This is the story of a 16-year-old boy who sadly lost his life in the Blantyre Pit Disaster of 1877.
John McCulloch was born on 21st February 1861 in Bothnennar, Stirlingshire to parents John McCulloch Snr a coal miner and Alison Marshall, a domestic servant and shirtmaker.
John would have 8 siblings throughout his short life and actually was named after his elder brother John, who had died the same year this John was born. Whilst that may seem strange, naming a new child after a deceased relative was actually quite common in this time.
Around 1871, when he was just 10 years old, the McCulloch family moved to Bothwell, Lanarkshire. Coal fields were opening up in the region but further opportunity arose when Dixon’s sunk new pits nearby in Blantyre, teasing miners with slightly better wages and the prospect of long-term employment. Between the latter part of 1873 and 1875, the McCullochs moved to High Blantyre to a rented house on the south side of Main Street, near to the Dixon’s Pit 3. This likely coincided with John McCulloch being around 14 years old, age to leave school and join his father as a coal miner. As such, the move to Blantyre would have been a big change for John. A new home and starting work for the first time.
His mother Alison would have her hands full maintaining the family home and bringing up the other children as John and his father set off to work nearby each morning. John wouldn’t have had far to walk, being able to see the pit from the back of his home, across the meadow and the walk to and from work would have been quick and convenient. Wages for young miners especially were low. However, the income was crucial for their families, many of whom depended on multiple family members working to survive. The family would have faced some hardships and difficulties. It’s known Alison couldn’t write, putting her mark ‘x’ on documents, rather than signatures. For John’s younger siblings, they would have attended the brand-new school which opened in High Blantyre in 1875. The Education Act of 1872 asked for all children between 5 and 13 to attend school. Literacy and numeracy skills were basic, and many children learned practical skills from their parents.
Family life centred around work and survival. Boys like John McCulloch were expected to contribute financially, and responsibilities could include helping with household chores and supporting younger siblings when home from work. John likely had little recreation time, though the fields and streets surrounding his home would have offered a good playground.
At 8.45am on 22nd October 1877, the Pits 2 and 3 exploded at High Blantyre killing 216 men and boys below ground. Amongst them was John McCulloch and his father.
We can only imagine the heartache and grief the family endured, especially in the days which followed the accident. Debris fallen into Shaft 3 meant the rescue parties couldn’t immediately get to where the McCullochs were. John’s mother Alison would have been beside herself watching so many bodies being brought up and buried and hope would have faded fast for her husband and son as the morgue filled up.
By the Friday 26th October, 4 days after the explosion it’s known the family received a visit from the local ministers. On Saturday 27th October, the Glasgow Herald newspaper described events of Friday 26th October. “The work of relieving the destitute is being continued to-day. In addition to lines granted on grocers for supplies of provisions, money is being supplied, in necessitous cases, by the Rev. Stewart Wright and the Rev. Mr Frawley. This arrangement has been sanctioned by the local Relief Committee, and will be continued in the meantime. The following families were afforded relief this forenoon by the Rev. Stewart Wright :— Mrs Bolton, two sons; Mrs B. Gold, lost husband, one child; Mrs James Gold, lost husband, three children; Mrs McCulloch, lost husband and son, three children;”
The article confirms Alison McCulloch had three children at home as she navigated through grief and the anxiety of not knowing if her husband and son were dead. However, later that day (Friday 26th), her deceased husband was found and brought up to the surface from Pit 3, interred later that day. It would take until 3rd November 1877, a week later for John McCulloch, her son to be found and be brought to the surface via Pit 3. Again, the family went through a second funeral, that same day. John McCulloch was just 16 years old and sadly the variance in time between him and his father being brought to the surface, suggested they were not working together at the time of the accident.
Unusually, John and his father were not buried in the large mass trenches which were opened up in High Blantyre Cemetery. The family had purchased Lair 247, in Section D. Though the McCullochs had only been in Blantyre for 2 years, (just as old as the new Cemetery itself), John McCulloch and his father were buried together in the same grave and separately away from the other victims of the disaster.John McCulloch’s death certificate is signed by his elder brother Thomas McCulloch, proving conclusively that the Thomas McCulloch who is listed also as a victim of the disaster, was not the brother of John!
In the months which followed, Alison McCulloch (nee Marshall) erected an impressive gravestone in memory of her husband and son, which can still be seen today. It is possible her own family from the Skinflats / Falkirk area helped with the cost.
As a sidenote to this story, John’s little brother Alex became a gardener for a short time in Blantyre perhaps no doubt influenced by his own or mother’s desire to avoid him going underground. However, when the family moved to Summerlee, Coatbridge, he was tragically killed in a colliery accident in 1882, aged only 18.
Allison never remarried. This is telling when so many other widows ended up remarrying. Her overwhelming grief, connection with her husband and remaining single for the rest of her life, is telling that she was a ‘broken woman’. She moved house to Causeystanes in High Blantyre by the early 1880’s and is noted in the census as being a shirtmaker. She took in 3 lodgers which would have helped with everyday costs. Allison moved to the Coatbridge area with her grown up daughter Ann and is noted in further census as ‘living by means’, likely just getting by with no menfolk in the household. She passed away in 1915, a year after her daughter Ann (Annie d1914). The family are all buried together in High Blantyre.
Thank you for the time and effort you put in to tell the tale of John “Jr.”. It is so much appreciated. You’ve done such wonderful, thorough work. Thank you, thank you!!