The Borthwicks - Chapter 1
The Borthwicks - 1834 to 1919
Thomas Borthwick was born in 1834 in Cockpen to James Borthwick, a farm labourer of Cockpen and Agnes Bunyan of Stow. Thomas was the third of five children all born in Cockpen, though James would have worked in different farms throughout the neighbourhood. In 1861, in Lasswade, Thomas married Janet McQueen fifth of seven children of Daniel McQueen a handloom Carpet Weaver of Paisley but living in Lasswade from about 1842, and Margaret Burnett of Stirling, Daniel and Margaret had been married in 1827 in the Gorbals, Glasgow, and spent the first fifteen years of their married life there before moving to Lasswade where Daniel carried on working as a Carpet Weaver. Thomas started work as a Paper maker but either shortly before or after marriage he became a Fireman (a stoker) in a Cork Factory and eventually an Engine keeper running and maintaining a stationary steam engine which supplied the power to the factory at least latterly the North British India-rubber Works in Edinburgh. Thomas and Janet seemed to have spent a large proportion of their married life in Arthur Street in the Pleasance district of Edinburgh, though at sometime in the '90s possibly once all the nestlings had flown the coop, they moved to 60 Dundee Street where Janet finally died in 1912 of Cerebral Apoplexy. Thomas survived his wife by just five months, succumbing to 'Age & Debility' and Chronic Diarrhoea in 4 Angle Park Terrace just a hundred yards along the road from 60 Dundee Street. Their third son John Burnett having been born in Lasswade grew up in Arthur Street, he served his apprenticeship as a Cabinet-maker.
Shortly after he completed his apprenticeship his master went bankrupt and John was out of a job. Luckily for him an uncle by marriage, William Wallace who had been a Carpet Factory Foreman in Lasswade, probably the same factory in which Daniel and at least three of his daughters worked, had bettered himself by moving through to the Paisley area to take up a position as Asst Works Manager in Stoddard's Carpet Field in Elderslie. (By 1897 he had progressed to become Chairman of the company). Mr Wallace, (as he was always known in the family - until I started researching the family I didn't know we were even related such was the awe in which he was held by the whole Borthwick family), heard about John's being out of a job and offered him a place in the Carpet Field in Elderslie, as a Warehouseman. The place he worked was actually called the Wareroom which was shortened in speech to Ware'um and John eventually became the Ware'um Foreman. In the Wareroom the carpets were all carefully inspected for any flaws or broken stitches (John's other title was 'Cloth Inspector') and were repaired and stitched by a team of girls (of all ages). My mother used to tell of an occasion when her father was walking through the factory with one of directors. On hearing the sound of singing coming from the Wareroom, Sir Charles (Bine-Renshaw) obviously an employer of the old school, turned to grandfather, "John, your girls are singing, do you allow that?" Grandfather's reply was "Och, Sir Charles, when they are singing they're lee'ing their nee’bours alane!" (Collapse of stout party!)
Another Sir Charles/Jake Borthwick story runs: Since Jake had been a cabinetmaker he had retained the knack of putting a keen edge on cutting tools. Sir Charles was in the habit of bringing his razors to John Borthwick to regain their edge. On one occasion he offered John a half-sovereign for his 'sovereign' work in renewing the razors' edge. As they were walking through the wareroom towards the door the verbal exchange went back and forth "No no Sir Charles, I couldnae take your money", "But John, I insist, You've made such a good job of the razors!" Just at the door John capitulated, and pocketed the half-sovereign. As Sir Charles walked away a few beads of sweat broke on John's brow, the capitulation could so easily have gone the other way and the gold coin could be now disappearing away to the Boardroom!
