John Duncan

John Duncan was born in Cumnock on the 22nd June 1888.

His father was also John Duncan and the family lived at Kilnholm Place in 1901 census.
John Duncan 48 coal miner b Auchinleck
Elizabeth Duncan 49 b Douglas
James Duncan 21 coal miner b New Cumnock
Janet Duncan 20 gen servant b England
David Duncan 18 coal miner b England
William Duncan 15 grocer app
John Duncan 13
Alexander Duncan 11
Peter Duncan 8
Elizabeth Duncan 6
rest scholar b Cumnock

John senior died in 1903 and his widow Elizabeth and all the children except James left for Canada in 1907 on the Empress of Ireland to work on the Canadian Pacific Railway.  Son Peter was accidentally drowned at Fitzhugh, Alberta on 1911 aged 18.

In the 1916 census they are living at Edmonton, Alberta.

Elizabeth Duncan 63 none
Janet Duncan 34 clerk
David Duncan 33 fireman
William Duncan 30 blacksmith 138th Battalion
John Duncan 28 fireman
Alexander Duncan 26 fireman 138th Battalion
Elizabeth Duncan 21 none

Alexander and William enlisted in March 1916.  Alexander was a farmer and William a blacksmith.
Alexander and William visited Cumnock while on leave in 1916. This was reported in the Cumnock Chronicle of 22nd September 1916

John was called up in the summer of 1918. He was single and an engineer. He died on October 6th that year.
According to his gravestone on Cumnock New Cemetery he died at sea.

CWGC

He is remembered on the Halifax Memorial in Nova Scotia and on his father's headstone in Cumnock New Cemetery

On Cumnock Connections family tree