So it is back South now to Wigtownshire and the Parish of Kirkmaiden again to a village called Drummore. This is where we find Helen’s grandmother’s family, the Craigs.


A view from Drummore harbour

The earliest ancestor on the Craig line is John who married Sara Alexander, daughter of John Alexander and Helen Milwain.

The couple had at least one child, a son, John, born 2nd January 1836 in Kirkmaiden, and christened there on 14th February 1836. I am fairly certain this is correct. The document below shows all John Craigs born in Scotland from 1553 to 1854, and the one born in 1836 is the only one from Kirkmaiden.


John's birth is confirmed on the IGI as 2nd Jan1836, christened 14th Feb 1836 in Kirkmaiden by Drummore, Father John Craig and Mother Sara Alexander.

John married Elizabeth McGuffog, on 7th Oct 1875, again in Kirkmaiden and was employed as a fisherman, maybe he went out to fish from Drummore Harbour above. He was 37 and she was 32.

I know of two children born to the couple. William born 6th Jan 1879 and Elizabeth, born in Stoneykirk in 1887.

William’s birth registration is shown below, the first record. I have so far not been able to find Elizabeth’s.



The family is found on the 1881 census, and it shows John as head of the household working as a Mariner, and there as well is Elizabeth with birthplace as Inch, which I shall talk about in chapter 6, along with her age shown below as 41. Son William is there aged 2.

The family can be found in Drummore on the 1901 census. Father, John is working as a Fisherman, and son William is shown as being a general carter, which I think, meant driving carts.

Mill Street

John Craig 65
Elizabeth Craig 40
John Craig  22
Elizabeth Criag 14

It is Elizabeth that we are interested in from now. I do not think that she ever married, no one seems to know and I certainly cannot find a marriage that fits, but she did have seven children. Listed but not necessarily in the right order they were:

Jean – Helen’s grandmother, born 15th Feb 1918 at Drummore, Willie, James, Johnny, Elizabeth, Peggy, and Mary.

Jean, pictured below later in life, married Ian Caughie on 26th September 1940 and the children from this marriage and their descendants are covered in chapter one.


She passed 12th February 2006 at the age of 87, in fact she was 3 days short of her 88 birthday. Shew was cremated on 16th February 2006 at Masonhill Crematorium. Below is the service sheet.