Aberdeenshire Archives

Five Men Drowned – Connections

PLEASE NOTE: The charts shown on this post have an error. The father of Elisabeth Buchan (b1874) was not a granddaughter of John (Park’s Jockie) Buchan (b1792). Please see the post ‘Five Men Drowned – Connections and Corrections’ for an updated chart and explanation.

In the final post of the series, I mentioned that I had not been able to find any direct link to my family from any of the five men. However, I thought it would probably be a good idea to show the links that are there.

Family chart illustrating the connections between author's family and the victims — How the five men connect to my family (click to enlarge image)

Alexander Ritchie Buchan was my second great-grandfather.

Charles Bruce was the father-in-law of Alexander’s brother Peter.
Andrew Buchan was the cousin of Alexander’s brother-in-law (husband of sister Jessie).
Alexander Strachan and Andrew Strachan were the father-in-law and brother-in-law of Jessie’s husband’s cousin (Elisabeth).
Andrew Bruce does not currently have any known connection to my family.

Please note: these are the closest connections as they currently stand. The families of St Combs were so entwined, there are bound to be other ways they link and less distant connections may be discovered in time.

UPDATE:

Less than a day after posting the above, I was able to connect Andrew Bruce. It turns out that Andrew was actually the nephew of Charles Bruce.

Family chart illustrating the connections between author's family and the victims with new addition — Connection chart updated (click to enlarge)

Apparently though, Andrew is more closely connected to my family via a different route:

This can be expressed in many different ways – none of those being straight forward.

We could say:

My second great grandfather’s uncle married the second cousin of Andrew Bruce.

My third great grandfather’s brother married Andrew Bruce’s second cousin.

Andrew Bruce was the second cousin of my third great grandfather’s sister-in-law.

Andrew Bruce was the second cousin of the wife of Alexander Ritchie Buchan’s uncle.

OR…

… (It could go on and on.)

Whichever way, I’m glad a connection has been made and will be sure to update here when closer ones are found.

Posts in this series:
Five Men Drowned
Five Men Drowned – Two Recovered
Five Men Drowned – Three Buried at Sea
Five Men Drowned – One Survivor

Five Men Drowned – One Survivor

Continued from previous post: Five Men Drowned – Three Buried At Sea

One Survivor

Of the six men who were aboard when a heavy wave swamped a fishing boat on 9 February 1872, James Buchan was the only survivor.

Unfortunately, I have been unable to determine exactly WHO this man was since, unlike the men who did not survive, the newspapers gave no information that could narrow this down. No age, marital status or family information for James was mentioned in any of the articles. There were at least 20 James Buchans recorded in the Lonmay area on the 1871 census. Even after ruling out the ones who were below the age of 15 and above the age of 60, we are still left with 10 possible James Buchans that could have survived that fateful night. So, sadly, this is where the search must end.

footprints in sand with lighthouse in distance — Rattray Head Lighthouse by Tom Parnell

And what about those links to my own family?

Disappointingly, I’ve also not been able to find any direct link to any of the fishermen involved in this tragedy. If I do manage to find any connection in future, I’ll be sure to update. (See connections update here)

Posts in this series:
Five Men Drowned
Five Men Drowned – Two Recovered
Five Men Drowned – Three Buried at Sea
Update: Five Men Drowned – Connections

Five Men Drowned – Three Buried At Sea

Continued from previous post Five Men Drowned – Two Recovered

…two of the bodies that had become entangled with the buoys and lines were washed ashore, but the other three remain unrecovered.
Buchan Observer and East Aberdeenshire Advertiser, 16 February 1872, p3, c3

The Three Buried at Sea

Of the five men who drowned when their boat was overturned near Rattray Head on 9 February 1872, the bodies of Charles Bruce (40), and father and son, Alexander (50) and Andrew (20) Strachan, were never recovered.

Charles Bruce

Charles was the son of fisherman Andrew Bruce and Margaret Buchan. He was one of at least eight siblings who grew up in the small fishing cottage of 35 St Combs.

He married Mary Strachan on 23 February 1854 and by 1871, they had at least seven children. They were all recorded living at number 99 (East Row) on the 1871 census.

image of death record — Death record of Charles Bruce

After the tragedy, Mary appears to have remained at no. 99. She was recorded there in the 1881 census with two of their sons, Andrew (13) and William (10), her visiting daughter Jane (24) and infant granddaughter Mary Stephen (4 months). Daughter Mary was working as a servant a few doors away (house 95).

All of Charles’ children appeared to have either worked in the fishing industry, or married fishermen and remained nearby, except Mary, who married printer/compositor James Joss in 1886 and emigrated to Canada c1912.

(A memorial for Charles and Mary was erected by their family in the Lonmay Kirkyard.)

Alexander and Andrew Strachan

Alexander and Andrew Strachan were father and son.

Alexander was the son of Andrew Strachan and Jane Greig. He married Margaret Whyte on 4 October 1846 at Lonmay.

Alexander and Margaret’s son Andrew was born about 1850 and grew up in St Combs with his three younger siblings, Barbara, Gordon and John, before following in his father’s footsteps to become a fisherman.

image of death records — Death records of Alexander and Andrew Strachan

After the deaths of her husband and son, Margaret remained at 85 East Street until at least 1891. In the 1901 census, she was recorded at 19 East Street with her daughter Gordon (yes, daughter!), who had stayed with her mother since the tragic event.

Eldest daughter Barbara married fisherman Andrew Noble in 1875. They lived at nearby Cairnbulg (no 60) with their four children for most (if not all) of their lives.

Youngest son John stayed in the area but did not appear to remain in the fishing industry – he was recorded as a tailor in 1881, a carter in 1891, and a butcher’s labourer in 1901. He had married young Elizabeth Ann Buchan in 1890 and they had a daughter, Maggie Ann.

Next post: Five Men Drowned – One Survivor

Five Men Drowned – Two Recovered

Continued from previous post Five Men Drowned

Two of the bodies were also picked up by the boat, but both were quite dead.
Dundee Courier, 12 February 1872, p2, c6

The Two Recovered

Of the five men who drowned when their boat was overturned near Rattray Head on 9 February 1872, only two were recovered. The bodies of Andrew Buchan (34) and Andrew Bruce (24) were taken ashore in the boat that rescued James Buchan, the sole survivor.

Andrew Buchan

Andrew Buchan was the son of fisherman Andrew Buchan and his wife Elizabeth Buchan. He was the eldest of eight siblings, all born and bred at St Combs.

Andrew married Catherine Buchan on 7 November 1861.

In 1871, Andrew and Catherine were recorded at 54½ Mid Row, St Combs with their four young children, Mary, Elspet, Andrew, and James.

After Andrew’s tragic death, his widow Catherine was recorded in the 1881 census still at 54½ with their sons, Andrew and James, now 13 and 11. She appears to have at least had some support from Andrew’s parents who were ‘next door’ in number 54 (54 and 54½ appear to be attached).

Eldest daughter Mary married James McLean in 1886 and Catherine was recorded in their Peterhead home on the 1891 census. Catherine appears not to have remarried.

Daughter Elspet (15) appears to be working as a servant for Peter Bruce in 1881. She later married fisherman William Shand in 1886 and lived in Peterhead.

Son James broke with family tradition and became a baker in Govan, Lanarkshire, marrying Willamina McDonald in 1893.

It is unclear what became of Andrew – due to his common name, tracing him reliably (and cheaply) was not possible. Any information would be welcome.

Andrew Bruce

Andrew Bruce was the son of fisherman Peter Bruce and his wife, Isabella Murray. He grew up with at least six other siblings in St Combs.

Andrew married Ann Buchan, daughter of fisherman John Buchan and Elizabeth Cow in 7 April 1870. Their first child, Peter, was born only five months later. He was born at Peterhead, which may have been the home of a relative. Andrew stated that he was present at the birth when registering it a few days later.

In 1871, Andrew, Ann, and 6-month-old Peter were recorded in the census at 81 East Row – the home of his father. Nine people were in the house that night (2 April).

1871 census image — Andrew Bruce with his wife and son in the 1871 census

Less than a year later, Andrew was drowned. At the time, his wife Ann was a few months pregnant with their second child. Their daughter was born in July (at 96 St Combs) and was named Andrew Ann in honour of her father.

Ann never remarried. In the 1881 census, she was recorded with her son Peter, and her widowed father, John Buchan at 96 St Combs. Ann was described as a grocer. In 1891, she and her father were still at Number 96 but Ann was now recorded as a ‘merchant (Bread-seller). This time, 18-year-old daughter, ‘Andrewina’ was with them.

Son Peter had broken with family tradition and become a joiner. He had moved to Lanarkshire by 1891 and married Margaret Anderson the next year, staying there until his death in 1924.

Ann died at 96 St Combs in 1895, aged 45, of “Influenza Bronchitis”. Two years later, daughter Andrew married fisherman William Strachan and lived in St Combs until her death in 1954.

Next post: Five Men Drowned – Three Buried At Sea

Five Men Drowned

At about 4 o’clock on a winter’s afternoon, off the north east coast of Scotland, a fishing boat was swamped by a heavy wave while returning home from a day’s work. Of the six men aboard, only one survived.

The tragedy occurred on Friday, 9 February 1872, about three miles from land, just north of Rattray Head. All of the crew were from the village of St Combs, in the parish of Lonmay, Aberdeenshire. As can be imagined, the incident had a devastating effect on the inhabitants of this tiny coastal village.

old map showing St Combs and Rattray Head — St Combs and Rattray Head shown on a map c1894

The sole survivor, James Buchan, signed as informant on the death records for his deceased crewmates – Andrew Buchan (34), Andrew Bruce (24), Charles Bruce (40), Alexander Strachan (50), and Andrew Strachan (20). The cause of death was recorded for all as “Drowning caused by the upsetting of a boat about 3 miles off the shore of St Combs”. “Body not found” was added in parentheses to the latter three, whose bodies were not recovered.

In following posts, I hope to share more about the lives of these unfortunate fishermen, and uncover the links, if any, to my own family.

ABERDEENSHIRE BOAT SWAMPED.
FIVE FISHERMEN DROWNED.
About four o’clock on Friday afternoon a fishing boat belonging to St Comb’s, parish of Lonmay, having on board a crew of six fishermen, while returning from the fishing, was swamped by a heavy sea when about four miles off the land, and five of the crew were drowned. The names of the unfortunate men are Charles Bruce, aged 40; Andrew Strachan, 20; Alexander Strachan, 50; Andrew Buchan, 34; Andrew Bruce, 25; all fishermen residing in St Comb’s. The other man, named James Buchan, succeeded in keeping himself afloat by clinging to the oars until a boat which was also returning from the fishing arrived at the scene and rescued him. Two of the bodies were also picked up by the boat, but both were quite dead. The lamentable occurrence has caused a feeling of depression throughout the whole neighbourhood.
Dundee Courier, 12 February 1872, p2, c6

MELANCHOLY OCCURENCE—FIVE MEN DROWNED.—On Friday evening a very melancholy occurrence happened, by which five fishermen were lost at sea. The unfortunate men, who along with another man, had formed a boat’s crew, had been at the white fishing, and were returning homewards when a little to the north of Rattray Head a heavy sea broke over them, and quite overwhelmed the boat. The man who was saved succeeded in keeping himself afloat by means of oars until a neighbouring crew came to his assistance, but the other five, after a struggle in the broken water, were drowned. Some hours afterwards two of the bodies that had become entangled with the buoys and lines were washed ashore, but the other three remain unrecovered. The fishermen all belonged St. Combs, and the following is a list of their names and ages :—Charles Bruce, 40; Andrew Strachan, 20; Alex. Strachan, 50; Andrew Buchan, 34; and Andrew Bruce, 25. Andrew Strachan was unmarried but each of the others has left a widow and a large family. The bodies of Andrew Buchan and Andrew Bruce were taken ashore in the rescuing boat, and the scene of grief which was witnessed when the sad tidings became known cannot be described.
Buchan Observer and East Aberdeenshire Advertiser, 16 February 1872, p3, c3

Next post: Five Men Drowned – Two Recovered