HISTORY OF WHITBURN 1850 (extract)

The word Downdie, which is what you are called if you were born and bred in Whitburn ,was thought to have originated around this time. Seemingly a man called Downie wandered into Whitburn from Livingston and took up residence in the Parish. Now, Downie was a simpleton and he ended up being cared for from the Parish funds. This obviously did not go down too well and the Whitburn people tried to send him back to Livingston. They failed and Whitburn was stuck with Downie and the resultant word Downdie. It is not the nicest of associations considering that Downie was a bit simple.

There are a couple of other stories about the word Downdie. One story refers to the long gone Whitburn reservoir on the south side of the town. Simply it was that if you "downed" in the water of the reservoir that you were entitled to be called a Downdie. Whitburn lies in hollow surrounded by villages on higher ground who looked "down" on the people of Whitburn, in more ways than one. Fibres or "down" used to cling to the clothes of the weavers and this the name Downdie came about. Take your pick.

There are also place names in the U.S.A. and Canada called Downie.

MY FAMILY.

WILLIAM DOWNIE and JESSIE WINNING OF DUNLOY. Our immediate family stems from William Downie, son of Samuel Downie. William, it is said, came to Scotland, from the village of Dunloy, near Ballymena, Co. Antrim. The oral tradition had it that William came to Scotland in the middle of the 19th century and was ribbed about being Irish. He maintained that he was not really Irish but that his people were  Scottish from Linlithgow, near Edinburgh, site of a Royal palace. Several Downie headstones are to be seen in St Michael's churchyard there, and more research is needed on any relationship to our family of Downies. William came from Ulster to live in Coatdyke, Airdrie Scotland, around 1845.

No trace of his birth has been found in either the Edinburgh or Belfast records, not surprising since official records only became obligatory in 1855 in Scotland and 1864 in Northern Ireland. All Scottish records, i.e. marriage and death, show him simply as being born in Ireland.

Failure to find any Downie surname in the Dunloy-Finvoy church records from 1812 onwards is not conclusive evidence that he did not live there. Not all children were baptised and not all marriages and deaths were recorded prior to 1855 and 1864.

However, the fact that extensive Church records in the Dunloy area contain no Downies at all, suggests that William only lived there briefly. There is no record of his parents having come to Scotland with him. He lived with the parents of his future bride before his marriage.

Evidence of only a very small number of Downie's living in Northern Ireland at this present time (less than 12 Adults on the 2004 Electoral Roll), indicates that my family is not an established Irish family but only went there from Scotland for a very brief period of time.

What is revealed in William's death certificate are the names of his parents - Samuel Downie (general labourer) and Elizabeth Johnston - both deceased at the time of his death.

It is possible also that the Downies lived in Ballymena, a strongly Scottish settlement. There is a record of a Charles Downie and a Letitia Duff, both of Ballymena, giving birth to a son Henry in Aitcheson Street, Airdrie, Scotland, in 1862. Research may show if this is a kinsman of William. Curiously, Henry and Charles appear in the family of William of Dunloy's son Samuel.

William Downie brought his religious and Unionist political beliefs with him from Ulster, along with the traditional style of naming children.

William and Samuel come through the family Christian names with some regularity.

Until the latter part of the 20th Century it was the tradition to name the eldest son after his father's father, the eldest daughter after the mother's mother and so on. The father himself was named after his grandfather and so repeatedly two names would dominate the family tree among the eldest sons.

The second son would be named after the maternal grandfather and the third son after his father (ergo great-grandfather also). The second daughter would be named after the paternal grandmother and the third daughter after her mother/great grandmother. The names of uncles and aunts were also used, these being named in turn after their grandparents or great grandparents.

This practice became corrupted from the 1960s onwards with parents preferring to choose fashionable or appealing names.

In the case of the Downies, the son-grandfather system of naming still survives. Although William James Downie born in London is usually known as James. The females tend to use family names as second or middle names.

Thanks to the information on the death certificate of William of Dunloy, we can start the paternal tree with certainty with his parents, Samuel Downie and Elizabeth Johnston. Until hard evidence is unearthed, it can be assumed they were around the age of 20 when they married - putting their births at around 1812. However, as William's son Samuel's wife was the grandchild of Mary Downie then we are back to an even earlier, as yet, unknown date. (NOTE THIS.)

This residence in Lanarkshire and the date is determined by his employment as a waggoner. He transported materials by horse and cart to build the first railway in Scotland, from Glasgow to the Coatbridge Iron Works and on through to Edinburgh. William Downie was rumoured to have had a first wife but his second wife's maiden name was Jessie Winning. They married in New Monklands in the parish of Shotts in December 1852. The cost of registration was 3/6d. Jessie and William had three sons, Samuel, the eldest, Henry and William, who lived next door to the Neil family in Dunsyston, and two daughters Elisabeth (Downey on birth certificate due to a clerical error), and Jessie.

Henry settled in Broxburn, West Lothian. Their son William had one son called Henry whose descendants still live in Broxburn and are active in the local brass band. A fondness for bands appears common in all parts of our family.

SAMUEL DOWNIE AND MARY MILLER. Samuel was born on January 1st. 1854, and he died on 12th July 1918, in Dunrobin Place Airdrie. (Dunrobin Place was part of Dunrobin Road.) His death certificate states he was a railway gatekeeper. He did this when he retired from the pit. My great-grandfather Samuel settled in Gartness, near Airdrie, then in Kirk O' Shotts parish. He later moved into Clarkston, Airdrie. He married Mary Miller on 13th October 1876, and after moving from Gartness, they lived in Dunrobin Road, Clarkston. Samuel was a colliery overseer in Dunsyston Colliery, near Airdrie. He was also Chairman of the Chapelhall Co-operative Society. Members of Airdrie churches told me that Samuel was a wise and just man.

MARY MILLER. Mary Miller was the wife of Samuel Downie. She owned and ran her own little confectionery shop from her house in Dunrobin Road, Clarkston, Airdrie. Her father, Joseph Miller, son of John Miller and Mary Downie, also a miner, who allegedly threw a rival for the hand of his wife Margaret Morrison into the River Calder, died at the age of ninety-nine as a result of a fall when extracting pipeclay from a quarry. The pipeclay was to make rubbingstone for doorstep decoration. This would have been sold in Mary's shop. William the eldest son of Samuel and Mary was my grandfather. He was born on March 9th, 1882 in Gartness at am.

Samuel Downie, Mary Miller and family.

Samuel Downie and Mary Miller had 10 children, 6 sons and four daughters. The sons were called William (the eldest son but 4th child and named after his paternal grandfather), Joseph (No. 5 and named after his maternal grandfather), Samuel No. 7 and after his father), John (8), Henry (9) and Charles (10). The daughters were named Margaret (Maggie, No. 1 after maternal grandmother), Jessie (2) after paternal grandmother), Hannah (3) and Elizabeth (Lizzie 6).

Three sons emigrated - Joseph to Illinois then Waseca, Minnesota, USA; Samuel to Canada then Johannesburg, South Africa; and John to Melbourne, Australia. All have family still living there who remain in touch and have visited our family.

John's wife, Margaret Brisbane Stewart from Cathcart, Glasgow, died aged 105 in 1998.

WILLIAM DOWNIE AND ELIZABETH NEIL. William, my grandfather, was born in Gartness, in a terrace row, situated to the right coming from Chapelhall and just before the Clarkston, Moffat Mills road junction.

He was born on the 9th of March 1882. Gartness was then in the parish of Kirk O' Shotts. William became a colliery overseer or 'fireman', responsible for pit safety, after having passed the examinations.

William married Elizabeth Neil, who lived in the colliery hamlet of Dunsyston, (next door to another William Downie, who whilst probably kin has not been identified as yet) also known as 'Fin Me Oot' because of its remoteness. Elizabeth and William's first home was at 96 Forest Street, Clarkston, Airdrie. Their first child, Samuel, my father, was born in this house on May 10th 1905.

William was employed as a miner by the Summerlee Iron and Coal Company in Dunsyston and the reason for his transferring to Larkhall around 1907 was the occasion of a family dispute.

A cousin, Alec Black, had ordered him to man the pumps on a certain day which conflicted with the wedding of William's sister to which both had been invited. When William refused to turn out he was dismissed. He immediately took a job at nearby Larkhall.

He worked first at Swinhill Colliery, then Cornsilloch, then Summerlee Colliery (all Larkhall), and finally Ferniegair Colliery, near Hamilton, from which he retired at 65.

The family lived initially in Swinhill, the Waterworks Cottages Strutherhill, then Avon Street, then Barefield Street, Percy Street, then 9 West Fairholm Street before moving to 2 Sunnyside Street, Larkhall, in a large 5-apartment house in the then new "Hamilton Road" housing scheme, as council housing estates are known in Scotland.

They had fourteen children (8 sons and six daughters) and raised a grandchild.

William worked in Summerlee Colliery, Larkhall until it closed in July 1939. He then worked in Ferniegair Colliery until he retired in 1947. Grandfather was a well-liked man in Larkhall. He had a sense of humour.

He was chairman of the 'Larkhall Old Age Pensioners' Association and a keen Larkhall Thistle supporter. Larkhall Thistle was the first registered junior football team in Scotland.

While parading with Glenmavis Flute Band, William was involved in a religious riot. The Band was marching through a predominantly Catholic area in Coatbridge and was pelted with missiles from tenement windows. Older bandsmen rushed upstairs to grapple with their attackers and the result was that the Band was arrested en masse for breaching the peace, including William. He was released from the cells only when his father, chairman of Chapelhall Co-operative Society, used his influence with his friend the Provost of Airdrie!

William died on September 6th 1968.

ELIZABETH NEIL. William was wed to Elizabeth Neil, daughter of Henry Neil, miner, and Maria Kirk Black, daughter of James Black and Elizabeth (Agnes) Murray Hunter, on March 31, 1905, at Dunsyston, Airdrie, by the Rev Alexander Mann, Congregational minister. They celebrated their diamond wedding 60 years later.

She was the matriarchal figure of the Downie Family. She believed in discipline and had a kind nature at the same time. She was known for her acts of charity and her love of her family. She spent her savings helping others during the hard economic times of the 1920's.

As matriarch of a large household with working sons coming in from "shifts" down the pit, she kept a large pot of soup constantly simmering on the range - a large black and chrome oven with many compartments for cooking. It was fuelled by coal.

This soup also fed many tramps - itinerant beggars - who were never turned away from her door. Tea, buttered bread and cheese were also offered. Her gatepost or kerb was marked by their sign that food was available at this house.

Elizabeth from Dunsyston, Airdrie was the daughter of Henry Neil Henry Neil, son of James Neil, coal miner, and Mary Macdonald (spelled McDonald on another certificate), who died comparatively young from drowning in the Calder River, and Maria Black.

Elizabeth's mother died when she was a small child and her grandmother Black raised her.

Henry Neil married again (Jessie Gibson) and had three other daughters. Elizabeth's stepsisters were Jeannie, Agnes and Sarah. The one best known to me was Jeannie, Mrs Joseph Booth, who lived and raised her family in Shotts, Lanarkshire. The other two sisters lived in Airdrie and district.

Elizabeth died in September 1967, aged 82 at 9, Sunnyside Street, Larkhall.

On her mother's side, the Blacks, Elizabeth Neil was a cousin of a notable Provost (Scottish civic leader) of Airdrie - Alec or Sanny Black, who was nicknamed "Yankee" because he had spent some time in the United States.

A family story claims Elizabeth Neil to be a relative of the famous explorer-missionary, David Livingstone of Blantyre, Lanarkshire, whose mother was a Hunter.

There they raised a family of 14 - in order of birth - Samuel, Henry (Harry), William (note the paternal grandfather, maternal grandfather and father/great grandfather sequence), Maria (maternal grandmother), Joseph (Joe, great grandfather), John, James (Jim, great grandfather), Mary (paternal grandmother), Jessie (great grandmother), Charles, Elizabeth (Lizzie, mother/great grandmother), who, after marrying, emigrated to Canada, Thomas (Tom), Jean and Hannah (Nan).

Most of the sons worked down the pit at one time or another, some of them all their working lives.

In addition to this family of 8 sons and 6 daughters they also raised William (Billy), orphaned son of Maria who died shortly after his birth.

Once the family had grown up and left the house, William and Elizabeth moved to other houses in the Hamilton Road Scheme, Larkhall- first at 27 and then 9 Sunnyside Street, where they died.

SAMUEL DOWNIE and HANNAH DOWNIE. Samuel Downie was the eldest child and born at 96 Forest Street, Clarkston, Airdrie on 10th May 1905, and, sadly, died on 27th of June 2002, aged 97. Samuel was baptised in the Wellwynd Church, Airdrie on the 26th June 1905. He became a wood machinist, but his first job was in Summerlee Colliery, Larkhall. He first went to work at thirteen years of age. It was normal for older family members to get early exemptions from school, so as to be able to work and provide extra family income.

Samuel's family moved from Airdrie when he was aged two. He was schooled in Union Street School, Larkhall and Larkhall Academy, and he was popular with others.

Once, when working at Summerlee Colliery he saved a worker's life. The worker was John Macmillan who lived in the Bog Colliery's miners' rows. John had the nickname of "Paffles". In 1918, he fell into the haulage machinery, and my father saved him by quick thinking and action. "Skipper" Hugh Dewar of the 1st Larkhall Boy Scouts learned of this and decided to put my father in for a bravery award, but Skipper had to desist on being instructed that the happening had to be kept quiet, since my father was working on an overtime shift. Overtime he was not supposed to be asked to do, by law, being less than 14 years of age.

History had somewhat repeated itself. In 1963, when the Rev. William Downie was conducting a church service in Coatdyke Congregational Church, the organist enquired about my family and then stated "your grandfather (William) saved my father's life." The lady was a Mrs Clark. A pit explosion in Dunsyston blinded her father, and my grandfather had pulled him to safety before a roof collapse.

Samuel Downie and Hannah Cairns Waddell married on December 28th 1928, in Larkhall, they were married by the St. Machan's Church of Scotland minister, Rev. Dr. MacCallum in his manse, which was the fashion, as church weddings meant unaffordable expenditure.

Hannah Waddell was hardly at school from the age of ten to thirteen. Being the oldest daughter, she had to care for her mother who was an invalid for fourteen years, suffering from heart valve trouble. Her father was also very ill, and before and after leaving school she cared for the household, including her sister and unmarried miner brothers. She also augmented the family income by doing farm work at High Merryton Farm, whose tenant farmer was named John Brown. This is a large farm.

Hannah was a very caring person, with a great love for her children and grandchildren. She was a good writer and could count well, despite having left school at an early age. Her grandmother, Hannah Cairns, from Ireland was unable to read or write, but self-taught, she ran her little shop, selling home-cooked wares from her home in Claremont Place. Customers used to help her work out the change when buying goods. We have entrepreneurs in the family remembering Mary Miller and Hannah Cairns.

Hannah her own personal "miracle" came in her 70s when she lost her voice for several months. This was a great hardship as she enjoyed conversation and on her Saturday expeditions to Hamilton could be seen engaged in animated chat with other shoppers. Her voice returned as mysteriously as it disappeared when she tried to accompany a recording of a much-loved evangelical hymn -"The Old Rugged Cross." Suddenly she was able to sing the words and she and my father danced round the room in exultation.

She also knew the depths as well as the heights. She lost several babies in childbirth - and one, the first George, was Scotland's longest-surviving small baby at that time (28th September 1938), weighing in at 24 ounces or 1lb 10oz, and 14 inches long, so getting his picture in the newspapers. He lived only eight days.

She retained a great zest for life and just a few days before her death from a heart attack, she spent a holiday with daughter Sadie and her husband Jack at George's homes in Somerset and London.

It was the first time she had been to London in her life. And after some 70 years of short-sightedness, she could see distant objects, having had a cataract-removal operation. She enjoyed the city's famous sights and was able to tell the time on Big Ben from Waterloo Bridge!

After a day in Piccadilly etc. which left her companions exhausted, at 82 she was heard to remark as the red London bus wove through the late night markets - "I could bide (stay) here. There's a bit of life about the place!"

Rev. William Downie B.A., Dip.Th., F.R.S.H. 1932 - 2008

THE REVEREND WILLIAM DOWNIE. was born in Bellshill Hospital, prematurely, on 12th September 1932. His parents lived at 1 Merryton Street, Larkhall at this time.

Having left school without qualifications, he first worked as a motor mechanic, then as an office worker, but eventually got an opening to serve his time as an electrician. One had to serve a five-year apprenticeship, and on finishing it, he was conscripted to serve with the Royal Air Force in the post-war period (World War II 1939-1945).

As an electrician, he worked on house building, factory maintenance and domestic maintenance. The conscription age was eighteen, but he was allowed to finish training before being conscripted to the Royal Air Force,then the Royal Air Force Regiment as a Leading Aircraftman in Signals, involving radio Morse code and map-reading.

Each member of the Regiment was also extensively trained in the use of small arms,
anti-aircraft weapons and anti-tank weapons and was expected to be able to cover for differing tasks.

He also took time to be in the boxing and judo teams in the Air Force andto play football.

On completion of my military service, he returned to work as a charge-hand electrician.

He then studied at Hamilton Academy evening classes, having earlier studied at Union Street School and Larkhall Academy. He achieved matriculation to Trinity College Glasgow as a mature student and to prepare for Theology, studying English, History, Biology and Greek.

This matriculation was gained in 1962. He studied Moral Philosophy, English Literature, Political Economy, Scottish History and Greek New Testament Language at Glasgow University. On completion of this Arts course, he went to study Theology at the Scottish Congregational College, Edinburgh.

These three places provided graduate level studies. June 2nd 1967 is the date of his ordination to the Christian Ministry and of his induction to the E.U. Congregational Church, Meeks Road, Falkirk, Stirlingshire. This church was linked to Avonbridge Congregational Church, Stirlingshire with him as joint minister, from 1970 to 1972.

He was also District Master in Larkhall District, Lodge Master for Lodge 193 and a Grand Chaplain and Depute Grandmaster of Scotland, but retired in 1972 because of his ministerial work and obligations.

Later, from 1972 to 1975 He studied Social Science, principally Psychology, Economics and Business Administration with the Open University.

An interdenominational union took place in Falkirk in 1972, between Meeks Road Church, Grahams Road Church of Scotland, Grahamston Church of Scotland and Falkirk Methodist Church.

He was the original instigator of this project, called Grahamston United Church. He served in Grahamston United Church from 1972 until 1975, along with the Rev. Maxwell Craig
(Church of Scotland) and the Rev. Thomas Foinette (Methodist). This was the first ecumenical union between old established churches in Scotland.

He served in Falkirk for eight years (1967-1975).

This period was active in other ways, as He served as a Stirling University Chaplain, founder of and worker in the Falkirk Citizens' Advice Bureau and as Chairman and worker of the Central Falkirk Samaritans. He also served as Scottish 'representative' on the U.K. Samaritans' Council.

In 1975 He took up the additional post of Social Questions Secretary of the Scottish Congregational Churches, a national appointment and continued such until 1993 along with his own local pastorates.

Illness brought on by fatigue and a virus caused him to retire from some of this activity in 1982.

He became minister of the Dumbarton Church in May 1975 and continued until September 1983. During this time, He served as Vice-Chairman with the Argyll and Clyde Health Council.

The Dumbarton Congregational Church is situated in Glasgow Road, Dumbarton.

His final full-time charge was Carluke E.U. Congregational Church, to which he moved in 1983.

In addition to this work, he also served as National Social Questions Secretary, which involved him in the Northern Ireland peace process, and as a part-time appointed chaplain to the Law
General Hospital (1983-1997), as chaplain to Road Meetings Hospital (1995-1997), as a school chaplain to High Mill Primary School, Carluke, Victoria Park School for the Mentally Handicapped, Carluke, Carluke High School and as chaplain to Woodhurst Nursing Home, Carluke.

Nationally, He served as Chairman of the Scottish Pensioners Forum, Chairman of Age Concern (Scotland) Spiritual Care Committee, and as Chairman of the R.A.F. Regiment Association. He also served in the Rotary Clubs of Falkirk, Dumbarton and Carluke, having been a President of the Dumbarton Rotary club.

On retiring in 1997he returned to live in his home town of Larkhall and transferred to the local Rotary club.

He then took up the sport of Curling at Lanarkshire Ice Rink, Hamilton, as a member of the Blantyre and Bellshill Clubs. He represented Scotland Rotary on a tour of Canada in 2001.

Although officially retired he continued to carry out ministerial duties preaching at St.Machan's Church in Larkhall for a few years as an interim minister and conducted many weddings, funerals and other pastoral duties.Tasks he kept up until shortly before he died in 2008.

He is buried with his parents in Larkhall Cemetry.

WELLWYND CHURCH.Wellwynd Church, Airdrie is situated in Wellwynd, near Airdrie Cross. It was the first church formed and built in Airdrie, in 1789. The congregation was part of the First Secession from the Church of Scotland because of religious and political differences. The church at Wellwynd became part of the United Presbyterian denomination (U.P.), which later joined with other Presbyterians to become a United Free (U.F.) church. Historically the early Wellwynd Church was known as a Burgher Church. The church was formed when Airdrie had a population of two thousand.

The church building closed for worship in 1995, the church being united with a nearby Church of Scotland congregation. Wellwynd had re-united with the Church of Scotland, nationally in 1929. The Wellwynd building is designated to become the Airdrie Museum. William Downie and Jessie Winning are reputed to be buried there. However the cemetery is to be built on and the graves moved.

Henry Downie was an elder there until his death in the 1980's, and Annie Downie, his daughter, Mrs John Shanks, is still a member of the congregation of the New Wellwynd Church. We have many relatives of Downie, Miller, Neil and Black extraction living in Airdrie and Lanarkshire.

WADDELL. The name in Scotland stems from Gilbert de Weddell, a 13th Century senior churchman in Galloway. (Dictionary of Scottish Surnames). Our immediate family, in the person of George Waddell, came from Forth, Lanarkshire and his son also George.

GEORGE WADDELL (son) was born at midnight on February 10, 1877 at Morton's Land, Cambusnethan, Wishaw to George Waddell, coal miner, from Forth and Janet Brown of Larkhall.

He lived at 60 John Street, Larkhall, and was married on March 30, 1900 in the Masonic Hall, Larkhall, by the Rev James Rae of Larkhall Congregational Church Sarah Cairns Davidson, farm servant, of Drygate Street, Larkhall, who was born on April 14, 1879 at Haughhead Colliery, Hamilton, Lanarkshire, daughter of William Davidson and Hannah Cairns.

Sarah Davidson and George Waddell

They had six children - in order of birth - George, William, Tommy, Hannah (my mother), Janet (Jenny) and Robert.

George, the eldest, was prominent as a full-time official of the National Union of Mineworkers, specialising in compensation claims for miners with chest complaints. He was a man of many interests - gardening and pet birds especially, winning many prizes for his garden, flowers, vegetables and birds (canaries and budgerigars). He also kept hens. How he managed to find the time when one considers that he travelled to and from Edinburgh each day to work is quite remarkable.

William and Tommy were also miners, Janet was in domestic service and Robert, first a miner, left the pit due to asthma and latterly was an electrician.

The family lived at 42 Muir Street, Larkhall, where my mother Hannah was born. They later moved some 50 yards to 18 High Pleasance, where the father was to die. They then moved to 1 Merryton Street, where the mother was to die and George Waddell Downie was to be born.

Accident

The two old cottages of the earlier addresses have been demolished to make way for modern bungalows, but 1 Merryton Street still stands as you enter Larkhall from Hamilton. Until the 1970s, High Pleasance was an unmade road and was "surfaced" with boulders, stones and dirt - typical of the 17th century.

George was reputed to be a good singer with a light but pleasant voice. He once won a "go-as-you-please" or talent contest in a concert at the Community Hall, Larkhall, for his rendition of a Robert Burns' song - Of A' the Airts."

Obviously, I never heard him sing, but I did hear his brother, Great Uncle Tom, sing when he was in his Seventies and he had a very rich and strong tenor voice even at that advanced age.(George Waddell Downie)

He, like his father George, grandfather James and great-grandfather John, was a coal miner.

He sustained throat burns when a gas explosion in Millburn Pit blasted him and a workmate. Both required hospital treatment.

This may have contributed to the "cancer of the soft palate" which killed him at the age of 44 on November 12, 1921, although his daughter, Hannah Downie blamed his fondness for smoking a clay pipe, the stem of which aggravated the palate.

Whatever the cause, he left a young family but a comparatively well-off one since several sons were working. It is said that his widow left £700 - a fortune in those days - at the time of her death on December 12, 1927, from dropsy (water retention).

Great-grandfather, also George Waddell, was born at Greenend in the Parish of Old Monkland on December 2, 1849, son of James Waddell, coal miner, and Margaret Laird. (George Waddell Downie)

It looks as though the Waddells of Bothwell followed mining work to the Airdrie area, then to Forth, with two of their sons travelling on to Larkhall. Further research is required to fill in gaps at Bothwell and Forth.

What has been established is that on December 31, 1868, George was married by the Rev John Crichton at Larkhall according to Established Church of Scotland ceremony to Janet Brown, field worker. He signed the marriage certificate, she put an X.

His address is given as Muir Street, Larkhall, and hers as Drygate Street. The witnesses are shown as William Lightbody and James Waddell.

Tragedy

Janet Brown's father is described as Thomas Brown, labourer, and her mother as Catherine Frame, deceased. Family lore says that the Browns were market garden folk from Crossford in the Clyde Valley and the Frames were of the celebrated Larkhall bakers.

Janet Brown is recorded as being born in the Parish of Dalserf on October 20, 1843 and being baptised on Christmas Eve.

They lived in Drygate Street, Larkhall, where Janet Waddell kept pigs in the back garden!

They had three children - Thomas, George and Catherine (Kate).

George Waddell died tragically young at 35 from head injuries sustained in a freak accident at Larkhall Cross when he slipped on the icy pavement and hit his head on the kerbstone. Time of death is given as 8-20am at Drygate Street (presumably his home) on August 15, 1885 due to haemorrhage.

His widow also died young and the children were brought up by their Aunt - Kate Maxwell in Wellgate Street, Larkhall.

Both are buried in Dalserf Cemetery in the first Clyde Valley village beyond Garrion Bridge.

The official records also refer to a James Waddell dying aged 52 at 42 Low Pleasance, Larkhall, on January 9, 1895. His parents also are shown as James Waddell and Margaret Laird.

This puts his birth at 1842-43 - a year or so after the Waddell-Laird marriage in December, 1841, and some six years before George Waddell. This might indicate that he is a brother of my great-grandfather and named after his father - which would point to "George" stemming from the Laird line.

samuel Downie remembers Hannah referring to a James being born to her mother, but he died very young. The Waddell-Laird's first child should have been named John in strict conformity with the style of the time, but again he may have died very young. Births in an age of no contraception tended to come rapidly in "steps and stairs," so it is possible in time terms. Further research of the Bothwell, Larkhall and Forth Waddells may shed some light.

Another relative spotted in the passing at the Edinburgh Records Office may be Margaret Laird Waddell, who died in 1940 in the Parish of St. Ninian's, Stirling, aged 79, which puts her birth at 186l. Her genealogy is complicated - perhaps by remarriage of her mother, so I shall simply give the information as recorded.

Church

She is described as being the daughter of James Gibson, coal miner, and Maureen Mitchell (previously Waddell, maiden surname Kinloch). To exacerbate the riddle, she is shown as married to George Waddell, coal miner (retired) and lived at 24 Murray Road, Cowie.

Now, there is a happy hunting ground for people like my fatherSamuel Downie, much addicted to the "maybe" school of history. (George Waddell Downie)

Returning to less speculative ground, the marriage of James Waddell and Margaret Laird is recorded in the Parish of Bothwell on December 12, 1841, and quite a number of Waddells are shown in the Old Parish/Church records there.

We know that James Waddell registered his son George's death in 1885, and that the same James Waddell, coal miner, husband of Margaret Laird, died aged 72 from age and debility at Haywood, near Forth, in the Parish of Carnwath on March 27, 1891.

The death is witnessed by his son David and the certificate gives the names of James Waddell's deceased parents.

They are: John Waddell, coal miner, and Jane Kin.

James Waddell was born, therefore, in 1819, which puts the birth of his father John and his mother Jane around 1800.

Here ends the proven family history of the Waddells

The Waddells were blood relatives of the Lee's, the Frames and the Eadie's who owned bakery businesses in Larkhall, and related to James Love, cabinet-maker and funeral undertaker. These families came from mining backgrounds, Lanarkshire being a huge coalfield, but the family members had a desire to better themselves economically.

COVENANTERS. The militant Protestantism of the Lowland Scot was reinforced by the hardships Protestants had to endure during the Stuart dynasty, whose matriarch was Mary Queen of Scots, a staunch Catholic with strong links to the French throne, having been betrothed to the Dauphin or Crown Prince of France.

The Scottish Protestants signed a Covenant against Episcopalian church government which they saw as a step towards the restoration of Catholicism, and so became known as the Covenanters.

Under James II in the late 17th Century they suffered persecution and had to worship in remote places such as the hills of Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and the Lothians.

The Waddell family is from covenanting stock. (See Scottish History, "The Killing Times" (1637-1690). The Covenanters strove for civil and religious liberty, to worship in the presbyterian mode. Thousands of them were killed and persecuted during the period. A gravestone I checked in 1994 is on Magus Moor beside the Strathkinnes Road, St. Andrews, Fife. The stone bears the name John Waddell, a covenanting martyr, who died on Magus Moor on the 25th November 1679. (See the book 'The Martyrs' Graves of Scotland', by J.H. Hutchison and published by Oliphant, Anderson and Fernier in the late 1800's.) Other Waddell Covenanters were buried near Lesmahagow, after having been put to death. Lesmahagow is in Lanarkshire.

In the 1960s, the 3rd Samuel Downie to be an eldest son (my father) and his brother John helped to restore moorland and other monuments in Lanarkshire and Ayrshire to these Covenanters, e.g. at Bothwell Brig, Mary Rae's Well near Bog's Brae, Bellshill, Dalserf Churchyard and Drumclog.

DAVIDSON. On the maternal side of the 1900-onwards Waddells, the main family names were Davidson and Cairns.

The Davidson Family

Sarah Cairns Davidson, wife of George Waddell, was the eldest daughter of William Davidson and Hannah Cairns. William Davidson went to Pennsylvania, U.S.A., from Wales, then returned to work in the Lanarkshire Coalfield. His friend Alexander Cairns, whom he had met in Pennsylvania, came to Hamilton where his family had moved from County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The Cairns family lived where the Gateway superstore now stands, at the top of Quarry Street, Hamilton. They had jet black hair colouring.

William Davidson from Wales was born in 1856, the son of Benjamin Davidson and Janet Cochrane (an Ulster-Scottish name).

William was a miner and had met a brother of his future wife when they both worked in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

They returned to the UK and he was introduced to Hannah Cairns, who had been born in Ballymena, Northern Ireland.

The Ulster, indeed Ballymena, links between the Downies and the Cairns were about to be cemented with the marriage of William Davidson to Hannah Cairns.

He married Hannah Cairns (19), housekeeper, at 53 Sunnyside Row, Cambusnethan, Wishaw, Lanarkshire, on December 31, 1874. She was the daughter of Robert Cairns, coal miner, and Sarah Ann McIntyre.

William Davidson and Hannah Cairns married and took up their first house in the colliery houses at Haughhead Colliery, Haughhead Railway Junction, Ferniegair, near Hamilton. It was here that my grandmother Sarah was born on December 6th, 1879. They then lived for a time in Drygate Street at the corner of Montgomery Street, opposite what is now a petrol station. The base of the old cottage can be seen as a low wall fronting a modern bungalow.

He died aged 60 on July 19, 1916 at Claremont Place, Larkhall, at 3-30pm "from gunshot wounds of chest" according to Dr Steele.

There is understandable Davidson family reticence about his sudden death, but this is my father's account:

Apparently William had a sum of money saved in the Co-operative and his wife, Hannah Cairns, had given some of it to her brother, Robert.

On learning this, William flew into a rage, and being a gamekeeper as well as a miner, possessed firearms.

He seized a gun and threatened to shoot his wife. His son, Sandy, tried to stop him and in the struggle the gun went off, killing the father.

The court decided the death was accidental and the son was not jailed.

The Davidsons had 9 children - not uncommon in the days of little or no family planning.

The family names were Robert, Sarah, Joseph, Janet, Hugh, Sandy,
Belle, Christina (Teen) and Willie. There is no record of a Benjamin who should have been the first-born son. Benjamin Davidson, in fact, never came to Scotland. The family story is that he went to work one day and did not return, missing presumed dead in the pit.

Tragedy also struck Benjamin's grandson, the last-named Willie, who also was killed in a pit accident at the Station Colliery, Larkhall, on March 26, 1890, when only aged 13. Another boy threw his bonnet under a wagon as a prank and when Willie tried to retrieve it he was crushed by the wagon. Another William was born two years later in 1892 but died aged one year.

After the untimely death of his father, William Davidson brought his mother Janet from Wales to settle in Larkhall and she died aged 84 on July 5, 1907 in Claremont Place, Muir Street, Larkhall, otherwise known as the Dookity Raw (Dovecote Row) because of the triangular shape of the attics. The site is now an open space opposite Larkhall Library.

William Davidson's brother Joe also came to live in Hamilton Street, Larkhall. William's son Joe's family still live in the Hamilton Road area of Larkhall.

Hannah Cairns Davidson, after whom my mother was named, died aged 86, in that house in the Dookity Raw, on March 31, 1944. I (George) remember twice being taken to see her before she died.

To a boy of 4 she appeared to be very old indeed, huddled in her shawl in a set-in bed (between three walls). She told my mother I was a nice wee laddie...the light was very dim! (George Waddell Downie)

The family later moved to Drygate Street, Larkhall, where they both died. William died on 19th July 1916, aged 60. Hannah died on 31st March 1944 aged 86. Sarah Cairns Davidson married George Waddell. They had a family of four sons and two daughters. My mother Hannah Cairns Davidson Waddell was the eldest daughter. Mother was born at 42 Muir Street, Larkhall, next to the corner of High Pleasance, to the right going downhill on Muir Street. Mother was born on the 23rd October 1905. She died in Monklands Hospital, Airdrie on the 11th August 1988.

During a visit to County Antrim, Northern Ireland in 1995, we were conducted around the Dunloy Presbyterian Church and given tea in its halls. This visit was in May, to mark my father's 90th birthday. Cissie and I, and my brother George and his wife Helen accompanied my father. We also visited the Finvoy Church, between Dunloy and Ballymoney, some 5 miles from Dunloy. The Finvoy Church was founded in 1690 and built of clay with a heather roof, by the protestant planters who used to stand in the church for a two-hour service. We found Cairns family gravestones, with appropriate Christian names in the Finvoy churchyard.

CAIRNS. The Cairns family came from Slaveney, Ulster. A hamlet at a road junction just a quarter of a mile downhill from the church. There are no houses there now. Slaveney is mentioned on the gravestones. The Downies would also have worshipped at Finvoy before the formation of the Dunloy Church in 1841. Another church in the area, Kilraughts, was also founded in the 17th Century (1660). We also found the names Booth and Creelman associated with the Dunloy Church. Daniel Creelman of Airdrie and Joseph Booth of Shotts, Lanarkshire were our relatives.

The Cairns family,lived first in Chapel Street, Hamilton, now the site of the Gateway supermarket centre; then Haughhead near Ferniegair, Hamilton; and finally at Lanark Road End near Larkhall. Robert Cairns and Sarah McIntyre, the parents of my grandmother, Sarah, are buried in the Bent Cemetery, Hamilton.

The game of football provided a curious link between the Waddells and the Cairns.

Willie Waddell, a relative of my mother, from Forth, Lanarkshire, was a famous winger for Glasgow Rangers and Scotland in the 1940s and went on to become Manager and Chief Executive of the Ibrox club.

Tommy Cairns, cousin of my grandmother, was a famous inside-forward for Glasgow Rangers and Scotland in the 1930s. He was a member of the famous "Wembley Wizards" side and later was chief scout for Arsenal. His brother Hugh was also a fine footballer and won a Scottish Junior Cup medal with junior club Larkhall Thistle in 1914.

They were the lucky ones whose sporting skill enabled them to escape the fate of joining their brethren down the pit.

The dangers of this mining were underlined by the fatalities suffered even within a fairly small family circle.

THE ORANGE ORDER. Dunloy lies between Ballymoney and Ballymena, known as "Little Scotland" because the inhabitants are mainly descendants of Scots who settled there from the 17th Century onwards as part of the "Plantation" of Ireland by mainland British. Scots words and pronunciations still figure in their speech.

These mainly Lowland Scots were Protestant and many came from Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, Lothians and the Borders. Their role was to establish a loyal British presence in Ireland against the native Catholics.

Many of them fought for King William III against the Catholic monarch, King James II of Britain and VII of Scotland, who had sought to restore Britain to the "Old Religion."These Scots remained fiercely loyal to the Crown and to their Protestant religion. Predominantly they were farmers. Indeed, they had been encouraged by the Government to go to Ulster in return for land.

The word Plantationers which described them was very apt - an acknowledgement that they were not only improving the land but also that they had been "planted" for political purposes, namely to ensure a population with strong allegiance to Britain.

The native Catholic Irish resented these incomers who ousted them from their land and who, as Presbyterians, were hostile to their Catholic religion. Naturally, they sought to evict them by killing them and burning their homes and crops.

But the Protestant Scots had the backing of the British Government. In addition, to combat the activities of the Fenian brotherhood of native Catholics, the Scots formed a brotherhood of militant Protestants - the Orange Order, founded by weavers in Armagh in 1795. Both committed atrocities on each other, and do so to this day.

It is from such stock that William Downie of Dunloy sprang. Like all his kith and kin, he was an Orangeman as the Ulster Protestants were known. They were God-fearing churchgoers whose religion had a central part in their life and heritage. Dunloy, incidentally, is now a Republican Nationalist village, and both the Presbyterian Church and Orange Hall were damaged by fire and vandalism by Catholic mobs as late as 1998.

During a visit to Dunloy, we were royally welcomed by Orangemen of that village. The Downies had belonged to this institution since its formation at the Diamond, near Portadown in 1795. The Loyal Orange Institution was formed as a protection against the Fenian Brotherhood in Ireland. (Sinn Feinn) and as a protector of the British and Protestant constitution. My father is presently the oldest and currently longest serving member of the Orange Order in Scotland, having occupied senior posts in Larkhall Lodge 193 and in Larkhall district No. 41. My grandfather was a founder member of Larkhall District Orange Lodge.(Rev.William Downie)

His father and grandfather were members of Drumgelloch Lodge, Airdrie. I was District Master in Larkhall District, Lodge Master for Lodge 193 and a Grand Chaplain and Depute Grandmaster of Scotland, but retired in 1972 because of my ministerial work and obligations. Alexander Downie, of Glasgow, a former Grand Secretary of the Orange Order in Scotland stated to me that three Downie brothers fought at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, then returned to settle in Scotland. One in Ayrshire near Dalmellington, one in Glasgow, who became a tea merchant and one in Linlithgow.

While this is anecdotal, it ties up with what my great great grandfather William said, that we came from Linlithgow originally. Alex. Downie's family were from Glasgow.

A lady who was a patient in Law Hospital, Lanarkshire, told me in 1989 that she was from the Ayrshire Downies, though now living in Douglas, Lanarkshire. I have also confirmed another story told by Alexander Downie, that one of our family was a founder member of the Bonkle Presbyterian Church, near Newmains, Lanarkshire. I confirmed this from a written history of the church. Therefore, certain anecdotal evidence given by different persons, at different times, ties up and confirms the Ulster Scottish roots.(Rev.William Downie)

N.B. My father records our 'Orange' roots as a matter of historical fact. I have neither pride nor shame in this. Our family, like all others, is a product of history and circumstance. I also record that neither myself nor my siblings, nor my children have any ties to this organisation either actual or emotional. (Robert Downie.)

Cameronian Scottish Rifles

WAR YEARS. Pre 1939, four Downie brothers served with the peacetime territorial battalion of the Cameronian Scottish Rifles, named after the covenanting minister of religion, Richard Cameron. The Cameronians held conventicles (open-air services) on the moors of Lanarkshire. The four brothers were given the honour of mounting guard at the four compass points. This followed the tradition of mounting watch over the holding of conventicles during the 1600's "killing times".

William, James, John and Charles Downie were in the first British troop movements of the 1939-45 war. William Downie was in the first battle in Norway in 1940. He was badly wounded by a German mortar shell.

He lay in the snow for ten hours, saved by blood coagulation, and was picked up by a German patrol, which saw him moving.

Uncle Willie was a prisoner in German occupied Poland, in Stalag XXA at Thorn.

He ran the camp football teams. (That's him on left of front row!)

January 1945 saw the British and Americans advancing from the West and the Russians from the East. The Russians were near Thorn in Poland and the German Commandant of Stalag XXA along with other nearby camps decided to retreat and move the prisoners, in the hope that they would fall into Allied hands instead of the Russians. 16000 Pow set out about 8000 died on the "Misery March." As the column of prisoners with guards moved past a wood at Crecy, Hanover, British fighter planes machine-gunned them, killing thirty-three. Seventeen days before the war ended. Willie and others were at the head of the column and had just passed a wood into which the rest of the column dived for safety. L/Corporal William Downie's body was eventually buried in West Berlin. (This story can be read in the Penguin Book - "The Last Escape" by John Nicol and Tony Rennell.)

The place is the British And Commonwealth Cemetery, The Heerstrasse, Charlottenburg, Berlin. This is near the 1930's Olympic Stadium. My father Samuel, Fraser, Craig and I visited it in 1994. The details of Uncle Willie are in the box in the wall of the entry arches, where a book gives details in alphabetical order. The details are that he is buried in plot 11, line K.

The gravestone wording is: L/CPL. WILLIAM DOWNIE 3245722, 6th BATTALLION, CAMERONIAN SCOTTISH RIFLES, DIED 19thAPRIL, 1945, AGE 36. THY WILL BE DONE.

June 1994 saw us put earth on his grave from 2, Sunnyside Street, Larkhall. We brought earth from his grave and put it on his mother and father's and his daughter Anna's grave (Preston), New Cemetery, Larkhall. We also planted some London Pride, "Nancy Pretty" at his grave.

John Downie, a sergeant in the Cameronians served during the war in Burma, Madagascar, N. Africa (Alamein), Sicily and Italy, including the battle of Monte Cassino.

James Downie served in N. Africa, Sicily and Italy, including El Alamein and Monte Cassino. He married a Dunfermline girl and is buried, with a headstone, in Valleyfield Cemetery, near Dunfermline. Charles was invalided out of the army and died in Killearn Military Hospital, Killearn, Scotland in 1945 two weeks after his brother Willie. He is buried in Larkhall Cemetery.

Thomas, their brother, my uncle, was excused military service because he was an engineer. He worked in an aircraft factory in England, contracted tuberculosis there and died in 1947. He is buried with his father and mother in Larkhall.

My father, Samuel volunteered for the Royal Marines, but was turned down because of his deafness in one ear. He worked during the war as a wood machinist and served part-time as a 'Firewatcher' looking for enemy aircraft and dealing with pathfinding incendiary fires. Able bodied men and women all had something to do extra to their work, some were Air raid Precaution A.R.P. Wardens, some Firewatchers, some served in the Home Guard. These were soldiers who trained in the evening and the weekend.

Women also served full-time in the Land Army as agricultural workers. Others worked in "War Work" in factories. Some men were auxiliary firemen.

Robert Nutt served with the A.R.P.; Hannah Nutt served as a Women's Voluntary Service Volunteer. The W.V.S. were trained to care for people in emergency and the word Royal was added to the name after the war, as a thank you for their work. They are now the W.R.V.S. Hannah Nutt also knitted countless woollen garments to be worn by soldiers, sailors and airmen.

My Grandfather William Downie, my father and my uncle George Waddell all cultivated 'plots' in addition to their gardens to grow vegetables. This effort was part of the government's exhortation to "dig for victory", and to provide food in a time of rationing.(Rev.William Downie)

I gathered wood to make firewood bundles, lavender to make scented lavender bags and heather to make posies. These items were sold to raise money for Lord Beaverbrook's scheme to buy Spitfire fighter aircraft.

Beaverbrook had been appointed by Winston Churchill to be in charge of aircraft production. I still serve as Squadron Leader (Padre) to the Carluke Air Training Corps.

I hope my descendants will never require to be involved in war. Future family members will choose their own way of life and should have freedom to do so. I can only hope that they will make wise choices, yet not be bound by the past, but learn from it. I hope this narrative will assist the Downies to know from whence they came and may they be happy and blessed in the future.

FAMOUS RELATIVES. At the time of the wedding of Prince Charles to Diana Spencer, it was stated in the London Times that Diana's grandmother's name was Downie. Diana's mother's side hailed from Ayrshire. I have ascertained from the ordnance survey map that a farm and area near Dalmellington, Ayrshire is named Downie.

Hannah Downie told me that we are related to David Livingstone, minister, missionary and geographer. He is buried in Westminster Abbey. His memorial museum is in Blantyre, Lanarkshire. Livingstone's mother was Agnes Hunter. Her father had moved to Lanarkshire.

Maria Hunter, mother of Maria Black from the Salsburgh area. Elizabeth Neil's cousin, Maria Hunter Black was head housekeeper to the Duke of Roxburgh at Floors Castle, Kelso. She occupied a cottage on the estate in her retirement and is buried in Clarkston, Airdrie. Elizabeth inherited a share in her estate. My great great grandfather was James Hunter Black of Airdrie. Grandmother also stated her relationship to James Young Simpson, the inventor of anaesthetic for medical operations. My father confirmed that Simpsons are part of the family tree. (Rev.William Downie)

One of the Simpsons, a Mrs MacMillan whom I knew, and who was married to Angus MacMillan owner of a plumber's business in Larkhall was descended from this family. The lady I mentioned earlier and who was a Mrs Downie from Douglas has a son living a few yards from me in Carluke. I have seen their researched family tree showing that relatives from Ayrshire were in attendance at the wedding of a Downie to Souter Johnny's daughter, a wedding likely to have been attended by Robert Burns. Souter Johnny is mentioned in Burns' poem 'Tam o' Shanter'. Johnny's real name was John Davidson.(Rev.William Downie)

Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet's mother was Agnes Broun (Brown). My great grandmother was Janet Brown, reputed to be descended from the same family. Though this is anecdotal, Ayrshire and Lanarkshire are adjoining counties and Scotland had a small rural population in these counties in Burns' time. Souter Johnny, Tam O' Shanter and Robert Burns were 'cronies', that is friends, and their statues can be seen at Burns' Mausoleum, Alloway, Ayr.

Relatives have been successful sportsmen.

William Waddell, of Forth, Lanarkshire played for Glasgow Rangers and Scotland. He became manager of Glasgow Rangers and was the motivator for the newly designed Ibrox Stadium, which has a suite, named after him.

Thomas Cairns, of Larkhall played for Glasgow Rangers and Scotland, including the "Wembley Wizard" team. He became a Scottish scout for Arsenal F.C.

My uncle William Downie played junior football for Royal Albert F.C. and Larkhall Thistle. He played for Newry Town in Ireland and for Gateshead when they were in the English League. His football career was affected by his emigration to Canada in the 1930's, where he played for Hamilton, Ontario.

John Downie, b 19.7.1925 Lanark
Manchester United Forward 1948-53
110 games, 35 goals, 5 FA Cup goals
Most expensive player when signed at 18,000 pounds
Played for Luton, Hull and Stalybridge Celtic after United
Newsagent in Bradford after playing career.

Alec Downie, b 1876 Dunoon, d Manchester 9.12.1953
First team: Glagow Perthsire
Manchester United player 1902-10.

My youngest son Craig played for Carluke Rovers, another junior team.(Rev.William Downie)

My eldest son Samuel was a Scottish International runner and held the record for the Ben Nevis race in the 1970's.(Rev.William Downie)

BURIAL PLACES.

WILLIAM DOWNIE 1882 - 1968 Centre part of Larkhall Cemetery's second oldest section. As is ELIZABETH NEIL 1885 - 1967 at the top of the gravestone.
SAMUEL DOWNIE 1905 - Cemetery to the right going down Station Road, Larkhall.
HANNAH WADDELL 1905 -1988 at the top of the gravestone.
Rev. WILLIAM DOWNIE 1932 -2008 at same site as Samuel and Hannah.
WILLIAM NUTT 1864 - 1943 Second main section on boundary wall nearest the River Clyde. MARY MARSHALL 1870 - 1957 Larkhall.
ROBERT NUTT 1900 -1980 Second main section facing lower gate to Duke Street, Larkhall.
HANNAH FRAZER 1902 - 1977 as above, Larkhall.
MARY MARSHALL NUTT 1932 - 1935.
WILLIAM DAVIDSON 1856 - 1916 Mother Janet buried with him in Larkhall Old Cemetery.
HANNAH CAIRNS 1858 - 1944 gravestone near path at dividing wall to the new cemetery.
GEORGE WADDELL 1877 - 1921 Gravestone 4th row, left, entering from Station Road, Larkhall.
SARAH DAVIDSON 1879 - 1927 All the gravestones named Downie, Waddell, Nutt, Frazer, Davidson and Cairns are our relatives.

William and Jessie (Winning) Downie are interred in Wellwynd Churchyard, Airdrie. Samuel Downie and Mary Miller are interred in Clarkston Parish Churchyard, Airdrie, to the left of the entry path. Henry Neil and Maria Hunter Black are in Clarkston Churchyard and interred at the rear wall (no gravestones exist). We have Downie, Millar, Black and Hunter relatives interred at Kirk O' Shotts, and at Monklands Cemetery, Airdrie, as well as somewhere in N. Ireland, at Ballymena and District, which includes Dunloy, contact was kept between Airdrie and Ballymena relatives until the 1950's. There are Cairns relatives buried in N. Ireland, Bent Cemetery, Hamilton, Lanarkshire and in Larkhall Cemetery. William Davidson and Hannah Cairns' gravestone is in the oldest part of the cemetery, as is the gravestone of George and Sarah Waddell and other Waddell and Davidson relatives. Elizabeth and William Downie are buried in the second oldest section of Larkhall Cemetery, as are other Downie, Waddell, Cairns and Davidson relatives. Samuel and Hannah Downie (nee Waddell) are buried in the newer part of Larkhall Cemetery with the Rev. William Downie, across Station Road from the older one. Jack McKnight is in the next door plot.

Other Downie relatives are buried here. Robert Waddell, my uncle, is buried in Cambusnethan Cemetery, Wishaw. There is a gravestone.

The Davidson main stone in Larkhall is near the furthest right hand path edge as you walk up from the oldest part of the cemetery. Janet Waddell's gravestone is Mrs Janet Robb. Joseph Davidson married to Hannah Davidson is my great uncle.
Davidson and Ritchie relatives are also buried in Strathaven Cemetery and Thomas Waddell, my uncle, is buried in Stonehouse Cemetery, where there is a gravestone. All of the Waddells, Downies, Cairns and most of the Davidsons buried in Larkhall are relatives. All the Nutt names are relatives.

William Nutt and Mary Marshall are buried at the north wall of the second oldest part of Larkhall Cemetery, as are Robert, Hannah and Mary Nutt, opposite the large gate on Duke Street. All have named gravestones. William died on the 29th October 1943, aged 79. Mary Marshall Nutt died on 22nd February 1957, aged 87.

CLANS AND TARTANS. By birthright family are entitled to wear Lindsay, MacNeil, Davidson, Fraser and Keith (for Marshall) tartans. Other surnames found in the Downie search so far include: Black, Hunter, Johnston, Kirk, McDonald, Miller, Morrison, Murray, Neil, Orr, Richmond, Stereman and Winning.

On the Waddell side the names include Brown, Cairns, Cochrane, Davidson, Frame, Kin, Laird and McIntyre.

The McGilvery line includes Lees, Ford and Walker.

The Lindsay badge is, as already stated, a rising swan out of a coronet proper, with the motto 'Endure Fort' (Endure With Strength). The Frazer badge is the Buck's Head with the motto 'Je Suis Prest' (I Am Ready). The Davidson badge is a stag's head with the motto 'Sapentier Si Sincere' (Wisely If Sincerely). The MacNeil (l) of Barra (Neil) crest badge is a rock with the motto 'Vincere Vel Mori' (To Conquer Or Die). The Keith badge to which the Marshalls are entitled is a stag's head, with the motto 'Veritas Vincit' (Truth Conquers). Craig and Cairns are Scottish lowland names. Mackay has a crest badge of a hand and forearm holding a dagger. The motto is 'Manu Forti' (With A Strong Hand).

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It is with affection and respect for the bonds of kinship which unite us through the centuries that I dedicate this to my grandchildren - Christopher, Michael, Graeme, Chyrsten and Robert Downie and Gillian and Caitlin Watt. I trust that they will pass it on enhanced to their own blood, and get as much satisfaction and enjoyment from reading about their roots as I have gained from unearthing them. (George).

This is for Scott, Sam and Gillian. (William).

To be continued.

(This history is composed separately by my late father and uncle. I have combined their work and edited it as I thought appropriate. I hope they will be content with the outcome.

I have removed information about living relations as it is against the data protection act to electronically store this information and publish it on the web. Robert Downie.)

Our thanks are due principally to the 3rd Samuel Downie (1905-2002) in line from the first mentioned in the narrative at the time of Waterloo (1815). At aged 91, his prodigious memory of family names and events was of immeasurable help in research of official records.

Also to George's wife Helen Lees McGilvery and our sister Sarah Davidson Waddell Downie McKnight for names, dates and anecdotes. Finally, to Ruth Freeman, a relative through marriage, of Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, who supplied the missing female family members of William of Dunloy, including details about his wife Jessie.

A special thank you to Damian Downie of Victoria, Australia for supplying certificates and confirmation of information about family members and whose continued research may take us back in time.

N.B. We do hold records of Downie family members not yet included in the tree as no firm link has been established yet. They did live in New Monklands and on occasion in the same streets as recognised family members so presumably were related.

We also have records of other Lanarkshire/Glasgow Downie family who are not our immediate family. These are available to anyone interested in them.

The History of his family by :-

The Late Rev. William Downie B.A., Dip.Th., F.R.S.H. and George Waddell Downie.

Website construction and family tree by:

Robert Marshall Nutt Downie.

(Gillian, I know it's an old picture!)

email: robert.downie7@btinternet.com

FAMILY TREE

LINKS TO OTHER 'DOWNIE' SITES.

THE DESCENDENTS OF JOHN MILLER AND MARY DOWNIE

(Another website dedicated to the family of my ancestors but showing a completely different line.)

IAN DOWNIE ( DOWNIES OF FIFE, SCOTLAND)

GEORGE DOWNIE( DOWNIES OF DUNFRIESHIRE)

RESEARCH SITES

FREE FAMILY TREE SOFTWARE

GENOPRO

email: robert.downie7@btinternet.com