John Gordon (1888 - 1956)

Born 3 Feb 1888 in Reres Farm, Leuchars, Fife

Ancestors

Husband of Grace (Simpson) Gordon — married 1 Jun 1908 in Cowdenbeath, Fife, Scotland

Descendants

Died 27 Oct 1956 at age 68 in Cowdenbeath, Fife, Scotland

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Louise Baxter [send private message]

Biography

John was born on the 3rd of February 1888 on Reres Farm, near Leuchars in Fife.^[1] This farm no longer exists, as in 1916 the site was levelled to build the Royal Air Force base which remained there until 2015^[2]. A wood on the boundary of the airfield site still bears the name Reres Wood.

John was the fourth child of Clementina and William Gordon. His mother was 37 when he was born and his father about 35. His father registered his birth nearly 3 weeks later at Leuchars, and gave his occupation as farm-servant^[1]. (Note: a farm-servant appears to be the term used at this time for an agricultural labourer who is resident on the farm, as opposed to living in independent housing^[3].)

At the 1891 census, John was 3 years old, and living with his family in Pitcullo Cottars Houses, still in Leuchars Parish^[4]. (A cottar is an old Scots term for a farm labourer who lives in a tied cottage on the farm, often with a small piece of land to cultivate himself, and works on the farm in return.) Pitcullo Farm can still be found a couple of miles to the south-west of Leuchars, and it has some very old-looking buildings which may once have been low stone cottages, though they seem to have been converted into barns now. His father William was still employed as an agricultural labourer, and now his older sister Clementina (18 years old) was also working as a farm servant and his brother James (16 years old) as a cattleman.

By the time of the 1901 census, the family were living at Easter Lathrisk Farm just north of Freuchie in Fife, which still exists today. Only John, aged 13, and his younger sister Catherine, aged 7, were still living with their parents. John's father gave his occupation here as cattleman, and John was already working as a farm worker. The family had also been joined by Robert, age 7, the illegitimate son of John's eldest sister Clementina.

John got married to Grace Simpson, then a domestic servant, on the 1st of June 1908. They were both aged 20^[5]. By this time he had moved to Beath in Fife, and was employed as a miner. I am assuming that Beath is an alternative name for modern-day Hill of Beath, just outside Cowdenbeath. There was a bleachfield here, still marked on the modern OS map, which is consistent with his address, given as Bleachfield Road, and at this time the entire village was owned and run by the Fife Coal Company, which is consistent with his employment as a miner^[6]. John would remain a miner for the rest of his working life, despite growing up in agricultural communities. John and Grace married in the United Free Church of Scotland; the story of the splintering and re-uniting of the Church of Scotland prior to and during this period is complex, and could be quite heated^[7]. Their marriage record gives the location of their marriage as The Waverley Rooms in School Street, Cowdenbeath rather than the United Free Church which apparently existed at the time^[8]. The entry is signed by the presiding Minister, Duncan Brown of the Macainsh United Free Church in Lochgelly, and 2 witnesses: a William Crichton (perhaps John's best man?) and a Hettie (probably- the signature is hard to read!) Simpson who may have been a cousin or niece of Grace^[5].

The couple set up home at 48 Park Avenue in Cowdenbeath, which was only 4 doors down from the house Grace had been living in with her parents prior to her marriage^[5]. A short part of this street exists today, but all of the houses it once contained have been demolished. It appears that Grace was already pregnant when they got married, as she gave birth to a son only 4 months later on the 2nd of October 1908^[9]. John and Grace named their son William, after John's father. For some reason, John didn't register William's birth until 3 weeks later, the legal limit in Scotland^[10]. He again gave his occupation as coal miner.

At the 1911 census, the couple, now both 23 years old, were living at 48 Park Road, Cowdenbeath with their first child, William, who was only 2^[11].John's occupation was given specifically as a coal miner: hewer. This was the job of actually hacking the coal loose from the seam^[12].

In February 1912 John's first daughter, Helen, was born^[13]. The family were still living in the same house in Park Road, Cowdenbeath. John and Grace named their daughter Helen Thayne Gordon after Grace's mother's first name and maiden name.

Two years later in October 1914 Grace give birth to another son, and the couple named him Thomas Simpson Gordon after Grace's father^[14] . By the time John's second son was born, the First World War had started. Coal mining was deemed necessary to the war effort- known as a 'starred' occupation- thus John would have been exempt from the military conscription which was extended to all married men under 41 years of age in May 1916^[15]. Men like John in starred occupations were discouraged from volunteering, and could wear official 'On War Service' badges to stop them being accused of cowardice^[16][17].

John evidently stayed at home, for his wife gave birth to a second daughter in October 1916 and John was present to register the birth^[18]. She was named Clementine MacNeill Gordon, after John's mother.

In 1919, when they were both 31, John and Grace had another son and named him John, after his father ^[19].

The first half of the 1920's was a turbulent time in Fife mining, as in much of the country, with friction between workers and employers breaking down into strikes and sometimes outright violence^[20]. John and his family must have been affected by these events, but no documentary evidence appears to exist.

John's mother died in 1922, in Falkland, Fife, at the age of 70^[21].

After a relatively long gap, the couple had a final child in 1924, a girl who they named Grace Simpson Gordon after her mother. Thus John had managed to very neatly name his six children after their four grandparents and both parents.

In 1930 John's father William died of mitral valve incompetence at the age of 78^[22]. He appears to have been living with with John's oldest sister Clementina and her husband John Duncan in Falkland, Fife. On his death record, his occupation is given as 'Ploughman- Retired'.

Later that year John's eldest son William, now 21 years old, got married^[23]. His marriage record shows his home address as 34 Park Avenue; I don't know if he was living with his parents, and they had moved to a different house on Park Avenue, or whether he was simply living in the same street, as seems to have been common.

In 1937 John's second son Thomas was married to Elizabeth Hunter Kay^[24]. Thomas was 23 at the time of his marriage. The address given for the Gordon family members on the marriage record is 4 Wallace Street, Cowdenbeath. These were modern (for the time) 4-in-block council houses which still exist today. They would likely have been a vast improvement over the miners' housing the family had lived in until this time.

In 1938 John's eldest daughter Helen, now 26, got married to David Baxter^[25]. John (or his son John) and his daughter Clementine are recorded as the witnesses to the marriage. John was 50 by now, and still working as a miner. The address of John, Helen and Clementine is again given as 4 Wallace Street, Cowdenbeath.

John would have been too old to fight in the Second World War which broke out in 1939. He would however have had to worry for his children and their families.

In 1940, John's daughter Clementine was married to Joseph Allan^[26]. The family were still living in their new home on Wallace Street. Clementine had been working as a bus conductress prior to her marriage.

The baby of the family, John's daughter Grace, was married in 1946 to a James Izatt Shields. John was 58 years old when the youngest of his children flew the coop.

John Gordon died on the 27th of October 1956 at the age of 68 years^[27]. His address is given as Greenbank Drive, Cowdenbeath- these were modern semi-detached houses a world away from the tied farm cottages John grew up in. His cause of death is given as bowel cancer of duration 11 years- given the more primitive state of medicine then, it is likely he had an unpleasant time of it during his illness, although the advent of the National Health Service in 1948 would have improved his access to care^[28]. His occupation is given on his death record as coal miner (stripper) (retired). He was survived by his wife Grace, who went on to live another 22 years.

~written by Louise Baxter

Sources

Digital copies of all registration documents referenced are available on request.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Statutory Register of Births in 1888 in the Parish of Leuchars in the County of Fife, page number 5, entry number 15. Document ID number 445/00 015. Accessed via scotlandspeople.gov.uk .
2. ↑ https://www.raf.mod.uk/rafleuchars/aboutus/history.cfm
3. ↑ Woollard, Matthew. Historical Censuses and Social Surveys Research Group, Occasional Paper No. 1: THE CLASSIFICATION OF OCCUPATIONS IN THE 1881 CENSUS OF ENGLAND AND WALES. Colchester, University of Essex, 1999. Page 1.
4. ↑ *1891 Census Return for the Civil parish of Leuchars, page number 7, schedule number 35. Document ID: 05/04/1891 GORDON, WILLIAM [Census 1891 445/00 005/00 007]. Accessed via scotlandspeople.gov.uk .
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} Statutory Register of Marriages in 1908 in the Parish of Beath in the County of Fife, page number 41, entry number 82. Document ID number 410/00 0082. Accessed via scotlandspeople.gov.uk .
6. ↑ http://www.scottishmining.co.uk/90.html Scottish Mining Website; Hill of Beath Tavern, apparently a text excerpt from the chapter Gothenburg Experiments in Scotland in the book British 'Gothenburg' Experiments and Public-House Trusts, published in 1903 by Joseph Rowntree (although this is not explicitly stated).
7. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "United Free Church of Scotland," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_Free_Church_of_Scotland&oldid=779605294 (accessed May 21, 2017).
8. ↑ http://www.scottishchurches.org.uk/sites/site/id/7755/name/Beath+and+Cowdenbeath+North+Church+Beath+Fife
9. ↑ Statutory Register of Births in 1908 in the Parish of Beath in the County of Fife, page number 264, entry number 790, Document ID: 1908 GORDON WILLIAM [Statutory Registers Births 410/790]
10. ↑ http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/socialpolitical/research/economicsocialhistory/historymedicine/scottishwayofbirthanddeath/birth/
11. ↑ 1911 Census Return for the Burgh of Cowdenbeath in the County of Fife, page number 20, schedule number 148. Document ID: 1911 SIMPSON, HELEN. [Census 1911 410/01 009/00 020]. Accessed via scotlandspeople.gov.uk .
12. ↑ http://www.dmm.org.uk/educate/mineocc.htm#h
13. ↑ Statutory Register of Births in 1912 in the District of Cowdenbeath in the County of Fife, page number 34, entry number 101. Document ID: 1912 GORDON, HELEN THAYNE [Statutory Registers Births 401/01 101] Accessed via scotlandspeople.gov.uk .
14. ↑ Statutory Register of Births in 1914 in the District of Cowdenbeath in the County of Fife, page number 162, entry number 484. Document ID: 1914 GORDON, THOMAS [Statutory Registers Births 410/1 484]. Accessed via scotlandspeople.gov.uk .
15. ↑ Chris Baker. http://www.1914-1918.net/recruitment.htm The Long, Long Trail. Accessed 18 May 2017.
16. ↑ https://www.yourfamilyhistorian.co.uk/post/ww1-the-call-up-and-reserved-occupations Accessed 14 Jan 2023
17. ↑ 1916: Military Service Act
18. ↑ Statutory Register of Births in 1916 in the District of Cowdenbeath in the County of Fife, page number 131, entry number 392. Document ID: 1916, GORDON, CLEMENTINE MCNE [Statutory Registers Birth 1916 410/0 392]. Accessed via scotlandspeople.gov.uk .
19. ↑ Statutory Register of Births in 1919 in the District of Cowdenbeath in the County of Fife, page number 46, entry number 136. Document ID 410/1 146. Accessed via scotlandspeople.gov.uk .
20. ↑ Stan Crooke http://www.workersliberty.org/story/2011/01/25/general-strike-britain-1926-revolution-might-have-been Worker's Liberty Accessed 19th May 2017.
21. ↑ Statutory Register of Deaths in 1922 in the District of Falkland in the County of Fife, page number 6, entry number 18. Document ID: 1922 GORDON, CLEMENTINA [Statutory Deaths 428/00 0018] . Accessed via scotlandspeople.gov.uk .
22. ↑ Statutory Register of Deaths in 1930 in the District of Falkland in the County of Fife, page number 2, entry number 6. Document ID: 1930 GORDON, WILLIAM [Statutory Deaths 428/00 006]. Accessed via scotlandspeople.gov.uk .
23. ↑ Statutory Register of Marriages in 1930 in the District of Dunfermline in the County of Fife, page number 79, entry number 157. Document ID number 424/00 0157. Accessed via scotlandspeople.gov.uk .
24. ↑ Statutory Register of Marriages in 1937 in the District of Dunfermline in the County of Fife, page number 162, entry number 324. Document ID: 1937 GORDON, THOMAS SIMPSON [Statutory Registers Marriages 424/324]. Accessed via scotlandspeople.gov.uk .
25. ↑ Statutory register of Marriages in 1938 in the District of Cowdenbeath in the County of Fife, page number 30, entry number 59 Document ID number 410/01 0059. Accessed via scotlandspeople.gov.uk
26. ↑ Statutory Register of Marriages in 1940 in the District of Cowdenbeath in the County of Fife, page number 1, entry number 5. Document ID number . Accessed via scotlandspeople.gov.uk .
27. ↑ Statutory Register of Deaths in 1956 in the District of Cowdenbeath in the County of Fife, page number 28, entry number 82. Document ID number 410/01 0082. Accessed via scotlandspeople.gov.uk .
28. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "NHS Scotland," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=NHS_Scotland&oldid=760239258 (accessed May 19, 2017).