George and David Williamson
Builders and Plasterers
George Williamson, was born in 1888, the youngest of nine children of Robert and Jane Williamson. Robert Williamson was a well-known and respected figure in the local community, as a Baillie on the Town Council from 1884 – 1911. He was a builder and plasterer by trade and between 1884 and 1909 was responsible for building houses in Williamson Place, Melville Terrace, Burnside Terrace and Main Street, Kilrenny, as well as renovating several properties in Cellardyke. At this time the Williamson’s intricate plasterwork decorated the cornices and ceilings of many local houses and Cellardyke School house, Waid Academy house and the Murray Library.
During this time, at the start of the 20th Century, George and one of his brothers David chose to emigrate to USA. George was 19 years old, and David was 26 when they arrived on Ellis Island, New York on board the SS Furnessia. They docked on 12th April 1907 and went to stay with their cousin Robert who had arrived earlier in 1905. The Furnessia’s manifest described George and David as Scotch and their occupation as plasterers. Their skills would be in demand in a rapidly expanding New York City with the influx of immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
By 1912 the Williamson brothers lived in Calgary in Canada. Both were now married, George to Agnes Smart of Kilrenny and David to Mary Watson Smith from Cellardyke. It is known that the Williamson plasterwork was used in the interiors of some of the oldest public buildings of Calgary as the city was rebuilt following the Great Calgary Fire of 1886. Historic buildings such as Calgary City Hall, Fire Hall 1, Memorial Park Library and the Palliser Hotel all contained examples of the elaborate and ornate cornices and ceilings.
George Williamson and family came back to Kilrenny in 1914, with two of my aunts, having been born in Canada. David Williamson stayed longer in Calgary and had a family of five children before eventually settling in Seattle, USA by the 1920s, where a large clan of Williamsons and theirdescendants still reside
Research by George Williamson Findlay (Grandson of George)
