History of Nimmo Family, Auchentibber Part 3 of 3

Continued from Part 2

By 1920, Jim’s quoiting skills were becoming well known and in February that year Tom Weir, of the Parkhead Club, challenged Nimmo for £100 a side. (a sum worth £4,600 in todays money!). He taunted the Auchentibber club, “Come away boys, who’ll tackle the Parkhead wonder?” A fortnight later the Auchentibber club had accepted the challenge, but ONLY on the condition it was played at the Auchentibber grounds, “up the brae”. The wager opened up similar offers and challenges from other clubs with Greenock offering similar wagers in May that year. Throughout the first half, the lead changed hands often and at the half time interval James was being beat 31-22. However, from the start of the second half, James upped his game and it finished with him winning 61-55.

Jim was also an accomplished musician, self taught although didn’t play in the last 2 decades of his life. Margaret told me, “He was a self taught accordian player and entertained in Auchintibber on the weekends, he had a band and Jimmy Hislop of Blantyre started out with him and went on to be well known around Blantyre in the 60s.   He was also into breeding canaries and won many awards for that too. I have a blue 3 piece wedgewood set which he won as a prize in the mid 1930s. I also have a postcard from 1910 which he sent to my Grandmother in Ireland, whom he had met while there for something to do with the canaries, which he mailed to her after he got home in the hopes of seeing her again.”

More Recent Times

Jim had married Elizabeth McClelland b 2 June, 1891 from Ballyclare, Co Antrim, N.I.   They married in the 1910’s. She died in Aug 1952 and was buried in High Blantyre Cemetery. Jim died on his birthday 17 July, 1962 at Auchinraith Road (home of his sister Annie Nimmo Crighton)

Jim and Elizabeth three sons, all boys, but tragedy visited their lives. A Son James born in 1916 died in 1918, the same year as Jim’s own brother. Another son John born in 1918, died aged 3 in 1921. How terrible not just to lose one toddler son, but two in succession in such a short space of time!

1949 4 Generations of Nimmo’s, James, Robert James, and little Jim

Thankfully a third son, Robert McLelland Nimmo was born on 21^st August 1919, named almost certainly after his late uncle, killed in action the previous year. Robert lived a long life and died on 13 December 2004. Robert married Jessie Cairns Muircroft b 13 Nov 1919, High Blantyre died 17 Apr1985. They had 2 children. James Black Nimmo born 23 December 1940 and Margaret Elizabeth Nimmo, born 25 February 1951, who now living abroad, has kindly taken time to assist me with the dates and modern part of this story.

Of this 1949 photo, Margaret told me in May 2015, ” This is 4 generations of Nimmo men.   James Sr.   James Jr.    Robert (my Dad at the back) and my brother Jim, around 9 years old. (He was once Scout Master at H.B. Old Parish in the 60s)  The reason my Dad is not named James, is because he had two older brothers, James and John, who unfortunately both died around the age of 18 months from appendicitis, by the time it happened to my Dad at the same age, the Drs. new what to do the third time around, so that must have been very tragic to lose two babies within a couple of years”

From her home in Canada, Margaret continued, “My brother had two children, unfortunately the Nimmo line ends there, as his son Douglas never had children of his own, so he is the last living male descendent of James, hard to believe when it was such a huge family to begin with.      I have 3 plus 3 grandchildren now too.     My brother moved to Canada in 1966, I came in 1970 and my parents in 1975.

The only relative I have in H.B. now is a cousin once removed, Gail Foster, don’t know if you would know her.    She is related to me through the Muircroft’s not the Nimmo’s, she was born in E.K. where her Mom still lives, but she purchased a Flat in H.B. a number of years ago on Douglas St across from the H.B. Church Cemetery. 

That said, there are still Nimmo’s I’m sure living in East Kilbride and in Blantyre that are related back to the beyond the start of this article. The initial James Snr in this article had a cousin William Nimmo. Some of his family now live in Canada too, but the name Nimmo survives throughout Blantyre and may be related to this particular line.

Would you like ME to look at your family story? Drop me an email or message.

On Social media:

• Elizabeth Weaver Great stuff – especially interesting to me since I know Margaret Nimmo and remember her big brother Jim too.
• Jane Davies Four generations – my grandfather, my uncle Jim, my cousin Robert & his son “wee Jim Nimmo”, as he was called then. My uncle Sam Nimmo also had a son called Jim but he was much taller, ended up 6’3″ & was called “big Jim”.
• Jane Davies Descendants of Margaret Nimmo, MacKechnies, still live in Motherwell, Wishaw, Australia & New Zealand. Descendants of Jean Nimmo, the Galbraiths, still live around Uddingston, in Thailand & Australia.

  Descendants of Sam Nimmo are living in Canada & descendants of Agnes Nimmo live in Hamilton & Dumfrieshire.
  Descendants of Annie Nimmo are myself, 3 children & 4 grandchildren, all living in different parts of England.
• Steve DaviesNimmo (Annie b.1908) became Crighton, which is now carried by Davies.
  Margaret Nimmo Lehmann told me, “I heard back from my brother Jim tonight, he lives 4 or 5 hours north of here, so I don’t see him much, but he’s the one that brought our family over to Canada.    In 1966 he moved here from Rolls Royce to Douglas Aircraft, I visited him and his family in 1967, then emigrated in 1970 as I was impressed with the summer weather, our parents followed in 1975,  by that time they figured, we would never go back.    Anyway, I digress,  Jim said that when Dad came home from WW2, they moved up to Auchintibber, to live with the Dickson’s ( as I mentioned before)  Robert Dickson and my Dad were great friends and I remember visiting his Nursery at the top of the hill, on the left hand side as you first go into Auchintibber, from Sydes Brae.    Jim said he didn’t know why they moved there, and although I’m 10 years younger than Jim, I think it was because Jim, our Mum, and my Aunt Kath Muircroft and her son David, lived with my Grampa Muircroft, over the Co Building when my Dad and Uncle were away during the War.    Jim  said he did go to Auchintibber Primary, it was a one room school, each row was a different year, his teacher was Miss Hislop. (I am wondering if he meant Miss Ferrier), as he said her brother taught at H.B. Primary.    Jim said they stayed with the Dickson’s until our family got their Prefab at 2 Ellisland Street, H.B. (where I was born in 1951).    Now I know why my Dad and Robert Dickson were such good friends, as my family had lived there after the War.     I have a few photos of Robert Dickson with my parents and  his parents and Grand Mother taken on their property in the 1940s.    Robert’s sister Jean lived in Kirkton Ave where I lived after Ellisland St, she mailed a beautiful crystal vase to me in 1971 when I got married, which I still have.”