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Note: John Jack appears to have been the first Jack to move into the Barrhead area. He moved to Graham's Town, later known as Grahamston. This village was named after its builder, John Graham Esq who built a mill there. Graham owned large tracts of wooded land which now makes up much of the Fereneze Braes. He farmed the land chiefly for cattle. The Grahamston mill was built in 1801 and was the last one to be built on the Levern so presumably there was no Grahamston village before that date. Certainly there is no sign of Grahamston on late 18th century maps. There had been a previous and much smaller mill working in the area around 1765 but it was destroyed by fire in the early 19th century according to the Statistical Account of 1840.
John Graham was one of the principal landowners in the area and was known as John Graham of Fereneze and Craigallian. It would seem that the Graham family owned the land rather than one indvidual named John Graham. It would further appear that the Grahamston printfield and village were completed early in the 19th century because in the 1845 Statistical Account there is no mention of new building taking place. In 1835 or thereabouts the village compirsed of 120 families and 595 individuals so it was more than just a small village. In the whole parish of Neilston nearly half of the population was employed in cotton spinning and its associated industries.
Grahamston was in the lower part of Neilston parish and in 1845's Statistical Account this part of the parish accounted for a considerable number of the sick in the parish. This was put down to the Irish in the community who were either poor or labourers. John Jack may have been one of the 77 occupiers of land not employing anyone. Those people who worked in the printfields or mills would have worked from 5 a.m. until 7 p.m. according to the account. It was a six day, 69 hour week. Printers worked 6am-6pm in the summer and bleachers worked 11-12 hours per day in their 72 hour week.
The longevity of John Jack is impressive. The average lifespan for agricultural workers was 60.5 and for manufacturing workers just under 34. So John Jack has done very well to get into his sixties.
Precisely where he moved from is not clear although his birthplace looks as though it was Priesthill, Glasgow which is about 3 miles or so from Grahamston. It is possible that on the death of his father around 1805 John inherited some money which allowed him to buy land in what is now Graham Street.
John was married twice and both of his wives pre-deceased him. His first wife was Janet Boyle and they were married in 1804. This would make John 14 when he was married which I very much doubt. I suspect that the birth date is incorrect. In any case his marriage to Elizabeth was short lived since she died very young between 1805 and 1807 after having two sons, both called John and both whom died in infancy.
John married Agnes Aitchison in 1813 and the marriage was recorded in the Neilston OPR where both are described as belonging to Neilston. There is a distinct lack of Jacks registered in the OPR between 1793 and 1803 but the numkber has increased from then on in. John and Agnes were not without their sorrows. The birth of Williamin 1819 was described as their seventh son. The fact that they have registered all of their other children in the OPR could mean that the other sons died soon after birth. Two sisters and Thomas survived, the two sisters being Lillias and Jane Jack. What became of them has not yet been ascertained.
He was described on his death certificate as a "portioner of Grahamston." Definitions vary:
1. A portioner is a proprietor/joint proprietor of land Owner or joint owner I wonder.
2. Owner of land, previously divided amongst co-heirs.
3. PORTIONER OF LAND, owner of a small bit of land.
4. A proprietor who held only a small piece of land.
5. One who possesses part of a property which had been originally divide among co-heirs.
1841 Census Details
On the 1841 census he is described as a gardener and according to Fowler's Directory he was an officer in the Levern Lodge of Free Gardeners in 1825. This leads me to to the conclusion that he was both portioner and gardener and that he used gardening to supplement his income. Staying with him in Jack's Land in Grahamston was Thomas (20), Lillias (14) Jane or Jean (11).
1851 Census Details
In the 1851 census he was described as a house proprietor. He was also the head of the house and had staying with him his son and daugher -in-law Thomas and Mary Jack, his 18 year old handloom weaver daughter Jane and three of his grandchildren John, aged 5, James, aged 2 and Thomas aged 2 months.
He died on 23rd January 1855 in Grahamston from dropsy which he had developed eleven days previously. Dropsy is an excess of fluid within a tissue. It can occur in any site, tissue or organ. My guess is that it was pulmonary oedema which is caused by heart failure. Oedema can also result from inhalation of gasses, fumes, poisons etc. Or it might just have been old age which is also a well known killer.
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