The Rosehall Murders of 1909
A collection of newspaper clippings of articles related to the murder of Neil Hughes, a pedlar, in Rosehall in March 1909. there are also a number of articles about the murder of an infant found at Invernauld that occurred around the same time.
The clippings were in an envelope addressed to Alexander Mackay, Rosehall, which was found behind a drawer of a wooden unit belonging to the donor's grandfather, Christopher Murray.
A Postscript to the Rosehall Murder from Anna MacRae MacDonald - Genealogy Services's post (https://www.facebook.com/AnnaMacRaeMacDonaldGenealogyServices/posts/the-rosehall-murder-postscriptgeorge-cadger-junior-pictured-was-the-only-individ/433256997403814/)
George Cadger Junior was the only individual arrested by police in connection with the murder of the pedlar, Neil Hughes, in March 1909. He had been held at His Majesty’s Pleasure in Inverness Prison for a period of seven weeks before being released without charge. We will probably never know whether he was guilty of the brutal murder and purported theft, but by researching statutory records and other invaluable sources, we are able to piece together a little of the backstory of this young man.
George was born at 1am on Thursday 11th December 1884 in Altas, in the district of Rosehall. The birth was registered by maternal grandfather – and one may assume, namesake -- George Cadger Senior. It is clear from the birth record that the intention was to name him George Cadger STEPHEN – after reputed father, John Stephen. However, as the baby was illegitimate and the father was not present (thereby not admitting paternity, intentionally or otherwise), he was officially recorded as George Stephen CADGER.
His mother, Elizabeth, was the middle child of George Senior’s nine children with wife, Mary Arthur. We know that Elizabeth was living and working as a servant in New Deer, Aberdeenshire, in 1881 so it may be that John Stephen was someone she met in that county, rather than a native of Rosehall. She, herself, would not live out her days in Rosehall - nor even Aberdeenshire - but in 1886 she emigrated to Canada where she married Glasgow-born Donald McKay, and had at least two of a family.
George Junior was brought up by his grandparents in their Altas croft, along with his cousin Isabella ‘Isie’ Cadger who was 10 years his senior. The Cadger family had resided in the district for several years after having responded to an advertisement placed in the Aberdeen Journal in 1870 for feus of six shillings an acre; giving “…at home, all the advantages of Emigration to America” [pictured]. Several agriculturists from the North East of Scotland made the decision to relocate to croft land in Rosehall including the Murrays, Lobbans and Horns.
The police accounts of the pedlar murder indicated that George Cadger junior had spent time living out with Rosehall - “…[he] is supposed to have been employed as a labourer or farm servant in mainland Ross-shire”. The newspapers who covered the mysterious crime also suggested that he had enlisted at one point in the Seaforth Highlanders and, later, the Lovat Scouts and at the time of the murder was considered a deserter, but Chief Constable Chisholm makes mention in his telegraph to a colleague after Cadger’s arrest of a report that “…[Cadger] was brought to Lairg on 9th January last by Sergeant Major Kitson of Lovat Scouts, Alness, for medical examination, for admission to Lovat Scouts”. There is no mention in police records of Cadger being Absent Without Leave at the time of his arrest so this may have been an incorrect assertion by the newspapers.
But, as far as we can tell, this young man didn’t stray too far from home in his early years. In 1891, 1901 and 1911 he was recorded as living and working on the family croft. He lost his grandmother Mary in 1903, and then his grandfather eight years later. We know that Mary was buried in Achness Cemetery, and it is very likely that her husband was interred there with her.
George Junior’s end would take him far from home. He enlisted in the Army Service Corps [ASC] during the First World War. Unfortunately, his military record is thought to be one of the 60% of army personnel records that were destroyed in the Blitz bombing of London in 1940. What we do know is that he signed up in Inverness, perhaps around August 1916. The ASC provided invaluable support in the provision of supplies by way of vehicle and horse transportation. George was assigned to the 122nd Company, who formed part of the 28th Divisional Train who saw action in the Balkan Theatre where the Allies sought to defend the Serbs from Bulgarian forces. The ASC were involved in the Battle of Doiran on 18th September 1918, and the Pursuit to Strumica Valley four days later. George’s rank was listed as Driver. From his army number we can deduce that he served with the horse transport unit - being a crofter, perhaps he was recognised for having some skill with ponies. George died aged 34 on the 19th October 1918 – just three weeks AFTER the Armistice of SalonIka (28th September) and three weeks BEFORE the final Armistice signed at Compiegne signalling the end of World War One. 121 of the men interred at Doiran Military Cemetery died after the Bulgarian armistice; 21 of them were Drivers.
Driver Cadger was one of those men - memorial reference: VI. K. 15. His next of kin was listed as cousin, “Isabella Cadger of Altass, Invershin, Sutherlandshire”; and it was to Isie that he bequeathed “the whole of [his] property and effects”. He is commemorated in his home village on Rosehall War Memorial.
George’s mother, Elizabeth McKay, died in Manitoba in 1936 while Isie Cadger died a spinster in 1951 at home in Altas.
Whether you believe young George Cadger innocent or guilty of the murder of Neil Hughes, I’m sure we can all agree that he made the ultimate sacrifice for his country along with so many of his peers.
Dimensions: digital documents