Archibald Geikie

Archibald Geikie, perfumer, occupied Malta House in 1835-1836.¹ The previous year he was living at 2 Drummond Street.² He was born in 1770, son of John Geikie, barber and hairdresser, and his wife Isabel Gillespie.³

Archibald Geikie was listed in the 1794-95 directory as a hairdresser in Charles’s Street. His father John was a hairdresser and merchant in Potterrow.⁴ Archibald moved to Nicolson Street in 1808 where he lived and worked as a hairdresser for 25 years. In 1834 ‘Geikie and Son’ hairdressers and peruke makers were listed at 31 George Street which was the business address when he occupied Malta House. The ‘Son’ in the business name was James Stewart Geikie, who was listed separately in the 1833 Directory.⁵ Archibald Geikie retired in 1843⁶ and was recorded living with his son in 1851.⁷ Archibald Geikie died at 6 Hope Park, Edinburgh on 24 July 1856.⁸

Archibald Geikie married Helen Bayne on 6 September 1793.⁹ She died two years before Archibald Geikie’s occupancy of Malta House, on 08 May 1833.¹⁰ Their surviving children were all adults when Archibald Geikie occupied Malta House. However, the first child of their son James Stewart Geikie was born at Malta House on 28 December 1835, named Archibald after his grandfather.¹¹

James Stewart Geikie was born in Edinburgh on 12 January 1811.¹² He followed his father and grandfather in the hair dressing business before devoting his time to music. He lived at 47 Hanover Street in 1841¹³ and at Boroughloch in 1851.¹⁴ In 1861 he was described as a perfumer, employing one man, a boy and  two girls, living in Duncan Street.¹⁵ In 1871 his occupation was recorded as ‘teacher of music.’¹⁶ He was a music critic for several years, conductor in the Augustine Congregational Church and a founder of the Newington Choral Society.¹⁷  He died at Ormiston, East Lothian on 14 August 1883.¹⁸ He married Isabella Thom in Edinburgh on 10 August 1835.¹⁹ She was the daughter of William Thom, a mariner, and Isabella Laing, born at Dunbar in 1809.²⁰ She died at Liberton on 22 February 1895.²¹

The Archibald Geikie, son of James S. Geikie and Isabella Thom, was described as a writer’s clerk in the 1851²² census but was appointed to the British Geological Survey in 1855. His  surveys around Edinburgh and in the highlands, undertaken with Sir Roderick Murchison, resulted in the publication of a geological map of Scotland in 1862. In 1865 he published The Scenery of Scotland, Viewed in Connexion with its Physical Geology.²³ He was appointed professor of geology at the University of Edinburgh in 1871, received a knighthood in 1891 and made Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath in 1907. In 1909 he was President of the Royal Society and received the Order of Merit in 1914. He died at Haslemere, Surrey on 10 November 1924.²⁴

When Archibald Geikie senior lived at 2 Drummond Street, before he moved to Malta House, this  was also the address of his eldest son, the artist Walter Geikie. It is likely Walter Geikie also lived at Malta House in 1835. In 1836-37 Walter was listed at 31 George Street, the business premises of Geikie and Son.²⁵

Walter Geikie was born on 09 November 1795.²⁶ An illness at the age of two left him deaf and dumb, though he later acquired speech. He was admitted to the Trustees Academy in 1812 and three years’ later began exhibiting. ‘His reputation rests chiefly on his clever sketches and etchings of everyday scenes.’ A collection of etchings, with an introduction by Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, was published in 1833. He was elected an associate of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1831 and an academician in 1834.²⁷ Walter Geikie died on 01 August 1837.²⁸

1. PO Directory 1835-1836.
2. PO Directory 1834-1835.
3. Deaths (SR) Scotland. Newington & Grange, Edinburgh. 26 July 1856. GEIKIE, Archibald. 685/2 280. https://scotlandspeople.gov.uk: accessed 24 March 2024.
4. The Edinburgh Directory 1794-95. Edinburgh: Robert Wilson. https://digital.nls.uk/directories: accessed 23 March 2024.
5. PO Directory 1833-34.
6. Betterton, J., Craig, J., Mendum, J.R., Neller R. and J. Tanner. Editors. (2019) Aspects of the Life and Works of Archibald Geikie. Geological Society of London. pp. 8-10. https://www.google.co.uk/books: accessed 24 March 2024.
7. Census records. Scotland. Edinburgh. 30 March 1851. GEIKIE, Archibald. 685/2 47/ 18. FindMyPast collection ‘1851 England, Wales & Scotland Census.’ https://findmypast.co.uk: accessed 23 March 2024.
8. Deaths (SR) Scotland. Newington & Grange, Edinburgh. 26 July 1856. GEIKIE, Archibald. 685/2 280. https://scotlandspeople.gov.uk: accessed 24 March 2024.
9. Marriages index (SR) Scotland. St Cuthbert’s, Edinburgh. 06 September 1793. GEIKIE, Archibald and BAYNE, Helen. 685/2 170402. https://scotlandspeople.gov.uk: accessed 24 March 2024.
10. Burials (OPR) Scotland. Edinburgh. 09 May 1833. BYNE, Helen. 685/1276. https://scotlandspeople.gov.uk: accessed 23 March 2024.
11. Baptisms (OPR) Scotland. St Cuthbert’s, Edinburgh. 31 December 1855. GEIKIE, Archibald. 685/2 390/ 287. https://scotlandspeople.gov.uk: accessed 27 October 2027.
12. Baptisms (OPR) Scotland. St Cuthbert’s, Edinburgh. 02 February 1811. 685/2 130/ 523. Ancestry collection ‘Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950.’ https://ancestry.co.uk: accessed 27 October 2024.
13. Census records. Scotland. St Andrew, Edinburgh. 06 June 1841. GEIKIE, James. 685/1 09/ 05. Ancestry collection ‘1841 Scotland Census.’ https://ancestry.co.uk: accessed 27 October 2024.
14. Census records. Scotland. Edinburgh. 30 March 1851. GEIKIE, James. 685/1 05/. FindMyPast collection ‘1851 England, Wales & Scotland Census.’ https://findmypast.co.uk: accessed 27 October 2024.
15. Census records. Scotland. Newington, Edinburgh. 07 April 1861. GEIKIE, James S. 685/5 69/ 04. Ancestry collection ‘1861 Scotland Census.’ https://ancestry.co.uk: accessed 27 October 2024.
16. Census records. Scotland. Newington, Edinburgh. 02 April 1871. GEIKIE, James. 685/5 75/ 07. Ancestry collection ‘1871 Scotland Census.’ https://ancestry.co.uk: accessed 27 October 2024.
17. ‘Death of Mr James S. Geikie.’ Edinburgh Evening News. 14 August 1883. p. 2, col. 2. https://britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk: accessed 27 October 2024.
18. Probate records. Scotland. Haddington. Inventory. 24 November 1883. GEIKIE, James Stewart. Ancestry collection ‘Scotland, National Probate Index (Calendar of Confirmations and Inventories), 1876-1936.’ https://ancestry.co.uk: accessed 24 March 2024.
19. Marriages index (OPR) Scotland. St Cuthbert’s, Edinburgh. 10 August 1835. GEIKIE, James Stuart and THOM, Isabella. 685/2 430 308. https://scotlandspeople.gov.uk: accessed 24 March 2024.
20. Baptisms index (OPR) Scotland. Dunbar, East Lothian. 10 December 1809. THOM, Isabella. 706/ 40/ 118. https://scotlandspeople.gov.uk: accessed 27 October 2024.
21. Deaths (SR) Scotland. Liberton, Edinburgh. 25 February 1895. GEIKIE, Isabella. 693/ 17. https://scotlandspeople.gov.uk: accessed 24 March 2024.
22. Census records. Scotland. Edinburgh. 30 March 1851. GEIKIE, James. 685/1 05/. FindMyPast collection ‘1851 England, Wales & Scotland Census.’ https://findmypast.co.uk: accessed 27 October 2024.
23. Geikie, Archibald (1865) The Scenery of Scotland, Viewed in Connexion with its Physical Geology. London: Macmillan.
24. National Records of Scotland. ‘Hall of Fame: Sir Archibald Geikie (1835-1924).’ https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/learning/hall-of-fame/hall-of-fame-a-z/geikie-archibald: accessed 24 March 2024.
25. PO Directory 1836-37.
26. Baptisms (OPR) Scotland. St Cuthbert’s, Edinburgh. 14 November 1795. GEIKIE, Walter. 685/2 120/ 194. Ancestry collection ‘Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950.’ https://ancestry.co.uk: accessed 27 October 2024.
27. R.E.G. ‘GEIKIE, WALTER (1795-1837)’ in Dictionary of National Biography (1921-22) London: OUP. vol. 7, p. 989. Ancestry collection ‘Dictionary of National Biography, Volumes 1-22.’ https://ancestry.co.uk: accessed 24 March 2024.
28. Monumental inscriptions. Scotland. Greyfriars, Edinburgh. 01 August 1837. GEIKIE, Walter. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/151136711/walter-geikie: accessed 24 March 2024.