The Great Chicago Fire & the Alexander McCullouchs

ANDREW MONTEITH > MARY ANN MONTEITH m Andrew McCullouch

Typical Chicago Saloon

Andrew Monteith's entire family made it to the United States from Penninghame, Wigtownshire,
Scotland over the course of the 1840s-early 1860s. Most of them ended up in southwest Wisconsin, but the exception was the eldest child, their daughter Mary Ann Monteith. Mary Ann was born 29 Jan 1816 in Penninghame. She there met Alexander McCullouch, also of Penninghame, and they married on 04 Dec 1842 in Scotland. Their three daughters, Isabella "Belle", Sara McClellan, and Janet, were born in Penninghame as well. Janet would die before coming to the US.

Alex and Mary Ann

The first sign of the McCullouchs I could find living in the US was in 1861, where Alex owned a saloon at 161 Market St. The history of Chicago saloons is pretty interesting - it was not usually just a place to drink.

The Great Chicago Fire burned Oct 8-10, 1871 in much of inner Chicago, including Market St. Ninety-thousand people were left homeless and up to 300 died. The fire burned a stretch over four miles wide.  The extent of the damage to the saloon is not known, but he is in business at 167 Market St in 1874. Since some of the buildings along the river were undamaged, he may not have suffered a big loss. The rebuilding of the city took years. He would maintain his property there until about 1885. This area of Chicago was near the riverfront and later be near lower Wacker, in the old interior loop. The residents of the area were heavily Irish and the neighborhood full of boarding houses and tenements.

They resided in what appear to be two different locations - one unknown location where the street number, but not name is provided in the 1870 census and in 1880 on Fifth Ave near Clark, which would be walking distance to the saloon. We might surmise that their home also bore damage from the fire, but we'll never know.

Click to enlarge

We don't know when Alex died, but I would guess around 1885. Mary died on 03 May 1884 in Chicago.

Their daughter Isabelle (born 30 May 1845 in Penninghame) would marry a Dane named Thomas Lovedale. They lost their daughter Sarah "Sadie" in 1904. Isabelle would die on 19 Apr 1913 in Chicago. Thomas and five remaining children would continue to live at 42 Kenilworth Ave in Evanston and become deeply involved in the community. The oldest four children whom I could track never married. The youngest, Henry or "Harry" as he was called, was a sailor in 1891, but I was unable to locate him in records after that, though this obituary indicates he was still living by 1913. UPDATED: I was able to find reference to his death, which occurred "suddenly" on 21 Feb 1914 in Chicago; it appears he may have been married briefly to a woman named Martha.

The many friends of Mrs. Isabell McCulloch Lovedale were shocked to hear of her death, which occurred Saturday, April 19 [1913]. She is survived by her husband, Mr. Thomas I. Lovedale, and five children. Mrs. Lovedale was chairman of the philanthropic committee of the Neighbors, in which capacity she did much for charity both in Chicago and in the township. She was also actively interested in several Chicago charitable institutions. She was also a prominent member of the guild of the Kenilworth Union church. During the four years spent in Kenilworth, Mrs. Lovedale made many friends who will feel her loss keenly.

Lake Shore News (Wilmette, Illinois), 24 Apr 1913, p. 3 

Daughter Sarah, born 12 Aug 1847 in Penninghame, would marry Thomas Fitzgerald and have three children. He would die before 1880 and she would remarry to Robert Cameron and have two more children. She died 16 Apr 1927 in Lake Forest.

Beloved Mary Welch Monteith Meets a Tragic End

Mary Welch Monteith

ANDREW MONTEITH > ROBERT WARDROPE MONTEITH m Mary L Welch

Robert Wardope Monteith was born in Penninghame, Wigtownshire, Scotland, on 04 Mar 1880 to Andrew Monteith and Isabelle Hendry.  Most of the children came to the US in the late 1840s and to Wisconsin in the early 1950s, so I would presume a similar path was taken by Robert. In 1860, he was living in Liberty Township, Grant County, with his parents and brothers, John, David, and Samuel (John and Samuel would go on to fight in the Civil War and Samuel would be killed in battle). David stayed on the farm and cared for his parents in the retirement.

Robert joined Co H, Wisconsin 7th Infantry Regiment as a First Sergeant on 29 Aug 1861. He would then be promoted to 2Lt in Dec 1861.He was promoted to 1Lt a year later and to Captain in Oct 1863. He would serve on the Field & Staff roster as adjutant for the 7th prior to be named company commander of Company H after his promotion to Captain. His brothers John and Samuel also served in his company.

After the war, he married Mary L. Welch, daughter of John D and Sarah H (Ogden) Welch, born in Madison, Dane, Wisconsin on 20 Nov 1849. They hailed from New York and John was a carpenter. The wedding was held on 19 Oct 1871. She wore a gold cross at her wedding which two generations later would be worn at the wedding of her granddaughter, Jessie Davis to Robert Hall in 1937.

The couple had three children, Robert, Jessie (who died at 31 in 1907), and Ida Jean.

Tragically, Mrs. Monteith, who was very very active in Madison social and club circles, was crossing the street on the evening of 23 Oct 1929 to take her evening meal with Mr & Mrs H H Van Wagenen, when she was struck by an auto driven by a Mr Dreger. The accident was partially attributed to the ongoing storm and he was not charged.

Mrs Monteith was a member of the Woman's Club and the John Bell Chapter of the DAR as well as many other organizations. The will was read shortly after her death. She left $164,500 to her heirs. The executor was The Central Wisconsin Trust Company in Madison.

MRS MONTEITH LEFT $164,500
Children and Grandchildren Share in Estate of Woman Killed by Automobile
An estate of $164,5000 was left by Mrs Mary Welch Monteith, who died her Oct 23, from injuries received when struck by an automobile, according to the petition to prove the will filed in county court today.

Of the $164,500 left by Mrs Monteith, $125,00 is in personal property and the remaining $40,000 in real estate. Indebtedness is listed at $500. Under terms of the will, her grandson, Robert Monteith, Jr, Milwaukee will receive $10,000 in cash, her mahogany furniture, two oriental rugs, a piano and half the silverware. A second grandson, Edwin, brother of Robert, receives $5,000 in cash and the other half of the silverware.

Her son, Robert, Milwaukee, receives $10,000 in cash; her granddaughter, Jessie Louise Davis, Madison, $5,000 in cash and two oriental rugs, and her daughter Mrs Jean Monteith Davis, Madison, $10,000 in cash and all personal jewelry.

The balance of the estate is to be divided equally between her son, Robert, her grandson, Robert Jr., and her daughter, Mrs Davis. The Central Wisconsin Trust Company is named as executor."
Madison Wisconsin State Journal October 29, 1929 (note this was the day of the big stock market crash of the biggest depression in US history - it appears this financial institution did okay, merging with another bank in 1932)

William Boyd Monteith

ANDREW MONTEITH > WILLIAM BOYD MONTEITH m Mary Bleiler

William Boyd Monteith

You can read about the sprawling Monteith Family here.  William Boyd Monteith was born 19 Jan 1826 in Newton Stewart, Penninghame, Wigtownshire, Scotland to Andrew Monteith and his wife, Isabelle Hendry.

Andrew worked as ag labor in Penninghame. His children trickled over to the US in the 1840s/1850s and the senior Monteiths joined them. William, after spending two years in England to learn the stone mason trade at age 18, then returned home. He came to the US from Liverpool to New York on the ship "New World" arriving 27 Sep 1850. Like brother Edward Boyd Monteith, he first lived in Vermont in Caledonia County, where he reportedly spent the winter. According to the 1884 History of Green County, Ch 37, Town of Adams, he then went to Ohio and Indiana then came to Grant County, Wisconsin.

Mary Bleiler

He worked as a stone mason for many years when he decided to go to Kansas, where he stayed for about two years, returning to Grant County in 1858. He reportedly next left for British Columbia in 1860, where he worked with the Cariboo Mines for two additional years. Time in Oregon, California, and Nevada, in the mining industry followed. When he returned to Wisconsin in 1864, he went to Green County where he helped build a flouring mill for Matthew Newkirk and was then employed by Newkirk to "take charge of his mill and farms." He also purchased Newkirk's farm that was improved for crop growing and included 20 acres of timber land.

In 1866, he married Mary Anna Maria Bleiler, whose parents, according to Monteith grandson Alpha McKellar McGinnis, came from Schmeiheim, Germany. Mary was born 06 Dec 1845 in Schmeiheim, making her quite a bit younger than William. Still, they had enough time left together to have eight children.  In 1882, William became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He eventually became the postmaster of Willet, Wisconsin. He would die 18 Aug 1889. His wife Mary died 08 May 1913.

Their children:
1. Jessie Monteith, born 01 Nov 1866 in Farmer's Grove, Wisconsin. Married Dr Archibald Sinclar McKellar on 7 Jun 1897 in Blanchardville, Lafeyette, Wisconsin. He was born 15 Feb 1862 in Belmont, Ontario, Canada, the son of Archibald and Mary. He graduated from St Thomas Collegiate in Ontario and spent five years teaching in public schools. He went to medical school at Western University of London, Canada and trained at Polyclinic in New York City. His first stint as a physician was in Belleville, Wisconsin starting in 1888. He purchased the practice of Dr Rostad in Blanchardville late in 1888. He was very active in community affairs having served as president and member of the village board, school board, Board of Health, president of the Citizen's State Bank, and the First National Bank. After the doctor's death, Jessie gave the land for the Blanchardville Village Park in his memory. They had four children. Dr McKellar died 14 Jul 1924 in  Lafayette and she died 26 Jul 1958 in Madison.

2. St Clair, born 23 Feb 1869 in Farmer's Grove, Green County. He married Aubusta Grunke on 12 Jun 1895 in Beloit, Rock County, Wisconsin. She was born 12 Sep 1872 in Germany. They had one son, Willard Allen Monteith, Sr. Prior to 1918, they moved to Los Angeles, California, where St Clair was a machinist. His wife died 20 Oct 1918 in Los Angeles and he died 19 Feb 1957 in Los Angeles.

3. William, born in Jul 1872 in Adams, Green County. Married Anna Alvina Wittenwyler on 17 Apr 1902 in Green County. She was born 17 Jan 1875 in Wisconsin. William died 16 Apr 1911 in Adams at the age of 38. They had no children. Anna died in 1945.

4. Henry "Harry, born 10 Oct 1873 in Adams, Green County. He married Elizabeth Marie Wille on 29 Jun 1905. He was a milk tester for the Borden Milk Co and was retired. They had four children.He died 31 Aug 1963 in Monroe; she died 17 Dec 1985.

5. Robert was born in 1876 and died 29 Oct 1889 in Green County, Wisconsin at the age of 13.

6. John was born 11 Jun 1878 in Adams, Green County. He married Ladoska Soper on 27 Jun 1901. She was born 18 Nov 1883 in Wisconsin. The couple farmed in Birchwood with the parents of Ladoska until the death of Mr. Soper. John then ran a gun repair shop for many years until ill health forced his retirement. They had one son, Robert (1902-1958). John died 02 Mar 1963 in Rice Lake, Barron County and Ladoska died 04 Dec 1966.

7. Edward was born 12 May 1882 in Adams. He married Annie Marie Thompson. She was born 18 Aug 1885 in York, Green County. They farmed until Edward's death 29 Oct 1927. Annie died in Aug 1945 in Detroit, Michigan. They had three children.

8. Isabelle Christina was born 27 Jan 1884 in Adams. She married Edward Herman Scharer who was born 25 Sep 1886 in Green County. He worked as a bricklayer and a greenskeeper. They had two daughters. Ed died in 1958 and Isabelle 02 Apr 1962 in Las Vegas.

9. Dr. George Monteith was born 06 Apr 1887 in Adams. He receive his medical degree from Marquet University in Wisconsin. He married Lucy I Hubbard, who was born 17 Jan 1889 in Marion, Iowa.  George died 26 Feb 1959 and Lucy died 02 Feb 1987 in Lane County, Oregon. They had five children. He will be featured in a coming post.

10. Andrew was born 27 Nov 1888 in Adams. He married Matilda Byrand of England on 17 Jun 1919. They divorced after having two daughters. She married again and lived in Milwaukee. Andrew died 31 May 1968 in Middleton, Dane County, Wisconsin.

The Andrew Monteith Family from Wigtownshire, Scotland

Wigtownshire

Andrew Monteith and Isabelle Hendry lived in Wigtownshire, Scotland when the family started to trickle into the United States. In 1841 and 1851, the family was living in Penninghame, Wigtownshire where they'd be found in the 1851 census.

Andrew was born in 1786, according the 1841 and 1851 English census. I have not found the confirmation of his origins, nor of his parentage.

He married Isabelle Hendry, 28 Apr 1816, in Penninghame. Isabelle was born 17 Aug 1895, purportedly in Aberdeenshire, almost 300 miles from Penninghame.

From about 1772 until past his own death, Merton Hall was owned by Edward Boyd's family. Andrew would name his son, born in 1822, Edward Boyd Monteith. Ownership of the estate would change hands frequently once it left the Boyd ownership. In 1841 it appears Andrew was living and working at Merton Hall in the agricultural portion of the property. He was a ploughman according to the 1851 census. Andrew was listed as "Ag Lab" in the 1841 census, which was pretty far down the totem pole of society (see this explanation for Shropshire which is universal during this time).

They had 11 children that I could locate. Between 1852 and 1856, they traveled from Wigtownshire to Liberty Township, Grant County, Wisconsin. Andrew applied for citizenship in 1856.

Isabelle Hendry in old age

In 1860, his real estate holdings were worth $1,200 and his personal estate $800. By 1870, he, his wife and son David lived in the home and David helped him farm. There, as of 1877, he held 42+ acres of land in the northwest corner of the township. Andrew died 19 May 1878 in Liberty. Isabelle would survive until 07 Mar 1891 and would reside with her son David and family in the Monteith home.

Three of his sons would serve with the 7th Wisconsin Infantry during the Civil War; one of whom died of injuries. The children of this marriage:

1. Mary Ann: Born 28 Jan 1816 in Penninghame, she married Alex McCullough on 04 Dec 1842 in Scotland. They arrived in American prior to 1860 and unlike her brothers and sisters, moved to Chicago. Her husband Alex kept saloon at 161 Market St (now Wacker St). They maintained the saloon at least through 1880. They had three daughters. Mary died 03 May 1884 in Chicago. Alex, born about 1808, has an unknown date of death.

2. Elizabeth (reported), born 1818 in Penninghame, no other information known. Unconfirmed.

3. James: Born 27 Jan 1820, Penninghame. Married Maria Louisa Hunter, born 06 Mar 1841 in Mercer, Pennsylvania on 01 Apr 1863 in Wisconsin. He died 08 Apr 1882 in Fennimore, Grant County, Wisconsin. She died 20 May 1917 in Fennimore. They had seven children.

4. Edward Boyd: born 12 Mar 1822 in Penninghame. Married Agnes McCubbin in Scotland. They arrived in the US in 1848, living in Vermont for three years, then to Janesville, Wisconsin, arriving at last in Platteville, Wisconsin in 1854. Edward died 12 Nov 1911 in Fennimore. More on Edward Boyd next. Agnes was born 05 Apr 1823 in Scotland and died 25 Jan 1913 in Fennimore. They had eight children, three of whom married grandsons of Jacob Smith.

5. Andrew: Confirmed birth 05 Jun 1824 in Penninghame. No other information available.

Merton Hall, Newton Stewart Parish, Penninghame, Wigtownshire, Scotland

6. William Boyd Monteith, 19 Jan 1826 in Newton Stewart (Penninghame). Married Mary Anna Maria Bleiler about 1866. They had 10 children. William died 18 Aug 1889 in Shooks Prairie, Green County, Wisconsin and Mary died 08 May 1913 in Monroe, Green County. I surmise that William Boyd was named after either the father of  Edward Boyd, owner of Merton Hall in Newton Steward Parish, Penninghame, or Edward's very successful second son.

7. Sergeant John Monteith was born 11 Jul 1829 in Penninghame. He married Elizabeth Dinsdale, born 24 Aug 1846 of Aysgarth, Yorkshire, England on 16 May 1866 in Grant County, Wisconsin. They had three children. He died 16 Jan 1901 in Wingville, Grant County and she on 17 Feb 1914 in Harrison County, Texas. John served in the 7th Wisconsin Infantry, Company H, as a Sergeant under his younger brother, Robert's command.

8. David was born 09 Mar 1833 in Penninghame. He married Elisebeth "Lizzie" Taylor Munden on 17 Jul 1872 in Lafayette, Wisconsin. He died 16 Jan 1901 and she before 1900. They had three children. David farmed his father's land and cared for his mother until her death.

9. Sergeant Samuel Monteith was born 01 Apr 1835 in Penninghame. He was killed in action in Antietam, Maryland on 17 Sep 1862. Samuel served in the 7th Wisconsin Infantry, Company H, as a Sergeant under his younger brother, Robert's command.

10. Josephine "Jessie" Elisabeth: Born 10 Aug 1838 in  Wigtownshire, Scotland, she married George Whitish in about 1854. He was born 20 May 1832 in Prussia and died on 26 Nov 1919 in Preston, Green County, Wisconsin. Jessie died 03 Apr 1909 in Preston. They had 12 children.

11. Captain Robert Wardrope Monteith was born 04 Mar 1840 in Penninghame. He Married Mary L Welch and had three children. During the Civil War, he worked his way from first sergeant to second lieutenant, then as adjutant to the 7th WI Inf and finally was company commander of Company H, 7th Wisconsin Infantry and led his men in many battles before being mustered out in September 1864. Mary was born on 20 Nov 1849 in Wisconsin and died 23 Oct 1929 in Madison, Dane County. He died 23 Sep 1894 in Madison.

Andrew Monteith Land in Liberty Township, 1877

The Race to the Finish: Fred C Monteith & Martin Rector

Andrew Monteith > Edward Boyd Monteith > James Robert Monteith > Fred G Monteith and Martin Rector

The Monteiths were a sprawling family, headed by Scotsman Andrew Monteith and his wife Isabelle Hendry. The family had lived in Penninghame, Wigtownshire, Scotland. They had 11 children, all born in Scotland, and all the surviving children came to the Wisconsin area along with the parents, except oldest child, Mary Ann Monteith McCullough, who moved to the Chicago area with her husband.

Edward Boyd Monteith was a stone mason by trade and was the fourth of Andrew and Isabelle's 11 children. When he came to Platteville, Wisconsin in 1854, he was employed in the building of the State Normal School. He ended up settling on a farm near Liberty, Wisconsin. He and his wife Agnes McCubbin had eight children.

Edward Boyd Monteith

Edward's third child, James Robert and his wife Elizabeth Barger had twelve children. The oldest child, Agnes Mary Monteith married Martin Frederic Rector in 1898 in Preston, Grant County, Wisconsin. They had three boys before 1903, the youngest being only 10 months old at the time of the story. Martin and Agnes farmed near his parents at Spirit Lake, Iowa, having moved there the previous year.

Fred G. Monteith, at age 21, was the middle child of Edward Boyd Monteith. He was a schoolteacher in Grant County and was visiting his sister's family near the east shore of Spirit Lake, Iowa. His visit had lasted 10 days by November 28, 1903. He was scheduled to return to Fennimore, Wisconsin the following Monday.

On the fateful day in question, Martin and Fred had been to town, having been dropped off by the

Okibojiin the Sumertime

Rector's farmhand in the wagon. They told the team's driver, Sam Rettig, if he did not see them along the way back, to go on home. The two dropped their overcoats off at the Schumen's home and stated they would race across East Lake Okiboji by skate and would return to the farm that evening.  At 11 o'clock, Rettig had returned and found the men had not returned. By midnight, Agnes was extremely worried. Rettig notified Martin's father, Dr. A. E. Rector, who along with his brother, the dentist, went to the farm to wait for the dawn so a search could go on.

Fred at about age 15

It didn't take them long, once dawn broke, to find the hole through which both men had fell. Their bodies were discovered immediately and floating side-by-side. They had fallen into water of about 9-feet in depth and gotten their feet stuck in the mud, evidenced by the mud on their skates. Had it not by then been dark and sleeting or had they fallen just a "few rods" in either direction, where the depth and mud would not have been so deep, the outcome might have been completely different.

Martin, the eldest of 10 children, would have been 32 years old the following month. 

Martin's wife Agnes raised her boys and died without remarrying on 23 Aug 1925, at the young age of 49.

Many newswire accounts list the dead incorrectly, naming Fred's brother Llewellyn "Clyde" Monteith as among the dead. The initial article from the Spirit Lake Beacon, on December 4, 1903, listed the dead correctly.