Home of Jessie Macpherson Laurie - Rare find in Scotland 2018

We had the priveledge of accompaning Nicholas, Greg and Karina's son to a Youth Pro Sports Camp in July of this year. While there Karina, April and Thomas visited the castles and gardens around Scotland then we went back to St Andrews to watch Nic's games every on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

We covered a lot of ground but the part you will find most interesting is the time spent up where Grandma Laurie was born. Her father was born in Corhabbie Cottage, Mortlach which is a village right next to Dufftown. We went to the cemetery there and found the same tombstone for Alexander and Ann MacPherson that Uncle Danny and Aunt Pauline had found years ago. We also found some others. Of course this was the only day it rained.

 Alexander MacPherson and Anne Younie

Mortlach Church and cemetery

We continued on down to Cabrach. Grandma Jessie MacPherson Laurie was born at Bridgend, Cabrach. We found what we think is the cottage she was born in.

It is at the end of this little Bridge and the name on the road sign is Bridgend. It is the only cottage in that location. They named their cottages instead of giving them street addresses.

James & Jessie Laurie Family

We are not sure why James decided to move to Prince Albert but the following history may give us some clues. His passenger list information says he was looking for work as a blacksmith. At some point he became employed by the Sick's Brewery in Prince Albert and worked for them for many years.

Prince Albert officially became a city on October 8, 1904, and by 1910 the new city was booming. In addition to having access to the wealth of the forest and agricultural industries, Prince Albert was a hub of steamboat and railway activity and a centre for commerce. The first train arrived in October 1890, and thus the town was opened to the newly emerging society of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Prince Albert grew rapidly until the Canadian Pacific Railway assumed a more southerly route. Brewing began in Prince Albert in 1883. The most enduring ventures were the Sick’s Prince Albert Brewery and Molson Saskatchewan Brewery (1924–86). Fritz Sick and his son Emil Sick bought the defunct Regina Brewing and Packing Company and built a new plant in Prince Albert in 1924. Emil Sick and his father Fritz Sick managed their opperation from Lethbridge where Fritz had established his own brewery at the age of 32.

For 17 years they lived in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. James and Jessie started their family here with the birth of Gertie and all the kids were born while they lived there. The kids are as follows:
Gertrude Irene Graham Laurie born 8 Apr 1921-15 Dec 1995
William James Laurie born 3 Aug 1922-15 Mar 2003
George Alexander Laurie born 29 Apr 1924-17 Jan 2001
Dorothy Jean Laurie born 18 Nov 1925-23 Feb 2000
Marion Isobel Laurie born 4 Jan 1927-12 Sep 1988
Alice Eileen Laurie born 29 Dec 1929
Robert John Laurie born 4 Jan 1933-26 Oct 1986
Charles Daniel Laurie born 9 Nov 1934
Gordon Laurie born 19 Oct 1936-30 Mar 2011

They lived in a two story house with a beautiful oval window in the front door. Their kids went to school and did the many activities that were normal life at that time in history.



During this time James was active in "Football" known in North America as Soccer. He played and was a player/coach for the Prince Albert City Club for many years.
Here is a close up of the above photo. James Laurie is the first one on the left in the back row.
This is the picture of their club taken after they won the Western Canada Championship. James is the last one on the right of the top row.


James and Jessie purchased some land in Ladner, B.C. as an investment. When Gordie was 5 months old Jessie took all nine kids and with the help of Sandy Mitchell, drove out to their land in Ladner, B.C. They lived there for 9 years working hard to support themselves. James and Jessie divorced some time after she moved there.

abt 1944 - Ladner - Alice and Bob sitting on the front porch or their home.

James moved to Taber and worked for the Canning Factory as a mechanic. They sent him to the Vancouver cannery to work on the can line that kept jamming. While he was there he looked up Jessie. He and Bill help design a twist every so often in the can line to correct the jamming problem they were having. On Jan 14, 1946 James and Jessie were remarried at the Court House in Vancouver.

James and Jessie Laurie

Jessie MacPherson Laurie

Jessie MacPherson Laurie

They moved in March of 1947 to Taber where James was employed at the Cannery. By this time only Alice, Bob, Danny and Gordie were at home and made the move with them. Marnie wasn't able to make the trip so she was admitted to the home for disabled at Essendale. George took them to the bus station but remained in Ladner area.

Back L-R: George, Jessie, Alice

Front L-R: Dan, Gordie, Bob

L-R: Dan, Gordie and Bob Laurie

The three boys finished their school years in Taber. Alice was unable to finish High School because of the differences in the school systems of B.C. and Alberta. James and Jessie lived in Taber until their deaths in 1961.

In 1983 James Laurie, along with his club, was inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame. The shield and other memorabilia are located in the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in down town Regina.

James & Jessie Laurie 1919 Marriage & Move

James Laurie and Jessie MacPherson met near Glasgow and were married there on July 18, 1919 at 21 Hope Street, Glasgow, Scotland.
Their witnesses were William McGhie, blacksmith and Mary Morrison, domestic servant. James Laurie was a 23yrs old bachelor and a blacksmith living at 8 Leichlee St, Hamilton. He is the son of William Laurie, machineman and Marion Laurie, m.s. Kinnaird. Jessie MacPherson was a 21 yr old spinster and a domestic servant living at Wateryeltes, Kilmacolm. She is the daughter of James Macpherson, Insurance Agent and Isabella Macpherson, m.s. Dyker. They were married in the District of Blythswood in the Burgh of Glasgow, Scotland.
Below is the actual Marriage certificate:
Following their marriage there was an oppotunity for those who wanted it to immigrate to Canada. Jobs were scarse after the war in England and it is thought that veterans were given that opportunity. For some reason he went to Prince Albert to look for a job. He was a blacksmith so perhaps he thought that was a good place to look. He boarded a ship called the Haverford at Liverpool, England and arrived 21 Sep 1919 at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He then prepared the way for Jessie to follow in 1920.
The "Haverford", operated by the White Star line, voyaged between Liverpool, England and Canada. This is the same company that owned the Titanic . . .fun to know. The journey usually took 7 days, weather permitting.


Even though this says Jennie Laurie we know it is Jessie because it lists her parents and the fact that she is going to Prince Albert to be with her husband, James. She applied for passage on March 20, 1920. They could not sail to Quebec City in the winter so they would arrange passage ahead of time and then leave when passage up the St Lawerence seaway was possible and when their turn came due to traveling quotas. She arrived in Quebec on 20 Jun 1920. From there she made her way to Saskatchewan where James was living at #202, 25th St 2nd Ave East, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
The "Megantic" was also run by the White Star Line to Quebec City, Canada.

Jessie MacPherson 1897

Jessie McPherson was born on 6 Sep 1897 at Bridgend in the Parish of Cabrach, Banff, Scotland, to James McPherson (b. 11 Aug 1869 Glenrinnes, Banff, Scotland) and Isabella Dyker (b 4 Feb 1873 at Glass, Aberdeen Scotland), who were married on 30 Nov 1889 in Glass, Aberdeen, Scottland. Jessie was about 15 when she first went to work at a private boys school as a cook and was the head cook when she was 16. She also looked after a little girl who was handicapped and couldn’t walk who later died. Jessie was living at Wateryettes, Kilmacolm, 14 miles west of Glasgow in the county of Renfrewshire. We believe she was either a nanny or a cook there. We aren’t sure if this was the boy’s school or if it was the family she worked for a while before marrying James Laurie in Glasgow in 1919. She came to Canada in 1920 to rejoin James in Prince Albert, Sakatchewan

Jessie MacPherson Laurie

about March 1947 in Vancouver 

before moving to Taber