Who was Andrew Gray?
Andrew Gray
was the 5th child and 3rd son of Alexander Gray, the
village baker in Aboyne between 1828 and 1876.
Andrew was born in Aboyne in 1834 and was the most academically able of
the 15 children in the Gray family. He
graduated from King’s College, University of Aberdeen in both arts and divinity
by 1855. That same year, at the age of
21, he was appointed as headmaster of the Aboyne Public School and he served in
that role for the next 44 years, establishing a reputation as an outstanding
educator and stalwart of village life.
However, in spite of his demonstrable abilities, he never moved on to
higher things, either in education or in the Church. Why he did not do so, in
spite of opportunity presenting itself, is a fascinating question.
Family Origins
Alexander
Gray, Andrew’s father, was not a native of Aboyne but was born in 1806 in
Botriphnie, a small hamlet in Banffshire, close to the Spey valley. Alexander’s father was a hardware merchant
and it is likely that this early exposure to business convinced Alexander to
establish an enterprise of his own, if the opportunity arose. Alexander became a baker and confectioner to
trade and it is likely that he served an apprenticeship during the early 1820s.
He was living in Keith in 1824 and Turriff in 1826, before arriving in Aboyne
in 1828 at the age of about 22. The most
likely explanation for these movements is that he was serving an apprenticeship
in Keith and was subsequently employed as a baker in Turriff before acquiring
sufficient capital to set up his own business in Aboyne. This business was successful and Alexander
never left his adopted home, dying there in 1876 after 48 years as principal of
the Aboyne bakery. Alexander Gray and
his wife Margaret Harley formed a fecund partnership, producing 15 known live
births between 1824 when their first son, Alexander jr. was born in Keith and
1855, when their last daughter, Susan, was born in Aboyne. The production of a child at regular 2 year
intervals was a typical pattern for Victorian times, when children were
breast-fed for a year and artificial birth control was not generally practised.
According to
the New Statistical Account of 1845 for the Parish of Aboyne and Glentanar, the
salary of the parochial schoolmaster was £28 which was supplemented with an
allowance from the Dick Bequest and school fees, making an income of about £80
in total, together with a house and garden.
Although up to 140 pupils were in attendance, the standard of education must have been
competent because at that time there was one Aboyne lad at King’s College,
Aberdeen and another at Marischal College, Aberdeen’s second university, both
students holding competition bursaries.
Andrew Gray was shortly to follow them when he matriculated at King’s
College in 1851. His career at
university progressed well. In 1852 he
was 4th in the order of merit in the Senior Greek class and he
graduated in March 1853, probably in Divinity and continued at King’s for a
further two years for the degree of MA, graduating in April 1855. He gained further Merit Awards, in Moral
Philosophy (7th) and Senior Humanities (8th).
Appointment as Aboyne's Dominie
At this
point in his career it appears that Andrew intended to follow a career as a
minister but in those days a career in the Church of Scotland was usually
presaged by a period of teaching in a parochial school.
An example of this transition occurred when Sir William Cunliffe Brooks built a
new church at Dinnett in 1876. The first
minister was Rev JG Michie, who had previously been schoolmaster at Logie
Coldstone. Andrew was appointed as the headmaster, or
dominie, in the Aboyne Public School in 1855, the year of his graduation from
King’s College. He must have been highly
pleased with his elevation. This post
had considerable potential for future advancement, either in the education of
the young or as a stepping-stone to the Church.
He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Kincardine O’Neil in 1863
and for a number of years he was a popular preacher in local churches, but
eventually gave up this role. When asked
by friends why he did not pursue a career in the Church he replied that he did
not receive the call from a congregation at a time when his emoluments as a
schoolmaster were only £80 per year and he could have done with more
money. After the Education Act of 1872
his emoluments in education were more than sufficient for his desired lifestyle
and by that time he no longer wanted the challenge of a new career direction at
the Manse. So the Church’s loss was
Education’s gain.
The dominie
was a prominent and respected figure in Scottish village life, though Andrew
must have found early on, if he did not know already, that he was in a position
which required him to participate in local activities beyond the schoolroom. Local landed proprietors, in particular at
that time the 10th Marquis of Huntly, the owner of the land on which
the Aboyne Public School stood, had to be attended to, even fawned upon. November 1857 saw the annual ball given by
the Aboyne tenantry to the Marquis and his family in the Mason’s Hall, Aboyne. The young schoolmaster was one of those
figures in village life whose presence was required. The Royal association with Deeside was also a
powerful influence on the conduct of local personalities. When Prince Albert died in December 1861 his
widow, Queen Victoria was cast into a period of profound grief and it was
important for the public and especially its prominent members to show
appropriate feelings. A local fund was
raised to pay for a memorial, to be located in Aberdeen, to the late Albert and
lists of subscribers were regularly published in the Aberdeen Journal. In 1862 Andrew Gray appeared on the
subscription list, having made a donation of 5/-, equivalent to about £25 in
2013 money.
Life outside the School Room
Not all
events at which Andrew was present outside the schoolroom, were a matter of
duty or form. This was a period when all
aspects of Highland culture were becoming fashionable and Highland Gatherings
were springing up in many towns and villages, especially those experiencing a
growth in tourism, like the settlements on Deeside. Kincardine O’Neil, the next village eastwards
from Aboyne held a Highland Gathering in 1862 with Andrew Gray as a notable
attendee. In 1859 a celebration of
Burns’ Night was held in the large hall of the Huntly Arms, Aboyne with Dr
Gerrard, the Provost of Aboyne, occupying the chair and Andrew Gray present. Meetings of various bodies took place in the
Huntly Arms, usually involving eating, drinking, songs, stories, toasts and
general merry-making. This kind of
activity would become a staple of his world and may have been one of the factors
which caused him to remain hefted to Aboyne for the rest of his days.
Aboyne Public School and State Funding
Scotland has
a proud reputation of having established a system of parish schools, supported
by landed proprietors and the Church of Scotland, which was within reach of
most of the population before the end of the 18th century. Although such schools were not the exclusive
preserve of boys, the societal norms of the time led to most parents
prioritising the education of boys over girls.
However, during the first half of
the 19th century the system was put under strain due to growing
urbanisation, migration, especially from the Highlands and from Ireland and the
Disruption of 1843, when the Free Church split from the Church of Scotland. Increasingly, the state had to intervene
financially to prop up the parochial schools and finally, in 1872 the Education
(Scotland) Act was passed which made basic education both compulsory and free. Governance of schools was taken out of the
hands of the Church of Scotland and placed under the control of locally-elected
School Boards.
Aboyne had a
traditional Parish School in 1855 when Andrew Gray was appointed as headmaster.
There were two other local schools, a school provided by the Society for the
Promotion of Christian Knowledge in Glentanar and a Female School on the Green
in Aboyne, which was promoted by Maria Antoinetta, the Marchioness of
Huntly. Female schools basically
equipped girls for the traditional female roles of servant, housekeeper and
mother. They taught such practical
skills as needlework, knitting and other female crafts but also some more
academic subjects, such as English grammar, arithmetic and scripture. However, after the Scottish Education Act
came into force, the Aboyne Female School disappeared. Parochial schools had never been the
exclusive preserve of boys. If boys
predominated it was a product of parental choice. They spent money on school fees in what they
saw as the most cost-effective way. Interestingly, when Andrew Gray retired, he
remarked that at Aboyne Public School the girls had recently been performing
better than the boys.
A School
Board was elected in Aboyne in 1873 and Rev Andrew Gray acted as returning
officer. His brother, blacksmith
Alexander Gray, was one of those elected to the Board. The change of control brought about after
1872 seemed to provide Andrew Gray with scope to branch out into pedagogical
areas not hitherto covered in Aboyne. In
1873 he ran a series of science classes covering a remarkably wide spectrum,
bearing in mind Andrew’s own training in Divinity and the Arts. Physical Geography (Elementary and Advanced),
Animal Physiology and Mathematics were all taught. His sisters Susan and Helen featured
prominently in the pass lists. In 1886
Government financial assistance became available for instruction in science and
art as applied to textile and mechanical industries. Andrew Gray taught a class in Agricultural
Science at elementary level at Aboyne and all nine of his students passed. At the meeting of the School Board in
November of that year, Andrew Gray indicated that he wished to appoint Margaret
Young of Birsemore and Susan Gray as pupil-teachers at Aboyne School. Pupil-teachers were usually appointed at age
13 and served a 5-year apprenticeship of on-the-job teacher training, though
his sister, Susan, was actually 18 at the date of appointment. At the 1871 Census, Susan Gray was living
with her brother Andrew in the Schoolhouse, Aboyne and was described as a
scholar. In 1881, when Susan would have
been 26, she was still living with Andrew and had by this time acquired a
teaching qualification, AMFEIS and may still have been teaching at Aboyne
Public School. If Susan had aspirations
to follow a career in school education, they were cut off on 21 June of the
same year when she married Alexander Troup, the butcher in the nearby town of
Ballater. Curiously, Andrew Gray had
applied for three weeks’ leave of absence for Susan about 9 June, which was
granted, on account of her state of health.
Andrew undertook to provide a substitute for the absent Susan. Another Gray relative who fell under Andrew’s
influence was Martha Jane Gray, his niece, daughter of his brother George. In 1884 she was awarded a bursary in a competition
organised by the Aboyne Highland Games Committee. The value of the award was £5 per year and it
could be held for two years. Martha Jane
was clearly a bright girl because she also won one of the prizes in a local scripture
competition funded by Mrs Colonel Davidson of Edinburgh.
In 1875 a
new school building was constructed at Aboyne, taking over the site formerly
occupied by the Female School. The Rev
Dr Mackenzie, Church of Scotland Minister addressed those attending the formal
opening and praised Headmaster Gray for discharging his duties so well and efficiently
in the past and hoped that he would be long-spared to them. The investment seems to have been justified
because in 1881, when the school was visited by the Government Inspector, his
report was judged by the School Board to be “highly satisfactory.” Glentanar also got a new school building in
due course, thanks to the liberality of Sir William Cunliffe Brooks, the
proprietor of the Glentanar Estate.
Andrew Gray was present at the ceremonial laying of the foundation stone
of the new building in 1896.
Headmasters and the Education Bill
The
headmasters of the counties of Aberdeen, Banff and Moray had a professional
association and Andrew Gray was a member of that organisation from the
beginning and, in 1873, he was elected President of the Association. He first rose to prominence in the Association
at the time that the Education Bill was passing through Parliament in 1871. The
headmasters had become very exercised by the potential changes to their
emoluments when schools fell under the direct control of Government and so
decided to send a deputation to London to lobby on their behalf on the wording
of the Bill. The deputation was led by
Mr Milne, the headmaster of King-Edward School and he was accompanied by Andrew
Gray. They were seeking guarantees from
the politicians regarding income from fees, charities (Dick and Milne Bequests),
living allowances and retirement income, among other things. Mr Milne first met with other school delegations
from Scotland but appears to have been unable to agree a common position and so
took it upon himself to act alone. He
was assiduous in seeking out appointments with MPs, ministers and civil
servants, no doubt assisted by Andrew Gray.
Some progress was made in securing support for maintaining the incomes
of those currently in office and good advice was obtained on how to address
complex issues, but politicians did not then, as they do not now, generally
offer cast-iron guarantees, even though they readily dispense warm sentiments. Mr Milne reported back to the ABM Association
and they authorised him to keep his committee in existence and empowered him to
travel to London again, should the Bill pass through the House of Commons and
go to the Lords without the desired amendments.
The Education Bill continued to exercise and disappoint the
Schoolmasters. At a meeting of the
Association held in May 1872 Andrew Gray spoke powerfully about the drawbacks
in the Bill, complaining that the Government was opposed to a minimum salary
and there was nothing in the Bill to protect their income from the
bequests. However, they did agree to
work with the Dick Bequest to draw up a clause and bring influence upon MPs to
get it inserted into the Bill, to protect their interests. Andrew Gray continued his active membership
of the Committee undertaking this work on behalf of the Association.
The
Education (Scotland) Act passed into law without the Schoolmasters having much
influence on its final form. Under the
Act elementary education had to be provided at the expense of local rates but
School Boards were only obliged to provide elementary education. Thus charitable bodies, such as the Dick and
Milne Bequests, which previously provided bursaries for the elementary
education of poor pupils and supplements to the emoluments of schoolmasters,
could no longer disburse grants for these purposes. The Trustees of the Milne Bequest, in
consequence, proposed to switch expenditure from elementary education of the
poor to supporting a smaller number of poor, but deserving, children in higher
education. This caused unhappiness
amongst the headmasters because of their potential loss of income. The Headmasters continued to fight a
rearguard action for years through ongoing interactions with the Trustees of
the Milne and Dick Bequests, trying to persuade them to spend more of their
income on elementary education and less on higher education. Andrew Gray continued to play a prominent
part in these discussions and, after a final flurry in 1888, the subject
dropped from sight.
Headmasters' Professional Meetings
After the
excitement generated by the Education Act, the schoolmasters of North East
Scotland were able to turn, for much of the time, to a more mundane programme
of events. In 1879 Dr Kerr, who had been
HM Inspector of Schools for Aberdeenshire, retired. He received a good send-off from the County
headmasters at a presentation to himself and Mrs Kerr held in the Trades Hall,
Aberdeen. The headmasters were grateful
for the “eminently judicious, efficient, and courteous manner in
which for a number of years he had discharged his duties in the district.” After the presentation the party adjourned to
Mann’s Hotel, where “an excellent lunch was served.” A similar ceremony was bestowed on Dr Kerr’s
successor, Dr Ogilvie in 1888. Andrew
Gray was present on both occasions.
On a more local level the schoolmasters of mid-Deeside,
constituted as the Kincardine O’Neil branch of the Educational Institute of
Scotland (the teachers’ trades union), met regularly and usually in that
favourite watering hole, the Huntly Arms Hotel, Aboyne. Formal business was generally disposed of
quickly, so that the attendees could get down to the important business of
dining together. Sometimes the meeting
programme would also include a visit to a local site of interest, such as the
visit to Burn O’Vat (dramatic, cauldron-shaped recess in rocks near Dinnet,
generated in a meltwater channel under a retreating glacier during the last
ice-age), Sir William Cunliffe Brooks’ Glentanar Estate in 1894, or the Falls
of Muick in 1895. From at least 1877,
Andrew Gray was their president until his retirement in 1899, reflecting the
status he had established in the local teaching fraternity.
Andrew Gray and Sir William Cunfiffe Brooks
The landed
proprietors were a major force in rural Scotland due to the fact that, even at
the end of the 19th century, land was the generator of much wealth
and therefore power. There were very few
major landowners in Aboyne and the most important, by far, in mid-century was
the Marquis of Huntly, though his power waned as his estates were dispersed to
pay off debts. In parallel a newcomer,
William Cunliffe Brooks, grew in influence as he bought up significant
landholdings from the Marquis. Most of
the whole population was dependent upon these two individuals, either as
tenants, employees or tradesmen. All
these dependents knew their place and took every opportunity to make
obeisances. It was not a one-way process
as the landowners themselves made appropriate gestures to the populace at
large, especially on significant occasions.
A good example of this reciprocity was seen when Charles Gordon, 11th
Marquis of Huntly married Amy Brooks, elder daughter of WCB, in 1869. All the tenantry was invited to a dinner held
in a large marquee on the Green. About
350 in total, including Andrew Gray, attended.
On the return of the Marquis and Marchioness to Aboyne in the middle of
August, a party of gentlemen, again including Andrew Gray, was invited to the
Castle to partake of cake and wine. In
1874 the tenantry of the Aboyne Estate formed a committee under the
chairmanship of Francis Sandison, then a sheep farmer at Tomnakeist, one of the
Huntlys’ farms at Tullich, to organise a ball for the entertainment of the
Marquis and Marchioness, which was held in a marquee on the Green. This type of event occurred frequently and
reference to two of them illustrates the generality of conduct at all. Both included major contributions from Andrew
Gray.
In 1886
Queen Victoria made William Cunliffe Brooks a baronet and all those depenent on
Sir William’s largesse vied with each other to deliver their congratulations in
a way which would please the puffed-up and preening Sir William. The traders who benefitted from his many
projects, his friends and neighbours and the Aboyne villagers all decided to
present fawning addresses and a date was set in mid-June for these presentations
to be made sequentially in the Billiards Room at Glentanar House. Andrew Gray was delegated to write and
deliver the address on behalf of the villagers. The full text of his contribution follows. “To Sir William Cunliffe Brooks, Baronet, MP,
and Lady Brooks. The humble address of
us, as representing the inhabitants in and around the village of Aboyne. We hailed with feelings of the liveliest
satisfaction and pleasure the announcement that Her Majesty had a short time
ago been graciously pleased to confer a baronetcy on you as a mark of our
Sovereign’s respect and esteem for your long and honourable public career. (Applause)
The strong and warm attachment that has been engendered and fostered in
us towards you, Sir William, and your good lady, by your many genial, kind, and
liberal acts has moved us to approach you respectfully at this time, and to
give expression to it in the form we now do.
(Applause) We, Sir William, have
had many striking proofs of your unbounded generosity, of your courteous and
affable disposition, of your public and private worth, of your keen interest in
whatever tends to our common welfare, and of your active concern for the
benefit not only of one class, but of all classes; and to Lady Brooks,
possessing as she does all that is calculated to render one amiable and
respected, we are closely knit by her high Christian principles, by her gentle
nature, by her kindness of heart, and by her deep desire to promote the good
and the happiness not only of those who are in her immediate vicinity, but of
all she comes in contact with. (Loud
applause) We beg to assure you that we
are much pleased to have it in our power to give expression to these brief
remarks. We desire to assure you of our
deep personal regard, and we hope that both of you may be long spared to enjoy
in health and happiness a title of honour so worthily earned, and in our
opinion so deservedly bestowed.” (Loud
applause) Andrew Gray, in handing the
address to Sir William, said, “ In name of the deputation here present, in name
of those who have appended their signatures, and in the name of the inhabitants
in and around the village of Aboyne, I beg respectfully to ask your acceptance
of this address, which I have much pleasure in now handing to you. “
(Applause). Sir William was
appropriately touched by the gesture, as revealed by the following section of
his reply. “…What I value so much is the
kindly feeling that has prompted you all to come forward as you have done this
day. As I said, I shall treasure it to
my dying day: I shall never forget it, and I assure you I shall always try to
reciprocate it…”. Those present must
have reflected that it was a case of “mission accomplished”.
In December
1897 the Marquis and Marchioness of Huntly were entertained to supper and a
ball in Aboyne’s Public Hall. Andrew
Gray was delegated to propose a toast to Sir William and Lady Brooks, though
they had had to decline at the last minute.
Andrew said he was quite sure they all regretted the absence
of Sir William and his kind and amiable lady.
This regret was intensified by the fact that as they had heard he was
suffering from indisposition (“For several days a severe cold has been coming
upon me and the doctor has absolutely forbidden my coming out tonight…”) which
they hoped would be of short duration.
It was quite impossible for him to enumerate all that Sir William had
done in the interest of the poorer classes of his tenants and of the
inhabitants of the parish. Active
physically, possessing a keen and active mind and ready to detect any wrong
that might be attempted to be perpetrated on the neighbourhood, he had set
himself with a manly and outspoken courage in no niggardly way to preserve the
amenities of the village and neighbourhood and had done much that was
calculated to promote and increase the fame of the parish as a health resort. (Applause) (This was probably a deferential reference to Brooks’ opposition to the Aboyne
Isolation Hospital, an episode which did not enhance his reputation). Let them take the latest case of his
munificence in that handsome donation of £1000 towards the Gordon Highlanders’
Fund. (Applause) The name of Gordon was to them a loved
cherished and revered word and it stirred the very life blood of them all, so
intimately associated as it was with the noble family under whom they sat. (Applause)
It was needless for him to say how much pleasure he had in associating
this toast with the name of Sir William’s most excellent, amiable and kindly
lady. She worked quietly, but none the
less in a way to commend herself with all with whom she came in contact. Let them therefore drink to the health long
life and happiness of Sir William and Lady Brooks. (Loud applause)
Life Outside the Classroom
Andrew Gray
never married and it is perhaps for this reason that he filled his life with
other distractions, many of a sporting or cultural nature, though he also took
on a significant portfolio of serious societal roles. Characteristically these
were of a supporting rather than a leading nature. It is understandable that he should have
eschewed office on the Parochial Board and, after 1872, the School Board,
because of his professional position in the village. However, unlike several of his friends and
relations, he never sought election to Aboyne Town Council. Soon after he was
appointed as headmaster at Aboyne, Andrew Gray was also appointed, in 1857 or
1858, as registrar for the parish, a role he continued to play until his death
in 1900. It was an ideal role for a
bachelor schoolmaster, utterly central to village life and requiring almost
constant availability.
Andrew Gray
held university qualifications in both Arts and Divinity and he considered
following a career in the Church, but eventually decided to stay in the field
of education. He was, throughout his
life, a devoted member of the Church of Scotland and fulfilled a variety of
roles on behalf of his local congregation.
He was Session Clerk from at least 1876 until his death in 1900,
Secretary to the Committee on Smaller Livings and Secretary and Treasurer of
the parish committee set up in 1877 to make a substantial presentation of money
and gifts, as a mark of respect, to Rev James Mackenzie and his wife. Andrew Gray made the presentation which he
prefaced with the following words “In the name of the
Committee and in that of all the other subscribers, this purse – knitted by one
of your own congregation – I beg of you, sir, to accept, together with the
100gns it contains, together with this table and chairs, from the Members of
his Congregation and other friends as a mark of esteem. But further as you are not alone in the world
– as you have, in common phrase, a better half, I beg of you likewise to accept
on her account this salver on which these words are inscribed – “To Mrs
Mackenzie, from the Congregation and other friends, as a mark of esteem”. In 1877 100gns was the rough equivalent of
£10,000 in 2013 money. Andrew Gray was also Secretary of the Church
Defence Committee in 1885 at a time of great tension, when the Liberal Party’s
policy was the disestablishment of the Church of Scotland. At a public meeting held in Aboyne, Andrew’s
brother, Alexander proposed the motion, “That the Church of
Scotland at the present crisis ought to receive the earnest support of its
members and of all others who value the principle of a recognition of the
Christian religion by the State.”
Eventually, some years later, the Liberals dropped this divisive policy.
From before 1890 Andrew was an Elder of his congregation and in 1894 he
was chosen to represent them at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
in Edinburgh though, in the event, he was unable to attend. All of these positions of service emphasise
his ability, even desire, to operate at the centre of events, but in a
supporting role.
In another
act of generosity and a further expression of public esteem, the ladies of the
congregation at St Machar’s, Aboyne presented the Rev. James Mackenzie with an
academic gown, hood, trencher and John Knox cap on him being raised to the
degree of Doctor of Divinity by the University of Aberdeen. Dr Mackenzie had then been minister at Aboyne
for 35 years. Unfortunately, the Marquis
and Marchioness of Huntly were unable to attend on this special occasion and
the presentation was made by Mrs Smith of Dalwhing. Sadly, Mrs Smith was not able to find her own
voice and Rev Andrew Gray acted as mouthpiece for the ladies in expressing
their sentiments towards the long-serving minister.
Andrew Gray and Freemasonry
Andrew
Gray’s father Alexander was a long-standing Freemason both of the Royal Arch
Chapter 57 and the Craft Masonry Lodge 281, which both met in the Mason’s Hall
on Charlestown Road, Aboyne. His
brothers, Alexander, Benjamin and George were also “Bretheren of the Mystic
Tie”. Andrew, too, was a Mason and at
least from 1867 he was Chaplain to Lodge 281 until his death in 1900. It is likely that he had been a member from a
much earlier date but, since he did not accept any office, other than Chaplain,
no clue has been found as to his date of initiation.
It is clear
from numerous reports of proceedings in the Masonic Hall, especially following
the AGM of Lodge 281 on, or around, St John’s Day, 27th December,
that the membership of this male club enjoyed itself enormously with
alcohol-fuelled dinners, speeches, songs, recitations and toasts, except in the
time of Lord Douglas Gordon, Charles Gordon’s younger brother, as Right
Worshipful Master, when “the cup that cheers but does not inebriate”, ie tea,
was the obligatory beverage. Batchelor
Andrew Gray apparently found the company of masonic lodge members much to his
liking.
Charles
Gordon, 10th Marquis of Huntly, Lord Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire and
a leading Freemason, died in 1863. For upward of 20 years the Marquis of Huntly
held the office of Provincial Grand Master of Aberdeenshire (West) and for
nearly as long a period the still more important office of Provincial Grand
Superintendant of Royal Arch Masonry for the whole county of Aberdeen. About 1865 the tenantry and neighbours of the
Aboyne Estate decided that it would be fitting to raise a memorial to the late
Laird and, in consultation with Maria Antoinetta Gordon, the Dowager
Marchioness, it was agreed to erect an obelisk on Mortlach, a hill on the
Estate, about two miles north of Aboyne Castle.
The local Freemasons took the lead in raising money and arranging an
architect. The design was for a 60 foot
granite obelisk surmounted by an iron cross.
The
foundation stone was laid in May 1867 with full masonic honours, which was
appropriate given the leading masonic role of the 10th Marquis. Representatives of 11 lodges formed up in
full regalia in the village, accompanied by a military band and three pipers
and then duly tramped up Mortlach to the site chosen for the memorial. The party then formed a circle and displayed
the instruments of the Craft. This was
probably the first big public occasion on which Andrew Gray was required to
officiate in his role as Chaplain to Lodge 281.
The Right Worshipful Provincial Grand Master of the Aberdeen (City)
Province called upon him to crave a blessing on the proceedings and he did not
miss his opportunity to shine.
“Almighty
Architect and Supreme Convener of the Universe, bend Thine ear to our cry at
this time and graciously vouchsafe Thy presence to us on this occasion. May Thy blessing rest upon us, and, whilst we
have this day met to found a monument in memory of our late and much lamented
Noble Brother, may we remember that rank and station do not and cannot avert
thy cold hand of death. We humbly
implore Thee, o God, to send us Thy Holy Spirit to teach us to be wise and
faithful in our day and generation, so that it may be ours to be raising, by
our lives and actions, a monument for ourselves, not only in the hearts of men
in this world, but also in that upper sanctuary built without laws, to which we
have access by faith in Jesus Christ, which is a tried stone, and the only sure
foundation. May the emblems of our art
remind us more and more of our duty to Thee, to the Brotherhood, and to
mankind; and may they foster in us faith, hope and charity, so that in all we
think, in all we say, in all we do, it may ever be our desire to promote Thy
glory, and to advance the spiritual reign of Christ upon earth. We pray for all our fellow men, for all those
who have , by their means, or, in any other way, manifested an interest in this
day’s work, for all who are with us in spirit though absent in body, that Thou
wilt bless them and do them good. Be
near O God, to all the members of the Brotherhood, and may our ancient craft
ever prosper. Protect, we entreat Thee,
the workmen from all the dangers to which they may be exposed, and may this
work in due time be properly completed.
Keep us all in the paths of virtue, honour and fidelity; let brotherly
love prevail. May our sins be washed
away in the all-cleansing blood of Jesus, and may we finally appear before
Thee, clothed in white robes and with palms in our hands. Hear and answer us in mercy, O God, at this
time. And now, with God the Father, Son
and Holy Ghost be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
The
mysticism then continued with the workmen of the Craft applying their jewels –
plumb-line, level and square – to the foundation stone, which was followed by
the Provincial Grand Master giving three taps with a hammer on the granite
block and pronouncing the work finished.
He then poured corn wine and oil from the cornucopia on the stone and
intoned a benediction to the strains of the band playing “Hail Masonry”. Remarkably, none of the Gordons was
present. Sadly, the work of local
builder, Robert Dinnie has not endured.
In spite of the appeal for divine protection and the application of
masonic ritual, the monument is today little more than a jumbled pile of
granite stones.
In the
afternoon about 90 of the attendees at the ceremony dined at the Huntly Arms,
accompanied by much drinking and toasting.
Andrew Gray proposed a toast to the 11th Marquis of Huntly,
then a callow youth of 19, more interested in hunting, shooting and gambling
than dealing with the affairs of the heavily-indebted Aboyne Estate. This was an opportunity to say the right
things about the young Charles Gordon, who was not present, but with pairs of
receptive ears in attendance to report back.
“He is a young man who gives very good promise indeed to walk worthily
in the footsteps of his father; and if he does so, you will give testimony by
what you have done this day, that he will be following a good example. An excellent example has been set him by both
parents, and as he is already well-known and appreciated in this locality, I hope
his character will be only more appreciated when he assumes the full management
of his property.” Sadly, Charles Gordon
proved to have no interest in Masonry.
He also proved not to be up to the task of managing the Huntly assets
and his plans for rescuing the estate crumbled even more rapidly than the
obelisk on Mortlach.
Politics
West
Aberdeenshire was a staunchly Liberal constituency and that political party was
supported by a number of landed families in the Aboyne locality, including the
Aboyne Gordons and the Farquharsons at Finzean.
However, Andrew Gray, in common with his father Alexander, his brother
of the same name and his brothers-in-law John Davidson and Alexander Troup, all
prominent citizens, were Conservatives.
But in politics as in other aspects of life we see Andrew playing a supporting,
rather than a leading role, attending and speaking at meetings, attending
Primrose League habitations and holding parliamentary candidates to account,
but never personally seeking office.
Self-help
In addition
to his formal, professional role in school education, Andrew Gray was often to
be found helping less formal educational and self-improvement
organisations. In 1868 he spoke “On
Reading” to the Aboyne Mutual Improvement Society and in the same year he
attended the AGM of the Aboyne Tonic-Sol-Fa Association (the use of doh – ray –
me – fa, etc, as a means of teaching sight-singing). The Aboyne YMCA often ran lecture series to
inform and educate the youth of the area and Andrew Gray frequently chaired
such lecture meetings. In 1879 he
contributed a lecture himself, on “Bonnie Prince Charlie”. Andrew was secretary and treasurer of the
Aboyne Reading Club and also made contributions to and chaired meetings. Aboyne had a Public Hall, where many
educational and social events were held and Andrew Gray acted as Hall Secretary
for many years.
Socialising
Social
attendances were not all a product of Andrew’s sense of duty and he clearly
enjoyed many activities, such as Burns’ Night suppers and an opening dinner for
Mr Barclay, the then new landlord at the Huntly Arms Hotel, in 1875. The march of technology also featured in
entertainment events in the village. In
1895 Walker and Company demonstrated the phonograph in the Aboyne Public Hall,
which generated much interest, especially when Rev Andrew Gray was induced to
speak into the instrument and then immediately had his speech reproduced to the
amazement of the audience. As a graduate
of the University of Aberdeen and a donor to the fund for the extension of
Marischal College, Andrew Gray attended the celebrations in 1895 when the
Mitchell Building (Tower, Hall and Students’ Union) were officially declared
open. All went well until the attendees
prepared to leave. There was total
disorganisation of the cloakroom arrangements and it took about three hours to
retrieve garments. As the local
newspaper politely put it, an “animated scene” ensued! Andrew Gray also enjoyed attendance at the
various Highland Games events held up and down the Dee Valley and was regularly
cited in published attendee lists, sometimes accompanied by one of his
sisters. He was also a regular attender
and an occasional prize-winner at the Aboyne Horticultural Show, held in early
September at the same time as the Aboyne Games.
Sponsorship
Even though
Andrew Gray was not a trader in the village, he was still a regular sponsor of
the annual Aboyne ploughing match. Other
sponsors of this event were typically village businessmen, such as Francis
Sandison, licensee of the Huntly Arms Hotel and John Davidson the village
baker, who might expect to benefit from increased trade as a result of
contributing to the prize fund. Andrew
also occasionally sponsored shooting competitions involving the local Deeside
Volunteers.
Sports
Andrew Gray
was a keen sportsman and sport played a big part in his social life. Although he was once induced to play cricket
for Aboyne at the age of 59 (he scored a duck!), his true loves were curling in
the winter and golf in the summer.
Curling was conducted at a number of locations in the Aboyne district,
on the specially-constructed pond at Bellwade, on the Aboyne Loch and on the
artificial lake at Glentanar. In 1881
the cold was so intense at the beginning of March that the Dee froze over and
curling was possible on the river near the suspension bridge. Andrew Gray was a skip on this occasion but
lost his match. Although not as good a
practitioner as his brother George, he continued to represent the Aboyne club
for some years and became club chaplain about 1880. In 1881 the club competed for a silver medal
which was won by Mr Ogilvie with Andrew Gray and his soon-to-be brother-in-law,
Alexander Troup, close behind.
Golf,
Scotland’s major contribution to the sporting world, was initially played over
a nine-hole course on the Green in the centre of the village. The game was played regularly in this
location from at least 1874 and in 1883 the Aboyne Golf Club was
inaugurated. Andrew Gray became an
enthusiastic participant and it was undoubtedly the sport at which he
demonstrated most ability. Between 1884
and 1896 he regularly featured with creditable scores both in matches against
other clubs and in internal competitions.
His greatest achievement came in the 1891 season. In July of that year a golf match was held
between the natives of Aboyne and the summer visitors, many being Aberdeen
notables who were in the habit of spending the summer months on Deeside. The visitors beat Aboyne by 45 to 22 and at
the close of the match the natives entertained the visitors to dinner in the
Huntly Arms Hotel, with Baillie Lyon (actually a visitor) in the chair. At the request of the Aboyne Club, Baillie
Lyon presented Andrew Gray with a gold cross as champion of the green (winner
of most matches) for 1891. In reporting
the ceremony the local newspaper remarked, “The genial and much
respected schoolmaster deserves hearty congratulations on his success, and long
may he be spared to wield the club.”
Retirement
In 1899 Andrew Gray had been in post as headmaster of Aboyne
Public School for 44 years, indeed, it was the only employment he had ever
had. He had now reached the age of 65
and was suffering from some health problem.
It was time to retire and so he presented his resignation to the Aboyne
School Board in July of that year, asking to be relieved of his duties at the
autumn holidays. His request was granted
and he was awarded a retirement allowance of £100 per year. The Board recorded its regret at having to
part with the services of such an excellent teacher. In reporting his retirement, the Aberdeen
Journal remarked that “Very few public men have commanded more respect than Mr
Gray.” An advertisement
was placed asking for applications for the vacant post and a large field
responded. James Cruickshank, MA, from
neighbouring Kincardine O’Neil, a teacher whom Andrew Gray held in high regard,
was appointed and served with distinction for over 20 years.
The school broke up for the summer holidays on Wedneday 1st
August, 1899 and, as usual, a picnic for the pupils was held on that day. They assembled at 2.00pm at the school but
before departing for Aboyne Castle, Andrew Gray was presented with an
escritoire by one of the senior girls,
who said, – “Please, Mr
Gray, the pupils in the upper and middle rooms beg to ask your acceptance of
this desk as attribute of our regard and respect. It is not without a feeling of sadness that
we think of taking farewell of you as our teacher, but we sincerely hope that
you may have many long years before you to enjoy a well -earned rest after so
many years of hard and successful labour.
That the sweetness of rest after toil, and that every comfort may be
yours, is the heartfelt wish of your pupils.”
Andrew was taken by surprise but returned thanks in a touching
manner. It must have been a very sad and
emotional day for him.
Andrew Gray
received another send-off from his professional colleagues in the Kincardine
O’Neil branch of the Educational Institute of Scotland. The gathering took place at the Huntly Arms
Hotel, Aboyne, that deeply-familiar hostelry, on Saturday afternoon, 4th
November 1899. A large number of
teachers attended from as far away as Strathdon and Aberdeen, under the
presidency of Mr Littlejohn, the headmaster at Drumoak. After the usual loyal and patriotic toasts Mr
Littlejohn gave an account of Andrew Gray’s professional life and achievements,
pointing out that it was difficult to find a parallel to Andrew’s 44 years of
continuous service in the same role, before proposing a toast. “The toast was
responded to with much enthusiasm” and Andrew’s response was followed by
further toasts and songs. “A very happy
afternoon was spent.” Andrew was in his
element.
A meeting of
friends and former pupils of Andrew Gray was held in the Village Hall at the
beginning of October, under the chairmanship of Rev. James Mackenzie, to
discuss presenting an appropriate testimonial to the retired headmaster. A committee was formed to give effect to the
wishes of the meeting and to raise donations.
In early January of 1900 a public meeting was held with Mr F Sandison,
Chairman of the School Board presiding.
There was a very large attendance and Francis Sandison praised Andrew
Gray for his dignity, sturdy independence and the good relationship that had
always existed between the Board and the Headmaster over the past 17 years,
since the Education Act came into force. He then called upon Rev. Mackenzie to make the
presentation. James Mackenzie listed the
qualities of personality with which Andrew Gray had been blessed, “his
great ability, his strong common sense, his clear head, his generous heart, and
the great interest he had taken in everything pertaining to the good of the
parish” and the dedication he had shown over a period of 44 years. He went on, “You have deemed it fitting to
retire after a long period of service.
It is a touching thing to demit office.
Your friends and former pupils have been anxious that you should not
depart without bearing with you some mark of their esteem. Accordingly, in their name, I have the honour
to request your acceptance of this easy chair and purse of sovereigns as tokens
of their appreciation of your work since you became schoolmaster of Aboyne four
and forty years ago, with their best wishes for your comfort in your retirement,
and hope that you may be spared yet many years in health and strength to enjoy
whatever work or amusement may lie to your hand.” (Applause). Andrew’s was truly a difficult act to follow.
Death and Funeral
On his retirement, Andrew Gray bought a newly-built house,
“Beechgrove”, on the Ballater Road west of the village centre. It retains its name today. Tragically, Andrew Gray was not long spared
to enjoy his retirement. He died on
Saturday, 20 January 1900 at “Beechgrove”, only three weeks after the public
testimonial. Apparently he had been
feeling far from strong for some time but did not appear to be seriously
ill. On Friday 19th January
he took to his bed and about 2pm on the following day he fell into
unconsciousness, dying peacefully about 7pm.
The cause of death was certified as a gastric haemorrhage of five days’
standing, by the Aboyne GP, Dr Keith.
The Aberdeen Journal commented that “Mr Gray’s death will cause a great
blank in Aboyne, where he had been so long and so well known.”
Andrew Gray’s funeral took place on 24 January 1900. His body was removed from “Beechgrove” in the
morning and transported to the Parish Church, where the funeral service began
at 2.00pm. The coffin, which was of polished
oak, was of beautiful design and was placed in front of the choir. It had been requested that no flowers should
be sent, and there was only one wreath on the coffin, from the Public School
pupils. A few bars of a funeral march
were played on the organ previous to the service, which was conducted by his
friend the Rev. James Mackenzie. The service consisted of scripture readings,
prayers and the hymns “Now the labourer’s task is o’er” and “O God of
Bethel”. A few members of the choir,
accompanied by the organ, led the singing.
Chopin’s “Dead March” was played as the body was being removed from the
church. There was no service at the
interment, which was in the Gray family plot.
The chief mourners were – Alexander Gray, Ballater, William
Gray, Banchory, Benjamin Gray, Aboyne and James Gray, Aberdeen (his brothers),
John Davidson and Peter Davidson, Aboyne and Alexander Troup, Ballater (his
brothers-in-law) and a large number of his nephews. Amongst the general public were Sir William Cunliffe
Brooks of Glentanar, James Macbeth, John
S Watt (Andrew’s lawyer), George Henderson and others from Aberdeen, Rev. A
Mackenzie, Coull, Rev. A Wishart, Aboyne, Rev. Mr Maclean, Public School,
Lumphanan, Mr Lawson, teacher, Ballater, Mr Walker, teacher, Glentanar and Mr
Anderson, teacher, Logie Coldstone. A large
number of ladies, including Andrew’s relatives, attended the funeral service in
the church. A company of the Aboyne
Lodge of Ancient Shepherds (local branch of a friendly society) were present at
the funeral, and wore their badges. Like
the Freemasons, the Ancient Shepherds were heavy on regalia. There was also a company of Freemasons from
Lodge 281, where Andrew had been Chaplain for so many years. The public schools were closed for the day
and the scholars, with their teachers, were all present in the front area of
the church, in the charge of the new headmaster, James Cruickshank. There was also a large attendance of the
public, the church (it could seat well over 600) being quite filled. The Parish of Aboyne and Glentanar only had
about 1200 residents. In its edition of
31 January, the Aberdeen Journal commented that “The attendance at the funeral
of the Rev Andrew Gray was the largest that has been here for a long time…..”
Will and Estate
The inventory of Andrew Gray’s estate had a net value of
£634-14-1, which was the equivalent of about £64,200 in 2013 money. As a teacher he was not particularly well
paid, though his remuneration included a house and, not being married, his
expenses would have been less than for a typical married man. He had an inheritance from his father but,
even so, he must have lived a fairly frugal lifestyle to have accumulated money
and goods to this value. In his will,
his executors were named as his sister, Martha Mary and Susan, Mr William Ross
of Torphins and John Stewart Watt, Advocate of King Street, Aberdeen. It is interesting that Andrew should have
chosen two of his sisters to act as executors, when powerful local
personalities such as his brother, Alexander, were available. However, these two female siblings were the
youngest in the Gray family and thus were likely to survive Andrew. Both were married to prominent Deeside
businessmen, Martha Mary to John Davidson, Aboyne baker and confectioner and
Susan to Alexander Troup, Ballater butcher and holder of Royal Warrants. Also, Susan lived with Andrew for some years
and herself became a teacher. She
appears to have been particularly close to Andrew. John Stewart Watt was the
advocate who drew up Andrew’s will but the status of William Ross of Torphins
has not so far been identified.
One hundred pounds went to his sister
Martha Mary (Mrs John Davidson), plus an oil painting of Andrew’s father and
anything they desire from furniture and personal effects and £15 to each of
Martha Mary’s youngest daughters, Mary Matilda and Margaret Robina, together
with Andrew’s piano. Son Andrew Gray
Davidson was granted a gold watch and chain.
John Davidson (Martha Mary’s husband) got gold solitaires and a diamond
pin. Son William Davidson was granted
gold sleeve links. £100 to his sister
Susan (Mrs Alexander Troup), together with her mother’s large likeness and
anything they desire from furniture and personal effects. Fifteen pounds went to each of her daughters
Helen Magdalene and Maude Alexandra.
Alexander Troup (Susan’s husband) got diamond studs and the escritoire,
probably the gift from Aboyne School to Andrew on his retirement. (An escritoire is a writing desk with
compartments and drawers concealed by a hinged flap on a chest of drawers or
plain stand.) Son Allan Gray Troup was
given a gold hunting watch. Twenty
pounds to his sister Jane, who married Peter Davidson, a gamekeeper. Twenty pounds to his sister Helen Maria, who
married William Smart, later a baker in the village of Old Deer. Ten pounds to the Smart’s daughter Susan. Ten pounds to Andrew’s oldest sister
Margaret, who married James Melvin, an iron moulder. Fifteen pounds to Andrew’s brother Alexander,
the Aboyne blacksmith. Thus the
distribution described in the will was not by any means equal, as far as
Andrew’s brothers and sisters were concerned, since the bulk of the estate went
to his two executrix sisters and their families.
Tributes
Many tributes were paid to Andrew Gray after his death,
which give some insight into his character and the reasons that he was held in
such high public esteem. In the Aberdeen
Journal of 25 January 1900 an unnamed teacher and close friend of Andrew Gray
wrote as follows. “The grave has now
closed over all that remains of one of the kindest, open-handed, open-hearted
men it was possible to meet with. It was
greatly to one’s advantage in life to be personally acquainted with the late Mr
Andrew Gray, and most cheering in the extreme to be associated with him in any
work, either of a clerical or educational character. His personality was geniality itself. He was an excellent entertainer, a humourist
above all, yet a thorough gentleman and a scholar of no mean order. It was our good fortune to be closely
associated with him during the past quarter of a century of his educational
work on Deeside, and accordingly we can speak with some show of authority as to
his work as a man, and his ability as a teacher. Although possessed of a light heart, he bore
as serious an aspect as one could well imagine, and over and above his
ever-rippling repartee there was shown the sagacity and wisdom of the
philosopher. Mr Gray’s best public work
was done during the passing of the Education Act of 1872. He gave evidence before Lord Young’s
Committee. He was a strong advocate for
the old parochial system, and he has just lived long enough to see it again
revived, in shadow at least, after being dead for nigh twenty years. Mr Gray took a living interest in all
educational and church organisations. He
was a trained divine, and might have excelled in the area of our Church courts
– he certainly would have done had he thrown his lot in with the Church and
chosen it solely as his profession. But
in his earlier days the road to the pulpit was through the school, and as it
was part of Mr Gray’s nature to do nothing by halves, so to the school he clung
through life in spite of all allurements to the contrary. He was consulted by teachers from far and
near. His home was the rendezvous of all
for forty miles round who wished good advice or had grievances to discuss. We have seen teachers from the south on the
one hand, and the north on the other, pouring out their plaints at his
fireside; and in his manly sympathy, friendly help, and wise counsel they felt
relieved, and left better able to face the world than when they came. It was not the want of ambition which kept Mr
Gray from the Kirk as a profession, and so enriched the educational world at
the expense of the clerical. The
question was more than once put to him by the writer why he did not continue in
the ministry, and his answer was – “It did not come when I wanted it most, and
had need of an increase on my £80 a year (which
was his salary for some time at Aboyne) and now that I have abundance and
to spare I can do without it. Besides, I
don’t want to begin the world de novo, and especially the clerical world.” This gives the key to the problem; to put it
in one of his own most familiar quotations, he felt he should “rather bear
those ills we have than fly to others we know not of.” He was the soul of honour, and he thought it
his duty to stick to the desk in preference to the pulpit – to the fast and
ever-widening circle of educational friends he had made rather than risk the
attractions of the manse. He was a
teacher and leader of teachers from the first, and he was content and well
pleased to rest on the summit he had reached in the educational world in the
north-east of Scotland. It was only in
October last that some thirty of the teachers on Deeside, along with friends in
the profession from far and near, entertained him to dinner on his retirement,
after nigh half a century’s active service in the worrying atmosphere of the
classroom. There was no sign then of the
break-down which has come with such sudden painfulness. It was common remark that he then looked more
fit than many of the younger men around the jovial board, and that he seemed to
have ten years of life and good health on his side. It was a unique gathering, and, strangely
enough, the hero of the occasion has been the first to receive the call across
the bar. Mr Gray’s life work will long
live not only in the charming health resort on the banks of the Dee (ie Aboyne), but in many loving hearts
throughout the land.”
Another of Andrew’s friends, Rev Dr Mackenzie, devoted much
of his sermon on Sunday 28 January 1900 to eulogising the dead headmaster. Dr McKenzie chose as his text 1st
Corinthians xvi 13 – “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be
strong.” From what follows it will be
seen that this text was chosen with Andrew Gray in mind. “I alluded last Lord’s day to three of our
number who had lately been taken from us by sudden strokes – one a fine type of
the old Scottish peasantry, who died in a good old age, an old man and full of
years; one a wife and mother, who devoted herself to her husband and her
family, and who died leaving that great blank, which the death of a mother
always leaves; and one a man who had taken part in many public concerns, long a
teacher of youth, and an elder of the church.
Mr Gray was a strong and unique personality, whose like we shall not
readily see again. No one could look at
that massive head and those strong clear eyes of his without feeling that power
was there, and great resource. He was
indeed a man of great natural gifts, and this was shown throughout all his
work, and all his life. He was a strong
Churchman, and some acknowledgement is due here of the work which he did for
the church and for this congregation. He
was our session clerk, but he did not count his work done when he had written
his minute, or as it were “furnished his tale of bricks”. On the contrary, he was willing to aid in any
work that was being done in the interests of the church. He did it ungrudgingly. He counted it a pleasure. He was secretary of the Committee on the
Smaller Livings; he was secretary of the Church Defence Committee; he issued,
collected, and arranged the schedules for the schemes. He could go through a great deal of work,
and, so far as I am aware, he left no work in arrear. The session records are written up to the
last day Mr Gray was in church – the last Sunday of the year. The marriage schedule of the couple I married
on his funeral day had been filled up by his own hand. He was kindly and generous, clear headed and
well informed; he was ever ready to give his advice on all matters on which he
was consulted, and whenever any question comes up for discussion connected with
the church or the congregation, we shall miss the clear head and the strong arm
of Mr Andrew Gray.”
Anyone retiring from the post of dominie in a rural
Aberdeenshire parish after 44 years of service in the same post is likely to be
the subject of much eulogising. Further,
Andrew Gray died soon after his retirement, thus adding public grief to public
admiration. However, it is clear that
the generous words of praise uttered by Dr James Mackenzie and others were a
genuine expression of their feelings and not mere formalities demanded by the
circumstances. Perhaps 600 people
attended Andrew Gray’s funeral, the largest attendance there had been in Aboyne
for a long time. The public schools were
closed for the day and the most important landowner in the area, Sir William Cunliffe
Brooks, was present to pay his respects.
Andrew Gray had “presence”, with his “massive head” and
“strong clear eyes”. He impressed with
his wit, wisdom, administrative efficiency and sheer hard work on behalf of his
profession, his church and his community.
Within the teaching profession his opinion was widely sought and
generously given. Aboyne citizens would
have encountered him frequently in connection not only with the public school
but also in association with other organisations forming the cohesive network
of the community, such as the Masonic Lodge, the parish church, the golf club
and the registrar’s office. With his
intellect and admirable qualities of personality, Andrew Gray could surely have
aspired to other, higher roles in either the church or education. Why did he remain in Aboyne, in the same
teaching role, for almost half a century?
Enough information is available to sketch a plausible explanation for
this fact.
Andrew was born in Aboyne of artisan stock. He was the son of the village baker, who
himself remained in the same role for about 48 years. Before Andrew departed for King’s College in
Aberdeen in 1851 at the age of 17, Aboyne and its immediate hinterland must
have constituted his whole world. The
railway, which revolutionised travel along the Dee valley, did not reach Aboyne
until 1859 and Andrew would have travelled to and from his studies at the university
by coach along inadequate roads. When he
graduated in both arts and divinity and was immediately appointed as dominie in
his home village at the age of 21, Andrew must have concluded that he had
reached a high station in life. A
village lad from his background would probably have been content to reach such
a position after many years of toil.
Andrew’s income as headmaster of Aboyne public school was
~£80/year, made up of a stipend of ~£28/year, a bequest and fees from
pupils. He would have known that the
incumbent of the manse was far better paid, with a stipend of ~£150/year and he
almost certainly had aspirations to move in that direction. In those days the route to the manse lay
through the school and Andrew was qualified in both arts and divinity. An unidentified teacher friend of Andrew
Gray, writing in the Aberdeen Journal after his death, claimed that Andrew Gray
did not lack the ambition to become a divine but that Andrew had said, “It did
not come when I wanted it most and had need of an increase on my £80/year and
now that I have abundance and to spare I can do without it”. It appears that he was happy teaching but
that he felt badly paid. He did not seem
to have felt a calling to the church, rather, at that stage of his life, the
pay was better. By the time that his remuneration
as a teacher had improved he entertained quite negative feelings about changing
profession. “Besides I don’t want to
begin the world de novo and
especially the clerical world.” And
“Rather bear those ills we have than fly to others we know not of.”
Dr James Mackenzie revealed that Andrew Gray had been
offered the headmastership of one of the most important parish schools in
Aberdeenshire and that he had virtually accepted it but, on returning to
Aboyne, he had decided that he did not want to leave. All this suggests that Andrew Gray was living
a comfortable and interesting life as dominie in Aboyne and that he was
reluctant to move out of his comfort zone, either by changing profession or by
moving on and up in the teaching profession.
It should be remembered that Andrew never married, so a move away from
his beloved Aboyne would have entailed moving without the measure of continuity
that a wife and family brings. Andrew
was an Aboyne loon and happy to be a big fish in a small pond. Another point which is probably relevant to
Andrew’s decision not to seek advancement in the educational world was his
apparent contentment to fill supporting rather than leadership roles.
Memorial
Andrew Gray’s grave is marked by a substantial cylindrical
granite obelisk. It is inscribed as
follows. “Sacred to the memory of the
Rev Andrew Gray, MA Born 19th February 1836; died 20th January,
1900, aged 64 years. For 44 years
headmaster of the Public School, Aboyne.”
“Father in Thy gracious keeping, Leave we now Thy servant
sleeping.”
Don Fox
20130329, 20150126
donaldpfox@gmail.com
