Son of Greenock - Henri Temianka

This wonderful sculpture was on show at the Beacon Arts Centre in Greenock at the weekend.  It depicts violinist Henri Temianka (1906 - 1992) by sculptor Miriam Baker.

It was unveiled in Greenock last year on the 110th anniversary of his birth here in Rue End Street, Greenock to Polish immigrants.  They were part of the small Jewish community in the town.  Shortly afterwards the family moved to Rotterdam.

Temianka eventually moved to America where he achieved fame with the Paganini Quartet and many other notable orchestras.  Viki McDonnel of Greenock has done much research into the Jewish community in this area and she is responsible for the wonderful little booklet which you can see in the photograph.  She had been in touch with Henri's son Daniel in California in respect of her research into Greenock's Jewish community

The plaque reads:

Henri Temianka (1906 - 1992)

Violinist, Conductor, Educator, Writer

Son of Greenock

Founded and led the Paganini Quartet (1946 - 1966)

and California Chamber Symphony (1960 - 1990)

"You have a very simple choice: to create or not to create."

Bust by Miriam Baker

A very interesting and unusual piece of Greenock's history and heritage.

Uncle Sam - the Greenock connection

Uncle Sam - the personification and symbol of the United States and the descendant of a Greenockian!

Samuel Wilson, is generally considered to be the original Uncle Sam.  Samuel and his brother Ebenezer were employers of over 100 men in their slaughterhouse and meat-packing business in Troy, New York.  Samuel Wilson, according to the "History of the City of Troy" by A J Weise -

     "Being one of the first settlers, and besides having a kind and benevolent disposition, he won the         esteem and affection of everybody in the village, and was more generally designated as Uncle             Sam than by his proper name."

Wikipedia

During the 1812 - 1815 war they were contracted by Elbert Anderson to provide beef for soldiers stationed at Greenbush, New York.  All provisions had to be stamped, and the initials E.A.-U.S. appeared on the barrels of meat from the Wilsons.  Seemingly a soldier asked what those initials meant and the reply, from a local, was Elbert Anderson and Uncle Sam.  The name caught on and any other wagons or barrels carrying the initials U.S. was deemed to be from Uncle Sam.

According to Albert Matthews in his book "Uncle Sam", the term appeared in Bartlett Dictionary of Americanisms in 1848 and has been in use ever since.  This recruitment poster from World War I by the artist James Montgomery Flagg (1877 - 1960) is probably the image most of us have in mind when we think of Uncle Sam.

So what's the Greenock connection?

Most sources name Samuel's grandfather as Robert Wilson from Greenock who settled in Massachusetts.  His son, Edward Wilson was Samuel's father.  Samuel was born in West Cambridge (now Arlington) on 13 September 1766 and moved in his early twenties with his brother to Troy in New York, on the Hudson River.  He started out as a brick maker before owning slaughterhouses.  He married Betsey Mann of Mason, New Hampshire, and had four children.  He died on 31 July 1854 at Troy and was buried originally at Mt Ida Cemetery in Troy.  In 1858 he was re-interred in a family plot at Oakwood Cemetery, Troy.

Sinking of the Pomona 1859

It was (and probably still is) every emigrants dream - to succeed and create a new life in a distant land.  Greenock mill worker William Caldwell formerly of Duncan Street, emigrated to America and found employment in New York.  By the beginning of 1859 he had saved enough money to send home to Greenock so that his wife and four young children, two sons and two daughters, could travel out to be with him.  Arrangements were made and his brother travelled with the young family to help on the journey to Liverpool where they would board the emigrant ship Pomona.  At 5am, as she waved goodbye to her brother in law, I wonder how Mrs Caldwell felt as she stood at the ship's rail with her little children and the prospect of a long voyage ahead.

The New York based clipper Pomona (1500 tons) owned by the D L Line, sailed from Liverpool on 27 April 1859 with a crew of 36 under Captain Merrihew.  There were 380 passengers.  The mood on board was happy as this newspaper clipping shows - there was music and dancing on deck.

However, later that night the weather changed, high winds got up and the ship was slightly off course.  The winds drove the ship onto the Blackwater Bank - a notorious sandbank in Co Wexford, Ireland.  

Attempts to launch the lifeboats failed and several crew died in the attempt.  All night the pumps were manned and eventually, the next day a small boat was launched.  In it were the 3rd mate, Stephen Kelly, along with 18 crewmen and 3 male passengers.  As the howling gale continued, the ship slipped off the sandbank and immediately filled with water and sank.  Captain Merrihew, his 1st and 2nd mates and the rest of the crew,  went down with the ship as did all the passengers.  

The only survivors were those in the boat,  who immediately on reaching shore raised the alarm (although it is said that they all, with the exception of Stephen Kelly removed themselves from the scene).  But by the time the lifeboat reached the stricken ship, only the mizzen mast was visible.  Almost 400 lives had been lost. 

Men, women and children, many of whom, like the Caldwell family from Greenock, would have been looking forward to being reunited with loved ones and starting new lives in America.  As the long day wore on, bodies began to wash ashore at Ballyconigar beach and along the coast.  Unfortunately some locals stripped the clothes from the bodies.  They were eventually caught and severely punished. 

A sad tale, but not uncommon in those days when the winds and weather could dramatically alter the fate of a  voyage.  

Interestingly, another victim of the sinking was Irishman Henry Lavery, a Belfast publican on his way to New York to find work.  He left behind a wife who died of grief three months later and a young son who went on to become the acclaimed Glasgow trained artist     Sir John Lavery.

The Greenockian

Blockade Runners from the Clyde

Anyone who has found the recent BBC Scotland series "Clydebuilt: the ships that made the Commonwealth" interesting would do well to look out for the book of called "Clydebuilt"  written by Eric J Graham (ISBN 9781841585804).  First published by Birlinn Limited in 2006 it is a fabulous account of the Clyde built ships which became blockade runners during the American Civil War.

Being a Greenockian, I was particularly interested in the part played by Greenock ship builders and owners in this trade.  Many of the blockade runners started off as mail boats taking mail and passengers around the west coast of Britain.  Shipbuilders were always competing to make their boats faster, so that their owners could win the lucrative mail contracts.  They also had to be strong enough to sail across to Ireland.  The Giraffe was one of these ships built in Glasgow.  Her first trip was from Greenock carrying a group of Glasgow businessmen.  Having proved her worth, she was sent to a Glasgow yard to be converted to a blockade runner.  All this was reported back to the United States by spies who staked out the Clyde shipbuilding yards and kept track of likely vessels.

Giraffe sailed to Nassau, Bahamas at the end of 1862 with a cargo of munitions and machinery as well as some Scottish lithographers.  There her Scottish crew were paid off and a new crew taken on under the leadership of John Wilkinson, a well known blockade runner.  She got through the blockade and arrived at Wilmington.  There she was renamed the Robert E Lee and had a very successful time as a runner.  At the end of 1863 she was captured by USS James Adger, acquired by the US Navy and renamed Fort Donelson.  You can read the fascinating account of Wilkinson's time as a blockade runner here (Narrative of a Blockade Runner) and particularly the exciting trip aboard the Giraffe.

This is just one of the amazing stories told in this book.  Tales of spies, clandestine sailings, and the money that could be made by taking chances on running the blockade make "Clydebuilt" a very interesting read, especially as the many shipbuilders and owners names are very familiar in the west of Scotland.  Eric  J Graham had done a tremendous amount of research and it is refreshing to read about such a fascinating subject purely from a Scottish perspective.

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.

Burridge Purvis Esq

I came across this interesting gravestone in Greenock's old cemetery in Duncan Street.  The name on the stone is Burridge Purvis - it didn't sound like a local name, so I decided to do a bit of research to find out more about Mr Purvis and his family.  The results are fascinating, and lead from Scotland to South Carolina in the United States.

The wording on the stone reads:-

Buried

near this monument

lie the remains of

Burridge Purvis Esq

Of Glassmount Fifeshire Merchant.

To perpetuate the memory of so

beloved a husband and parent

his disconsolate Widow

Mary Brown

has erected this frail memorial

of veneration for his virtues

and faint testimony of her grief

for alas a misfortune indelibly

engraved on her heart.

He died at sea on the 17th July

1816 aged 46 years on his return

home from South Carolina after

an absence of about 10 months.

The first thing that struck me about this is that his remains were "buried near this monument"  and yet it is also recorded on the stone that he died at sea.  Were his remains, like Nelson's preserved in a barrel of brandy and spices and landed when the ship docked at Greenock ... I wonder?!

What had Burridge been doing in South Carolina?  I discovered that he was one of many sons of John Purvis and Elizabeth Thomson.  Some of the brothers went to South Carolina and purchased a cotton plantation there as well as ships to transport the cotton back to Britain.  Burridge was involved in this family business, and seems to have travelled between Scotland and South Carolina on a regular basis.

Burridge Purvis (born 1770) was indeed married to Mary Brown.  They had (at least) four sons and four daughters - many of them were born in Scotland at their estate of Glassmount in Fife (between Burntisland and Kirkcaldy).  Mary Brown was born in Georgetown, Carolina, the daughter of Stephen Brown, an army captain and his wife Mary Jennings and went on to outlive her husband by many years, dying in St Colme Street, Edinburgh on 24 January 1861 at the grand age of 82.

This is a fascinating family and I'll be writing more about them next week.

The Greenockian

Greenock and the George Washington Connection

Walter Washington Buchanan, a Greenock doctor is the connection.  He was born at Hanover (Morristown), New Jersey on 4 June 1777.  He was baptised on 6 July 1777 and George Washington, America's first president, was his godfather!  This is Buchanan's grave in Greenock Cemetery.

The inscription reads:- 

Walter Washington Buchanan born 4th June 1777 at Hanover, Jersey USA, died 11th September 1861, his son James Campbell, merchant, born 3rd Mar 1803 at New York died 10th Oct 1868.

Walter Buchanan went on to have a very interesting life.  As a child he recalls playing with the grandchildren of Martha Washington - George Washington Custis and his sister Eleanor at the Osgood/Franklin House on Cherry Street. 

Walter's family originated in Scotland and he was sent back to attend Glasgow University, graduating MD in 1798.  He returned to New York and applied to the US Navy for a position and was appointed to the ship "Ganges".  Several of his letters to the War Department remain - he had quite a flamboyant signature!   It was a short-lived career as he was discharged the following year under the Peace Establishment Act. 

He returned to Scotland and married a Greenock lass - Annabella Brownlie on 27 February 1802.  On their return to New York, they had two children, a son James Campbell and a daughter Eliza.  Dr Buchanan's career blossomed and he was elected Professor of Midwifery at Columbia College in 1808.  He was also Secretary of New York County Medical Society and was connected with the New York Almshouse (Bellevue?).

 

When the Anglo-American war broke out in 1812, Buchanan was re-appointed as a Navy Surgeon and worked at Sackett's Harbour on Lake Ontario.  There is an interesting letter from him in "The Naval War of 1812" Vol II edited by William S Dudley in which he objects strongly to a proposed pay cut!  He was visited at Sackett's Harbour by the writer Washington Irving with whom he seems to have been friends since they were younger.

 

He retired from the Navy in 1827 and was residing at Greene Street, near Broadway in New York.  In 1830 his daughter, Eliza married a wealth cloth merchant Alexander Rodger in Greenock.  By 1837 Walter and his family were residing at Mount Pleasant in Greenock.  Sometime in 1843/44 he bought the beautiful house of Bagatelle in Greenock (now a care home).  He was involved in local affairs and continued to practice as a doctor in the town.  Annabella died in 1852 and was buried in the Old West churchyard (remains later transfered to Greenock Cemetery).  Walter died of apoplexy in 1861.  In his will he left some knives, forks and spoons which "were so long in the use of President Washington" to his son, James who died in 1868.  James founded the Buchanan Night Asylum in the town which gave shelter and food to homeless people.

 

Walter Washington Buchanan seems to have been a very interesting man.  His daughter's family are buried nearby and also have a story to tell!

The Greenockian

The Greenockian Who Built The Smithsonian

The original building  of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, known as The Castle, was built by Greenock man Gilbert Cameron who was the project contractor.  The work began in 1847 and finished in 1855.

 

Gilbert Cameron was born in Greenock in about 1809, the son of Dugald Cameron, a shoemaker and his wife Jane Sayers who were married in Greenock on 27 January 1806.  After serving his apprenticeship as a mason and working as a journeyman for some years in Greenock.  He then moved to America and worked as a stonemason and builder in New York before moving to Washington.

He worked as the contractor at the Smithsonian with the architect James Renwick Jr (1818-1895) of New York.  The Smithsonian was built as the result of a bequest by the British scientist James Smithson (1765-1829) who, strangely, had never actually visited the United States.  In 1904 Smithson's body was exhumed from a grave in Genoa, Italy and transferred to Washington where it was reinterred at the Smithsonian.

The money for the building was taken in boxes of gold sovereigns from London, by sea,  to Washington by a Pennsylvanian lawyer, Richard Rush.  That must have been one nerve-wracking journey!

Mr Cameron was also the building contractor for the Soldiers' Home in Washington.  The architect on this building was Lieutenant Barton Stone Alexander (1819-1878).  The two buildings are quite similar architecturally.

The money for this building came the people of Mexico City who, in 1847 when the city was surrendered (during the Mexican-American war), paid a bounty of $150,000 to General Winfield Scott to ensure that their city was not pillaged by his troops!

Gilbert Cameron returned to Greenock at the start of the American Civil War, and had an entry in the local Post Office Directory of 1865-1866 as a builder and contractor.  He seems to have taken an active part in local affairs. 

He died on 5 November 1866 at his home, Washington Cottage in Greenock.  His obituary in the Glasgow Herald states that -

"Mr Cameron was in town on Monday in the enjoyment of his ordinary good health.  He dined in one of the hotels, and returned home during the evening.  About nine o'clock he was suddenly seized with cramp and vomiting, which continued till an early hour yesterday morning, when death took place."  He had unfortunately contracted  Asiatic Cholera.  His wife, Mary Mitchell died in Washington in 1884.  They had no children.

 

His memory lives on in Greenock in a stone from the Seneca quarry on the Potomac River (where the stone for the Smithsonian was quarried), which Gilbert Cameron had sent over to be part of the memorial to Greenock's most famous son, James Watt.  This memorial cairn can be seen in Greenock Cemetery. 

The Greenockian