Retirement of Robert Ferguson Exciseman

 

One aspect we've truly underlined with our research here, is the importance of the stationed exciseman on site and the power that they were trusted with. Our work with the Glen Mhor Customs & Excise Logbook has illustrated this with countless examples.

Gilbert W. Peterkin through his entries has become a distant friend or relative, with this personality resonating even through the most mundane of entries. However, he wasn't the first exciseman at Glen Mhor, not even the second, as you can tell from our informative Distillery Information section. 

No, the original was Robert Ferguson, who was with Glen Mhor from its establishment in 1894 until 1907 and his retirement, as recorded in this article from the North Star and Farmers' Chronical published on Thursday 28th November, 1907.

The sense here is one of professionalism and teamwork. And interestingly, given our recent documentation of the William Grant pencil gift from Glen Albyn, the Inverness distilleries liked to give such items with silver inscriptions. 

As for the legacy of Robert Ferguson, with the logbooks missing from Glen Mhor's earliest years, we're unable to fully appreciate his efforts, but it is evident he has the respect of the distillery team, including John Birnie, who was a hard man to please. With over 40 years in the business, Robert was very well experienced in the excise realm and potentially always with distilleries.

Hopefully, we'll be able to shed some light on his career in due course,