Isabella Nicoll & Alexander Buik
Isabella Nicoll’s parents both died before she was 10 years old. Hence in the 1851 Census, four years before her marriage, Isabella is recorded as living with her grandmother (Agnes Grieve) and her two aunts (Elisa and Isabella Grieve) at 101, Bucklemaker Wynd in Dundee, Scotland. There are multiple households listed at the same address and on the following page Alexander Buik is listed at the same property.
Isabella and Alexander were married in Dundee on 6 April 1855; and between 1856 and 1872 they had eight children, although William died in infancy on Christmas Eve in 1866, aged just 2 - see the mini family tree below.
On their marriage certificate Isabella is recorded as a weaver and Alexander as a tinsmith. Both professions were part of the ‘Nine Incorporated Trades of Dundee’ - an organisation formed in the sixteenth century from nine different trades that operated in the City. (Bakers, Cordwainers, Glovers, Tailors, Bonnetmakers, Fleshers, Hammermen, Weavers and Dyers).
The street, Bucklemaker Wynd, in Dundee was closely associated with the Hammermen Trade (including tinsmiths), getting its name from the industry that surrounded it. The work done by these craftsmen included the making of buckles of all kinds, from saddles to sword-belts and every kind of buckle used in war and peace.
Weavers were an important part of the economy of Dundee and with the advent of jute - and thanks in part to the Crimea War (1853-56), and the American Civil War (1861-65) with their demand for jute products - Dundee more than doubled its population in a period of just 20 years in the 19th Century.
Isabella and Alexander moved several times in the mid-1800s, but they lived in this same street for more than twenty years. The birth certificates for their second and third children, and subsequent census details, record their different homes. Ann was born in 1858 at 93 Bucklemaker Wynd; Betsy Douglas was born in 1860 at number 101; and in the 1861 Census the family are recorded at number 43. Ten years later, in the 1871 Census, the family - now with seven children - are recorded as living at 103, Bucklemaker Wynd.
Bucklemaker Wynd for centuries formed one of the main routes from Dundee to the east, but it was eventually removed as part of the Dundee Improvement Act of 1871 to make way for Victoria Road, which was constructed on the line of the old street.
It is not clear when the family moved, but in June 1880 Isabella was admitted to the Royal Dundee Lunatic Asylum (later renamed the Dundee Infirmary) and her home address at the time was recorded as 20, Watson Street, Dundee. (You can read more about her time in the Infirmary in the 'Personal Stories' section). Just 22 days after Isabella was admitted, her eldest son, Alexander, was also admitted to the Asylum. Like his mother this was not his first admission - he had previously been admitted in 1872 for 4 months (aged 16), and in 1875 for 9 months. In 1880, now aged 24, he was listed as single and his profession was recorded as ‘factory worker.’ The Admission Report for Alexander states that he was “…suffering from mania” and accompanying medical certificates record him as being: “…rambling and incoherent in his talk – at times inclined to be violent and dangerous. He maintains he is dead.”
Alexander (junior), Isabella and Alexander Buik's first child, died in the Asylum in April 1881 (aged 25). Isabella remained in the Asylum from 1880 to 1883 and hence at the time of the 1881 Census, when the rest of the family are recorded at the address at 20, Watson Street; Isabella and her eldest son (Alexander) are not listed at the property.
The names, ages and occupations that are recorded in the 1881 Census are as follows:
Alexander Buik (54) - Tinsmith
Ann (Annie) Buik (23) – Steam Loom Weaver
Betsy Douglas Buik (21) – Housekeeper
Robert Buik (18) – Watchmaker
George Buik (16) – Dresser
Andrew Buik (11) – (at school)
James Buik (9) – (at school)
Two years after this census and aged just 56, Alexander, the children’s father, died (1 April 1883). Just two and a half months later, in June, Isabella was discharged from the Infirmary - but within two years she had also died (on 5 February 1885). Read more about her time at the Dundee Infirmary and her untimely death, in the ‘Personal Stories’ section.
By the time of the 1891 Census and following the death of their parents, the remaining children of Alexander & Isabella Buik had begun to go their separate ways.
The children of Isabella and Alexander Buik
Ann (Annie) Buik
In December 1888, Annie Buik aged 30, the oldest surviving member of the family, married William Mackenzie at Park Avenue Hall in Dundee. They went on to have five children in Dundee but then moved south with their young family, for a new life in London. (You can read more about Annie, William and the Mackenzie family in 'Families').
Betsy Douglas Buik
Betsy married James MacLagan in Dundee in January 1882 and together they went on to have six children. In the 1891 census the MacLagan family were living at 41, North Wellington St., Dundee. (including: Bella, age 8; Jessie, age 7; Alexander, age 5; James, age 4, Amelia age 2 and Betsy aged 7 months). Also recorded at the property and listed as “boarders” are Betsy Douglas Buik’s youngest brothers, Andrew (age 21) and James (age 19).
Ten years on and in the 1901 census the MacLagan family have moved to 75, Rosebank Street, Dundee; but now Betsy is listed as the head of the family (suggesting that her husband has died) and there are now five children at home: Alex (aged 15), James (14), Amelia (12), Betsy (10) and William (aged 8).
Robert Buik
Robert was named on their mother’s death certificate in 1885 and recorded as living at Victoria Road. His name then appears in the electoral roll of 1886, living in the same road, at 183 Victoria Road, Dundee. In the 1891 census Robert (aged 29) is then recorded with his wife Eliza (aged 28, born in Ireland) and a young daughter, Maggie (aged 11, born in Dundee), living at 21, Park Street, Dundee. Robert’s profession is recorded as “Delf Hawker” (a pedlar of pottery and earthenware originally from the Delft area in Holland).
The couple’s daughter Maggie Buik also appears ten years earlier in the 1881 census (aged 2) residing at the same address, 21 Park Street, along with an 18 year old Eliza Slaven, where they are both listed as ‘boarders’. Eliza Slaven is thought to be Maggie’s mother. She is living with her young daughter who was born prior to Eliza marrying the child’s father, Robert Buik.
George (Geordie) Buik
Also in the 1891 census, Robert’s younger brother, George (Geordie) is recorded as married and living in Dundee. Geordie had married Anna Coupar in May 1890 and the census the following year records his wife Anna (Annie) aged 24 and a baby son – also called George. On his birth certificate the baby is recorded as George Coupar Buik, whilst his father is listed as George Diack Buik. The family were living in the Hilltown area of Dundee and Geordie’s occupation was listed as a ‘Yarn Dresser’. A Yarn Dresser worked in the textile industry and was responsible for preparing flax fibres.
The family were still living in Dundee ten years later in the 1901 census when the address was listed as 46, Hilltown, and Geordie’s occupation was given as ‘Jute Yarn Dresser’. In 1911 his son George Coupar emigrated to the USA and went on to establish himself in business in Chicago. You can read more about George Coupar Buik and the successful business that he started in Chicago, in ‘Personal Stories’.
In June 1920 Geordie’s wife, Anna Coupar, died and within four months, in October 1920, Geordie travelled with his daughter (Celina Annabella Buik) to the USA on the SS Saxonia, (from Tilbury Docks in London to New York). They settled in Chicago where Geordie’s son George C Buik had already made his home.
In 1927, aged 59, Geordie became a naturalised American resident, (with documents registered in Cook County, Illinois). His daughter Celina went on to marry Allan Wilson in September 1921 in Cook County. In the 1930 US Census Geordie was living with his daughter and son-in-law (Celina and Allan Wilson).
George D Buik (Geordie) died in December 1939, aged 72. He is buried at Mt Emblem Cemetery, DuPage County, Illinois.
Andrew Buik and James Buik
The two youngest children of Isabella and Alexander, Andrew and James were just 13 and 11 respectively when their father died in 1883; and their mother died only two years later in 1885. As mentioned above the brothers are both recorded in the 1891 census as ‘boarders’ in the house of their sister, Betsy Douglas and her husband James MacLagan.
Andrew Buik went on to marry Mina and they had two children (Alexander and Betty), but there is currently no more information on James Buik.