Chapter 3C: Life in Strathdon during the 19th Century

We know what we do (At least, I know what I do.) of Strathdon in the 19th century through some family records, covered in more detail in the next chapter, but also through records of vital statistics, the systematic collection of which began with the 1841 Census and has been taken every decade thereafter.[1] In these records covering the 19th century, Strathdon is divided into seven districts, with Lochrie (the Glennie homestead) and Tollafraick (the Reid homestead) placed in the 7th. The exhibits and discussion below are based on the censuses of this district only, unless otherwise noted.

[1] The earliest census of the area including Strathdon was reported in the Aberdeenshire Pollbook of 1696, which includes a section on nearby Glenbucket Because borders shifted over the years, I can only say for certainty that Glenbucket was at least near Strathdon and could have been apart of it. In reviewing a copy of this record, I found 3 individuals with the surname Reid, but none with Glennie. The purpose of this early census was to establish a poll tax and collection of census type data was not continued until the mid 19th century.

Findings from the Strathdon Censuses

The 3 censuses of Strathdon (District 7) of 1841, 1851 and 1861[1] were examined with care, these being reflective of the times leading up to John Glennie’s departure for the New World in 1870. Differences in classifications of some of the data recorded and modifications of the scope of the survey make some comparisons of interest questionable, but what seems reasonably sure is reported herein.

From the first of theses censuses, the Glennie family is shown with Lochrie as its homestead and farm and the Reids are at Tollafraick. In fact, from separate records, we know that the Reids had been at Tollafraick for “generations”[2] by the mid-19^th century and the Glennies had been at Lochrie since the middle of the 18^th century, having moved from “Rinnavohn”(also “Rinnavoan”), a farm also in Strathdon.[3]

From 1841 – 1851, Strathdon’s residents endured hard times. The population dropped from 209 to 177 and the number of homesteads from 39 to 31. Because these numbers rebounded to some extent in the following decade, serious hardship must have befallen local residents during this decade. A prime candidate is the potato blight that hit the Highlands in the late 1840s, at about the same time as it did Ireland with consequences that were severe although not as catastrophic as in its neighbor to the West. In addition, cattle prices were down during this period, causing higher than usual numbers of tenants to fall into arrears. [4] These factors, together, may explain at least some of this downturn in Strathdon’s population.

The decade ending in 1861 brought a lot of change to Strathdon, and the Glennies and Reids in particular. The size of the average farm had grown substantially, from about 27 acres to 42, with the largest farm in 1861 increasing to 140 acres from 90 a decade before. Smaller farms at this later date appear to be headed by older people or laborers than earlier, suggesting that small parcels may not have been sufficient to sustain growing families. At the same time, even though the population returned to close to the 1841 level, the percentage of the population listed as living on farms dropped from about 66% to 57%. Farming was becoming more efficient, a sign of the times.

The experiences at Lochrie and Tollafraick comported with the general picture, although these 2 farms seemed to do better than most. They comprised 48 and 40 acres, respectively, in 1851 and Lochrie grew to 60 by 1861 (There are no comparable data for 1841.), making them (particularly Lochrie, of course) among the largest holdings in the 7^th district.[5]

While agriculture dominated Strathdon’s economy during these years, it was not the only economic activity there. A wool mill claiming 9 people in 1841 employed 14 in both 1851 and 1861, more than even the largest of the farms. A blacksmith is shown to be in residence at the time of all 3 censuses. But there were signs of downturn as well. By 1861, Strathdon (district 7) no longer was home to a surgeon. A school had closed and the schoolmaster had left.

The estate of the Strathdon gentry was apparently at Glenkendie, and there life was very different, indeed. Listed under several separate tracts, all called “Glenkendie,” occupations reported included masons, a stone finisher, a miller, tailor, gardener, and, in the 1851 census, a “retired advocate,” or attorney. This would be Alexander Leith, a graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge and son of General Sir Alexander Leith, a peer. By 1861, Glenkendie was headed by Mary Anna Leith, described as “landed proprietor’s wife”, who resided with her 5 servants. Interestingly, in 1861 Ernest and Isobel Reid (gardener and gardener’s wife) are reported in residence in Glenkendie with their daughter, Ann, a dressmaker, although I know of no connection between these Reids and my grandmother’s family.

The decades of the 1850s – 1860s is also the time when many of those in the Glennie and Reid families who would emigrate to America were born, but more about that later.

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[1] Insert source for Census.

[2] Source - Potter

[3] Glennie, Charles D., A Short History of the Glennie Family. Circa 1950, p.1. By the 1861 census, Rinnavoan, also in Strathdon’s 7^th district, is a farm of 65 acres headed by the Dickson family, with whom there is no known connection.

[4] See Devine, pp. 413, 420

[5] When the last of the Glennies migrated in the late 1880s, these 2 farms were merged into one.

Health Conditions in Strathdon during the mid to late 19^th century

Conditions of health and longevity were not so much different in Strathdon than other places in Scotland, or, for that matter, the US, during the mid 19^th century. Infant mortality was high, death from causes now routinely cured was the norm, and average life expectancy was in a range today considered to be in the far side of middle age, not elderly. Even though health conditions in Strathdon seemed to fit the norm for the times, I was struck by how harsh life was for many and how painful final days of life must have been for most. Many died without medical attention. However, there was marked improvement in the well being of the Strathdon’s residents starting in 1865 or so. This development is worth a short diversion from our main story.

Strathdon[1] Deaths in Selected Years[2]

	1856	1864	1875	1881
Total Deaths	33	31	29	18
Average Age at Death[3]	51.5	52.8	62	55
% of Deaths < style="" href="#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title="">[4]	15%	20%	0%	11%

While one cannot read too much into the “Total Death” statistics since the numbers are so small that generalization is problematic, the trends at least suggest a consistently favorable bent following 1864. Even setting aside the remarkably good year of 1875, life expectancy is edging upwards while infant mortality is inching lower. This pattern is generally borne out in the Glennie family over a longer time span. My great-great grandparents on the Glennie side had 9 children born during the 1820s – 1830s, only 5 of whom survived childhood. My great grandparents had 11 children born in Strathdon during the 1850s, 1860s and in 1870, 9 of whom survived well into adulthood. Of the 2 infant deaths, one died in his first year and the other at birth.[5] Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the Reids, where 4 of 9 children of my grandmother’s generation did not survive into adulthood.

Causes of death during this period included many afflictions no longer considered life threatening. Consumption / tuberculosis were a major killer, as were other infections. The cause of death among many of the older population is frequently recorded as “infirmities of old age,” or “debility for years,” or words to that effect. Death following childbirth was not uncommon. A surprisingly large (to me) proportion of deaths are recorded as gastro-intestinal related, e.g., diarrhea; perforation of bowels; duodenitis (from surgery); exhaustion following constipation of bowels. However, there was during this time, certainly in the more urban areas of Scotland, increases of death from such afflictions.

Nevertheless, acute (health) problems also existed elsewhere [than Glasgow]. The urban areas were steadily becoming more lethal. There were serious typhus epidemics in 1837 and 1847 and, for the first time, the dreaded cholera visited Scotland in 1832, leaving 10,000 dead with other outbreaks in 1848, 1853 and 1866…But more insidious…was the inexorable increase of death rates from the more ‘mundane’ diseases of consumption, diarrhea and whooping cough. Between the 1830s and late 1850s, death rates in the cities rose to peaks not seen since the seventeenth century.[6]

Equally surprisingly, I saw only one instance of accidental injury recorded as a cause of death, this particular injury leading to peritonitis. I envisioned work on a farm more hazardous, but perhaps the lack of mechanization in farming had the benefit of low injury rates.

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[1] These are deaths in all Strathdon, not only District 7.

[2] Source

[3] This statistic excludes infant deaths, i.e., less than 1 year old at time of death.

[4] This statistic conveys the percentage of total deaths accounted for by infants, i.e., less than 1 year of age at time of death.

[5] Glennie, C. D., A Short History of the Glennie Family.

[6] Devine, T. M., The Scottish Nation: A History 1700 – 2000. (New York: Viking Penguin). 1999, pp. 334-5.