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Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => Angus (Forfarshire) => Topic started by: acorn baby on Wednesday 26 October 16 22:40 BST (UK)
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I am hoping that somebody may recognise the people or the building/background in this photo. My family held onto this in their photo collection, which has now been passed to me. There were no written notes or printer's mark on the photo. Due to my family's connection to Dundee and millwork from the late 1800s until the mid 1900s, I suspect this is probably taken in Dundee. I have many other photos and don't instantly recognise anyone who appears in other photos, perhaps someone reading this will recognise someone. My family names (and various branches) who may possible appear in the photo include Massie, Stewart, Wilson, Nicol, Ironside, Robertson, Hutcheson (but not an complete list)
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Hello,
Sorry, I don't know any of the people but I notice all the seated women, except for the older lady in the dark dress, are holding something white in their hand. The three on the left are holding it in the same way, between thumb & forefinger then out between pinkie & ring finger. Maybe a working tool of some kind?
Regards, Dod.
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yes it may be weaver's scissors and needles, but it's hard to see for sure. i am hoping to identify the mill or the people by narrowing it down somehow!
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The tools they are holding seem to have a slight curve at the end and look like they might be carpet making tools. The first two ladies at the front are also wearing protective leathers straps on their right wrists.
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The tools they are holding seem to have a slight curve at the end and look like they might be carpet making tools. The first two ladies at the front are also wearing protective leathers straps on their right wrists.
Hi there Heather from another Heather it looks like clippers, maybe a single needle for working up a ladder when the thread broke and a hand wool winder everyone would have probably worked in the same area but had a different task on the machines in the area. I actually worked in a knitting mill a couple of times in New Zealand thought it was really neat to have a chance to experience what my ancestors had done in the past gives you more of an idea of the skills they needed although our conditions and pay were a lot better. My Information is on WikiTree if you care to look I am sure we must have some relatives in common as my Rea, Stewart, Dickson, Morrison, MacDonald, Burns, Milne and other families appear to have been resident weavers in that district Forfar Aberdeen Angus, Dundee and Perthshire for at least 500 years I would be surprised if we didn't have some relatives in common. I have had a DNA done and lots of matches connected to my Scottish grandmother whose Dad was Nicol Rea so fingers crossed I would be surprised if we were not cousins. Heather Barford
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Hi ab,
It looks to me, that the women who Dod pointed out, are holding snips/clippers (pic attached)?
"Forged Steel Thread Snip. Quickly and clean snip threads, etc. with just a gentle squeeze Spring action for super fast cutting. Ideal for upholstery, dress making & crafts"
It may be worth putting the pic on the 'Free Photo Restoration & Date Old Photographs' board for dating of the clothing they're wearing?
You can then possibly find your relatives on census' as Mill Workers or similar & from the clothes dating find which companies were around such as Jute/Flax Mills?
They do look very well dressed for such a job though i.e. may have been a snap taken last day before a holiday or similar....just a thought?
Annie
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Hi I was looking at your picture you posted on here , I am more then certain the gentleman on the left is my husband grandfather William McLeish ! He and almost all his family and relatives worked in the Jute mill they were yarndressers , weavers , Spinsters..In the 1800s and 1900s as well , .. I have a few Pictures of him as well if you would like to see , Do you have anymore pictures to share ? I am intersted... We also have wilson in my husband family tree as well , Thank you ....
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Hello Marjorie, I am very interested in contact. I have a feeling we do indeed have a connection and would love to discuss the Wilson connection too. Do you know, what Jute mill did William work in? I would like to see other photographs if you will post here? Thanks for the contact
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I am not sure which Jute mill they were at , I do have a street address at the time when they worked in Jute mill , also from where they were from census records on family, I am not sure how to post a picture on here , Do you know how to ? The Wilson in my are thru my husband grandmother sister she was Hannah Hagan born April 06,1873 ,Married David Rodney Wilson on Nov 26, 1900 in Dundee, Scotland , I know they had a Daughter named Marjory Mackie Wilson born in Newbigging,scotland July 14, 1911 They had 10 children and 7 survived to be adults, six of them emigrated to United states of Americia ! My husband McLeish clan worked in the Jute mills ! there were alot of the McLeish family that worked there ,
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I would say that finding out a date from the clothing would be a step forward.
From that you could establish where your family were at that time & what factories were around at that time?
Without a rough date it's a needle in a haystack.
A date would help you to decide which likely family members were old enough to be working, how old the people in the photo might be to help with a rough year of birth etc.
Annie
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Looking at the length of the ladies skirts and their hairstyles my guess would be late 1920's to 1930's.
My own paternal family all worked in the Dundee Jute Mills from the mid 1800's onwards.
At one time there were lots of mills in Dundee now all sadly gone. Except for Verdant Works which is now a museum.
Marjorie what street address do you have? It may help identify the mill.
Dorrie
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They were at 45 Cotton Road in Dundee, Scotland
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My Great Grandparents and their family were living at 35 Cotton Road in the 1911 Census. The lady who is my Avator is my Great Grandmother.
There were many Jute Mills in Dundee including - Eagle Mills in Victoria Street, Tay Spinners in Arbroath Road, Cox's, Baxters and Wm Halley & Sons. Not sure of the addresses at the moment. I know with my family they all tended to work near to home.
Dorrie
P.S. Wm Halley & Sons were near Alexander Street. Eagle Mills, Tay Spinners and Wm. Halley were all a short distance from Cotton Road.
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Hi I'm a 1st time poster, I found your picture interesting the gentleman on the right looks like my grandads double myself and my grandad are Dicksons, my great grandfather was originally from Dundee.
You mentioned you had more photos do you have anymore of the person on the right?
Kind regards
Douglas Dickson
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Hi Douglas and a warm welcome to Rootschat from me. Hope you enjoy using the site.
My grandmother was a Dickson from Dundee. Her name was Euphemia Dickson daughter of John Dickson and Eliza Jane McManus. She was born in 1891 and died in 1960 all in Dundee.
John Dickson was the son of Alexander Dickson and Margaret Chalmers. He was born in 1869 and died in 1954.
My Dickson's were originally from County Down, Ireland.
If you would like to post details of your great grandad perhaps there is a family connection somewhere.
Dorrie
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Hi dorrie thanks for the replay, my Dickson ancestors were originally from kirriemuir, I don't think there is a connection between our 2 families I can trace my Dickson ancestors to the late 1700s all in the Angus forfarshire area.
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No there will not be a connection between our families.
Thanks for your reply.
Dorrie
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Hi to everyone who has responded! Unfortunately I had to take some time off from researching, but I'm back! I want to respond specifically to some of you...
Annie (Rosinish) thanks for your suggestion in reply#6, you said "You can then possibly find your relatives on census' as Mill Workers or similar & from the clothes dating find which companies were around such as Jute/Flax Mills?" and in reply#10 you said "finding out a date from the clothing would be a step forward. From that you could establish where your family were at that time & what factories were around at that time?" - unfortunately most of my family lived in Dundee and worked in the mills for several generations, and as Dundee was the jute capital of the world and had so very many factories, I'd say that it's definitely going to be a struggle, so I'm looking for another way to narrow it down. Just hoping that someone recognises the building or a person, then I can use that info to point me in the right direction.
Marjorie McLeish, you said in reply#7 "I am more then certain the gentleman on the left is my husband grandfather William McLeish! ... I have a few Pictures of him as well if you would like to see" but you didn't know how to add them - when you are replying, use the 'attachments and other options' below the text box and then attach a photo from your computer. Would love to see the man you mentioned! Also in reply#12 you said your ancestors were at 45 Cotton Road in Dundee. When was this? My ancestor's siter Mary Wilson and husband James Whyte lived at this address with their family in 1941! Any connection do you think?
Douglas Dickson, in reply#14 you said "I found your picture interesting the gentleman on the right looks like my grandads double myself and my grandad are Dicksons, my great grandfather was originally from Dundee." Well, I know of some connection to Dickson - an ancestor's sister, Adeline Massie, married Thomas Dickson Hutcheson in Dundee in 1904. They lost a 9 year old son in 1915 (fell in river Tay). Any connection at all do you think?
Thanks again to all who are making suggestions!
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Hello acorn baby do you know who Thomas Dickson Hutcheson's parents where the name hasn't popped up in any of my ancestry research but could be interesting
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Hi Douglas1379, I have his parents as William Hutcheson, a Jute Mill Mechanic and Amelia McEwan. When Thomas Dickson Hutcheson (a Hotel Waiter) married Adeline Massie (a Tin Box Maker) in 1904, he was at Benvie Road and she at Lawrence Street. Does any of this sound familiar? Thanks
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Loved the photo here is a colourised version, hope you enjoy
Rgds
Markw
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Loving this colourised version, thank you!
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Your very welcome acorn baby..
Regards
Mark W
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I found this old thread when searching the site for Dundee related threads.
My great granny was a jute mill worker and I was looking at one of the women in your photo and I think it could possibly be her but I am not certain. I haven't got any photos of her when she was a young woman only one from when she was in her 40s but I can see similarities, particularly the shape of the nose.
Do you think your photo could have been taken in the 1920s?
I have attached a snip of the woman in your photo who I think could possibly be my great granny as well as the one of her when she is in her 40s to hear what others think.
Thanks, Nikki.
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Hi Nikki
Yes I'd agree that there are a lot of similarities between your great granny and the lady in the photo. Unfortunately all the information I have on this photo comes from the suggestions in this thread, as I found it in a collection of hundreds of photos from my grandparents and it unfortunately had nothing written on the back.
For some reason, I've always suspected that the man on the extreme right, without the glasses, is a relative. Annoyingly I have no proof of this, but a few branches of the family worked in the mills at various times and I just have a feeling about him.
One possibility is someone who worked at Ward Foundry, but he died in 1913 and I have no photos of him to compare to this one. I was hoping that this thread would help me to discover the date when and place where the photo was taken so that I could perhaps confirm whether this could be the man in question.
Do you know which mill your great granny worked in?
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Do you know which mill your great granny worked in?
Hi acorn baby
No, unfortunately I have not discovered that information yet. I only know that she worked in a mill based on her marriage certificate from 1940, which recorded her occupation as being a "jute preparer". My granddad is no longer around, and my mum only remembers her granny working at Timex when she was a child (in the 50s/60s) and later in a cafe in a shopping complex before she was killed by a drunk driver in 1970. I live in Australia and have only been to Dundee once (and didn't really get to see much when I was there) so I don't really know which shops - mum thinks it was near the main street (would that be the Overgate?). She emigrated to Australia when she was 18 so she is a bit fuzzy on the details now!
Just in case it helps identifying the date of the photo down the track - my great granny's name was Margaret Glancy married name Thain (husband William Thain, who was a carpenter/builder, I believe). On her marriage certificate in 1940 (she was about aged 36 then) she was recorded as living at 17 Lawrence St, Dundee. She lived in North Tay St, Dundee when she was young with her parents. My granddad lived in Helmsdale Avenue, Kirkton when he was growing up. Not sure if Margaret lived there though as he was raised by his grandparents.
Regards
Nikki, Australia.
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Hi Nikki
I had family who worked in Timex too. I'd think the shopping complex would be the Overgate (or possibly the Wellgate, but that's further from teh centre of town).
The names you mention are not familiar to me, but the address is!! My great grandparents lived at 4 Lawrence Street from when they married in 1907. My great grandad's sister and other family members were at 8 Lawrence Street in 1911.
I have still never figured out which mill(s) they worked in, but he was an overseer and she was a jute winder. Unfortunately the photo in this thread is not of them but (I suspect) must be someone in the family at one of the Dundee mills!!
Thanks for getting in touch, and please feel free to save the image of your great granny :)