George Aitchison

My great, great grandfather George Aitchison was born in Abbey-St-Bathans, Scotland in 1838. He came to New Zealand with his older brother Peter about 1860. Initially they ran a business transporting goods from Dunedin to the Central Otago goldfields. Horse & cart I suppose.
He was married in Oamaru in1880 at age 42 to Phoebe Lloyd.

By this time he and brother Peter were both farming at Awamoko in the Waitaki Valley with land purchased from the Waikoura run. Peter was a local character with political aspirations and there are some articles about him on the Papers Past website including his death in1897: http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=NOT18970916.2.28&srpos=3&e=-------10-NOT%2cODT%2cOW-1----0awamoko+death+aitchison--

Peter is buried in the tiny Georgetown cemetery just along the road from Awamoko. George and wife Phoebe both died in 1907 and are also buried there. Phoebe died  February 1907of splenic anaemia and George died September that year of accidental laudanum poisoning. Apparently he picked up a bottle in the night thinking it was another medicine and took a dose. He died some hours later.

Some other Aitchison siblings came to NZ also with most of them settling in the Herbert (Otepopo) area of North Otago.

*George's parents were Janet (nee Fortune) and James Aitchison who married in 1827. Their children were:
Peter born 1828
Isabella born 1830
Alexander born 1832
James born 1833
Magdalene born 1835
George born 1838*
William born 1842
John born 1844

I think this photo is of dad James born 1796, died 1888. Hopefully correct, got from another relative's website. Or it could be brother James born 1833.

Line of descent: me - mum - Ernest - Janet - George - James & Janet Aitchison