| Notes |
- John Couper's birth is recorded in the parish register of Eastwood , Renfrewshire, on May 25, 1820.
The marriage of John Couper and Margeret Brown was recorded in Old Monklands in 1849. Old Monklands is near Coatbridge, an industrial town in Lanarkshire near Glasgow. The marriage record reads "«i»John Couper, Merchant, New Dundyvan and Margaret Brown of Langloan both in this parish were married at Langloan on the 23rd day of July 1849 by the Rev. John Johnston, Minister of Old Monkland«/i»". Langloan, Dundyvan, Coatbridge and Old Monkland are all with a few miles of each other.
In 1851 John Couper, his wife Margaret and their son Archibald aged 1 were living in Langloan, Lanrkshire in the parish of Old Monkland, occupation Grocer.
John Couper arrived in Lochgelly in 1853 as the manager of the Iron Company Store on the corner of Auchterderran Road and Grainger St. This was a shop run by the «i»Iron and Coal Coy«/i» where the workers traded and had the value of their purchases deducted from their fortnightly pay. This had technically been made illegal by the Truck Act of 1831, which laid down that workers were not be paid in kind but only in the "coin of the Realm", however it was not fully stamped out until the passing of a supplement to the Truck Act in 1887.
Lochgelly is a village in Fifeshire, Scotland. Lochgelly, by 1854, had grown from a hamlet with records back to 1485, to a village of just under 1000 inhabitants, having turned the century with a population of 600. The 1855 valuation roll for Lochgelly shows 161 entries. In the decade of the fifties, it was suddenly transformed from a village of weavers and husbandmen and a score of miners, to become the largest coal and iron producing centre in Fife. The change was brought about by the exploitation of it's mineral wealth and the smelting of iron, all of which followed the development of steam power, plus the opening of the Thornton-Stirling railway, and the branch line from Lumphinnans to Kinross. By 1872 the population of Lochgelly had risen to 2962.
The foundation stone of the church was laid in 1855, on a site granted by the Earl of Minto. The church was built at a cost of 1180 pounds. John Couper conducted the psalmody in the church for six years gratis to help the church clear it's debt.
Shortly after the church was built, the Lochgelly Iron Company built a new store opposite the church, and John Couper continued as manager. It was still a Grocery Shop in the 1950s,
In December 1858, John Couper was entered into the roll of members of the Minto Masonic Lodge, Lochgelly.
The 1861 census record gives his birthplace as Eastwood, Renfrewshire, and his wife's as Islay, Argyllshire, with five children: Archibald, Mary, Andrew, Margaret and John . The three eldest children were born in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, and the two youngest in Lochgelly. At the time of the census the family lived at "Lochgelly Store" - his occupation is Grocer and Spirit Dealer. The family employed an 18 year old domestic servant, Ann Sinclair from Dunfermline, Fifeshire.
In the 1861 Parochial Directory For Fife And Kinross, he is listed in the Auchterderran Parish as a Grocer and Spirit Merchant.
John Couper wanted to rent or buy the premises of the store but failed to come to terms with the company, so started building premises for himself on the North side of the church. Before the building was finished a fire took place in the store and as he had not kept up his insurance premium he lost everything and was unable to carry on. He had to give up his new building. He sold what was finished and it was turned into an hotel, which was known as the Minto Hotel.
It is possible that this was the reason that John Couper left Lochgelly and moved with his family to the small village of Kinglassie, about five miles east of Lochgelly. At the time of the 1871 Census, they were living in Kinglassie Village, Fife and his occupation was now Baker. Seven children are listed: Andrew, Elisabeth, George, Janet, John , Mary and Margaret.
Much of the above information comes from the book Alex Westwater's Lochgelly. Alex Westwater was a long time rersident of Lochgelly, his father John being a printer and publisher. It is interesting to note that in the 1861 census, two families of Westwaters lived next door to the Coupers, including two John's, one the son of George Westwater, the other the son of Alexander Westwater.
By the 1881 census the family had moved to 1 Falshaw St., Leith South, Midlothian, and his occupation was Commercial Traveller. Three children are listed.
By the 1891 census he was a Retired Commercial Traveller and was living at Haymount, Logie, Perthshire. There were a number of non-family members living at the same address, and he was given as Head of the Household, so perhaps they were running a boarding house. Of the family, only his wife Margaret and youngest daughter Elisabeth Brown Couper were still living at home.
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1820 - Aft 1891 (71 years)
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