Number 55 - Information on residents
1819 – 1838 James Carnegy and James Shepherd & 1820 – 1838 Misses Carnegy
James Carnegy, a solicitor (WS), lived here with his three sisters, Anne, Elizabeth and Helen. In 1832, he formed a partnership with another WS, James Shepherd, and the legal firm then traded as Carnegy and Shepherd, with the house being used as the firm’s chambers. Shepherd lived in Hart Street.
It appears that Carnegy left Albany Street to move to the country in expectation of his forthcoming inheritance, for in 1840 he was left the bulk of a fortune by Thomas Gardyne. Amounting to £95,000, it carried the somewhat unusual direction: ‘To invest it in land; the land to be held in strict entail for sixty-eight years, after which it is to be at the absolute disposal of the person then in possession.’ James changed his name to Carnegy Gardyne, and presumably moved on to a grander life. In 1835, Shepherd moved to Number 26, where he continued his law practice. Carnegy’s three sisters live on in the house.
1838 George McDonnell
This may well be Lieutenant-Colonel George McDonnell who fought during the British-American War in Canada. If so, there are two accounts of his involvement in that war. Nicknamed “Red” George, Macdonnell was an officer with the Glengarry Light Infantry. In 1813, he was involved in an action at Forsyth in Canada. There he led 480 British and Canadian troops across the frozen St. Lawrence River from Prescott to Ogdensburgh, and, in little more than an hour, eleven field pieces and all the American ordinance, marine, commissariat and quartermaster general’s stores were taken by his troops. In so doing, they captured 70 prisoners, including four officers, and burned two armed schooners, the Niagara and the Dolphin.
In 1813, he took part in the Battle of the Chateauguay (Painting, The Battle of Châteauguay, by E.H. de Holmfield). The American troops were under the command of Major General Wade Hampton and he had a force of more than 4,000, far out-numbering the British-Canadian force. However, the British-Canadian commanders carried out a number of manoeuvres to convince the Americans that they had more troops than they had. They had erected barricades from freshly felled trees, and Hampton decided against a frontal attack. Instead, he detached a contingent of 1,500 troops to attack through the forest on the other side of the river. This contingent was seen approaching by Canadian scouts and McDonnell, who commanded the Canadian rear-guard, sent militiamen to repel them. After a brief exchange of fire, the Americans fled. The Canadians then had a number of soldiers blow horns in the woods, while Mohawk warriors, fighting on the Canadian side, fired musket volleys to add to the sense of a larger force. After a number of skirmishes Hampton ordered a general retreat. The Canadians had only four dead and seven wounded, whereas the Americans lost fifty men and had many more wounded. Although a small battle, it was a factor in the later settlement. Both Salaberry and McDonnell were awarded Gold Medals for their actions. The war ended with the Treaty of Ghent on Christmas Eve in 1814, when the U.S. and Great Britain signed an accord calling for peace without territorial concessions from either side.
1839 – 1855 James and Jane (neé Brown) Pott & 1884 – 1906 George and Marion (neé Milne) Pott
James Pott and Jane had just married when they moved here. Pott was a solicitor (WS) and acted as Secretary to the Scots Law Society. In 1831, he had purchased the state of Potburn in Selkirkshire, and this house would have acted as his chambers and Edinburgh residence.
The Potts had four children. No information has been found about Elizabeth. Their other daughter, Margaret, married Adam Gifford, later Lord Gifford (photograph from around 1870). Gifford was a solicitor and he built up an extensive legal practice. In 1861, he was appointed an advocate-depute, and, in 1870, made a judge. Their eldest son, James, became a Lieutenant in the 11th Hussars. It was said that he was ‘a delicate, handsome looking man, very popular with his brother officers’ but his health obliged him to retire from the service, and he died when just twenty five. Their other son, George, married Marion Milne and farmed the family estate at Potburn. He was appointed Justice of the Peace and Commander of Supply for Selkirkshire. James also had an illegitimate child: a son, from a liaison with Jane Rankine [possibly a servant] when he was just sixteen. Following the birth, James proposed a payment of £55.10s in exchange for the Charity Workhouse taking care of the boy, but the mother refused to give up custody of the child. Eventually, Pott agreed to pay annual alimony of £8 until the boy was 12 years old. When his illegitimate son reached that age, Potts refused to take any further responsibility. Rankine claimed that as her son was unhealthy through disease and so unable to learn a trade, Potts should continue to provide support. She also had a doctor certified that the boy’s poor health made him unsuitable to enter the Charity Workhouse. Pott refused to help. The sickly young boy managed to get a poorly paid job as messenger to a shoemaker, but three years later he and his mother were ‘living in utter destitution’ as they had been denied support from the Charity Workhouse on the basis that Pott was known to be a man of substantial means. In desperation, Jane raised an action against Pott, claiming
three years alimony, totalling £36. Pott counter-claimed that the boy was, in fact, in good health and that even if unable to find a trade, it was the responsibility of the Charity Workhouse to provide support. The court found against Pott, stating that ‘so long as a natural child is unable to maintain itself, either from ill health, or having been prevented by previous ill health from learning a trade, the father is liable to maintain it.’ Jane Pott died in 1843 and James in 1852. Their legitimate son, James, lived in the house for another year or two before he joined the army.
The house was retained and let by the Pott family for almost 30 years and George Pott later returned to live here with his wife. In the intervening years. George and his family resided in Roxburghshire, where he was a landowner and a keen huntsman. However, it seems likely that they moved to live in Edinburgh after their son, James, married Mary Anderson from Melbourne, and took over farming the estate. James later became a Jedburgh local councillor.
The Potts had two other sons. Alexander became a trader in Rhodesia and died there in 1907. George married Gwendoline Ward and they emigrated to New Zealand and farmed on the North Taranaki coast. From their New Zealand farm they supplied seeds to Sutton & Sons in Reading (seed packet).
1855 – 1875 John and Anna (neé Rogers) Park
John and Anna moved here soon after their marriage, and had three children in their first five years in the house. Park’s father was Andrew Park, a timber merchant in Leith, and John carried on his father’s timber business.
A large percentage of the country’s timber came from the Baltic and White Seas, and Leith, with its advantageous position with regard to Russian, Swedish, and Norwegian ports, was one of the chief timber ports in the United Kingdom. An important factor in the growth of Leith’s timber import was the connection between the coal and timber trades. North Russia, Sweden, and Norway had limited coal supplies of their own, and as Leith was situated near coalfields, ships could take coal there and bring back wood. At this time, the timber was imported into Leith in the form of logs, roughly squared by means of the adze. An advert by John’s father, Andrew in 1831, offered ‘just landed 2000 feet Riga Whitewood of fine quality and 2,000 feet Baltic Redwood.
Clearly the trade brought more than timber to these shores as John’s sister, Wilhelmina, married Johann Otto Lietke in 1854. In 1866, Queen Victoria appointed Johann Otto Lietke as Vice-Consul Consul for Glasgow for His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Mocklenbutgh-Schwerin (a territory in North Germany).
The Parks moved to London.
1875 – 1878 Helen (neé Bannerman) Robertson and her daughter, Mary
Helen Robertson was the widow of the Reverend Robert Robertson, who had been Minister at Forteviot and died in 1856. Her daughter, Mary, was unmarried. The Robertsons had two sons: John who was Minister of Stobo and James who at this time was an advocate. James later became Solictor-General of Scotland, Lord Advocate and MP or Buteshire, and was made a Baron. He married Philadelphia Fraser in 1872. She was the daughter of William and (also) Philadelphia Fraser, who lived at Number 41. This seems the reason that helen and her daughter cam to live in Albany Street. Helen died in 1877, and Mary the following year.
1878 – 1884 Lodgings These were run by Mrs Garrick, who had previously been a lodging keeper in West Maitland Street. At the 1881 census, her sister and her husband, a blacksmith, were living here and a widow and her unmarried daughter were lodgers. 1882 Lodger - Edward Theodore Salvesen Edwards Salvesen (grave plaque) was an advocate and the son of Christian Frederik Salvesen, the Norwegian born founder of the Christian Salvesen shipping line of Leith. Salvesen married Isoble Trayner in 1886. He later became a Queens Counsel, Sheriff of Roxburghshire, Solicitor General for Scotland and a judge of the Court of Session, a post he held until 1922. He also became as President of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, Chairman of the Royal Scots Association, Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and President of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. 1884 – 1906 George and Marion (neé Milne) Pott (see above)
