James Lumsden Masterton (1863-1942)

Banker

James Lumsden Masterton had a long career in banking with the Bank of Scotland, culminating as agent of the bank at Rothesay.  He was clearly influenced by his father's piety, was a supporter of charitable causes, and was something of an amateur numerologist.  His article in "The Scottish Bankers Magazine" is a curious insight into his enthusiasms.

Genealogy

James Masterton was the third child of the Reverend William Masterton, minister of Inverkeillor Free Church, and Janet Lumsden and is a member of the large connected family of Mastertons that flourished in Culross.  Fuller details of the extended family of James Lumsden Masterton are given in the following link:

RETIRED BANK AGENT

DEATH OF MR J.L. MASTERTON -- By the death on Friday of Mr James Lumsden Masterton, at his home, Old Craigmore, Bute, a well-known and much respected local figure passes. Although 78 years of age, until quite recently his health had remained very good, and he was frequently to be seen cycling or walking in the country, while his mind remained alert and active. On the day prior to his death he wrote a letter to Mr. Thomas Johnstone, Secretary of State for Scotland, containing suggestions for saving petrol in postal deliveries.

A son of the manse, he was born at Inverkeilor, and after leaving school entered the service of the Bank of Scotland, remaining with that institution till he retired at the age of 65, after 50 years' service, being from 1901 to 1929 agent of the Bank at Rothesay.   He commenced his apprenticeship with the Arbroath branch, riding half a dozen miles each way daily on horseback from his home. Afterwards he was in Glasgow, Edinburgh, London and other offices of the Bank.  For some time after his retiral in 1929, when he was presented with tokens of esteem from the staff of his branch, from Bute Savings Bank, and from the session of what is now Trinity Church, he lived at Bridge of Weir, but afterwards made his home at Craigmore.

He was always noted for his keen devotion to religion.  For most of his active years in Rothesay he was an elder and session clerk of Trinity, being active in the Sunday School and the Boys' Brigade.  In latter years he worshipped in Ascog Church.  He was always diligent in publicly opposing what he conceived to be breaches of Sabbath observance, writing frequent protests to the press.  In his earlier years he was in the Volunteers, and was keen on swimming.

The funeral services yesterday were conducted by Revs. Robert Steen, John Dunlop Brown, and John Lindsay, and interment took place in Rothesay Cemetery, there being a large and representative company of mourners.

Mr Masterton is survived by his wife, also by one son, Mr Forbes D. Masterton, C.A., Motherwell, and by two daughters.

Rothesay Express
10 November 1942

The Number "Nine."


J. L. MASTERTON, BANK OF SCOTLAND, ROTHESAY

The intricate science of numbers, which Pascal, mathematician as well as theologian, characterises as infinite, and which others refer to as magical, does not perhaps present a very popular field of pastime for the banker, jaded as he may be by his dealings with figures in the ordinary way of business. Nevertheless there are some aspects of numbers which are interesting enough, and the following phase is presented as worthy of attention. It may not be entirely new, as the present system of enumeration has been in existence for long in civilised countries ; the writer, however, has not been able to find any reference to it in the various works on the subject which he has consulted.

Here is the formula :-

(1) Arrange in line any series of the nine digits in existence, the last being the lower than the first, taking care, of course, that the same figure does not occur twice, and excluding zero ; reverse them and subtract the smaller line from the larger, when the result will always be 9 or a multiple of 9, thus -

II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX.
43 564 7196 23451 397521 6312495 84261357 456789123
34 465 6917 15432 125793 5942136 75316248 321987654
9 9 | 99 9 | 279 9 | 8019 9 | 271728 9 | 370359 9 | 8945109 9 | 134801469
  11     31           891          30192            41151             993901           14977941

The reason why the last figure of the line requires to be less than the first is of course that a greater sum cannot be deducted from a smaller - e.g., 34 cannot bear the deduction of 43.

(2) As showing the affinity of odd numbers to each other - in the case of sums of 3, 5, 7, and 9 figures, the remainder after subtraction will be divisible by 11 as well as 9.  Thus the above No III. result is 11 ; No V., 891 divided by 11 = 81 exactly ; No VII., 41151 divided by 11 = 3741 ; No IX., 14977941 divided by 11 = 1361631.

(3) Whether there be an odd or even number of component figures in the original sum, if there are as many figures in the remainder after reversal and subtraction as in the original sum, as -

  IV.
(4251)  
(1524)  
  2727
reverse and add 7272
  9999

- the result is always a multiple of 11 as well as 9, and there will be no other figures in the final total but 1, 8, 9.

II. III. V. VI. VIII.
71 521 65843 817456 34567891
17 125 34856 654718 19876543
54 396 30987 162738 14691348
45 693 78903 837261 84319641
11 | 99 11 | 1089 11 | 109890 11 | 999999 11 | 99010989
9 | 9 9 | 99 9 | 9990 9 | 90909 9 | 9000999
1 11 1110 10101 1000111

This rule holds good in the case of a series of 3, 5, 7, and 9 figures, even though the remainder after subtraction contains fewer figures than the original line, thus -

61325
52316
9009
9009
11 | 18018                                         
9 | 1638                                         
182                                         

(4) The individual figures forming the above remainder, after subtraction, and totals after addition, will, if added together in line, come to multiples of 9, thus :-

(1)

III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX.
9 + 9 = 18. 2 + 7 + 9 = 18. 8 + 1 + 9 = 18. 271728 = 27. 370359 = 27. 8945109 = 36. 134801469 = 36.

(3)

II. III. V. VI. VIII.
99 = 18. 1089 = 18. 109890 = 27. 999999 = 54. 99010989 = 45.

This ubiquity of 9 is very remarkable, especially in view of the fact that 9 is the rarest figure of all in ordinary use. To test this, there is probably no book of standard literature, apart from technical books, which contains so much exact enumeration as the Bible does: now on referring to a concordance we find that 9 by itself (i.e., not forming part of a compound like 49), and not ninth, occurs only 11 times in the Old Testament, while its near neighbour 7 by itself, and not seventh, occurs 261 times, and all the other figures of the list - viz., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 - occur more frequently than 9. Nineteen by itself occurs only twice. It looks as if the numeral in question were so indignant at being kept out of sight under the table, that when the tables are turned upside down, and things are reversed, it revenges iself by covering the whole ground and having a finger in every pie, taking into junior partnership its almost equally neglected neighbour 11, for that figure (which is as far on its right hand as the favoured numeral 7 is on its left) only appears 13 times in the authority quoted. One is almost tempted to imagine that there may be some mathematical sub-stratum for the theory which several well-known people have that 9 is an unlucky number. However that may be, its presence in the above equations is certainly as reliable as the presence within a circle of six equilateral triangles, each side of which is the length of the radius. Whether the fact can be turned to any practical account is a different matter, but Mendel's law of heredity has been so adapted in the growing of plants by nurserymen, while Mr. W. J. Millar, C.E., Rothesay, has adapted the same law of Mendel to figures, as shown in a paper which he read before the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh last winter, and it is therefore not impossible that the above law of figure 9 may have some application to banking yet to be discovered. At all events, it emphasises the lesson of the fable where the old man gave to his sons as a legacy, the advice to "dig below the surface."

The Scottish Bankers Magazine
Journal of the Institute of Bankers in Scotland
Vol. II. No. 8 January 1911
p 250 - 252

LETTER TO J.L. MASTERTON Esq., Bank of Scotland, Rothsay, Bute

Dear Sir,

The Prince of Wales has directed me to tell you how grateful He is for the assistance which you have so generously given in the supervision of the Accounts of the Soldiers and Sailors Families Association and Local Committees which have distributed in relief over £2,000,000 provided out of the National Relief Fund. His Royal Highness is well aware that the work undertaken by you has been no ordinary audit. It has been of a particularly irksome and exacting nature and has involved the mastery of a mass of details of which few can have any conception: and while it has obtained no publicity it has been performed patiently and silently with no thought of reward and with a quiet zeal which no private anxiety or difficulty has been able to weaken or subdue.

It is therefore a very real pleasure to His Royal Highness to assure you of His profound appreciation of your work so cheerfully undertaken and so efficiently performed.

I am, Dear Sir,
Yours faithfully,
Walter Penrose (looks like)

Buckingham Palace
23rd December 1915