The Coalminers
Fuelling the Industrial Revolution
1800-1850
Responses to the drastic late 18th century socio-economic changes
in Lowland Scotland ranged from expanding the family farm, to
cottage handloom weaving, to engineering
trades, to farm labour to emigration. The response of one
particular Cumnock McCowan was quite extraordinary.
James McCowan (b. 1773) worked his "last shift" at
the Garlaff Coalworks in Old Cumnock in the 17th week of 1800(1), having signed a 19 year
lease for the Auchanbeg Coalworks in Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, a few months earlier. This
collier-serf turned-Coalmaster embraced the new capitalism with
a passion. From Cumnock he brought two of his brothers as well as several other families
to work at his new coal venture.
Refer also to this page for more links to James McCowan's
career.
The following raw data is useful input information for the Essay
Contest -- "Your
Community in a World History Context". Be sure to refer also to
"To Sustene The Personis: The Agricultural Revolution"
for some details of the dramatic changes that affected the McCowans and many of their
neighbours in Cumnock, Ayrshire. "When the Ground
Fails: An Economic Watershed" provides the background to
Lesmahagow's economic development leading up to the arrival of James McCowan.
Where Did They Go -- What Did They Do?
And Much More in
The McCowans of Cumnock, Lesmahagow and Scarborough
McCowan Marriages
In the Lanarkshire Coalfield
Lesmahagow Parish (Les), New Monkland (NM)
Note: Lesmahagow is the Parish of registration unless
otherwise indicated.
Husband |
Residence / Parish |
Wife |
Residence / Parish |
Date |
James McCowan |
Lesmah. |
Catherine Stodhart |
Lesmah. |
29 Dec. 1801 |
John McCowan |
|
Janet Cunningham |
|
28 Dec. 1801 |
James Mitchell |
|
Margaret McCowan [Mary] |
|
2 Jan. 1810 |
James Cowan [McCowan] |
Lesmah. |
Margaret Porteous |
Douglas |
3 Sept. 1813 |
Allan Cerswell |
Lesmah. |
Jean McCowan |
Lesmah. |
24 Apr 1816 |
James Morrison |
|
Nicholas McCowan |
|
Dec 1837 (NM) |
John Watson |
St. Cuthbert, Edinburgh |
Jean McCowan |
Lesmah. |
9 June 1838 |
William McCowan |
|
Janet Granger |
|
Oct 1839 (NM) |
John McCowan |
|
Helen Moncrief |
|
Nov 1841 (NM) |
McCowan Births
In the Lanarkshire Coalfield
Lesmahagow Parish (Les), New Monkland (NM)
Carluke (Car), Cadder (Cad)
Note: Lesmahagow is the Parish of registration
unless otherwise indicated.
Child |
Born |
Father |
Mother |
Residence |
Elizabeth McCowan |
25 Aug 1803 |
James McCowan |
Catherine Stodhart |
Auchinbeg |
Robert McCowan |
24 Mar 1805 |
John McCowan |
Janet Cunningham |
Auchinbeg |
James McCowan |
4 Apr 1807 |
John McCowan |
Janet Cunningham |
Lesmahagow |
Mary McCowan |
11 Jan 1809 |
John McCowan |
Janet Cunningham |
Auchinbeg |
Robert Mitchell |
13 Sept 1810 |
James Mitchell |
Mary McCowan |
Hill |
David Mitchell |
27 Aug 1811 |
James Mitchell |
Mary McCowan |
Hill |
David McCowan |
20 June 1812 |
John McCowan |
Janet Cunningham |
Auchinbeg |
Robert Cowan (illeg) |
21 Dec 1813 |
James Cowan [McCowan] |
Elizabeth Paterson |
Auchinbeg |
James Whiteford McCowan |
2 Apr 1814 |
James McCowan |
Margaret Porteous |
Auchinbeg |
William McCowan |
2 Apr 1814 |
John McCowan |
Janet Cunningham |
Auchinbeg |
James Anderson McCowan |
10 Jan 1815 |
David McCowan |
Sarah Packwood |
From Trinidad |
Margaret McCowan |
8 Apr 1816 |
James McCowan |
Margaret Porteous |
Auchinbeg |
Nicholas McCowan |
24 Sept 1817 |
John McCowan |
Janet Cunningham |
Auchinbeg |
David McCowan |
25 Oct 1817 |
James McCowan |
Margaret Porteous |
Auchinbeg |
William Purdie |
1 Nov 1817 |
John Purdie |
Janet McCowan |
Auchinbeg |
William Porteous
McCowan |
17 May 1820 |
James McCowan |
Margaret Porteous |
Auchinbeg |
Robert Hunter Purdie |
June 1822 |
John Purdie |
Janet McCowan |
Kirkmuirhill |
Mary Ann Hunter McCowan |
1 July 1822 |
James McCowan |
Margaret Porteous |
Auchinbeg |
John McCowan |
5 Jan 1823 |
John McCowan |
Janet Cunningham |
(Car) |
Janet McCowan |
20 May 1824 |
James McCowan |
Margaret Porteous |
Auchinbeg |
Elizabeth McCowan |
11 Aug 1825 |
James McCowan |
Margaret Porteous |
Auchinbeg |
Jane McCowan |
21 Mar 1830 |
James McCowan |
Margaret Porteous |
Auchinbeg |
John McCowan |
27 Sept 1840 |
William McCowan |
Janet Granger |
(NM) |
Thomas McCowan |
1 May 1842 |
William McCowan |
Janet Granger |
(NM) |
Elizabeth McCowan |
6 Nov 1842 |
John McCowan |
Helen Moncrieff |
(NM) |
David McCowan |
10 Mar 1844 |
William McCowan |
Janet Granger |
(NM) |
Mary McCowan |
31 Mar 1844 |
John McCowan |
Helen Moncrieff |
(NM) |
Margaret McCowan |
29 Mar 1846 |
William McCowan |
Janet Granger |
(Cad) |
Elizabeth McCowan |
26 Apr 1846 |
John McCowan |
Helen Moncrieff |
(NM) |
Janet McCowan |
16 Jan 1848 |
John McCowan |
Helen Moncrieff |
(NM) |
|
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The Scarboro Heights Record V12 #1
The McCowans' Who's Who, Vol. 13
See also:
The majority (perhaps 80%) of these McCowan vital statistics (above) were
copied from the original Parish Registers in Edinburgh in 1974 and in 1979.
Other bits were obtained in the early 1980s from the Church of Latter Day Saints
microfilms of some of the Parish registers. Several family bibles and
various other sources provided additional information. More recently, a very
small handful of items were obtained on the internet from various persons.
Where Did They Go, What Did They Do?
And Much More in
The McCowans of Cumnock, Lesmahagow and Scarborough
James _McCowan_1807_44:
Shoemaker. Married Martha Smith and had at least 6 sons and 2 daughters in
Hamilton, Lanarkshire. It is believed that one son went to Chicago for a time. Another
son, John, changed his surname to Cowan, married Elizabeth
Irwin, and moved to Newcastle, England.
James_Whiteford_McCowan_1814_42:
Named, in part, for his father's good friend and mentor, James Whiteford, factor of
Blackwood Estate, the ancestral holding of the Weir Clan of
Lesmahagow. Married Martha Weir in Scarborough, Canada, and had 7 sons and 4 daughters. Farmer of over 200 acres.
Jane_McCowan_1830_321:
Baptised alongside Alex Muir, author of "The
Maple Leaf Forever". Married Thomas Whiteside, farmer in Scarborough. Later
moved to Innerkip, Ontario. Four sons and two daughters.
Jean_McCowan_ca1799:
Daughter of William McCowan, coalminer at Auchinbeg, and Sarah Lapraik. Record of
her birth and her parents' marriage have not yet been found.
John_McCowan_1823_15:
Miner. He and Helen Moncrief had at least five daughters. Died in the New Monkland
poorhouse in 1862.
Mary_ McCowan_111:
Married Samuel Forrest and had two sons and a daughter in Carluke, Lanarkshire,
before her death in 1842.
Nicholas_McCowan_1817_924:
Married James Morrison. Some of their descendants were coalminers in Carnegie,
Pennsylvania.
Robert_McCowan_1813_1221:
Emigrated to Scarborough, Canada, in 1833 with father,
step-mother and surviving half-siblings. The fact that he had been illegitimate had been
kept from most of his great-grandchildren. One great-granddaughter had been sworn to
secrecy. Farmer of 200 acres in Scarborough. His homestead was
the west half of lot 22, concession C on what is now McCowan Road at Kingston Road.
Married Jane Underwood and had 3 sons and 4 daughters.
William_McCowan_1814_42:
Colliery manager or overseer and, for a time, "gold-digger". Married
Janet Granger and had six sons and two daughters.
William_Porteous_McCowan_1820_517:
Successful farmer of over 300 acres in Scarborough,
Canada. His log house was moved by the Scarborough Historical Society to Thomson Memorial
Park and is now a museum.
William_Purdie_1817_111:
Believed to be the renowned botanist in Trinidad (1817-1857), very likely invited
there by his mother's brother, David McCowan.
(1) Information from Alexander Hunter, archivist to the Marquess of Bute.
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