Catherine Selkirk was born in Largo on 29 January 1779 and was baptised two days later in the presence of the congregation of Largo Kirk, as the record below tells us. Her parents were "John Selkirk weaver in Nether Largo and Margaret Martin his spouse". Nether Largo was the name used then for Lower Largo. The above photograph appeared in the book 'Seatoun of Largo' by Ivy Jardine (1982). John Selkirk (Catherine's father) was the son of Alexander Selkirk, who in turn was the son of David Selkirk (or Selcraig), the eldest brother of the famous Alexander Selkirk. This made Catherine 'Robinson Crusoe's' great-grand-niece.
When Catherine was eight years old her mother Margaret died. The record below shows that she died on 14 December 1787 and was buried on 17 December. Just over a year later, her father John remarried, to Isabel Peattie or Pattie.
So what was life like in Largo around that time?
The Old Statistical Account of 1792, written by the Reverend Mr Spence Oliphant of Largo Kirk, provides some insight to daily life. In terms of health and wellbeing, the account tells of how "coughs are very general, rheumatism and other inflammatory complaints are not infrequent. Epidemic disorders sometimes appear..." often affecting those on "a low and spare diet". The typical diet of the population was described as "meagre broth, potatoes, cheese, butter in small quantities, and a preparation of meal in different forms, make up their constant fare". Meat was generally reserved for "a birth or marriage, or some other festival".
At the time fish were "scarce" and "at present there is not a fisherman in Largo, and only 1 in Drummochy, who fishes in the summer and catches rabbits in the winter". The pier at Largo was in existence at the time "where vessels of 200 ton may receive or discharge their cargoes". In the Parish there were 3 corn mills, 2 barley mills, 3 lint mills and 2 salt pans. The main industry of the Parish was weaving, of mostly "linens and checks", with every weaver having access to a bleaching ground. The flax was mostly imported but was dressed and spun in the village. The image below provides some impression of how the buildings along the shore at Lower Largo looked at this time, although this particular artwork dates to a several decades later.
The Old Statistical Account also refers specifically to Alexander Selkirk and noted that "the chest and musket which Selkirk had with him on the island, are now in the possession of his grand-nephew, John Selkirk, weaver in Largo", referring to the father of Catherine. Upon the death of John Selkirk, Catherine became the keeper of the relics. These well-travelled artefacts had been left behind by Alexander around 1717 when he departed the village suddenly with Sophia Bruce.
Catherine Selkirk married fisherman/ linen weaver David Gillies in 1799. Some sources state that the couple had thirteen children but it is difficult to be certain as records are incomplete. In the census of 1841 (see extract above) David, Catherine, David junior (a fisherman) and Janet are listed in the household, as well as Catherine's sister Margaret Selkrig, aged 50. David Gillies died in 1846, leaving Catherine a widow. In the 1851 census (below) Catherine was recorded, aged 72, along with the only other member of the household - a 10-year-old grandchild, Christian Gillies.
In September 1856, a London-based publication named Willis' Current Notes, included an article containing "New facts respecting Robinson Crusoe". The piece began as shown below and went on to quote extensively from the Largo Kirk Session records, listing various examples of the "naturally turbulent" lives of the family and their "quarrelsome habits". The piece ends by referring to "Widow Gillies" (Catherine) as the last of her generation of Selkirks, who reports suggest at this time had been predeceased by nine of her children.
A picture is painted of a poor widow who relies on "the benevolence of those who visit her interesting cottage, and the relics of her far-famed predecessor". Among the visitors that viewed the cottage, the sea-chest and the cocoa nut cup, had been Sir Walter Scott and his Fife-born publisher Archibald Constable. The pair arranged for a new rosewood stem and foot to be added to Selkirk's cocoa nut cup, along with an inscribed silver band to encircle the rim. Constable also paid for the Largo Kirk Session records to be rebound.
Catherine lived to see the arrival of the railway in Largo in 1857, which must have been momentous for the community. At the time of the 1861 census she was living alone, and she died the following year, on 1 February 1862, just days after her 83rd birthday. Her obituary in the local press spoke of a "pleasant spoken" woman, who had experienced a life of labour and of "toiling, rejoicing, sorrowing". Having lost her mother as a child and predeceased by several children - sorrow was a theme throughout her life, yet this was coupled with a lifelong association with her famous relative and the home in which she lived was surrounded by public interest.
Among the children who outlived her were:
Margaret Allan nee Gillies (married shoemaker David Allan); born c 1801, died 1876 aged 75
Samuel Gillies (fisherman); born c 1808, died in 1892 aged 84 at Bower House, Lower Largo
Christina Deas nee Gillies (married fisherman John Deas); born c1813, died 1894 aged 81
James Gillies (fisherman/whaler); born 1816, died 1902 aged 87
Alexander Gillies (fisherman); born c1823, died 1898 aged 76
On her death record below her mother was incorrectly noted as Isabella Peattie, who was actually her step-mother. Her son Samuel registered her death and must have been illiterate as he signed with a cross as 'his mark'. Catherine was buried at the new cemetery very recently opened in the Parish. Soon after her death, the old cottage and birthplace of Alexander Selkirk (1676-1721) was demolished and the current Crusoe Buildings built upon the site. The relics so long cared for by Catherine were sold - finally separated from the birthplace of their former owner.
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