Transcript:

The laird and his wife

A story by Edith Petrie and Pat Dunn about the Laird of Clova and his wife

They used to come up in the morning and Douglas, my son, was just sitting in his pram and he used to go

about the pram – they’d no family of their own – and he had one red sock on and one black one. That’s just

what he put on in the morning. Sometimes they would match but next thing they weren’t.

And his wife was Catholic, she was a staunch Catholic and there is a wee chapel just down from the big

house and he went down there in a rage one day and broke a lot of the …

Funny, I was just reading about that last night in an old diary. 1952 the Laird died and he broke a lot of the

precious ladies. I don’t know if he buried them. She collected a lot of stuff out of that hall for the chapel.

I remember she came into the bakery one day and she used to get her milk there – there was a wee place

just inside the door and they would lay the milk on there. And this morning she came in and said “Do you

have my milk” and I said “Yes, it’s there” and she just picked it up and it broke on the floor.

I was serving anyway so I went and got the brush and a shovel and gave it to her and my goodness – the

boss came through and what a heap of trouble I got into.

“Because you were suppose to clean it up, not her?”

It was’nae me that broke it – I was just young then. But anyway – I had to wash the floor, because milk’s

sticky.

“So did she pick it up?”

Oh she did put it in the brush but then I picked it up and put it away in the bucket.

Mind the old Laird, he shot at somebody. There was poachers in the back somewhere. Oh aye – he’d fired

it up in the air like. He didn’t shoot anybody but he fired his gun to scare them. The humour he was in

sometimes – ooh.

My father used to load there all his days. He used to go away in his plus-fours and his jacket and he loaded

for him.

So you wouldn’t cross the Laird then?

Well – you weren’t supposed to but nowadays things are not so staunch as long ago.

Transcript:

The Lumsden family

A story by James Lumsden about the Lumsden family tree

Lumsden family tree goes back to Berwickshire. Founded the Priory of Coldingham and the village of

Lumsdene in 1098.

First chief’s name was Adam Lumsden. He was forced to fight alongside the English king Edward I, who

attempted to conquer the Scots in 1296.

A few branches of the Lumsdens split up. My line is Cushnie, Tilliecairn, Clova, Auchindoir, Belhelvie,

Pitcaple, Balmedie and Sluie at Banchory.

Lumsden of Cushnie sat in the Scots parliament. Andrew Lumsden, he was Primus of the Episcopal

Church in 1713. Robert Lumsden, he was secretary to Prince Charlie – that’s Edward Stuart – 1745-1746

rising.

He escaped to Rome after Culloden. He returned to Scotland in 1778 – he was pardoned then. His tartan

waistcoat was preserved and is now in Pitcaple Castle.

John Lumsden, director of the East India Company, he was involved with the Grants of Monymusk as

slavers.

Harry Lumsden, he founded the village of Lumsden.

Hugh Lumsden, Clova and Auchindoir was Papal Chamberlain to Pope Benedict XV.

Harry Lumsden’s son Alexander took up residence at Mill of Leslie, over beside Insch. He married there,

moved to Bogs of Leslie, just up the road a wee bit. He’d nine of a family.

One of them – James, my grandfather – started farming at Terpersie.