A little
over three years ago I penned a couple of pieces regarding my
Stornowegian grandfather, John Kerr (1875-1936) and at last I am able
to fill in some of the gaps, most notably identifying who my late
father, Ian Brown Kerr, acquired his rather unusual middle name from!
The Post
Office directories for Aberdeen reveal that in 1902/3 John Kerr was
the manager of The Steam Herring Fleet Ltd and that in 1903/4 his
role has been taken by John Brown, fish salesman, of Redhall,
Fourdon. He, in turn was replaced as manager from 1904/5 until
1910/11 by A. Robertson but another entry for John Brown provided the
Aberdeen address of 10 Marine Terrace in additional to that of
Redhall, Fordoun.
Fortunately,
the Brown family were already resident at 10 Marine Terrace at the
time of the 1901 census which show the family headed by the
Aberdonian 45 year old shipowner of steam vessels alongside his wife,
Barbara, and their four children, one of whom is the 17 year old son
John Brown who is a fishing book keeper. There are, as we might
expect, also a cook and a housemaid in residence.
The
Brown family's other residence was Redhall House in Fordoun,
Aberdeenshire and a little information about it appears at the RCAHMS
site:
and it
will make an appearance later in this tale.
Before
moving forward, I should like to take a step back to the 1891 census
for then the 35 year old John Brown was a fish curer living at 9
Millburn Street. The significance of the address is that, by 1901, my
grandfather was lodging across the road at number 12
However
it is a series of articles that appeared in the Aberdeen Journal that
provide the information for what followed and I should explain at
this point that I have only accessed the opening sentences (shown in
italics) to each one rather than the complete articles. I have made
comments where necessary but otherwise let the articles speak for
themselves.
12
Oct 1904: Presentation Mr John Kerr.—Last evening John Kerr, of the
Aberdeen Steam Trawling and Fishing Company, was waited upon number
of friends in the Douglas Hotel and presented with handsome aneroid
barometer, for himself, and a repeating carriage clock...
On the
19 October 1904 my grandparents were married so it is safe to assume
that the barometer and clock were their gifts from the Aberdeen Steam
Trawling and Fishing Company. This is, in fact the earliest reference
that I have to my grandfather's employment with that particular
business.
1 Dec
1904: PRESENTATION TO .MR JOHN BROWN Jr.. OF REDHALL. Mr John Brown,
Jr., of Redhall, was, the occasion of his attaining his majority, met
last night the Imperial Hotel, Aberdeen, by the members of the office
staffs of the Aberdeen Steam Trawling and Fishing...
16
May 1906: PRESENTATION TO MISS BROWN OF REDHALL received by Mr and
Mrs Brown and family. Mr John Kerr made the presentation the 'gifts,
which consisted of a cabinet of Silver cutlery, a plate affixed to
the cabinet bearing following inscription:—Presented to Miss Brown
of Redhall the occasion of her...
Assuming
this to be Elizabeth Brown, who was born in 1883, then this would
have been her engagement present, presumably from the Aberdeen Steam
Trawling and Fishing Company as that would explain my grandfather's
involvement. It might also have been her youngest sister. Lily's,
coming of age but I find that less likely given the nature of the
gift!
23
Jul 1907: PRESENTATION TO MISS BROWN OF REDHALL The directors the
Aberdeen Steam Trawling and Fishing Company, Limited—of which Mr
John Brown Redhall chairman —visited Red hall yesterday for the
purpose presenting wedding gift to Miss Brown the occasion
approaching...
29
Jul 1907: MARRIAGE OF MISS BROWN, REDHALL. PRETTY WEDDING AT FORDOUN.
An interesting and pretty wedding took place at Fordoun Parish Church
on Saturday afternoon, when Miss Elizabeth Brown, daughter of Mr John
Brown, of Redhall, was married William Bradley Trimmer...
26
Oct 1907: HONOUR TO MR JOHN KERR, ABERDEEN. DINNER AND PRESENTATION.
Mr John Kerr, chief assistant to Messrs John Brown and Son,
trawlowners and fish salesmen, Aberdeen, was entertained dinner in
the Imperial Hotel last night, and made the recipient of gift from...
I
am presuming that my grandfather was leaving his work as Chief
Assistant to the Brown's to take up his duties with the Congested
Districts Board in Ireland.
15
Jun 1909: John Kerr, chief superintendent of fisheries, Congested
District Board, Ireland, is visit at present to his family at
Aberdeen. Mr Kerr had run down in health, and has been granted leave
from the Board. He is disappointed being away from business this...
I don't
know the details of my grandfather's ill health at this time, but
neither did I know that he had become the Chief Superintendent of
Fisheries for the Congested Districts Board of Ireland, my aunt's
birth certificate having omitted the significant word 'chief'!
29
Jul 1918: OFFICERS' BIOGRAPHIES Captain John Brown, Gordon
Highlanders, only son Mr John Brown Redhall, has been killed in
action. Captain Brown was in the Aberdeen Territorial Battalion of
the Gordon Highlanders at the outbreak of war. He was partner the
firm of Messrs. John Brown & Son...
This
came as a shock. The 34 year old John Brown died on the 20 July 1918
and his memorial may be seen
here.http://twgpp.org/information.php?id=1854547
I don't
know which John Brown my grandfather had in mind when he gave my
father the middle name 'Brown', but the death of John Brown Jr in the
later stages of World War I seems to add poignancy to him having
borne the name.
5 Jun
1920: MR BROWN OF REDHALL KNIGHTED. Public Service Recognised.
PIONEER OF THE TRAWLING INDUSTRY. The King,, on the occasion his
birthday, has conferred the honour of knighthood on Mr John Brown of
Redhall in recognition of public services not only in...
John
Brown becomes Sir John Brown two years after losing his only son.
1 May
1926: SIR JOHN BROWN RETIRES. Fish Trade's G.O.M. FORTY-THREE YEARS
IN THE INDUSTRY. Sir John Brown of Redhall, the 'Grand Old Man' of
the trawlowning community of Aberdeen, yesterday went out of harness
to enjoy a well-earned retirement...
It was
not to be...
30
Apr 1928: DEATH OF SIR JOHN BROWN. A Fishing Pioneer. FORTY-THREE
YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY. The death has occurred, after six months'
iliness, of Sir John Brown of Redhall, Fordoun, one of the last of
the pioneers of the trawl fishing and allied industries in
Aberdeen...
3 May
1928: LATE SIR JOHN BROWN. Large Body of Mourners at Funeral. The
high respect in which the late Sir John Brown of Redhall was held was
reflected in the representative character of the large body of
mourners who followed the remains from Marine Terrace, Aberdeen.
14
Jul 1928: ABERDEEN FORTUNES Sir John Brown of Redhall, Fordoun,
Kincardineshire, and Marine Terrace, Aberdeen £107,521...
5 Oct
1929: NO OFFERS FOR REDHALL. The estate of Redhall, in the parishes
Fourdoun and Laurencekirk, belonging to the late Sir John Brown, was
offered for sale in the Douglas Hotel to-day, at a reduced... There
were no offers this figure...
A very
sad end to the story but I'm glad to have seen something of my
grandfather's relationship with the 'Grand Old Man' of Aberdeen's
trawloning industry.
I
suppose it's also a wee part of the story of Stornowegian
contributions to the Scottish fishing industry, and I mustn't finish
without reminding myself that grandfather's grandfather was a
seafaring Hearach to the core!
Fascinating as Sir John Brown was my great-grandfather. His daughter Lily (known as Dolly to her birth family and later as Mop) married Alexander Gibb who was a granite merchant. He worked for the family firm, Robert Gibb & Sons in Aberdeen. They had one son who also had a 'Brown' in his name - Alexander John Brown Gibb. He became a GP and moved to Derbyshire after serving as a medical officer in the RAF. This was six weeks after I was born. He got his own practice in Barkingside, Essex in 1958 and the family moved to Chigwell in Essex. My grandmother, Lily/Dolly/Mop came to live with us after my grandfather died in 1958. I discovered recently that the house that my grandparents built in 1939 in Springfield Road, Aberdeen (in granite, obviously) was demolished in 2014 to make way for a Macarthy & Stone retirement development. The house was sold in 1959, but I remember it well and was rather sorry to hear of its demise.
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