It’s always nice to hear of local couples having long lasting , happy marriages and celebrating 50 years of marriage is certainly something noteworthy.
On Tuesday 1st January 1901, that New Years night, family and friends of Mr George McLaughlin and his wife celebrated their Golden Wedding, as well as the New Year. The couple left their home at Stonefield Road and joined family at nearby Livingstone Memorial United Free Church Hall. The minister presided over the social gathering and complimented the old couple of such a remarkable event.
Mr McLaughlin was born in Baillieston in 1820 and commenced working in the mines at the age of 10. Thinking back of those years in the 1830s, he remembered three woman also worked in the miners, two actually drawing coal. His wife, whose maiden name was Helen McGregor was 74 years old at the time of the celebration, George himself being 81.
The couple had married in Glasgow and had by 1901 spent 28 years in Blantyre, 21 of which were worked in Dixon’s Collieries. George had retired 7 years earlier in 1894.
A sad incident in their lives happened in 1877 when they lost 3 of their sons in the disastrous Blantyre Explosion. George continued to work for Dixon’s as his Employer, knowing fair well they had played a part in the loss of his sons. There were actually 13 children, but through tragedy in various times, only 2 children were alive for the Wedding Anniversary celebration, a son and daughter. The couple having had dealt with grief for the loss of 11 children in their lifetime. However, at the celebration were 17 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren! As the evening drew to a close, a nephew made a speech and presenting the couple with a purse of sovereign coins, stated he hoped they would see out many more years together.
Photo Courtesy: Blantyre Project AI Generated.
