Catherine Cameron HILL of Stirling [2595]

  Research Notes:

Agnes Hopkins nee Fairbairn writes in 2014.
Catherine was named after an aunt, who became Catherine Cameron Holmes, wife of James Holmes of Oamaru. His father, Matthew Holmes, was one of the first settlers in Dunedin, with Thomas Burns, nephew of Robert Burns. James Holmes answered a call from the N.Z. government, offering £1,500 prize for the first 5000 yards of cloth woven from N.Z. wool. He came back to Edinburgh to form a company and built a factory over the hill from Dunedin and called it Mossgiel, after the farm where Robert Burns lived but found that every telegram with the eight letter word in it cost extra, so changed the name to Mosgiel -- or so I was told. Later, he took his family to Oamaru and became Harbour Master, inaugurating the first sending of frozen lamb to Britain. Driving south from Oamaru, you go over Holmes Hill, passing Holmes Motel, turn off the main road towards the ocean, then up a hill to their home behind an imposing gateway with the name The Homestead. The front had a glassy extension, enlarged to hold functions, such as wedding receptions. I rang the doorbell and asked if there was a connection to James Holmes and was swept in by a 13 year old and shown an original photo of the house. It looked exactly like some in the suburbs of Glasgow. I refrained from telling him that he should not invite strangers in when alone in the house. It was so amazing. The Early Settlers' Museum in Dunedin had details of the family.

A very devout great great grandfather of my grandmother was John Brown of Haddington, his son, Ebenezer Brown, was a minister in Fife.

Catherine married Andrew Dobbs FAIRBAIRN of Edinburgh [2594] [MRIN: 849], son of William FAIRBAIRN [19169] and Agnes Hamilton DODDS [19170], in 1888. (Andrew Dobbs FAIRBAIRN of Edinburgh [2594] was born on 27 Oct 1859 and died on 29 Jul 1940.)