“Few men are better remembered” – ‘Black Geordie’: George Graham of Dalgig, Ayrshire

By John D Ellis

In over twenty years of research on the Black presence in the British Army and Royal Navy between 1715 and 1860 it has been possible to identify approximately 500 soldiers and just over 100 ratings. The British and Irish newspapers on findmypast.co.uk^[1]The content of the reporting must be viewed in the context of the times they were generated vis-à-vis ‘race’, ethnicity, social class and imperialism. are a valuable source for researchers and in some cases, they provide information that augments that previously known regarding Black service personnel: For example, Stephen Blunman, “a man of colour” from Barbados who the Globe (London) named as the victim of a racially motivated assault at the Elephant and Castle public-house, Westminster in 1818, was a bandsman in the 3^rd Foot Guards (the Scots Guards).^[2]Globe – Friday 12 June 1818. (London). findmpast.co.uk See:https://www.academia.edu/38525252/Stephen_Blunman_Black_Soldier_and_resident_of_London Whilst the William Simons the Morning Advertiser reported as being discovered drowned in a ditch in St. George’s, Westminster in April 1822, was an African-American former drummer in the 27^th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot.^[3]Morning Advertiser, 6th April 1822. findmpast.co.uk Also, Ellis, JD. A “Mysterious Case” – The military service and mysterious death of William Simons, a Black Drummer in the 27th … Continue reading In other cases, they facilitate the identification of previously unidentified Black soldiers or sailors: William Cork, a Royal Navy pensioner from St Martins in the West Indies, residing in Rame, Cornwall with his family in 1852, was identified as being a “man of colour” only when the Western Courier reported that the charges against him for breach of the peace had been dropped.^[4]Western Courier, West of England Conservative, Plymouth and Devonport Advertiser, 11th February 1852. findmpast.co.uk See … Continue reading The “man of colour” and Waterloo veteran reported by the Northern Star and Leeds General Advertiser as living on the streets of Bristol and begging for a living in 1844, has subsequently been identified as Peter Bishop of Barbados and the 69^th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot.^[5]Northern Star and Leeds General Advertiser, 7th December 1844. findmpast.co.uk www.historycalroots.com/peter-bishop-1792-1852-soldier-of-the-69th-foot-and-veteran-of-waterloo/

In May 1885, an article published in the Irvine Times recounted the celebrations in towns and cities across Scotland following the passing of the Reform Act in 1832.^[6]Irvine Times, 22^nd May 1885. findmypast.co.uk Bands from far and wide were invited to play at the festivities held in the town of Sanquhar, Dumfries and Galloway. Amongst these was the ‘Leadhills Band’, who were apparently, cursed by the ‘Crawickmill witches’ to only be able to play the tune ‘John Anderson my Jo’ competently (‘John Anderson, my Jo John’ is a poem by Robert ‘Rabbie’ Burns, adopted to song c.1790).^[7]Irvine Times, 22nd May 1885. findmypast.co.uk For the ‘Crawickmill witches’ see: Maxwell Wood, J. “Witchcraft and Superstitious Record in the South-Western District of Scotland”. (J Maxwell … Continue reading Whilst “this ridiculous predicament soon made them the laughingstock of all within hearing…” the presence of one member of the ‘Leadhills Band’ was singled out for notice – “Black Geordie from Dalgig, beating the drum”,^[8]Irvine Times, 22^nd May 1885. findmypast.co.uk although no blame was attributed to ‘Geordie’ for the misfortune of the band!

George ‘Geordie’ Graham of Grenada, an Afro-Caribbean former rating in the Royal Navy, settled in an area of rural Ayrshire familiar to William Wallace, Robert the Bruce and ‘Rabbie’ Burns. His story came to light in early 1886, over two decades after his death. Several Scottish newspapers published similar narratives of his life in rural Ayrshire; initially as a vagrant earning a living selling jasper stones, until being identified as being an extremely proficient drummer – leading to speculation that he had formerly been a drummer in a British Army regimental band. It was left to the editor of the Ayr Observer to correct the mistakes, separate fact from fiction and conclude the story of “Black Geordie Graham of Dalgig”.^[9]Ayr Observer, 26^th February 1886. findmypast.co.uk

This article will re-produce newspaper articles from early 1886, with references for clarification where necessary. Readers should be aware that the language and attitudes in the article reflect the period they were generated in.

From the Lanarkshire Upper Ward Examiner, 6^th February 1886.^[10]Lanarkshire Upper Ward Examiner, 6^th February 1886. findmypast.co.uk

GEORDIE GRAHAM: THE NEGRO DRUMMER OF AYRSHIRE.

It has often been the subject of remark – the all but inexplicable causes that have led men who were strangers, to settle down in certain localities. Some have done so from love of the locality, others in falling in with agreeable companions, and a third from finding it a refuge from evils that had beset them. It was not any one of these, but rather to all of them combined that led to the selection on which our story is based, and whit it may as well to note at the outset is a true narrative.

More than half a century ago a strange visitor came to one of the old villages of Ayrshire.^[11]This dates the arrival of George Graham in Ayrshire to sometime between the late 1820s and the early 1830s.The locality had been rendered classic by the great Scottish bard, in proof of which we need only the name Lugar, Afton Water, the Bonnie Woods of Ballochmyle, which were all within easy distance. It was not by any means from this classic feature that the selection was made. The stranger had come from “Afric’s sunny fountains,” as his ebony colour and black woolly hair clearly testified.He was poorly clad and had no apparent means of sustenance. He roamed alone during the day along the channels of the streams whose names are embalmed in song and spent his nights under the shelter of the heat of some brick kiln that were in active operation in the vicinity. Though he spoke good English for a foreigner, he shunned society. None knew anything about him, and yet he was the talk and wonder of the neighbourhood. Having spent about three months in this strange and unaccountable manner, he disappeared, only to excite a different and more painful kind of surmise among the inhabitants. Some thought he had brought trouble on himself by his erratic mode of living, others that he had left as he came just to make as strange an appearance in some other district, while a third party held that he had fallen into one of the deep pools of some of the streams and that his remains would be got some day floating in the current. Time rolled on and summer came again, and to the surprise of all, and the delight of some, the sable stranger re-appeared in full life and vigour. Again he roamed along the banks of the rivers, and again he spent his nights at the brick kilns. His food was of the plainest, frequently supplied at the farmer’s homes, whose occupants had begun to take an interest in him and even the youths of the village and some of the seniors of the village ventured to speak with him.

He was reticent on many subjects, especially his antecedents, but on passing events, that came under his eyes, he would speak with a freeness and simplicity that won him the character of a public favourite. Another three months passed and he again disappeared, like the baseless fabric of a vision, “leaving not a wreck behind.” Several summers had come and gone and always to witness the three months visit of this strange wanderer. And still no one could tell anything of him, whence he came or whither he went. At last a circumstance cropped up that threw some light on the subject. It appeared that the channels referred to were remarkable for more than being rendered famous by poetic genius. They contained a number of very fine pebbles, which, when ground and polished, were prized by lapidaries.^[12]The “pebbles” were jasper stones, a semi-precious stone which has long been collected, cut and polished for use in jewellery. A lapidary cuts, polishes or engraves gems.The stranger had found them out, and when he got better acquainted he frequented a meal mill near the village, where on the large freestone that was set up as on the outside and balanced and steadied the motion of the machinery in the same way that a fly wheel does, and he got his pebbles ground into shape, and by applying emery afterwards, produced a polish which made his gatherings sell far higher in the market. It was even said at the time that for one of those stones he got and polished in this manner he realised no less than £15. The discovery of this, his unique mode of gaining a living, and the fact that through his instrumentality, it was found that the district was rich in these valuable stone, had the effect of making the stranger a still more general favourite with all classes of the community.

How it came out it does not appear, but so it was that a name was got for him. It was Geordie Graham. We now come to a period at which a great turn took place in the fortunes of Geordie. Though still prosecuting his search for and polishing of pebbles, when he went to the cities to dispose of them he seldom remained away many days, and as he got a very plain house to dwell in, he spent the winter as well as the summer at his humble home.

Another turning point in the history of this dark sojourner was now reached. It happened that there was a brass band in the village, and at its weekly practices Geordie was always an eager listener, and if the proceedings were varied with a march out, Geordie was sure to be in attendance, and none showed a keener relish for the music than he. On one occasion, which occurred the day after a fair or public holiday, the band indulged in a walk out to a farm-house, where the members were regaled with curds and cream. The sable attendant was there too, and none, even of the boys who accompanied them, evinced a livelier interest in the outing. The members had got their treat, and were preparing for the homeward journey when the big drummer, keen for a performance, asked Geordie if he would beat the drum to a tune that were about to play before departure. “Oh, yes.” Said Geordie, “I’ll try it on anyway.” With that the drummer held out the drumsticks, but Geordie refused to take them, saying he would have the drum too, or he would not beat a stroke. Still better was this, for the drummer, as he thought he was surer of a laughable display, cast off the belts, and Geordie buckled them on. He told them that he would only take it on condition that he was allowed to beat it to his mind. This was still better, thought the drummer, for a scene at Geordie’s expense. Leave was readily granted, and Geordie slackened every tie. He then began to tighten the braces, taking every alternate rope, then he took the others, and, as he proceeded, he tapped the sheepskin to know whether he had got it to know whether he had got it to the proper tone. From a smothered jeer the bandsmen began to think that Geordie was not so green as they anticipated. At last he got the drum put into a state that pleased him, and by suspending it by the hook on his breast, told them he was ready now. The band started with the usual signal, and off they marched. The old drummer was so astonished and ashamed that it was said he never beat the drum again. If there was a sensation in the village on Geordie’s first appearance it was eclipsed by this discovery of his accomplishments. Not only in this neighbourhood, but throughout the most of Ayrshire the fame of this wonderful drummer spread.

It was only a year or two after this that the great demonstration took place in Ayr on the home-coming of the two sons of Burns. Processions with bands of music formed a prominent part of the demonstration, and the village in question was not behind in that display. One of the landed gentlemen of the neighbourhood supplied Geordie with a full suit of his native attire, and he accompanied the band as big drummer. His appearance and his singular proficiency formed a feature of the large procession on that memorable occasion, and it was generally admitted that there was not a big drummer in the whole display who could match Geordie Graham, the black big drummer of Ayrshire. We may add that little more was ever known of him than what we have related, but it was generally conjectured that he had occupied the position in which he excelled in the band of some of the regiments of the line.^[13]Most British Army regiments did indeed have enlisted military Black musicians serving as bandsmen, drummers and trumpeters during the late eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth century. See … Continue reading

From the Hamilton Advertiser in Ayr Observer, 26^th February 1886.^[14]Hamilton Advertiser in Ayr Observer, 26^th February 1886. findmypast.co.uk

“At length old age, with its attendant infirmities, overtook Geordie, and a kind-hearted farmer near by took him home and kept him to his end. The only service he could render in return was going messages to the village. Death, as with other men, closed the scene, and this generous farmer gave the poor simple African a respectable funeral. His remains rest in the churchyard of Old Cumnock, the village referred to in the narrative. That sacred enclosure is noted as the place where rest the remains of a number of Scottish martyrs, one of these being Alexander Peden, on whose grave flourishes the sturdy tree known as Peden’s thors.”^[15]Hamilton Advertiser in Ayr Observer, 26th February 1886. findmypast.co.uk Also: Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser, 6th February 1886. findmypast.co.uk Also: Lanarkshire Upper Ward Examiner, 6th … Continue reading

From the Ayr Observer, 26^th February 1886.^[16]Ayr Observer, 26^th February 1886. findmypast.co.uk

As the subject of the foregoing interesting sketch was well known all over Ayrshire, for nearly a quarter of a century as “Black Geordie of Dalgig,” we have given it entire, notwithstanding its many omissions and numerous errors. Geordie was a native of Grenada, one of the Caribbean group of West Indian Islands. His father came to Glasgow as coachman to one of the great West India merchants.^[17]The historical links between Glasgow, the Caribbean and the Transatlantic Slave Trade are well documented. Several Black soldiers have been identified with links to Glasgow, including: Henry … Continue reading Geordie ran away when a lad and joined the navy.^[18]As records suggest George Graham was born in Grenada c.1795, he probably joined the Royal Navy towards the end of the Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815), and/or during the ‘War of 1812’ (1812-1815). It … Continue reading He remained in the service for many years, and when he returned he found that both his father and mother were dead. Two sisters, however, were still alive, but with these he had little correspondence, and long years after, when he made a journey from Dalgig to Glasgow (as the late Mr Campbell’s son informs us), he found that they too had followed their parents to the land of forgetfulness.^[19]It has not been possible to identify any reference to this family of five Black Grenadians living in Glasgow in the early nineteenth century. Far from under-mining the authenticity of the story, it … Continue reading

Fifty years ago we remember Geordie searching for jasper stones in the Burnanne Brook above Galston. He was sometime too in the service of the late Mr Ferguson of Drummurchie, Barr. After that he wandered about the two Cumnock’s, searching for precious stones, away out about the wild Conner Linn, and the sources of the Lugar, extending his search as far as Cauphairn in Galloway. For a little while he wrought at the Cumnock Pottery, and resided in Cumnock, but he never had a house of his own there.^[20]For a history of Cumnock pottery see: www.scottishpotterysociety.org.uk/cumnock/

In the year 1839, Geordie came to Dalgig, in the parish of New Cumnock. The tenant of which, the late Mr Ivie Campbell, gave shelter, food and frequently raiment, to every wayfarer.^[21]There were several generations of ‘Ivie Campbells’ in Dalgig. This is most likely to have been Ivie Campbell II (1799-1867). He was widely recognised for his skills in reclaiming ground for … Continue reading

So Geordie remained there to the end of his life, acting in the capacity of groom, Mr Campbell always smiling with humorous good nature to see Geordie doing very much as he pleased as regarded the other servants. Although not generally very communicative, yet Geordie could at times be drawn out, and his desire to throw up an air of romance around his bygone career, caused him to “shoot a little on the wing.”^[23]”Shoot a little on the wing” is reference to the shooting of game birds – something rural Ayrshire was famous for. It suggests George Graham’s stories (‘dits’ in the parlance of the … Continue reading One night when Geordie was in a more than ordinary social and milky mood, it was agreed that the other servants would induce him to give an accurate account of his by-past life, and the length of time he had been in each place, while and excellent friend of ours – Mr Ivie M’Craig, manure merchant – who was unknown to Geordie, was seated in a little adjoining parlour, where he could hear all that was said, and mark down the number of years Geordie had spent in each place, beginning with his age when he came to Glasgow, and finishing with the period he had passed at Dalgig.^[24]A George Graham, born in the West Indies c.1795, and a farm labourer by occupation was living in Dalgig in 1851. He was one of over twenty servants, workers, lodgers and visitors at Dalgig Farm. In … Continue reading Mr M’Caig suddenly made his appearance, and abruptly asked Geordie’s age, who resented the enquiry with a suspicious look and a forcible expletive.^[25]In 1871 Mr Ivie McCaig was living at Knock Clunder, Old Cumnock. A hay dealer by occupation, he had been born in New Cumnock c.1829. Also residing in the same dwelling were his wife, two daughters … Continue reading When Mr M’Caig read over the chronicle he had written down and said, “I’ll tell ye, Geordie, how auld ye are – by your own confession, ye’re exactly 168 years!” it is needless to say that Geordie’s wrath burned so fiercely that the colour of his skin changed from black to red. In all his wanderings Geordie was accompanied by a strong and dangerous bulldog which he named “Ready,” and his kind master willingly provided for both till the end of their days.^[26]Six vessels of the Royal Navy have born the name HMS Ready, although none of them between 1805 and 1830. Thus, it is unlikely that “Ready” the bulldog was named for a ship. However, Royal Navy … Continue reading

Like all of others of the negro race, Geordie was extremely fond of gaudy coloured dress, and the writer well remembers how his eyes sparkled with delight when we brought for him from the London Exhibition of 1851 a splendid new silk velvet Turkish cap. He was also wonderfully fond of children, and we have seen him kiss their hands and clap their heads with the most endearing expressions of delight. Geordie died at Dalgig on the 2^nd day of May, 1863, and was interred in the churchyard of New Cumnock – not Old Cumnock, as erroneously stated above – and not withstanding his humble station all through life, few men are better remembered, of more frequently mentioned still in the locality, than “Black Geordie of Dalgig.” ED.^[27]George Graham, a farm servant, died of a cramp of the stomach, (of one day) at Dalgig, New Cumnock on the 2nd of May 1868. His death was registered by Mr Ivie Campbell on the 8th of May 1863. George … Continue reading

Like so many of the thousands of Black Britons, no direct quotes exist from ‘Geordie’ Graham himself, his life story being pieced together from the recollections of others. But we do get an idea of the man behind the name. Although he ended his life thousands of miles from the place of his birth, he appears to have gone from being a mysterious outsider and object of curiosity to a valued member of his community.