Cartside House, Kilbarchan

[SarahND]

Hi Stewie,
You missed out on the Stewart Y-DNA, but not on the inheritance through your mother's father! Any Stewart uncles or cousins to be tested?

My Stewarts are my mother's mother's mother's father's family... so a bit farther off in terms of rounding up cousins!


Sarah

[StewL]

Hi Sarah
There is bound to be some Stewart cousins around. Believe it or not, most of cousin's are female! I still have to trace the children of my uncle Alex, for some reason I don't have any children yet for him.
Sadly I was in Scotland staying with a cousin last September, but relied on my cousins husband to give me the grand tour, even walked past a cousin in Airdrie but didn't know it was her until it was too late.

[SarahND]

That's the problem with living so far away-- you don't get many second chances to find the right document, place or person! If I ever get to Australia, I'll rely on you to make sure I don't miss a cousin I know I have a few over there.

Cheers,
Sarah

[Stewart55]

My Stewart's are:

Robert c1770 Weaver Kilbarchan
Robert 1806 Teacher Kilbarchan, Johnstone, Barrhead Seminary & Houston
Allan 1837 Mill Worker & Blacksmith Johnstone, Ayr & Glasgow
Allan J.C 1885 Printer, Engineer, Glasgow (My Grandfather)
Robert Q 1924 India Tyre Moulder, Glasgow, Johnstone (My Father)
Allan R 1956 R Navy, Glasgow, Johnstone, Plymouth ( My Brother)

I have had my DNA done as part of Scotland's DNA Project, but is M DNA
It ended up as common to the Basque area of Spain as my mother was Irish

Searched the Johnstone High Parish Churchyard, but no Robert Stewart
Stayed at Pannel's Farm in Kilbarchan when I am in Scotland. Viewed the entries
for Robert Stewart Teacher in the Paisley Directories in Paisley Library.

Although I was born in Glasgow, we moved to Johnstone as part of the Glasgow Overspill in 1960. I found it ironic that my Stewart's have gone full circle & ended up in Johnstone, many of the places are familiar to me. I am still trying to find out what school Robert taught at & have e-mailed Paisley Library for a look up, still awaiting a reply. Don't get up to Scotland much theses days. Maybe a renewed interest in this post may bring us some more info.

[Russell]

Hi Stewart55
I had a look at Brown's 'History of Paisley Grammar School' to see if your relative's name appeared there alongside my wife's gg uncle. As you will know from your visit to Kilbarchan it would not have been too far to journey into Paisley. No mention there unfortunately. I have not found any history of school(s) in Johnstone yet so I don't know if he worked locally as a teacher. I don't think he was working in Kilbarchan school though.
He was born at a time in Kilbarchan when there was considerable religious upheaval; when weavers were fairly well educated and could afford to further the education of able sons (rarely daughters though although they often became weavers in their own right). Most Kibarchan weavers secceded from the Established church in 1887 but by that time he would already be a teacher.Many of the records of the Established (West church) are fragmentary with many tears missing altogether I wonder if the move to Johnstone is related. I have neglected Johnstone history so I will try to visit the small local museum to see if they have anything in their collection which might help.

Russell

[Stewart55]

Russell,
I have been to the Museum in Morrisons in Johnstone. They had an old map with Cartside House on it. Paisley Museum has more records. The Verger at the High Parish Church was extremely helpful, he gave me a book about the church & looked into the records for me, but alas no Robert, I scrabbled about myself to no avail. The ironic thing about the Church was that during a school project for St Aiden's (which was next to the church) we were invited in to the Churchyard to look at the Headstones in connection with the Mill trade, as children were employed there from a young age. We were there to take down the names & ages of the children who died before their parents. That's when Dr Fawcett was the Minister. The headstones in the 1960's were mostly upright & easily legible, now they are mostly flat with the grass growing over them. I also tried the Masonic Lodge in Johnstone & they were very helpful, Johnstone didn't have a Lodge in Robert's time, but there was one in Kilbarchan. Looking at Fowlers Directory into the 1840's there were several schools in Johnstone, Sabbath & Night Schools, I'm thinking of the Part Timers School at Ferguslie & how Johnstone may have similar Schools teaching children working in the Mills. I find it hard to believe that Robert's name dose not appear against any School. Hardgait Houston is hard to find info on & the only reference to it is in the "Kilbarchan A Parish History", which mentions the sale of Hardgait to the Semples of Castle Semple fame. Robert's children Elizabeth, Mary & Allan are listed as Mill Workers in the 1851 Census where they are listed at Cartside, no mention of Cartside House, presumably they worked at Cartside Mill which is now Smith & McLaurin & would have been opposite Cartside House. I feel so near & yet so far away at times. The other ironic thing is that Robert lived opposite St Margaret's Church where I made my Holy Communion. Just need a bit of luck to fill in the blanks.

[Currie]

Parliamentary Papers can be informative and interesting. There are reports on Scottish education and also on employment in mills and its impact on young children etc. They usually mention whether or not there was a school set up at the mill.

In “1841 Session 1 (64) Answers made by schoolmasters in Scotland to queries circulated in 1838, by order of the Select Committee on Education in Scotland”, there’s a very long list of “Schoolmasters (other than Parochial) to whom Educational Queries were forwarded and which have not been answered”. Among the 16 from Abbey Parish there’s an R. Stewart residing at Cartside.

William Allan, Cotton-street; James Anderson, South Croft-street; John Lang, Gauze-street; -- Wilkin, Williamsburgh; J. Campbell, Rankin-street; R. Stewart, Cartside; W. Jamieson, Quarrelton; W. Pollok, Charleston; Miss Twigg, Gauze-street; Miss Crawford, Abbey-street; Mrs. Findlay, Walkinshaw-street; Mrs. Reid, Church-street, Miss Duncan, Rankin-street; Mrs. Hodgart, High-street, Mrs. White, Charleston; Mrs. Porteus, Walkinshaw-street.

For Schools not Parochial the Abbey Parish reports that were returned, and the Schoolmasters, were as follows:
Abbey Parish School – Wm. Mitchell
Abbey-street School – James Fergus
Lawn-street School – N. Dougan
W. Campbell’s Academy – William Campbell
Nitshill School – A. Macmillan
Durrochstock School – Alex Steele
Maxwellton School – John Rigg
Ferguslie School – Charles Henrie
J. K. Chalmer’s School, Sandholes – James K. Chalmers
W. Johnston’s Infant School – Wm. Johnston
A. M’Farlane’s School, Johnstone (Browns, Malloch & Co.’s) – Archibald M’Farlane
W. Taylor’s School, Johnstone – Wm. Taylor
Margaret Seymour’s School, Carriagehilt – M. Seymour
Gardner’s Academy, Johnstone – Robert Gardner
Johnstone Academy – Wm. Glassford
Elderslie School – William Crawford
Female School of Industry, Lawn-street – Isabella Carmichael

There are others but for Low, Middle, and High Church.

I couldn’t find any other mention of Mr. Stewart.

Some libraries, including NLS, subscribe and give remote access to residents.
https://auth.nls.uk/ldc/browse.cfm?by=t ... stLetter=H

Wasn't Hardgait Houston just the farm/village/mill whatever at Hardgate located between Kilbarchan and the Bridge of Weir?

Alan

[Currie]

This is the one I mean. But not a mill, just a site for one. Hardgate Mill was near Old Kilpatrick.

Caledonian Mercury, Thursday, June 21, 1804
http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad28 ... c0fb5f.jpg

Alan

[Stewart55]

Thanks for the info Re: Robert Stewart, Teacher, Cartside. This is my 2x Great Grandfather. So Hardgate must have been a Mill, that makes sense, as he most likely would have been the teacher. He was there between 1834-37, and had a daughter Mary Stewart born whilst living there. Houston is still quite a small place, I visited it regularly in the late 60's with my school friend as her Aunt lived there. I also got lost on my last visit to Scotland when I was staying at Pannell Farm Bridge Of Weir, my intention was Houston, but I ended up toward Linwood, after much driving round I eventually found Houston, but could not find my way back to B.O.W therefore had to drive to Johnstone to get my bearings. Getting a little closer now. I will follow the link you posted to see if I can find out any other info.

[Ruth4]

Hi Morag

According to Wilma I'm the 'Kilbarchan Guy' Not quite sure how to take that
The river Cart flows between Kilbarchan and Johnstone so there are several places with names using the Cart as part of the name. I did have a photo of Cartside cottages where there were several families living in 1841 but I think I lost it when my previous computer crashed on me. Sorry !
Was your Robert Stewart involved in the weaving trade? Some of the folk at Cartside were incomers to the village and were marginalised as 'piecers' and 'pirn winders' because the established weavers in the village tried to protect their trade as mechanised weaving was being developed in Paisley and beginning to take their livelihoods away from them.
Did he die in Kilbarchan as I may have burial records for him even if he had no gravestone. ?

Russell

Hallo, I have no idea how to use this forum. I tried clicking on ‘cemeteries’ but it didn’t take me anywhere.
So Russel, the Kilbarchan guy, I want to know the story behind he gravestone in Black Cart Water, beneath the bridge on Milliken Park Road, that reads Robert Smith 1929-2007 Violet Smith 1933-2014 Met Glasgow 1953 Reunited here forever.
Someone still loves these Smiths coz there were roses scattered on grave yesterday. I want to know more. How do I find out?