SCROGGIE | Jewelian Family

SCROGGIE FAMILY

The Scroggie family arrived at Lyttelton on 3 July, 1874 on the "Dunedin", having sailed from Glasgow on 6 April. The ship's passenger list shows;

Scroggie, Thomas 31 born Ayr carpenter

Elizabeth 29

Mary 2 1/2

Thomas 8 months

Cost of passage was 40 pounds which was paid in full by the Government, so they were apparently assisted immigrants.

The Family Bible shows the following details;

NAME BIRTH DATE PLACE OF BIRTH DATE OF DEATH

John 31/1/1870 Partick, Glasgow 2/1871

Mary Anderson 6/6/1871 Partick 2/2/1903

Thomas 6/6/1873 Partick

Jane Powell 18/10/1875 Geraldine 17/10/1891

Maggie Crosbie 28/2/1877 Geraldine c1937

Robert John 11/8/1880 Geraldine 15/2/1916

Agnes Elizabeth 12/6/1882 Geraldine

Thomasena 17/10/1883 Geraldine 26/11/1966

NOTE: Thomas died 28/11/1874 aged 18 months.

Agnes Elizabeth died 5/12/1883 aged 1 year

Thomas Dick Scroggie was born at Maybole, Ayrshire, in 1841, and died in Christchurch on 6/6/1884, according to his death certificate, of paralysis. He is buried in Addington cemetery, and his headstone at this date (2004) is still standing and quite readable. His youngest daughter, Thomasena (my grandmother) was seven months old at the time.

Thomas and ELizabeth Scroggie and family Scroggie family outside their house Elizabeth Scroggie and famly Lower Talbot St Geraldine

He married Elizabeth Houston Crosbie at the United Presbyterian church, Beith, on 12 June, 1868. Minister was James Meikle D.D. and witnesses were Robert Scroggie and Mary Crosbie. Thomas shows his usual address as 6 Victoria Street, Partick, and Elizabeth as 40 Orchard Street, also in Partick.

The 1871 census shows Thomas and Elizabeth living in a tenement building at 52 Anderson Street, Partick in the parish of Govan, Glasgow (when my mother tried to find the place in the early 1980's there was only a carpark!) Tom is described as a house-joiner. In the next tenement were Tom Scroggie's parents, Robert and Jane Scroggie. Robert is described as a ship-builders labourer, aged 59, born in Kirkoswald, Ayrshire. In the next tenement lived Tom's brother, Robert Scroggie, aged 24, a ship-plater, born in Maybole, Ayrshire, his wife Martha aged 26 born Eaglesham, Renfrewshire and their son Robert aged 2, born Partick. They also had a lodger, John Orr aged 11, scholar, born Eaglesham. As Martha's maiden name was Orr, John appears to be her brother or her nephew. In 1881 Robert and Jane were living at 7 Bridge Street, Govan. Robert died in Partick in 1883. This information was extracted from the indexes, as I have not sighted the death certificate.

There is another Scroggie family in Ayrshire, which must have some link with our family.

In Townhead, Craigie by Kilmarnock there is the following family in the 1881 census.

Jane Scroggie W 72 F Ayr Ayshire

Jane Scroggie U 42 F Craigie “

Hanah T Scroggie U 11 F “

Andrew Scroggie U 22 M “

Maggie J Scroggie U 8 F “

The younger Jane will be the one born in 1838, only daughter of Andrew Scroggie and Jean Scott, who were married in 1835 in Tarbolton. Andrew Scroggie is a most uncommon name, and the most likely Andrew is the one born in 1816 in Kincardine O’Neil, Aberdeenshire. However, we know from an internet entry that this Andrew migrated to U S A and married Grace Tasker in 1849. Maybe his father, also Andrew, married twice. We have never traced the James Scroggie who married in Glasgow in 1764. My best guess is that he is the James Scroggie born in Banchory-Ternan in Kincardine in 1737, son of Robert Scroggie and Elspet Sim. Does the link go back a century and a half to the Aberdeen/Kincardine area? I say link, because there are photos which still exist, addressed to my grandmother Thomasina Scroggie, from Hannah Tannock Scroggie in Scotland.

Robert Scroggie junior's birth is recorded in the Maybole parish register as follows:

Nov. 14 1846, Robert Scroggie, farm servant, Greenan and Jane Powell his spouse had a son born and baptised on the 20th November by the Rev. James Laidlaw, minister of Fisherton. Named Robert.

John Scroggie, eldest son of Robert Scroggie and Jane Powell, died on 9 September, 1856 at Greenan. He was 24, a ploughman, single. He was buried in the Churchyard of Alloway (Of "Tam O Shanter" fame.) His father Robert is also described as a ploughman.

The 1851 census of Maybole parish shows the following:

Langhill (the name of a farm)

Robert Scroggie H .M 39 Farmservant Kirkoswald

Jane " W M 45 Girvan

Jane " D U 15 Scholar Colmonell

Catherine D U 13 Servant at home Girvan

Janet D U 10 Scholar at home Girvan

Thomas S U 8 Scholar at home Maybole

Mary D U 6 At home Maybole

Robert S U 4 At home Maybole

Robert Bell nephew U 16 Agricultural labourer Girvan

In the same parish, at a farm which I think is called Drumbain is the following family:

John Purdie H M 26 Tailor Kirkmichael

Hamilton Purdie W M 25 Ayr

Margaret " D U 6 Ayr

Barbara " D U 5 Maybole

Sarah " D U 3 Maybole

Mary " D U 9 months Maybole

I have included the latter family, as Thomas Scroggie married Barbara Purdie at Maybole on 15/7/1864. They had a son, Robert, born at Anderston, Glasgow on 25/10/1864. Barbara died on 5 November 1864 of purpural fever, at Kelvinhaugh Street, Glagow. Thomas is shown as a joinery journeyman.

Robert Scroggie snr was born in Kirkoswald in 1810, the youngest child of John Scroggie and Janet Dick, who were married at Kirkoswald on 17/5/1800. Their children were:

Jane 20/12/1800

Robert baptised 11/11/1803

Catherine 9/6/1806

Robert 16/12/1810, all in Kirkoswald

It would appear that the first Robert died as a child. It was common in Scotland at the time to retain a family Christian name, and with high infant mortality rates, often a younger child was given the same name as a deceased sibling.

Robert Scroggie married Jane Powell at Kirkoswald on 14 December 1832. Their family is as follows:

John born 10/1/1833 Kirkoswald

Jane born 1835 Colmonell

Catherine born 17/10/1837 Girvan (married Watson)

Janet born 1840 Girvan (married Russell)

Thomas Dick born c 1842 Maybole

Mary 1844 Maybole

Robert b 20/11/1846 Maybole

The name Scroggie was not common in Ayrshire at that time. It is most common in Aberdeen and nearby parishes, although the name is reputed to come from the village of Scrogie Hill in Perthshire, which no longer exists. (Ref. The Surnames of Scotland, G.F. Black). John Scroggie was born in the parish of Ayr on 6 June, 1775, son of James Scroggie and Jean Dick. James and Jean were married in Glasgow on 29 October, 1764. On the Mormon church IGI extraction programme the groom’s name is given as James Scraige, and as this is the only known example of this name we can fairly assume that the name should be Scroggie. His occupation is given as a vintner, living in Stirling.

Their children were:

Elizabeth born 20 October 1765 Edinburgh

James born 23 August, 1768 Glasgow

Margaret born 23 June, 1770 Glasgow

George born 26 March 1772 Glasgow

John born 6 June, 1775 Ayr

Janet Dick is probably the Jean Dick, daughter to Thomas Dick of Maybole and Jean McCleonan, born in 1781. Thomas in turn was born in Maybole on 17 September 1747, son of Robert Dick and Isabell Galloway

In the 1841 census of Maybole there is the following information:

Address: Greenan Cottage House

Surname First name(s) Sex Age Occupation Where Born

Scroggie Robert M 30 Agricultural Labourer Ayrshire

Scroggie Jean F 33 Ayrshire

Scroggie John M 8 Ayrshire

Scroggie Jean F 6 Ayrshire

Scroggie Cathrine F 3 Ayrshire

Scroggie Janet F 1 Ayrshire

Powell Cathrine F 66 Outside Census County

The Scroggies appear to have settled in Geraldine as soon as they arrived in New Zealand. They lived at the southern end of Talbot Street on the western side and I can remember my father pointing the house out to me. It was pulled down in 1972. Mrs Scroggie moved to her daughter Thomasena's home after son Robert died in 1916. She died on my father’s 10th birthday, 31 December, 1923.

Tom Scroggie was a carpenter, and according to Dad he built the first Catholic Church in Geraldine.

Only three of the children married.

Mary married Daniel Ritchie Ambler at Geraldine on 11/4/1893. They had one son, James Thomas Ambler, born 17/10/1894.

Margaret (Maggie) married Leonard Albert Taylor on 28/11/1901. They later moved to Ballandean, Queensland where they grew grapes. We visited Ballandean in 1993, and it was still a grape-growing area. The Taylors (senr) lived in Talbot Street, Geraldine, south of the Scroggie home on the other side of the road. Len's father was known as "Aussie" Taylor as he had spent some time in Australia. Len and Maggie had no family.

Thomasena (Zena) married Angus MacLauchlan Fyfe at Geraldine on 21/1/1907. Their two children were Marion Elizabeth, born 15/8/1908 and Angus Graham born 31/12/1913. Thomasena died 26/11/1966.

In the Scroggie family Bible there are several memorial notices, mostly from around 1900. Two of these refer to other family members. They are;

Robert Ritchie died Hayfield, Rutherglen 15/8/1902 aged 56. (Crosbie)

Catherine Scroggie, relict of John Watson died 12/5/1905 aged 66. 11 Baird Street, Govan.

Catherine Scroggie and John Watson had been married at Govan on 30 December 1868.

In the 1881 census there is the following entry. 22 Harmony Row, Govan, Lanark

John Watson M 44 M Girvan Ayr

Catherine Watson M 42 F Girvan Ayr

William Watson U 17 M Ayr

Robert Watson U 11 M Girvan

Robert was born 1 November 1869, and appears to be the only child of John and Catherine. William is presumably John’s son from a previous marriage.

Janet Scroggie married Alexander Russell on 11 June 1875 in Govan. They appear to have had no family.

In the meantime Robert Scroggie and his family had moved to Barrow in Furness in Lancashire In the 1881 census there is the following entry:

Dwelling 15 St Vincent St Barrow In Furness, Lancashire, England

Robert Scroggie Head M Male 35 Scotland Plater (Ship)

Martha Scroggie Wife M Female 38 Scotland

Robert Scroggie Son Male 12 Scotland Scholar

James Scroggie Son Male 9 Scotland Scholar

Agnes Scroggie Dau. Female 7 Scotland Scholar

We also have an undated photo (almost certainly of Robert Scroggie) taken by a professional photographer in Newcastle on Tyne. It looks as if he took his ship-building skills with him to where-ever there was work available.