AJ Wilson was the father of Uncle Alec, Isabel, Laura, Edwin Clement and Hew Anandale.
He wrote many books on economics, finance and investment and the following is an incomplete list: 'Practical Hints to Investors and Some Words to Speculators' (1897); 'The Business of Insurance (1904); and edited 'Colloquial Slang and Technical Terms in Use on the Stock Exchange and in the Money Market'; 'Reciprocity, Bi-metallism, and Land-tenure Reform'; 'The National Budget: The National Debt, Taxes and Rates'; 'Banking Reform: An Essay on Prominent Banking Dangers and the Remedies they Demand'.
He was editor of 'The Investor's Review'; 'Investment Index'; he also wrote an introductory note to 'Labour, Socialism and Strikes' by Yves Guyot (political editor of 'Le Siecle' and former Minister of Public Works in France). As far as I know, the only fiction he wrote was 'The Life of Thomas Wanless'. All in all, he seems to have been a very knowledgeable person regarding finances, economics and banking, and according to family rumours would have been Chancellor, had it not been for his "irregular birth".
AJ was the son of George Washington Wilson (GWW), who has his own Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Wilson) and is the subject of a book by Queen guitarist Brian May. GWW did not marry AJ's mother but they had 2 children together: AJ and Robert.
GWW then married someone else and her children went to live in New Zealand, a descendant of whom is Murray Wilson, who I met in 1993. Murray's wife Diane researched the descendants of GWW and she was made QSM in 2016 for services to genealogy and the community (https://gg.govt.nz/images/diane-wilson-auckland-qsm-services-genealogy-and-community).
There's an interesting blog about GWW photographs of South Africa here:
http://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/george-washington-wilson-man-company-and-photographers
Saturday 11 July 2020
Sunday 5 July 2020
Hugh Wright b1831- d1911
This Hugh Wright was born at Alticry. He was the nephew of Duncan Wright (who left Kilmarnock for Monte Video and Buenos Ayres to make his fortune in commerce as an agent) and he inherited Alticry from Duncan.
Hugh married Irishwoman Margaret Bell (b1833 in Belford, Co Down, d1911). They were married on 12 Feb 1863 at Holywood, Co Down, Ireland and had Mary "Mimie", Duncan, Hugh "MacIntyre", Anne Campbell "Annie", Leslie, Dorothea "Dora", Graham Duncan and Angus, all born at Alticry.
When his uncle Duncan died, Hugh became a trustee of the Duncan Wright Endowment and set about investing money in land companies and stocks and shares. One of his investments was The Canada North-West Land Company (Limited), where in 1885 he was on the board of directors, amongh 11 others. Other investments included land in Bahia Blanca, to where he sent his son Hugh and land in the north of Argentina; to where he sent his son Leslie. I believe at this point of my research and could have to edit later, that his son Duncan was sent to Canada. Apologies for the confusing repetition of names down the generations - it is a tad confusing but I can't change that.
This Hugh Wright seems to have had some involvement with his local church because in a newspaper article of The Scotsman, March 1882, he is declared an Elder of the Wigtown Presbytery.
There is a lot to fill in of Hugh Wright's life and strife, but he lived the later part of his life in London in a house called Heidelberg on the King's Road in Clapham and later at Cornwall Mews, Kensington, where he died in 1911.
His son Hugh and he had such a falling out that his son took the drastic action of changing his name so as not to be associated to his father or brothers, so this is how my branch became MacIntyres.
Friday 5 June 2020
Don Hugo/Pop (Hugh MacIntyre b1899-d1980)
Well, here we are in Covid-19 lockdown, so I'd better get on with this blog.
My granddad, Pop, as his daughters called him, was born at Estancia Los Mirasoles, Bahia Blanca. His parents emigrated to this farm from Alticry near Newton Steward in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.
 |
| Margarita, Bettie and Hugh on Christmas Day at Mirasoles, 1901 |
He was the second child and eldest boy of the family. For some reason he always looked very miserable in photos, but he was a most kind and gentle man. One of my only memories of him was one morning near Christmas when my advent calendar got torn in a sibling scrap and Granddad patiently glued the layers and pieces back together.
Photo
As in all large Victorian and Edwardian families, the siblings tended to separate into the "older ones" and the "younger ones" although they all remained very close even when scattered far and wide across the world. In order of age they were: Margarita (1897), Hugh (1899), Bettie (1900), Nancie (1903), Alastair (1910), Minona (1912) and Felicity (1913). There was a girl called Sheila (1908) who died before her 4th birthday.
Photo
At the tender age of 8 the young Hugh was sent across the ocean to Merchiston Castle boarding school in Edinburgh and became friends with two boys who would later become his brothers-in-law, Cecil and George Clark. As he was at school in Scotland, Hugh spent some of his school holidays at Alticry under the care of his aunts, Aunt Mamie, Aunt Annie and Aunt Dora and occasionally Cecil would come too.
Photo
In 19-----,the MacIntyres moved to Highmoor Hall in Henley-Upon Thames where
When the First World War began, Hugh was ----- and joined the --------. After training at ----- he was posted to ------- and after the war finished his ----- stayed in Belgium for a further ----- months.
Photos
After the war Hugh went to Clare College in Cambridge to study Botany and was in the Henley Regatta in 1921. He was also in one of the rugby teams. The Boat Race of that year was a great occasion for his family as they at that point had moved from Argentina to Henley-Upon-Thames, a house called Highmoor. Hugh's father had died (on the operating table in Buenos Aires of a burst appendix 1918) so his mother had moved the family back to the UK.
Wednesday 26 February 2020
Aunt Dora
In we go. “This should be interesting” I hear the family think - well, I hope it will be once I’ve got more than the bare bones down. I’ll add as I find things out, so this blog will be updated and changed.
Dora Wright was in 1873 in Mochrum, Wigtownshire, Scotland, probably at Alticry House. Her father was Hugh Wright (b.1831- d.1911) and Margaret Bell (b.1833 - d.1911). According to the UK Census on 3 April 1881 she was aged 8 and living at Alticry. She had two older sisters (Mary and Annie) and 5 brothers (Duncan, Hugh, Leslie, Graham and Angus)
All very hum-drum so far, but then surprisingly, I found that she was sent as a teen to school in Schleswig-Holstein in the town of Glucksburg, the most northernmost German settlement near the Danish border. Why would a Scottish family send their youngest daughter there?
Anyway, her dream was to study medicine at Cambridge, and I have a receipt for an entrance exam, so she did go.
The next document I have is of a St John’s Ambulance certificate.
There’s also a Beekeeper’s Certificate.
Dora Wright was in 1873 in Mochrum, Wigtownshire, Scotland, probably at Alticry House. Her father was Hugh Wright (b.1831- d.1911) and Margaret Bell (b.1833 - d.1911). According to the UK Census on 3 April 1881 she was aged 8 and living at Alticry. She had two older sisters (Mary and Annie) and 5 brothers (Duncan, Hugh, Leslie, Graham and Angus)
All very hum-drum so far, but then surprisingly, I found that she was sent as a teen to school in Schleswig-Holstein in the town of Glucksburg, the most northernmost German settlement near the Danish border. Why would a Scottish family send their youngest daughter there?
 |
| This photo was in Aunt Dora’s belongings. Presumably it is of the school. |
Anyway, her dream was to study medicine at Cambridge, and I have a receipt for an entrance exam, so she did go.
The next document I have is of a St John’s Ambulance certificate.
There’s also a Beekeeper’s Certificate.
Sunday 26 January 2020
Burns Night
It was Rabbie Burns' birthday yesterday and it looks like one of the Hugh Wrights really enjoyed Burns Night dinners. Here's a clipping from the Strathearn Herald but a similar recount also appeared in the Dundee Advertiser, January 1886.
It reads:
ONE WHO DANCED WITH BURNS. - At a meeting of the London Burns Club on Monday night, Mr Hugh Wright of Alticry said that within the last twenty years he had spoken to an old lady who had danced with Burns at his [Burns's] brother's marriage. Burns was very hearty, and as he and his partner were careering round the room the poet upset the table which contained the bride's china.
I believe this was Hugh Wright, Born 1831 in Mauchline, Ayrshire, Scotland. Burns' wife was from Mauchline, and although Rabbie died in 1796, this story is entirely possible. According to visitscotland.com, the period of time Burns lived in Mauchline was "arguably his most creative and productive period".
It reads:
ONE WHO DANCED WITH BURNS. - At a meeting of the London Burns Club on Monday night, Mr Hugh Wright of Alticry said that within the last twenty years he had spoken to an old lady who had danced with Burns at his [Burns's] brother's marriage. Burns was very hearty, and as he and his partner were careering round the room the poet upset the table which contained the bride's china.
I believe this was Hugh Wright, Born 1831 in Mauchline, Ayrshire, Scotland. Burns' wife was from Mauchline, and although Rabbie died in 1796, this story is entirely possible. According to visitscotland.com, the period of time Burns lived in Mauchline was "arguably his most creative and productive period".
Thursday 9 January 2020
New Year, new post! Happy 2020
New Year, new post! I haven't written for a while, so although I haven't made much tangible progress, I thought I'd jot down what I've been up to.
I've signed up to findmypast.co.uk for a year. Too late to change, but there are other, more interactive sites out there where you can communicate with other genealogy aficionados and share knowledge - you can't on this one. However, I have access to a lot of records now which I didn't before, so I'm making the most of it, although this easy access has caused my concentration to dissipate, so I'm all over the place.
I've been looking at my husband's side of the family and found some interesting stories - a combination of legal records and family stories sometimes throw up inconsistencies and more questions than answers, eg why is it recorded in the divorce record that there were no children, when there clearly was a child?! This will require more digging, which I'm happy about as I like a mystery.
It being the season of Christmas and New Year, it's been rather quiet at work, so I have aided a couple of my colleagues in their family history search, which has been very satisfying, throwing light on the offhand mentions by relatives. For example, a father sent his daughter away to live with relatives, while keeping her younger siblings at home; it turns out the child was the daughter of another man - the first husband. This story was particularly poignant for my colleague, the child in question being her mother, who had all her life wondered why she was not wanted, but unfortunately had died the previous month.
A lot of time is taken up by learning history! So much more can be added to genealogy by knowing the context of the lives being studied. I've learned about the Cisplatine War (1825-1828), especially relevant to Hugh Wright's life as an agent, stuck in Montevideo between the warring Argentina and Brazil (hopping across the River Plate when trade was more profitable on the other side). I've learned about the importance of the deep waters of the port of Montevideo as opposed to the shallow Buenos Aires, the treacherous sand banks in the River Plate which played havoc with trade vessels laden with cargo from Europe. Imagine crossing the Atlantic Ocean, north to south, only to get stranded on a sandbank a mile or so from your destination!
Also, I've learned about the precariousness of life in the early C19 and the provision of charity (or lack thereof) among family members from those who have "made it" to those who find themselves in difficult situations. I don't know how much charity was socially accepted to ask for or receive, but at a time that conferred so much importance to appearance, it must have been difficult to swallow one's pride and ask. As illustration I will transcribe a letter from Bruce Wright at 23 Baker's Hill, Sheffield, to Duncan Wright (of Wright, Parlane &Co) in Manchester dated Sept 1842:
Dear Cousin,
Not having heard from you in answer to my former letter I presume it's not your intention to make any reply. I beg you will allow me to say a few words. I would not write did not a bruised body call loudly for some assistance. I have now been confined to bed for two months - and many more must elapse before I can earn a shilling. Under these circumstances any help will be of greatest consequence - may I hope a farthing from you will not be withheld.
I am
your cousin
Yours affectionately
Bruce Wright
Having read a few of the letters in the "Old Letters" bundle, it seems quite a few of them are from relatives asking for help or money. Some are letters of introduction/recommendation but very few are of the family conversation type, which makes me think that they have been carefully selected to be kept together as evidence, to be used if needed. Who selected them and for what purpose, who knows?
I've signed up to findmypast.co.uk for a year. Too late to change, but there are other, more interactive sites out there where you can communicate with other genealogy aficionados and share knowledge - you can't on this one. However, I have access to a lot of records now which I didn't before, so I'm making the most of it, although this easy access has caused my concentration to dissipate, so I'm all over the place.
I've been looking at my husband's side of the family and found some interesting stories - a combination of legal records and family stories sometimes throw up inconsistencies and more questions than answers, eg why is it recorded in the divorce record that there were no children, when there clearly was a child?! This will require more digging, which I'm happy about as I like a mystery.
It being the season of Christmas and New Year, it's been rather quiet at work, so I have aided a couple of my colleagues in their family history search, which has been very satisfying, throwing light on the offhand mentions by relatives. For example, a father sent his daughter away to live with relatives, while keeping her younger siblings at home; it turns out the child was the daughter of another man - the first husband. This story was particularly poignant for my colleague, the child in question being her mother, who had all her life wondered why she was not wanted, but unfortunately had died the previous month.
A lot of time is taken up by learning history! So much more can be added to genealogy by knowing the context of the lives being studied. I've learned about the Cisplatine War (1825-1828), especially relevant to Hugh Wright's life as an agent, stuck in Montevideo between the warring Argentina and Brazil (hopping across the River Plate when trade was more profitable on the other side). I've learned about the importance of the deep waters of the port of Montevideo as opposed to the shallow Buenos Aires, the treacherous sand banks in the River Plate which played havoc with trade vessels laden with cargo from Europe. Imagine crossing the Atlantic Ocean, north to south, only to get stranded on a sandbank a mile or so from your destination!
Also, I've learned about the precariousness of life in the early C19 and the provision of charity (or lack thereof) among family members from those who have "made it" to those who find themselves in difficult situations. I don't know how much charity was socially accepted to ask for or receive, but at a time that conferred so much importance to appearance, it must have been difficult to swallow one's pride and ask. As illustration I will transcribe a letter from Bruce Wright at 23 Baker's Hill, Sheffield, to Duncan Wright (of Wright, Parlane &Co) in Manchester dated Sept 1842:
Dear Cousin,
Not having heard from you in answer to my former letter I presume it's not your intention to make any reply. I beg you will allow me to say a few words. I would not write did not a bruised body call loudly for some assistance. I have now been confined to bed for two months - and many more must elapse before I can earn a shilling. Under these circumstances any help will be of greatest consequence - may I hope a farthing from you will not be withheld.
I am
your cousin
Yours affectionately
Bruce Wright
Having read a few of the letters in the "Old Letters" bundle, it seems quite a few of them are from relatives asking for help or money. Some are letters of introduction/recommendation but very few are of the family conversation type, which makes me think that they have been carefully selected to be kept together as evidence, to be used if needed. Who selected them and for what purpose, who knows?
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