James Reid of Aberdeen..his lost children

[msnuttyone]

Anne,

Tiz me that should be asking your pardon as looking back through all my papers yesterday I did find his death cert information. It was mixed up in another branches papers. As I try to make sure that I have document proof of each event I find I knew I should of had the record somewhere in all the papers. I knew his DOB as it is written on the back of a photo I have of him so his OPR was relatively easy to find.

His death 6 Nov 1881 says ...son of Robert Reid cart and plough man and Jane Reid m/s Hosie. Informant was my Gt Grandfather. I looked at all the other papers and on James jnr birth OPR for St Nicholas Jane is a witness and her name is spelt Hosack and on James Snr OPR she is Jean Hosach. Ann Rae's death record calls her Jane Hosie.

I will get more credit for SP today and have a look at the 1803 marriage record. I suspect Jane died about 1835/40 as 1841 census just shows Robert and some of their children in Keithall. The youngest child is then 6.

Adele

[msnuttyone]

Anne,

I looked at that marriage in 1803 and possibly her. I noted her father John and did a search for a baptism for a Jean with father John Hossie from the marriage record. Found one in Glass? but date worries me. 24 May 1789. That would make her 14? at her marriage, if it is the same one? Only 1 in a span back 30 years from 1803. If this is correct, her dad was John and mother Jean Lobban.

Sarah and Andrew, thanks for the maps.. makes working things out alot easier.

[Currie]

Here’s a bit more about the teacher & school.

It seems that Craig’s School has gone the way of all schools and been demolished. A couple of snippets from SCRAN say: “In this list of Board Schools there is the name of James Todd who was the first headmaster of the Craig's School which was built as a result of the 1872 ….” and “The Craig's school was demolished in 1973 and was replaced by a car park.”

The Dundee Courier & Argus and Northern Warder, Friday, July 21, 1876
STIRLING SCHOOL BOARD.—At a special meeting of this Board on Monday, Mr James Todd, Alford Public School, Aberdeenshire, was unanimously appointed headmaster of Craig’s School.

And here’s an unsolicited opinion.

Glasgow Herald, Friday, September 10, 1897
AN UNSOLICITED OPINION.
Craig’s School,
Stirling, Aug. 24th, 1897.
Dear Sir, —Permit me, as an entire stranger, to congratulate you on your admirable Book of Sketches, "Scenes of Scottish Life." Reading your healthy, natural, sympathetic, and truthful delineations, when compared with the morbid, sickly, sentimental rubbish of the modern society novel is like breathing the pure caller sea air instead of the murky, poisonous, vile-smelling air of an unhealthy slum in broiling July weather. Often by a few simple, but effective touches you transmute into the pure gold of the perfect picture-perfect, because true to nature—what the modern writer would make into pure rubbish. I am passionately fond of “guid braid Scotch," and could not resist the temptation to tell you how much I appreciated your charming little book. You have shown the world that you can write Scotch and make it the vehicle of an expressiveness that is quite beyond the resources of literary English. All through you have shown that you have a heart as well as a head, and you could teach many of our writers—Ian Maclaren not excepted—much that it would be well for them to know. Your beautiful sketches will touch a responsive chord in the bosom of every kindly Scot, and I am sure that they will have more than a merely ephemeral reputation. My family (about seven hundred in number) have been introduced to them and will be taught to appreciate them. Your song “Aye Work Awa,” should be emblazoned in gold on the walls of every class-room in broad Scotland.
I am,
Yours most sincerely,
JAMES TODD, F.E.I.S.,
Headmaster.

“SCENES OF SCOTTISH LIFE.”
(By Joseph Wright.)
82 Pages. Price one penny.
To be had at all Booksellers, Newsagents, and Bookstalls.
Wholesale from Messrs. Menzies & Co., Love & Co., Holmes & Co., Graham & Co.
Will be sent Post Free by any of the Firms mentioned or any Bookseller in Scotland for Two Penny Stamps.

I was hoping to add that you can read “Scenes of Scottish Life” at ****** but it seems that you cannot. You’ll just have to send the Two Penny Stamps.

Alan

[msnuttyone]

Do they have 2 penny stamps any more Alan????

[Currie]

I’ll give you this one Ms but you’ll have to find the other one yourself. Don’t spend it all at once. http://www.famousstamps.org/pennyblack.gif

Alan

[Alan SHARP]

. http://www.famousstamps.org/pennyblack.gif

Alan

Greetings.

That will be one stamp that Russell won't have in his collection. See Eaglesham posts. At fifty times larger than the original, I find it surprising how crude the engraving looks [by todays standards] but then again if it had been too fine, the printer would have had his work cut out, to get the right inking for a print, instead of a black blob of ink.

Alan SHARP

[Russell]

Hi Alan

A Penny black I do have and a tuppenny blue. The later penny magenta stamp is not valuable but each plate had the plate number engraved within the border design. Poor engraving by modern standards but interesting examples of fine hand work just the same.
Penny blacks were used before the invention of the envelope so mine is still on the original cover of folded paper They are not really very valuable as loads were hoarded in stamp collections and more keep surfacing unlike the high value Australian set from the late 1950's - not many used and now worth a bob or two.

Russell

[Alan SHARP]

Hi Russell

Sorry mate for making an ignorant asumption, that a penny black would have been too expensive to own.

Have been meaning to hunt out my old stamp album from 50 years ago, but then don't have the means to illustrate the very few relatively old NZ stamps, I was abble to collect. Perhaps I should go online and check out todays prices, if some 1950's sets are fetching good money. Think my most interesting set, is on an envelope from Pitcairn Island. In the late 50's Head Master George Allen, came back to NZ, after sevearl years there, as the school teacher. He encouraged us [his class] to write to the islanders.

Alan SHARP.

PS. Sorry about running away with the original thread.