McCririck Gunsmiths Scotland

[janetto]

Homer McCririck b. 1778 was a gunsmith in Kilmarnock.  We know of 3 daughters: Marion b.1807, Robertina b.1809 and Janet b. 1810.  Perhaps there was also a male descendant to carry on the business as a book on guns and shooting published in 1900 lists a W. McCririck gunsmith in Kilmarnock.  Antique guns for sale on the Internet also have the maker’s name McCririck Ayr and Kilmarnock.  Any information about the McCririck gunsmiths and Homer’s descendants would be welcomed.

[Gadget]

Hi

Could this be a son on the 1851:

13 Sandgate Street, Ayr
ED 578  9 page 88

McCririck
James, 38, Gunsmith employing 2 men and Inspector of Weights and Measures , b. Loudoun
Margaret, 35, b. Irvine
James, 10
Alexander, 8
John, 6
Margaret, 4
William, 2
Jean Ramsay, servant, 18, General servant, b. maybole

Children all b. Ayr



Gadget

[Gadget]

There is an Inventory listed in the Wills index for James MacCririck, 22 Oct 1889 (gun and rifle maker,  Academy Street, Ayr, d. 13 Jan 1886, intestate, Ayr Sherriff's Court)  on the Scotland's People site  www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

You would be able to get his death registration from this site and discover if Homer was his father and also, who his mother was.


Gadget

[janetto]

Yes Gadget, this James McCririck, Ayr would be a good candidate for a son of Homer.  Thanks for the info. and direction towards a death refistration, but do the Scottish death certs. mention the parentage of the deceased?  The English ones that we have received do not.
Cheers janetto.

[Gadget]

The Scottish certs are brilliant    And the online ones would only cost 6 credits (£1.20) for an index search and a view/download of a copy of the actual cert entry - compared with £7 and a wait for processing/posting with an English cert.

On a death cert you will usually get, the occ, age and residence of the deceased, details of spouse, details of parents, including mother's maiden name and occupation of father and cause of death and name and relationship of informant.

Bear in mind that, as with all info on any death cert, the info is only as accurate as the informant's knowledge. Most of the time it is pretty good though.

Regards


Gadge

[Gadget]

Hi again

this will give you the lowdown on Scottish research and certificates:

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,24468.0.html

There is an interesting entry on the 1891:

48 Content Street, Ayr
578 ED 28 Page 26

McCririck
Homer, 25, brass moulder, b. Kinning Park, Renfrew
Maggie, wife, 24, b. Glasgow
Jane, daughter 1, b. Glasgow


Gadget

[Gadget]

and another one also on the 1891:

1 Cathcart Street, Ayr
578 ED 7 Page 15

McCririck
Homer, 39, Chemist's Assistant, b. Ayr
Margaret, wife, 31, b. Glasgow
Homer, son, 2, b. Ayr
James, son, 7 months, b. Ayr
Mary Young, servant, 26, general domesticservant, b. Cumnock, Ayrshire

Gadget

[KIRSCH]

Hi Janetto

As a descendant of "James of Ayr" (b.1812) and into McCririck genealogy the following input could answer your topic query.

Amongst the 11 children of the marriage betweeen James (b.1751, Blacksmith at Garallan, O.Cumnock) and Marion Mitchell there were 3  brothers: namely Homer (b.1778), James(b.1784) and William(b.1788). The latter is known mainly as the Inventor of the Steam Propellor.

Homer & William were the first Gunsmiths but the sole son of James became "James of Ayr" whose sons  carried on in the Gunsmith trade at Ayr.

 ---  James (1840-1900)  First son worked in the Ayr  business under father.
 ---  William (1849-1927) Fourth son who married in 1877 and started a new     business at Kilmarnock

---  James W. (1882-1943) was the sole son of James (1840-1900) who worked in Ayr until he joined the army in WW1 and became an officer. He died at Tiverton,Devon.

---- William Primrose (1885-1967) was the second son of William at Kilmarnock and served in WW! as an Army Officer before continuing the Gunsmith business until his death brought the end of the tradition. He never married and an article in the "Kilmarnock Standard" (16.01.1967) recorded the family links  between the Irvine, Ayr and Kilmarnock Gunsmiths.

The business ended with the death of William Primrose McCririck at Kilmarnock in 1967 who never married.

Regards,  KIRSCH

[janetto]

Hello Kirsch,
Thank you very much for that information.  I will be able to pass it on to other family descendants who, like me, are interested in clearing up the McCririck mysteries.  The story of the inventor of the Screw Propeller had been passed down in the family; we got the idea that he was a close relation but were not sure of the exact relationship to our Homer .  You will have seen the article on Rootsweb (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mccreery/inventor.htm) which says that “This William McCririck was a grandson of James, son of Homer McCririck of McCririck's Cairn who died in 1741.  James McCririck married Marion Thompson daughter of Thompson of Glenim.” 
According to other information I have caught a glimpse of on Rootsweb, the James McCririck who married Marion Mitchell in Old Cumnock, Ayrshire on 19 Dec. 1773, and was father to our Homer, William and James etc, was born 12 April 1752 in Kirconnell, to parents John McCririck and Janet Ranken.  This would make William the inventor, grandson of John (son of Homer McCririck of McCririck’s Cairn who died in 1741) rather than the grandson of John’s brother James.  Would you agree?  I have been trying to gauge all of this via another history on Rootsweb - freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mccreery/mcrerik.htm - 29k
The Pigot and Co. New Commercial Directory for 1825 lists a William McCririck, gunsmith, in Irvine.  Would you say that this was William the screw propeller inventor?  One of the daughters of our Homer and his wife Janet Richmond was christened in Irvine in 1810, and I guess the two brother gunsmiths must have had close work and family connections.

I will try to contact you using the personal message system on Rootschat.  Last time I tried that I didn’t get a response from my contact so I may be doing something wrong.  Please let me know if you don’t receive a message.   Many thanks again.
Janetto