George C Buik
(1921 - a US business)
George Coupar Buik was the son of George & Anna Buik – his middle name came from his mother’s maiden name - Anna Coupar. George & Anna were married in May 1890 at Princes Street Hall, Dundee and George Coupar Buik was born later the same year, on 4th November 1890, at 46 Hilltown, Dundee. The occupation of his father is recorded as a ‘Yarn Dresser’ - a role in the textile industry responsible for the preparation of flax fibres.
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George C Buik grew up in Dundee. In the 1901 census he was 10 and the family were still living at 46, Hilltown. His only sibling, a sister, was born later the same year – Celina Annabella Buik, in June 1901. But in May 1911 passenger records show that George travelled to the USA, (just six months before his 21st birthday). He travelled via Quebec accompanied by the wife and two young children of a family relative - Alex Coupar. (Alex was already living in Battle Creek, Michigan, USA).
On 5th December 1914 George married Frieda Jahn, in Chicago, Illinois, USA and in 1917 he became an American citizen.
In April 1917 the US entered the First World War and in June of that year George completed registration forms for the army draft; but he claimed exemption from the draft in order to "support his wife and child".
In the US census of 1920 George was listed with his wife Frieda (aged 25) and two daughters, Annabelle (aged 2) and Dorothy (aged 5 months), living on 17th Avenue, Melrose Park, Cook County, Chicago, Illinois.
By 1921 George was a budding entrepreneur. Recognising both the growth in the city’s work force and the increasing demand for laundry services for work clothes, George decided to pool his resources with another young entrepreneur John P. O’Connell and together they formed the Roscoe Overall Laundry.
In the US census of 1930, George & Frieda Buik were recorded along with Annabelle, Dorothy and now two more children: George (aged 6) and Donald (aged 3); living on 18th Avenue, in the same area of Chicago, (Melrose Park, Proviso Township).
When the US entered the Second World War in December 1941, George C Buik was 51 years old. All men in the US from age 18 to 44 were required to sign up for military service and all men up to age 65 were required to register. Hence in 1942 George completed his registration documents.
After the War there was a reconnection between the Buik family and the Mackenzie family when, in 1947, Doris Chambers (eldest daughter of Grace Chambers, née Mackenzie) visited the US and stayed with the Buik family in Chicago. This began a series of visits, building ties between the two families over the next 40 years.
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In April 1948 George C Buik, now the owner of the laundry business, travelled back to the UK and stayed with Grace & Charles Chambers (the couple in the wedding photo on the home page of the website). Grace was George Buik’s cousin. George stayed with the family at 107a Shooters Hill, Blackheath, London.
On a number of occasions over the next few years George, accompanied by his wife Frieda, travelled to the UK and met up with his relatives.
They were in London in August 1949; in June 1953 they were in Edinburgh; in May 1956 they stayed at Browns Hotel in London; and in June 1959 they stayed in Dundee. The passenger records for each journey show them travelling by ship and usually staying for more than a month in the UK. George’s profession on the passenger lists is given as ‘Laundry Proprietor/Owner’.
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In 1957 Grace Chambers (née Mackenzie) also travelled to Chicago to stay with her cousin. Aged 63 she travelled by ship from Southampton to New York - it was the first time she had travelled abroad.
George’s wife, Frieda Jahn, died on 4th December 1963, aged 69. George lived for another 14 years, he died on 18th November 1977 aged 87. Both George and Frieda are buried in Chicago at Mount Emblem Cemetery, Elmhurst, DuPage County, Illinois, USA.
