Worth A Repeat

[marilyn morning]

Hello All,

I just found this tonight stashed away in a long ago forgotten file. This newspaper clipping was found inside of my gg gm Margaret (Dixon) Morning's family bible and translated long ago by HeatherH....Thanks again Heather!

Balmoral is one of the Royal residences.In this case it is especially important as it was purchased by Albert for Queen Victoria.
It stands on a level area bounded on one side by the river Dee and Craig-Gowan on the other .Both are mentioned in the poem .On Craig-Gowan a cairn was raised in 1863 .On it is inscribed "To the beloved memory of Albert the great and Good ,Prince Consort ,erected by his broken -hearted widow Victoria R.-Wisdom of Sol. v13,14"
Her heart break for Albert is also in the poem.There are 2 spots where the newsprint have been folded over the years I guess and I'm not sure of the exact word used but I think you'll get the jist."Lochaber no more "is a song about a gent going away from his beloved to fight in the war.Never to see them again (if he croaks it .)here's your poem .I took no artistic licence to make it rhyme again .You can play with that yourself .

Balmoral's Lament

"Lochaber no more"Oh the bagpipes are wailing;
The mountains and valleys are shrouded with snow.
The wintry winds moan through the glen and the village,
And sad sounds the river -Victoria's gone.

She's gone to the land of the loyal and true hearted
And sore though we'll miss her ,we must hold the pain.
But ,oh,she was good and our hearts were tied to her-
We'll never see the likes of Victoria again.

Spring soon will be hanging her Emerald mantle,
over hills and over valley and decking the tree.
And the little birds singing from dawn till the dusk
But our hearts will be sad Queen Victoria,for thee.

The old folk ,the young folk,the sad and the cheery
They'll all miss the Queen and the tears will down fall.
So loving her words,and so kindly her actions,
Oh who could help mourning Victoria's gone.

The humble ,the old ,and the way worn she succoured
Yes reverenced was she from the cot to the grave
Oh sly come the cat and in like another among us
And she knew all about us our Queen that's away.

And good,from the time and all ranks disregarding
Brought sorrows to her as he brings them to us all.
But nobly she bore them,she knew we all felt them,
Her griefs they were sore too,our Queen that's gone.

It's many a long year since she first came among us
And time endeared her to one and to all,
But there's grief on the hillside,in glen and in village
For our own beloved Queen-our Victoria's gone.

But she's gone away home to the rest she was needing
And met with her loved one,and dearest of all.
Her loved one for whom her loyal,true heart was broken
Oh we mustn't begrudge Heaven to our Queen that,s gone

But white lies the snow on her own loved Craig-Gowan
The Dee sighs so mournful and wintry winds blow.
And sad the heart is in the boughs of Balmoral
Yes there's grief through all Scotland Victoria's gone.

Susan Dewar

[nancy]

Hi Marilyn that was very nice.Its great to have something like that from so long ago

[Currie]

Hello Marilyn,

Yes it is a very nice poem. I’ve been doing some searching around trying to figure out who Susan Dewar is or was. I couldn’t find any reference to her and couldn’t even find any string of text from the poem on the web or in any of the newspapers etc I can get into.

I suppose something like that would have been written soon after Victoria died. Do you have any idea who Susan Dewar was or whether the newspaper would likely have been a US or a Scottish one. If there’s a chance it was a US newspaper maybe there’s something in one of those in Ancestry’s collection. Unless it’s out of something more like a magazine and that might be indicated if the paper quality looks a little bit better than newsprint.

When you said translated did you mean it was originally in another language?

All the best,
Alan

[marilyn morning]

Hi Nancy,

I agree and it holds a special place in my heart, because it meant so much to Margaret Morning.

Hello Currie,

My time is limited right now (need to dash off to work) but later today, I'll scan a copy of the original poem in the gallery. What I can tell ya, is the poem was in English but I wasn't able to fully understand its meaning, until Heather changed some of the words. Fairly sure it was a newspaper clipping, from which newspaper I'm not sure? Margaret lived in Grafton Massachusetts from 1883-1888 and sometime after June of 1888 her family moved to Chelmsford Massachusetts. She's listed in the 1920 US Census as living in Chelmsford, but sometime after the death of her son James in 1922, she moved in with her daughter Annie Morning Longtin in Lowell, Massachusetts,until she passed in 1930. She also had family whom remained in Kilbirnie, so maybe someone sent her the newspaper clipping from Scotland?

Regards
Marilyn

[marilyn morning]

Hi Currie,

Here's a copy of the original newspaper clipping, plus a few others

http://www.talkingscot.com/gallery/thum ... ?album=134

Susan Dawar
16 Stuart Road
Walton, Liverpool

On Google Earth it lists this address as The Black Horse Tavern

Also found in the bible was a business card

William H. Peebles
62 Pike Street
New York

and written on the back

Charles S. Smithurst
4627 Pulaski Avenue
Germantown, PA

I've no idea who these two gentlemen were or what connection they had to my gg gm?

Marilyn

[Currie]

Hello Marilyn.

Thanks for posting the images,

Susan Dewar, 16 Stuart Road, Walton, Liverpool.
In 1901 she appears to be Susan Dewar, age 51, born Scotland St Helens, living Walton On The Hill Lancashire. She’s born in Dundee and a wife of James according to 1881.

The article is headed Original Poetry so I suppose it’s just something she’s written and sent in to the newspaper, maybe it’s never been published elsewhere. My guess is it’s much more likely to be from a Scottish newspaper as the prospects of someone living in Liverpool submitting something to a US newspaper would be a bit remote. See below for the way it appears in the newspaper and my interpretation of some of the words.

William H. Peebles, 62 Pike Street, New York.
Buried somewhere on this 1872 N.Y. times page is a ‘William H Peebles” who is probably a politician. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.h ... 8389669FDE
Other N.Y. Times articles show that the address was occupied in 1892 and 1900 by Charles Wolinsky, a Broker. The next reference to it after that was in the 1930s when someone was arrested.

Charles S. Smithurst, 4627 Pulaski Avenue, Germantown, PA
All I could find was a Charles Smithurst from Pennsylvania on this 1920 census list http://www.us-census.org/pub/usgenweb/c ... ndx-s3.txt

“The Mitherless Bairn” was an easy one. It was written by William Thom (1798–1848). http://www.bartleby.com/246/182.html

Here’s how “Balmoral’s Lament” seems to be as in the newspaper but I can’t figure out the word in “cot tae the grave”. What is the actual word that appears to mean grave? There’s room only for one hidden letter so is the word ha*; or ha*’; or just ha’;?


BALMORAL'S LAMENT

"Lochaber no more!" Oh, the bagpipes are wailin’,
The mountains and valleys are shrouded wi’ snaw;
The wintry winds moan through the glen and the clachan,
And sad sounds the river—Victoria's awa’.

She's awa’ tae the land o’ the leal and true hearted,
And sair tho’ we'll miss her ,we maun thole the pain,
But ,oh, she was guid and oor hearts were knit tae her—
We'll ne’er see the like o’ Victoria again.

Spring sune will be flingin’ her emerald mantle,
O’er hill, and o’er valley, and deckin’ the tree;
And the wee birdies singin’ frae dawnin’ tae gloaming,
But oor hearts will be sad, Queen Victoria, for thee.

The auld folk ,the young folk, the dowie, the cheery,
They'll a’ miss their Queen, and the tears will dounfa.
Sae lovin’ her words, and sae kindly her actions—
Oh, wha could help mournin’ Victoria awa’?

The humble ,the auld ,and the wayworn she succoured
Aye reverenced was she, frae the cot tae the grave
Oh she cam’ oot and in, like a mither, amang us
And she kenned a’ aboot us, oor Queen that's awa’.

And auld Faither Time o’ a’ ranks disregairdin’,
Brocht sorrows tae her, as he brings tae us a’,
But nobly she bore them, she kenned we a’ felt them,
Her griefs, they were oors tae, oor Queen that's awa’.

’Tis mony a long year sin’ she first cam’ amang us,
And time endeared her tae ane and tae a’;
But there's dule on the hillside, in glen, and in clachan,
For oor ain beloved Queen—oor Victoria's awa’.

But she's won awa’ hame tae the rest she was needin’,
And met wi’ her loved anes, and dearest o’ a’,
Her loved ane, for whom her leal, true heart was broken;
Oh, we manna grudge Heaven tae oor Queen that’s awa’.

But white lies the snaw on her ain loved Craig-Gowan,
The Dee sighs sae mournfu’, the wintry winds blaw,
And dowie the hearts in the haughs o’ Balmoral—
Aye, there's dule through a’ Scotland, Victoria's awa’.

Susan Dewar

Alan

[AnneM]

Hi folks

Cot to ha' means cottage to hall i.e. lowest to highest, cottage dwellers to those who live in the big hoose.

Anne (a cottage dweller)

PS dule seems to mean grief as in dole.

Thole means to bear. I canna thole it means I can't bear or put up with it.

Haughs means woods or spinneys as in Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow which means the wood of the willows (not many of these around now)

[Currie]

Thanks Anne,

That sounds better, reverenced by all.

Alan

[marilyn morning]

Hi Alan,

Now you have me wondering if anyone is researching Susan's family tree? How great would it be if they didn't know about this poem and it some how found its way back to them?
Maybe someday I'll try to find out? I agree that this poem was most likely printed in Scotland and sent to my gg gm, Margaret.

Marilyn

[AnneM]

Hi

It's possible that it was printed in the local Aberdeen paper, the Press and Journal. You could email them to see if they have it in their archives. The date must be quite easy to ascertain as it is likely to have been printed shortly after Victoria's death. Alternatively it might have been The Scotsman.

Anne