16 February 1904 diary of Dr John Stewart Muir (1845-1938) of Selkirk

Frosty again + a bright day. Roads very redeable till the afternoon when they got very sticky when the sun struck. Cycled in the town in forenoon. When calling at Fowler’s, Topsfield¹, some rascal stuck a pen knife in my front tyre. The would was round the rim + could only have been done in such a way. After lunch cycled to Broomhill + got punctured again by a thorn. Mrs Pollok’s wound² is all healed at last. At 5 got wire to Mrs Lang, Broadmeadows.³ Cycled up. May Lang⁴ cycled back as far as Foulshiels with me. The girls⁵ had a lot of their friends from 8 to 11 to supper + advertisements. It passed off nicely. Dr + Mrs Wilson⁶, Meikle, the Allans, Isobel Murray⁷, the Chas. Roberts⁸ + Emmy Downs⁹ were among them. It was snowing at night.

¹ William Fowler (about 1863-1933), Inspector of Poor and Registrar, Selkirk, Proprietor Occupier of a house and garden ‘Topsfield’, Dovecot Park, Selkirk.

² Jane Pollok née MacLaurin or McLaurin (1856-1911), first wife of John Pollok (1858-1938), solicitor, Town Clerk and Procurator Fiscal.

³ Margaret Pattison Lang née Graham (1821-1914), widow of Hugh Morris Lang (1817-1900), banker and landed proprietor, of Largs, Ayrshire and later Broadmeadows, Selkirk. She was a a close friend of Dr Muir.

⁴ Margaret Graham ‘May’ Lang (1861-1958), daughter of Hugh Morris Lang and Margaret Lang née Graham. A cyclist. Born Largs, Ayrshire.

⁵ Dr Muir’s four daughters (the girls) were Jane Henderson Logan ‘Jean’ Muir, Agnes Amelia ‘Nancy’ Roberts née Muir, Helen Frances ‘Mousey’ Muir and Andrina Dorothy ‘Dora’ Muir.

⁶ Assume Dr John Wilson (about 1873-1916), medical practitioner, and Margaret Wilson née Brown.

⁷ Isobel Murray is so far unidentified.

⁸ Assume Charles Henry ‘Charlie’ Roberts (1877-1954), tweed manufacturer, born New Zealand, and his new wife Euphemia Cranston ‘Fairy’ Roberts née Greenwood (1877-1916).

⁹ Emmy Downs was Catherine Emily ‘Emma’ Downes (1884-1949), married later in 1904 to James Alexander ‘Jim’ Roberts (1879-1948). They left not long afterwards for New Zealand where they had two children, John Edward Downes Roberts (1906-1985) and Dorothy Violet Roberts, later MacMillan (1909-).

[Source: Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/657/7, Dr J S Muir of Selkirk, medical practitioner, journal for 1904]