| Archive for urbanglasgow.co.uk For lovers of Urban Exploration of Glasgow, Scotland, UK |
| Alex Glass |
Ramshorn - Glasgow MerchantsBuried in the old church grave yard of St David's Church (Ramshorn) are many of the merchants who made Glasgow what it is today.On walking through the cemetery the fist thing you notice is that many of the memorials stones are worn and the details hard to read. Before all the information is lost I thought it would be a good idea to try and decipher the information and utilise it to tell a little bit more of the story behind the many men, women and children who lived in Glasgow before being lay-ed in their last resting place in the Ramshorn Cemetery. MATTHEW PROVAND AND HIS FAMILY 
Within the Ramshorn Cemetery there is a memorial stone to Matthew Provand and his family. The inscription on the stone reads; Matthew Provand Mercht Died Dec 13th 1779 Andrew Provand Mercht Died July 5th 1789 Janet Buchanan Wife of Matthew Provand Age 67 Buried 12th August 1799 James Provand Age 12 Months Buried 7th May 1805 George Provand Senr Merchant Son of Matthew Provand Buried 8th Feb 1833 James Provand Jun Son of George Died 19th May ..... Aet 22 James Provand Son of Matthew Died 17th May 1847 Aet 83 And of the children of George Provand Jun And Ann Reid Dryburgh Richard Died .....May 1845 Mary McNair Died .... July 1845 David Died ..... January 1846 David Died 13th June 1847 Elizabeth Maxwell Wife of James Provand Sen Died 3rd October 1852 George Provand Jun Died 6th October 1867 Ann Reid Dryburgh Wife of George Provand Junr Born 29th December 1804 Died 17th August 1883 Andrew Dryburgh Provand Son of George Provand Junr Born 23rd March 1838 Died 18th July 1915 MP for Blackfriars Division Glasgow 1885-1900 On one memorial details of four generations of the Provand family which provides much detail that assists with researching this family tree. Matthew Provand a Merchant of Glasgow, who died in 1779, married Janet Buchanan, who died ten years later. The couple were married in Glasgow on 30th September 1759, when Janet would have been 21 years old. As far as I know there were seven children all born in Glasgow. George born 8th May 1755, Matthew born 4th July 1756 who must have died soon after because a year later another boy named Matthew was born on 23rd July 1757. Andrew was the next son born on 22nd July 1759, Cecil born on 21st April 1761, Archibauld born 13th July 1763 and finally James born 5th July 1765. From the Memorial stone we know a lot about two of Matthew’s sons. James who died in 1847 age 83 who married Elisabeth Maxwell, who died in 1852, on 1st July 1793 in Glasgow. There were seven children known to have been born from this union. Ann Maxwell born 25th June 1794, Charles Maxwell born 10th June 1796, Matthew born 27th July 1798, Janet Buchanan born 16th July 1800, Annabella Maxwell born 18th May 1802 and James born 22nd July 1806. We also know much about the family of Matthew’s son George. From the memorial we know that George died in 1833. His son also George, who died in 1867, was married to Ann Reid Dryburgh, who died in 1883. They were married on 29th December 1823 in Glasgow. Ann Reid Dryburgh was christened on 6th January 1805 in Carmunnock and her parents were David Dryburgh and Mary McNair. David and Mary were married in Glasgow on 17th September 1802. From the Memorial we know that there were five children born into this marriage. There were in fact a further three. Mary McNair Provand was born on 8th December 1824 and died in July 1845. Margaret Peter was born 25th July 1826, Ann Dryburgh Provand was born on 9th September 1828, Elizabeth was born on 1th January 1836 and Andrew was born on 23rd March 1838, we will come back to Andrew later. From the memorial we know also that Richard died in May 1845, David died in January 1846 with another David dying over a year later on 13th June 1847. From the 1881 Census we can find Ann Reid living at 3 Prices St W, Barony, with her daughter Elizabeth Houston, who is also widowed at this time. Also in the house is her Grand-daughter Bethia F Houston, age 24. There is no mention of any commodities that the Provand family were involved with on the memorial. There is however an entry in an old Post Office Directory which reads; PROVAND, J and G & Co., Colour manufacturers, paint grinders and Roman cement and mastic manufacturers, 50 East Howard Street. From Jones’s Directory for September 1787 there are two entries under the name Provand; PROVAND George, merchant, wareroom east side High Street, near the Croft PROVAND James, calico and linen-printer, wareroom east side High Street, near the Crofts There is also a George Provand mentioned as the onetime owner of Ruchill House. This is an extract from the Glasgow Digital Library; “After Bob Dragon's death Ruchill was the family residence, and the old town house was shut up. By-and-by the whisper grew that it was haunted. Lights had been seen, strange sounds heard within - evidently Bob Dragon still hung about his old quarters. The ghost was not laid till 1812, when the house was opened, and the cellars were found piled feet deep with grains of malt. Smugglers had taken possession of the empty eerie place as an illicit distillery, and had left the bulky refuse behind. After this, George Provand, a colour maker, made bold to take the Dreghorn Mansion as his house and workshop. But he found worse trouble than ghosts. That happy thought, the Anatomy Bill, had not then been suggested : the public mind was constantly stirred by wild stories of body-snatchings, and of murders done (as murders afterwards were done by Burke and Hare) to supply the surgeon's table : and somehow poor Provand was suspected of using his premises as a depot for the horrid trade. It is said some red paint had run into the gutter from below the door of his yard, and had been taken for the blood of his victims. The end of it, at any rate, was, that on Friday, the 17th February, 1822, a furious mob attacked the house, broke the windows, burst the doors, gutted the place, and tossed the furniture into the Clyde. They could not find Provand himself, or they would no doubt have killed him. But they abused his son and his servant to the peril of their lives, and some gentlemen who tried to calm their fury were little better served. Bailie Lawrence Craigie had to fight his way backwards to the attic, defending himself with the leg of a table, and probably saved his life by barricading himself in, and escaping through the window by the help of two sheets knotted together. Procurator Fiscal Wilson, Bailie Mitchell (the silversmith), his son, Alexander Mitchell (our late regulator of town's clocks), and others were roughly handled : and the riot was only quelled by the help of the Riot Act and the soldiers, horse and foot. As before with the Shawfield Riot, and since with the Chartist Riots, the town was responsible for a heavy loss of property, and the Magistrates offered a reward of 200 guineas for the discovery of the ringleaders. Five of these were convicted at the next circuit, and sentenced to fourteen years transportation, and one of them, Richard Campbell, to be also whipped through the town at the cart's tail. This sentence was carried out on 8th May 1822, twenty lashes each at the Jail, the Stockwell foot, the Stockwell head, and the Cross. From that day to this no one here has been punished in this way, but garotters and wife-beaters may force us to yoke the cart again.” The last entry on the memorial provided details of the death of Andrew Dryburgh Provand who was the MP for Blackfriars Division Glasgow. Although there isn’t much information available on the internet about Andrew he nevertheless made an important contribution as a parliamentarian. He served as MP for the Blackfriars and Hutchesontown Division from 1885-1900. He replace Mitchell Henry as the Liberal MP for the Blackfriars and Hutchesontown Division. As a Liberal Andrew introduced a resolution regarding Land Taxation in a speech recorded in Hansard in 1891/2. He is also listed as a Board Member and later President of the Chignecto Investors Groups and also a member of Moss Valley Royal Societies Club, St James’s Street. In 1894 he is listed as having attended the International Bimetalic Conference held in the Mansion House, London between the 2nd and 3rd May. His resolution merited a mention in “The New York Times” on 9th March 1895. “He moved that “no system of taxation can be equitable unless it include the direct assessment of such enhanced value of land as is due t an increase of population, wealth, and growth of towns.” Andrew Dryburgh Provand was defeated by Andrew Bonar Law in the General Election held in 1900. He died 15 years later on 18th July 1915. |
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| Alex Glass |
David McHaffieThe memorial to David McHaffie reads;In Loving Rememberence of David McHaffie and Eliza Johnstone, his wife And Ten of Their Family 1837 Could these children be the ten members of their family; Margaret, born 16th Jan 1792, Glasgow David, born 2nd February 1798, Rutherglen Margaret, born 1st May 1799, Rutherglen Robert, born 5th August 1800, Rutherglen William, born 23rd July 1801, Rutherglen Ellenoroe, born 18th February 1803, Rutherglen Agnes, born 28th March 1804, Rutherglen Jain, born 3rd December 1805, Rutherglen Alex'r, born 15th February 1807, Rutherglen John, born 19th April 1809, Rutherglen Is it possible that the mystery of this memorial is now solved? 
David McHaffie married Betty Johnston on 19th November 1786 in Glasgow. |
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| Hugo Drax |
This is a wonderful treasure Alex. I try to walk through at least once a week. the stones really do tell a story. | ||
| Alex Glass |
John Stewart, Merchant 1802
The Burial Ground of John Stewart, Merchant ans His Heirs. To The Memory of James Easson, Merchant, and Jean Stewart his wife and Family Also Peter Stewart, Merchant, Alexander Stewart his brother and of John Stewart, Merchant Died 28th June1849 age 67 His Wife Janet Easson who Died 6th July 1819 age 25 His Wife Janet Anderson who Died 13th January 1826 age 33 His Wife Elizabeth McAlpine Gardner who Died 14th November 1857 age 62 James Easson married Jean Stewart on 19th June 1794 in Glasgow the bands were also read on 8th June in Dunblane. As far as I can fine they had five children. Three listed on the memorial; Peter Alexander and John, born 21st March 1797, Glasgow also Janet, born 1st May 1795, Glasgow James, born 2 August 1801, Glasgow A lot of information is given of John Stewart. He first married Janet Easson on 7th August 1818 in Glasgow. They had one child, Janet easson Stewart, born 29th June 1819 and as we can see the mother died a month later. John married his second wife Janet Anderson on 9th June 1823 in Glasgow. Again one child was born, Jean Hay Stewart born 15th May 1824. les than two years later the mother died. So John married again. His third wife was Elizabeth McAlpine Gardner and they were married in Gorbals on 9th February 1833. |
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| HollowHorn |
David Dale, the Heart of Glasgow:
Merchant or not?: 
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| Alex Glass |
Thnks for your contribution HH. I think I may have mised the David Dale one I will need to check. I also got the Charles De Bois memorial. Strange name in an old Glasgow cemetery. | ||
| HollowHorn |
David Dale, what a modest headstone for a man who gave so much to this city. I'll wager he wanted it that way. | ||
| Alex Glass |
I have a photo I took of the memorial to a former Provost on the day we were there last year. I keep meaning to look that one out an get his story. It is a truly beautiful place. |
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| Alex Glass |
David Dale More on David Dale Wikipedia David Dale |
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| Alex Glass |
1780 must have been the year of purchase for the David Dale burial ground.
This Plaque tels the story of Sir John A MacDonald 
Always watch where you are walking on the pavement outside the cemetery you may be walking over the grave of the Foulis brothers. 
Robert and Andrew Foulis were printers. Both studied at Glasgow University. |
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| Fjord |
Is this a mass grave for the paupers 
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| Stuball |
Myself and zos were planning on getting some night/long exposure shots in the Ramshorn this evening before the pub but was called off on the count of rain.... but though I'd repost the ramshorn pictures from the Ingram st thread.
Will get back there sometime soon hopefully for some pictures and hopefully I'll get some good pictures of the 'unknown friends' markers. 
  
  
To view the photo set and/or comment, set viewable by CLICKING HERE |
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| Alex Glass |
Thanks Stu
Just thought it was too good for the Ingram Street thread. These pictures really are great. Worth posting twice 
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| Alex Glass |
James Black - Lord Provost
James Black Lord Provost of Glasgow Ramshorn Cemetery Memorial 1795 James Black Merchant Glasgow 1755-1825 Lord Provost of Glasgow 1808-9 and 1816-17 James Black’s name appears on all the lists of former Lord Provosts of Glasgow but there is little information of the man to be found on the internet. On the other hand there is much to discover him through his daughter Hannah. James Black married Hannah Shortridge in Glasgow about 1781. We know from his memorial at the Ramshorn Cemetery that he was born sometime in 1755. His daughter Hannah Shortridge Black married William Muir, who was a Minister on 22nd June 1813. Together they had nine children. William born 5th September 1814 in Glasgow, Hannah Shortridge born 17th Jan 1816, Glasgow and died 15th November 1822, James born 31st Mat 1817, Glasgow, Robert Hugh born 26th February 1819, Glasgow, was the Minister of Dalmany, William born 16th August 1820, Glasgow, John who died 18th June 1823, Hugh born 11th May 1824, Edinburgh and John Stenhouse who was the Minister of Cockpen. William Shortridge Craigmaddie |