Day 35 - Glasgow to Inverkip

10 May 2023

The first challenge today was learning to drive in an unfamiliar car, in an unfamiliar city, but we sorted ourselves out and were soon on the highway out of Glasgow.

Today was a day of family discoveries. Our first stop was at Greenock, on the banks of the Clyde River. Mum’s 2^nd Gt Grandfather, John Fairbairn, was a customs officer here in 1841 and we were able to find the custom house that he would have worked in. This was a glorious old building which has now been renovated and converted into office space, and a small Robbie Burns museum. The lovely people in the museum were very helpful and directed us to the churches that the family would have used. Mum’s Gt Grandmother, Eliza Shaw Stewart Fairbairn, was baptised in the West (or Old) Parish Church in 1846. The church was moved, stone by stone, in the 1920s from its original site (now a Tesco supermarket) to a site on the Esplanade a bit further west. We wouldn’t have known about this move if it wasn’t for the information given to us in the Burns museum. We managed to track down the church, and it was in a beautiful position overlooking the Clyde. We then went searching for the church where Eliza’s parents married in 1831, known as the Middle (or new) Parish Church. It is a very imposing building with large columns at the front and situated in an elegant old part of the town. It looked like the back of the church has been converted into flats and unfortunately we weren’t able to access the inside. Greenock was a real mix of history and seemed to be a commuter suburb of Glasgow.

Top left is the Custom House, top right and bottom left are of the Middle Parish Church, where John Fairbairn and Agnes Johnstone married. Bottom right is the stunning West Parish Church where Eliza Shaw Stewart Fairbairn was baptised.

Travelling 8 miles further west, we arrived in the picturesque little town of Inverkip. Mum’s 3^rd Gt Grandparents, John Fairbairn and Julian Boak, lived in Inverkip from about 1825 until their deaths in 1863 and 1853 respectively. The 1841 and 1851 census records show that John was a forester. The B&B that we are staying in is called The Foresters House and is the actual house that the family lived in! Goose bump stuff!!!! We went for a walk this afternoon and found the Inverkip Church where they would have worshipped, as well as their gravestone. Did I mention goose bumps???!!

Bottom left part of the main street of Inverkip (so pretty!), bottom right is mum on the doorstep of her ancestor's home, top left is the Fairbairn gravestone. Top right shows the Inverkip Parish Church, with stone in front stating that is has existed for over 800 years.

Tomorrow we are planning to explore the Ardgowan Estate (owned by the Shaw Stewart family), where John worked, but first we get to sleep in the same house as our ancestors. Wow!