John Hendry - Gourock Chapel of Ease

John Hendry was born in 1765 in Baldernock in Dumbartonshire, the second of three sons.  He attended the University of Glasgow where he became a student of divinity.  His final year of study was spent at the University of Edinburgh and was licenced to preach by the Presbytery of Dumbarton.  Not long afterwards, in 1789, he was elected to the Chapel of Ease at Gourock where he stayed for several years.  He was the fourth incumbent of the chapel and succeeded James Greenock (click on link to find out more).

The Chapel of Ease was built in Gourock in 1776 in the burial ground at what is now Chapel Street.  .  The parish church (now Old Gourock and Ashton Church) was not constructed until 1832.  Ministers (or readers) appointed to chapels of ease were licensed to preach, but could not administer the sacraments.

Gourock burying ground - site of chapel of ease

While at Gourock John Hendry married Mary Adam (1765-1858) in 1805.  Mary was the daughter of Rev Dr John Adam of the Mid Parish Church in Greenock.  Hendry later became friendly with Adam’s successor Rev Dr Scott.  

Mid Parish Church, Greenock

In 1796 he left Gourock and was presented by the Earl of Eglinton to the parish of Dalry in Ayrshire as assistant to the Rev John Fullarton (1735-1802).  John Fullarton had succeeded his father, also John Fullarton (d1761) to the charge at Dalry.  John, who in 1766 married Greenock woman Helen Donald, had a brother, Gavin Fullarton (1737-1795) who was a surgeon at Greenock and another brother, William a merchant in Greenock.  

Gravestone of Gavin and William Fullarton in Inverkip Street Cemetery, Greenock

On the death of John Fullarton in 1802, John Hendry, who had just been at Dalry as assistant, moved to Stevenston again as an assistant to Rev Dr James Wodrow (1730-1810).  He was the son of the well-known church historian Robert Woodrow.  Hendry remained at Stevenston until the death of Wodrow. 

St John's Church, Dalry

In June 1810 he was at last ordained as “assistant and successor” to Rev John Duncan (1750-1819) of Ardrossan.  On the death of Rev Duncan in 1819, he was appointed his successor and became a full parish minister.  A few years later, after a visit to the north of Scotland, he suffered a bout of typhus from which he never fully recovered.  He suffered problems with his speech which affected his communication both in the pulpit and with his parishioners.  As his health deteriorated, it was decided that he needed an assistant.   The Rev John Campbell Bryce (1800-1858) was appointed and began in 1828.  He was presented to the congregation by the Earl of Eglinton and was ordained officially as assistant and successor at Ardrossan in July 1830.

Rev John Hendry died in 1835.  He was (not very complementary) described as -

 “tall and stately and well-formed, although latterly he was corpulent and rather unwieldy.  His countenance was manly, and very expressive of good sense.  He was a person of great modesty and genuine humility; in large companies he spoke very little.”

John Hendry and Mary Adam had a son, John Adam Hendry (1806-1837) who became a surgeon in Ardrossan. 

Mary Adam’s father Rev Dr John Adam (1720-1792) was the second minister of the Mid Parish Church in Greenock.  She had two brothers – Robert a merchant in North Carolina and John, a merchant in Greenock.  You can read more abut the family on these Greenockian Blog posts –

Rev Dr John Adam of the Mid Parish, Greenock

Robert Adam Merchant – Greenock and Fayetteville, NorthCarolina

Rev Dr John Adam of the Mid Parish, Greenock

Rev Dr John Adam was only the second minister of the Mid Parish Kirk in Greenock, arriving here when the church had only been open for nine years.  Until this church was built, Greenock had only one other church - the West Kirk.  As trade and industry grew in Greenock, so did the population and it was decided that another church was required.  Lord Cathcart gave the land in the centre of the commercial part of the growing town, Cathcart Square, and this beautiful church was completed, the first service taking place on 12 May 1761.

The model for the church was St Martin's in the Field in London.  The building was constructed by Greenock mason James Ewing from stone quarried locally (just behind what is now Newton Street).  The interior of the church was set out to a plan by James Watt, father of Greenock's famous engineer, James Watt.

When Rev Dr James Adam took over the charge on 12 July 1770 the church had no steeple.  This was added in 1787 and is 146 feet high, originally it had a golden cutter ship at its top as befits a port, but unfortunately this was damaged in storms and had to be replaced.  A bell and clock were also added.

Rev John Adam brought his wife, Elizabeth Parker and young family to Greenock from West Kilbride.  They would have lived in the manse nearby.  Elizabeth died in 1779 and in 1783 John married a local woman, Agnes Anderson.  When John died in 1792, Agnes remained in Greenock.  His obituary reads -

His character was also noted -

"Unaffected devotion, universal benevolence, warmth and affection with respect to his friends, attention to the distressed, and charity to the poor, were the leading features in Dr Adam's character."

I have already written about Rev John Adam's eldest son, Robert who moved to North Carolina and became a successful merchant there.  However a younger son, John William Adam (born 1768) remained in Greenock and had many business interests in the town.

It was not unusual at that time for members of the same family to represent business interests in different parts of the world, in fact it made life much easier - cutting out the middle man!  Crops of tobacco and cotton grown in America were despatched across the Atlantic to a port like Greenock in ships owned by consortiums of family members and then sold and processed this side of the Atlantic by other family members.  Fathers ensured that their sons and daughters married well - especially into families who shared their trading interests.  It is a story that repeats itself many times in Greenock's commercial history.

This beautiful church, now known as Wellpark Mid Kirk, has a wonderful history and is still a great landmark in our town.

The Greenockian

Robert Adam, Merchant - Greenock and Fayetteville, North Carolina

A brief obituary in the Watt Library's archive index of family notices recently caught my attention.  It read -

Robert Adam born Greenock c 1759.emigrated to

America, merchant in Fayetteville, N.C. died 1801

A bit of research later and I came up with the fascinating story of Robert Adam and his life in Fayetteville.  I am indebted to Craig Harmon of the Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry Company of North Carolina for much of the information which appears in this post.

Robert Adam was the son of Rev Dr John Adam, second minister of the Mid (or New) Parish in Greenock, now Wellpark Mid Kirk.  While his brother John stayed in Greenock, Robert went to North Carolina and became a prosperous merchant there, trading across the Atlantic.  He married a widow, Jennet Burgess and they had three children - John Robert Adam, Eliza Ann Adam and Margaret Jane Adam.

It is perhaps as the first Commanding Officer of the Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry (FILI) that Robert Adam is best remembered in his adopted land.  On 23 August 1793 the Company was founded with Robert as its leader and offered their services to the then President, George Washington.  They adopted the motto -

"he that hath no stomach to this fight, let him depart".

The Company drilled regularly, undertook guard duties and took part in public events.

Unfortunately Captain Adam died on 11 June 1801 at the Sound near Wilmington.  He was buried at the Old Cross Creek Cemetery, opposite the old FILI parade ground.  The stone that covers Captain Adam's tomb reads as follows -

Beneath this stone are deposited the mortal remains of Robert Adam,

a native of Greenock, Scotland,

for many years a merchant of Fayetteville and Wilmington,

who departed this life 11th June 1801 aged 42.

He was universally beloved and regretted.

In his conduct and department through life

was combined all that should adorn the Christian character

and constitute the honorable man,

the kind husband and affectionate parent.

Such a wonderful testament to a fine Greenock man.  The Company held a Memorial Service in 1989 in honour of their first Commander and a footstone was unveiled at his tomb.  He will never be forgotten by the Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry.

The wonderful history of the Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry can be read on their fabulous website here and blog here.  Once again I would like to express my thanks to the members of the Company who helped by sending me information about Robert Adam and especially Craig Harmon for photographs of the grave.