The Cargill family 25.4.2021
David Cargill (1809 to 1843) was the second son of James David Cargill (1718 to 1833?) and Grace, Mary Cameron (1780 to 1861?) James was born in Brechin, Angus and he was a banker. He died in Perth Scotland. Grace Mary was born in Loch Eli West Highlands and she died in Edinburgh. It's likely she moved to live with a daughter, or another member of the family. It was said that David used to sub her ten pounds from his Methodist wage, but when he started a family and heard that she was being swindled these payments stopped as he couldn't afford it.
James Jr (the older) son lived and worked mainly in Perthshire area, but there is very little known about him and his family, but I was able to formulate a basic family tree. With the little information I obtained, last known generation was a Brian Ryder Cargill born 10/11/ 1957, and he is last known address was in Dumbarton.
Brechin is situated on the river Esk which was a thriving wealthy city in the 1800 (now a town) which at the time of David’s birth had a lot of industry flax, linen, spinning and Sail making. The Dundee Banking company established an Agency in 1792 and was the first bank to do business in Brechin It closed in 1818. Could this have been where James Cargill senior worked?
David Cargill went to Aberdeen University King's College and on his first volume of his diary he described himself as ‘A master of the arts’. He was only 17 When he went to university.
In the same year he met Margaret Smith (1809-1840), who was a devout Methodist. David was of Presbyterian background and after many discussions with Margaret and other Methodists, he converted to the religion.
In 1831 he became a Methodist Minister and he was appointed his first mission to Tonga.
On the 6th September 1832 David and Margaret got married in Old Machar Aberdeen.
In the October they left for the first mission to Tonga.
On the 22ed October 1832 they sailed down the River Thames on a steamer and then boarded the ‘Caroline’ destined for Sydney, Australia.
According to David’s diary the seas were rough and for long periods of time Margaret was unwell.
19th March 1833 this was the day the Cargill’s set foot on solid land. Almost 5 months at sea.
19th September 1833 Jane Smith Cargill was born in Sydney Australia.
Went to Tonga
David and Margaret worked together in Vava’u Tonga for 3 years with another Missionary lead by Mr William Cross. These three years were important as it was a period of Christian development.
During this Time Margaret and David went on to have five more children, but only 4 daughters survived.
Cargill had great success in Tonga, for three years he was satisfied with his colleagues, and his achievements and he was, as he was the only training we saw on the mission in 1835 he was transferred to Fiji, as the first ministry. And here it was said that he found life very hard, and he was very bitter, he had, he his four years of translation were wasted because of the dialect that was used was not appropriate. He also apparently had regular fallouts with his colleagues and was horrified by what he witnessed in Fiji, Widow strangling, cannibalism and warfare, but he continued to preach and get a following.
Margaret became increasingly unwell. (She was due to give birth to her sixth child.) with Dysentery, which is an infectious bacterial gastroenteritis. Over a period, she recovered, but she then gave birth to her daughter and hemorrhaged very badly. The daughter Ann Smith died a couple of days before her mother.
Margaret became increasingly unwell and died 2ed June 1840. Zoar Mission, Lower Rewa Viti Levu Fiji. She is buried with her daughter. People have tried to find her grave, but it no longer exists.
It is said that David Cargill was a very sensitive man who was completely dotted to his wife and family. He was increasingly upset and fell into a very deep depression.
Margaret’s last wish before she died was that the children should be taken back to England and Scotland.
He wrote in his diary 16th July 1840 ‘my heart was wrung with anguish I prayed at the Grave for grace to enable me to bring up my offspring’
He was very depressed after Margaret's death, and sought solace in alcohol and other forms of medication.
He packed up the children and, in the August of 1840, they caught the ship (the Triton) and left the tropics and moved to more colder climates and latitudes of South Australia. This was the first glimpse of European or Western culture, Cargill had the seen in seven years. In the December of 1840, he departed Australia for London, England.
And he took the girls back up to Scotland to be with other members of the family.
Children of David Cargill and Margaret Smith
Jane Smith 1833-1897 Married George Harper 1828-1898 had 8 children
John Smith 1835-1835
Augusta 1835-? First European child to be born in Fiji
Margaret 1837-1848
Mary 1838-1918 Married William E Brown 1835-1886 they had 7 children
Ann Smith 1840-1840
David Cargill Second Marriage and Missionary.
David was only back in the Great Britain for approximately one year. It was after four or five months he met and married Augustus Bricknell (1820-1861). He married her on the 27th November 1841 in St Marks Clerkenwell London. David was the assigned his second missionary. Back to Tonga.
On the 30th of April 1842, David Cargill, Augusta and his four daughters, and Miss Hill, a governess boarded the Hadiee. Captained by Captain Marshall, bound for Hobart. On the journey, the children got measles. Jane was very ill, and it was Mr Mair the military surgeon who managed to ease and help the children to recovered. David Cargill used the time on the ship to catch up with ministry work and he preached aboard the ship.
David Cargill, apparently never mentioned his second wife's name in any of his correspondence, but he always refers and remembers his first wife, Margaret Smith
11th August 1842, David Cargill Jr, was born. And apparently, according to David senior’s diary his son was born, one month early.
And it is said that David Cargill senior said’ My only wish is that by God's grace he may become good wise and useful and follow my footsteps in Methodist missionary.’
David Cargill had been away from Tonga for just over a year and he was extremely disappointed that the Missionary had let slip the mission. The locals had started to revert to their original beliefs and were rejecting the mission and causing several problems. Aggression theft and occasional Murder.
David Cargill senior died on the 25th April 1842. Some believe it to be suicide, due to his constant battle with alcohol and depression. Other sources suggested he mixed alcohol and medication together and didn't realize the effects.
There was an official report into David Cargill’s death, and this was made as part of the minutes of The Annual District Meeting for the friendly Island district and Nuku’alofa on the 13th May 1844,
‘David Cargill A M. Whose awful laminated death took place at VaVau on the 25th April 1843, After careful investigation on the subject, it is with unmingled regret that we feel in our duty to say that the evidence of two medical men goes to show our Brother Cargill died from the effects of Laudanum taken when under highly excited feelings (depression) It is feared that he might have been under the influence of intoxicating liquor. And as it is known he was in the habit of taking it.’
Laudanum is a tincture of opium which also contains morphine and cocaine.
There are rumors of a suicide because he was in a very deep depression at the loss of Margaret, who was really his genuine love.
David Cargill was a pioneer of literary enterprise on Fiji and the Methodist Missionary. Along with others he laid the foundations on which his successes have been able to build and expand their work.
David Cargill Jr, who was born 1842 on the Hadiee ship.
Augustus returned from Fiji, with the children, and she went straight up to Scotland, where the girls were brought up by other relatives.
She married Browne H.E Roberts 1830-1863 he was an Oxford scholar Esquire of Ravensbourne Park Lewisham
There is a record of a David Cargill on the 1860 census to have been living at Kinfauns Castle as a servant. I have found no links to our David Cargill, but I thought it could have been a relative from James Cargill his family
There is also record that David Cargill lived for a short period of time in Brechin Angus
In his adult life, he became superintendent of the Indian Police.
This position was normally allocated to people who had been in the Army. David Cargill could have also been out in india in 1861 due to escape the economic downturn due to the American civil war
while he was out in India, he married a Mary Unsworth (1848-?) when she was 17 years old.
And they went on to have four daughters Mary
Mary August (Mollie) 1866-1958 Married William S Marshall 1856-1925 had 3 children
Amy Eleanor 1867-1961 Unmarried
Lucy Maude 1868-1950 Married Charles E Pitman 1845-1923 Had 3 children.
Grace Irene 1876-1918 Married Sir Richard Burn 1871-1947 Had 2 children
Mary Unsworth died in India. David Cargill jr remarried Amy Nicholson (1861-1943)
They had three children
Leonard Robert 1881-1910
Margaret Isabelle 1882-? Married Herbert W Rowlandson 1882-1923 Had 3 children
Ruby Vida 1884-1943. Married William B Mackenzie 1885-1951 Had 2 children
Amy Nicholson remarried a col William Finlay.
David Cargill died 22ed Jan 1884 Mirzapur West Bengal India.
Comments