Large Family - James Crockart (1817-1896) and Helen Anderson (1823-1869)

     
       My tree is full to overflowing with large families, but this week I’ve decided to write about the Crockart family. Several weeks ago I wrote about Alice Robertson Crawford; this is her mother’s family.
       James Crockart was born 5th APR 1817 in Methven, Perthshire, Scotland. His baptism record reads “5th APR 1817 Born James son to William Crockatt, wright, Braegrain, and Anne Gregor his wife. Baptized 17th”.  His father was a Toll keeper and it was expected that James would follow in his father’s footsteps. In 1841 he was living with his sister and collecting tolls in Newbigging, Angus, Scotland. That same year on September 5th he married Helen Anderson, daughter of David Anderson and Isobel Lindsey. However James had talents that went beyond collecting tolls. In his spare time he began teaching himself how to use mechanical tools including turning-lathe and other tools connected with gun and rod-making. According to a write-up on his life he taught himself to make fishing rods, guns, and even Violins by “pure force of mechanical genius”.
In 1851 James and Helen were still living in Newbigging and James was still collecting tolls, but this time he added a second occupation to his census listing “Gun and Tackle Maker”. The family had also added four children and a household servant to their number, though their oldest son David was living with his aunt Elizabeth Anderson at the time of the census. It was the next year in 1852 that James made his final home in Blairgowrie and it was there that he was able to fully devote himself to the craft of gun making. He started a shop on Wellmeadow Street and was so successful that he moved the shop to a larger space on Allen Street, where the shop stands to this day.
James was a true craftsman, not only did he make every part of his guns and fishing rods, but he also made all of his own tools, no matter how complex. He reportedly improved the design of his rifles, but did not patent the design, and it was widely copied throughout the country. In his younger years he also made violins and his will mentions one violin in particular that he made in 1843.
      In 1858 James’s third son, James Jr. died at eight years old of “Effusion in brain”, most likely caused by meningitis and was buried at the parish church at Blairgowrie. Despite this sad loss the family continued to grow. In 1861 James and Helen were still living on Allen St. with their eight children, ages 16 years to 11 months. His two oldest sons were apprentices in his gun shop, while his oldest daughter Ann was help at home. All the rest of the children were in school or too young for an occupation.

In 1869 James lost his wife, Helen. She died at their home on Allen Street of phthisis, an old word for a wasting disease that was probably tuberculosis, after a sickness of twelve months. She died a week after her youngest son, and twelfth child, Thomas Stewart Crockart was born. Thomas was sent to live with his Aunt Ann Crockart Stewart, James’s sister, and her husband Thomas Stewart in Brechin Landward, Angus. The rest of the children stayed with James and in 1871 he was a widow living with seven of his twelve children. His oldest three were, by that time married, or living on their own.
In 1872 he married again to Ann Robertson. She was a widow with two children from her previous marriage to Alexander Brown, a local Butcher. They were married at the Blairgowrie Free Church of Scotland, where James was a Deacon for many years.  He was a devout Christian; on his death his pastor said of him “Only his family and some of the flock to whom he acted with a peculiarly fatherly regard can be aware of his freedom and joy in the exercise of family worship. But I share with them the remembrance of his prayers, and his rich fullness in the word of God. It seemed his meat and drink.” James’s second marriage lasted only 9 years. In 1881 he and Ann were listed on the census living together in the Allen Street house with five of James’s children and one of Ann’s sons. However, Ann died that same year and several years later in 1886 James’s unmarried daughter Elizabeth also died of heart disease. In 1891 James and his unmarried daughter Margaret were living together.
James’s closest friend was another sportsman named Dr. Lunan. Together they entered various shooting contests in Aberdeen, Forfar, and St. Andrews, and, using guns constructed by James himself, won many contests and trophies in various shooting contests. However, James was unable to continue using a gun after he was accidentally shot in the head and throat with a shotgun. When the Doctor died in the mid-1890s it was quite a blow to James and he did not recover. Soon after he grew seriously ill, and, though he recovered, he died a year or so later of cancer. His will left his share of the shop to his son William and split the remainder of his estate between the rest of his children, including his deceased daughter Ann’s family. He was survived by nine of his twelve children.

1. David Crockart b 6 January 1845 in Meigle, the oldest son of James and Helen Crockart. He took

   

   Helen, David and Jessie
   Crockart

   up his father’s trade of gunmaking, but did not stay at his father’s shop. David moved to Sterling and opened his own Gun shop. David married Margaret Bisset on 12 Nov 1874 and they had six children together. David died 9 Feb 1922 in Sterling.
2. William Crockart b 24 August 1846 in Meigle, the second son of James and Helen Crockart. He apprenticed under his father and worked in his father's gunshop and eventually became a partner in the shop. When his father died the entire shop, "Jas Crockart and Sons", was left to William. William Married Margaret Robina Baird 13 Jan 1871 and they had three children. William died after a long illness on 6 October 1909 in Blairgowrie.
3. Ann Crockart (my ancestor) was born April 1st 1848 in Meigle, the oldest daughter of James and Helen Crockart. On 26 June 1868 she gave birth to her first child, Annie Robertson, at her father’s house on Allen Street. Ann was not married to Annie’s father, a Joiner named James Robertson, and her daughter was listed as illegitimate. James, however, did recognize his daughter, and even signed the birth register as an informant. James and Ann married several months later on 11 Nov 1868 at the Blairgowrie Church of Scotland, rather than her father’s Free Church. Soon after James and Ann moved to Forfar, where James probably had family connections on his mother’s side. The  growing family lived at various addresses in Forfar between 1871 and

   

   Ann Crockart

   1891. Like her mother Ann had a large family, giving birth to ten children between 1868 and 1890, and also like her mother she died young of TB on 22 August 1892. When her father died several years later her children were specifically allowed an equal share in the family inheritance with Ann’s siblings. However, their father first had to pay back a debt he owed to the Crockart gun firm and another he owned to Ann’s father. Ann’s husband remarried a few years after Ann’s death to his housekeeper Susan Ramsey and had five more children with her. 
4. James Crockart was born January 6th 1850 in Meigle, the third son of James and Helen Crockart. He died after a sickness lasting ten days of “Effusion of the brain” when he was only 8 on April 29th 1858.
5. Elizabeth Crockart was born December 22nd 1851 in Meigle, the second daughter of James
   and Helen Crockart. She never married and worked in various roles, including housekeeping, and working in her father's gunshop. In 1886 she died at the age of 34 of heart disease, which

   

   Margaret Crockart

   she had suffered from for many years. Perhaps the disease was the reason she never married.
6. Margaret Crockart was born 1854 in Blairgowrie, the third daughter of James and Helen Crockart. She never married and lived with her father until his death in 1896. Her father made sure to provide for her in his will. In 1901 she was "living on own means" in Blairgowrie. She died 27 Aug 1909 in Albert Cottage. Her brother Robert was granted Admin of her estate.

   

   Robert Crockart

7. Robert Crockart was born b 12 February 12th 1856 in Blairgowrie, the fourth son of James and Helen Crockart. He worked under his father in his father's gunshop, and later worked under his brother. However, unlike William, he did not become a partner and did not become a partner and did not inherit the shop. His father did leave Robert his tricycle, in addition to his share of the family money, for his "manliness of character", his "great skill and efficiency and perseverance in his valued work in the Firm, and last though not least his devotion to the service of The Great Divine Master." That last was a reference to the street preaching and revival meeting where Robert preached every Saturday for many years. Robert married Helen Jean Beckett and they had six children. His two oldest sons became foreign missionaries and his youngest son, David, was killed in World War I. Robert died 3 July 1935 having lived in Blairgowrie all his life. 
8. Andrew Crockart was born May 30th 1858 in Blairgowrie, the fifth son of James and Helen

   

   Andrew Crockart

   Crcokart. Unlike his older brothers Andrew did not follow his father into the gunmaking trade and instead became a ship’s engineer, moving to South Hampton England. In 1918 he married Eliza Alexander Hyde
9. John Crockart was born April 9th 1860 in Blairgowrie, the sixth son of James and Helen Crockart. He worked as Joiner and lived in Blairgowrie. He was married three times. First to Margaret Ruxton Jamison in 1887. They had one daughter, Mary, before Margaret died in 1888. Second to Mary Henderson Farmer in 1895. They had a son, David in 1895, who probably died young. Mary died in 1907. John married his third wife, Helen Lyon Riech, in 1920. He died in 1936 and she outlived him by two years.
10. Helen Crockart was born April 10th 1863 in Blairgowrie, the fourth daughter of James and Helen Crockart. She married Joseph Bell and lived in Chicago for a time, where their son William Crockart Bell was born in 1890. By 1901 they were back in Blairgowrie. Helen died 15 December 1921 and admin of her estate was given to her husband.
11. Jessie Crockart was born March 12th 1865 in Blairgowrie, the fifth and youngest daughter of James and Helen Crockart. She was living with her father in 1871 and 1881, but does not seem to appear on further censuses or marriage and death records. She was probably alive when her father died in 1896 as he was reportedly survived by “three daughters”.

    

    Thomas S Crockart

12. Thomas Stewart Crockart was born April 9th 1869 in Blairgowrie, the seventh son, and youngest child of James and Helen Crockart. He was born a week before his mother's death and was sent to live with his aunt Ann Crockart Stewart. He eventually moved to England where he worked as and Ironmouge and married a woman named Jane. They had three children.