IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Hillfoot Avenue, DUMBARTON, G82 3JX

Garshake Terrace is the street receding in the left-hand side of the image. In the foreground, Garshake Road leads uphill from the lower-left corner of the photo. (For more on the name Garshake, see Image; that street is the next one up, after Garshake Terrace.) Visible near the lower-right corner is part of the road of McGregor Drive, in High Overtoun.

This obelisk stands on the western side of the cemetery's east carriage drive. It is 16'6" high, and is made of polished red Peterhead granite. It was erected by John Ward of the firm William Denny & Brothers, was designed by the Dumbarton architect J M Crawford, and was carved by the Glasgow sculptor Robert Gray. The inscriptions on several sides of the stone are headed by the names of John and Helen Ward. Regarding them, the text on the near side records that the shipbuilder John Ward died on the 20th of March 1912, aged 64 years, and that his wife Helen Elizabeth Kerr died on the 7th of June 1931, aged 76 years. Another side of the memorial mentions John's earlier wife, Annie Philips, who died in 1874, aged 26. The photograph was intentionally taken from an angle where the sun's reflection would highlight carvings on the upper part of the obelisk. The design visible on that part of the memorial is one that is often referred to as the Greek honeysuckle pattern.

The stone stands alongside the east carriageway of the older part of the cemetery. The inscription: "To the memory of Alexander Cochran, Shipmaster, Dumbarton, Drowned at Sea 20th November 1820, aged 57 years, and Christian MacFarlane his spouse, died 9th March 1841, aged 72 years. Also their sons: Daniel, died 22nd March 1813 aged 2 years; John, died 22nd November 1817, aged 26 years; Duncan, drowned at New York, 3rd June 1827, aged 30 years." For me, one point of interest is that this stone pre-dates the cemetery in which it now stands: below the main inscription is some additional text, which states that this stone was "removed from Dumbarton Parish Church Yard 23rd November 1911"; for the parish churchyard itself, see http://www.geograph.org.uk/snippet/8364

This memorial is located within Image, and commemorates both a person and an event. A large upper part is concealed by the trees; the monument has "a capital of cornice with shepherds' crook, etc, the whole being surmounted by a carved urn" ["The God's Acres of Dumbarton", Donald MacLeod, 1888]. The sculptor's name was Galloway. Above the main inscription is the representation of an open Bible, with the words "Feed my lambs; feed my sheep", while the second of the three bases of the monument bears the word "Resurgam"; the latter, meaning "I shall rise again", is particularly common on gravestones. The main inscription is shown in close-up in Image, but is reproduced here in order to make the information easier to locate. It reads as follows (spellings such as "brethern" are those used in the inscription): the monument was erected "to commemorate the opening at Dumbarton of the Pride of Leven Lodge of Ancient Shepherds A.U., The mother lodge of Scotland, on the 4th May 1868; and the Introduction of Shepherding into Scotland by brother David McCulloch P.P.C.S. who died 21st Feb'y 1871, aged 32 years, and to whose memory this stone has also been gratefully raised by the brethern. Erected A.D. 1882." A.U. stands for Ashton Unity, and indicates where this organisation had its beginnings (Ashton-under-Lyne). It was a Friendly Society – more specifically, a sickness and benefits club. At the time of writing, it survives – though in modified form, and after some mergers – as Shepherds Friendly, a mutual insurer. As for P.P.C.S., it stands for "Past Provincial Chief Shepherd". The original purpose of the organisation is explained in part by the inscription on the left-hand side of this monument (again, the original spelling has been retained): "The brethern of the Pride of Leven Lodge have aquired the ground in front of this monument where members without relatives or in needy circumstances may rest after the battle of life has been finished". Below this, on the uppermost base of the monument, is the society's motto, "Christus Noster Pastor". Many societies of a similar nature sprang up in this area. The book "The Story of the Vale of Leven" (J.Agnew, 1976) mentions some of these, "the oldest being the masonic lodge in Renton, founded 1788, and the other in Bonhill in 1826. The Oddfellows (see Image) established themselves next, followed by Shepherds, Good Templars, Gardeners, Foresters, and others. Mutual aid was one of their prime objects, and some advocated temperance or total abstinence. Others did not."

For the setting, and for the main description, see Image

The cemetery was, when this picture was taken, nearly full, and New Dumbarton Cemetery was then under construction. The picture shows what is an open space, but not an unused one; it has the feel of an area set aside for unmarked burials (compare Image).

The stone was "erected by Donald MacLeod, merchant in Dumbarton, in memory of his loved ones", namely, "Catherine MacAlister, his spouse, died 7th June 1860, aged 28 years"; "his infant daughter died 18th November 1856"; "William MacAlister, his son, died 17th July 1862, aged 2½ years"; and "Jane, his adopted daughter, died 3rd July 1871 aged 13 years". The inscription now also commemorates Donald MacLeod himself, who died on the 20th of March, 1900, aged 74, and his widow, Jane Sparks, who died on the 11th of September, 1901, aged 71. The text also notes that "he was author of the History of the Town and Castle of Dumbarton and several other popular works". One of these works was "The God's Acres of Dumbarton", which is (mainly) about Dumbarton Cemetery, where the photograph was taken; the book provides biographical details of many of the people who are buried there. It also includes a description of this memorial; in that description, the author expressed the wish that he himself might also be buried at this spot, and this is indeed what happened. The Lennox Herald newspaper, in its issue of the 24th of March, 1900, contains Donald MacLeod's obituary, on which the following summary is based (it has been supplemented with further biographical information supplied by an article in the 30th April, 1892, issue of the same newspaper). According to his obituary, Donald's parents originally came from Coldingham Shore (now called St Abbs – Image). However, according to the 1892 Lennox Herald article, Donald himself was born at Edinburgh, on the 4th of October, 1826. The family moved to Dumbarton in 1830; Donald was educated at Dumbarton Academy, and, in 1841, he was apprenticed to his father. He worked for a short time in Kilmarnock (1844), and then in Manchester. There he witnessed huge processions, made up of those protesting against the Corn Laws (the Anti-Corn Law league had been set up in that city in the 1830s). In 1848, he saw for himself public anger over the Corn Laws boiling over, resulting in the wrecking of mills, the looting of shops, and the destruction of private property. During this same general period, Donald attended classes of the Mechanics' Institute of Manchester. Later, he worked in Glasgow, and, finally, he joined his father's firm in Dumbarton. He enlisted in the Mechanics' Institute of Dumbarton (he would become its secretary, and, later, its president). In the 1850s, his father, John, was a successful hatter in Dumbarton. Donald learned the family business, and eventually succeeded his father in it. He prospered in this work, allowing him to relinquish it (c.1885) and thereby to devote himself more fully to literary pursuits. His first book, on the history of the castle and town of Dumbarton, had already been published in 1875; it was to appear in a second edition, and, at the time of his death, MacLeod was engaged on a third edition of that work. Altogether, he was the author of about a dozen works (on a personal note, I would like to acknowledge here the great debt that I owe to Donald MacLeod, whose works have been, and continue to be, invaluable to me when researching the history of this area). In addition to his writing, MacLeod served as a town councillor. He proved to be popular in this role; shaped by his earlier experiences in life, he had a reputation for "siding with the masses as opposed to the classes". He had also been a President of the Dumbarton Burns Club. In addition, when various rights-of-way were being challenged in the district, he was among those who defended their continued use by the people. Regarding the newspaper in which his obituary was published, it was noted that "he was also a frequent contributor dealing especially with archaeological subjects or with other matters of interest to the community". In 1900, he was afflicted with influenza. Complications arising from this led to his death, after a four-week illness, at his home in Balclutha Lodge, Dumbarton. For Balclutha Lodge, see Image

This memorial, near the eastern edge of Dumbarton Cemetery, commemorates the sculptor William Young; there is a bronze medallion likeness of him at the top of the structure. For a closer look at the inscription and the angel, see Image

For the whole structure, see Image William Young was from Stevenston (Image) in North Ayrshire. He trained as a sculptor in Greenock, and some of his work appears in that town's own cemetery (see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Greenock-Cemetery for an article about Greenock Cemetery). After spending some time in Australia, William Young moved, in about 1857, to Dumbarton; he died there on the 15th of May, 1882, aged 54. The memorial has a human-sized warning angel (this gives some indication of the monument's overall size), with a bronze medallion likeness of Mr Young above it.

This obelisk is located near the eastern boundary of the cemetery. The main inscription is as follows: "George Burns, in memory of his beloved wife Agnes Melville Burns who died at Dumbarton July 9th 1883 in the 62nd year of her age. Also the above George Burns, for many years J.P. and A.S. for the County of Dumbarton, who died at Dumbarton June 12th 1884, aged 85 years". ["J.P. and A.S.": Justice of the Peace and Assistant Sheriff; specifically, he became an Honorary Sheriff-Substitute of Dumbartonshire.] The inscription goes on to commemorate Mary Burns, sister of Agnes Melville Burns. On the side of the monument, it is recorded that George's parents and sister "are interred in the churchyard of Dumbarton"; that refers to the kirkyard, now largely cleared away, of the parish church: http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Dumbarton-Cemetery#the-parish-churchyard George was born in Renton in 1799; he was the nephew of the shipbuilder James Lang, by whom he was employed for a while. George later went into business for himself as an ironmonger. Despite some financial reverses (caused by failures of banks in which he had invested) George was soon able to leave off his work, and to live quite comfortably for many years on the proceeds of his properties and other investments. He married his cousin, Agnes Melville Burns.