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Monument Inscription
ERECTED
BY
JANE CUNNINGHAM
IN MEMORY OF HER
HUSBAND
WILLM MCADAM
WHO DIED 5TH SEPTR
1872
AGED 66 YEARS
Family History
Although the subject of this memorial William McAdam was born within the parish of Mearns it is not until 1851 at the age of forty-five years that he is found engaged in farming at North Hillhead.
Situated on the road to Kilmarnock near to Loganswell, North Hillhead Farm was forty acres of poor quality land bordering on open moorland. Its larger neighbour South Hillhead benefited from having better quality land.
It is probable that William McAdam was farming outwith the boundaries of the parish prior to arriving there. His wife Jane Cunningham was a daughter of the farmer from Craigton Farm, Mearns. The couple had married in the Mearns in 1829 and only one child, a daughter Agnes, has been identified.
Census records have revealed that for the greater part of their residency at North Hillhead this couple worked the farm virtually alone, with only the occasional help of a labourer. This farm in modern times would be described as subsistence farming.
William was laid to rest in Mearns Kirkyard aged sixty-seven years in 1872. The farm had by this time passed into the hands of Colin Cunningham, a local land agent. If Jane joined her husband in this grave at a later date, which was probably the case, no one took the trouble to add these details to the memorial.