The Haig Family :
Robert Haig, born in 1593, was a son of Sir James Haig, 17th Earl of Bemersyde, located near Melrose on the banks of the river Tweed. Robert moved to Throsk, Stirlingshire in 1623. There he was noted in local Kirk Session records as being involved in the crime of 'distilling on the sabbath'. The Haig whisky brand claims that Robert was distilling from 1627 onwards.
Clearly these skills were passed down through the family, and distilling continued to be important to the Haigs based locally. Robert’s great, great, grandson John Haig of Gartlands [The Garlet] (1720 to 1773) married Margaret Stein of Clackmannanshire's renowned Stein distilling family. John Haig was Margaret's cousin.
John and Margaret living at 'The Garlet' was handy, since it was situated less than a half mile from the Stein Kilbagie Distillery, and about a mile from the Stein Kennetpans Distillery. John and Margaret together had 11 children.
Tragically, John died at 53 and the children were looked after by the Stein family. The children were all involved with or apprenticed to one of the Stein owned distilleries, and learned the craft. The children went on to found the Haig whisky empire.
John's daughter Margaret Haig married Alloa Sheriff-Clerk John Jameson. John and his children went on to run and eventually own the Dublin distilleries previously owned by the Steins, and found their own Jameson whisky dynasty, which their children continued to expand. John and Margaret Jameson are both buried in Alloa.
Eldest Son James Haig went on to own Canonmills, Lochrin and Sunbury distilleries in Edinburgh.
c.1806: Sunbury Distillery, Edinburgh, was built by James Haig, who had sold Canonmills Distillery to his relation John Stein some years previously. James Haig continued to work there and at Lochrin Distillery until his death in 1833.
James was not without controversy of his own:
"One instance of an endeavour to bribe an Officer, not immediately by the distiller himself, but by his brother. ..a very extensive Distillery carried on at Canonmills, near Edinburgh, by Mr James Haig. I placed six expectants as watchmen on that work. One of these expectants, viz. John Gordon, came up to me one evening and presented five guinea notes of the Royal Bank of Scotland, which he said he had just got put into his hand by Mr Robert Haig, one of Mr James Haig’s brothers . .. a prosecution was ordered in the Exchequer, and I believe Mr Robert Haig paid a Composition of Fifty Pounds, and Mr Gordon got the five guineas." (Ref. Evidence of John Maitland, General Surveyor of Excise in Scotland, SRO GD 345/1/31/1.)
Son John Haig owned Lochrin Distillery in Edinburgh, which folded in the great collapse of 1788 and was reopened in 1795. It was run by both brothers, John & James, until 1810 when it again went into sequestration. It was up and running again from 1821 - 1848 under James Haig & Sons.
Bonnington Distillery, Leith, started by Balenie & Kemp, was taken over in 1804 by John Haig, from Lochrin Distillery. He also bought Bonnington House, with an extensive park and garden. He died in 1819, the distillery by then being run by John Haig's sons. William, George, Andrew and Thomas under the name of William Haig & Co.
Son Robert Haig founded Dodderbank Distillery, Dublin.
"The name of Haig has for over two centuries been associated with distilling. Originating in Scotland, the connection spread to Ireland and England, and for a very long period and up to the end of the last century [19th] there were distilleries in all the three kingdoms carried on by firms in which there were partners of the name of Haig. The grandfather of Mr. Charles R. Haig was Robert Haig, who carried on business at the Dodderbank Distillery, Dublin, for a considerable period of the first half of the 19th century. After the closing of that distillery in the early forties of last century there were Haigs associated with or constituting the firm of Malcolm Brown and Co., of Dundalk Distillery, which a few months ago was taken over by the great Scotch combine, The Distillers Company, Limited."
Daughter Janet Haig married John Philp of Dolls Distillery, Menstrie.
Son Andrew Haig was apprenticed to his uncle, James Stein, at Kilbagie Distillery.
He then founded Clackmannan Distillery around 1812-1814. He sold it to the Stein Family in 1821, and died in 1824.
Youngest son William Alexander Haig was apprenticed at Kincaple Distillery, Kincaple, Fife for cousin Robert Stein, eventually taking over the concern. Kincaple Distillery was re-opened 1795 -1804 by William Haig. He founded Seggie Distillery in Guardbridge, Fife, in 1810.
"William Haig banked with the Bank of Scotland, St Andrews branch where he was the largest customer. The distillery output went by sea using ships belonging to a Peter Robertson of St Andrews, mostly to his London agent, John Robertson (no doubt to be rectified into gin) but some to his Leith agent, F.& S. Black. The trade was quite large, the London bills usually stood at around £10,000 and the Leith bills at £1,000. It appears that John Robertson, the London agent, went out of business in 1834. William Haig sent his son, Robert, to London; this did not work out and the business went into sequestration. The Bank was left with the distillery until John Haig took it over in 1837 and two farms until the 1850s." (Ref. Laver and Alan Cameron, Archivist, Bank of Scotland.)
William’s son John took over Kincaple Distillery in 1795. He founded Cameronbridge Distillery, Windygates, Fife, in 1824. He took over Seggie Distillery in 1837 and Bonningtons Distillery, Edinburgh.
In 1877 Cameronbridge Distillery became one of the six lowland grain distilleries to found the Distillers Company Limited (DCL). John Took over Kincaple Distillery (1795), Seggie Distillery (1837), and Bonningtons Distillery, Edinburgh.
"Cameronbridge (also Cameron) Distillery, Windygates, Fife, said to have been built on ground feu’d from a Captain Wemyss by John Haig (b. Kincapel 1802), the elder son of William Haig of Kincapel Distillery, who lent son John the money for the enterprise. By the summer of 1824, the new building had been erected and early entries in the ledgers record that £10. 2s. 6d. was paid for a distillery licence, the 2s. 6d. being stamp duty. On the same day the first excise duty was paid, £190. 7s. 6d."
"Cameronbridge Distillery, Windygates, Fife. The owner, John Haig (b. 1802) married Rachel Mackerras Veitch by whom he had five sons."
"The firm of Haig & Haig established by John Alicius Haig, the brother of Hugh Veitch Haig, who had succeeded their father at John Haig & Co."
"John Haig & Co. incorporated as a limited company, the first directors being Hugh Veitch Haig, Alex Hutchison (of Robert Hutchison & Co., Kirkcaldy), Forbes Thomson Wallace (of the Royal Bank), Charles Taylor (also Secretary) and Capt. (later Field Marshal) Douglas Haig (b. 1861) the youngest of the eleven children of John Haig, who was then attached to the 7th Hussars at Mhow, India" (Ref. DCL Gazette, 1932.)
"Glen Cawdor Distillery was bought by John Haig & Co. It had been built c. 1898 by the Glencawdor Distillery Co.; dissolved 1901. It remained in the ownership of John Haig& Co. until the distillery closed in 1927." (Ref. M&H.)
Daughter Magdalene Stein Haig married Andrew Philp, of Inverkeithing Distillery, who went on to become owner of Grange Distillery, Alloa.
Haig owned distilleries :
Canonmills
Lochrin
Sunbury
Kincaple
Cameronbridge
Seggie
Bonnington
Dodderbank
Clackmannan
Glen Cawdor Distillery
Dundas Hill, Port Dundas, Glasgow
Inverness (Millburn)
