Perhaps their son Patrick’s death was a factor in John and Margaret’s decision to move away out of the overcrowded tenements of Glasgow and move the 20 miles or so south to work near Riccarton (outside Kilmarnock) in Ayrshire.
There were many Ironworks and Coalmines in this area providing employment for many Irish emigrants, displaced highlanders and redundant agricultural workers..
After moving John found work as a Furnaceman in an ironworks once again.
Having lost their son Patrick, the couple had another son in June of 1860 whom they named Patrick. It was often the practice in those days of high child mortality, that when a child died, the next born would be named after the deceased child.
Patrick (2nd) was born on the 9th of June, in Hurlford which was a small village in the parish of Riccarton.
In 1862, my great grandfather James was also born in Hurlford on February the 26th. Hurlford was a village dependant upon the mining & iron-working industries for its survival.
Here's an excerpt from a 19th century book which describes Hurlford.
"Passing through Hillhead Toll, I gradually attained the summit of the brae, & paused at a small bridge that spans a single line of rail which communicates between the main railway and some coal pits belonging to Messrs Gilmour. Here I had a splendid view of the surrounding country. The prospect from the bridge is as extensive as it is beautiful, and the eye rests with delight upon a fertile and highly picturesque tract of country. Farther on I passed a roadside public-house, into which a number of miners were entering seemingly with the intention of "wetting their whistles" and washing the dust of the week out of their throats.
I was certain it was pay-day with them, for the buxom landlady smirked and smiled upon the motley group, and welcomed them ben with great frankness. A little beyond this "public" the road takes a turn, and when rounding it the somewhat scattered but populous village of Hurlford comes into view. Passing rows of miners' dwellings of the usual class, and remarkable only for the number of children gambolling about them, I arrived at the village of Hurlford. Old Hurlford, which consists of a few thatched houses of mean appearance, stands on an old and now disused road in a hollow to the north of the modern village. These houses-some half dozen in number-were all that constituted the hamlet seventy years ago; and had it not been discovered that the district was rich in minerals the ground whereon the new portion of the village stands would still have been furrowed by the plough and yielded crops to the husbandman.
Hurlford of today, however, is a place of considerable importance and bustle. It contains a well-appointed and elegant Working Men's Institute, the generous gift of Mr Galloway, coalmaster; a commodious Academy, two handsome Churches, and also a prosperous Co-operative Society. It depends chiefly on the Portland Iron Works, the extensive fire-clay goods factory of Messrs J. & R. Howie, and the numerous collieries in the vicinity. Crossing the bridge which spans the Irvine, I passed on the north side of the road the Free Church, a very neat edifice with a spire, and a little farther on, on the same side, the substantial Hurlford Parish Church, a recently-erected building, and one of the finest places of worship in Ayrshire. Opposite it are the Portland Iron Works, the glare of whose furnaces on a dark night illumines the whole district.
Passing through Crookedholm, a straggling row of irregularly built dwellings that line the road at a spot where the Irvine, far below the level of the highway, sweeps round a curve as it flows onward, I soon arrived at Woodend, the tasteful residence of Mr Alan Gilmour. The house is built of red sandstone, and occupies a position which commands a fine view of the surrounding country. The road beyond it is nearly a dead level, and continues so until Kilmarnock is reached."
"RAMBLES AROUND KILMARNOCK"
Archibald R. Adamson.
published by Dunlop & Drennan, Kilmarnock, c1870
On the 20th of February 1864, the couple had another child, this one was a girl named after her mother, Margaret Ann.
Sometime between 1864 and the end of 1865, the family moved another 20 miles further south to Dalmellington in South Ayrshire. Dalmellington had a large Ironworks and was considerably bigger than Hurlford. The picture shown underneath shows furnacemen at Dalmellington Iron Works circa 1855.
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This gang, would have serviced a furnace, there were usually 2 or 3 Furnacekeepers, numerous Furnacemen and various labourers who'd fill the furnace and young boys who would prepare the moulds into which the "pigs" would be cast. Photo courtesy of Dunaskin museum. |
In the early part of 1866 another boy was born to the couple in Dalmellington, he was named William and his birthdate was the 17th of February.
The following February in 1868, yet another child was born in Dalmellington, this time on the 4th day of the month.
This child was a wee girl whom they named Jane after John’s mother, Jane Gillespie.
| Main Street in Dalmellington circa 1900. There is additional information on the town and its industries to be found in my Iron Industry pages |
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At this point (1868) the couple had 7 surviving children, they were: Susan, aged 13, John 10, Patrick 8, James 6, Margaret Ann 4, William 2, and wee Jane.