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John Borthwick (1791-after 1843) (2nd son of John BORTHWICK and Elizabeth DINWOODIE) Early Life / 1843 letter to Australia / Marriage in Edinburgh / Children / Portrait Painter in Liverpool / Glasgow 1846 / Miss Borthwick, Daguerreotypist / Marriage to Francis Lauder / Patersons in Liverpool If you like this site you may vote for it by clicking on this banner. Early Life John Borthwick, the second child of this name born to John Borthwick & Elizabeth Dinwoodie, was baptised on 6 November 1791 in Drumelzier, Peebles, Scotland. Nothing is known of his early life. John's letter to his brother in Australia, July 1843 A wonderful BORTHWICK family record in Australia is the following letter written by John in July 1843, to his brother William Murray BORTHWICK, who had left the UK 10 years earlier. 3 Cresswell Street Everton Liverpool July 1843 My dear Brother When yours of October 1841 was forwarded to me from Scotland, I lost no time in writing and sending a parle (?) of Scotsman newspapers at the same time, & a second, & now a third time I have written to you in the same way; but not having got another letter, I feel quite discouraged. In my other letters which I trust you received, I mentioned all the deaths connected with our family, viz, Father [an indecipherable word or letter] Mother Theressia, brother Alexander, 2 of his children, & Betty's only daughter, and my only son, which took place a little before you left England. I had a letter from Robert a few weeks ago, & Jean was on a visit with him at Philadelphia, Jean has only two children left, big Agnus [Angus? Agnes?], & John, both at maturity - Robert has one son and two daughters. Isabella is in her usual state of health, and May is on a visit with Betty at Glasgow who is doing very well, she has 18 cows, at present. Alexander's family, by Betty's assistance is doing wonders, they are industrious, & has got 4 cows in Glasgow. Mr Thomas Paterson is here in the coal business, and in very reduced condition, with a wife and 3 children, he is a frail looking old man. Mr John Paterson is in the old place, and the last time Mr Thomas heard of James, he was about Lanark in his usual way. You must have observed the disruption in the Church of Scotland - nearly 500 of the best ministers with Dr Chalmers have come out; but as you will see all national matters in the newspapers I shall not notice them here. We are all very concerned about your health but trust that God in his goodness may strengthen and long preserve you to your family. Apart from your own health, I am glad to see that your family have been fortunate in every way. Isabella joins me in kindest love to you and Mrs Borthwick, & every one of the family. Trusting to have a letter from you soon, I remain My dear Brother, Your affectionate brother John Borthwick [This letter was addressed to Mr W M Borthwick, Auburn Vale, Peels River, New South Wales and arrived in Sydney possibly 4 January 1844] Marriage to Isabella Chisholm, Edinburgh, 1822 Suspicions that John Borthwick's wife was Isabella CHISHOLM have now been confirmed. They were married on 26 April 1822 in St Cuthberts, Edinburgh, MLN, Scotland & copies of their marriage records have been obtained. St Cuthbert's Register of Proclamations for 19th April 1822 contains the following entry: "Borthwick. Chisholm. John Borthwick, Painter, No 7 West Richmond Street and Isabella Chisholm residing No 10 Broughton Street, daughter of the late Thomas Chisholm, Merchant, have been three times proclaimed in order to Marriage and no Objections have been offered. Married on the Twenty sixth day of April Current by the Reverend Doctor James Hall, Minister of the United Associated Secession Congregation of Broughton Close." This means that John and Isabella were married while his brother, William Murray Borthwick, was in Edinburgh Gaol, waiting trial for the charges that were later dropped amid high drama and controversy. Descendants of John Borthwick & Isabella Chisholm Mary (May) Chisholm Borthwick was baptised on 23 September 1823 in St Cuthberts, Edinburgh, Scotland. In the register of Births and Baptisms for St Cuthberts, Edinburgh, Scotland for April 1831, under 11 April, there is the following entry: "John Borthwick, Portrait Painter, Residing in Brown Street, and Isabella Chisholm, his Spouse, had a Daughter Born on 24th August 1823. Named May Chisholm. Baptized on the 28th September thereafter by the Reverend Dr James Hall, Minister of the United Associate Secession Congregation of Broughton Place." John Borthwick's brother William Murray, his wife Helen Paterson and their children were all living in Brown Street, Edinburgh in 1823. It is not known why the birth and baptism were not entered in the register for another 8 years. The entry for May Chisholm Borthwick is followed by an entry for her brother John Robert Borthwick, born 11 July 1825 (see below), and then by an affidavit signed by John Borthwick and witnessed by Jas Patison JP. "May" is referred to in the 1843 letter from John Borthwick, then living in Liverpool, to his brother William Murray in Australia. In July 1843 she was visiting her aunt Betty in Glasgow. (This was probably Betty Lillie, wife of George Lillie.) John Robert Borthwick was born 9 October 1825 & recorded in St Cuthberts Blotter register, Edinburgh, MLN, Scotland. In the register of Births and Baptisms for April 1831, under 11 April, there is the following entry: "John Borthwick, Portrait Painter, Residing in Arthur Street, and Isabella Chisholm, his Spouse, had a Son Born on 11th July 1825. Named John Robert. Baptized on the Ninth October thereafter by the Reverend Dr James Hall, Minister of the United Associate Secession Congregation of Broughton Place." This is preceded by an entry for John's sister, Mary Chisholm Borthwick, born 24 August, 1823, and followed by an affidavit signed by John Borthwick and witnessed by Jas Patison JP. His father's letter of July 1843 indicates that "my only son" John Robert Borthwick died around 1841/1843. I hope to obtain a death certificate from Liverpool. In the Edinburgh section of the 1825-26 Commercial Directory of Scotland under Portrait and Miniature Painters our John appears as follows: "Borthwick, John, 31 Mid Arthur pl " Portrait Painter in Liverpool, England Sometime between 1826 and 1841 John moved to Liverpool in England where he continued as a portrait painter. With the Everton address from the 1843 letter & some help from genealogists John Borthwick was located in three Liverpool directories. These directories also list a James Borthwick, teacher, of Harrington and Toxteth Park in Liverpool. Was he a relative? 1841 - GORE'S DIRECTORY OF LIVERPOOL AND ITS ENVIRONS. Borthwick, James, teacher, 58, Warwick street, Harrington Borthwick, John, portrait painter, 14, Islington 1843 - GORE'S DIRECTORY OF LIVERPOOL AND ITS ENVIRONS. Borthwick, James, teacher, 202 Bedford street, Harrington Borthwick, John, portrait painter, 3 Cresswell street, Everton 1845 - GORE'S DIRECTORY OF LIVERPOOL AND ITS ENVIRONS. Borthwick, James, teacher, 6, Northumberland street, Tox. park ---------------- academy 202 Bedford street, Toxteth park Borthwick, John, millwright and shopkeeper, 34A, Parliament st Borthwick, John, portrait painter, 5 Cresswell street, Everton road (***this is our John Borthwick) A member of the rootsweb mailing list for Lancashire looked for Borthwick for me in the 1851 census index for Liverpool but John and his family had apparently gone. (Other Borthwicks found recorded in that census are listed below.) Cresswell Street My internet friend (thank you Jean) went to Cresswell Street in 1999 and found that where no. 3 would have been was a patch of waste ground. Next door was a post war building for an Education Welfare Office, and on the other side of the road were brand new private houses. In fact, all around that area they seemed to be redeveloping. Sadly, no clues there. Records yet to be searched include the census records for Liverpool & also the civil records in England as it seems that John Robert Borthwick died there around 1841-1843. Portrait Painter, Glasgow, 1846 John Borthwick, portrait painter, seemed to disappear from Liverpool in 1845. Much searching .... Lo and behold, in the Post Office Directory for Glasgow for 1846: Borthwick, John, portrait painter, house, 48 Holmhead street Borthwick, Miss, daguerrotypeist [sic], 48 Holmhead street In the 1847 Directory: John Borthwick, portrait painter, pavilion, Buchanan Street, the foot of Bath street, house Renfrew St Miss Borthwick, daguerreotypist, pavilion, Buchanan St, at the foot of Bath St, house Renfrew And in the 1848 Glasgow Directory: Borthwick, Miss, daguerreotypist, pavilion, Buchanan st at the foot of Bath st, house Renfrew Rd John Borthwick, portrait painter does not appear in this directory. Perhaps he died in Glasgow around this time. His brother Alexander Borthwick, had died at Taylor St Glasgow around 1841 but Alexander's family was still living there. John's sister Betty Lillie and her husband George were also in Glasgow at this time. And finally, in the 1849 and 1850 Glasgow Directories (exactly the same entry for both): Borthwick, Miss daguerreotypist, pavillion, Buchanan Street at the foot of Bath Street We have not found advertisements of John Borthwick's work in the newspapers. Neither Miss Borthwick or her father appear in the Census for 1841 or for 1851 at 48 Holmhead Street or at Renfrew Road. Nor do they appear in the 1851, 1852 or 1853 Directories for Glasgow. I assume that John, the father, died between 1847 and 1848 and need to search for his death in Glasgow. Another task is to find Mary/May Chisholm Borthwick in the 1851 census for Scotland. We now know that she died in Maxwell St, Maxwelltown in 1893 and that her widower was Francis LAUDER, a Dyer in a Tweed Mill. (See below) Holmhead Street was apparently renamed Cunningham Street at some stage. See the website "Glasgow's Renamed Streets" at http://www.douglas-brown.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/stindex.htm. By the time of the 1881 census 48 Holmhead St was obviously a set of apartments or a large boarding house as there were a number of families living there. No Borthwicks. It appears to be the end of the street as 48 is the lowest number. The streets on either end of Holmhead on that census were Frederick st and Hanover st. Miss Borthwick, Daguerreotypist May Chisholm Borthwick must have been one of the early daguerreotypist photographers in Glasgow. She was only 23 years old in 1846, when her name first appeared in a Glasgow Directory. Research into "Miss B" has taken off apace in early August 2001 so I am posting here the new information as it is discovered. According to photohistorian, Peter Palmquist, the book, Victorian and Edwardian Professional Photographers in Glasgow, Royal Photographic Society, c.1988, at page 9, credits Miss Borthwick with activity from 1846-1850 and gives three addresses: 48 Homstead Street, 4 Cathedral Street and Buchanan Street, Pavillion. There are no other particulars. It can be seen that the three addresses are those in the Glasgow Directories. Peter and another photohistorian Steven Joseph also advise that the introduction to Mr Hallett's directory (page 5) reprints: Buchanan, William. "Photography Comes to Glasgow: A Survey of the Fifteen Years 1839-1854", Scottish Photography Bulletin (Spring 1988), pp 4-17, who writes: "Who was the first local man to take up photography as a profession? For 1846 the names Stanley and Borthwick appear. The latter, if not a local man [sic], is likely at least to be a Scot." And "at 67 Buchanan Street was the National Portrait Gallery....there were six apartments in addition to the main hall....various businesses occupied them...nevertheless, it was a good site for a studio for it was well known. The Hall [perhaps this was referred to at the time as the pavillion?] could accommodate six to seven hundred people attending such entertainments as exhibitions, balls, wax works and dioramas." In another book, written by John Hannavy, a photohistorian in Bolton, Lancashire, Victorian Photographers at Work, Shire Publications, UK, 1997 Miss Borthwick is actually mentioned on page 17. He writes: The first photographer to set up in Buchanan St, Glasgow, was John Edwards, who had served his apprenticeship at Antoine Claudet's Adelaide Gallery in London. ... Local trade directories list at least eight photographers establishing themselves in the city centre during the 1840s. In addition to Bernard and Hughes at the Monteith Rooms, and Edwards at number 43 Buchanan Street, also established in the 1840s were three studios operated by a Miss Borthwick, listed between 1846 and 1850, two studios run by William Low & Son in Gordon Street and Trongate, and others by Mr. E. Pickering in George Street, James Robertson in West Nile Street, and Hugh Treffrey in Union Street. An article by B. V. and P. F. Heathcote titled 'The Feminine Influence', History of Photography, vol. 12, no. 3, 1988, suggests that Miss Borthwick was working from a studio at the corner of Buchanan and Cathedral Street in Glasgow between 1847 and 1849. The source cited for this information is the Glasgow Post Office Directory for 1847 - 48. This article is useful in describing the commercial activities of early women photographers, but doesn't provide any further information on the photographer. We have not found advertisements of May Borthwick's work in the newspapers, or mention of her in any history of early photography. The Daguerreian Society website provides an enormous amount of information about this form of photography, which was invented by a Frenchman, Luis Daguerre, in 1837. It consisted of treating silver-plated copper sheets with iodine to make them sensitive to light, then exposing them in a camera and "developing" the images with warm mercury vapor. Daguerre and Arago publicized the steps of the process on August 19, 1839, (almost) without restriction, as a gift to the world from France. "Daguerreotypy spread rapidly, except in England, where Daguerre had secretly patented his process before selling it to the French government. The legal problems attending the pursuit of photography as a profession account in part for the widespread influence of amateurs (e.g., Nadar), the French pioneer photographer) on the early development of the medium. The popularity of the daguerreotype is attributable to two principal factors. The first of these was the Victorian passion for novelty and for the accumulation of material objects, which found its perfect paradigm in these silvery, exquisitely detailed miniatures. The second was the greatly increasing demand from a rising middle class for qualitatively good but�compared to a painter's fee�inexpensive family portraits. The cheaper tintype eventually made such likenesses available to all." (Source: InfoPlease - http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/ent/A0860365.html) May Borthwick's Marriage to Francis Lauder The death of May Marjorie Chisholm Borthwick was registered in Troqueer in 1893. It records that May Marjorie Chisholm Lauder, nee Borthwick (and the new middle name is a surprise - Marjorie?) died on 12 July 1893 at 3.50 p.m. at 4 Maxwell St, Maxwelltown. She was aged 64. May's had married Francis Lauder Dyer in a Tweed Mill. I habven't yet found this marriage and would be delighted to hear from any Lauder researchers who know anything about May and Francis Her parents are listed as John Borthwick, Portrait Painter (dec) & Isabella Chisholm (dec). The death was registered by Francis Lauder, widower on 13 July 1893 at Maxwelltown. I've found another Borthwick family connected to Maxwell St Maxwelltown but don't know whether there is any connection at all. The Commonwealth War Graves site records that Samuel BORTHWICK Private 14605 11th Bn., Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) who died on Sunday 25th June 1916, was the husband of Isabella Borthwick, of 14, Maxwell St., Maxwelltown, Dumfries. Can any reader help? Patersons in Liverpool The reference, in John's letter of 1843, to Patersons in Liverpool, "Mr Thomas is in the coal business", was a reference to the family of his sister-in-law, Helen Paterson. The Liverpool directories include the following: GORE'S DIRECTORY OF LIVERPOOL AND ITS ENVIRONS. 1843. Paterson, Thomas, book keeper, 43, Rathbone street Paterson, Thomas, coal agent, 13 Bond St; office 23 Water street M'CORQUODALE'S ANNUAL LIVERPOOL DIRECTORY. 1848 Paterson, Thomas, book keeper, 14 Leander st --------------, Thomas S., 10 Basnett st GORE'S DIRECTORY OF LIVERPOOL AND ITS ENVIRONS. 1849. Paterson, Thomas, book keeper, 14 Leander st --------------, Thomas Simpson, accountant, office 10 Basnett st Patterson, Thomas, cartowner, 34 Bevington street --------------- Thomas M., merchant, (P. Brothers,) 10 Moss street GORE'S DIRECTORY OF LIVERPOOL AND ITS ENVIRONS. 1851. Paterson, Thomas, book keeper, 11 Stanley pl. Melville pl. Oxford -?- --------------, Thomas Simpson, accountant, Rock ferry, Cheshire, office 10 Basnett street Patterson, Thomas, coal dealer, 54 Hill street, Toxteth Park ---------------, Thomas M., mrcht (P. Brothers) Maine house, Huyton GORE'S DIRECTORY OF LIVERPOOL AND ITS ENVIRONS. 1853. Paterson, Thomas Simpson, estate agt. & agt. to Industrial & General Life Assur. Co., Rock ferry; office, 2 Church alley, Church st Patterson, Thomas, book keeper, 13 Lanson street -----------, shipwright, Stanley buildings, 105 Hornby st ------------, Thomas M., mrcht, (P. Bros.,) 8 Wellington ter. W. Derby rd Some Links: The Daguerreian Society: http://www.daguerre.org ArtLex Visual Arts Dictionary (includes some examples of early daguerreotypes): http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/d/daguerreotype.html Library of Congress daguerreotype collection: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/daghtml/daghome.html Glasgow's Renamed Streets: http://www.douglasbrown.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/stindex.htm Copyright: Ann Carson 2001 All rights reserved. Created: 31 March 2001 Last Updated: 11 August 2001