Lithgow, Robert (Stevenson)

Birth Name Lithgow, Robert (Stevenson) 1a
Name Robert 1a
GRAMPS ID I0337
Gender male
Age at Death 69 years, 9 months, 15 days

Events

Type Date Place Description Notes
Birth May 29, 1879 West Bold, Traquair, Peeblesshire, Scottish Borders, UK Birth of Lithgow, Robert (Stevenson) 2a 3 4a  
Death March 13, 1949 Wellington, NZ Death of Lithgow, Robert (Stevenson) 1b  
Occupation before 1910 Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scoltand Stonemason by trade, but was a grocer in Innerleithen and Edinburgh before moving to Glasgow 1c  
Emigration October 27, 1910 Wellington, NZ Arrived from London on the maiden voyage of the SS Rotorua 5a 6  
Education   Eaglesham, Glasgow, East Renfrewshire G76, UK Trained as a stonemason in Glasgow 1d  
Occupation about 1910 Chief Post Office, Cnr Featherston and Panama Streets, Wellington, NZ Stonemason on Wellington's first Main Postoffice. Landed the job through a Mr MacLennen who lived in Wellington and who he knew from doing his time in Glasgow. The masonry firm was not that he came to spend the rest of his carreer with 1d  

Parents

Father Lithgow, Robert (I) [I0432]
Mother Stevenson, Isabella II [I0340]
Siblings
  1. Lithgow, Isabella (III) [I0437]
  2. Lithgow, James [I0438]
  3. Lithgow, Helen [I0439]
  4. Lithgow, Maggie [I0440]
Half Siblings
  1. Lithgow, William IIa (Robert's son) [I0436]

Families

Married Wife Gillespie, Mary [I0338]
  Marriage November 5, 1903
Marriage of Lithgow, Robert (Stevenson) and Gillespie, Mary 1a 4b
  Residence estimated before 1924 at Kilburnie, Wellington, NZ
The family moved from Kilburnie when Robert was 6. 1
  Residence about 1910 at 211 Coots Street, Lawn Street, Courtney Place, off Gilbert Terrace, Wellington, NZ
Residence of Lithgow, Robert (Stevenson) and Gillespie, Mary 7a


Grumpa mentioned something about this address when i was reading to him about his father's arrival in Wellington.

  Emigration about 1909 at England, UK
Robert Lithgow and Mary Gillespie emigrate to New Zealand 8a


"I do have a photo of them [Robert and Margaret Lithgow] when they came over, Ann and myself remember walking through Anston Stones with Uncle Bob." (Michael Pickard, email, 13 Apr 2006)

The walk through Anston Stones was when the part of the Lithgow family left England to establish our New Zealand branch. Ann Lithgow and Michael Pickard and were just young children saying goodbye before the long trip. Michael also mentioned that it would have been faster to go through Anston Stones Woods, but the children would have none of it. They had always learnt that Anston Woods was far to dangerous for children to go into. So they walked through Anston Stones instead. (Duncan Lithgow, October 2008)

  Narrative

"The thing to remember is that our Grandma Margaret Pickard (nee Lithgow) who married Archiman Pickard, was your great grandfather's sister, and over the years your grandfather Bob and his sisters Ann and Belle maintained contact with the Pickards of Anston." (Archiman Pickard, Email, 08 Apr 2006)

Gallery

Marriages, Lithgow 1886-1903

Marriages, Lithgow 1886-1903

SS-Rotorua

SS-Rotorua

Lithgow, Robert, NZ, Wgtn, General Assembly Library

Lithgow, Robert, NZ, Wgtn, General Assembly Library

Lithgow_R.S._DATE_PL ACE

Lithgow_R.S._DATE_PL ACE

Lithgow_R.S ._DATE_Hansford-and- Mills-Wellington

Lithgow_R.S ._DATE_Hansford-and- Mills-Wellington

Lithgow-Pickard_Fami ly_date_Trojan-in- New-Zealand-front

Lithgow-Pickard_Fami ly_date_Trojan-in- New-Zealand-front

Lithgow-Pickard_Fami ly_date_Trojan-in- New-Zealand-back

Lithgow-Pickard_Fami ly_date_Trojan-in- New-Zealand-back

Lithgow_Childrens- Names_1864

Lithgow_Childrens- Names_1864

Narrative

Robert was born in Lionend[4] and schooled in Eaglesham (15km Sth of central Glasgow) which is now a village set amongst the hills of East Renfrewshire, situated at the northern boundary of Fenwick Moor. One of the few remaining examples of eighteenth century town planning in Scotland.

He was a stonemason by trade, but worked as a grocer in Innerleithen and Edinburgh before moving back to Glasgow. He was also a very early member of the Scottish Referees' Association. His son Robert William Lithgow wrote to genealogy enthusiast Fiona Lithgow (nee Wotherspoon) of Lanarkshire that she "may be able to establish some relationship [between Lithgow lines] as Dad used to speak of Biggar and Broughton". Bigger and Broughton lies about 60km south east of Glasgow.

At some point he took the middle name Stevenson (his mother maiden name), which he later traded under. On October 27th, 1910 he stepped off the SS Rotorua (a refrigerated passenger cargo ship for the New Zealand - UK lamb trade, on it's maiden voyage) onto the soil of Wellington, New Zealand. He was 21 years old, married to Mary Gillespie with two young daughters and no work. Hopefully things weren't too hard for the small family before he found work as a day labourer for stone masons in Wellington who were working on the Chief Post Office in Featherston St (I cannot find any dates for this project). Later he joined the masonry firm 'Hansford & Mills Construction Co. Ltd. Wellington'. He worked on parliament buildings at first as a journeyman/ tradesman and then as foreman. There is a portrait of the firms employees on the steps of parliament general assembly library with Robert seated confidently third from right. Over the years he was also involved in building the Auckland War Memorial Museum, the Wellington Cenotaph and the (now disused?) Wellington Art Gallery (Interviews with Robert William Lithgow, 2006). But he was not limited to stone constructions, and in the historic Turnbull House "the fire surround is Takaka marble and was made by a well-known Wellington stonemason, R.S. Lithgow."(DOC)

Robert and his son have kept various articles over the years. Duncan Lithgow (b.1974) has a large framed photo of an architects perspective of the Auckland War Memorial Museum, this large photo was given to the masonry firm and kept by Robert and then his son. Duncan also has an old rosewood parallel rule and spirit level which may have been his. Marc Lithgow (b.1974) has a book on stone masonry with wonderful technical drawings. The Alexander Turnbull Library holds a number of Robert's work related photos [2].

Notes:

DOC: Department of Conservation website, URL: accessed 2006

[1] URL:

[2] The collection is stored under the title: "Lithgow, Robert William: Photographs of buildings constructed by the Hansford & Mills Construction Co., and of the Kairuru marble quarry (PAColl-6432)." They are part of Lithgow album PA1-q-144. Some of the collection is viewable online at:

* (search for exact phrase "PA1-q-144")

* listed but unpublished in 2006

[4] 'Lionend' or 'Lion End'. I can't find this on maps around Scotland.

Narrative

Stuart says he has seen a portrait of Robert (Stevenson) Lithgow posing in front of the Auckland War Memorial Museum. (Duncan Lithgow, 2009-04-02)

Source References

  1. Grumpa & Duncan’s notes [S0176]
    1. Date: 2006
    2. Date: April 5, 1990;   Confidence: High
    3. Date: April 5, 1990;   Page: Correspondance with Fiona Lithgow, page 1.
    4. Date: July 28, 2007;   Page: discussion
  2. MacRaes to New Zealand - Geneologies of Clan Macrae families in New Zealand up to 1990 [S0149]
    1. Date: ?;   Text: Place only, but date matches.
  3. Our New Zealand Lithgow Family [S0217]
  4. Henry & Duncan’s notes [S0150]
    1. Date: April 7, 2006;   Page: Attachment: Childrens Names;   Confidence: Very High;   Text: Provides full date and place. Assumed to be written from the perspective of Robert Lithgow (b. 1840) (Duncan Lithgow, 19th April 2007)
    2. Date: April 7, 2006;   Page: Attachment: Marriages;   Confidence: Very High
  5. Ships List, The [S0181]
    1. Date: April 10, 2006;   Page: http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/descriptions/ShipsR.html;   Text: ROTORUA 1910 The first ROTORUA was a 11,130 gross ton ship, length 484.2ft x beam 62.3ft, one funnel, two masts, triple screw and a speed of 14 knots. There was accommodation for 52-1st, 72-2nd, 156-3rd and 280-emigrant class passengers. She was fitted with refrigerated cargo space for 170,000 carcasses of lamb. Built by Wm.Denny, Dumbarton she was launched on 9th Jul.1910 for the New Zealand Shipping Co. Her maiden voyage started 27th Oct.1910 when she left London for Capetown, Auckland and Wellington. She remained on this service until 22nd Mar.1917 when she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine UC-17, 20 miles from Start Point, Devon with the loss of one life. [Merchant Fleets by Duncan Haws, vol.7, New Zealand Shipping and Federal Lines][North Star to Southern Cross by John M.Maber][Great Passenger Ships of the World, vol.1, by Arnold Kludas]
    2. Date: April 10, 2006;   Page: http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/descriptions/ShipsR.html;   Text: ROTORUA 1910 The first ROTORUA was a 11,130 gross ton ship, length 484.2ft x beam 62.3ft, one funnel, two masts, triple screw and a speed of 14 knots. There was accommodation for 52-1st, 72-2nd, 156-3rd and 280-emigrant class passengers. She was fitted with refrigerated cargo space for 170,000 carcasses of lamb. Built by Wm.Denny, Dumbarton she was launched on 9th Jul.1910 for the New Zealand Shipping Co. Her maiden voyage started 27th Oct.1910 when she left London for Capetown, Auckland and Wellington. She remained on this service until 22nd Mar.1917 when she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine UC-17, 20 miles from Start Point, Devon with the loss of one life. [Merchant Fleets by Duncan Haws, vol.7, New Zealand Shipping and Federal Lines][North Star to Southern Cross by John M.Maber][Great Passenger Ships of the World, vol.1, by Arnold Kludas]
  6. Shipping Times [S0248]
  7. Robert M. Duncan’s notes [S0211]
    1. Date: July 2007;   Page: discussion
  8. Lithgow, Duncan [S0202]
    1. Date: October 14, 2008;   Page: memory;   Text: "I do have a photo of them [Robert and Margaret Lithgow] when they came over, Ann and myself remember walking through Anston Stones with Uncle Bob." (Michael Pickard, email, 13 Apr 2006) The walk through Anston Stones was when the part of the Lithgow family left England to establish our New Zealand branch. Ann Lithgow and Michael Pickard and were just young children saying goodbye before the long trip. Michael also mentioned that it would have been faster to go through Anston Stones Woods, but the children would have none of it. They had always learnt that Anston Woods was far to dangerous for children to go into. So they walked through Anston Stones instead. (Duncan Lithgow, October 2008)

Pedigree

  1. Lithgow, Robert (I)
    1. Stevenson, Isabella II
      1. Lithgow, Isabella (III)
      2. Lithgow, James
      3. Lithgow, Helen
      4. Lithgow, Maggie
      5. Lithgow, Robert (Stevenson)
        1. Gillespie, Mary

Ancestors