Siblings

Andrew Campbell, my great grandfather, had many brothers and sisters. Tracking down their movements, marriages and families has been quite a task and I’ve been more successful with some than others.

Here is the story of his eldest brother, John F. Campbell.

John Campbell married Marion Finnie (1851) on 14th July 1871. Together they had four children:

• Thomas 1873
• John 1875
• Annie 1879
• Richard 1881

John F. Campbell died at the age of 32 on 18th October 1880 at 5.50pm. He lived in Sourley, just outside of Irvine, and worked as a brusher in the Fergushill pit, which involved repairing mine passage roofs and sides in the pit, a dangerous occupation. On 14th October 1880, there was an accident when the pit roof fell on John and trapped his foot.  A surgeon, Mr Milroy, signed his death certificate four days later, stating the cause of death was amputation of the foot and inflammation from pleurisy which he succumbed to after three days.

The initial ‘F’ in John’s name may relate to his maternal grandmother, Margaret Ferguson.

Alexander Campbell

Alexander was the elder brother of my great grandfather, Andrew Campbell. His is an interesting story.

He was born in Carnock, just outside of Dunfermline in Fife in 1851. In 1871, Alexander, like his father and his brothers, was a miner, living at 6, Burn Row, Fergushill. He was a young nineteen year old boy making his way in the world.

Ten years later, in 1881, Alexander seems to be doing well for himself. He has a wife, Annie Bulloch b. 1852. They have three children:

• Annie b. 1874 in Dreghorn
• Margaret b. 1880 in Dreghorn
• William b. 1878 in Old Cumnock

Alexander is now an Assistant Colliery Manager living at McLaughland’s Buildings, East Back Road, Dreghorn.

By 1991, Alexander has been promoted to Colliery Manager at the Bellfield (Kirkstyle) Pit in Kilmarnock. This seems to have been the Kirkstyle Pit, which was on the Bellfield Estate. The site later became home to Glacier metal.

It’s not clear just when the Kirkstyle Pit was first first sunk, but in 1925 a gas explosion there left five miners dead. The mine employed 140 men and the usual shift would have had between 50 and 60 miners. However, the accident happened on a Sunday and there had only been eight men in the pit at the time of the accident. The enquiry blamed both the employers and the men. The company was blamed for inadequate ventilation and one of the men for failing to follow safety procedures.
Things were changing and in 1928 the rapid decline of the once important coal mining industry around Kilmarnock continued when J & R Howie closed Busbiehill No 2, No 3 and No 8 pits at Crosshouse and Woodhill No 13 and Woodhill No 14 pits at Kilmarnock. However, in a display of confidence in the future of coal mining in Kilmarnock, electric power was installed in the Kirkstyle and Wellington pits.
Despite many closures in the second decade of the century, the Ayrshire coalfield was still productive. During 1933 1.3 million tons of coal were shipped out of Ayrshire harbours. However, the year saw the closure by the Portland Colliery Company of two pits at Kirkstyle and in 1940 The Wellington and the last Kirkstyle coal pits, belonging to the Portland Colliery Company were closed as a result of flooding. Thanks to Frank Beattie for this information.

Alexander and Annie have several more children but their son, William, seems to have died and they have passed on the name to a younger child, as was the practice:

• John b.1882 Dreghorn
• William b.1883 Dreghorn
• Alexander b.1886 Dreghorn
• Robert b.1890 Dreghorn

Being a colliery manager was a very demanding job, juggling the safety of all the miners and productivity. I’m sure Alexander must have come across some difficult and dangerous situations to deal with. Here’s some examples:

April 1888
Yesterday, in the Bellfield colliery, Kilmarnock a contractor named Hutton who was making a road in the pit, was so severely crushed by a fall from the roof that he lived only a few minutes. [Scotsman 12 April 1888]

15 June 1896
The Coal Mines Regulation – At the Kilmarnock Sheriff Court yesterday, Robert Banks, colliery manager, Bellfield pleaded guilty to a contravention of the Coal Mines Regulation Act by failing to see that the main coal seam of No. 1 Bellfield Pit was properly ventilated, and not providing proper air-way, stoppings, and bratticing to convey the current to the working-places. He pleaded guilty. It was stated that, owing to the inadequacy of the ventilation, an explosion of fire-damp occurred ,in the pit, and three men were injured, one of whom died. The Sheriff imposed a penalty of £10, or twenty days’ imprisonment. [Scotsman 4 August 1896]

Alexander didn’t continue as Colliery Manager at the Bellfield Pit, because he had moved his wife and family to Accrington in Lancashire, England by 1901, living at 110, Richmond Street, Accrington. He was a commercial traveller there and his children are listed as:

• Annie, single, age 28: Dressmaker at home
• John, single, age 19, Apprentice Machine Fitter, Iron Turner
• Maggie, single, age 21, Cotton Winder
• William, single, age 18, Apprentice Grocer
• Alexander, single, age 15, Apprentice Draper
• Robert, age 11, school boy

Between 1901 and 1909 when Alexander died, he moved back to Kilmarnock. Alexander became the inn keeper at the Angel Hotel in Market Lane, which was a lane off King Street.
Market Lane was an important place in Burns’ days. Woolworth had a shop facing King Street but they later extended round the back of what was Graftons and took the property that had been the Angel Hotel and used it for their gardening department. I remember this well but had no idea about the building’s history or its connection to my Campbell family.

Thanks to Frank Beattie for this information.

Alexander died on 21 June 1909 in Kilmarnock.  He was only 58 years old and died from chronic Bright’s disease – uraemia. This is a kidney disease which also causes heart disease and high blood pressure. His wife, Annie Bulloch (1852) died of liver cancer at the age of 80 years (1932). At this time she was living at 35, London Road, Kilmarnock. At the time of his mother’s death, William, their son, was living at 11, Dean Lane, Kilmarnock, heading through the railway arches and up the hill.