Arthur Andrew Jamison (1844 – 1900)

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   1. His childhood

Arthur Andrew Jamison was born ca 1844 on the British Channel Island of Guernsey as the firstborn of Captain James Jamieson (1821 – 1888) and Ann Bostock (1825 – 1883). He was the eldest of nine children, of which four brothers and three sisters matured into adulthood.1-3 Although Arthur (my husband’s great-great-great-grandfather) spent most of his life in Scotland and England, little is known about his childhood. He must, however, have had a good upbringing that allowed him to be admitted to university.

Notably, the spelling of his surname JAMISON differed from the JAMIESON surname that his father and siblings used, for reasons unknown. This spelling variation has been passed down to Arthur’s descendants.

   2. His wife

Arthur Jamison married Isabella Green on 4 Nov 1875 at St James Anglican Church, Parish of Weybridge, Surrey, England.4 The church building dates from 1848, and was one of the earliest works of John Loughborough Pearson, architect of the Truro Cathedral.5

At the time of their marriage Andrew was about 31 years old and Isabella was 34 years. Witnesses of the matrimonial ceremony were Isabella’s spinster sister, Emily Green (1828 – 1915), her two cousins, Mary Emma Falcon (1865 – ?) and Isabel Maud Mary Falcon (1867 – 1970) and widowed uncle, John Long, who was married to the late Jane Brandreth (? – 1865).4,6-10  Isabella was born on 13 January 1841 in Heathfield, Knutsford, Cheshire, England as the youngest child of Reverend Henry Green (1801 – 1873) and Mary Brandreth (1803 – 1871). Isabella grew up in Knutsford with her four sisters and one brother. The Green family were avid letter writers and many of these letters have been preserved.6-8  READ MORE on the Greens. Isabella Green also was a talented amateur artist and continued to exhibit regularly at the Royal Academy of Arts after her marriage and their move to London.6,9  Isabella outlived her husband by 37 years. She  died at the age of 96 years, but not before her historian daughter Evelyn prompted her six years earlier to start penning down her memoirs.6,9 In her memoirs, Isabella captures glimpses of life as a middle-class family in a town like Knutsford, her parents as the pastoral couple of the Brook Street Chapel from 1827 to 1872, the antics of their stupid, lazy pony Sheltie and their dear, grey donkey Billy, her sister Annie’s two-year long stomach ailment and a seven-week visit to Harrogate in the late 1840s, the tragedy of her favourite doll whose face caved in when it melted while lying in the sun – the same doll Isabella used to drape in a shawl and then imagined that people would think that she had a real baby – their first Christmas tree, their many friends including Reverend William Gaskell (1805-1884) and novelist Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865) and their four daughters, Marianne, Margaret, Florence and Julia, Isabella’s siblings and their families, the religious and political differences among various family members, as well as memorable trips to the Mediterranean and Egypt in 1868, and to Cuba and America in 1872. During these journeys Isabella kept travel diaries.6,7,9 Isabella died on 5 March 1937 at 48 Wetherley Mansions, Earles Court Square, London, England. The cause of her death was syncope hypostatic pneumonia and syncope.7,11,12

NOTE ON REFERENCES 6 & 7: Isabella’s memoirs as well as an extensive collection of letters, diaries, journals, deeds, inventories, legal papers, family pedigrees, photos, lecture notes and sermons, books and manuscript poems, all related to various Green and Jamison family members and their friends, are kept at the John Rylands University Library, Special Collections, at the University of Manchester. These documents are an invaluable treasure of information on the lives of individuals – their social and political circumstances and views, their joys and their challenges – spanning over 140 years from 1830 to 1971. This collection was sold to the university in 2008 on behalf of the Jamison family by Jean Jamison, a great-granddaughter of Dr Arthur and Isabella Jamison, and my husband’s aunt. Many of these documents have been transcribed by Sarah Tanner and are available to read at http://www.stanner.net/family letters (copyright applies). It is well worth the read!

   3. His career

In 1865, Arthur qualified with honours from the University of Glasgow in Glasgow, Scotland as a medical doctor with the degree MD  and CM (Doctor of Medicine and Master of Surgeon).13-15 By the time Arthur completed his studies, the total enrolled students at the university numbered close to 1300. The college became the principle centre for medical studies in the United Kingdom from 1795 onward, when the Glasgow Royal Infirmary opened in December 1794, which acted as a teaching hospital. Medical students were taught a broad range of subjects including anatomy, botany, chemistry, forensic medicine, medicine, materia medica, midwifery, natural history, physiology and surgery.16

At St Helens, Arthur also joined Dr Edward Twyford in private practice – the husband of Isabella’s half-cousin, Caroline Mary Twyford (née Casey) (1825 – 1902) and daughter of Alice Horridge Casey (née Brandreth) (1794 – 1841), half-sister of his mother-in-law.9,15,18,20 For the next 21 years from 1866 to 1887, Arthur laboured in this medical practice while serving the large community of the mining and manufacturing town.15,17 Arthur was a dedicated physician. “Whatever he undertook to do he did thoroughly, and the number of years of arduous practice in a large manufacturing centre, with a rigorous climate, left their mark to some extent upon his constitution.”15

In 1888, Arthur Jamison moved his family to 18 Lowndes Street, Belgrave Square, Middelsex (now Belgravia in London), England, where he also died twelve years later.1,7,21,22 His family continued to live there long after his death. Belgrave Square is one of the largest and grandest 19th-century squares in London. It was laid out in the 1820s by the property contractor Thomas Cubitt, on behalf of Robert Grosvenor, titled 2nd Earl Grosvenor, 1st Marquees of Westminster.21 In 1889, Arthur Jamison was admitted a Member of the Royal College of Physicians of London in Belgrave Street, a British professional body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine. Later Arthur also became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of London, an independent professional body that was enabling surgeons in England to achieve and maintain the highest standards of surgical practice and patient care. As a registered fellow, Arthur could practice as a senior surgeon.7,23  Like his parents and siblings, Arthur lived during the Victorian era when Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901. This time period is also referred to as Britain’s ‘golden age’, an era of peace and prosperity, industrial, engineering and technological revolution, as well as medical discoveries and religious revival. Living and health standards improved, although social inequality continued to exist. As a medical doctor, Arthur had the opportunity to contribute significantly to the upliftment of fellow Britains.24,25 How did his involvement with the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons motivate, equip and empower him, to do just that? Well, even in London, Arthur drew a large clientele of patients. He was known to be a thorough physician and his high character, personal charm, and cultured literary tastes added to his fine presence and sympathetic, kindly manner. He was loved and endeared by all who came in contact with him.3,10,15,23

The Jamison family seemed a fairly well-off upper-middle-class family. During the 1891 England & Wales census, four domestic servants were employed by the Jamison household: Ellen Morris (cook), Elizabeth Goodrose (housemaid), Sarah Cox (kitchen maid) and Catherine Wiles (waitress).1

    4. His death

Arthur Andrew Jamison died on 17 October 1900 at the age of 56 years. After suffering several repetitive influenza infections, he started to developed early symptoms of chronic nephritic renal disease by 1898. This steadily undermined his general heath. By June 1900, he experienced muscle weakness, a rapid heart rate and severe breathlessness. He had to cease working and was advised a few week’s rest. While in Switzerland, his health deteriorated, so much so that they had to return home. He died three weeks later at his residence at 18 Lowndes Street.6,9,12,22 He was buried at the Brookwood Cemetery (also known as London Necropolis), Woking, Surrey, England, which is 37 km southwest of central London.11 At the time of his death he was a member of the Anglican Church Parish of St George, Hanover Square, Middlesex (now central London). It was built in the early 18th-century.12,22,26 In this same church, his son Reginald would get married in 1908. The value of Andrew Jamison’s effects on 14 Nov 1900 was 20 940 pounds (£), 13 shillings (s) and 11 pennies (d). This was left to his widow Isabella, his son Reginald and his brother, Frederick William Jamieson (1859 – 1922), a merchant.22

In contrast to his father, Arthur seemed to have lived a settled and quiet life during the late Victorian era. He and his family remained together and rarely moved around, living in the same place for many years. Arthur never had any association with sunny South Africa, where his father spent three years of his live as a soldier, and where his son would later move to for health reasons and there, stay for twenty one years until his death in 1942.

   5. His children

 Arthur and Isabella had three children: Evelyn Mary (*1877), Reginald (*1878) and Catherine (*1881).6,12,22 Neither of the Jamison daughters married, but rather followed academic careers.6,12

5.1 Evelyn Mary

Evelyn Mary “Evie” was born on 24 February 1877 at St Helens where her father was the local physician. When she was about eleven years old, the family moved to London where she attended Francis Holland School at 39 Graham Street (now Graham Terrace) between 1890 and 1895. Thereafter she left for France where she went on to study at an art school in Paris. Returning to England in 1898, Evie enrolled at Lady Margaret Hall, a constituent women’s college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. This prestigious university with its 38 colleges was established in the 12th century.7,9,27-29

Evie graduated in 1901 and became the only woman student at the University to gain a First in the Honours School of Modern History. The next two years she worked at Lady Margaret Hall as secretary and teacher, but in 1903 was selected for a research fellowship at the Oxford University’s Somerville College. This enabled her to travel to Italy and write on Italian art history while being enrolled as a student at the British School at Rome. In 1907 she returned and was appointed Librarian and Bursar at Lady Margaret Hall, and later Assistant History Tutor. In 1921, she was promoted to Vice-Principal. She was also a University Lecturer in History from 1928 to 1935. Evie excelled in the academia as an British medievalist. She was awarded the Lady Margaret Research Fellowship in 1926 and was a Honorary Fellow until her death. She wrote and published extensively with a particular focus on the history of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily and Southern Italy in the 12th and 13th centuries, while maintaining her special interest in art and architecture. She traveled to her beloved Italy several times during her lifetime to conduct further research work.9,27,29Evie retired to Kensington, London in 1937 at the age of 60, but remained active in her community and continued with her historical research until the end of her life.7,27,29 Even during World War 2 as an elderly lady, she was actively doing her part serving the community of Kensington voluntarily as a Air Raid Precaution Warden.9 Wardens were responsible for community members’ adherence to blackout regulations and inspected their gas masks, helped people into shelters during bombing raids, performed what first-aid they could until helped arrived, and often helped digging out survivors. Women also made bandages, and sewed clothing for soldiers, as well as for residents whose homes were bombed. They often ran mobile canteen services during air raids. It was a dangerous job, and 241 women volunteers were killed during the war by shrapnel and falling debris.30,31 Dr. Evie Jamison passed away at the age of 95 years on 9 May 1972 at her flat at 11 Priory Mansions, Drayton Gardens, Kensington. Her funeral took place at 11:45 on 15 May 1972 at St. Mary The Boltons in Brompton, London. A memorial service was also arranged at Lady Margaret Hall.9,29,32 READ HERE her full obituary.

5.2 Reginald

Their only son, Reginald (my husband’s great-grandfather) was born on 8 September 1878 at St Helens, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom and died on 4 January 1942 in South Africa. Like his father, he also became a medical doctor. He married Eanswithe Elstrith Heyworth and they had four sons.7,11,12,33-35 READ MORE on Reginald Jamison.

5.3 Catherine

Catherine, known by close family members as Kitty, was the youngest child of Isabella and Arthur Jamison. She was born in 1880 in St Helens and died at the age of 88 years in 1968 in South Kensington, London. In her retirement, she shared a flat with her retired sister, Evie.7,11,16,22

Catherine shared her elder sister’s love for history. She was well educated and also achieved academic distinction by becoming a distinguished medieval scholar. She worked at the Public Record Office (PRO) on Chancery Street in London for most of her life.6,7,9,10,36 The PRO was the guardian of the national archives of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003. It then merged with the Historical Manuscripts Commission to form The National Archives, based in Kew, South London. The old PRO building now houses the Maughan Library of London’s King’s College.36 During her lifetime as historian and researcher, Catherine worked on a variety of specialized research projects such as Chaucer’s life records, on behalf of Professor Manly and Miss Rickert of the University of Chicago in the United States of America, in the early 1930s. Catherine Jamison also was a author in her own right and published various books of a historical nature.9

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  1. Arthur A Jamison in the 1891 England Census. http://www.search.ancestry.com
  2. Christening of Ann Bostock. England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NVYF-Q4Y : 30 December 2014), Ann Bostock, 28 Aug 1825; citing Liverpool, Lancashire, England, reference Vol 11, p 161; FHL microfilm 93,876
  3. Will and Probate of James Jamieson. In safekeeping of Tony Jamison, Randfontein, Gauteng, South Africa
  4. Marriage record of Arthur Jamison and Isabella Green. Weybridge, St James, 1837-1884, p170. Surrey, England, Marriages, 1754-1937. http://www.interactive.ancestry.com/4779/40761_312082/145338
  5. The Parish Church of St James Weybridge. http://www.stjamesweybridge.org.uk/about-us/
  6. Tanner, S. 2008. Reminiscences of Isabella Jamieson (Daughter of Henry Green). 1831-1834. http://www.stanner.net/Family Letters/Isabella Remembers
  7. Papers of the Jamison Family (1830-1971), Box 1/2 (etc.), John Rylands University Library, University of Manchester. https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/5c8d8d63-e857-3002-b880-f6e317346acf
  8. Tanner, S. 2008. Henry Green 1801-1872: Nineteenth century letters written by the Green families of Knutsford in Cheshire. http://www.stanner.net/Family Letters/preface nineteenth century letters
  9. Documentation, photos, letters, journals, memoirs, books, newspaper clippings and original water-colour paintings in possession of Arthur and Isabella Jamison’s great-grandson, Tony Jamison of Randfontein, Gauteng, South Africa
  10. Rob Jamison: Family portraits 2016. https://www.photobox.co.uk/my/album
  11. Jamison Family Tree Website by Rob Jamison. https://www.myheritage.com/site-family-tree-302515751/jamison
  12. Family tree notes by Jean Jamison (1952 – 2015), family historian and great-granddaughter of Arthur and Isabella Jamison, made avaliable by Katie Taylor from Germany, October 2017
  13. Graduate record for Arthur Andrew Jamison. University of Glasgow. http://www.internationalstory.gla.ac.uk/person
  14. Arthur Andrew Jamison. University of Glasgow. http://www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk/biography
  15. Medico-Chirurgical Transactions. 1901, vol 84 (series 2, vol 66, p128).  Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society of London. Longmans, Green & Co.:London. http://www.archive.org/stream/medicochirurgic39londgoog/medicochirurgic39londgoog_djvu
  16. Teaching at the University to 1914. University of Glasgow. http://www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk/teaching
  17. St Helens. John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72) http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LAN/StHelens
  18. The Edinburgh Gazette, March 15, 1867. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Edinburgh/issue
  19. 1st Lancashire Engineers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Lancashire_Engineers
  20. Information and photos received electronically in February 2018 from Carolynn Johnson (née Casey) from Townsville, Queensland, Australia, the great-great-granddaughter of Alice and John Casey and granddaughter of Livingstone Casey
  21. Belgrave Square. http://www.wikivisually.com/wiki/Belgrave_Square
  22. Arthur Jamison in the England & Wales National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966. http://search.ancestry.com
  23. Royal College of Surgeons. https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/
  24. The Victorian Period. https://faculty.unlv.edu/kirschen/handouts/victorian
  25. Victorian Era. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_era
  26. St George Hanover Square, Middlesex Genealogy. https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/St_George_Hanover_Square,_Middlesex_Genealogy
  27. Evelyn Jamison. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_Jamison
  28. Oxford. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford
  29. Obituary of Miss E.M. Jamison. Historian of the Normans in Southern Italy. The Times, Wednesday, 10 May 1972. Newspaper article in safekeeping of Tony Jamison, Randfontein, South Africa
  30. Kelly, J. 9 August 2018. The women who ran towards bombs. https://www.juliakellywrites.com/blog/air-raid-wardens
  31. The importance of volunteers. My Learning. https://www.mylearning.org/stories/women-at-war-the-role-of-women-during-ww2/480
  32. St Mary The Boltons. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mary_The_Boltons
  33. Reginald Jamison in the Parish Register, Prescot, St Helens, 1850-1896. Lancashire, England, Births and baptisms, 1813-1911. http://interactive.ancestry.com
  34. Reginald Jamison. KAB MOOC 6/9/8478 Ref 77009 LDS Film #007739140 Image 124-132. http://familysearch.com
  35. Reginald Jamison in the England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966. http://search.ancestry.com
  36. Public Record Office. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Record_Office

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