Family History Fun: Memories of Fires

"Fire" is the theme of this week's Sepia a Saturday's prompt photograph - I am struggling with this prompt g as a large fire disaster very fortunately did not feature in the lives of my ancestors, beyond the obvious necessity of keeping the fire in the hearth burning for heat and cooking.

So I feature here a brief report of a tragic accident that befell my grandmother's sister; I turned to my local history and the story of a fire that impacted opn the Wallace family in Earlston in the Scottish Border, and finally my childhood memories of the hearth fire in my grandfather's house in Poulton le Fylde, Lancashire.

Image by Eneida_Mattou from Pixabay

The Southern Reporter of 17th September 1874 reported the news of a devastating fire in Earlston at the joiner's workshop of John Wallace.

"The inhabitants of Earlston were at nine o' clock on Thursday last, alarmed by the unusual and ominous cry of "Fire". A cry which turned out to be all too true; the workshop, a wooden erection of Mr. John Wallace, joiner being discovered to be in flames.

Plenty of willing workers, men, women and even children rushed to the scene, but all saw at a glance that the shop and its contents were doomed.......Hardly had some of the men withdrawn when part of the shop fell with a crash thereby endangering the dwelling house of Mr Wallace which forms one of the range of two storey houses known as New Street. So imminent the danger that at this time most of the dwellers had removed their household goods and chattels. And that with such a hurry and confusion to cause no little damage.

During the dire struggle to save the house, the fire spread in another direction. and caught hold of a stable in the adjoining property belonging to Mr David Jameson, grocer. All that could be done was done to save it, but the flames gained their mastery, but not before, however, the livestock were got out.

The damage sustained by Mr, Wallace is estimated as fully £500, and is not covered by insurance. The workmen in his employment have also lost all their tools.......

Great sympathy is expressed by the public to Mr. Wallace. and his men.....and a public meeting was held in the Corn Exchange on Thursday night ...... A subscription was at once opened ....on Monday the sum amounted to upwards of £140.

It is but fair to Mr. Wallace to say that he had insured the property up to two years ago, but not only the office with which he had been insured, but another to which he applied, refused to undertake the risk on any terms.

The stable and property belonging to Mr Jamieson was insured.

[Note: £500 in 1874 is equivalent to £41,500 today - website Measuring Worth]

Seven years on in the 1881 census, John Wallace was back in business, described as master joiner employing 5 men.

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The Wallace family remained very grateful for the generosity of the Earlston people. John Wallace's daughter Isabella was 20 years old at the time of the fire. She never married keeping house for her brother George, also a joiner. She died in 1920 and In her will, after bequests to her nephews and nieces and to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, left the sum of £3,240 to Earlston Parish Council "For the purpose of improving the amenities of the Town of Earlston including footpaths, paving and lighting and similar objects."

Council records held at the Heritage Hub, Hawick confirm that the Isabella Wallace Fund was used for the provision of lighting, the upgrading of the Square, with railings around the War Memoria, .the removal of the air raid shelter and a gateway and railings at the riverside park of Mill Meadow, where she is still remembered today.

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Scottish history is full of men and women who stepped into the unknown by leaving their homeland behind and emigrating to far flung places. Many of them might not be familiar names, yet they made their mark abroad, but never forgot where they had come from.

One such man was Isaac Wallace of Earlston (1841-1921), brother of John and Isabella. He emigrated to Victoria, Australia, where he named his new home "Earlston", set up a butter factory, and involved himself in community affairs, both in Australia, but also on a return visit to Earlston towards the end of his life.

A group photograph of the Wallace family taken on Isaac's return to Earlston. He is thought to be the tall figure on the left of the back row,with his brothers, John, Robert & George and sister Isabella.

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A sad tale involving a fire - my great grandmother's sister Fanny Elizabeth Matthews died aged 33 in 1909, following a tragic accident when a lighted candle set fire to her apron and she died of the burns - with the inquest reported in the local paper "The Wolverhampton Express & Sta" : 22 September 1909.

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And finally, my childhood memories of the fire at my grandfather's house in Poulton le Fylde, Lancashire.

There was one surprising feature about the house, though - it did not have electricity until the late 1950's, because my grandfather refused to have it installed. I remember my Aunt Edith standing on a chair to light the ceiling gas lights, and ironing with a flat iron, heated in the open fire in the living room, whilst the flames from the gas cooker in the kitchen frightened me as a child. So of course the only form of heating the 3 bedroomed house was from the coal fire.

I liked to be around when the coal lorry called. For half way up the side wall of the house was a small hatch door which revealed the coal shute where the coal men emptied their heavy sacks down into a small cellar under the stairs.

A copper kettle stood in the hearth which I was told belonged belonged ot my great grandmother Maria Dnson, nee Rawcliffe (1859-1919).