The story goes that he was "pressed into service (snatched)" from the docks in Edinburgh at an early age -- possibly 12 or 14 by the British Navy.
Gairns, James
Place: Canada Year: 1827
Primary Immigrant: Gairns, James
Permanent Entry Number: 365169
Accession Number: 9249270
Source Publication Code: 1640.7
Source Publication Page Number: 35
Source Publication: Dobson, David -- Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825. Vol VII. Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Co., 1993, 109p.
Page 128 of The Early History of Elora, Ontario, by John Robert Connon states that a sailor by the name of James Gairns helped to build the first Irvine Bridge at Elora in 1847. James was let over the steep bank with a rope and he cut notches into the face of the rock. Into these notches the ends of the long timbers were placed which were to form braces for the support of the main timbers.
The Accident:
He was walking home, after socializing with friends, around 5 p.m. on November 18, 1872, via the railroad tracks. He had his bottle of whiskey, a loaf of bread, a blanket and his red mittens. He somehow tripped and fell rendering himself unconscious. The train came by a half hour later and didn't know that they had hit anything until they made their next stop. The say all that was left of him barely weighed 20 pounds.
Gairns, James
Place: Canada Year: 1827
Primary Immigrant: Gairns, James
Permanent Entry Number: 365169
Accession Number: 9249270
Source Publication Code: 1640.7
Source Publication Page Number: 35
Source Publication: Dobson, David -- Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825. Vol VII. Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Co., 1993, 109p.
Page 128 of The Early History of Elora, Ontario, by John Robert Connon states that a sailor by the name of James Gairns helped to build the first Irvine Bridge at Elora in 1847. James was let over the steep bank with a rope and he cut notches into the face of the rock. Into these notches the ends of the long timbers were placed which were to form braces for the support of the main timbers.
The Accident:
He was walking home, after socializing with friends, around 5 p.m. on November 18, 1872, via the railroad tracks. He had his bottle of whiskey, a loaf of bread, a blanket and his red mittens. He somehow tripped and fell rendering himself unconscious. The train came by a half hour later and didn't know that they had hit anything until they made their next stop. The say all that was left of him barely weighed 20 pounds.
The story goes that he was "pressed into service (snatched)" from the docks in Edinburgh at an early age -- possibly 12 or 14 by the British Navy.
Gairns, James
Place: Canada Year: 1827
Primary Immigrant: Gairns, James
Permanent Entry Number: 365169
Accession Number: 9249270
Source Publication Code: 1640.7
Source Publication Page Number: 35
Source Publication: Dobson, David -- Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825. Vol VII. Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Co., 1993, 109p.
Page 128 of The Early History of Elora, Ontario, by John Robert Connon states that a sailor by the name of James Gairns helped to build the first Irvine Bridge at Elora in 1847. James was let over the steep bank with a rope and he cut notches into the face of the rock. Into these notches the ends of the long timbers were placed which were to form braces for the support of the main timbers.
The Accident:
He was walking home, after socializing with friends, around 5 p.m. on November 18, 1872, via the railroad tracks. He had his bottle of whiskey, a loaf of bread, a blanket and his red mittens. He somehow tripped and fell rendering himself unconscious. The train came by a half hour later and didn't know that they had hit anything until they made their next stop. The say all that was left of him barely weighed 20 pounds.
Gairns, James
Place: Canada Year: 1827
Primary Immigrant: Gairns, James
Permanent Entry Number: 365169
Accession Number: 9249270
Source Publication Code: 1640.7
Source Publication Page Number: 35
Source Publication: Dobson, David -- Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825. Vol VII. Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Co., 1993, 109p.
Page 128 of The Early History of Elora, Ontario, by John Robert Connon states that a sailor by the name of James Gairns helped to build the first Irvine Bridge at Elora in 1847. James was let over the steep bank with a rope and he cut notches into the face of the rock. Into these notches the ends of the long timbers were placed which were to form braces for the support of the main timbers.
The Accident:
He was walking home, after socializing with friends, around 5 p.m. on November 18, 1872, via the railroad tracks. He had his bottle of whiskey, a loaf of bread, a blanket and his red mittens. He somehow tripped and fell rendering himself unconscious. The train came by a half hour later and didn't know that they had hit anything until they made their next stop. The say all that was left of him barely weighed 20 pounds.
Inscription
Grave Plot was purchased on July 21, 1866.
Info came Centre Wellington, Municipal office, Cemetery division.
No record who is buried there.
Family Members
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Records on Ancestry
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