Muir Johnston CRAIG [James]

1893 - 1945  (51 years)

• Name	Muir Johnston CRAIG
  Known As	James
  Birth	27 Jul 1893	Bothwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Emigration	07 Jun 1924	Liverpool, Lancashire, England   [2]
  Emigration	07 Jun 1924	Steam Ship "Suffolk"   [2]
  Immigration	12 Aug 1924	Port Chalmers, Otago, New Zealand   [2, 3]
  Occupation	1928  [4, 5]
  	Coal miner, Ohai, Southland
  Death	12 Apr 1945	Seacliff, Otago, New Zealand   [4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
  Probate	09 Aug 1945	Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand   [4]
  Burial	Nightcaps, Southland, New Zealand   [8, 11]
  Person ID	I766	NZ Genealogy Project
  Last Modified	22 Apr 2023

  
  

  Father	William McAllister CRAIG,   b. 24 Sep 1871, Saltcoats, Ayrshire, Scotland d. 08 Oct 1952, Nightcaps, Southland, New Zealand (Age 81 years)
  Mother	Margaret JOHNSTON [Maggie],   b. 1868, Carluke, Lanarkshire, Scotland d. 19 May 1947, Nightcaps, Southland, New Zealand (Age 79 years)
  Marriage	31 Dec 1891	Dalziel, Motherwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland   [12]
  Census	31 Mar 1901	Bothwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland   [13]
  Family ID	F4166	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Janet Gilmour ALEXANDER [Nettie],   b. 23 Dec 1897, Uddington, Bothwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland d. 13 Jul 1968, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand (Age 70 years)
  Marriage	02 Apr 1920	Bothwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland   [14]
  Children	+ 1. Living   2. Living + 3. William Johnstone CRAIG [Speed],   b. 28 Aug 1920, Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland d. 17 May 2005, Ashburton, Canterbury, New Zealand (Age 84 years) + 4. James Alexander CRAIG [Jim],   b. 01 Jan 1922, Uddingston, Lanarkshire, Scotland d. 08 May 1999, Invercargill, Southland, New Zealand (Age 77 years) + 5. Mary CRAIG,   b. 23 Jan 1926, Nightcaps, Southland, New Zealand d. 21 Oct 2020, New Zealand (Age 94 years)
  Documents		Marriage 1920
  		Suffolk Passenger List, 1924
  Family ID	F70	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	31 Dec 2024

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 27 Jul 1893 - Bothwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland Marriage - 02 Apr 1920 - Bothwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland Emigration - 07 Jun 1924 - Liverpool, Lancashire, England Immigration - 12 Aug 1924 - Port Chalmers, Otago, New Zealand Death - 12 Apr 1945 - Seacliff, Otago, New Zealand Probate - 09 Aug 1945 - Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand Burial - - Nightcaps, Southland, New Zealand  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Documents		Birth 1893
  		Marriage 1920 Certificate of Proclamation At Bothwell the 23rd day of March 1920. It is hereby certified that Muir Johnstone Craig, residing in the Parish of Bothwell, and Janet Alexander, residing in the Parish of Uddington, have been duly Proclaimed in order to Marriage in the Parish Church of Bothwell and that no objections have been offered. The above parties were married by me this day at Aittleuhere House 2 April 1920. W Taylor, Minister.

  
  

  Headstones

  Headstone - Muir Johnston and Janet CRAIG In Loving Memory of Muir Johnstone, Beloved husband of Janet Craig, Died 12th April 1945 aged 51 years; Also the above Janet, Died 12th July 1968 aged 70 years. Plot: 54 and 55, Block VI

  
  

• Notes

  Biography. Muir Johnston CRAIG was the son of William McAllister CRAIG and Margaret JOHNSTON, born at Bothwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland on 27 July 1893. His father was a coal miner. In WW1 Muir looked after horses but was affected by mustard gas. After WWI he returned to Scotland and worked with coal mine horses. In 1920 Muir married Janet Gilmour ALEXANDER at Bothwell. The couple had two sons (William 1920 and James 1922) before deciding to immigrate to New Zealand in 1924. The family moved to Ohai, Southland, where Muir worked in the coal mine. The couple had three more children: Mary (1926), Catherine and Jeanette. Muir had difficulty coping, no doubt a result of his experience in WWI, and spent the remainder of his life in Seacliff Mental Hospital near Dunedin. Muir must have reported favorably on the mines at Ohai as his brother Philip moved to Ohai in 1926; his father and brothers John and David in 1927; his mother, two sisters Kate and Agnes, and brother Robert in 1928; and finally his older brother William and family in 1930. Muir's brothers were also coal miners. Coal production expanded at Ohai after 1925 when a railway was completed connecting Ohai to the rail network, making markets more accessible. Muir died at Seacliff in 1945 and was buried in Wairio Cemetery, at Nightcaps, Southland. Janet died in 1968 and was buried with him. Source: Notes by Cheryl Yates and conversation with Mel Craig.

  
  

• Sources

  [S32] Scotland On Line Ltd., ScotlandsPeople, (General Register Office for Scotland), none. 1893 Births in the district of Bothwell in the county of Lanark. Muir Johnston Craig, born 27 Jul 1893 at 35 Single Row, Aitkenhead; male; father William Craig, coal miner, mother Maggie Craig ms Johnston, married 31 Dec 1891 in Dalziel. [S1020] UK Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960, (Ancestry.com). [S1439] Papers Past - Evening Star (Dunedin), (Papers Past - National Library of New Zealand), none. SHIPPING. ARRIVED. - August 12. Suffolk, s.s, (3.20 p.m.), 5,817 tons, Mathews; from Liverpool via Auckland, Napier, Wellington, and Lyttelton. - 13 August 1924, Page 1 [S39] David Bryant, NZSG Index - Probate records, (New Zealand Society of Genealogists Inc.). [S614] NZ Electoral Rolls, 1853-2010, (Ancestry.co.uk.), none. [S145] Diane Wilson, NZ Burial Locator, (New Zealand Society of Genealogists Inc, Auckland 2008). [S503] NZ BDM - Historical Records, (Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington, New Zealand). [S536] Southland District Council Cemetery Search, (Southland District Council, Invercargill). [S1982] Archives New Zealand Online - Probate File, (Archives New Zealand, https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz). [S1439] Papers Past - Evening Star (Dunedin), (Papers Past - National Library of New Zealand), none. DEATHS. CRAIG - On April 12, 1945, at Dunedin, Muir, dearly loved husband of Nettie Craig, of Ohai; aged 50 years. Deeply mourned. - To be interred at Nightcaps Cemetery. - Published 12 April 1945, page 6. [S110] David Bryant, NZSG Index - Southland Cemetery Records, (New Zealand Society of Genealogists Inc., 2005). [S32] Scotland On Line Ltd., ScotlandsPeople, (General Register Office for Scotland), none. [S356] 1901 Scotland Census [database online]., (Ancestry.co.uk.), none. [S32] Scotland On Line Ltd., ScotlandsPeople, (General Register Office for Scotland), none. 1920 marriages in the district of Boswell in the county of Lanark. Marriage on 2 April 1920 at U.F. Manse Aitkenhead, after banns according to the ? of the United Free Church of Scotland. Groom - Muir Johnstone Craig, Coal miner, bachelor, 26 years, residence Muirhead Place, Lannacheads; father William Craig, coal miner, mother Maggie Craig, maiden surname Johnstone. Bride - Janet Alexander, confectionary maker, spinster, 22 years, residence 6 Alexander Place, Uddington; Father James Alexander, pithead labourer; mother Mary Alexander, maiden surname Staples.