The Crislich Mystery

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The Missing Melvilles - The Crislich Mystery

On 15 December 1813 at Golspie Inn Donald Matheson offered £56 and Sergeant Melville £52 for the yearly rent of the tenancies of Sutherland Estate property at Crislich, Foick and Coppernusgach.  Those tenancies were situated in the parish of Clyne, Sutherland , Scotland in an area to the north west of Loch Brora on a tributary of the River Brora called the Black Water.  It would appear from the records that Sergeant Melville was allowed to remain at a yearly rent of £60.  The suggestion that he could remain indicates that he had the tenancies before 1813 and there is evidence in the records that he still held the lands in 1815 at a rent of £60 per annum.

There were many Melvilles in the parish of Clyne and some in the parish of Golspie through the latter part of the 18th century and throughout the 19th century.  Those Melvilles were all inter-related and almost certainly from a single ancestor resident in the area in the early seventeen hundreds.  The section ‘The Melvilles of the Doll’ outlines the structure of the Melville family in this area and repetition of those details is neither necessary or possible here.  However, suffice to say, it is now certain that Alexander of Crislich was from the line of Melvilles in which I have an interest though there may still be a little doubt as to his exact position within this family.

It is assumed that Sergeant Melville and Alexander Melville are one and the same person mentioned in the 1813 and 1815 tenancy records and possibly the son of Alexander Melville of Doll and his spouse Sarah MacKay.  A further indication that the period of tenancy was more than just a few years is fact that  Alexander Melville of Crislich was married to a Margaret Graham and had five children born there between 1806 and 1816.  The family disappeared from the area around 1820 and despite much searching only one clue to their possible whereabouts came to light. 

In response to an article in the H.F.S. Journal, ‘The Melvilles of the Doll’, correspondence was received from Dr Bangor-Jones, an authority on the Clearances in Sutherland, that the Melville family had left for Dundee .  I have no proof, as yet, that they did indeed go there and no indication as to where Alexander and Margaret finally settled.

The trail having run cold research in other areas of the family history was called for.  Much material has been received from correspondents in Australia and New Zealand .  In particular a descendant of Clyne Melvilles, Richard Snedden in New South Wales, Australia, has provided volumes of material of great interest and with much detail on the Clyne Melvilles and related families who went to the southern hemisphere.  Material from Richard Snedden and the late Heather Melville in New Zealand , another provider of information, threw up the name of Adam Graham Melville, Bookseller of Melbourne, who married two sisters from Brora in Sutherland who were, in fact, his cousins.

It seemed reasonable to speculate that this Adam Graham Melville might be connected to the missing Alexander Melville and Margaret Graham.  The reason for this speculation centred on the fact that Adam married two sisters named Melville and that his name indicated he was a Melville with a link to a Graham family.  Either clue might on its own have been coincidence but the two taken together suggested further research was necessary.   Where to start searching for proof was the big question.

Research in Australia by Richard Snedden unearthed some remarkable information on Adam.  He did indeed marry two sisters and also married for a third time.  His first wife was Isabella Melville, born 1837, the daughter of John Melville and Roberta Pope.  This couple who lived out their lives in Clyne had nine children and least six of whom went to Australia , some via New Zealand .  Adam’s second wife, Mary Melville, born 1844, was the sixth child of John and Roberta. The third woman he wed was an Elizabeth McKenney or Trennery.  She was the first of six children born to Jacob McKenney and Emily O’Donnell and the widow of John Trennery.  At the time of her marriage to Adam her occupation was given as ‘companion’.  The marriage was firstly a civil one on 28^th October 1901 and later the couple had a religious marriage in the Church of England in 1902.

Isabella was born in Loth in Sutherland and died in 1870 in Melbourne , Australia .  She married Adam Graham Melville who was born in Edinburgh in 1842,  in Edinburgh on 10th April 1862.  He was given as aged 19 years and a Bookseller of 12 Calton Hill and she was described as a spinster of 19 years also of 12 Calton Hill.  It is interesting to note that though Adam and Isabella gave their address as 12 Calton Hill at marriage they were not listed there in the 1861 census nor in the street directory of that year.

Adam and Isabella were married at Viewfirth Free Church, Newington , Edinburgh and described as ‘cousins german’.  They went to Australia about 1862-63 and their son, John, was born and died there in 1863.  Little is known about their life together in Edinburgh or Australia . It would appear that Isabella went to Edinburgh to work and probably was employed by or, at least, resided with Adam’s family.  Adam himself served his apprenticeship in the book business,  according to an Australian source,  for the Edinburgh firm of Gall and Inglis.

The area of Edinburgh in which Adam Graham Melville lived with his father John and the rest of the family was on the edge of the old and new towns and on the slopes of Calton Hill.  The area is well described in a book by Ann Mitchell, ‘The People of Calton Hill’, and though the area surrounding the hill is much changed today the hill itself would still be recognisable to Adam.

The area described by Ann Mitchell’s book covers much more than that of interest in this research with many other streets around Calton Hill described in great detail.  The Melvilles, it would appear, resided in the steep street actually known as Calton Hill situated on the western edge of the actual geographic feature.  Today all that remains are the houses on this west side, a dozen or so, and 14 Calton Hill to the north west .  It is a pity that number 12, the home of the Melvilles, and the numbers below that have not survived.  Demolition took place to make way for a roadway and a multi-storey car park. The remaining houses have, of course, been much changed internally and outwardly they are fine, strong structures belying their early date of construction.  I was told by a resident of one that they were built in the 1760s.

Calton Hill and the old Calton Burial Ground taken around 1900.  The houses on the left are those of Calton Hill, ‘the street’, built in the 1760s.  House numbers in the 20s can be seen.

The burial ground was on both sides of the road at that time but later all graves were situated in the area to the right of the picture.

In the early days there a number of trades, including a wright, a mason, a cooper and a bricklayer,  were represented by the residents of Calton Hill and some notable early residents included accountants, a solicitor and a writer.  By the end of the 16^th century and until her death in 1841 the celebrated friend of the poet Robert Burns, Agnes Maclehose, better known as Clarinda, lived at number 14 Calton Hill.

Ann Mitchell’s book makes much use of post office directory information and information collected at the ten yearly census.  She mentions that in 1833 there were thirty-six separate households recorded and in 1841 over sixty.  The latter figure boosted not just by an increase in population but also by the inclusion of lodgers in the census return and not just householders.  However, the street was a busy place with 324 residents and was described once as a ‘steep, narrow, stinking, spiral street’.  There were many and varied occupations and John Melville, brass founder and plumber, would have been just one of the many tradesmen making a living in the area.

The picture above shows Rock House, the uppermost residence in Calton Hill. This was the home and business place of  eminent painters and photographers for almost 100 years.  Though at the top end of this ‘steep, narrow, stinking, spiral street’ it was a place of some historic importance.

On the discovery of Adam Graham Melville’s second marriage, in Australia , on 8th January 1872 to Mary Melville a number of puzzles appeared.  At first dates were not clear and there was some question as to what the gentleman had been up to.  His relative haste in marrying the sister of his first wife, the fact that he went to South Australia to reside for a week and marry her and that he described himself there as a bachelor all led to various suspicions. 

The reasons for much of the above became clear when it was discovered that a son, David Graham, was born on 22nd December 1871 to Adam and Mary Melville in Adelaide and the fact that in Australia it was prior to 1871 not possible to marry one’s sister-in-law. The relationship Adam was having at that time with Mary could be legitimised promptly and conveniently by a marriage in South Australia where the law changed in 1871 with the introduction of the South Australian Deceased Wife’s Sister Marriage Act to allow such a marriage.  Though he could legitimately have admitted to a previous marriage it might have been convenient for him not to have to acknowledge his first wife and, indeed, having a son before the marriage and around the time of the introduction of the marriage act might also have proved to be embarrassing if not illegal.  Additionally, It could possibly have been surmised that the description of Adam as a bachelor might have been a mistake if it were not for the details recorded at the time of his third marriage to Elizabeth McKenney (Trennery).  The marriage certificate indicates this as the second time that he entered the state of matrimony and not as the third as it clearly was.

In Australia Adam Graham Melville did well for himself and was highly thought of.  He was clearly a person of some knowledge and repute in the literary world and was engaged, on at least one occasion, in presenting his knowledge to the Library Association of Australia.  At the Sydney meeting of October 1898 he presented a paper entitled ‘The Book-Trade In Australia Since 1861’.  This paper includes a section where Adam mentions  an incident in Edinburgh when he was ‘a very little boy’.  He tells how he saw a crowd surging round a hackney coach with a policeman sitting beside the driver.  This coach he states carried Madeline Smith who was alleged to have murdered her lover.  She was being taken from the High Court to Calton Hill Gaol.  This gaol was not far from where he resided.  Adam mentions Madeline Smith’s fair face, large blue eyes and intense gaze and how twenty five years later Madeline Smith and a gentleman unknown to him entered the library connected with his business in Melbourne and how he immediately recognised the much changed woman by the eyes he had seen years before.  This ‘very small boy’ would, in fact, have been 14 or 15 years of age at the time of Smith’s trial in 1857 and though there is no mention of Australia in a short biography in a biographical dictionary she did marry an artist-publisher by the name George Wardle.  Madeline Smith was not the only ‘celebrity’ mentioned and Adam also stated that the author and traveller Rudyard Kipling and Australian poet Adam Lindsay Gordon also used the library.

Further evidence of Adam Graham Melville’s achievements is noted in a biographical entry in a book entitled ‘The Early Australian Booksellers’ and in his obituary notice in the Melbourne daily newspaper ‘The Argus’.  The former entry, given in full below, states, ‘ With his knowledge of books and of English society, with his urbanity and tact, he created an atmosphere that made Mullen’s Library a literary club and meeting place for the intelligentsia and the elite of Melbourne, rivalling in local society the prestige of Mudie’s Library of London’.  The obituary, which is also reproduced later, contains details of his career and in one important passage regarding his work states, ‘He was always ready to place the benefits of his wide reading at the services of patrons and his personality impressed itself upon all who came into contact with him’.

To give some indication of Adam’s position in the literary circles of Australia and try to put his life into some context various reference to him need to be included here. 

The biographical entry on Samuel Mullen, bookseller and owner of Mullen's bookshop and library, in the Australian dictionary of biography, v.5, 1851-1890 (Melbourne, Melbourne University Press, 1969), briefly mentioned above,  provides a short history of the origins of the booksellers, Melville and Mullen. From the A.D.B. entry the following summary has been made.

In 1859, Samuel Mullen and his brother, William Lowell opened a bookshop and library at 55 Collins Street East , Melbourne . Based on Mudie's of London , his library was the first of its kind in Australia . Several of Mullen's assistants achieved distinction: Adam Graham Melville (1842-1921) took charge of the library in the 1860s; Leonard Slade (1859-1954) served in 1876-1939 and became a partner. Mullens moved in 1879 to larger premises at 31 Collins Street East .

In October 1889 Samuel Mullen sold out to his brother William, A. G. Melville and

L.  Slade. Samuel Mullen died in London on 29 May, 1890. In 1921 Melville and

Mullen merged with George Robertson & Co. to form Robertson & Mullens.

A biographical entry in the book ‘The Early Australian Booksellers’, published by the Australian Booksellers Association, 1980, throws more light on this remarkable man.

Adam Graham Melville (1842-1921)

Born in Scotland in 1842, Adam Graham Melville, served his apprenticeship with the firm of Gall & Inglis, Edinburgh, and came to Melbourne in 1865 when he took charge of Mullen's Library.

With his knowledge of books and of English society, with his urbanity and tact, he created an atmosphere that made Mullen's Library a literary club and a meeting place for the intelligentsia and the elite of Melbourne, rivaling in local society the prestige of Mudie's Library of London.

He became a partner in the firm of Melville, Mullen & Slade in 1889. Ten years later Melville and Mullen purchased the interests of other shareholders and the name was changed to Melville & Mullen.

Melville outlived his partner, retired in 1911, and died on May 24, 1921, aged 79 years.

Also his obituary notice appearing in the daily newspaper, the Argus (Melbourne) on 26 May, 1921, page 6 is also valuable as a piece of family history.  The entry reads as follows:

Death of Mr. A. G. Melville

The thousands of people who have patronised the library of Messrs. Melville and Mullen will learn with regret of the death of Mr. A. G. Melville, which occurred at his residence, 15 Dickens Street , St. Kilda on Tuesday evening. He was associated with the Library for many years and those who went there often came to rely upon his sound knowledge of books. He was always ready to place the benefits of his wide reading at the services of patrons and his personality impressed itself upon all who came in contact with him. He was 70 years of age.

Mr. Melville began his business career with the firm of Gall and Inglis, in Edinburgh, and came to Melbourne in 1865 when appointed chief Librarian at Mullen's Library. Later he became a senior partner in the firm of Melville and Mullen and remained with the firm until ten years ago, when he retired from business. He leaves a widow, three sons and one daughter. One son served in the A.I.F.  

Mullens Bookshop and Library on ‘The Block’, Collins Street , Melbourne in the 1870s.  The shop was opened in 1859 by Samuel Mullens and was the first of its kind in Australia . Adam Graham Melville took charge of the library in the early 1860s and it flourished under his management.   He became a partner in the business along with W.L. Mullen, Samuels brother, and Leonard Slade and remained in this business until his retirement in 1911.  The business was so successful that new premises were found in 1880.

Several of the Melvilles of Clyne, and their descendants in Australia , reached positions of prominence in the professions. However, there did appear to be something extra special and more interesting about this character that warranted further research.  Could he really be a descendant of Sergeant Alexander Melville and Margaret Graham of Crislich.  A search of the records in Edinburgh would have to be the next step.

The birth record in the OPRs for Adam Graham Melville indicated that his father was a John Melville and his mother Agnes Lawson.  This information had been available from Australia though in a source there his mother had been given as Agnes Moses.  A marriage for John Melville and Agnes Lawson had been noted from the fiche but the conflicting names left some doubt.  On examination of the OPR the name Lawson was confirmed and further research showed that Agnes Lawson’s mother was a Sarah Moses.  Clearly an error had been made on the Australian record.  Agnes’s father was William Lawson.  Adam had at least ten brothers, and sisters though possibly more as five children died in infancy and one son, Robert, was described on the gravestone shared with his father as being the seventh son.   This Robert died at only 26 years of age in 1870.  The names of the known children can be found in the reference section of the Melville Family History.  Since some of those children died young and since it would appear that the family moved to the Free Church at the disruption of 1843 the younger members are not on the IGI fiche.  

There were two daughters as far as can be ascertained.  Margaret, described as a Hat Trimmer in the 1851 census, married George Street and had a large family, and Agnes whose gravestone is beside her father’s in Grange Cemetery .  This stone indicates that Agnes married an Alexander Thomson he dying in 1891 and Agnes, herself, at 52 years of age in 1889. Alexander, the eldest son, was described as a Plumber’s Apprentice in the census. 

John Melville, plumber and brass-founder, was in partnership with someone by the name of Robert Hume and gave son William the name Hume as his middle name after this partner.  The Post Office street directory for 1856/57 gives John Melville as the householder at 12 Calton Hill and his business as that of Hume and Melville, plumbers, brass-founders and gas-fitters.  He was also indicated as living there in 1959/60 though he, in fact, died in 1959.  An earlier interesting address for John and family is that in the 1851 census.  They were then at 5 High Terrace, Edinburgh .  This was a high level terrace above the north side of Leith Street and probably another name for Leith Street Terrace. The properties were demolished in 1965 to make way for the construction of the St James Centre. 

It is worth noting that John was no mean businessman as he would appear to be employing 90 men and boys probably along with Robert Hume who described himself as and employer of 80-90 men and boys.  Robert Hume, in 1851 was living at 21 West Register Street and was 38 years at that time with a wife Anna aged 28 years and two sons.  The street directories show the address of the Hume and Melville business to be 23 West Register Street .  By 1857/58 partner Robert had gone up in the world as by then he was residing in a rather better area of the city at Annahill Villa, Grange Road . 

A letter from Bernays Melville, Melbourne , Australia to Una Melville in New Zealand , in 1970, gives information regarding John Melville and son John ‘junior’.  He mentions a son Charles of John ‘junior’ who went to New Zealand .  Bernays also states that two sons of John Melville ‘senior’ went to the USA but this I have not confirmed.  Since he is taking about close relatives and though some of the dates in his letter are incorrect it is clearly possible that his information is accurate.

On the death certificate of John Melville the parents were given as Alexander Melville and

Margaret Graham both deceased.  John was aged 52 years and 6 months and he died on 2nd February 1859 of cancer of the liver, kidney and glands.  His residence was given as 12 Calton Hill, Edinburgh.  His father, Alexander,  was noted as being a merchant.  The death date and age confirms a birth date of 1806 the year of birth of Alexander Melville and Margaret Graham’s son John.

John was buried in the Grange Cemetery and a search of the burial ground reveals an impressive monument flanked on either side by the Graves of his daughters Margaret and Agnes.  All three stones provide much information about the families and their inscriptions are recorded below.

This major breakthrough that showed the earlier supposition that Adam Graham Melville was a grandson on Alexander and Margaret was correct .  Further evidence of the relationship was found on the marriage certificate of Adam and Isabella Melville.  Here, as stated above, they were given as ‘cousins german’ clearly indicating that they came from the same family and probably through the male line.

The Melville gravestones in Grange Cemetery , Edinburgh and a close up of the John Melville inscription.

John Melville’s Stone -

Sacred to the memory of John Melville, Plumber, Edinburgh died 2^nd Feby. 1859, aged 52 years.

Also

Agnes Lawson, his wife, died 28^th Aug. 1865, aged 54 years.

Also

Robert H. Melville, their seventh son, died 1^st July 1870 aged 26 years.

Also 5 of his children who died in infancy.(i.e. John Melvilles children)

Also on the John Melville stone;-

In memory of James A. Melville, Moray House College , died 29^th May 1895, aged 46 years.

(The date 1895 not very clear but certainly 189? And almost certain it was a 5 at the end.)

Also

Agnes Burnside, his wife, died 16^th May 1907, aged 60 years.

Also James M. Barbour, his grandson, son of George J. Scott, died 17^th April 1906, aged 17 months.

(not sure how this fits in – if  Barbour was his surname then how is his father George Scott?  Was Barbour a ‘second’ forename and the surname taken as being Scott?  -  will check records when in Edinburgh next.)

The Agnes Melville stone;-

Sacred to the memory of Agnes Melville, beloved wife of Alexander Thomson, died ? Feby. 1889, aged 52 years.

Also

The above Alexander Thomson, died 9^th Sept. 1891, aged 62 years. (The year not very clear but appears to be 1891)

John Melville was variously noted as a master plumber, plumber, brass-founder and gas-fitter. His wife was the daughter of a soldier who was given as being in the 1st Dragoon Guards at the time of their marriage on 2nd October 1829 and as a Sergeant in the Scots Greys on her death certificate of  28th August 1865.  Since Alexander Melville was designated Sergeant Alexander in one early source then there was possibly  some army connection leading to the marriage of Alexander’s son, John, and William Lawson’s daughter, Agnes. 

At this time it is still not certain if Alexander Melville and Margaret Graham reached Edinburgh or if it was just their son John who went to reside there.  However, there is a strong possibility that those Melvilles of Clyne, including Isabella Melville, went to Edinburgh, and resided together before some of them then emigrated to the southern hemisphere.  Further research, including the examination of census records, is now required to find the other children of Alexander Melville and Margaret Graham and to determine where this couple finally settled.

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