Blog Note - Mark is another collaborator in the study as well as descendant of Mary Buchan. All text is his text unchanged. All images were inserted by me. Click here for the story by another of her descendants, Ronnie Aitchison.
Mary
Buchan - April 6, 1867 to February 25,
1924
Mary Buchan was my great grandmother and
was my father’s grandmother on his maternal side. She was born on April 5, 1867 in Haddington,
Scotland which is a small town located about 27 kilometres east of Edinburgh
and about 20 kilometres west of the North Sea.
Mary’s parents were William Buchan (1838
to 1872) and Annie Pearson (1838 – 1917). William was a grocer, baker and
spirit merchant in Haddington and Annie Pearson worked along with her husband
in running the successful business. William and Annie had 7 children consisting
of 4 sons and 3 daughters with Mary Buchan being the 5th eldest of
her siblings.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blaeu_-_Atlas_of_Scotland_1654
Haddington was an interesting town for the
Buchan family to live in. An old, ancient town dating back to medieval times it
was at one time the 4th largest town in Scotland. Although the town
has fewer than 8,500 residents today it has 129 buildings listed as
historically interesting including a compact and largely unaltered medieval
town centre. This area contained a wide range of independent retailers and
businesses and was where the Buchan family operated their business. It was a
short walk to their home which was located on the south side of the River Tyne
on a street called Nungate Gardens.
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| A street scene, Haddington |
On April 26, 1872 William Buchan died.
We don’t know the cause of his death however he was not even 40 years old and
his death was a shock for the family. Mary was barely 5 years old when her
father died so she likely hardly remembered him. William’s wife, Annie Pearson,
continued to operate the business but needed the help of several of her older
children in doing so. Annie eventually moved the family into the town centre as
the census of 1891 indicated the family now lived at 25 Market Street in
Haddington, which was right in the primary business district. This was a 3-story
row building with businesses operating on the ground floor with residential and
businesses located on the top two floors. It is likely Annie lived directly
over her grocery business although this is not exactly known. The census of
1891 also listed Annie as a grocer and her son, George, as assistant grocer. We
think the eldest daughter, Annie, also worked in the family business.
 |
| St Mary's Parish Church, Haddington |
As the other children got older, they
found different lines of work and made their own lives. The third oldest child,
James, was listed in the census of 1881 as being a house joiner. The census of
1881 also showed that Mary and her older sister, Catherine, no longer lived at
home. Indeed, they both had moved to Glasgow and lived with their mother’s
younger brother, William Pearson. The census listed both girls as being the
nieces of William and that they were identified as being domestic servants.
Mary had two younger brothers named William (born 1869) and Robert (born 1871).
What was interesting with these two brothers is that both enlisted with the
British army and fought in the Boer War in South Africa. William returned to
Scotland after the war, however Robert remained in South Africa for the
remainder of his life. He married and had children, thus starting a new branch
of the Buchan family in South Africa. There are descendants there today.
Mary Buchan eventually returned home to
Haddington sometime in the late 1880’s although we are not sure of the exact
date. There she met James Aitchison and they were married on June 6, 1890.
James was 24 years old and Mary was 23 years old.
 |
| St Mary's Parish Church viewed through Nungate Bridge, Haddington |
James Aitchison was born on April 14,
1866 in Garvald, a small village not far from Haddington. His father was a
blacksmith but in 1872 the family moved to Haddington. Once James was older, he
found his own employment and began work as a joiner. This was a skilled trade
where he built ornamental pieces, mostly using wood, and worked on furniture
and house fittings. James and Mary continued to live in Haddington until 1895
or 1896 when they moved to Edinburgh. The reason for the move was that James
was looking for better employment opportunities to support his growing family.
 |
| 50 Albion Rd, Edinburgh, Google Street View, 2023 |
Mary was fortunate that she did not have
to work again, once married, as she became very busy raising her family which
eventually consisted of 11 children. The Census of 1911 indicated the family
was living at 50 Albion Road, Edinburgh which was a nice row apartment. The
family lived here for well over 30 years with their daughter, Catherine, and
son, Thomas, living here once James and Mary had passed away. James and Mary’s
children are listed as follows:
Annie Buchan Aitchison June 10, 1890 to May 11, 1978. Married
Robert Watson and had 4 daughters.
Rosanna Aitchison July 15, 1891 to Dec. 22, 1973.
Married Wilfred Pearce and had 3 sons and 1 daughter. Moved to Oshawa, Ontario, Canada in 1920.
James Aitchison Oct. 24, 1892 to June 28,
1915. Died during WWl in Gallipoli, Turkey at the Battle of Gully Ravine. Did not marry.
Catherine Buchan Aitchison July 29,1894
to Nov. 22, 1955. Married Edward Spratt and had 1 daughter.
George Aitchison May 9, 1897 to May 23,
1897.
George Aitchison March 16, 1898 to 1968.
Married Christina Buist. Had 1 son and 1 daughter. Moved to Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.
Janet Aitchison Aug. 9, 1899 to Aug.
18, 1979. Married Stewart Galt. Had 1 son and 1 daughter.
Mary Aitchison June 27, 1901 to 1904.
A twin with William.
William Aitchison June 27, 1901 to Mar. 27,
1973. Married Jane Jones and had 3 sons.
Thomas Aitchison May 1903 to 1978. Did not
marry.
Mary Buchan Aitchison Dec. 9, 1905 to Feb. 13, 1985.
Married James Cowan and had 2 daughters. Moved to New York, United States.
Mary and William were fortunate in that
8 of their 11 children married and had children of their own with a total of 18
grandchildren for Mary and William. Unfortunately, Mary did not have good
health in her later years. She developed carcinoma of the tongue, a form of
oral cancer. She died from this disease on February 25, 1924 at the age of 56.
James survived her another 8 years and he passed away on October 10, 1932 at
the age of 66.
My grandmother, Rosanna Aitchison, was
able to visit her mother one last time in 1923 when she travelled from Canada
with her two sons. She did an extended trip before returning home to Canada.
Mark Pearce
Great grandson of Mary Buchan
Thank you so much for this biography, Mark. So enjoyable to read in sentence form and have family members brought to life vs. seeing them with simply dates and facts in my family tree! Michelle Nicolson (my paternal grandfather’s mother was Janet Mushat Buchan)
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