THE property of Alexander Crum Maclae, Esq., is situated in the parish of Carmunnock and county of Lanark, and is about five miles from Glasgow.
The estate of Cathkin consists of eight forty shilling lands of old extent, and of a small portion of Old Temple lands. It formed part of the manor of Cormannoc, which composed the original parish, and at an early date belonged to the powerful family of Douglas.
Archibald Douglas, "the Grim," Lord of Galloway, having acquired the Lordship of Bothwell, by his marriage in 1398 with Anne Murray, grand-daughter of Andrew Murray, Lord Bothwell, to whom it was given by King Robert the Bruce, founded in his new barony a collegiate church for a provost and eight prebendaries, and endowed it with the tithes, parsonage, and vicarage, of the parish of Bothwell, as well as with other lands. In 1414 he added the lands of Cathkin, the eight forty shilling lands of which then became part of the endowments of the eight prebendaries. (1)
These lands were afterwards in the hands of the Hamiltons, and after the Reformation the first of the name we find in possession is "Robert Hamilton of Cathkin," who is mentioned along with Helen Montgomery, his spouse, and Robert Hamilton, their son, in the acts of Privy Council in the year 1606-7.
Robert Hamilton the second of Cathkin, was married to a daughter of Mure of Caldwell, and died in 1619. He was succeeded by his son Robert Hamilton the third, who married Barbara Hamilton of Raploch; he died in 1653, and was succeeded by his son Gavin Hamilton. (2)
Gavin Hamilton in 1655 sold two of the forty shilling lands to James Stewart of Christeswall or Christwell, whose family held them till 1729, when they were sold by James Stewart of Christwell, Doctor of Medicine, to David Spens, writer in Edinburgh. He sold them in 1730 to John Maclae, merchant in Glasgow.
The remaining six forty shilling lands and the Temple lands were in 1699 in the hands of Gavin's three sisters, Mary, Elizabeth, and Barbara. Mary married Alexander Dunlop, "Professor of Medicine" in Hamilton; her son Gavin Dunlop, writer in Edinburgh, succeeded his mother and aunts, and his daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Dunlop or Ashton, made up her titles as sole heiress of her grand-uncle Gavin Hamilton in 1730, and sold the lands to John Maclae in the same year. (3)
John Maclae, merchant in Glasgow, in whose person were thus reunited the eight forty shilling lands of Cathkin, which belonged in the beginning of the fifteenth century to the eight prebendaries of Bothwell, did not long enjoy his country residence, as he died in 1735, five years after the purchase.
He was succeeded by his son Walter Maclae, who dying in 1790 without issue, the property passed to his nephew Walter Ewing, merchant in Glasgow, son of Margaret Maclae his sister and Humphry Ewing. He assumed the name of Maclae, and died in 1814. He was succeeded by his son Humphry Ewing Maclae, who married Jane, daughter of Alexander Brown, merchant in Glasgow, (4) and died in 1860, having had two sons who predeceased him. Alexander Crum Maclae, who succeeded, and is the present proprietor, is the grand-nephew of the late Humphry Ewing Maclae. He is the son of the late John Crum of Thornliebank, who was the son of Jane, sister of Humphry Ewing Maclae, and Alexander Crum of Thornliebank, merchant in Glasgow, and Agnes, daughter of Hugh Brown of Broadstone, Ayrshire. (5) He is still unmarried.
In 1710 "Cathkine" is mentioned by Wishaw as being one of the principal houses in Lanarkshire. About the end of last century, however, it seems to have been found unsuitable to the requirements of modern taste and comfort, and being taken down a new house was built in 1799, near the old site, from designs of James Ramsay of Edinburgh.
(1) Origines Parochiales and Wishaw.
(2) Commissary Rec. of Glasgow.
(3) Cathkin MS.
(4) This venerable and respected lady, who died November 1874 in her hundred and first year, was a member of a good old Glasgow family. In the early part of the eighteenth century John Brown settled in Glasgow. He was the son of Captain Alexander Brown of an Ayrshire family, who held a commission in the Royal Navy from Queen Anne. John Brown was Dean of Guild in 1746-7 and Provost of Glasgow in 1752. In 1735 he married Jean, daughter of John Dennistoun of Colgrain, and by her had a son, Alexander, also a merchant in Glasgow. He was a magistrate in 1779, and Dean of Guild in 1784-5. Mr. Alexander Brown was a man of culture, a fine classical scholar, and a graceful artist. He was the inventor of the seals of several of the Glasgow corporations, and when Latin inscriptions were required on any occasion, they were invariably the production of his ready and correct pen. He left many interesting and valuable papers relating to the City, which were of much use to the late Dr. Cleland when writing his works on Glasgow. By his marriage to Isabella, daughter of John Noble of Ferme and Ardardan Noble, an old Dumbartonshire family, he had a son, James Dennistoun, and a daughter, Jane, who married, as stated above, Humphry Ewing Maclae. James Dennistoun Brown was an officer of Artillery in the Madras Army. He married his cousin Anne Isabella Noble, and had issue the present Alexander James Dennistoun Brown of Balloch, Dumbartonshire.
(5) Alexander Crum Maclae, presently of Cathkin, is the head of three distinct families: the Maclaes, who were merchants in Glasgow some two hundred years ago; the Ewings, who, coming originally from the Vale of Leven, have been settled for many generations in the great City; and the Crums, a Glasgow race, who were manufacturers and merchants there towards the end of last century.
There were two Maclaes proper of Cathkin: John, who bought it in 1730, and Walter, his son, a merchant in Glasgow, who died without issue.
The original Ewing of this family in Glasgow was Humphry, who was born at Cardross. He was the father of another Humphry, a merchant in Glasgow about the middle of last century, and who married Margaret Maclae, daughter of John first of Cathkin. By this marriage the Maclaes and Ewings were united, for by the death of Margaret Maclae's brother Walter (of Cathkin), her son, Walter Ewing, succeeded, and became Walter Ewing Maclae.
Walter Ewing Maclae of Cathkin and his wife Margaret Fisher had two sons and two daughters. The eldest son, Humphry Ewing Maclae, was the laird of Cathkin; the second was James Ewing, afterwards of Strathleven, who died without issue; the eldest daughter was Elizabeth, now Mrs Hyde, who still survives; and the youngest was Jane, who married Alexander Crum.
Alexander Crum, along with James Crum his brother, was a manufacturer and linen printer. Their place of business was in the Gallowgate. Alexander was also a partner in the "Merchants Bank." By Jane Ewing his wife, daughter of Walter Ewing (Maclae) and Margaret Fisher, he had four sons and one daughter: John Crum and Walter Crum, F.R.S., of Thornliebank; Humphry, who succeeded his uncle James Ewing of Strathleven, and assumed the name of Ewing in addition to his own; James of Busby, who died without issue; and Margaret, who married the Rev. John Brown, D.D., of Edinburgh.
On the death of Humphrey Ewing Maclae of Cathkin in 1860, he was succeeded by the eldest son of John his eldest nephew, Alexander Crum, who then assumed the name of Maclae, and is the present Alexander Crum Maclae of Cathkin.
Besides Alexander Crum Maclae, now of Cathkin, John Crum had a large family, of whom John and Hugh are citizens of Glasgow. Of his daughters three are respectively, Mrs. James Grahame of Auldhouse, Mrs. John Anderson, wife of the well known London architect, and Mrs. Colin Dunlop, junr. of Quarter. Jane is unmarried.
Walter Crum, F.R.S., had a large family. His eldest son Alexander is the head of the splendid works at Thornliebank, Walter is a merchant in Liverpool, and a daughter was the first wife of Sir William Thomson, F.R.S.
Humphry Ewing Crum Ewing of Strathleven by his wife Ellen Dick has also many descendants, his eldest son being Alexander Crum Ewing of James Ewing & Co., one of the few remaining West India houses in Glasgow.
Margaret Crum, wife of Dr. Brown, is the mother of Professor Alexander Crum Brown.
The Crums have an interesting ecclesiastical descent, and one which for long, and partially yet, has closely connected the family with the Dissenters of Scotland.
Walter Ewing, afterwards Walter Ewing Maclae of Cathkin, married Margaret Fisher, daughter of the Rev. James Fisher, formerly parish minister of Kinclaven, afterwards one of the four "outed" ministers in 1733 who became "the fathers of the Secession." The Secession (after 1747 Burgher) Church in Shuttle Street was built for him in 1742. His wife was Jean Erskine daughter of the famous Rev. Ebenezer Erskine of Stirling, another of "The Four Brethren," and their recognized head.
This complicated family of Maclaes, Ewings, Crums, Ewing Maclaes, Crum Maclaes and Crum Ewings has in all its branches been long and honourably connected with Glasgow, and has been distinguished through many of its members in the various fields of science, commerce and manufacture. It has also sent two members to Parliament, the late James Ewing of Strathleven, who was chosen member for Glasgow at the first election after the old Reform Bill, and Humphry Ewing Crum Ewing, the respected member for many years for Paisley.
James Ewing of Strathleven, or Levenside as it was formerly called, was the second son of Walter Ewing Maclae of Cathkin, and a West India merchant in Glasgow. He was Lord Provost of the City and twice Dean of Guild. His splendid bequests to the Glasgow charitable institutions are still fresh in the memory of his fellow-citizens, and well entitle him to the gratitude of this and succeeding generations.
Humphry Ewing Crum Ewing, who has succeeded to Strathleven, subject to the liferent of Mrs. Jane Crawford, widow of Mr. Ewing, was for many years the head of the firm of James Ewing & Co. He has now retired and resides at Ardencaple Castle, in Dumbartonshire, of which county he is the Lord-Lieutenant.
Since the above was written and while this work is about to go through the press, Humphry Ewing Crum Ewing, jun., the youngest son of this venerable gentleman, has died suddenly in Demerara, where he had gone on a short visit to the family estates. He has left a young wife and a numerous family to bewail his loss. A fine manly, hearty character, straightforward and outspoken, he was a universal favourite, and his sudden death has called forth most sincere sympathy for his own family, and his parents, and has saddened the hearts of his many friends and acquaintances.
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