Did you know.. …about the ‘Pernicious Society of Dunfermline Wheepmen?’ In this article Jean Barclay find in the records of Dunfermline Burgh Council the story of a very early industrial dispute between the farm servants of the town and the weavers and of how the Council attempted to discover the causes of a riot in May 1735.
William Beveridge and Dunfermline
Did you know… …about the Dunfermline links of the author of the Beveridge Report? In “Sir William Beveridge“, Jean Barclay describes the family links between one of the founders of the modern welfare state and his second cousin the Dunfermline industrialist and archaeologist Erskine Beveridge, including a visit in 1919 by Sir William to his cousin’s house on the island of Vallay, off North Uist.
Provost Moodie’s Little Troubles
Did You Know… About Provost Moodie’s Little Troubles? In “Provost James Moodie” Jean Barclay tells of of the “interesting and energetic” life of an early 19th Century Provost of Dunfermline, after whom Moodie Street is named. Provost Moodie achieved many things but also found himself in trouble with the Church more than once.
The Black and Blue Rows
In “Update on Dunfermline’s Coloured Rows“, Jean Barclay provides new evidence which appears to solve the problem of the location of the long demolished Blue Row. In the mid 19th Century the Red, Black and Blue Rows were a set of streets north of the Mill Dam, mostly inhabited by workers in the textile industry.
The Burial Place of Margaret Halcro, mother of Ebenezer & Ralph Erskine
By George Robertson. DID YOU KNOW… the story, much repeated, of the birth of Dunfermline’s Secessionist Minister, the Rev Ralph Erskine, taking place after the death of his mother? What follows is a brief outline, as described by Buckham Hugh Hossack (1835-1902) 1. Margaret Halcro was Orkney born and, on 1st September 1674, at the age of 27, she married the Rev Henry Erskine at Dryburgh, Berwickshire – she being his second wife. A short time afterwards Margaret “died” and after being kisted, was taken to the churchyard at Chirnside to be buried. Later that same night, the person organising the burial, knowing she had been placed in the coffin wearing a ring on her finger, returned to the gravesite. He opened the coffin, which he had earlier partially covered with earth and attempted to remove the ring. Unable to do so, he took his knife and began the process of amputating her finger. Margaret, suddenly regaining consciousness, sat up in the coffin and screamed with pain. She, it is suggested, had been in a trance and very obviously not dead. The man then exited the churchyard in a hurry leaving Margaret sitting in the coffin. She eventually succeeded in scrambling out and made her way home, where she surprised her family with her dramatic return from the grave. This incident occurred prior to the birth of her five children, including Ebenezer and Ralph, who could claim their mother “died” before they were born. A final twist to the story is found in Erica…