Thomas Thorburn was born about 1841 in Beith, the youngest of six known children born to parents Thomas Thorburn, a shoemaker, and Elizabeth Wright. Neither his parent’s marriage nor the births of their children were registered. Prior to 1855 there was no legal requirement to register births, marriages or deaths in Scotland.
The 1841 census revealed that around the time of his birth, his family were living in the Strand, Beith. By 1851 his family had moved to the Cross and his two older brothers were both employed as apprentice shoemakers, while Thomas was at school.
Thomas married twice, first to Mary Whiteford on 29 April 1862 in Beith. Sadly, she died of consumption on 28 October 1863. He then married Rachel Campbell on 17 November 1865 in Beith with whom he had ten children, five of whom died in infancy.
Thomas Thorburn was an exceptionally busy man. A master shoemaker, he set up shop with business partner Mr Ritchie in Main Street, Beith at the sign of the “Golden Boot”. A keen curler, he established a curling stone workshop in King’s Road, Beith about 1872, where he developed a reputation for excellence, producing highly polished curling stones with beautiful symmetry. The curling stones were made of granite from Ailsa Craig and came in three varieties, red hones, blue hones, and Ailsa Craig common green. The red hones were created from rock high up on the cliffs of Ailsa Craig.
Masons working in the outer shed would first break the rough granite down into appropriate sizes. Then a steam driven grindstone was used to remove the hammer marks. The grindstone had to be replaced every three to four weeks. The stones were then honed to remove all the marks of the grindstone before being polished on the top and bottom. The stones were then roughened around the sides to give them greater durability before being sent to the handling department where a handle was fitted. As well as producing curling stones for the British market, Thomas Thorburn also made curling stones with a concave bottom for the American market.
The 1881 census reveals that Thomas and Rachel were living in a five-room house at 60 Whang Street, Beith with their four surviving daughters and a general servant and that Thomas employed four people at his shoe making business and seventeen people in his curling stone workshop.
The 1891 census revealed that the Thorburn’s moved to a smaller house at Eglinton Street, before moving to “The Limes”, Dalry Road, Beith, prior to 1901. He later moved to Hillcrest, 14 Glebe Road, Beith. Thomas Thorburn died at Hillcrest on 23 February 1923, aged 80 years old. He is buried in Beith cemetery along with his second wife Rachel Campbell, six of their children and his parents.
In public life Thomas was a member of the Beith Parochial Council, an elected member of the Beith Parish Council for 46 years and he was also a member of the County Council for 20 years. In addition, he was a Justice of the Peace for the County of Ayr and a member of the Northern District Court. In his private life he was a member of the Beith Bowling Club, and he was a well-known curler, taking part in games at home as well as touring games in Canada and Switzerland. He was also a member and senior elder of the Beith United Free Church in Mitchell Street.