Who is the Bartholomew Family?

Part 3: The descendants of Ian and Minou Bartholomew

John (Ian) BARTHOLOMEW was born in Edinburgh in 1890. He was the eldest of the five children of John George BARTHOLOMEW and Janet (Jennie) MACDONALD.

In 1914 Ian joined the army as a territorial sergeant and by the end of the same year was commissioned into the 1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders and served in France and Flanders. He was ever mindful of his men, who loved him, and his particular mixture of kindly, though slightly wry philosophy and Scottish piety gained him a place both as leader and confidante. He was mentioned three times in dispatches and was awarded the Military Cross in 1915. His younger brother Hugh was killed in the war. Later Ian served on Haig's staff at St. Omer and Montreuil as a staff-captain of Intelligence.

At the termination of hostilities, he returned to Edinburgh, was given his M.A. degree and re-entered the family business with his father John George.

In 1920 he married Marie (Minou) Antoinette SAROLEA, the third daughter of Dr Léon SAROLEA, a medical doctor from Hasselt, Belgium, and Marie Félicitée GOETSBLOETS. They had four sons and two daughters, one of whom died young.

In 1920 he took over the management of the family business when his father died. Ian continued many of his father's cartographic ventures. He saw the family firm go from strength to strength and was himself appointed Cartographer to King George V in 1921.

His interest in promoting the cause and science of geography made him dedicate a lot of time to raising the status of its teaching in the University of Edinburgh and encouraging its work by providing adequate library and laboratory facilities. He was also instrumental in establishing the chair in Geography at the University, completing a project his father had begun.

Like his father he was intensely devoted to the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, following him as Honorary Secretary in 1920, a post in which he served for thirty years. In 1950 he became President of the R.S.G.S. For four years he guided the Society’s affairs with conspicuous success—years crowned by the return of the successful Everest expedition of Hillary and Hunt.

Medals and honours recognised his many achievements. The Royal Scottish Geographical Society awarded him its Gold Medal in 1954, his old university made him an LL.D. in 1956, in 1960 he received the C.B.E. and a year later the Royal Geographical Society in London bestowed upon him their Patron’s Medal for his outstanding contributions to cartography.

Ian died in Edinburgh on 9 February 1962, by then severely disabled by the arthritis that inhibited his mobility in his later years, and was survived by his wife, who died on 14 January 1972.

Minou SAROLEA, sixteen at the time of the outbreak of the First World War, was sent through Holland to the care of her uncle Charles SAROLEA, a professor of modern languages in Edinburgh, Scotland. There she met later a young wounded officer, Ian BARTHOLOMEW, her future husband.

Before Minou got married, she was a nurse in Edinburgh at the Royal Victoria Hospital. She spent most of her life raising her family and was very involved in community and voluntary activities. She was also a keen gardener. She took an active interest in supporting her husband Ian in his role in family map-making business.

Minou and Ian had six children: Ailie, John, Peter, Robbie, Anne (who died young) and Alick. They lived most of their years in Inveresk near Edinburgh, Scotland. Minou died in 1972.

In the next generations, Ian and Minou had 17 grandchildren, of which 15 are alive today. There are 65 great and great-great grandchilden. The families are settled internationally in Scotland, England, USA, New Zealand, Sweden and France.