On 26 October 1859, cousins Andrew Buchan (23) and Robert Buchan (17), drowned when their boat was overturned by a strong wind in deep water (Robert was incorrectly named Arthur in the article). The cause of death given on their death records was, “Drowning Near the Boat Shore”. John Buchan, Andrew’s brother, certified that both were buried at St Combs Churchyard.
Aberdeen Journal, 5 October 1859, p3, c6
Their fathers, Andrew Buchan and Arthur Buchan, were brothers. Arthur Buchan, father of 23-year-old Andrew, was my 4th great grandfather; and brother of my 3rd great-grandmother, Helen Buchan. Helen was 19 when her older brother, and younger cousin, drowned (she would marry James Findlay two years later). I can only imagine the devastating effect this tragedy had on the family.
Andrew was the one who “left a widow to lament his fate”. He was described as ‘married’ on his death record, but infuriatingly did not give his wife’s name. There was a likely 1857 marriage record to an Isabella Buchan in Rathen, but it was difficult to establish which of the many Isabella Buchans this could have been.
Death Records of Andrew and Robert Buchan (1859)
I had to cough up the credits and order the marriage record to make sure it was the right one. Sure enough, Andrew’s parents were recorded, confirming it was the correct people. Isabella’s parents were also recorded but leads to another issue… which of the many ‘William Buchan and Elizabeth Duthie’ couples are they?
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.
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.
Connection chart updated (click to enlarge)
Apparently though, Andrew is more closely connected to my family via a different route:
Closest Connections to my family (click to enlarge)
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.
OR
My third great grandfather’s brother married Andrew Bruce’s second cousin.
OR
Andrew Bruce was the second cousin of my third great grandfather’s sister-in-law.
OR
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.
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.
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
Records show that Reuben and Mary eventually remarried in 1963 – 25 years after the bigamy trial. I wondered how that came about. Had they met up again years later and rekindled the romance? Had Mary stuck by Reuben despite the dishonesty? It seemed unlikely I would ever find out.
A Brave Act
Back in 1937, Reuben was reported in the newspapers as having rescued a child that had fallen in the River Derwent. For his efforts, the 16-year-old Reuben received a Royal Humane Society Certificate while a patient at the Royal Infirmary.
Derby Daily Telegraph, 17 December 1937, p1, c3
DERBY RIVER RESCUES HONOURS FOR MAN AND YOUTHS The Royal Humane Society has awarded testimonials on parchment to two Derby youths and a Derby man in recognition of the parts they played in drowning rescues…
George William Gamble (23), of 4, Back Colyear-street, Derby, who rescued Geraldine James (9), of 175, Osmaston-road, Derby from the Derwent, was assisted by Reuben Alfred Lamb (16), also of 175, Osmaston-road. The child fell into the river while attempting to recover a ball.
(Derby Daily Telegraph, 17 December 1937, p1, c3)
Nottingham Journal, 21 February 1938, p3, c2
RESCUE RECALLED Presentation to Patient in Derby Infirmary The Mayor of Derby (Ald. E. E. Paulson) on Saturday made presentations of three Royal Humane Society Certificates, two at the police court and the other at the Royal Infirmary. In the latter case the recipient was Reuben Alfred Lamb (16), of 175, Osmaston-road who is a patient in the institution. He had been instrumental, in conjunction with George W. Gamble (24), of 4, Colyear-street, to whom the award had also been made, in saving the life of a girl who, while playing on the river bank near Siddals-road, over-balanced and fell into the water…
(Nottingham Journal,21 February 1938, p3, c2)
The article annoyingly failed to mention why Reuben was in the infirmary.
I had resigned myself to probably never knowing the answers to any of my questions, when I remembered asking Rose (Reuben’s sister) about this incident before she died. Luckily I found the conversation…
[after being asked about her brother’s bigamy]
I had forgotten about that. She said she was pregnant, he believed her and said he’d marry her. Then he and his friend Bill Gamble saw a child in the river Derwent and Alfie jumped in and saved it. He got a certificate from the Humane Society for bravery, but got an infection and was seriously ill and likely to die so Dad, who had refused to let him marry, relented. The pregnancy lasted two years!!!! He was called up for the army, the yanks came to Derby and Cathy was in heaven, but Alfie left her and later married Mary. They had four or five children and were very happy. Cathy (Morgan) had a sister – Nellie Cash. She had a baby and hid it in the chimney. It was found by firemen I think. I don’t know what happened to her. How’s that for a tale?
(Rose Richards, 6 August 2016, punctuation edited for clarity)
It was such a joy (and a relief!) to reread this message. Of course Rose may have been biased, but although Cathy’ isn’t painted in a very positive light, this family version of events really helps to clear things up. It even alludes to the ‘associating with other men’ mentioned in the trials. I had previously seen articles about ‘the rescue’, so it was interesting that a seemingly unrelated incident had also played a part in this story.
And so, a rough timeline appears as follows:
1937 – Reuben (16) and Kathleen (18) discuss getting married; his father refuses 1937 – December – Reuben rescues child from river and comes close to death
1938 – February – Reuben receives award in hospital; his father consents to the marriage 1938 – abt June – Reuben marries Kathleen Morgan
1939 – Reuben is living with wife Kathleen and her father in Derby (30 Bradshaw Street)
1945 – Reuben separates from Kathleen (unclear whether this was before or after meeting Mary) 1945 – April – Reuben meets widow Mary Evans Mitchell at Nottingham Castle NAAFI canteen
1946 – Feb 2nd – Reuben marries Mary 1946/7 – Reuben visits Kathleen in Derby (in response to a telegram)
1947 – Jan 21st – Kathleen visits in Mansfield and reveals all 1947 – Jan 29th – Reuben is charged with bigamy 1947 – Feb 18th – Reuben is sentenced to 3 months prison for bigamy
1962 – Kathleen dies
1963 – Reuben and Mary marry
All’s Well That Ends Well
Reuben and Mary’s marriage in early 1963 appears to coincide with Kathleen’s death the previous year (no evidence of divorce has been found and Kathleen’s death was registered under the surname Lamb).
So there was a happy ending after all. Despite not beinglegallywed, Reuben and Mary remained a couple and built a family together before they were able to ‘make it official’ in 1963.
As for the baby in the chimney..? Now, that‘s another story altogether…
