Mary Kerr

Last updated

Mary King n. Kerr (12 December 1905 to 25 May 1998) was a bondager and domestic servant who was born in Bellshill and died in Edinburgh, Scotland. [1] She was one of the very few Scottish bondagers whose life has been recorded in depth.

Contents

Mary King n. Kerr
BornDecember 12, 1905
DiedMay 25, 1998(1998-05-25) (aged 92)
Known forBondager in early 20th century Scotland

Biography

Mary Kerr was born out of wedlock to Isabella Paxton, a domestic servant, and Andrew Kerr, a ploughman. Her parents got married soon afterwards. [1] Being the eldest of eight children, she left school at 13 years old and started to work as a domestic helper while her father moved the family from farm to farm working in the Scottish Borders. [1]

Then at Temple Hall Farm, in Reston, King became a bondager to her father as he was first ploughman. [1] The very physical work involved planting and digging potatoes and turnips, mucking out the cow barn, repairing sacks, loading, driving a cart and more. [1]

For six years, Mary Kerr needed to work the same hours as the male fieldworkers (12 hours per day at least and 6 days per week) but with every penny of the wages handed to her father and not her. [1]

At 19 years old, she left her family and started to work as a kitchen maid. By the age of 23, Mary Kerr married a woodcutter and initially had to give up her job. Later, she would combine childrearing with working in the fields part-time. [1]

Looking back on her life, King recalled:

‘Ah didnae sign any papers, nothing like that . . .

Ah wid jist be telt, “Ye’re gaun tae work oot.”

And that wis that’...

Ah think the fields wis hard, awfy [awfully] hard work,

and gey [very] often in a’ [all] weathers.' [1]

Family life

The couple had four children. However, one died in infancy. [1]

Bondagers in Scotland

In the 19th century, Borders area of Scotland and Northumberland in England, large numbers of rural women and girls were made to work as 'bondagers'. What this system of work meant was that, in order to secure a contract (or bond) of employment with a farmer, a married ploughman would need another person willing to work long hours in the fields, normally a woman (his wife, his daughter or, if he had neither, this meant employing a complete stranger). [2] This feudal system was unpopular with the 'hinds' (the ploughmen) as they were expected to provide bed and board, clean clothes and pay for the woman when they would often only have one room for their entire family to live in. [2]

Bondagers were farmworkers expected to work in the fields and the bondage system was meant to ensure there were enough fieldworkers in order to get all the necessary farming tasks completed over the course of the year. [3]

One distinctive aspect of life as a bondager was the costume that they wore as a work uniform. This included extravagant hats and often very colourful skirts and wraps. [2] [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Tudor</span> Queen of Scotland from 1503 to 1513

Margaret Tudor was Queen of Scotland from 1503 until 1513 by marriage to King James IV. She then served as regent of Scotland during her son's minority, and fought to extend her regency. Margaret was the eldest daughter and second child of King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and the elder sister of King Henry VIII of England. By her line, the House of Stuart eventually acceded to the throne of England and Ireland, in addition to Scotland.

William Douglas, 6th Earl of Morton was the son of Robert Douglas of Lochleven and Margaret Erskine, a former mistress of James V of Scotland.

Mark Kerr, 1st Earl of Lothian was a Scottish nobleman and politician. He became the first Earl of Lothian in 1606.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Cruickshank</span> Scottish poet and suffragette

Helen Burness Cruickshank was a Scottish poet and suffragette and a focal point of the Scottish Renaissance. Scottish writers associated with the movement met at her home in Corstorphine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Lord Darnley</span> 1567 murder in Edinburgh, Scotland

The murder of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, took place on 10 February 1567 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Darnley's lodgings were destroyed by gunpowder; his body and that of his servant were found nearby, apparently having been strangled rather than killed in the explosion. Suspicion was placed upon Queen Mary and the Earl of Bothwell, whom Mary went on to marry three months after Darnley's murder. Bothwell was indicted for treason and acquitted, but six of his servants and acquaintances were subsequently arrested, tried, and executed for the crime.

Jean Ker, Countess of Roxburghe, néeDrummond (c.1585–1643) was a Scottish courtier, serving Anne of Denmark in Scotland and England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell</span> Scottish nobleman (1562–1612)

Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell, was Commendator of Kelso Abbey and Coldingham Priory, a Privy Counsellor and Lord High Admiral of Scotland. He was a notorious conspirator who led several uprisings against his first cousin, King James VI, all of which ultimately failed, and he died in poverty in Italy after being banished from Scotland. Francis's maternal uncle, the 4th Earl of Bothwell, was the chief suspect in the murder of James VI's father, Lord Darnley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Paton</span> Friend of Robert Burns

Elizabeth "Betsey" Paton or later Elizabeth Andrew of Lairgieside was the daughter of James Paton and Eleanor Helen Paton of Aird Farm, Crossroads, Ayrshire. Following an affair with Robert Burns she gave birth on 22 May 1785 to his first child, Elizabeth "Bess" Burns, the "Dear-bought Bess", who was baptised when only two days old. Betsey met Robert Burns when she was employed as a servant girl at the Burns's Lochlea Farm during the winter of 1783–84. When the Burns family moved to Mossgiel Farm in March 1784, Betsey returned to her own home, where Robert Burns visited her later that year. In 1786, Elizabeth made a claim on Burns, but accepted a settlement of twenty pounds which the poet paid out of the profits of the Kilmarnock Edition. Loving Burns with heartfelt devotion, she continued to see him after the Burns family had moved to Mossgiel Farm, and he returned these sentiments with more physical than spiritual devotions. Isabella Begg, Burns's youngest sister, stated that although Robert did not love her, "he never treated her unkindly."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in early modern Scotland</span> Women in Scotland

Women in early modern Scotland, between the Renaissance of the early sixteenth century and the beginnings of industrialisation in the mid-eighteenth century, were part of a patriarchal society, though the enforcement of this social order was not absolute in all aspects. Women retained their family surnames at marriage and did not join their husband's kin groups. In higher social ranks, marriages were often political in nature and the subject of complex negotiations in which women as matchmakers or mothers could play a major part. Women were a major part of the workforce, with many unmarried women acting as farm servants and married women playing a part in all the major agricultural tasks, particularly during harvest. Widows could be found keeping schools, brewing ale and trading, but many at the bottom of society lived a marginal existence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family in early modern Scotland</span>

The family in early modern Scotland includes all aspects of kinship and family life, between the Renaissance and the Reformation of the sixteenth century and the beginnings of industrialisation and the end of the Jacobite risings in the mid-eighteenth century in Scotland.

Sir Roger Aston of Cranford, Middlesex, was an English courtier and favourite of James VI of Scotland.

Mary (Dudley) Sutton, Countess of Home (1586–1644), was a landowner, living in England and Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marie Stewart, Countess of Mar</span> Scottish courtier

Marie Stewart, Countess of Mar (1576-1644) was a Scottish courtier. She was the daughter of Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox and Catherine de Balsac d’Entragues (d. c.1631) and a favourite of James VI of Scotland. After her marriage, as was customary in Scotland, she did not change her name, and signed her letters as "Marie Stewart".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Douglas of Parkhead</span> Scottish landowner

George Douglas of Parkhead,, was a Scottish landowner, mining entrepreneur, Provost of Edinburgh, and Keeper of Edinburgh Castle.

George Nicholson or Nicolson, was an English diplomat in Scotland.

Margaret Douglas, Countess of Bothwell was a Scottish aristocrat and courtier.

John Elphinstone of Selmes and Baberton (1553-1614) was a Scottish landowner and courtier.

Thomas Kerr of Ferniehirst was a Scottish landowner, Roman Catholic and supporter of Mary, Queen of Scots. He and Jean Scott ended the feud between the Scott family and the Kerrs. Thomas and Jean were both involved with supporting Mary, Queen of Scots.

Janet or Jean Scott, Lady Ferniehirst was a Scottish landowner. She was a member of the Border family of Scott who succumbed to an arranged marriage that healed the feud with the family who killed her father. Her marriage to Thomas Kerr of Ferniehirst was successful and she took a role in Scottish politics between the Scottish court and the exiled Mary, Queen of Scots.

Jerome Bowie was a servant of James VI of Scotland as a sommelier and Master of the Wine Cellar, in charge of the purchase and serving of wine.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Ewan, Elizabeth; Pipes, Rose; Rendall, Jane; Reynolds, Siân, eds. (2018). The new biographical dictionary of Scottish women. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN   978-1-4744-3628-1.
  2. 1 2 3 "Bondagers in Berwickshire and Roxburghshire - Relatively Scottish". 25 October 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  3. 1 2 "The Forgotten Workers by Dinah Iredale". BORDERS ANCESTRY. Retrieved 28 July 2023.