16 November 1922 diary of Dr John Stewart Muir (1845-1938) of Selkirk

Erskine Harper unsuccessful for Gorbals¹

There had seen some hoar frost which left things damp but it was a lovely day. Motored to Lilliesleaf to see Mrs Guthrie (Phemie Woodger).² Went via Midlem + returned via Greenhill where there is a lot of corn out yet but they have got it all cut. Did some work at record + summary cards. Helen³ cycled to Newtown⁴ for a lecture about Girl Guides + found they had been postponed. She spent the afternoon with Mrs Kennedy at Melrose.⁵ Sir Thos. Henderson [was] returned for Rox. + Selk.⁶

¹ Erskine Harper (1887-1953), Mrs Mackintosh’s son, was the National Liberal candidate for the Gorbals Division of Glasgow (he came second with 8,276 votes or 27.4%).

² Euphemia ‘Phemie’ Guthrie née Woodger (1878-1931), of Lilliesleaf, she married William Guthrie, farmer, of Craggs, Lilliesleaf, 3 September 1909 at Darling’s Regent Hotel, Canongate, Edinburgh.

³ Helen Frances ‘Mousey’ Muir (1880-1963), Dr Muir’s third daughter and sometime housekeeper.

⁴ Newtown St Boswells where there seems to have been some sort of locus for Guiding in the area.

⁵ Mary Balfour Kennedy née Alison (1889-1978), born Newington, Edinburgh, she married, 1915 at Morningside, William Nicol Watson Kennedy, medical officer of health and school medical officer for Selkirkshire, 1921 (he had moved to a similar job at Croydon, Surrey by the 1921 Census), and had two sons, Ian Alexander Kennedy (1916-1988) and Charles Gordon Kennedy (1920-); by the time of the 1939 England and Wales Register the family had moved to Hale, Cheshire [Glendale, Ashley Road, Hale, 1929 Kelly’s Directory of Manchester of Salford and Suburbs] and she died at Macclesfield Registration District, aged 89, on 24 Dec 1978 [sources: marriage: 1915, 685/6 46, Morningside; Ian’s birth: 1916, 685/6 219, Morningside; Charles’ birth: Jun 1920, Croydon, 2a, 531; her death: Mary Balfour Kennedy, Dec Quarter 1978, Macclesfield, Cheshire 35 0661].

⁶ Sir Thomas Henderson (1874-1951), Scottish businessman and briefly Member of Parliament for the National Liberal Party; he was a director of Messrs. Innes, Henderson and Co. Ltd., hosiery manufacturers of Hawick.
In the Poll on Wednesday 15 November 1922 he narrowly defeated Sir Alfred Hamilton Grant:
Sir Thomas Henderson (National Liberal): 10,356 votes (51.7%)
Sir Alfred Hamilton Grant (Liberal): 9,698 (48.3%).
Turnout: 20,054 (60.9%).

[Source: Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/657/25, Dr J S Muir of Selkirk, medical practitioner, journal for 1922]