Alexander Macfie the tenth child of Robert Mcfie and Mary Andrew was born in Greenock, 24th of January 1789. He passed his childhood along with his brothers and sisters in the home located at 3 William Street, above the family grocery store. This tenement was purchased by Robert Mcfie, Alex’s father in 1783 from Mr. Patrick Scott .(see map)
Robert and Mary had been residing on the east side of the Street in the great tenement of Mr. Alexander, there were two back houses attached to this tenement, one entering from the staircase and the other on the right side of the court. Robert and Mary inhabited the latter house until their purchase in 1783.
The Scott property entered from the High Street by a narrow lane, afterwards called " Drummer’s Close". Attached to it was a yard of ten falls, on which stood some thatched houses and timber ‘shades". It stretched up to what afterwards became the feu of Robert Crawford, cooper, facing the Square.(see map)
Below the dwelling quarters, we find the operations of Messrs. Macfie, Lindsay & Co. and Macfie Graham & Co. grocers. Across the street there was Mr. John Wilson, grocer, agent for Messrs. James Fairie & Co., sugar refiners. Mr. Wilson resided in a suburb of the town on the High road to Innerkip, his home which he called " Orangefield" was later purchased by Robert Macfie (see map) to be used as his town residence.
Now Alexander’s brothers, William, 13 years older, Robert Andrew, 11 years older would have been apprenticed at the time of his birth. John, 6 years older, remained close and sympathetic to Alexander, but he followed the older boys in their endeavors to become industrialists. Alexander remained at home with his Mother, his older sister Anne (3 years to Alex), Janet or Jessie who was born one year after Alex and a young baby Thomas who died in his first year . Alexander then became Mummy’s little boy . All the attention that Mary had given Thomas, only to be grief stricken at his death, was then directed to Alexander. Mary was 46 years old in 1793 and lived another 22 fulfilled years..
Robert Mcfie, with his grocery store and other investments in sugar houses, and overseas trading was becoming a fairly wealthy man. His family was doing well, his sons were coming along very well, the age of the industrial revolution was profitable. He was now in his 50’s, wanting to enjoy the benefits he purchased the summer home of Duncan Alexander Campbell in Inverkip. Mr. Campbell was partner of the Greenock Distillery Co. This was a fair estate called LANGHOUSE and became the residence of the Macfie family during the summer months. Now Alexander was only 9 years old when his father bought this large estate, he had not been apprenticed , John now 15 was off and only the two girls and Alexander remained at home with their Mother. One can only imagine the influence this group would have on Alexander, not to mention the leisurely life that Alex was to send during the summer months on the estate of Langhouse.
In a letter some
time later on his life , 1845 , Alex , writing
to his
sister Jess in Sweden, states " of the delinquents who were in the way
(xx)
of occassionally smuggling a little cream - riding a red stick painted
for
ahorse- fishing on the beautiful linns on the Langhouse burn, and many
other
innocent amusements which you letter brought to my recollection, the
interrogation
of " Whos's there" by the old woman at the leap, and the answer of
"
a wee drop of sour milk" - was not forgotten". Alex goes on to state in
the
same letter back to his sister " I have the most perfect
recollection
of making the complaint to Father on his return from Church of this
circumstance,
but who the individual was that did the dee, I cannot now recollect" .
Then
still further in his remembering of the fair times of his
youth,
:" Do you recollect one Sunday evening when Ann was very busy
rather
in the (xxx) of Father's chair, making faces at John who sat inclined
to
the left of being opposite to her, and thinking no doubt that the
worthy
man was so much absorbed that he would not notice her, but she
was
mistaken and he spoke out in half laughing tone "See that wild
gawky making faces" I will never forget this anecdote of
poor Ann, nor the laugh it occassioned at her expense" .
Having
the opportunity to review the book " John Macfie and his family"
we have surmised with the aid of extracts from the book, the adolescent
life of Alexander Macfie as best we could. It is indicated that
Alexander was employed in or about 1808 in the Leith Sugar house , this
house was being operated by John the third son, he had written his
father
Robert indicating that Alexander had become very attentive and steady
to the business entrusted to his care it was recommend that
Alexander
be given " a regular allowance of a salary for himself and his own use"
We have reproduced a
letter dated 1810 from Alexander who was staying with John in Leith to
his sister Jessie who had just returned to Langhouse. His letter
is not of business like the letters we have seen from his brother, but
more a school boys letter with frivolous writings (dilly-dally stuff).
Reproduction of letter in Jessie Thorburn’s personal papers in Sweden.
Addressed to Miss
Jess Macfie , Langhouse
Hand delivered by Mr John
Watson
Leith 26
June 1810
Dear Sister I am , Dear Jess,
yours in a hum, Shall write more
sooner or later . |
In 1814 old Robert, now 68 decided to retire from business. Alexander was not making much success at the helm of the grocery division and caused poor Andrew Lindsay such grief that he resigned. Things came to a boil and the family asked Alexander to cease to be a partner in the subsidiary, Alexander left for England immediately. On Nov 10 1814 , he tendered his resignation he was 25 years old. In the book there is mention that Alexander had been visiting in London with his sister in law’s brother John Galt (1807-1808) Alex was now 19 years of age.
From a letter dated
March 20 1814, Alexander was preparing to leave London on a long
journey (to Canada we assume) for he has written his sister at
Langhouse telling her that a large parcel of books had not arrived, and
probably would
not arrive before he left. Books that he would have like to take with
him on his long journey. Alexander was leaving on the ‘
Minerva’ on the 23 of March 1814, he was to sail to Gravesend
first and from
there they were to sail to Portsmouth. there were to be thirty
passengers
on aboard. It is thought perhaps that John Galt was the
more important among these passengers, he was going to Canada on behalf
of the British American Land Co., to establish its presence in the
Colony.
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As far as we can tell Alexander spent fours years in Canada for the next we learn of him is back at Langhouse in 1818 where he was in idleness with his older sister Ann who was aling and his aging Father, his loving mother having passed away in 1815 in his absence. At Christmas, Alexander withdrew all the money that he possessed, left Greenock and went on a glorious spree. He turned up in Leith five days later having spent all that he had a sum that should have kept him well off for a year if not more.
The problem with Alexander, who was now 29 years of age, became an embarrassment to the family. The older brothers proposed that he be sent off for a period of supervision in the home of an accommodating minister, or to a somewhat similar rustication at Otter Ferry, Dunoon or else where on the banks of the Clyde. Old Robert and to say the least Alexander were not quite carried with these propositions. Meanwhile Alexander remained at Leith as John’s guest, providing from time to time a hand with the office work. A position was obtained for Alexander with a Leith shipping office, however Alexander proved incorrigible and lost his job with in two months. So it came to be that Alexander was packed off to rusticate after all, to a place near Dumbarton.
Unfortunately the family papers do not allow further assumptions at this time as there was a lapse in the papers that had been so carefully kept over the years.
On April 21 1823 Alexander Macfie married Ann Tough at Inverray. Alexander was 34 years old. At this age in those times he was considered past his prime, almost and old man. Ann Tough was 21 years old.
( it is most unfortunate that we were unable to locate a journal of Alex's 1814 trip to Canada, there is no reference made to it in any of the papers that we have been able to find todate (2003). We do not know if he really did indeed as his sister suggested keep such a book. It is known that much of the family records of the Canadaian branch were kept at one time in the barn of Lloyd Bullock in Clarenceville, and that this barn burnt down destroying any Macfie reocrds that may or may not have been accumulated over the years. Perhaps the journal which just may have been kept was among those papers)
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