McManus 168

Full name

Gershom Gourlay

Date of birth

00-04-1823^[1]

Place of birth

Dundee^[1]

Gender

Male

Marital status

Married 1851^[2]

Name of spouse

Eleanor Jane Garrett^[2]

Children

Henry Garrett (1852),^[3] Eleanor Jane (1853)^[4] William Frederick (1856),^[5] Florence Emily (1857),^[6] Charles Gershom (1859),^[7] Norvis Alexander (1860),^[8] Margaret Eleanor (1861),^[9] Alfred Edward (1864),^[10] Kenneth McKenzie (1865)^[11] and Francis Thornburgh (1867).^[12]

Home address

Wellbank, Newport, Fife, c.1853-1854.^[13]
Airlie Lodge, Airlie Place, Dundee^[14]
Balgay House, Dundee, c.1871-1872.^[15]
The Gows, Invergowrie, c.1876-1881.^[16]
10 Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh, c.1884-1891.^[17][18]
Airlie Lodge, 5 Whitehouse Terrace, Edinburgh, c.1901-1902.^[19][20]

Age at death:

78^[20]

Place of death:

Edinburgh^[20]

Date of death:

28-01-1902^[20]

Buried:

Unknown

Religious affiliation

Unknown

Political affiliation

Unknown

Clubs / societies

Littlejohn & Gourlay acted as agents for the Northern Assurance Co.^[21] and as secretaries and solicitors for the Forfarshire Permanent Property Investment Co.,^[21] of which Alexander Gourlay was a trustee and also acted as agents for the Minerva Insurance Co.^[22] Littlejohn & Gourlay also acted as secretaries of the Dundee Mutual Assurance and Endowment Society.^[23] Gershom replaced his brother, Alexander, as a trustee of the Forfarshire Permanent Property Investment Co. for a short time^[24] and went on to serve on a number of Dundee boards and committees: director, Chamber of Commerce, c.1874-1875;^[25] general committee, Mars Training Ship, c.1871-1902;^[26] director, Dundee Institute for the Blind, c.1874-1877;^[27] director, Texas Land & Cattle Co. Ltd., c.1884-1887.^[28]

Public offices

None known

Related subscribers

Subscriber no.89 – Gourlay Brothers – the family firm which he joined in 1864.

Occupation

Writer,^[21] engineer^[29][30] and shipbuilder^[30]

Employment

Partner in Littlejohn & Gourlay, writers and notaries public^[21] and subsequently Gourlay Brothers & Co.^[30]

Place of work

Legal Office^[21]

Work address

Dundee Foundry, c.1846-1853.^[29]
10 Reform Street, Dundee, c.1853-1864.^[21]
Dundee Foundry, East Dock Street, c.1864-1886.^[30]
Marine Parade, Dundee, c.1864-1872.^[31]
Camperdown Shipbuilding Yard, East Camperdown Street, Dundee, c.1874-1886.^[32]

Career to date:

The earliest mention of Gershom Gourlay in the local directories was as part of the engineering firm of Gourlay, Mudie & Co., which took over the Dundee Foundry in 1846.^[29] His brothers, Alexander and Henry, were also members of the firm and David Mudie was the non-family partner.^[29] The partnership was dissolved in 1853 and Gershom went back to his legal career, entering into partnership with D.S. Littlejohn. In the 1853 directory he was listed as both an engineer and a writer.^[13] Alexander & Henry continued as engineers and opted to specialise in shipbuilding, making iron steamships with screw propulsion. The engineering works at Dundee Foundry were used to supply the shipbuilding yard which was located at Marine Parade.^[33]