Antique Golf Clubs from Scotland: Clubmakers

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Clubmakers

Robert White
St Andrews
Robert White, probably St Andrews’ most famous early blacksmith turned cleekmaker was, in fact, born in England in August 1857. He was in Scotland by May 1875 when he married Anne Kilpatrick in Edinburgh but I have been unable to find the marriage certificate which would identify exactly where he came from.

By 1877 the couple were in St Andrews where their first child, another Robert was born.

White’s clubs are highly prized by collectors and he was undoubtedly influential with both Robert Condie and Tom Stewart) learning cleekmaking from him as employees but his business failed.

The first sign of trouble was in 1894 when there was an action relating to cessio bonorum (where a debtor surrenders his goods to pay creditors in full or in part) brought by David F Blyth who owned a brass and iron foundry in St Andrews. Presumably White limped on until 1896 when there is a note for claims against him, and any money due, to be sent to Alexander Stewart Rae, an iron founder in Dundee to whom a trust deed had been made out.

His business gone, White emigrated to the United States as his son, Robert, had done in 1894. It appears Robert snr left right away, in 1896, with the rest of the family joining him in 1899. On the 1900 US census Robert and Ann are living in Chicopee, MA, with six children. Robert is described as a golf clubmaker so he almost certainly was working for A G Spalding. Spalding did not move their golf business to Chicopee until 1905 but they had bought the Lamb Knitting Machine Company in the town in 1893 as a factory so presumably had started making some clubs along with the other sports equipment produced there. In the 1910 town directory Robert is a foreman at Spalding, a position he held until 1928, living during this time at 177 Nonotuck Avenue.

Another son David also had a career in golf in the United States.

He died in Chicopee in 1939 and is buried with Annie, his wife, who predeceased him in 1927 and daughter, Mary, who died in 1911.

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