The CUB Report

December, 2017 (issued early 2018)
Issue Number 17 features:

Tenth Anniversary of the McCubbin DNA Project
Update: Obituary for Pat McCubbin #55 DNA Group 3
Families in Wartime – Bravery at Home and in Battle
Leamington McCubbins #03 DNA 4
Liverpool McCubbings #05 DNA 1
McCubbin Centenaries DNA Group 1
Brutal Punishment for Stealing a Pair of Shoes
McCubbins #07 of Tasmania, Australia and Dumfries, Scotland
Cumberland McCubbins
Three Generations of Devoted Clergymen from Crosscanonby #70
Fact or Fiction – George Washington and Mrs J McCubbin DNA Group 2
A Scottish Wedding in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada #45 DNA 3

A few of our members have been disappointed when they receive their DNA results hoping to find a McCubbin ancestor and discover that they are not related to any McCubbin male, even though they were raised with a McCubbin surname. This is often called an NPE (a non parental event). Following is a description of an NPE from the International Society of Genetic Genealogy Wiki:

N.B. Keep in mind when reading the following that the Y chromosome passes only from father to son, on down the generations.

NPE scenarios in the context of genetic genealogy

These include:

Illegitimacy outside marriage: boy taking maiden name of mother
Infidelity within marriage: boy taking surname of mother’s husband
Re-marriage: boy taking surname of step-father
Rape: boy taking surname of mother or partner
Changeling, surrogacy, sperm donation, unintentional embryo/baby swap: boy taking surname of mother or partner
Adoption, incl. ‘hidden’, orphan & foster: boy taking surname of guardian
Apprentice or slave: youth taking surname of master
Tenant or vassal: man taking surname of landlord or chief
Anglicization of gaelic or foreign name: man taking translated/phonetically similar name
Formal name-change, e.g. to inherit land: man taking maiden name of wife or mother
Name-change to hide criminal past, embarrassing surname, or a stage name: man taking unrelated surname
Informal name-change, alias, by-name: man taking name of farm, trade or origin
Mistake in genealogy, or in DNA analysis

Informal name changes, the use of aliases and by-names, and name changes by tenants, vassals, apprentices and slaves were prevalent in the 13th-18th centuries, in some cases before surnames became hereditary, and in this latter context, strictly speaking, they are not NPEs. Similarly, a genealogical mistake is not strictly an “event”, but this too can be manifest as an NPE.

Anglicization of surnames occurred in Ireland in the 16th century, in the Scottish Highlands in the 18th century, and in America in the 18th through early 20th centuries. Formal adoption and unintentional baby swapping in hospitals have only arisen in the last two centuries, while surrogacy, sperm donation and unintentional embryo swapping are obviously recent developments. The other scenarios above have been on-going for centuries. NPEs may have been more common in Scotland than elsewhere because of the right and custom of mothers to retain the use of their maiden name after marriage.

The important point emerging from the above is that in genetic genealogy the potentially embarrassing possibilities of previously unsuspected illegitimacy and infidelity are only two of many scenarios. Probably the most likely scenario is the death of a young father, perhaps due to accident, combat or disease, resulting in the mother remarrying and the young boy taking the name of his step-father.”

Our DNA project has continued to grow, especially in the past few years, for two reasons: the cost of a DNA test is not nearly as expensive, as well as the fact that people aren’t as wary of donating their DNA. When a person understands that the DNA results are in a secure situation and that they may remain as anonymous as they please, there’s a greater willingness to find out who his/her ancestors really are.To find out how to link your ancestors you can go to Family Tree DNA to read more and/or contact DNA Project Administrators at mccubbin@one-name.org

We now have 92 members. To find out how to link your ancestors you can go to Family Tree DNA add https://www.familytreedna.com/ to read more and/or contact DNA Project Administrators at mccubbin@one-name.org There is a group rate that you qualify for when you order a Y-DNA test through a project. On the main FTDNA sign in page, scroll down to Project Search and enter McCubbin. https://www.familytreedna.com/login.aspx

As ever, we still hope to have more McCubbin males in Scotland come forward to have their DNA done. They will very likely match one of the four DNA groups. and be descended from King Niall of Ireland, or a strong family group in Wigtownshire, or a line of McCubbins skilled in husbandry, or a group of stonemasons and inventors. Scots, please contact us. We give a free DNA test to qualified persons.

The following articles were compiled by Kathy McCubbing

Update: Obituary for Pat McCubbin #55 DNA Group 3

Last year we spotted the obituary for Pat McCubbin written in the Guardian newspaper (UK) by her son, Stephen. With a little research we are pleased to report that we are able to tie in the family with the McCubbin family #55 who belong to DNA group 3, and who we can trace back to County Down in Ireland. Some more information about the family group can be found on our website: https://mccubbinhistory.info/2021/03/16/55-dna-3-shaw-mccubbin-mckibbin-sarah-chapman

“Families in Wartime – Bravery at Home and in Battle”

Following are two stories of heroic McCubbins, the Leamington McCubbins #03 DNA 4 and the Liverpool McCubbings #05 DNA 1, some who fought bravely for their country, others who stood strong on the homefront.

Update: McCubbin family #03 DNA 4, from Leamington

Following our article in last year’s Cub Report we were delighted when one of Andrew and Emma’s great-grandson’s, Colin McCubbin, got in touch. He is the son of the late Reginald Wilfred McCubbin (1912-1965) and Marjorie (nee Kirby).

He has been researching his family history and was able to tell us about his grandfather Joseph Andrew McCubbin (often recorded as MacCubbin), 1874-1956, who was a Professional Soldier and later a Postman.

In 1891 (aged 16) he was living in Satchwell Street with his parents, Andrew and Emma, and siblings and working as a Labourer, like his father.

Soon afterwards he must have joined the Army because he is recorded to have served in the Anglo Boer War and been severely injured at Middelburg on 2 August 1900. He was in the British Army, 6th Battalion, Dragoons and attained the rank of Sergeant. As a result of his service in South Africa he was awarded the following medals: Queens South Africa Medal, the Kings South Africa Medal (awarded to those who were in theatre on or after 1 January 1902 and who had completed 18 months of service in the conflict prior to 1902) and was also awarded the following clasps: Johannesburg, Diamond Hill, Cape Colony, Orange Free State.

It must have been while he was home on leave that he married Margaret Hope Smith in 1902 at St Mark’s Church in Leamington Priors. The couple had seven children between 1902 and 1920:

Joseph Ernest Percy (1902-1973);
Margaret Elsie Catherine (b.1904) who married Percival G Summers in 1930;
Irene Edith Grace “Queenie” (b.1907) who married Leonard H Heath in 1926;
Gladys Martha (1909-1980);
Reginald Wilfred (1912-1965) who married Marjorie “Marj” in 1940;
William H James “Jim” (b.1914); and
Iris M (b.1920) who married Norman P R Papworth in 1942.

By 1911 the family were living in Milverton, Leamington and Joseph was working as a Postman.

Joseph died in 1956 in Leamington and Margaret in 1958, although it is believed that they had separated by this time.

Update: McCubbing Family #05 DNA 1, Liverpool

James McCubbing (b.1851), son of William McCubbing and Jane Stitt was born in Dumfriesshire at Glencairn and in 1879 he got married far away in Scone, Perth to Marjory “Madge” Ewart. At the time he was working as a Butler and his bride was a Domestic Servant. He continued to work as a Butler at least until 1882 but by 1884 the family were living in Edinburgh and in 1886 he was still living in Edinburgh, but recorded as a Grocer on his daughter’s birth certificate. He appears to have been quite a religious man, a Quaker, having been presented with a bible at Christmas 1898 by the members of the Pottery Buildings Football Club in Ashburn (Durham, England – where the family had moved to live) and was listed on the census of 1901 as a Missionary for the Society of Friends.

John Lightfoot, a descendant of James and Madge has been in touch with us this year, prompting further research, and he has generously shared information, recollections and family photos with us.

James and Madge were to have eight children, the first three – William John (1882-1925), George Ewart (1884-1930) and Marjory Jane (1886-1963) – being born in Scotland before the family moved and settled in England, initially in Carlisle (then in Cumberland) where their fourth child, Margaret (1889-1979) was born, but then perhaps just Madge, alone, returned to Scotland briefly where Theodore Nicholson was born in Leith in Edinburgh in 1893. He did not survive his first year. Andrew (1891-1923), the sixth child, was also born in Carlisle and Joseph (1894-1944) and Agnes (b.1895, about whom we have very little information) were born in Sunderland, Durham.

James and Madge’s children were to take quite different paths in life:

Eldest son William appears to have followed his father into the grocery business but working initially as a Provision Merchant’s Clerk and then as a Commercial Traveller for Provision Merchants. He married Ivy Horner in 1915 and they remained all their lives in Sunderland.

George Ewart initially trained as a Plumber’s Apprentice (1901) but by 1911 it is thought he was working as a Labourer far away from home in Croydon in the south of England. Grandson, John, remembers him as an Engineer working in the Liverpool docks.

George Ewart McCubbing
He married Ellen Fox in about 1918 at Toxteth Park in Liverpool and they had four children about whom John has many recollections:

Aunty Meg, (1918-2003), who married Eric Maddock in 1942, was at the centre of an extraordinary tale of the family’s lucky escape during the Blitz, in WW2. John’s mother told him that “the two boys (Jimmy and William) were out shrapnel hunting, which was a popular game for kids during the Blitz and Aunty Meg started to cry so they went under the stairs only for the house to be bombed and the only thing left standing was the stairs!”

Jimmy (1921-1996) “was a big Evertonian and a man who always had a smile on his face. He was a heavy goods driver and worked for Spillers”. He married Ethel Lee in 1944 and they stayed in Liverpool, raising their family there.

Nancy (1923-2015) also had an interesting story to tell from the War. She was in the WRAF and had joined just after the house was bombed. At her interview they thought she looked too young to join and so was asked to produce her birth certificate. She told them she couldn’t because the Germans had bombed the house! She married JohnLightfoot in 1952 and they also remained in Liverpool.

George and Ellen’s youngest son, William was a Merchant Seaman in the War and was on the Russian Convoys, according to John. For much for his life he lived in Runcorn and was married twice, first to Ivy Jenkins and then to Ann Sutton. He died in 2013.

James and Madge’s daughter, Marjory Jane started her working life as a Dressmaker’s Apprentice and later worked as a Typist. She married John Davidson in 1911 and they remained in Sunderland for the rest of their lives.

Daughter, Margaret, did not marry and during her life she worked as a Pastry Cook. She died in Sunderland, by that time part of Tyne and Wear, in 1979.

Andrew became a Soldier and, by 1911, was in Barracks in Essex (Great Wakering near Shoeburyness).

Andrew McCubbing

He was single and part of the 41st Company Royal Garrison Artillery. He was listed aboard the ship “Arabia” (which had originated in Sydney, Australia) in 1915, arriving in Tilbury in Essex. At that time he was recorded as a Soldier whose last permanent residence was China (but noted in pencil that the 5 soldiers crossed on the list were actually coming from India). They had

embarked on the ship in Colombo (Ceylon, now Sri Lanka). He died on 13 September 1923 at Bannu in Waziristan where the British had waged a number of battles against the tribesmen there who feared that Britain was to hand over this colony to Afghanistan. He died, just 32 years old, as part of this conflict.

Joseph was another son to suffer the misfortunes of war and die before his time.

Joseph McCubbing

He had married his wife, Eleanor Stableford in 1935, and some time later he joined the Merchant Navy and was Chief Engineer Officer on the MV Silvermaple on 26 Feb, 1944 when a German submarine attacked a convoy his ship was part of 130 miles west of Takoradi [Ghana]. One ship was sunk and another damaged. The ship hit and sunk was the Silvermaple and, as a consequence, the Master, five crew members (including Joseph) and one gunner were lost. 47 crew members, nine gunners and one passenger were picked up by HMS Kildwick and landed at Takoradi on 27 February. Joseph was awarded the King’s Commendation for Brave Conduct and he is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial in London.

Tower Hill Memorial

J McCubbing Inscription

McCubbin Centenaries DNA Group 1

Congratulations to McCubbins who have celebrated Centenary Birthdays!

Too late to include in last year’s Cub Report we are delighted to have heard about two McCubbin women, from the same DNA group (1), celebrating their hundredth years on opposite sides of the globe:

Clara McCubbin, sister of Harold (whose obituary we recorded in the Cub Report 2011) in Jamaica, the last surviving child of Charles McCubbin. Clara celebrated her 100th Birthday in the summer of 2016.

Clara is part of family #40 52 69 81 DNA 1, specifically of branch #69 which was merged with the other branches following research which linked them. The family originate from Stranraer, Wigtownshire, Scotland.

Dawn Bergin, nee McCubbin in Queensland, who celebrated her 100th Birthday in December 2016, and just before Christmas 2017 Dawn’s granddaughter, Lisa, reported she was on her way to visit her Grandma to celebrate her 101st birthday!

Dawn was featured in an article in First magazine, published by Carers Queensland which tells about her life and her family, and her 100th birthday celebration and includes beautiful photos of Dawn, one of which shows her surrounded by her lovely family who celebrated with her and another showing her proudly displaying the birthday card she received from the Queen.

“In December 2016 Dawn celebrated her 100th birthday with many family and friends including her brother Reginald* who was 97 and his wife, also 97, her three daughters, seven grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.”

See page 5 for more:

http://carersqld.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/FIRST_Spring2017.pdf

*Reginald McCubbin was featured in Cub Reports in 2013 and 2014 about his war service and experiences in Timor, Papua New Guinea, Morotai, Tarakan and Balikpapan:

The CUB Report – 2013

https://mccubbinhistory.info/2021/03/16/the-cub-report-2014/

Dawn’s granddaughter, Lisa, kindly sent us a photo from her recent 101st birthday celebration: Dawn Bergin with her three daughters and daughter-in-law:

Dawn and family

Dawn is part of family #05 DNA 1 from Keir in Dumfriesshire, Scotland.

Belated birthday wishes to both Clara and Dawn.

Brutal Punishment for Stealing a Pair of Shoes

MCCUBBIN FAMILY #07 FROM TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA AND DUMFRIES, SCOTLAND

Fifteen years ago, in our Cub Report 2002, Penny McColm, our Australian co-ordinator reported on a McCubbin family she had found in Tasmania in the mid 1800s, headed by James McCubbin and his wife Elizabeth (nee Lowry):

“This family then moved on to Victoria and South Australia and finally settled in the booming mining community of Broken Hill. They worked in the silver mines and the male children followed in their father’s footsteps, working long days and at times in dangerous conditions. They certainly were pioneers.”

The CUB Report – 2002

For some years Penny corresponded with a descendant, Shirley McCubbin, and just last month, in early December 2017, her daughter Heather Foster was in touch with Penny. With reference to her late mother’s notes she continues sleuthing and has provided more extremely valuable, and quite incredible information about this mysterious family, notably that James’ birth name was actually Joseph, and that he was born 22 January 1813, and baptised on 24 January that year in Dumfries. Excruciatingly, his father’s name is recorded as John and no mother’s name was given (you wouldn’t believe the number of John McCubbins we have in our database in the Dumfries area!). So, sadly, we haven’t yet been able to link the family to their Scottish family but we’ve still got our thinking caps on and will continue to root around.

Heather’s research elucidated how Joseph came to be in Australia, and explained why various aliases were used:

“He joined the army but deserted in 1833. He was subsequently convicted of stealing shoes at the West Moreland Kirkby Session and given a 7 year sentence. He was transported to Van Dieman’s land on the convict ship the Moffatt arriving on the 9th May 1834. He was transported under the name Francis la Touche but the aliases Joseph McCubbin (elsewhere MacCubbin )and John McHubbin (elsewhere MacHubbin) were recorded on the documentation with a note that his real name was Joseph McCubbin. His convict number was 815.   His treatment was very harsh as he was not a model convict. His sentence was extended until 1847. His certificate of freedom was issued on the 10th a July 1847.  He appears in the records again in 1848 under James McCubbin when he was charged with counterfeiting but was not convicted. His prisoner number 815 and his prison ship Moffatt were noted against his name.”

Joseph’s Convict Years

By transcribing Joseph’s convict records Heather has been able to describe in more detail the harsh and brutal treatment convicts received and what Joseph suffered during a shockingly hard period of his life between 1833 and 1847:

“His convict records are recorded under his alias Francis la Touche.

It was not long after his arrival on June 16th 1834 that he was reportedly found lurking with bad intent in his Master’s store and was transferred to work in Spring Mill for two years.

On October 2nd 1834 he was found to have absconded and was given 6 months hard labour in chains during which time he absconded again and had his transportation sentence increased by 3 years.

By January 1835 he had once again absconded and was sentenced to 3 years hard labour at the Hulk Chain gang.

1836 and ‘37 were particularly difficult years with four incidences of disobedience or neglect of duty resulting in periods of 6 to 10 days on bread and water, and being tied to a wheel for 7 days. He was accused of pilfering or receiving what had been taken and this resulted in 25 lashes. He tried to abscond again in August 1837 and his sentence of transportation was once again extended for 3 years at the notorious Port Arthur.

There were no further reports until 1841 when being absent without leave, charged with gross insolence and gross misconduct as well as being suspected of counterfeiting were all recorded at different times.

1842 was another difficult year when being absent without leave, being idle and involved in misconduct resulted in 3 separate incidences of solitary confinement between 3 and 5 days, as well as two different sentences of 36 lashes.

The following year he was back in chains undertaking hard labour for having counterfeit money in his possession

During 1845 his sentence was once again extended by 12 months, this time for larceny under five pounds. He was also sentenced to 6 months hard labour for trespassing.

1846 was quiet with only one entry detailing 10 days in solitary confinement for being absent without leave.

His certificate of freedom was granted on the 10th July 1847, 14 years and 6 days after he was convicted of stealing a pair of shoes. Francis la Touche (Joseph McCubbin) was then reinvented as James McCubbin with many descendants in Australia today unaware of his convict past.”

By 1848 he was with Elizabeth Lowry (though no formal marriage registration has yet been found) and they had two children in Tasmania (a boy in 1848, and a girl, called Mary, in 1850) before they moved to Victoria, and then after having another boy they moved to South Australia, leaving their two year old daughter in Victoria. It is thought that the boys were called John and Thomas. The family then moved to Broken Hill. At the time of Mary’s birth, her father was recorded as a Shoemaker.

Mary later married Herrmann Schnieder in 1867, and sadly died at the young age of 26, having had 5 children. It was her descendant who helped us with this part of the family puzzle.

Thomas married Susan Stark in Burra, South Australia in 1870 at the age of 26. They lived in Broken Hill for 28 years where Thomas worked as a Silver Miner. He died in 1915. According to his death certificate they appear to have had 11 children (actually they had 12), 6 who are named on the death certificate, which also gives their ages, and 5 who are recorded to be deceased. It is from this line that Heather descends.

Cumberland McCubbins

To date we have only found three McCubbin family groups in Cumberland (a county in England until 1974 and which now makes up part of Cumbria). We’re only really interested in the north-western part of it: the towns of Carlisle, Crosscanonby, Maryport, Workington, Harrington and Cockermouth.

Cumbria is illustrated on the Google map via this link:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Cumbria/@54.7278608,-3.6286885,10z/data=!4m
5!3m4!1s0x48632ab0a13de7c5:0x16e1925b0544819a!8m2!3d54.5772323!4d-
2.7974835?dcr=0

The earliest McCubbin family found in the area was headed by Robert McCubbin who married Barbara Clarke in 1764. They had at least four children (John, Mally, and two sons named Robert – presumably the first Robert died young) all born in Harrington, south of Workington. In 1771 there is a record of the christening of Jenny McCubbin, daughter of John McCubbin in Workington who are likely to be related to Robert McCubbin’s family.

Quite a bit north of Workington and north-east of Maryport (just over 2 miles away) is the small village of Crosscanonby, with a population of 3,252 in 1801. It was there where John McCubbin and Sarah Sibson, who married in 1795, raised their family (McCubbin family #70). It may be that the family headed by James McCubbin and Ann Morley (McCubbin family #83) in Carlisle are related as Carlisle is a mere 23 miles north-east of Crosscanonby, but this cannot be confirmed and it is probably significant that this area lies across the water (the Solway) from Scottish McCubbins in DNA groups DNA1 (with branches in Dumfriesshire) and DNA 3 (with branches in Wigtownshire). Not a lot is known about the Carlisle family (#83), although we do have vital statistics for some members across three generations.

Three Generations of Devoted Clergymen from Crosscanonby

McCubbin Family #70

Recently Stephen Holloway, a member of this family by marriage, contacted us and kindly shared the family research done by his late brother-in-law, Christopher John (Chris) McCubbin. Along with his own recollections and some wonderful photos from this interesting family, further research has been spurred on and has helped considerably to build on information we already held.

The family, headed by John McCubbin (c.1771-1824) and his wife Sarah Sibson, were originally farmers, but through Stephen and his late brother-in-law, we have learned a lot more about the three generations of Clergymen and their very well-educated progeny. Not so much is known about some members of the family but the scant information we have found raises some tantalising questions about these interesting individuals.

John and Sarah had at least five children between 1797 and 1817: Joseph (1797-1803), John (1798-1825), Frances (1801-1828), Jane (1805-1833) and James (b.c. 1817) and for those for whom we know dates, they died before reaching their 60th birthdays! Chris recalled seeing the family gravestone in Crosscanonby churchyard, as well as a transcription of it, in his grandfather’s handwriting, in his bible.

John’s son, Frances, who died in 1825 at just 26 years old in Maryport, was described as “Capt of the Collins” on the gravestone but what this means is yet to be established. Maryport is on the coast so perhaps the “Collins” was a ship or boat?

Son, John, also died young, at just 26 years old in 1825, but not before he had married Elizabeth Stoddard and had a son (born September 1823), also called John. Some six years after the death of John, his widow married a Clergyman, Revd John Hope, and this is probably how there came to be Clergymen in the next 3 generations of this family, including John.

By 1851 John (1823-1888) was already a Curate far away from his hometown of Crosscanonby and recorded as a visitor at Tibshelf Vicarage in Derbyshire, the head of household 75 year old John Robert Sharpe, described as a widower, “landed proprietor and annuitant”. Stephen relates how “Hope more or less adopted John McC. He left a scribbling diary for 1853, mainly about the weather and families, but he mentions John coming over to preach several times and also for social visits.” By 1855 John had married Marianne Gerrard in the Cathedral in Manchester and they soon started a family and were to have three children: Louisa Marianne (1856-1910), John Gerrard (1858-1931) and Agnes Hope (1859-1941). By 1861 he was recorded on the census as the incumbent of the new church, Christ Church – built in 1854, in Bacup, Lancashire and living with his family in Greensnook. But, while John continued to be the Vicar at Christ Church, probably until he died, in 1871 he is recorded on the census as boarding in the household of Susannah Law, a widowed schoolmistress, in Tolmorden Road, Bacup, while his wife and children are recorded as living far away on the west coast, in Saunders Street, North Meols in Lancashire with their servant, Hannah Goodfellow (who was born in Cumberland). The family were reunited again by 1881 and living at the Vicarage in Greensnook Lane. John died in 1888, leaving a personal estate of nearly £2,000.

Daughter, Louisa, lived with her mother in Withington, Manchester until her mother’s death in 1893 and remained unmarried and died in 1910, aged 53 at Fernhill, Travancore in South India, leaving effects to the value of just over £2,000. She was buried in India. It is unknown how and why she came to be there, whether she was just visiting, or had moved out to live there. Given the family history, one wonders whether she might have been a missionary, but perhaps her brother, or father, may have had interests in plantations in India as there is a J McCubbin listed in the “Planting Directory of Southern India” (with a Lt Col JRP Williams, MBE) and also a committee member of the South India Association in London.

Daughter Agnes also appears to have remained unmarried and living at home, being recorded on the census of 1881 with her parents but also in 1891 visiting her brother in Bothwell, Uddingston, just outside Glasgow. On her death in 1941 she left effects to the value of almost £1400 to her nephew and niece.

Their brother, John Gerrard, followed their father into the Clergy, matriculating at Cambridge University in 1877, gaining a BA in 1881 and taking his MA in 1888.

John Gerrard McCubbin 1858-1931

He was ordained as Deacon in Chester in 1881 and recorded as Priest in the University’s records in 1882. The records list his various clerical tenures which caused him to move around Britain, but mainly residing in Lancashire:

1881-83, Curate of St George’s, Altrincham, Cheshire
1883-86, Curate of St George’s, Everton, Lancashire
1886-87, Curate of Bolton, Greater Manchester
1887-90, Curate of St John’s, Longsight, Manchester
1890-95, Curate of St Andrew’s Mission, Uddingston, Lanarkshire, Scotland
1895-99, Curate of St Peter’s, Hindley, Lancashire
1899-1906, Vicar of Kirkmanshulme, Manchester
1906-12, Rector of St Mark’s, Newton Heath, Manchester
1912-28, Perpetual Curate of Mareham-on-the-Hill with High Toynton, Lincolnshire

By 1887 He had married Charlotte Elizabeth Thompson and they had two children John Harold (1888-1954) and Katharine Marianne (1891-1982). His wife died before him, in 1926, and he died in 1931 in West Kirby, Cheshire leaving almost £12,000 to his children.

John Gerrard’s son, John Harold (known as Harold), was the third member of the family to enter the Clergy.

Young Harold McCubbin, 1888-1954

He was obviously a very intelligent man and earned a scholarship to read for the Clerical Tripos at Trinity College, Cambridge, having previously attended Manchester Grammar School. He achieved a 1st class degree in Part I in 1909, and 2nd class in Part II in 1910. He took his MA in 1913. Crockford’s Clerical Directory of 1932 records:

1911-1920, Curate of Astley Bridge (St Paul’s)
1920-1923, Lecturer and Curate of Bolton
1923, Vicar of Kellington with Whitley in the Diocese of Wakefield (Yorkshire)

He married Mary Alice Jones in 1922 at the Parish Church of Astley Bridge St Paul, recorded at that time as a Clerk in Holy Orders of Lever Bridge, Bolton and his wife, Mary, a Teacher. His father conducted the service. The couple went on to have four children: Beatrice (Bea) Mary (b.1923); Christopher (Chris) John (1924-2011); Edward (Teddy) Hope (1926-1996); and Lillian (Lyn) Isabel Marianne (1928-1996).

Between 1924 and 1932 he was resident at the Vicarage in Kellington, according to the electoral registers. His future son-in-law and good friend of his son, Chris, Stephen Holloway, relayed that, in 1932, the family moved to Aysgarth, North Yorkshire, where Harold had been appointed Vicar. Stephen met Harold when he was vicar of Aysgarth in the early 1940s and describedhim as gentle and scholarly, and a good parish priest. He said he read a lot and played postal chess to a high standard. However, he added, “he was somewhat unworldly and relied on his capable wife”.

Aysgarth: Harold and Mary with children Teddy, Bea and Chris

Stephen described Harold’s wife, Mary, as “an ideal vicar’s wife. She had a powerful personality and worked hard to run the administration of parishes. She was a keen gardener and attended many local auctions, coming home with many unlikely buys.” She made many trips to Australia and was serious watercolorist who exhibited in minor shows and sketched a lot while in Australia.

During the 1940s, the children were away at college or university and the couple moved to Reepham in Norfolk where Harold was Vicar and they remained there until Harold’s death in 1954 at The Rectory. Harold left effects to the value of almost £4,000 to his widow, Mary.

All of their children led interesting lives:

Bea went to University of London, Bedford College, although, because of the War, students were evacuated to Cambridge to avoid the bombing. Future husband, Stephen, relates “The College had no buildings and used Cambridge buildings and attended their lectures living in lodgings.” She qualified as a Teacher and in 1949 she married Stephen Holloway. Bea and Stephen moved around the country before settling in north-west London, where they raised their family.
Chris was a good friend of Stephen Holloway (later to become Bea’s husband, and who made contact with us, generously sharing much anectodal information, some of which is included here). The boys met whilst at Marlborough College, Chris having won a scholarship to attend this prestigious school which had been founded in 1843 for the sons of Church of England Clergy. Chris volunteered for the RAF (and Stephen the Army) and they both went up to Cambridge together, living in adjacent rooms at Trinity College. Chris read Geography; Stephen Engineering. After Cambridge Chris trained as a pilot, gaining his wings in Kenya, but the war ended before he saw action. He married Joan Cane, one of the local doctor’s six daughters and they settled in Buckinghamshire where they raised their family.
Teddy was not academic and went to Bloxham Boarding School and then on to agricultural college. Stephen described him as rather shy. After a short spell in the Army he married Pearl Parnall and after periods living in London and Surrey, they settled in Wiltshire.
Lyn went to a convent school and stayed with it when it was evacuated to Canada in the war. “She was well looked after and came back to the UK rather reluctantly” She went to university (Stephen was unsure where) but visited her brother in Cambridge frequently and it was there she met her husband, Andrew Moyes, who was, according to Stephen “one of our set and a top flight oarsman who just missed rowing in the University boat race.” Like Bea and Stephen, and Chris and Joan, they were married in Reepham by her father.

John Gerrard’s daughter, Katharine Marianne was born in Scotland while her father was Curate of St Andrew’s Mission in Uddingston. During the First World War she achieved a Certificate in Nursing (County Hospital, Lincolnshire) and was formally registered as a Nurse on 27 October 1922.

Young Katharine Marianne McCubbin 1891-1982]

By 1937 she was living in Woodcote, Berkshire and four years later was to marry Kenneth James Sutherland at Wensleydale in Yorkshire. Later in life the couple lived in the Wirral, Merseyside. Her husband died in 1976 and she lived to become a nonagenarian, dying in 1982.

Katharine in later years

Fact or Fiction – George Washington and Mrs James MacCubbin DNA Group02

Googling these two names reveals a story about a ball Washington allegedly attended with Mrs James MacCubbin. Notably the story is included in “George Washington’s America”(page 428) and in “George Washington Day by Day” (page 188).

An online article tells the story:

http://www.georgewashington.us/p/blog-page.html

George Washington’s attendance in Congress on December 23rd, 1783, set the stage for one of the most remarkable events of United States history.

George Washington’s resignation as Commander-in-Chief would be the last great act of the Revolutionary War. Historian David Ramsay wrote of Washington trek to new federal capital to submit his resignation:

In every town and village, through which the General passed, he was met by public and private demonstrations of gratitude and joy. When he arrived at Annapolis, he informed Congress of his intention to ask leave to resign the commission he had the honor to hold in their service, and desired to know their pleasure in what manner it would be most proper to be done. They resolved that it should be in a public audience.

The event began on December 22nd when President Mifflin gave a dinner, of over two hundred covers, to the Commander-in-Chief. Afterwards, a magnificent ball was given in his honor by the Maryland Assembly. Washington opened the ball with the charming Mrs. James MacCubbin, gallantly presenting her with an elegant fan. This occasion was graced by “the beauty and the chivalry” of the patriotic old colony.

Micki Collins, a member of the USA branch of the McCubbins, who says she is descended from John the Colonist, has a print published in a book which was sent to her which apparently shows Mrs MacCubbin with the first president of the USA. The caption reads:

“Washington Opens The Ball With Mrs James Mackubin

From an old print found in a receipt book of the family of Judge Welch but now in possession of Katharine Walton. Washington “chose” as his partner “the most beautiful woman of his day” and presented her with a beautiful fan. The torn print (white spot) makes it impossible to tell whether she is carrying the fan.”

George Washington & Mrs James MacCubbin

A Scottish Wedding in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

THREE MCCUBBIN GENERATIONS

#45 DNA 3

Mark McCubbin (grandson of Lorna McCubbin who is co-founder of the McCubbin Family History Association) married Dr. Kayley Smith at Halifax, Nova Scotia. The wedding and party were held on July 15, 2017, at the Maritime Museum, overlooking the harbour. Both bride and groom come from a long line of Scots.

Kayley relates; “My grandfather, who lived in the Cape Breton settlement spoke Gaelic, although he never did teach his children how, so it was lost in our family. I would love to learn it one day. He died a year before I was born, so my parents gave me a Gaelic name in his memory, but altered the spelling because they thought Ceilidh would be confusing for me when I was learning to spell. Both of my grandmothers came from Scottish clans.

James H McCubbin, son of Lorna (standing next), Mark, Amanda Bentley and Ryan McCubbin, all children of James H and g’children of Lorna.

Kayley Smith McCubbin & Mark McCubbin

“Despite a few sad and difficult years of illness and bereavement within the McCubbin Family History Association team, we’ve managed to get the Cub Report out again – very late, but with the help of contributors we’re pleased not to have missed an issue, and thank all our supporters for their kindness and patience.”

A NOTE FROM LORNA MCCUBBIN (NEE KINSEY)

To all you wonderful ‘Cubbies’ and family, some of whom have been ‘with me’ and our team since we started in the early 2000’s, I thank you for sharing your family information in order to get as far as we have come. We began with just our own family trees, and even those were sparse. Now, I’m passing on my torch to my son James H McCubbin, who is by far more knowledgeable than I about the ins and outs of computers. In fact, he has been helping me with getting my side of the CUB Report together, for the past few years. To Kathy McCubbing in England and Penny McColm in Australia, with whom I burned the midnight oil when we had a new lead, I bow to you. It was all so exciting! James and Kathy will be taking over the DNA project . Kathy has the McCubbin database of over a thousand names and James keeps a back-up, with Kathy sending James newly added data. Sincerely, Lorna

All the best for 2018!!

The MCFHA Committee

Chairperson of McCubbin Family History Association – Kathy McCubbing

Keeper of the Master Genealogist McCubbin database – Kathy McCubbing

Member – Guild of One Name Studies – Kathy forwards world queries to co-ordinators.

DNA Project Administrator – Admin – James H McCubbin. Kathy – co-admin

Penny McColm – MCFHA Co-Founder & Co-ordinator for Australia & NZ

Co-ordinators specialties: Kathy McCubbing, Dumfries; Ronald ‘Rick’ McCubbin, America; Penny McColm – Australia; Kathy and James – the rest of the world

MCFHA Sponsors – Lorna McCubbin & son, James H McCubbin

Facebook Administrator – James H McCubbin,

Co-Admin – Kathy McCubbing

Cub Helper – Ryan McCubbin

Click to whom you wish to email; Kathy  Penny  Rick  James

To the many people who have contributed to the content of the CUB report, we say Thank You!

We are especially grateful to those of you who provided samples for the DNA project. It is providing a great insight into our past.