{"id":799,"date":"2021-06-04T09:49:40","date_gmt":"2021-06-04T09:49:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cromarville.wordpress.com\/?p=799"},"modified":"2023-05-12T18:29:06","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12T22:29:06","slug":"theodore-james-cromar-1868-1930","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/williamcromar.com\/cromarbaile\/2021\/06\/04\/theodore-james-cromar-1868-1930\/","title":{"rendered":"Theodore James Cromar 1868-1930"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The “Granite Men” of Aberdeen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Aberdeen<\/a> is known as the Granite City, and earned that honorific on the strength of a granite industry that built so much more than Aberdeen itself. Cities in the U.K. and internationally depended on the export of granite from Aberdeenshire, along with the stonemasons that were expert at cutting and finishing this mighty building stone. The “Granite Men” of Aberdeen were valued for their strength, precision, and artistry, though the modest stonemason did not often achieve fame in the manner of a fine art sculptor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Cromar joined the ranks of the Granite Men sometime in the mid-1860’s after first trying his hand at the cotton manufacturing trade. His introduction to stonemasonry may have happened right around the time of his marriage to Ann George, whose brother Alexander was a mason. John found a specialty in stone polishing, an arduous, dusty task, and to ply his trade he and Ann moved to the center of the granite universe, Aberdeen, after spending some time in Coull and Kincardine O’Neil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Living and working in the city<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

By 1868, when their son Theodore James Cromar<\/strong> was born, the family lived at 12 Wales Street in the heart of town. Theodore was christened at Saint Nicholas Kirk on August 31, 1868, just a few minutes away from their home. It’s likely John’s place of work was near their residence as well. He may have worked at the Garden & Co. Victoria Granite Works, a few minutes walk up King Street, since it was not uncommon to find a place to live close to a place of employment in this pre-motorized era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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12 Wales Street, located at center right. Saint Nicholas Kirk is at lower left corner. It’s possible the Granite Works between King Street and North Street at upper mid-left may be the place of Theodore’s father’s employment. | Aberdeenshire LXXV.11 (Old Machar, Greyfriars, St Clements, etc.) Survey date: 1864 to 1867 Publication date: 1869 | National Library of Scotland CC-BY<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Though this early King Street Junction scene is circa 1900, it would have been familiar to the Cromars during their time living on Wales Street. The North of Scotland Bank, erected in the 1840s, is visible to the left. Further down King Street is the tower of the North Church. If you turned right at the church and crossed Park Street, you’d find Wales Street. If you kept walking down King Street, you’d find the Garden & Co. Victoria Granite Works. | Image from The Doric Columns<\/a> <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tuberculosis<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Fate ushered in an untimely end to the urban Aberdeen life that seemed to suit the family. Stone polishing work is hazardous, and the fine silicate powder loosened into the air from grinding the granite easily fosters a condition known as silicosis<\/a>, which often degrades into tuberculosis. John’s struggle with phthisis pulmonalis<\/em>, an old-fashioned term for the disease, appears to have been a gradual fight with an inevitable end. He knew he was dying, and this explains a perhaps reluctant but necessary move back to the Howe to set things up for his family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They had enough time to make plans to provide for Ann and young Theodore through their extended family. John died in his birthplace of Lumphanan, in the house of his brother George, on November 10, 1870, at the early age of 47. Theodore was only 2. Now a young widow, Ann had to fend for herself and her son in a world where women had few options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ann and Theodore on their own<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ann had a taste for Industrial Revolution opportunity in the city from her earlier experience, and she probably needed more money to raise her son alone than she could earn as a domestic in a ferm-toun<\/em>, if such work was even available. So back to the city she went\u2014not to Aberdeen this time, but south to Glasgow. She evidently had a wanderlust that rural life couldn’t satisfy in any event, a trait we’ll discover it seems she passed down to Theodore. We find her in tenement housing at 35 Parliamentary Road, Glasgow in January of 1873, possibly working in the cotton industry her husband had abandoned. We know Ann must have left as early as 1871, though, because Theodore had been living since that time in the home of his grandfather, Alexander George, in Cuttieshillock, Coull. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An Aberdeenshire Farm Under Snow, 1896 oil painting by Joseph Farquharson | Atlas of Places, Public domain<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cuttieshillock<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The George ferm-toun was sizable: 45 acres of land, about equal to 34 American football fields, and Alexander was doing well enough (and, at 69, was old enough) to hire a farm laborer. His son, also Alexander, seemed to be doing as well, conducting business as a mason master employing 4 men. Theodore was not the only grandson in the house\u2014he joined Alexander Charles, Alexander Begg, Richard Green, and John Sim, ranging in age from 17 to newborn. The grandsons made up the majority portion of this 9 member, 3-generation extended family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Family roll call<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The matriarch of the brood was Ann Alexander, confusing since she was married to Alexander (and her son was Alexander). Mary and Jane George, their daughters, lived at home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jane had married Robert Lumsden Charles in 1870 and given birth to Alexander Charles at the age of 20. We are not sure whether Robert, like Theodore’s mother, was seeking the family fortune or instead had, like his father, met an unfortunate early demise, but infant Alexander’s father was not present in the house as of the 1871 Census. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alexander Begg, 17, was listed as a mason and was likely under apprenticeship to Alexander George the younger (so<\/em> many Alexanders!). At 14, Richard had employment as a farm laborer, though it’s not clear if he’s employed by his grandfather or another farmer. John at 6 was too young for school or farm labor, and it’s not clear why his parents are not present, though as we will see, the Sims were another family of masons that married into the Cromar web. Between the Georges, Sims, and Cromars, there were quite a few members of the trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cuttieshillock, center mid-right, is a ferm-toun, part of Coull. Note the proximity of Tomnaverie Stone Circle to the north. The tongue-shaped plot of land to the west of Tomnaverie is a stone quarry that almost destroyed the Bronze Age monument. | Aberdeenshire, sheet LXXXI (includes: Aboyne And Glen Tanar; Coull, etc.) Survey date: 1866-1867, Publication date: 1870 | National Library of Scotland CC-BY<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tomnaverie Stone Circle<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It’s almost certain that Alexander George the younger and his employees had some relationship with the quarry near Tomnaverie Stone Circle. The quarry, in fact, almost led to the demise of the monument<\/a>. Stone from the quarry was used to build many of the structures in nearby Tarland<\/a>. It isn’t hard to imagine how these ancient stones stirred the imagination of the young “Thuddie,” as he was nicknamed, even in their relatively dilapidated state. The circle was later rescued and restored in the early 21st Century<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n