David, son of John Low and Jean Low, was born at Brucemill, Dun on 30 May 1881 and was raised there, attending the Dun Parish School. He once described what life was like at Brucemill: On Sundays the children were allowed to play only on the farm of Brucemill. But one Sunday, he broke the rule when playing with a cycle, and wandered on to the main road. He used the excuse that he got on the cycle and could not stop it (things haven't changed much with children in a hundred years!).

David became a master blacksmith. Early in his career, he worked at several smithies in Angus and Kincardineshire. One of the early smithies was at Benholm, Kincardineshire, where he apparently met Jessie Cadenhead who later became his wife. He appears as an apprentice in the home of Jessie’s father William Cadenhead in the 1901 census. After David and Jessie married on 28 March 1914, he set up business at Charterstone, Fordoun, Kincardineshire. He remained there until late 1920 when his family moved to Thriepmuir, Marykirk, Kincardineshire. During the 1920's William Taylor, who was employed to work in the Smithy, lived with the family.

Although business slowed down in later years, David maintained a working blacksmith shop at Thriepmuir almost until his death on 9 June 1954. The blacksmith shop remained, with it's tools, in the family until 1977, when it was sold. The old family home at Thiepmuir was demolished in October of 1982, and the land brought into cultivation.

Jessie Cadenhead, born 10 September 1883, was a daughter of William Baird Cadenhead (ID=462), blacksmith, and Jessie Milne (ID=463). This family lived at Benholm, Kincardineshire, and Jessie Cadenhead was a dress maker. She died at Thriepmuir on 26 April 1970.


David's son John Douglas (Doug) Low describes what life was like in his family:

We attended Marykirk Public School which was just 200 yards up the road. We were more fortunate that most children. Some had to travel as much as three miles to and from school each day.

It was very hard working in the smithy, shoeing horses and repairing farm machinery. Welding was done by heating the metal white hot and joining it together with the hammer. Sometimes my brother Will and I had to wield the forehammer or crank the vertical drill for boring holes in the metal. There was no electrical power then.

As there was 14 acres of land at Thriepmuir, we kept a cow and fed two steers for beef and also kept a pig and some poultry. Mother used to make butter and sell some of the milk, which, after school, we would carry to the village one mile away.

The pig killing was an annual event, with a feast that night. The hams were cured and eventually hung from the kitchen for use when needed.

Crops grown were oats, hay, turnips, and potatoes. As we did not have any horses, the ploughing and cultivating was done by neighbouring farmers who were also relied upon to help with the harvesting of the crops.

Times were fairly hard in the 1920's and 30's, with the accounts for smithy work going out twice a year, at Whitson and Martimas, as was custom then, the income had to last for six months. If a farmer went bankrupt, which sometimes happened, you would only be paid a percentage of what was due.

But life had it's lighter moments. One incident which I witnessed was that of a farmer and his friend, who were on their way home from the market where they had a little too much to drink, called into the smiddy. They were staggering about all over the place. There was a tub of water by the hearth for cooling the hot iron in, and in which all the various tongs were kept. My father, anticipating what would happen, shed the tongs to both sides. Eventually, the farmer's friend staggered back and ended up sitting in the tub of not-too-clean water with a look of amazement. It was like a scene from a comedy film and it makes me laugh to this day when I remember them setting off home with the water dripping from the backside of his breeks.

Our father did not encourage us to follow him at his trade. He thought it was too hard work and times were changing.