BALLANTRAE’S SMUGGLING STORY They Saw It Happen This is the story of the people who lived in and around Ballantrae during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries so that they witnessed the smuggling story. They saw it happen, whether they were the smugglers and their families, the revenue officers or merely customers for the contraband brandy, tea, tobacco or salt. .
Watch the Wall, my Darling while he Gentlemen go by A Smuggler’s Song, Rudyard Kipling
These are the masters of the Ballantrae boats that collected small cargoes of contraband from either Douglas or Peel in the early 18th century:
Locations of Douglas and Peel
Arthur, John Finley: October 1716 Elizabeth, John Duncan: March 1719 Fortune, Murdock McKenzie: December 1718 Jennet, Alex Davidson: October 1720 Margaret, John Duncan: October 1716, May 1717, September 1718 Margaret, James Wilson: May 1718 William, Archibald Boyd: October 1718 January & April 1719 William, James Wilson: June 1717 & July 1719
On 25th September 1815, his boat landed 31 bags of salt at Chapman’s Craig.
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William Cochrane, an innkeeper at Lendalfoot, was a regular smuggler of salt from Ireland.
In 1823, he was prosecuted in the Exchequer Court at Edinburgh accused of salt smuggling. Location of Lendalfoot
The Ballantrae People: A to C
John Allan: his story is told on the Panel ‘The Island Rules Supreme (1727-1765)’ Robert Allan, Archibald Boyd, Robert Cheshire, William Cochrane
BALLANTRAE’S SMUGGLING STORY They Saw It Happen In October 1814: Alexander Coulter senior, Alexander Coulter junior Hugh Coulter and Robert Coulter helped to unload from a small boat 37 casks containing 570 gallons gin 3 casks containing 30 gallons brandy worth £25,600 [in today’s currency] Unloading the cargo © Anthony Gill
Their customers included: Thomas Haswell and Hugh Ross, innkeepers in Ballantrae Mrs Agnes Ross, wife of Hugh Ross John Eagleston, weaver, Holm Park, Ballantrae parish Mrs Mary Ferguson Kennedy of Girvan, living in Ballantrae William McKissock, farmer at Bankend of Ballantrae John McWhirter of Dornel, living in Ballantrae and Mrs Mary McWhirter his wife.
John Earl, Henry King, Thomas McCormick and Allan Thompson helped to land the cargo and were propbably customers as well. In September 1807, the comptroller of customs, at Stranraer and the Royal George revenue cruiser seized the Ann and Hope at Ballantrae: These open boats were owned by Robert Haswell & William McFern and Robert Coulter & Bryce McQuiston. Seizing a boat at sea
Robert Coulter’s wife. Janet Wilson, attacked and wounded Robert Coulter a mariner on board the Royal George
Janet Wilson and other members of the Coulter family also attacked the customs officer Robert Williamson in 1799 and October 1807. There is more information about this on the Violence and Punishment panel. Carrying a wounded officer
The Ballantrae People: The Coulters
Alexander Coulter senior (husband of Grizel Wilson), sailor or fisherman Alexander Coulter junior, sailor or fisherman, Hugh Coulter, sailor or fisherman James Coulter (son of Robert & Janet), James Coulter, Lieutenant of the Ballantrae Volunteers John Coulter, John Coulter (son of Robert and Janet) Robert Coulter (husband of Janet Wilson), Robert Coulter (son of Robert & Janet) Robert Coulter, sailor or fisherman Thomas Coulter (son of Robert & Janet), Thomas Coulter (husband of Sarah Rowan) William Coulter: his story is told on The Irish Trade panel.
BALLANTRAE’S SMUGGLING STORY They saw It Happen John Sanforth was the collector of customs on the Isle of Man. He was also a merchant in Douglas. In 1727 Sanforth claimed that both Thomas Cumming and William Gillies owed him money. Cumming had 12 casks of brandy on the Island and these were arrested against the debt. In 1728, the case was dropped and Cumming’s 120 gallons of brandy were returned to him.
Douglas in 1789
The Peel merchant George Moore imported rum from the West Indies on his own vessels. On 2 November 1757, the boatman William Cumming collected an order of contraband goods for John Allan, merchant in Ballantrae from George Moore.
The West Indian Islands, 1714
This order included 23 tens & 2 fives of brandy; 27 tens & 2 fives of rum 2 tens of white wine (there was none of this wine in bottles) 4 hogsheads of claret, all bottled and packed in 14 bags. Tens were 10 gallon casks and fives held 5 gallons.
In 1804, John Earl, John Scott and James Speers were immune from prosecution for salt smuggling because they were witnesses in the trial against William Coulter, Henry King and William McWhirter in the Court of Exchequer at Edinburgh. Contraband goods on the beach © Anthony Gill
The Ballantrae People: C to L
John Cumming, Thomas Cumming & William Cumming Alex Davidson, John Duncan (Drennen), John Eagleston Charles Earl, John Earl [] Ferguson, David Ferguson, William Ferguson, John Finley David Galloway, Hugh Galloway, William Galloway. William Gillies, [] Hannay John Harrison’s wife, Archibald Haswell junior, Robert Haswell, Thomas Haswell John Jeffryes, Mary Ferguson Kennedy, Henry King, Charles Lennox, William Logan
BALLANTRAE’S SMUGGLING STORY They Saw It Happen In November 1734, William McNellie bought some brandy worth more than £1,560 in today’s currency from the Manx merchant George Moore. This brandy was delivered to Ballantrae by the local boatman John McNish, who paid Moore £720 in cash. Gates of George Moore’s House, Isle of Man[
In May 1735, William McNellie sent his brother Hugh to the Isle of Man with £480 in cash and an order for 10 dozen bottles of claret and 4 casks of brandy. McNellie gave his brother three bags to pack the wine safely. In April 1743, William McNellie still owed George Moore nearly £700. The merchant charged him with the debt in the Manx Chancery Court. Because there were some casks of brandy belonging to McNellie stored in a warehouse on the Island, these were arrested by the court. When no payment was forthcoming, the casks were sold on 26 February 1744 for £320. McNellie still owed George Moore £380.
A warehouse in Peel © Anthony Gill
In January 1811, the Fox of Donaghadee carried to Ballantrae 40 bags of salt belonging to John Stevenson, a salt dealer in Stranraer. The customs officer John Jeffryes, assisted by some soldiers, seized 39 bags of the salt from Alexander Coulter and one bag in an outhouse belonging to Samuel McCready. Hannay (no first name given) had seen what was happening. As a result, McCready was accused of being on the beach and using his horse and cart to carry the salt away. His total fine was over £400,000 [our currency]. McCready’s offer to pay £1,800 was accepted by the Court of Exchequer in Edinburgh. This fine was never paid. Caught unawares!
The Ballantrae People: M
Grizel Main, widow, Agnes McCormick, Thomas McCormick Samuel McCready, William McFern, Murdock Mckenzie John McKissock, vintner, John McKissock boat master, Robert McKissock, William McKissock Euphemia McLellan, David Galloway’s wife; Gilbert McMichan Hugh McNellie, John McNellie, Thomas McNellie, William McNellie John McNish, Bryce McQuiston, Peter McQuiston, William McQuiston John McWhirter, Mrs Mary McWhirter, William McWhirter, Thomas Milroy’s wife
BALLANTRAE’S SMUGGLING STORY They Saw It Happen The family interrelationships were such that it was virtually impossible for the customs officers to obtain information from the local people about who had been involved in the smuggling trade. Yet in March 1815, Bryce McQuiston told David Tarbet, a customs officer at Ballantrae that Alexander Coulter junior, Archibald Haswell junior and Peter McQuiston had been smuggling gin. & did you know ...?
It was always difficult for the smugglers and their customers to hide any contraband intended for personal use. In 1816, the two Ballantrae customs officers David Tarbet & David Ferguson were successful in seizing salt that had been smuggled to the south of the town. They found two bags containing 194 lb. salt hidden by William Rodger, innkeeper at South Laggan.
Hiding the contraband
They also seized six bags of salt from Robert Peacock of Craigans. Neither Robert nor his wife could prove that this salt had paid the legal import duty. They were fined more than £140,000 [our currency] each for helping to unload and land the salt from a boat, carrying it to their barnyard and hiding it there. The customs officers also believed that the Peackocks’ son John had been involved.
This map marks Craigends [Craigans] and Shalloch
Robert Peacock had offered salt for sale to: John Harrison's wife at Big Park and Thomas Milroy’s wife at Shallochwreck The Ballantrae People: P to T
John Peacock, Robert Peacock, William Rodger, Mrs Agnes Ross, Hugh Ross Sarah Rowan, Thomas Coulter’s wife, John Scott, Hugh Semple, Mr Shaw James Speers, John Stevenson, David Tarbet, Allan Thompson, Hugh Thomson, James Thomson, John Thomson
BALLANTRAE’S SMUGGLING STORY They Saw It Happen Now that the Ann and the Hope had been seized, the Ballantrae smugglers did not own a boat. In October 1807, William Coulter and John Scott went to Ireland to hire one. They chose the Tartar. With Scott as the master, they set off for home. A revenue cruiser chasing a smuggling boat
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Prince of Wales off Corsewall Point
Prince Edward north of Copland lighthouse
Royal George between Ailsa Craig & Lough Ryan
Inevitably the customs officers at Stranraer heard about the Tartar’s voyage and they asked three revenue cruisers to lie in wait for her. The Tartar avoided this blockade and hovered off the coast at Ballantrae, waiting to land her cargo of salt.
The Revenue’s Plot to seize the smack Tartar
The customs officers Robert Williamson and David Ferguson seized the Tartar. of Strangford, John Scott of Ballantrae master, because she had been hovering within 4 leagues of the coast instead of proceeding on her voyage, for which the wind and weather were favourable, and because she had a parcel of salt on board. In 1808, James Coulter, Lieutenant of the Ballantrae Volunteers, Sarah Rowan & Thomas Coulter her husband, Grizel Wilson & Alexander Coulter her husband and Janet Wilson were accused of attacking the two customs officers. By this stage Robert Williamson was dead.
The local people defending a boat from the customs officers
Signatures of Robert Williamson and Robert Cheshire both customs officers at Ballantrae. The Ballantrae People: W
Robert Williamson Grizel Wilson, Alexander Coulter’s wife James Wilson Janet Wilson, Robert Coulter’s wife John Wilson The story of Grizel and Janet Wilson is told on the panel about Violence and Punishment.
BALLANTRAE’S SMUGGLING STORY Modern Links with the Trade Place names provide a reminder of our links with the past. Some significant locations from Ballantrae’s Smuggling Story are included in a series of local walks, all starting from Craigiemains. These locations are described here from north to south.
Knockdolian The Cathcart family purchased Genoch, Wigtownshire in 1618. On 1 July 1690, Robert Cathcart married Margaret McCubbin of Knockdolian. They inherited Genoch in 1698.
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Their son, John was deeply involved in the smuggling trade, spending part of his time at Knockdolian. John Cathcart negotiated directly with merchants in France and Holland to ensure that his contraband goods were of the best quality. Location of Genoch
This letter from George Sandilands of Bordeaux was written to John Cathcart’s agent, Peter Murdoch in Glasgow, for his information: I have tasted over all Medoc, Margaux and Graves. The wines in Medoc are generally good, except one parish where the hail did vast damage in June last. Their quantity is a little more than last year and I think nothing inferior in quality and some growth rather better. In Margaux they want near a quarter of last year’s quantity and I do not find the wines generally so good but there are some growths very good and I believe others will improve. In Graves they have great plenty but in many places they are inferior
→ Locations of the areas mentioned
The white wines are plenty and some pretty good. There is no evidence that J†ohn Cathcart did purchase wine from Bordeaux in 1728.
BALLANTRAE’S SMUGGLING STORY Modern Links with the Trade Knockdolian continued
In January 1733, the shipmaster, James Ross was in Rotterdam, purchasing tea and other contraband goods from the merchant Francis Trimble both for himself and on behalf of John Cathcart. He wrote that Cathcart’s share was worth £540 [£32,400 in modern currency] and he hoped that the goods he had chosen would ‘turn to a good account’. This suggests that Cathcart was not only purchasing for himself but was also dealing in contraband goods. Certainly there is other evidence of this. A Dutch Port
All the goods were landed on the Isle of Man, some on board Ross’s ship and the others by the Charles, Thomas Innes master. They were then repackaged before being sent to Scotland. John Cathcart also purchased supplies from merchants based on the Isle of Man. In 1730, Andrew Savage, an Irish merchant living in Douglas, sent Cathcart four separate cargoes, three on board a Manx boat, Thomas Christian master. The value of these cargoes is listed in the accounts between Cathcart and Savage: 6 January: 13 March: 16 March: 27 July:
£75 0s 6d [£4,500 in modern currency] £34 19s 1½d [£2,097] £35 4s 8d [£2,114] £32 19s 4d [£1.978]
The accounts suggest that these cargoes consisted of tea, spirits and wine. The first three voyages coincide with the winter months, close to the date of the new moon, when the long nights would be dark. It is possible that the July cargo did not arrive intact, because the boat was chased at sea and part of the cargo was thrown overboard. Despite this, Andrew Savage expected John Cathcart to pay for all his goods that had been on board. There is another example of this in one of the Currarie Port stories. Genoch was sold by the Cathcarts in 1841 and Knockdolian in 1871.
BALLANTRAE’S SMUGGLING STORY Modern Links with the Trade Currarie Port
Currarie Port today and an artist's impression of Dirk Hatteraick’s cave, Carsluith, Wigtownshire. Dirk Hatteraick appears in Guy Mannering by Walter Scott. He was based on the Dutch captain William Yawkins, who brought several cargoes of goods from Europe to south-west Scotland in the 1770s and 1780s.
Currarie Port: a classic smuggling cove. Caves are part of smuggling folklore. There is no evidence, however, that they were used to store contraband, except in an emergency. Instead, there is a wealth of information about the goods that were landed near Ballantrae and then transported to their customers as quickly as possible. We know that the Manx merchant George Moore regularly sent cargoes of goods to William McNellie and, later, to the Ballantrae merchant John Allan. We do not know exactly where these cargoes were landed. Supposing the revenue were active at Ballantrae itself, then Currarie Port would be an attractive alternative landing place. These are two examples of the types of cargoes that might be landed at Currarie Port for John Allan: 5 January 1758, Thomas McNellie ‘and the rest of your boatmen’ carried: 4 hogsheads of claret, 27 tens French brandy 27 tens rum, 6 dozen bottles of claret. 26 February 1759, the Manxman Simon Crow. delivered 24 casks rum, 24 tens & 6 fives brandy 6 fives rum, 2 bags claret. Sir George Moore Courtesy Manx National Heritage
The ‘tens’ were casks holding 10 gallons [45.5 litres] and the ‘fives’ 5 gallons. A hogshead held 238 litres.
BALLANTRAE’S SMUGGLING STORY Modern Links with the Trade Currarie Port continued
When a boat did arrive on the beach at Currarie Port, there would be great activity making sure that the cargo was unloaded as quickly as possible. It was unlikely that the revenue officers would patrol this bay on a regular basis. It was too remote for them to call for assistance from other officers, the revenue cruisers or the army and they would be exposed to attacks from the smugglers.
We do know that on 6 January 1816, two customs officers seized six bags of salt in the barn yard belonging to the Peacocks at Craigans. As it was probable that this salt had been landed at Currarie Port, the officers were instructed by the Board of Customs in Edinburgh to report: in what direction and how far was Currarie Port from Ballantrae and what direction from the dwelling house of the Peacocks? Unfortunately their reply is not recorded: it might have commented on the bay. There are several locations round Ballantrae where it is possible to half close one’s eyes and see the past revealed. Currarie Port is certainly one of these. Here we have a cartoon of a successful landing. Not all the cargoes arrived safely.
It is probable that part of the goods sent by George Moore on board Ferguson and McNellie’s boats on 28 February 1758 were lost at sea, either in a storm or because the boats were chased by a revenue cruiser. John Allan would expect a rebate from Moore: he was offered 7%, which was not acceptable. Next time you are at Currarie Port, particularly on a stormy day, imagine what happened to these cargoes.
BALLANTRAE’S SMUGGLING STORY Modern Links with the Trade Ballantrae Beach
There is evidence of contraband tobacco, brandy, rum, gin and salt being landed on the beach at Ballantrae. A smuggling cutter from Ostend landed goods here in February 1790. The customs officer, Robert Cheshire, seized both tobacco and spirits, which may have been brandy or rum or a mixture of both.
A Cutter
In September 1791, James Crawford, commander of the Royal George revenue cruiser based at Cumbraes chased away the Hawkins lugger. The local customs officers were told to put private marks on the boats they could prove had been used to land her cargo on the beach. Then Crawford returned to seize these boats and take them to Ayr to be destroyed.
In October 1814, Alexander Coulter senior, Alexander Coulter junior, Hugh Coulter and Robert Coulter, described as sailors or fishermen in Ballantrae sold 10 gallons of the gin and 10 gallons of the brandy that they had landed on the beach at Ballantrae. This incident is described in They Saw It Happen. The men were charged to appear at the Exchequer Court in Edinburgh, where they were each liable to pay fines of £172,000 in modern currency. In June 1816, these fines were reduced to £45,000. The Sheriff at Ayr was instructed to start the process of collecting the money from the four men. It is unlikely that they would have been able to pay even a very small fraction of this sum. In March 1815, Bryce McQuiston reported that Alexander Coulter junior, Archibald Haswell junior and Peter McQuiston had smuggled gin from Ireland at Ballantrae beach. More details were required from him before the men could be charged with smuggling. These were not forthcoming.
BALLANTRAE’S SMUGGLING STORY Modern Links with the Trade Ballantrae Beach continued
During the early part of the nineteenth century there was a constant trade in smuggled salt from Ireland. These cargoes were landed directly on the beach at Ballantrae.
↓ On 17 August 1804, the Nancy of Ballantrae with William McWhirter, William Coulter and Henry King on board landed salt from Larne about a mile north of Ballantrae, where it was hidden in the house belonging to the widow, Grizel Main. The men then ‘stood off with the boat to the southward’. From Willdey’s British isles, 1715 Courtesy of the Dumfries Museum collection
Widow Main’s house has not been located.
In 1811, the customs officer, John Jeffryes was given information by Hannay [no first name given] and Alexander Coulter about a cargo of salt smuggled on the beach at Ballantrae. He promised the men that they would not be imprisoned or ‘delivered over to serve in the Navy’, provided they gave evidence in Court. John Stevenson of Stranraer owned the salt landed by the Fox of Donaghadee. He was on board the boat during her voyage from Ireland and had helped to unload the cargo. As described under They Saw It Happen, Samuel McCready was accused of helping to land the salt and carrying it away with his horse and cart. He was imprisoned until he could pay his reduced fine of £30 [£1,800]. His horse and cart were sold by the authorities. McCready was still in the tollbooth at Ayr, when he suggested in 1816 that the proceeds should be subtracted from the £30. This was not accepted.