{"id":1907,"date":"2021-11-14T16:22:51","date_gmt":"2021-11-14T16:22:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cromarville.wordpress.com\/?p=1907"},"modified":"2023-05-11T08:42:50","modified_gmt":"2023-05-11T12:42:50","slug":"cromars-in-the-scottish-postal-directories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/williamcromar.com\/cromarbaile\/2021\/11\/14\/cromars-in-the-scottish-postal-directories\/","title":{"rendered":"Cromars in the Scottish Postal Directories"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“Improvements” changing livelihoods<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In our exploration of the Jacobite period and its aftermath, we’ve run across many historical descriptions of life in rural Scotland and the nature of farm life. Many sources describe the hardships of subsistence agriculture, which as recounted are hard enough without any other encumbrances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But imagine that life overlaid with an exploitative system of land management, in essence feudal in nature, and its evolution through land “improvement” which somehow made things worse by breaking up common lands into “enclosed” parcels. The commodification of the commons seems to be a refrain we’ve suffered through many times as capitalism continues its relentless march to commodify every aspect of our lives (except maybe air, but watch this space as we prepare to endure a looming climate crisis being decidedly ignored by our boomer elites<\/a>… but I digress). Suffice to say such exploitations are nothing new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These historical descriptions bear witness not only to the distinctions made among classes, but also between gender roles, with the farmer’s wife surely getting the short end of that<\/em> stick. We’ve seen how the forces of history percolate down into the day-to-day decisions people make as they live their lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, we can see our time reflected in theirs, although to be sure, the life my family lives today in Philadelphia is a comparatively privileged one, based in no small measure on the incremental struggles and decisions made by my ancestors to improve their lot, despite hardships both natural and man-made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polymath ancestors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Detail of an 18th century engraving of Scotswomen waulking (fulling) cloth, and singing, ca. 1770, artist unknown. | Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our research has revealed that members of a Scottish farming family were not simply farmers; they were polymaths<\/em>. They could not, for example, simply drive to the Tesco (the U.K.’s answer to Walmart) and pick up fast fashion to clothe themselves. For a proper article of clothing, one had to understand every part of the process to make<\/em> it, from animal husbandry, to sheep shearing, to spinning, to weaving, to “waulking” cloth (a communal, ritualistic process to soften wool, involving singing to keep rhythm, so add music to the mix), and assembling the garment, though to complete the process we should add mending it to extend its life, and washing it \u2014 by hand, not in a machine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of the skills acquired simply to survive eventually evolved into specialties. A particularly talented seamstress could supplement the family income with a second vocation crafting fine linen (once all the farming chores were done, of course). Off-season or side work as a taverner, cobbler, post-master, carpenter, mill-wright, or any number of occupations could take the edge off of the limited economic opportunity imposed by the systemic and environmental limitations inherent to subsistence farming. A person’s gotta eat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Scottish Postal Directories<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A wonderful resource that illuminates this aspect of life in 19th century Scotland can be found at the Scottish Post Office Directories<\/strong><\/a>. The National Library of Scotland has digitized and placed these directories on the web for researchers to dig through. Many of the children of the post-Jacobite Cromars and related families are found in these publications, beginning in the 1820s and moving forward through the century. These documents tell the story of neighbors living lives in a granular way. Without the directories, if one wishes to fathom neighborly relationships, one has to rely on careful comparisons of dates on headstones in a burial yard. With the Directories, complex patterns emerge in a high resolution snapshot of these folks’ lives. We can even get a picture of the context, as many of these Directories contained lengthy descriptions of the settlements they catalogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below, I’ll share several pages from the Directories containing Cromars, starting about 1825 and concluding in 1905. Where I can, I’ll identify the Cromars listed and cross-reference them to information seen in other posts in this blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James Cromar | Kincardine O’Neil<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"
Pigot & Co.’s new commercial directory of Scotland for 1825-6<\/strong>, page 210<\/a> <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

James Cromar<\/strong> is listed above as post-master at the Kincardine O’Neil Post Office. A second James, perhaps the same one, is listed under Jas. as a linen draper and a grocer. A linen draper was a wholesale dealer who sold cloth for people to buy and make their own garments. It’s not unheard of for persons to occupy many trades in these directories \u2014 but there do seem to be many James Cromars in the region at this time! This James<\/a> may have been born 1802 in Kinker, son of Alexander Cromar<\/a> (son of Robert Cromar and Isobel Ley) and Christian Cromar<\/a> (lone daughter of Robert Cromar and Margaret Nichol), all of whom we met in the post prior to this one<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s interesting to note that Christian is a longstanding Principal Officer of the Post, serving from 1799 to her death in 1859. This could explain how the Cromars corner the market on this occupation in the region, as we’ll see in the next Directory page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n