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NOTES ON DAILY ENTRIES IN MISS ANNE DAVIDSON'S JOURNALS |
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 To
notes on most recent entries
The family is at 237 Union Street, their Aberdeen home at this time of the year. Mrs Davidson and her daughters use their time visiting and being visited by friends and relations. This is the party season and Anne, at 20 years old, is very taken up with such matters. 1st January The Piries are relatives on Mrs. Davidson's side. Dyce and Waterton are two of their properties and the sites of paper and linen mills, from which they took their income. Waterton Mills were bought by Crombie's in 1859 for the manufacture of their famous cloths. 8th January: Mary Anne is Anne's sister-in-law, married to Patrick. 10th January: Provost Blaikie - the Provost is the senior officer of the City of Aberdeen - the equivalent of the Mayor 13th January: Warthill is the home of Mary Anne's parents, Mr. & Mrs Walter Leslie. It is near Meikle Wartle, north-west of Inverurie, about 20 miles from Aberdeen. 17th January: The two girlies are Pat's daughters - Jane Anne and Fanny. 19th January: The flowers from Inchmarlo are presumably from a conservatory - there isn't much blooming in the open air in January in Aberdeenshire these days... 25th January: The Assembly Rooms on Union Street were available as a public meeting place which could be hired by members of the public. 31st January: Dressing in full Highland dress was still unusual at this time. It had been proscribed after the '45 uprising and Queen Victoria, whose court made it very fashionable again, had not yet bought Balmoral and become interested in all things Highland. 4th February: "our pew" . Wealthier families had their own reserved pew at church. Note that Anne refers to "in the afternoon" so they had presumably been to church already in the morning. 5th February: The Gordons of Abergeldie were Mrs Duncan Davidson's family (Kate). Abergeldie is on the River Dee near Balmoral and was leased by the Gordons to the Royal Family five years later in 1849. Pat Leslie is Mary Anne's brother. 23rd February: The coast north of Aberdeen was strewn with wrecked ships - the town was a very busy port. There is one rusting hulk still on the sands just to the north of the mouth of the Don. 25th February: Papa's journey to Stonehaven is 15 miles - in foul weather it must have tired the horses. 29th February: Leeching was common practice to help clear the blood, relieve swelling, etc. It is apparently being used again now for some conditions. Anne's references to the mails are to the mail coaches which carried post around the country. 2nd March: "Nothing particular took place" I think translates as "I am 20 years old and I am bored"! 3rd March: Poor Pat - having been leeched he is now "cupped", i.e. blood taken from him - again to relieve congestion. 4th March - Aberdeen was a bustling port at this time and a drive to the pier would have given the children fresh air and lots to look at - steamers going to Edinburgh and London, fishing boats coming and going, fish being sold, etc. 6th March - Kincardine is about 20 miles South-West of Aberdeen 7th March - For once Anne's writing is illegible, as it is squeezed into the margin of the page. I think it may be Balgownie, but not sure. 17th March - You have probably noticed by now that, by good fortune, 1844 is a year where the days fall on the same day of the week as in 2002 - so that, for instance, St. Patrick's day falls on a Sunday as it does this year. 18th March. Durris is a house 12 miles West of Aberdeen on the south of the River Dee, dating from the 17th century. 19th March. Anne quite often writes about herself in the third person especially in these youthful entries. The tooth extraction will have been done without any anaesthetic!! 20th March. If anyone knows this piece, I'd be delighted to hear about it. 21st March. I will try to find out if the Assembly Rooms keep programmes for that far back - it would be interesting to know who Mr. Braham was and where he came from. 25th March. The school master "at Inchmarlo" probably means the teacher at one of the nearby villages - East Mains, perhaps, or Banchory itself. 27th March. Crossing the River Dee at
what was once the City of Aberdeen's southern boundary, the Bridge of Dee is a
seven-arched bridge dating from 1520. Built following a bequest of £20,000 by
Bishop William Elphinstone who died in 1514, the bridge was completed by Bishop
Gavin Dunbar. This was the site of a battle in 1639 between the Royalists under
Viscount Aboyne and the Covenanters who were led by the Marquis of Montrose.
Restored in 1718-21 and widened in the 19th Century, the bridge still features
the original 16th-century piers, coats of arms and passing places. There are
interesting riverside walks nearby. 2nd April Did Esslemont & Mackintosh exist then? Anybody know? Imagine walking in "dreadfully dusty" conditions or "a sea of mud" in crinolines! Imagine the work for the servants at the end of the day.. 3rd April Easter being a moveable feast, we have just celebrated it last weekend, without, I must confess, much in the way of fasting. 7th April Interesting to note Anne's remarks about the very fine weather. We are currently having a wonderful few days of weather, with the temperature at 74 F in the shade in our garden. This is being attributed to global warming and yet Anne is reporting similar conditions 158 years ago! Our home is on the same latitude as Inchmarlo/Aberdeen, though about 75 miles further West. 11th April Blackburn is on the outskirts of Aberdeen. Presumably sending the carriage to meet the Leslies allowed their own carriage to return to Warthill before nightfal. I believe Colonel MacDonald lived next door to the Davidsons. Anyone out there know? 15th April The 92nd Regiment later became the Gordon Highlanders. They have a website: www.gordonhighlanders.com which tells their history and describes the Regimental museum in Aberdeen. 16th April Peggie is presumably Mary Anne & Patrick's nursery maid. The family's servants are rarely given surnames in the diaries. 17th April I cannot tell if Anne is describing a real auction or just a game played between young girls - how the calling cards of some of the officers of the 92nd fit in with this scenario is beyond me..... 18th April Not much fun to dislocate your arm before the time of anaesthetics! 19th April Arbuthnott House has an interesting website. 20th April Slowly we begin to form a picture of the Davidson household - "our old maid", Peggie (the children's nursemaid) and now poor Grant.... 22nd April What a nice picture - Mamma waving valiantly at strangers, Anne watching the Judges arrive (presumably at the Courts next to Cruickshank's shop rather than coming to the shop!) while the military band plays merrily..... 24th April Interestingly, it is very windy here today (about 75 miles due west of Aberdeen). Have heard from the Manager at Inchmarlo that the garden is looking lovely (see entry on April 1st!) 25th Aberdeen Fordoun is about 3 miles North of Laurencekirk and about 27 miles from Aberdeen. The Cornhill area of Aberdeen is famous as the home of the Royal
Cornhill Hospital for people with mental problems. It
opened in November 1800 as the Aberdeen Lunatic Hospital. Built to replace cells
provided in the original Infirmary at Woolmanhill since the 1740's for 'those
deprived of the use of their Reason', the new hospital admitted patients from
Aberdeen and other parts of the North-East of Scotland and, at times, from
further afield. The asylum, as it become known, was enlarged on several occasions in the nineteenth century. Elmhill House, a separate building for private patients, opened in 1862 and a country branch was established at Daviot in 1890. By the end of the century the entire asylum held a daily average of 867 patients. While looking for this information I came across a reference to a nursery at Cornhill - where I thought perhaps the flowers were grown but it turned out to be the Tartan Tots nursery for pre-school-age children! 27th April Margaret as the eldest daughter is asked sometimes asked out with her parents when the others are not. Aleck, an eligible young man of 26, leads such a busy social life that Anne is amused to find him without an invitation for the evening. 28th April "We 3" means the three daughters. I will look into Mr. Davidson and see where he fits in..... 29th April The Barrackyards were at Bridge of Don, where the 92nd (later the Gordon Highlanders) were stationed in Aberdeen. 30th April Seaton was the home of a local aristocratic family, now a public park. 3rd May The College is Marischal College. Anne's father, Duncan, was educated there and was Dean of Faculty there from 1827 to 1833; Patrick was also educated there. 4th May The packing is in preparation for the family's move to Inchmarlo for the summer. There was a regular steamer service from Aberdeen to Edinburgh and London. 5th May The toll bar at Rubislaw no longer exists, of course, but the small stone-built toll building is still there. I seem to remember that it houses a rather nice licensed grocery store. 6th May Sorry they had a cold and damp day. It has been absolutely glorious here today - I spent the whole time out of doors including half an hour sitting on a rock in the middle of a river. Poor Anne, she was probably longing to go and see the elephant but instead acts rather snooty about it...but she's very young! 7th May I wonder how long it took Al to get to Pitlochry - and how he went....Presumably over Glenshee, the Devil's Elbow and Kirkmichael - quite a journey. 9th May Flamborough (current spelling) Head is North-East of York and one of the coastal points mentioned daily on the shipping forecast. It is interesting that a letter, presumably posted in London no earlier than Tuesday has already reached Aberdeen by Thursday! Pretty good going by post horse - perhaps partly by train.... We are not certain always to receive letters from London so quickly. 10th May The following are some words by Charles Dickens on Cooke's circus: " Cooke's Circus (Mr.Cooke is my friend, and always leaves a good
name behind him) gives us only a night in passing through. Nor does
the travelling May 12th Al has to go up to Strathdon , about 30 due west of Aberdeen, beyond Alford, often on business. The family had property there. May 13th Kate is Duncan's wife in India. May 14th Charlie is Anne's younger brother who has never settled to a career or a regular life. There is a lot of correspondence between Charlie and the rest of the family over many years, imploring him to mend his ways. May 16th Anne did not write anything in her Journal today. May 17th No entry for this date. Missing entries like this is very unusual in the time Anne kept her diary. The reason will become apparent! May 18th No entry today May 19th No entry today May 20th So that's why she hasn't written! Things will settle down now. May 21st. This is one of the few occasions where it is difficult for me to decipher Anne's writing. I think Monbodo is the right name. I do not know how old Margaret Pirie would have been. May 22nd May is a good month, weather-wise. in Scotland. We too have had our share of "very hot" weather over the last few weeks. A friend of mine refers to the "May anti-cyclone" as a reliable phenomenon. I am intrigued by the reference to "the Races" and will try to find out what this means - horse races? sailing races? If the former they might have taken place at Hazelhead, Seaton or Pittodrie. Anyone out there know? May 23rd Bridge of Canny is about a mile and a half to the West from Inchmarlo. May 25th I assume that a "heavy tea" might be like "high tea" popular in Scotland until the 1970s-80s - something cooked followed by tea and cakes, but I wait to be corrected if I am wrong. May 28th Potarch is nowadays best known for the bridge across the Dee. At the Northern end there used to be a couple of millstones used often as a test of strength. May 29th. The weather is very different in 2002 - endless heavy showers and strong winds for the last week!. The Canny is a small tributary of the Dee, just West of Inchmarlo June 2nd I have no idea who Mrs. Young is or why it should be interesting that her sister and son are expected! June 3rd Although Anne does not say so, I think Alec was in Edinburgh to sort out arrangements for Charlie who is always in trouble financially and in other ways. June 4th Raemoir is now a top quality hotel - you can go there yourself for luncheon - but not with the Innes family. June 5th We have had the opposite weather - on June 3rd we woke to pouring rain and were really worried that the children's party to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee would have to be cancelled. However, it cleared up beautifully and we were able to have 3 hours in the sun with the 100+ village children playing old-fashioned games, running sack and wheelbarrow races, etc and having their home-made crowns judged. If a bright blue balloon alights in your garden it may have come from here - call in as the furthest travelled wins a prize! June 10th What can a Campfield/lampfield be? Any ideas? June 12th I only wish it were excessively hot here! In fact it is rather cool. However there is quite a lot of growth in the garden. It seems surprising that there were enough people with greenhouses to permit a horticultural show in Banchory this early in June! NOTE I will be away for about a week - illness in the family. No-one else in the family knows how to update the site, so please be patient. I will be back. June 13th. Amazing that they should have pictures of Duncan with his black nurse. We have these in a photo album, but I assumed they were taken much later - strange that photography should be used in India before it was commonly available in Scotland. Someone amongst Kate & Duncan's acquaintances must have been an enthusiast. Looking at our albums I find that the photo I have is of a later child than Duncan, taken some few years later. June 15th It was also very windy in Newtonmore on June 15th 2002. My friend described it as a hurricane - and all our carefully erected strawberry netting had to be put back in place..... The Mill was presumably being prepared for Mrs M'Gregor's summer season in Banchory. She may have owned it or rented it from someone else - this was normal practice in those days. June 16th The Church matters referred to were the great changes which were happening in the church in Scotland at this time,, known as the Disruption. They caused great upheaval and divisions in communities and even in families and were of great significance throughout society. June 18th Anne has to contend with the death of many people dear to her - often at a much earlier age than we are used to. Mr. Scott is the preacher who has been behaving rather strangely of late. June 19th Accounts and rent collecting were done very regularly in a six-month cycle - difficult for the poor working on the land, who would have had to make sure any payments were carefully rationed out to last the full six months. Anne and her sisters were quite often involved in this work, perhaps more on the domestic side - paying off accounts to shops, dressmakers, etc. June 20th This is fast indeed! It is probably par for the course today in a car, but to make it by carriage on rough roads in under half an hour suggests break-neck recklessness! I presume the sundries were things for the household at Inchmarlo that she had been commissioned to buy by her Mother or the servants. June 21st I suppose this is some sort of dinner club attended by her Father and brothers. Not sure what the children have recovered from! Vittoria was a battle in the Peninsular wars involving Wellington, one of Anne's heroes. June 24th So interesting to see how Anne writes sums of money. For any non-British reading this, when we still had pounds shillings and pence we would write it £2.5s.0d, rather than the form Anne has used. Mrs Milne has lost her "e" - this really is transcribed as she writes it. June 25th Just for the record, there is a very cold wind here, today, too. Not very encouraging when we have just passed Mid-summer's Day! I can only suppose that Anne has underlined "Col" (with a double underlining in her handwriting) because of Mrs. McDonald's sense of status! Interesting, too, to see how Mac was written in Victorian Scotland. June 27th This underlining and the double exclamation marks make me think perhaps this is an in-joke to be with some young soldier..... June 28th For Anne at 20, 40 years must seem a long time to have been married! Sir Andrew Hay is the owner of Seaton, now converted into Seaton Park July 8th I imagine that there must have been at least as many servants involved in this project, to carry the food, rugs, china etc, then to clear up. I suppose the evening came to an end with the eating of a veal pie rather than that the tent was terminated by one! Pic.nic is Anne's own spelling. July 15th. Delighted to say it has not rained at all here - so hopefully we will be spared 40 days and nights of rain! I suppose that Aleck stayed on in Aberdeen most of the time to look after the business. I also suppose that the gentlemen "walking about in the evening" means they were discussing business - or perhaps gossiping? July 16th Skolty (now spelled Scolty, is a hill just to the south-west of Banchory, a smallish hill. July 25th Is Anne's disgust caused by the idea of having to see "the Campbells" again or because they have committed some faux pas by leaving their message? For the record, it certainly hasn't been very warm in this part of Scotland on the 25th July 2002 July 27th It seems to have been acceptable for one family to visit another family's house and garden without necessarily seeing the family at all. If you watched the BBC's recent adaptation of Pride & Prejudice you will have seen Elizabeth and her aunt and uncle doing precisely that at Mr. Darcy's country seat. July 28th Mr. Scott is obviously still continuing with his rather erratic behaviour - see Anne's entry for June 9th. July 29th Think of Aleck trotting and galloping the 15+ miles between Aberdeen and Inchmarlo in windy weather - very romantic to us, maybe less so for him. Presumably a hot bath and clean clothes would be ready for him. August 1st This is the beginning of nearly a month's trip. James and I find it particularly interesting because the journey is one we did frequently during the 1970s - but it took us about 3 hours whereas it takes Anne and her family about 3 days by carriage. The Cairn O Mount is still a wild and beautiful place - the site of my first viewing of the Northern Lights and frequent sightings of arctic hare holding some sort of Parliament at the road side. If you want to find more about Fettercairn I suggest you try www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/fettercairn and you can see a picture of Kinnaird at www.catrionafraser.com/kinnaird.html August 2nd "Wild hearts" I interpret to mean gypsies, or travelling people - perhaps wrongly. I would not envy the two women bathing in the water of the Tay, even in August - it would probably quite chilly.... August 3rd I found the following piece about Burntisland as it was in 1836: There is a regular post-office, the revenue of which amounted, some years ago to about L. 300; but, from the decay of trade, is now understood to fall short of that sum. The communication with Edinburgh, by means of the post, is twice-a-day. There are about five miles of turnpike road, but no public carriages travel regularly through any part of the parish. The Dundee and Perth coaches come occasionally this way, when the weather is too severe to admit of the passengers embarking at Pettycur. This being one of the stations of the Fife and MidLothian ferries, there is regular communication by steam with Newhaven; but great complaints are made of the extravagance of the fares, which are 2s. in the cabin, and 1s. 6d. steerage, very high rates, it must be allowed, for a distance short of six miles , In addition to the steam-vessels, there are large sailing-boats which ply at tide time every lawful day, and are principally employed in carrying goods, etc.
A young man wrote the following about his trip from Brechin to Edinburgh in 1815, some 30 years before.... "..in November, 1815, when twelve years of age, I set out for the
University of Edinburgh. No steamboats nor railways at that time, nor even
stage-coaches always. Lads going to college were sometimes glad of a cast on
a carrier s cart, and ,such was our condition between Forfar and Dundee, there
being no coach on that road. Spending the night in Dundee, we crossed the Tay
next day in a pinnace, and travelled two or three stages through Fife on the top
of the coach. My tutor requiring to observe a rigid economy, we made out the
last stage of ten miles to Pettycur on foot, intending to spend the night there,
and cross the Forth next morning to Edinburgh. Like "Canny Scots,"
however, we thought it well. to call for the bill, and, by the charge made for.
tea, see how we were to get on. Ignorant of the world, we stood aghast at the
charge of eighteen pence for each. Having dined in Kirkaldy some hour or two
before, we had eaten little, and looked on this charge as an outrageous swindle
- I, like a boy (as Mr. Simpson used afterwards to tell with much glee),
regretting that I had allowed any of the viands set before us to leave the table
unconsumed! We resolved to get out as quickly as possible from what we took to
be a "den of. thieves," and so, the moment we had paid the bill, made
off for the pier to cross the Firth of Forth by the six o clock boat, which was
an open pinnace. By this time the night had fallen down wet and stormy. We two were the only passengers who appeared, and, as such a small freight promised poor remuneration to the crew, they were unwilling to put out to sea, but at last were compelled by the superintendent to start. When a short way out on the tumbling waves, which, as this was the first day I had ever been at sea, I looked on with considerable fear, my fears changed into terror when, seeing us to be two "greenhorns," the boatmen threatened to pitch us overboard unless we paid them double or treble the proper fare. But a woman whom we were called back to take in came opportunely to our relief, gave them as good as she got, and, snapping her fingers at their threats, with a tongue as loose as theirs, and more mother-wit, answered these fools according to their folly" You will find photographs and information about Balbirnie and Falkland Palace at the following addresses: 4th August Visitors obviously went to see the same things we do - Princes Street garden and Calton Hotel... Dr. Candlish was the founder of the Free Church of Scotland. Read more about him at www.newble.co.uk/candlish/biography/html 5th August Find out more about Craigmillar Castle at www.caledoniancastles.co.uk/castles/lothian/craigmillar.htm Find out more about Duddingston Loch at www.frotunecity.com/athena/exercise/2492/DUDDINGSTON
August 6th. I can hardly bear to think of dentistry in 1844! How courageous Anne and the others must be ! I think the College Museum must be what is now known as The Museum of Scotland which has recently had an award-winning extension. Find a photo of it at www.news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/scotland/1250025.stm The Writers' library I think must be the library of the Writers to the Signet (solicitors) and you can find details at www.signetlibrary.co.uk/libhist.htm Find information about the Advocates' Library at www.advocates.org.uk/web/lib1.htm Parliament House is described at www.svtc.org.uk/resources/history/parliament/parlhouse.html 7th August See photographs and details of Rosslyn Chapel (now world famous because of Dan Brown and the Da Vinci Code) at and of Dalkeith Palace at www.boughtonhouse.org.uk/htm/other/dalkeith.htm 8th August I remember going to the dentist for my own first filling in the 1940s. The machinery was huge, black and menacing. Imagine what it must have been like in 1844!! George Street is still well known for its art galleries. It would be interesting to know whether Mr. William Forbes sitting an age was a pleasure or a pain... 9th August A tour of Edinburgh "sights" very familiar to the tourist 162 years later. Except perhaps the Museum of the Highland Agricultural Society. Anne would probably be surprised that her great-great nephew (my husband, James) eventually had the post of Chief Executive of the Royal Highland & Agricultural Society of Scotland as it later became. Had they gone to Edinburgh Castle on August 9th 2002 they'd have found the Military Tattoo in full swing! has interesting aerial maps of Edinburgh, including Queen Street Gardens See Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood at: www.ebs.hw.ac.uk/EDC/guide/edincas.html www.ebs.hw.ac.uk/EDC/guide/holyrood.html August 12th I think the inn at Kinross may have been The Green Hotel: Lots about Loch Leven and its castle at the Kinross site and at www.uk.attractions.com/central-scotland/loch-leven-castle.htm Scone Palace at August 13th Glenfarg is now bypassed by the M90 Edinburgh-Perth road. It is well worth a diversion - a twisting road along the river and through old trees - it is much nicer to drive now than it was when very busy. Ossian's Hall is at The Hermitage, off the main road past Dunkeld. It is a wonderfully dramatic place still and well worth the walk through the woods to it. You can see the tallest tree in the UK there.
August 14th Couldn't agree more about Bruar Falls, but rather surprised that Anne didn't think much of Blair Castle, when most people think it's a great example of a Scottish castle.! You can see lovely pictures at the falls at www.m-j-s.net/photo/scot1995/1995-01-22090000.htm and read all about Blair Castle at Also see the Pass of Killiecrankie at www.nts.org.uk/killiecrankie.html I think Anne may have stayed at the inn at Kirkmichael, now Strathardle Inn. Visit their website at August 20th Poor Anne is suffering from anti-climax after her exciting trip! August 22nd The mourning they are coming out of must be for Margaret Pirie, their cousin, who died on 23rd May. Playing at night presumably refers to the piano. August 23rd Weather just as bad here today! August 25th I hope this does not mean that the "car" was pulled by servants, but I fear it might. Does anyone know? I wonder why the horses could not go out August 27th James is, I think, Anne's favourite brother. He lived and worked in London and had a lot to do with the theatre which I suspect the family did not quite approve of. Augst 29th I think this answers my query of August 25th. The car must be a smaller vehicle pulled by ponies rather than the carriage which needs horses. August 31st I am afraid the Editor has to be away for a week or more, due to family illness. I will bring you up to date with Anne's activities on my return. September 21st I am sorry to have had such a long absence. I hope you will be glad to know that my sister is making a good recovery from her heart operation and I am back in diary mode again. Enjoy! September 24th Just to say that it has been "beautifully fine here for the last two days. Wonderful to have an Indian summer! December 13th 2002 Here we are in early December. My profound apologies. I shall never again complain about an author's advance... the work involved in preparing a manuscript in a form acceptable to the publishers is very arduous - especially when added to all the other things in one's life! The author's advance, by the way, for a first-time author, is about the equivalent of one month's salary for an 18-year-old - not the huge sums you read about in the papers! So here Anne is again and I will try not to slip so badly again in future! I imagine that Kemlo (one of the maids) was superstitious after this if not before. It's only about 20 miles from Banchory to Aberdeen - and it took three hours in driving snow - very uncomfortable and cold - especially for the coachman. 19th December This sounds as if it may have been a punishment - keeping to your room all day and knitting a shoe! Presumably a baby's shoe? I think this may be a way of saying that she has her period and cannot go out. So many things to be guessed at. 20th December I think the expression "term party" refers to the end of the legal session, remembering that Aleck is running the family law firm. Perhaps the senior clerks were invited? It would be interesting to know if it was their first assembly because they were young or because the family doesn't really approve - they seem to be quite conservative. 21st December The town very full ... but no mention of Christmas as yet. 25th December As you see, Christmas is noted, but hardly celebrated - Aleck goes off on business and Anne spends the evening practising her music! The fact that Old Thomas and Mary, former servants, spent the day there is significant, however. 25th December 2002 Merry Christmas from the Davidson family in Newtonmore. Not a white Christmas this time, but mild and clear. Wonderful sunset. 26th December It seems that the children have been given gifts of money, so perhaps Christmas was recognised for them.... 28th December Poor Pat! I hope the leeches helped! Which is worse - the toothache or the thought of leeches???? For a list of names mentioned in Anne's journal to this date, click here For a list of houses/places mentioned in the Journals, to this date, click here For notes on entries to the 1845 journal, click here
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