Another John Lochrie of Galashiels! Im famous!

I never realised my name could be so popular.. however, never in a million years would I have imagined ANOTHER John Lochrie living in … wait for it.. Galashiels! What are the chances of that! This is what I found online about him…

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The late 19th to the early 20th century saw perhaps the largest period of influx of immigrants to the shores of the United States ever; at that time, on the part of the States, it was still a very large and still partially undiscovered country that welcomed the incoming throng as future nation builders. On the part of the incoming masses, they recognised a new world with a new hope; a hope that in the absence of the class ridden social structures of old Europe, a person might elevate himself without let or hindrance, through his own individual efforts.

This, indeed, proved to be the case for many and several, accomplished this in grand measure; particularly shining example being the story of a certain John Lochrie, originally from Galashiels in Scotland.

John Lochrie arrived in the States from Galashiels in the mid 1800’s having formerly toiled long and hard with no apparent future as a coal miner. Such though, was the expectation of the lower classes of the time; the social structure of the UK kept the lowly in servitude with little hope of escape. Fortune must have smiled upon John Lochrie though, because in spite of the inauspicious start to life of having been forced to start work in the mines at the age of 10; his Father brought him to the New World where, indeed, a completely new life awaited.

Of course, as with all immigrants in every age, life for John Lochrie was extremely hard in the beginning; to earn money, he was obliged to fall back upon his old trade of mining and did so for several years…but this was the United States and John Lochrie’s hard work was to bear fruit in this new land.

In due course, John Lochrie was offered the position of Foreman; a position which he, of course, accepted and it was with this break that Foreman Lochrie launched his future. It was because of the extra earnings as a Foreman, that eventually John Lochrie managed to save enough money to finance himself through University, eventually passing with a Technical Degree.

It was not long before this Technical Degree was put to good use, as John Lochrie started earning his living as a consultant for several mines around the States…and once again fortune was about to smile on him. Because of his extensive travels, John Lochrie eventually gained an unparalleled knowledge of coal and mineral deposits in general which combined with his Degree enabled him to devise a revolutionary new mining innovation.

John Lochrie had no less than invented a method of turning low grade unprofitable Coal into high grade lucrative Coke via an ingenious washing process. As might be imagined, this made John Lochrie’s fortune, although he didn’t stop there; John Lochrie went on to be a very successful Business Magnate owning a great many different companies.

For a former miner from Galashiels, all this must have seemed as though it were some fairy story, but the story of John Lochrie is far from unique…it illustrates that the United States, looked upon as a beacon of hope and opportunity to those early immigrants, was indeed and indeed provided those very things to its new inhabitants.

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How crazy is that?! Small world…. wouldnt like to pain it though!