognition of the valuable assistance rendered to the Society by those gentlemen.”  In December 1863 - “Mr James Melvin, and a select choir of admirable voices from the city, delighted the meeting with sweet music.  There was a large attendance, and the whole proceedings were instructive and entertaining.”  It appears that James may have carried over his temperance principles to events organised by the Aberdeen Choral Society, which each year held an annual assembly.  In March 1862 “The annual assembly of the Choral Society took place on Friday evening in Mr Alexander’s Dancing Academy, Diamond Street; and a very happy and pleasant meeting it was.  An excellent tea having been discussed, the members of the Society sang pleasantly a number of pieces, such as “We fly by night”, and Broomfield’s “The pretty little heart”, after which dancing began; and, with good heart and humour, continued, interspersed with songs by some of the ladies and others, and supplies of fruit, far into the morning.  The ladies were sprightly and nimble; and everybody seemed pleased.”

James Melvin's last concert

James Melvin’s last concert as conductor of the Aberdeen Choral Society took place in April 1869 and the report in the Aberdeen Journal was expansive and summed up the achievements of this remarkable man.  “This Society gave an open rehearsal for the entertainment of their friends, in the Mechanics’ Hall on Friday evening last.  The audience, which was highly respectable, quite filled the place, and listened with evident relish to the varied selection of pieces contained in the programme.  Miss Moir, a promising young soprano, and Mr Fleming, each sung a song, and performed the solos in the Macbeth music, which was altogether a very creditable performance.  The accompanyments were given by a small but efficient band led by Mr Shanks.  The remainder of the programme was made up of glees and part-songs, including “Hail, Sweet Spring” (Dalgleish); “Summer Time” (Mendelsohn); “The Land o’ the Leal”; “Maidens Fair of Padua’s City” (Gastoldi); The Chough and Crow” (Bishop); “Sweet and Low” (Barnby); “The Sailor’s Serenade” (Hatton); “The Dawn of Day” (Reay); and “Serene and Mild” (Webbe).  Without entering into a criticism of the rendering of the various pieces, we may state that, while the selections were very creditably performed for an amateur society.  The Choral Society is the oldest musical association existing in Aberdeen.  It started in 1853, when a number of similar societies came into existence.  They all did good service in their time to the cause of music, and we have no hesitation in saying that the kind of glees and madrigals practised were of a more sterling kind than those used by minor societies now.  The Glee and Madrigal Union, the Philharmonic Society, the Concordia, and others, had each a flourishing existence; and to them doubtless, the Choral Union owes not a little of its prestige, for it was chiefly on account of the absorption of these societies in the Union that they ceased to exist as separate associations.  Mr Melvin, who has been conductor of the Choral Society from the first, has done yeoman service in the cause of music, and the fact that he can still gather around him fifty choiristers, and give such an entertainment as that of Friday night, without any extraneous aid, shows that he still applies himself, with the old loving devotion, to the work of “filling the isle with sweet sounds.”  We hope to see the Choral Society in existence, and hear it, for many years to come, awaking the echoes of bygone years in the sweet strains of the old glees and madrigals.”

The death of James Melvin

After their marriage in June 1851, James and Margaret Melvin rapidly produced a young family.  Children Margaret (1852), Alexander Gray (1853), James (1856), John (1858), Ann (1861), Frederick (1863), Sarah Donald (1865) and Andrew Gray (1866) arrived in quick succession.  But in October 1869, with 46 year old James at the height of his achievements, tragedy overtook the family.  The Aberdeen Journal about this time reported regular outbreaks of infectious diseases which, in those pre- antibiotic days, all too often proved fatal.  In February of that year it recorded “diseases such as….typhus and typhoid are beginning to make their appearance” and in March “We are sorry to learn that many cases of fever of the typhoid kind have lately been reported in the town”.  It was also admitted that Aberdeen had poor sewage disposal and that this was causing disease.  On 10^th October 1869, James Melvin died of typhus of 11 days’ standing.  The person who registered James’ death was Frederick Melvin, Margaret’s brother, a baker in Aberdeen at the time, who was present when James died.  James’ wife Margaret was pregnant and gave birth to daughter Helen Mary the following year.  This must have been a very difficult time for Margaret, with nine children, aged 18 years down to the newly-born baby.  Both James’ parents were already dead and most of Margaret’s close relatives lived 40 miles away in Aboyne.  But the Grays were a strong and close family and help was soon organised.  At the time of the next Census in 1871, two of her children were living with Margaret’s parents in Aboyne.  Fifteen year old James was an apprentice baker and 8 year old Frederick was a scholar, presumably being educated at Aboyne Public School, where another of Margaret’s brothers, Andrew, was the headmaster.

Very soon after the announcement of the death of James Melvin the Aberdeen Choral Society organised a memorial concert, under the patronage of several local notables.  The clear proceeds were to be donated to his wife, Margaret and her young family.  It took place on 18^th November in the Aberdeen Music Hall, which was "crowded to the door" with many prominent local musicians and singers contributing their services free.  Ticket prices varied from 6d to 1s 6d (approximately £2 to £6 in 2013 money).  The Aberdeen Journal  contained an approving editorial, “The friends and acquaintances of the late Mr James Melvin will, we are sure read with pleasure the announcement in another column of a concert to be given on Thursday next, as an expression of respect to his memory, and a means of benefitting those who more immediately suffer through his death.  The spontaneous readiness with which the best local musical talent has been placed at the services of the Committee, augers well alike for a good entertainment and a numerous audience.”  In fact the concert realised a net profit of just over £75 (about £7,200 in 2013 money).

After the death of James Melvin the Aberdeen Choral Society continued under the baton, firstly of Mr James Wilson and subsequently Mr John Watson but it struggled to maintain the popularity it achieved under its founder.  There was a measure of revival under Mr John Murray in the late 1870s but the Society finally expired quietly in the mid-1880s.  The name was resurrected in 1946 and the Aberdeen Choral Society is today an integral part of the Aberdeen musical scene, but the Society is not a lineal descendant of James Melvin’s choir.

Obituary

James’ status in the musical fraternity of Aberdeen resulted in an obituary appearing on 13^th October 1869 in the local newspaper.  His passing would not even have attracted a mention had he been simply an iron moulder.  “The Late Mr James Melvin.  It may be that not a very large number of our readers were familiar with the name and doings of James Melvin, a townsman, who died of fever at his residence here on Monday afternoon.  Among his class, however, and particularly those of that class partial to music, he was well known, and by whomsoever known, esteemed and respected; for while in manner deceased was most gentle and kindly, he has for nearly a score of years been an earnest and successful worker in imparting a love of part singing to all who, in good spirit, sought his aid.  James Melvin was by trade an iron-moulder, and consequently, not much in the eye of the general public; but as precentor of St Paul’s Street UP Church, and, more specially, as conductor of the Aberdeen Choral Society, he has been recognised and valued by our promoters of Psalmody and Oratorio, as one of the most zealous and faithful labourers in the whole city.  His Choral Society, composed of working young men and women, is the oldest associated body of singers in Aberdeen, and undoubtedly has been the means  of doing an immensity of good service in making genuine part music popular amongst a class  that otherwise might not have enjoyed its refining influence.  So much and true duty fulfilled and fulfilling, may well awaken keen regret that the hand and voice of the labourer are still and silent; for surely there is not a little of the higher nobility of nature about men like James Melvin who, incessantly toiling for bread from early morning till nightfall, at hard wasting manual labour, yet find time to cultivate a fine science for their own delight and to imbue a large number of humble followers with a knowledge and love of its masterpieces.  By many the memory of James Melvin will be fondly cherished, and his services long remembered; while present sorrow for his comparatively early departure must be deepened by the circumstance that he leaves a widow and a numerous young family.” 

Although by the standards of today, this obituary may seem patronising and a bit snobbish, it would be a mistake to reach such a conclusion.  Taken in the social context of the 1860s, this is a fulsome and generous tribute to a man of modest origins who rose above his social and educational disadvantages and accomplished much.  James Melvin deserves to be remembered.

Don Fox

20141124

donaldpfox@gmail.com

The Family History of Alexander Gray (1806 - 1876), Aboyne Baker

Readers of this blog may wonder why I have a fascination with 19^th Century Aboyne.  It started with my research into Alexander Gray, a direct relative of my late wife, indeed one of her ggg grandfathers.  Alexander became the village baker in Aboyne, occupying this position probably for 44 years, from 1832 to 1876.  Alexander and his wife Margaret were highly fecund and over a period of 31 years had at least 15 children several of whom (or their spouses) became successful or noteworthy themselves. 

My research on Aboyne began as an attempt to understand the social environment in which Alexander lived.  Quite by chance I have unearthed other personalities and issues which I deemed worth researching in their own right and several of these stories have already been published on my blog.

In turning to Alexander Gray and his large family I realised that a single essay on the topic would be too lengthy for easy comprehension, so I have broken the subject up into concise items which can stand in their own right, or can be viewed as part of the larger story of Alexander Gray. 

Don Fox

20141104

donaldpfox@gmail.com

The Loss of the ss Collynie – A Gray Family Tragedy

ss Collynie, an Aberdeen Steam Collier
In the late 19^th Century, at the height of the Industrial Revolution, coal was the fuel of choice for most industries.  It was mined extensively in Scotland and the North of England and there was a substantial export trade from the ports of the Tyne and Wear and, in Scotland, especially from Methil in Fife, which at the height of the trade exported more than 3 million tons per year.  Originally coal was carried in collier sailing brigs but in 1852 the first iron steam collier was developed.  Although more expensive to build and run than its wind-powered predecessor, its independence of wind conditions and ability to take on water ballast led to much higher productivity.  Steam colliers were constructed by the hundred to transport coal both across the North Sea and up and down the coasts of England and Scotland.

One such steam collier was the ss Collynie which was steel-built at Hall Russell’s shipyard at Footdee, Aberdeen in 1892.  The name of the ship appears to have been taken from the name of a farm near Methlick, north of the Granite City.  Miss Edith Moffatt, daughter of the ship’s owner Mr Todd Moffatt, performed the naming ceremony on 7^th June 1892.  After the ceremony the company removed to an adjoining loft where they enjoyed a banquet of cake and wine and toasted the success of the new vessel.  Two weeks later the Collynie was ready for her sea trial and achieved 11 ½ knots in Aberdeen Bay.  The same day she left for Methil on her first commercial trip under the command of Captain Pirie.

This first trip was typical of the unglamourous life of the Collynie and her crew over the next seven years.  She ran up and down the North Sea wherever she could gain a contract.  Usually her cargo was coal but she occasionally carried other materials, such as cement.  By the start of 1897 the Collynie was under the command of Captain Lawie and in the first four months of that year she called at 16 different ports, the most frequent being Sunderland (15), Aberdeen, her home port (9), Dundee (6) and London (4).  Lawie had held a certificate of competency for 7 years but his maritime career had not been without incident.  He had been master of the Aberdeen steam collier Paradox when she was grounded near Sunderland in fog in 1895, becoming a total wreck.

Coal from Methil to Aberdeen

On 1^st May 1897 the Collynie left Dundee in ballast for Methil, Fife, where she loaded 250 tons of coal bound for Aberdeen.  On board was a crew of 9, including Captain Lawie and 3 passengers, Mrs Jemima Lawie, the captain’s wife and his two sons, John and George.  The remaining crew consisted of the Mate, the Boatswain, the Chief Engineer, the Second Engineer, two firemen, the Cook and a seaman.  The cook was William Smart, a 53 year old Aberdonian, husband of Helen Maria Gray, daughter of the late Alexander Gray, the Aboyne village baker.  William Smart himself had been a baker in Old Deer, Aberdeenshire, following in the footsteps of his father who had been a master baker.  William jun. subsequently pursued a life as a sailor.  Up to a month prior to joining the Collynie, William had been a steward on the Craigisla of Liverpool but, as that vessel was currently in port discharging her cargo, he was out of work, though he was due to rejoin his old ship.  This was his first voyage on the Collynie and, tragically, his last.  The Second Engineer was another Aberdonian, 25 year old John Davidson, a nephew of William Smart.  John’s father, Peter Davidson, was a gamekeeper with the 11^th Marquis of Huntly in Aboyne and was married to Jane Gray, a sister of William Smart’s wife.  John Davidson had only joined the Collynie as Second Engineer about a month before William Smart, having previously served an engineering apprenticeship with Clyne, Mitchell & Co, a marine engine builder in Aberdeen.  It seems likely that John had alerted his uncle to the crew vacancy on the Collynie.

The Collynie must have started her journey from Methil in the early afternoon of 3^rd May after taking on her cargo of 250 tons of coal.  As a result she would have been low in the water.  She travelled at full speed, about 9 ½ knots in this condition and was approaching Aberdeen at 10pm in calm, clear weather on a course north by west.  The crew were called up on deck as was usual at this time as the Collynie rounded Girdleness, with its prominent lighthouse, just south of the entrance to Aberdeen harbour.  Captain Lawie was in charge on the bridge and the boatswain was at the helm.  No one was separately on lookout, which was normal practice.  At 10.10pm the captain called for half speed.  He noticed another vessel at this time about 3 points on his starboard bow with all lights clearly visible.  This other vessel later proved to be the ss Girnigoe, whose master was Captain William Taylor.  The Girnigoe was also a steam collier owned by the John O’Groats Steam Shipping Company.  Her normal area of operations, like the Collynie, was up and down the east coast, though she did also travel to the Baltic in the summer months.  On this occasion she was outward bound from Wick, in ballast, travelling at 10 – 12 knots and steering south and west on a course for Sunderland, where she was to take on coal.  Because she was in ballast the Girnigoe was riding much higher in the water than the Collynie.

Collynie collides with another collier, the Girnigoe

At 10.30pm the Collynie was heading straight for Aberdeen and the Girnigoe was maintaining her course and speed.  The vessels were closing on each other rapidly and about 2 minutes before the ensuing collision Captain Lawie on the Collynie heard one long whistle blast from the Girnigoe, a signal he did not understand but replied in kind.  Immediately afterwards he gave two short blasts to signal that he was starboarding his helm (turning to the left) and then ordered full speed ahead to get clear of the Girnigoe but that vessel ported her helm (turned to the right) and continued to do so, keeping her on course for a collision. The Collynie was struck amidships by the bow of the Girnigoe with both ships probably still travelling at full speed.

The Collynie must have been badly holed below the waterline (she was low in the water) and immediately began to sink.  Captain Lawie, recognising the dire situation, immediately ordered three hands forward to put the dingy overboard, ordered the engines to be stopped and all hands up from the engine room.  Lawie raced below to get life belts for his wife and two children and managed to get them on deck and the boys into life belts. The crew, who had reacted calmly were ordered into the port lifeboat but there was no time to complete the action and the Collynie sank not more than two minutes after the collision.  Captain Lawie tried to hold on to his wife (who had no flotation aid) and children as the boat went down by the head (bow first) but he was struck by some of the funnel gear and lost contact with his family.  When he returned to the surface he managed to grab hold of a floating hatch cover and was picked up by a boat from the Girnigoe in an unconscious condition.  He was the only survivor, all the other crew, his wife and two sons perishing.

The Girnigoe was holed and her bow crushed but she was not in danger.  She stood by at the scene of the collision for some time but found neither survivors nor significant floating wreckage.  Captain Lawie was landed on the Girnigoe and later claimed that Captain Taylor had said to him “I was wrong and I suppose I shall get into trouble.”  Taylor later denied he made this statement, though the judge at the subsequent hearing in the Admiralty Court doubted his veracity.  The accident was witnessed by three other ships. Of these, the Faerder, a Norwegian steamer was approaching Aberdeen harbour at the time and saw two green lights rapidly converging.  One of the lights went out suddenly and he heard shouts from that direction but mistook the significance of the events, believing the shouts to be communication with a pilot.  The St Clair was about half a mile from the collision, saw what had happened and launched a boat.  On the way to the scene the boat’s crew heard the cries of those thrown into the water but when it arrived at the location of the collision no one was found.  When the St Clair’s boat returned, Captain Masson took his ship into port and hove to opposite the Captain Pilot’s office to give the news. Immediately the tug William Finlay was despatched to the scene and Captain Lawie was brought ashore on the tug and comforted by fellow mariners, having suffered the loss not only of his ship and crew but also his immediate family.  The newspaper reports of the accident gave prominence to the tragedy that had befallen Captain Lawie but the remainder of crew, who drowned, left at least seven widows and thirty one orphaned children behind.   Several wives of the crew had gathered at the quayside to await the expected return of the Collynie and the news of the loss of the vessel so close to her home port caused great shock and distress.  The news of the collision spread rapidly in the town and others hurried down to the harbour hoping to hear that there had been survivors.  Their hopes were to be disappointed.

The William Finlay was sent out again the following morning to look for bodies but found none.  Indeed, of the eleven who perished, only one body that of William Smart, was recovered.  He was found floating about 2 ½ miles offshore by the crew of a Portlethen fishing boat the day after the collision, 4^th May, having drifted about 5 miles from the position of the collision.  William Smart was identified later that day by two of his sons, who travelled down to Portlethen and his bodywas taken back to Aberdeen.  William’s sleeves were rolled up and it appears that he was preparing to swim (he was known to be a strong swimmer).  William was buried the following Saturday at Trinity Cemetery, Aberdeen.

Fatal Accident Inquiry

An Inquiry under the Fatal Accidents Act was held at Stonehaven on 12^th May 1897 before a jury.  Each captain blamed the other for causing the accident.  Captain Lawie gave the opinion that the Girnigoe had been at fault for porting her helm (turning right) and continuing to do so, which maintained her on a collision course with the Collynie.  Captain Taylor claimed that the accident was the fault of the Collynie for failing to port her helm when Girnigoe whistled her to do so (Captain Lawie said he did not understand that signal – it should have been one short blast but he interpreted it as one long blast).  Had Girnigoe done so, the collision would have been avoided.  Captain Taylor admitted he could have kept clear of the Collynie but did not know the other vessel’s instructions.  The following day the jury at the Inquiry found that the accident was due to the combined actions of the two captains, though it was not required to apportion blame.  However, a knowledgeable witness had given a different opinion, that the collision was entirely the fault of the Girnigoe for turning to the right when not requested by the Collynie.  Had she maintained her course the accident would have been avoided.  A separate hearing into the cause of the accident was heard in the Admiralty Court in London on 30^th June 1897.  In this much more knowledgeable court, the Captain of the Girnigoe was found entirely to blame and the accuracy of the ship’s log and the truthfulness of Captain Taylor’s testimony called into question.

On 8^th May 1897 the owners, Master and crew of the Collynie instituted an action in the Admiralty Court against the owners of the Girnigoe for the recovery of damages.  The Girnigoe owners made a counter-claim for the cost of damage to their vessel.  However, the finding that the Girnigoe was entirely to blame for the accident caused the John O’Groats Steam Shipping Company to change tack.  They subsequently admitted responsibility but sought to limit their total liability for damages, under the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act, to £15/ton of the Girnigoe’s registered tonnage.  The Admiralty Court granted the plea of the plaintiffs and ordered them to pay into court £2268 14s 6d in respect of the loss of the ship (equivalent to £8/ton) and give bail for £1985 2s 8d in respect of life claimants (equivalent to £7/ton).  It is not clear when this money eventually reached the families of the deceased or how it was broken down between the different claimants.  It would have been equivalent to about £250,000 in 2013 money.

Impact on the families of the dead men

How did the two families cope with the loss of their husbands? 

Helen Maria Gray was the 11^th child and 4^th daughter of Alexander Gray and was thus born into a rather crowded household next to the bakery in Aboyne, in August 1849.  Her brother Andrew, the intellectual in the family, was appointed as headmaster of the Aboyne Public School in 1855.  As part of the remuneration for the job he had the use of the schoolmaster’s house on Charleston Road.  Andrew never married and the house was far bigger than necessary for his personal needs.  Various sisters and other relatives lived with him from time to time and in 1861 his sisters Helen Maria and Ann were lodging there.  By 1871 Helen Maria had moved back to the house of her parents.  In 1873 she married William Smart at Aboyne.  It is not known how she met William but the fact that both her father and William’s father were bakers may have been responsible in some way for the growth of the friendship.

At the time of his marriage, William Smart jun. was described as both a steward on a merchantman and a baker.  He spent the rest of his life alternating between these two careers.  William and Helen Maria’s first child, Susan Maria Gray, was born in September 1875 in Aberdeen and, at the registration of the birth, William was described as a ship’s steward.  The subsequent children arrived in 1878 (William Harley), 1879 (Andrew Gray), 1880 (Albert Alexander) and 1881 (Helen Jane).  The latter four children were all born in Old Deer.  This appears to have been a phase when William Smart was baking for a living and his status as a master baker was confirmed at the 1881 Census.  No further children were born after these five, who had arrived in quick succession.  In 1891 William Smart was absent from home, 93 Park Street but, his wife Helen Maria was at home, along with the four youngest children, all described as scholars.  These circumstances suggest that husband William gave up baking to return to the sea in or soon after 1881.  Perhaps economic circumstances compelled him to change course.  William Smart’s return to the sea left Helen Maria at home to raise a family five, then aged 6, 3, 2, 1 and a few months.  Helen Maria thus had a very hard task.  At least when the tragic accident to the Collynie occurred in 1897 the family had essentially grown up, with the youngest then 16.

Curiously, Susan Maria Gray Smart, the first child of William and Helen, has not been found in either the 1881 Census (when she would have been 5 or 6) or in the 1891 Census (when she would have been 10 or 11).  In 1901 Susan Maria Gray Smart reappeared in the Census working as a domestic tablemaid at the Deeside Hydropathic Institution at Murtle, near Peterculter in the Dee valley.  On 23^rd October 1901 she married her first cousin, William Gray Davidson, a journeyman baker from the village of Aboyne, about 20 miles west of Murtle.  His father, John, had married another daughter of Alexander Gray, Martha Mary and had himself become the village baker of Aboyne in succession to her late father.  Presumably John Davidson’s son William was working in the family business.  This marriage suggests that Susan Maria Gray Smart had kept in touch with her Aboyne-based relatives.  Susan and William settled down in Aboyne and eventually Susan’s mother Helen Maria moved in with them at Annaville, Aboyne, dying there in the village of her birth in 1918.

John Davidson (not related to John Davidson the baker), the other Gray family victim of the Collynie disaster, had married Ruth Findlay in September 1894, less than three years before his tragic early death.  They were 20 and 19 respectively.  At the time of marriage the usual address for each of them was given as 93 Park Street, Aberdeen, Ruth’s parental home.  Her father, George Findlay, was a seaman and it seems likely that John Davidson was a lodger in the Findlays’ house, which was close to the harbour, where John was pursuing his engineering apprenticeship with Clyne, Mitchell & Co.  In April 1896, Ruth’s widowed mother, Helen, died.  Ruth was pregnant at the time and she gave birth to a son, John Andrew Gray Davidson in September of that year.  When the sinking of the Collynie occurred the following May, baby John was less than a year old.  Ruth Davidson thus found herself in a very difficult situation.  Both her parents and her husband of three years were now dead.  Not only did she have to cope with the loss of an income, but she probably had no home and no one close by in her immediate family to help with raising the baby.

At the 1901 Census John AG Davidson, then four years old, was a visitor at the house of Mansfield Ross, a plumber who lived at 10 Union Grove, Aberdeen.  Mansfield Ross had married Annie Davidson, sister of John Davidson.  Jane and Peter Davidson, the parents of Annie and John, were visiting their daughter because she has given birth three days previously to her first child, a girl and they had taken two of their own children, plus grandson John, with them.  It is likely that John AG Davidson was living with his Davidson grandparents on an extended basis to allow his mother Ruth to seek work.  In 1901 she was far from Aberdeen working as a domestic nurse for James Paterson and his family in Dumfriesshire.  James Paterson was, in fact, a well-known artist.  His parents were from a wealthy Glasgow textile family and, though he started in the family business, his interests lay in art.  He attended Glasgow School of Art in the evenings and became a founding member of “The Glasgow Boys” school of painters.  After marrying, he set up home in a cottage in the village of Moniaive, where he lived between 1879 and 1903.  He became famous for portraying the surrounding countryside.  Ruth Davidson worked for the Patersons in Moniaive around the turn of the century and eventually married a local man, John McCheyne.  In 1911 the McCheynes were living in High Street, Moniaive, where John McCheyne had a cycle dealership.  Happily, by this time, John AG Davidson was again living with his mother and step-father.

It was a characteristic of the wider Gray family that they looked after their own and, on other occasions when circumstances overwhelmed a family member, they rallied round to share the burden, often by taking in one or more children.  This happened in the case John AG Davidson, son of the late John Davidson and may also have happened in the case of Susan Maria Gray Smart, who “disappeared” from the census records of 1881 and 1891. Although there is no direct evidence that she was informally adopted by part of the extended Gray family, the circumstances make this a plausible hypothesis.

Don Fox

20141111

donaldpfox@gmail.com