Jean Ferrier Farquharson was the wife of Glasgow herbalist and “bone setter” John Farquharson and mother of 9 children including Kate Farquharson’s grandfather, Colin. For a detailed account of Jean and John’s life together and children, see this post.
Jean was born 17 September 1787 at “miln of Cardross” (Mill of Cardross) to William Ferrier and Mary Fisher. The Ferrier family operated the corn mill in Cardross for several generations. However it appears William stepped away from the mill to work as a distiller, passing it to two of Jean’s brothers.
William Ferrier and Mary Fisher were married 25 December 1784 in Cardross. The marriage record documents William living “in Craigend” which was listed on the 1860 Ordinance Survey as “an old farmhouse” owned by James Burns Esqr. of Bloomhill. It was located adjacent to the mill. Most working people did not own land in Scotland at that time, but lived as tenants of wealthy landowners.
At the time of her marriage, Mary Fisher was living “in Ardardan,” an estate in Dunbartonshire. The 1860 Dunbartonshire Ordinance Survey Name Books described Ardardan as “A fine dwelling house and offices with a large garden and a plot of ornamental ground attached.” Mary was most likely a servant there. Today, Ardardan Estate is an agritourism venue with a retail shop, nursery, tea room, party and wedding venue, children’s play space, and more.
Jean’s Siblings
William and Mary had 7 children. Jean was their second child and eldest daughter. Brothers Robert and Alexander have an unforgivably terrible history of profiting from slavery (also see Papers of Alexander Ferrier). Despite Alexander’s fortune extracted from trafficking human beings, Jean Ferrier still languished and died in a poorhouse.
- William Ferrier, born 11 December 1785
- Jean Ferrier, born 17 September 1787
- Alexander Ferrier, born 2 February 1789
- Robert Ferrier, born 10 February, 1791
- David Ferrier, born 31 October 1793
- Joseph Ferrier, born 18 July 1794 (twin of Mary)
- Mary Ferrier, born 18 July 1794 (twin of Joseph)
The Mill of Cardross
The 1860 Dunbartonshire Ordinance Survey Name Book lists the mill as follows:
Name: Corn Mill
1860 Dunbartonshire Ordinance Survey Name Book
Various modes of spelling the same name: Cardross MIll (Corn)
Authority for the modes of spelling: Robert Ferrier, Occupier. John Fraser
Situation: 21
Descriptive remarks or other general observations which may be considered of interest: A corn mill in the village of Cardross, the property of Boutine Graham Esqr. of Ardoch
Below are three photographs taken of in 1962 of a later version of the mill, built in 1818 by Jean Ferrier’s brother Robert [source: canmore.org.uk]. According to the Annals of Garelochside (1897) “The meal mill, called Cardross Mill, used to stand further up from the present structure, built by Robert Ferrier in 1818, and still in the family.”
Craigend Farm and Ardardan
Craigend was situated near the mill where Jean Ferrier was born (see 1860 map detail above). As far as I can tell, it still stands as Craigend Farm. What portions of the existing structures date back to the 18th century, I do not know. Craigend, Ardardan, and Kirkton (where Jean’s paternal grandfather was born) are all about a half hour’s walk from one another.
Cardross
Cardross was a village parish on the north banks of the River Clyde. The Statistical Accounts of Scotland contain two descriptions of Cardross from that era:
- 1796: Cardross, County of Dumbarton, OSA, Vol. XVII, written by the Rev. Mr. Alexander McAulay, Minister.
- 1845: Cardross, County of Dumbarton, NSA, Vol. VIII, written by the Rev. William Dunn, Minister.
1796
Having read several of these old Statistical Accounts, for various parishes where my ancestors lived, I find them not only a great source for learning about what these places were like, but also an entertaining view into the idiosyncrasies of the individual ministers. At the time of Jean Ferrier’s birth, Rev. McAulay describes the people of Cardross (pop. ~3,000) as behind the times, stubbornly resisting agricultural advances and improved farming methods. For example, he admonishes local farmers for refusing to plow their fields in the spring until after March 10: “However inviting the season may be prior to this period, it matters nothing; they adhere to the custom of their fathers.” Rev. McAulay also commends the farmhouses of Cardross as well kept and aesthetically pleasing.
Primary crops in the parish in 1796 were oats and barley, with recent forrays into wheat, peas, beans, clover, rye, potatoes, and turnips. A few farms raised sheep, while many had switched over to cows. There were three mills and a distillery. Four ferries connected Cardross with other ports along the River Clyde, such as Greenock and Port Glasgow, and beyond. Residents also engaged in fishing and the fishing industry.
There were two major industrial “print fields” along the River Leven (between River Clyde and Loch Lomond) that were leading producers of bleached, dyed and printed cloth textile. Rev. McAulay wrote “there were employed, in summer 1792, 876 persons. Of these 300 were girls (pincellers), and about 130 were boys, from 8 to 15 years of age.”
In 1793, Rev. McAulay recorded there were “no fewer than 2,194 souls” living in Cardross. Of these, 614 were children under 10, 482 were children over 10, 847 were heads of families including husbands and wives, and 251 were hired servants. He characterized residents as “in general are sober and industrious. The introduction of manufactures has, no doubt, produced some change in their habits and manners; and whether this change may operate more in the end to their advantage or hurt, time alone can determine.”
1845
Rev. William Dunn’s 1845 account of Cardross was heavily focused on the geology and natural environment/climate of the land, and the “eminent men” of the parish. “No Gaelic has been spoken in the parish for some generations past,” Dunn said. “The people generally are in circumstances of comfort; and the influx of strangers to the sea coast, and to the works on the Leven, has introduced a taste for dress not known in the more remote parts of Scotland. On the whole, they are contented and respectable, and it is hoped their character is improving. In particular, illicit distillation, formerly the bane of the district, has entirely ceased.”
Dunn’s descriptions of Cardross agriculture mirrored McAulay’s, characterizing local farmers as traditional and set in their ways and methods. The only market town in this district was Dumbarton “but there is a good deal of communication with those of Greenock and Port Glasgow, on the other side of the Clyde, and a ready consumption is found for the produce of the western portion of the parish at the thriving watering village of Heletisburgb,” wrote Dunn.
There was a parish school that was not well funded or attended, several religious societies and churches, three libraries. “In this parish there are no public charitable institutions, friendly societies, savings’ banks, prisons, or fairs. Considerable exertions have been made to check the increase of public-houses, and, excepting in Renton, the number is moderate.”
