IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Glebe Park, DUMBARTON, G82 3HG

This is a general view of the newer northern half of the cemetery. For another such view, and for further comments, see Image This northern half of the cemetery contains a Image

This is a general view of the northern half of the cemetery; for another such view, see Image This area was not part of the cemetery as it was originally laid out; it was a later extension. This newer northern section has a very different feel about it; the large and varied monuments that are so prevalent in the older part of the cemetery are fascinating and often attractive, but they were of their time. Style and taste have changed, and such structures would be very much out of place here.

This structure is located beside the Image, at what was formerly the north-western corner of the cemetery (before the latter was extended). The memorial is 13 feet, 4 inches long, and stands 12 feet tall. The architect was John MacLeod, who was responsible for many of the memorials in this cemetery. It was carved by Mr Grassby, a Glasgow sculptor (presumably Charles Benham Grassby – he was also responsible for Image, which is located nearby, and for others; see, for example, Image). Two Provosts of Dumbarton, father and son, are commemorated here. The father, William Risk, was born at Kilmarnock. In Dundee, he traded in seeds; in 1810, he began carrying on the same trade in Dumbarton, but he soon branched out into the sale of wines and spirits. He was joined by his son in that business; the firm, William Risk and Son, continued trading until 1853. William Risk was elected Provost of Dumbarton in 1845. He died on the 7th of October, 1864, in his 80th year. His son, James Blair Risk was born and raised in Dumbarton. He became partner in a firm of drapers (France & Risk), and in his father's business, and he was also connected with the Dumbarton Brewery. Like his father, he was elected Provost of Dumbarton, and held that position from 1854 to 1860. He also served as a Justice of the Peace for the county. He did much travelling in his later years, and died in London, on the 29th of April, 1878. However, he is buried here in Dumbarton Cemetery. The central panel of the memorial bears the inscription "the burying ground of James Blair Risk of Meadowbank", and the top of the structure bears a JBR monogram, shown in Image Risk Street in Dumbarton is very probably named after William or James Blair Risk (or both): Image [For further biographical details, see Donald MacLeod's "The God's Acres of Dumbarton" (1888).]

This photograph shows the JBR monogram (for James Blair Risk) that appears at the top of Image; see that item for further information, and for a view of the whole structure.

"In memory of Robert Glassford Mitchell, Writer in Dumbarton, Procurator Fiscal of Dumbartonshire, died 21st September 1874 aged 55 years, and of Agnes Hodge his wife, died 6th December 1872, aged 54". "Writer", in this context, means solicitor. Also commemorated on the stone (which was sculpted by Milne and Wishart) are two sons; one of them died in Haiti; the other went on to become Procurator Fiscal of Dumbartonshire. Robert Glassford Mitchell was the only son of P.H.Mitchell (a Bailie in Dumbarton). He was admitted procurator in 1844, and appointed fiscal in 1854. His wife, Agnes Hodge, was from Paisley; they married in 1843. The couple had three sons and two daughters (see also Image). - - • - - The gravestone of P.H.Mitchell himself is one of the few memorials still present in the greatly-reduced kirkyard of Image, but its inscription has almost entirely flaked away. For this reason, I have not depicted the stone separately, but it is worth commenting on here. A metal plaque beside the flaked stone records that it commemorated Peter H. Mitchell, writer and bailie, who died on the 5th February 1863 (this is wrong – see below), aged 50, and his wife Grace Scott, who died in the 1830s. Peter was born in 1793, educated at the Burgh Grammar School, and was admitted in 1824 as procurator before the Sheriff Court in Dumbarton. He married twice; from his second marriage, he had one son, the above-mentioned R.G.Mitchell. Peter H. Mitchell died on 5th Feb 1843, aged 50. He was a bailie of the town for a number of years, and he was also active in social life, being secretary and a member of the Coul Club (a Glasgow club supposedly instituted c.1796 in honour of Old King Cole/Coul). He was also secretary and a member of Dumbarton's Midge Club and of the Salmon Club. The Midge Club (also referred to as the Glenhoulachan Club, or the Glenhoulachan Midge Club) was instituted in 1824, and its members were referred to as Midges. As Secretary of the Salmon Club, which was instituted in 1796, Peter H. Mitchell was succeeded by his son R.G.Mitchell; when R.G.Mitchell died in 1874, his son R.P.Mitchell (Peter's grandson) succeeded him as Secretary of the club. That position was therefore held by the members of one family for many decades. (Incidentally, Robert Glassford Mitchell was usually just referred to as "R G", and that is how his friends normally addressed him.) Some of the above biographical details for Peter H. Mitchell are from "The God's Acres of Dumbarton" (see the end-note); I have added information about the various clubs, whose names will be unfamiliar to many modern readers. Among other local clubs of a similar nature were the Lang Craigs Club (1770s) and the Hoasting Club.

The Denny family commemorated by the memorial in the foreground are usually called the Dennys of Castlegreen (in order to distinguish them from another prominent family of that name – see below). "In memory of Alexander Denny, merchant, Glasgow, who died 14 September, 1855, aged 70 years. Peter Denny, of Castlegreen, who died 19 February, 1856, aged 68 years. Sons of the late John Denny, of Castlegreen. James Denny, his grandson, who died 14 September, 1858, aged 44 years. Elizabeth Denny, his granddaughter, who died 4th January, 1872, aged 60 years". The Peter Denny named here was the grandson of David Denny of Corslet (as Crosslet was once called – see Image), and was the son of Provost John Denny. Peter Denny was a grain merchant. He went into a shipbuilding partnership with Daniel Rankin (Image); their company, Denny and Rankin, initially operated out of the Woodyard (see Image), and then at Castlegreen (for the location of the Castlegreen area, see the comments at Image). Peter Denny of Castlegreen was Provost of Dumbarton from 1834-44, and from 1848-51. He was a bachelor; on his death, the proceeds of his estate passed to his nephew and niece, James and Elizabeth, who are named in the inscription. The Dennys of Castlegreen are not to be confused with the Dennys of Braehead: the two families were not closely related; they were related(*), but more distantly. Both families were active in the local shipbuilding industry, and each produced a Peter Denny who was at one time Provost of Dumbarton. (For the other Peter Denny, of Helenslee, see Image) See also http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Dumbarton-Cemetery#shipbuilding-and-other-industries [Biographical details are from Donald MacLeod's "The God's Acres of Dumbarton" (1888); there are one or two minor discrepancies (in the day of the month) between the dates given there and those in the inscription itself; I have followed the inscription here.] - - • - - (*) The precise relation between the Dennys of Castlegreen and those of Braehead can be inferred from a detailed family tree that is among the clippings in Dumbarton Library, and that was compiled by Arthur F Jones: The common ancestors of both families are the Dennys of Townend. A certain Walter Denny, burgess, in Townend, had a son called Walter, who had died by 1692. This second Walter had a son called John Denny (1670-1723), farmer in Townend; this John is the common ancestor of both branches of the family, but they descend from two different wives. Below, I have listed just enough names to allow the family connection between the two branches to be inferred; there are many more siblings at each level. I cannot be sure of having copied all dates correctly, but the main aim here is to set out the generations clearly. ■ Generations leading to Denny of BRAEHEAD: (1) John Denny (1670-1723) of Townend married Margaret Brock (d.1703); she was probably his first wife. (2) Their son John Denny (1700-), farmer in Townend, married (1729) Katherine Bryce. (3) Their son John Denny, maltman, of Townend, and later of Braehead, married (1768) Agnes Lang. (4) Their son William Denny (1779-1833), shipbuilder, First of the Woodyard, married Christian McIntyre. (5) Their son Peter Denny (1821-1895) of Helenslee, Provost of Dumbarton, married (1845) Helen Leslie. (6) Their son was William Denny (1847-1887), Third of the Woodyard, who died in Buenos Aires. (William II – meaning "William, Second of the Woodyard" – was another son of William I, was the brother of Peter, and was therefore the uncle of William III. William II was the founder of the firm William Denny & Bros, shipbuilders: his memorial is shown in Image For Peter Denny of Helenslee, his brother, see Image and Image) ■ Generations leading to Denny of CASTLEGREEN: (1) The same John Denny (1670-1723) of Townend married (1704) Christian Paterson after the death of Margaret Brock; Christian was probably his second wife. (2) Their son David Denny (1709-) married (1742) Margaret Lindsay. (3) Their son John Denny (1745-), of Corslett, later of Castlegreen, Provost, married (1782) Katherine Murray. (4) Their son Patrick alias Peter Denny (1787-1856) of Castlegreen, Provost, shipbuilder, partner in the firm Denny and Rankin, is the Peter Denny of Castlegreen who is commemorated on the gravestone in the picture. The relationship between the two Peter Dennys is therefore that the great-grandfather of Peter Denny of Castlegreen is the great-great-grandfather of Peter Denny of Helenslee, namely, John Denny of Townend; the two Peters are second cousins once removed (for what it is worth, they might, because they are descendants through different wives of their common ancestor, be described as "second half-cousins once removed", but I suspect that most readers will not find that description very enlightening).

A quiet residential area of Dumbarton.

The Rankin Memorial is the tall structure on the left; for a closer look, see Image The cemetery's listed building report – http://portal.historic-scotland.gov.uk/designation/LB24913 (at Historic Environment Scotland) – mentions this "tall, Gothic monument" and its architect. Donald MacLeod, in "The God's Acres of Dumbarton" (1888), does provide some biographical details of Janet Rankin, but her life is described there as being fairly uneventful. She did, however, make many generous charitable donations. "In Memory of Janet Rankin Daughter of William Rankin Shipowner in Dumbarton Born 29th March 1789 Died 1st February 1867." The smaller monument on the right, shown largely in shade here, commemorates several members of the Dixon family. The first named is John Dixon, who was born at Rock, Northumberland, but who died at Dumbarton on the 27th of October, 1858. Named next is "Allan Dixon, who died at Dunbritton, Pollokshields, 23rd January 1871, aged 19 years, from the effects of a shock to his system received in saving a girl from drowning". Five others are commemorated in the inscription. Behind the Dixon monument is a wall, a Image; see also Image

For the main description, see Image Above the inscription, a shield in a roundel bears a small symbol of a ship, surrounded by the Latin words "providentia virtute"

This imposing structure is situated at the western edge of Dumbarton Cemetery. For a closer look at the memorial, and for details of those who are commemorated here, see Image