I have been researching the McKie family for some time ever since I started family history research about nine years ago. I have gone back three generations to their life in Kirkinner, Wigtownshire (now Dumfries and Galloway). The tragic loss of John McKie at the age of 33 left his wife Agnes caring for six children. I have gone over the stories in many ways under this category of Stone, Steam and Dynamite and have found interesting lines of research for three of the McKie siblings. Today I am looking at the life of John K McKie, the fourth child of Agnes, my wife’s Great Uncle, younger brother of her Grandfather.
John was born in 1875 on February 23rd in Newton Cottage, Kirkinner.
That is all I have ever found out about John, until this week.
I made some remarks about the challenges of Ancestry.com last week. This week, by chance, it is the gift that keeps on giving. Another member has been researching the family tree of John K McKie and their tree has given me a lot of family members and facts that, with some verification, is leading me into some interesting places.
Starting with his birth certificate which, because of poor scanning on the part of the National Archives or the National Records of Scotland, is almost decipherable, his middle name begins with K. This is an important little hint in verifying future records. I originally thought it might have been McKean, his Mother’s maiden name, but this is not the case. His death registration entry is John K McKie. I will stumble on the name in the future, I’m sure.
The first Census return that John is found in is that of 1881 at the age of 6, living at home with his mother Agnes and his five siblings. No one had left home yet to work elsewhere or earn their living. Agnes was receiving financial support from the Parish under the Poor Laws. This was very basic maintenance and Agnes was earning her living as a Dressmaker at home. Louisa was the first to leave home when she left for Bournemouth in Dorset to go into Domestic Service. Andrew eventually left to work on the railways as a Guard but before that he was an Agricultural Labourer bringing a small income into his mother’s house. Then Alexander left to become a Gardener near Whithorn. In 1891 John was 16 years old and the Census return shows that he was an Agricultural Worker also.
There is no Census return for John in 1901 but there is a story in the research of that Ancestry member that I mentioned earlier. She states that he left Britain for South Africa in 1900 aboard a ship that left Liverpool, with a brother (which one I have not found although I have still to research the youngest in the family, Robert). This is unverified but there is a passenger list record suggesting this. Given that the name John McKie was incredibly popular in the 19th Century it should not be surprising that a John McKie appears here. That middle name beginning with K would have been a help to confirm that this record was indeed correct.
If John left for South Africa, he was not there for too long because his life then started completely afresh in Yorkshire.
The Census returns for 1911 and 1921 Show that John was a) living in the East Riding of Yorkshire b) married to Alice Smith and c) he was a Police Constable.
Firstly, I cannot find out how John arrived in the East Riding or what brought him here. There are no records to give me any clues. County Police forces would have recruited within the County I would have thought. John’s return from South Africa (unconfirmed by me) might have prompted him to return to his Mother’s parish. Possibly his mind was so much broader after his travel experiences and he was thinking of more adventure and opportunity. But then, how did we all arrive where we did to start a new life? It is ususally related to employment and marriage.
Secondly, his marriage to Alice Smith in Bridlington in 1906 shows that he and Alice were living in Portland Place, Bridlington. This might have been Alice’s parents home. When I had a look at Alice’s birth records I discovered that she was born in Surbiton, Surrey in 1881 and her father, Henry was a Trooper in the Life Guards. What I had not appreciated was that Henry was born in Yorkshire. He returned to his home County to become a Policeman. I searched the 1901 Census returns for Alice who would have been 20 at this stage but she was no longer at home, or visiting elsewhere.
John, according to the marriage registration, was a Policeman as also is his Father in Law, Henry Smith. I had hoped to see some evidence of John’s family being at the wedding as witnesses, but they were not there, nor was their anyone from Alice’s family listed as witnesses. John was aged 29 and Alice was 25.
According to the Gilbert and Sullivan song, a Policeman’s Lot is not a Happy One. I suspect that PC McKie had a reasonably comfortable life in the East Riding. I found a small number of references to him in the local newspaper from the National Newspaper Archives. He frequently nabbed motorcyclists with out of date licences. One such wrote to the court to apologise enclosing a blank cheque for the Clerk to fill once he had been fined. In another report, a man before the Magistrate charged with being drunk and disorderly stated that he had apologised to PC McKie for his behaviour. He was fined 10 shillings. Perhaps PC McKie had a happy lot.
John and Alice lived for the rest of their lives in the East Riding. From the 1921 Census return I can piece together the fact that John served with the East Riding Constabulary in the village of Roos, not far from Withernsea, and then in Dunswell, a small village just outside of Kingston Upon Hull on the Beverly Road and lastly North Frodingham, south of Bridlington. This is based on the births of their eight children.
| Name | Dates of Birth and Death | Place of Birth |
| Louisa McKie | 1906 -1984 | Roos |
| Leslie McKie | 1908 – 1978 | Roos |
| Henry (Harry) McKie | 1910 – 1925 | Roos |
| Muriel McKie | 1912 – 1943 | Dunswell |
| Agnes McKie | 1915 – 2001 | Dunswell |
| John McKie | 1917 – 1979 | Dunswell |
| Donald McKie | 1920 – 2015 | North Frodingham |
| Alice McKie | 1924 -1998 | North Frodingham |
John and Alice moved to Bridlington where in the 1939 Register (remember, not a Census but a register of all those living in England and Wales at the outbreak of the Second World War) John is described as retired but on the Police Reserve list.
John McKie died in 1958 aged 83 and Alice died a year later in 1959 aged 79.
An interesting story of a new dynasty of the McKie family and how it developed in Yorkshire during the 20th Century.