For the Tree, The Sloan Family
Samuel Sloan born about 1816 is the earliest known. Sloan is a common name in the Lanark area and so far the parents have not been identified.
Samuel was born in Lesmahagow is a small mining village. Stonehouse is not far away. Married in Lanark, the main township for the area, they would have been 19 years old.
Sloan is spelled Sloen and Christina is Christie on Certificate.
The first child Margaret was born in Stonehouse and all others in Carluke.
In 1841 census they stayed at Patons Building, Stewart St, Upper Ward, Carluke. Samuel was a Ironstone Miner, by 1851 he changed to Limestone Miner and stayed as one until 1861 census, died in 1862.
Christina died in 1871.
In 1871 only Robert is in Carluke, stays as a lodger with John Adams family, works as a Ironstone Miner.
The children all seemed to have left home very quickly as the oldest recorded is Margaret at 14, employed as a Hand Sewer.
In the census the number of people in Stewart St steadily shrinks. By the 1891 Census Stewart St is only a few houses long.
The occupations in the Census of Coal, Ironstone and Limestone mining are consistent with Steel production, the presence of the Railway would enable transport. Appended is a typical description of the Village.
Next in the Story is Elizabeth Sloan.
Elizabeth had two children the first was George who died in infancy, then Christina Sloan who went on to marry William McKintosh. The marriage was in Forteviot and they seem to have moved to Perth very soon after. Elizabeth Sloan was married to a Farmer in Forteviot called John Cadzow, this gets a variety of spellings Cadwow etc. They had another four children.
Helen was a Law Typist when she married John Boyd Ritchie. John was a coal merchant. Helen died on 9 Nov 1928 of TB that she had for four years, started before marriage.
They had Helen and William as children.
McIntosh Tree, McIntosh Family
William was a Railway Guard at the time of marriage to Christina Sloan in Forteviot Pictures for McIntosh Tale. Even less is known of his story, in his Death certificate, 1939, his parents were shown as Donald McKintosh and Anne Sandieson they lived in Aberdeenshire Insch.
Anne's parents were George Sandieson and Margaret Durno, this is a widespread name in Aberdeenshire.
Donald was a Quarrier, a large quarry was in Insch, and he was Born in Ardclach, Nairn, to Donald McIntosh and Annie (Elizabeth) Fraser probably also came from Ardclach as they were married there.
The quarry at Insch was in Foudland Hill and fine Blue Slates were produced for Aberdeen. They were transported on a Canal, the charge for transport was so high that it was cheaper to bring slates from Easdale, near Oban, than to Aberdeen. Bad mining practice saw the quarry declining in the 1840's.
South Lanarkshire
Situated on a high plateau at an elevation of 198m (650 feet), Carluke overlooks the middle reaches of the River Clyde in South Lanarkshire. It lies on the Jock's Burn, 6 miles (10 km) north west of Lanark and was in 1662 chartered as a royal burgh also know as Kirkstyle. A Roman road passed this way and a number of tower houses were built in the locality. Carluke developed in the 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries in association with corn milling, cotton weaving, coal mining and the manufacture of bricks, glass, confectionery and jam. Miltonhead, 1 mile (2 km) to the south west, was the birthplace in 1721 of the military surveyor General William Roy and Milton Lockhart, 2 miles (3 km) to the west, was the home of John Lockhart, the biographer of Sir Walter Scott. In 1897 the remains of Milton Lockhart House were transported to Japan and re-erected near Tokyo. Peter Kid, one of Carluke's 17th Century Covenanting ministers, was imprisoned on the Bass Rock.
Note by John: General Roy was instrumental in creating the Ordinance Survey.