Insides Print Ready v2 Proof

His Father - Colin MacLaurin, 1698-1746 Professor of Mathematics.
His Mother - Anne Stewart - daughter of the Solicitor General of Scotland,
Walter Stewart.
Attended the High School, Edinburgh 1745-7, Undergraduate Studies:
Edinburgh University.
3rd August 1756 admitted to faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh. On 17th
January 1788 he was raised to the bench as Lord Dreghorn and appointed
Senator to the college of Justice 1788-96.
He was the author of 'The Philosopher's Opera' 1757, 'Hampden', 'The
Public', 'Observations on some points of Law with a System of the Juridical
Law of Moses; 'Essays in Verse' 1769, 'Arguments and Decisions in the
High Court' 1774. 'His works, in a collected form, were published at Edinburgh
in 2 vols, in 1798. At a very early period, he displayed a natural turn for poetical
composition, and among his school-fellows was distinguished by the name of ‘the
poet.’ His poems, however, do not rank very high. Most of them were thrown off
from a private printing press of his own for circulation among his friends.'
He was a founder member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh as was
William Craig and was established as Clan Chief Clan MacLaurin by the
Lyon Court in 1781, due to his descent from the MacLaurens of
Tiree/Donald Maclaurin of Argyll. He was elected director of the
Highland Society on 17/11/1783 and was RSE Councillor from 1789-96.
From 1774-78 he fouhjt court battle to outlaw slavery in Scotland, long
before it was outlawed in England. He was also involved in updating the
archaic copyright laws of the country, where everything belonged to the
publisher, and very little to the writer.

**************************************
HER IN-LAWS

Husband - James MacLehose
Born - 28th September 1754, Glasgow
Died - 16th March 1812, Kingston, Jamaica - Interred in Kingston Parish
Churchyard. Burial registered as that of 'James McLehose Attorney at
Law'. Entry dated 17th March 1812. signed Alex. Campbell, Rector of
Kingston' (Jamaica Archives: Register of Burials, Kingston, vol. 21 (1786-1816)
422). (Burns Chronicle 1975).
Career in Jamaica -
He was a remittance man and owned chambers on Duke Street, Kingston,
the city's legal centre.
He was Assistant Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Port Royal 1795
He was Deputy Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas for Kingston 1790-
1809.
He became Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas for Kingston 1810.

333541

His plantation in Jamaica may have been for coffee or guinea grass, or
livestock food.

The following are two letters relating to James MacLehose -
Letter 1

The following entry occurs in our Matriculation Album for 1767: -
'Jacobus M'Lehose filius natu secundus quondam Guliemi Mercatoris
Glasguensis.' Is this the husband of 'Clarinda'? If we knew for certain the
Christian name and designation of the father of Clarinda's husband, the
evidence would be tolerably complete.

W. INNES ADDISON,
The University, Glasgow.

Letter 2
I have had an opportunity of comparing the signature of James M'Lehose

in our Matriculation Album of 1767 with two signatures of Clarinda's
husband in the records of the Faculty of Procurators, and all three are
undoubtedly the hand writing of the same person. In other words, our
alumnus of 1767 was the husband of Clarinda.

W. INNES ADDISON,
The University, Glasgow.

(Burns Chronicle 1911)
His Grandparents
William MacLehose/McIlhose and Margaret/Marrion Leggat/Legate -
married 8th March 1716
Children - sons William and James plus others, daughter Anna Born 27th
December 1716.

His Parents
William MacLehose (b Sept 1718?) and Margaret Anderson - married 14th
July 1745

His Siblings
William - 16/1/1747; Agnes - 22/6/1949; Agnes - 15/4/1751; Elizabeth -
22/12/1752; James - 28/9/1754; John - 24/1/1756; David - 19/11/1757
(McIlhose)-1/4/1769; George - 23/11/ 1758 (McIlhose); Ann - 21/2/1760
(McIlhose); Janet - 6/6/1761-17/6/1770; Ninian - 15/3/ 1763 (McIlhose)-
20/5/1766; Thomas - 19/12/1764 (McIlhose); Robert - 10/10/1766
(McIlhose)
Ann Chalon Riviere/Rivvere - MacLehose's mixed race partner in Jamaica,
may have been the daughter of Barthelemy Riviere, a French emigre from
Haiti (letters to Governor of Jamaica 1795-1807). She would have been

335325

educated, of good class and considered suitable as a mistress to a high
ranking white person.
Ann Lavinia MacLehose - daughter, Born - 17th September 1794 in Jamaica.
It is not known if there were other children fathered by MacLehose, but it
is possible.
In 1817 it was found that on his death, James MacLehose had in his bank,
Forbes of Edinburgh,
£56-3-6 (£4,140). There had been a previous amount, £169-4-10 (£11,586),
which was held to pay his creditors. This had been set aside since 1802.
MacLehose insisted that any debts belonged to his brother Thomas,
Merchant in Jamaica. The courts did not believe this and paid the monies
out to a James Smyth in 1804. On 11th June 1817, Andrew Craig
MacLehose, on his mother's behalf, collected the £56-3-6 which was further
increased by interest to £84-7-0 (£7,503), covering the period 13/11/1802-
16/3/1812, the date on which his father died. MacLehose had funds in
England and Jamaica, nothing was ever recovered nor is it known how
much he had ever held in total, but it is thought to have been a very large
amount.
The MacLehoses were Glasgow Maltmen who can be traced back to the
1600's and thought to have come from Stirlingshire. Molindinar water had
been used for brewing for centuries due to its cleanliness, and many small
breweries were set up along its banks. One brewery was called the
Drygate Brewery, founded by Hugh and Robert Tennent in 1740 at
Drygate Bridge. Hugh's sons, John and Robert took over the running of the
Drygate c1769 and expanded the business in 1790 when the MacLehose's
brewery on the neighbouring site was bought over and renamed Wellpark.
The Tennents now owned an expanse of five acres. In the late 1700's a
William MacLehose (of the ancient MacLehose Brewhouse) ran the
Drygate/Wellpark Brewery.
It is said that Auchinraith House in Blantyre, built in 1809, was erected on
the site of demolished Whistleberry House, once owned by a William
MacLehose (possible grandfather).
Clementine Hozier, wife of Winston Churchill, was a descendent of the
MacLehose Family.

333563

SOME PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THE BOOK

Alexander Adam (1741-1809)
Born on 24th June 1741 near Forres, Moray.
Died on 18th December 1809 in Edinburgh.
Married twice, Agnes Munro in 1775, then Jean Cosser in 1780.
He was the Rector of George Watson's Hospital (1760-68) and the High
School in Edinburgh.
Burns described him as 'that puritanic, rotten-hearted, hell-commissioned
scoundrel, Adam.'
In 1805, fourteen of his former pupils commissioned Raeburn to paint his
portrait. He died while teaching his class. His last words are said to have
been 'It grows dark, boys, you may go.'

Robert Ainslie (1766-1838)
Born at Berrywell, Dunse 13th January 1766.
Died in Edinburgh 11th April 1838.
Married Jane Cunningham in 1798, had one son, several daughters.
He lived in a small flat on the north side of St James Square.
He met Burns in 1787, while still a law student, at Carrubbers Close.
He accompanied Burns on his first Border Tour in May 1787.
He was introduced to Agnes MacLehose on 26th January 1788.
He had an office in Hill Street and an Estate in Edingham.
He wrote two religious works and was an Elder in the Church of Scotland.

Jean Armour (1765-1834)
Born on 25th February 1765 in Mauchline, Ayrshire.
Died on 26th March 1834 in Dumfries.
Second oldest child and eldest daughter of 11 children of James Armour
and Mary Smith.
In 1827 she said that she met Robert Burns at a local dance c1784.
She and Burns were informally but legally married, her father is said to
have destroyed the paper. Burns then went to ground at the Allan’s, his
mother's relatives. Alexander Allan, his cousin, founded the successful
Allan Shipping Line in 1819.
Robert Wilson, weaver of Mauchline and Paisley, proposed to her.
She had two sets of twins to Robert Burns before they were officially
married.
Their marriage was registered on 5th August 1788 in Mauchline, the parish
records noted that they had been 'irregularly married some years ago.'
Jean and Robert had nine children, the last born on the day of his funeral.

335347

Dr. Thomas Blacklock (1721-1791)
Born near Annan on 21st November 1721.
Died at Chapel Street, Edinburgh, 7th July 1791, buried at St Cuthbert's
Chapel of Ease Kirkyard.
Lost his sight to smallpox as an infant but that didn't stop him from
becoming well read.
He was an accomplished musician and a well thought of poet (The Blind
Poet's pub in Edinburgh is next to the house he lived in).
He was a friend of Samuel Johnson and Benjamin Franklyn.
In 1762 he was ordained Minister for Kirkcudbright but was rejected
because of his blindness.
He retired to Edinburgh where his wife ran a boarding house for
university students.

Richard Brown (1753-1833)
Born in Irvine 2nd June 1753.
Died in Port Glasgow 1833.
Married Eleanora Blair on 30th May 1785 and settled in Port Glasgow. They
had six children.
He was a Master of a West Indiaman belonging to Thames.
A son of a mechanic, a patron took him under his wing, but died, Brown
then went to sea.
He fought on the side of the Americans against the British.
Pre - 1781 was set ashore by an American Privateer on the coast of
Connaught.
He met Burns cAutumn 1781 and ‘encouraged me to endeavour at the
character of a Poet.’
1788 he was Captain of his own ship Mary & Jean berthed at Greenock.
Received a signed copy of Kilmarnock Edition, found at the back of a
cupboard after he died.
He was a member of Greenock Burns Club in 1801.

Michael Bruce (1746-1767)
Born in Kinnesswood, Portmoak, Kinross-shire on 27th March 1746.
He attended 4 winter sessions at Edinburgh University, 1762-65.
He was a poet and a hymnist who succumbed to Consumption at the age
of 21 on 15th July 1767.
His finest poem, and his last, is said to be 'Elegy Written in Spring'.
It is said that after Bruce's death his friend John Logan gained control of
his poems and issued some of them under his own name.

Sir Samuel Egerton Brydges, Baronet, (1762-1837)

333585

English bibliographer, genealogist and Member of Parliament for
Maidstone 1812-1818.
He owned a set of letters signed 'Clarinda', very highly doctored/re-
written, but purporting to be 'originals', including the letter, dated 20th
December 1787 where Agnes suggests using pseudonyms (Agnes' original
letter of suggestion is lost). Agnes did send copies of letters to Maria
Riddell, John Syme etc. Who copied them, herself or others, or where those
copies finally ended up is anyone’s guess.
MRS. M'LEHOSE TO ROBERT BURNS.

I know you too well, at least I think so, to suspect you of really
transgressing the unvarying boundary of true decorum, much more the
limits of honour. I have, if I mistake not, thoroughly read your character in
your imperishable poems. I have perceived an impetuous generosity and
high-mindedness, which are apt to overlook the ordinary regulations
observed or feigned by sordid souls, and in their own native purity to be
heedless of the interpretations of the world. But those interpretations-those
constructions! Do they not require some more guarded consideration?
were I your judge, alas I do not think even your " handsome troop of
follies" would meet with much reproof, for, "undisciplined " as they be,
they are as much a part of what I am obliged to admire in your character
as is that indomitable independence which distinguishes you itself.

I am much joyed to hear that you are so greatly improving with respect of
your wound-but as to calling you a " stupid fellow," I do not think either
you or I would have much consciousness of attaching meaning to the
expression. I have proposed to myself a more pastoral name for you,
although it be not much in keeping with the shrillness of the Ettrick Pipe.
What say you to Sylvander? I feel somewhat less restraint when I subscribe
myself CLARINDA.

Another of his purported 'originals' follows: -
ORIGINAL VERSION: PRINTED IN 1843.

I shall go to-morrow forenoon to Miers alone: 'tis quite a usual thing I
hear. Mary is not in town; and I don't care to ask Miss Nimmo or anybody
else. What size do you want it about Sylvander, if you wish my peace, let
Friendship be the word between us: I tremble at more. " Talk not of Love."
REVISED VERSION.

Early in the day I will do as you wish and will give Miers a sitting.
Remember this shall be the bond of eternal friendship between us-yes,
friendship: - do not think, breathe, or utter, a more tender attachment. I do
not feel that I should be attended in sitting for the portrait. I should have
been glad of Mary's company, because she understands me thoroughly;
but she is in the country; and the only other person whom I could ask to
accompany me is Miss Nimmo, and in this matter, there is a je ne sais quoi

335369

which forbids me. (Burns Chronicle 1934).

Elizabeth/Eliza Burnett (1766-1790)
Was possibly born at Monboddo House in Kincardineshire on 28th October
1766. Her mother, Elizabeth Farquharson died possibly in childbirth. She
had a sister, Helen and a brother, Arthur.
Died from consumption 17th June 1790, aged 25. Buried in Greyfriars
Churchyard.
Lived in 13 St John Street and with her father, held 'learned suppers' for
intellectual discussion.
She was not a good dancer, but she was as much a genius as her father and
was considered 'in personal loveliness, one of the first women of the age.'.
She had a sharp mind and a gentle disposition and charmed Burns in 1786
at her father's house.
She was as unconventional as her father. She turned down offers of
marriage to look after him.
Her father, James, Lord Monboddo, originated the 'origin of the species' a
century before Darwin
He was eccentric, hated anything modern, rode rather than take modern
coaches or sedan chairs. Loved ancient Greece. He advocated nudism and
took 'air baths' daily at home.
James Burnett and Elizabeth Farquharson were married on 1st May 1758.
(Burns Chronicle 1936)

Robert Burns (1759-1796)
The Kilmarnock Edition made his name, the Edinburgh Edition made his
fame. In 1898 a copy of the Kilmarnock Edition was sold at auction for 545
guineas (£68,319). (Burns Chronicle 1899).
Burns planned to go to Jamaica, leaving from Leith landing at Savannah-
la-Mar, then on to a plantation called Ayr Mount, near Port Antonio, north
east corner of Jamaica, to be employed as a book-keeper. The plantation
was owned by Charles Douglas, his brother Patrick Douglas of Garallen
recommended him. Burns had agreed to an annual wage of £30 (£4298) for
a period of three years, board and lodgings free. The duty of a book-
keeper was also to supervise the work of the plantation slaves, including
administering punishment. As slaves were workable income, they were
taxed, in 1809 in Port Antonio, the 7688 slaves were taxed at 2 shillings and
9 pence each (c£12). (Burns Chronicle 1903).
From Sinton's book - Burns Excise Officer and Poet - Appendix A etc.
'Order for Instructions regarding Burns entry into the Excise

Edinburgh 31st March 1788
To Mr James Findlay,

334507

'The Commissioners order that you instruct Mr. Robert Burns in the art of
gauging.....when he is well instructed and qualified for an officer (then and
not before, at your perils), you and your supervisor are to certify the same
to the board...that the above Mr. Robert Burns hath cleared his quarters
both for lodging and diet, that he has actually paid each of you for his
instructions and examination, and that he has sufficient at the time to
purchase a horse for his business.'

Signed
A. Pearson
Burns starting salary as an excise officer was £50 (£7,211) per annum, and
his excise station was composed of 14 rides. He had to ride at least 30 miles
per day on his rounds. He entered active service in autumn 1789.
28th July 1790 he was promoted to the Dumfries 3rd Division at an annual
salary of £70 (£9,826).
27th January 1791 his name was entered on the Register of persons
recommended for examiner/supervisor.
26th April 1792 he was promoted to Dumfries 1st Division with an annual
salary of £90 (£12,375).
There was a Political enquiry into him on January 1793, the 'Ca Ira'
incident.
From December 1794-March 1795 he acted as temporary supervisor when
Alexander Findlater was ill.
In March 1795 he was on the supervisors list, then after this he could
expect to be put on the collectors list at an annual salary of between £300-
£800 per annum (£36,923-£98,461).
Had he lived he would have been appointed Examiner at the Chief Office
on 12th January 1797. On the 10th August 1797 he would have been
appointed supervisor at Dunblane. Both these posts were filled by James
Lindsay who stepped into Burns' post when the poet died. He may have
been appointed as a Collector in 1798.
Like Agnes, he was a snuff addict.
Some Burns' Pseudonyms - Duncan McLeerie - Johnny Faa - Rab the
Rhymer - Robert Ruisseaux - Rob Mossgiel - Spunkie.
As an interesting note - From the archives of the late Lawrence R. Burness
noted Burns genealogist. (Burns Chronicle 2006, winter).
In his research, Mr. Burness discovered that Agnes MacLehose and Robert
Burns were very distantly related through a cousin of Robert's from
Montrose, James Burnes. James was married to an Elizabeth Glegg, who in
turn was related to a Rev. John Gillies who married Agnes' aunt, Elizabeth
MacLaurin, her mother's eldest sister. The Rev. Gillies signed as a witness
on Agnes' birth certificate. Today it is referred to as six degrees of
separation.

335481

Peggy Chalmers (1763-1843)
Born in 1763 in Fingland, Kirkcudbrightshire.
Died on 3rd March 1843, in Pau, Berne where she lived after the death of
her husband on 28th February 1800. Her death was first reported in the
Inverness Courier.
Married Lewis Hay on 6th December 1788.
According to the poet Thomas Campbell, Peggy told him Burns proposed
to her in October 1787, she turned him down, she was engaged to Lewis
Hay, an Edinburgh banker, but Burns knew that already. This suggested
proposal is possibly questionable.
Burns did love her all his life and kept her in his heart's core. The last song
Burns ever wrote was for her, 'Fairest Maid on Devon Banks', composed
12th July 1796.

Jean/Jenny Clow (1768-1792)
Born on 25th May 1768 to Alexander Clow and Margaret Inglis in
Newburgh, Fife.
She had 2 sisters, Margaret, born 22nd September 1751 and Jean, born 27th
February 1760. The first Jean may have died. Her parents married on 16th
November 1750, they had 9 children.
She was Agnes' maid who had a very brief coupling with Burns on 25th
January 1788. This was to lead to the birth of a son, Robert Burns Clow in
early November. There is no trace of this child's birth on Scotland's People.
He could have been born in England.
She is said to have had a port wine birthmark on her face.
She died of consumption 19th February 1792. Burns never mentioned their
son again.

Robert Burns Clow (November 1788-D.O.D. unknown)
Started off his life in poverty but went on to become a successful and
prosperous merchant.
He married well, Parish Register of Holborn St Andrew, London.
He named his eldest son, Robert Burns III (1820-1851), and he was
educated at Gerrit Van de Linde's boarding school, Islington. Letter from
Van de Linde in March 1835, '...among the boarders is (mirabile dictu) the
grandson of your friend Burns, whom I hope to teach so much Dutch, he can
decipher your translations'.
The son went to the East Indies to work c1840s and wrote an account of his
travels there - Glasgow Courier, 25th May 1850. (Burns Chronicle 1908).
Returned to Britain in 1849 to attest the atrocities of Sir James Brooke in
Sarawak.
He lived at Darvel Bay, north east Borneo, where he married the daughter

334529

of a Kayan chief.
He died on 12th September 1851 when his schooner, the Dolphin, was
captured by pirates. He and six others on board were murdered. (Burns
Chronicle 1985 & James MacKay)

Alison Cockburn or Rutherford (1712-1794)
Born on 8th October 1712 at Fairnlee House in Selkirkshire, daughter of
Robert Rutherford.
Died on 22nd November 1794 and buried in the kirkyard of The Chapel of
Ease of Buccleuch Parish Church in Edinburgh.
Ran away with and married Patrick Cockburn in 1731. He died 29th April
1753.
She was the author of a version of 'The Floo'rs o' the Forest'.
Known for 'her insatiable love of mischief, mockery and match-making,
everywhere welcome, both in town and country, a good companion, a wise friend,
ready to jest over her own ailments.'
Described Burns as having 'a most enthusiastic heart of love.'
Lived in Crichton Street. She was one of the elderly Queens of Edinburgh
Society.

William Creech (1745-1815)
Born on 21st April 1745 at Newbattle
Died on 14th January 1815. He was unmarried.
Attended Dalkeith Grammar School then Edinburgh University.
He was the son of the Rev William Creech, Minister of Newbattle and
Mary Buley, an English woman from a high-ranking Devonshire family.
He was meant for a medical career but became an apprentice for Kincaid &
Bell, Luckenbooths (at the Cross), booksellers in Edinburgh.
In 1766 he went first to London and then to the Continent with Lord
Kilmaurs, Earl of Glencairn's son. Returned in 1768.
Went to the Continent with Glencairn again in 1770 returning in 1771 and
became a partner with Kincaid in May 1771. He became sole owner in
1773.
Was a very successful bookseller. Considered the best in Scotland. Held
Creech's Levee's.
Member of the Town Council. Lord Provost from 1811-13.
Sat on the jury for the Deacon Brodie trial, wrote about it in the local
papers.
Published 'Edinburgh Fugitive Pieces' in 1791.

Alexander Cunningham (1763-1812)
Eldest son of James Cunningham of Hyndhope.

336403

Married Agnes Moir on 10th April 1792. They had 2 sons.
He was a lawyer with chambers in St James Square.
He was told by Burns that 'Love was the Alpha and Omega of human
enjoyment.'
Burns wrote to him a fortnight before he died hoping that he could
influence the Excise in not cutting his wages while he was off ill.
He became a W.S. In 1798, and through his wife, inherited a part of an
estate in South Carolina.
In 1797 he purchased a jewellery business and by 1806 was a partner in a
jewellery firm in Edinburgh with his uncle.
With John Syme raised substantial sums for Jean Armour after Burns'
death.

James Currie (1756-1805)
Son of Rev. James Currie and Jane Boyd. Born in Kirkpatrick-Fleming,
Annandale on 31st May 1756.
Died of heart failure in Sidmouth on 31st August 1805.
Married Lucy Wallace in 1783, they had 5 children.
He went to Virginia, America in 1771 to try to set up a business, it failed.
He returned in 1776.
His ship was captured by the Revolutionary Army in which he was forced
to serve. He bought his freedom and arrived back in England in 1777.
On his return he studied medicine in Edinburgh, graduating in 1780.
He was a supporter of the Abolition of Slavery.
He met Burns once in 1792 when he was in Dumfries buying an estate.
He was the first official biographer of Robert Burns.
He issued a four-volume set of his works and letters in 1800 to raise funds
for Jean Armour.
It cost £1.11.6 (c£121) and 2000 copies were printed for the first edition.
He had been a heavy drinker as a young man, but by his middle age was
more temperate. Hypocritically, he lambasted Burns for being a drinker,
and was paramount in destroying Burns' reputation for well over a
century.

Etienne De Silhouette (1709-1767)
Born 5th July 1709 at Limoges. Died 20th January 1767 at Brie-Sur-Marne
He became French Ancien Regime Controller General of Finances on 4th
March 1759 and imposed cutbacks and taxes that the nobility didn't
approve of, nobles did not pay tax.
He left the position on 20th November 1759, it being an impossible task.
The nobility attacked him and slandered him as a parsimonious skinflint.
He cut 'shadow' pictures of friends and colleagues from black paper,

334641

cheaper than having a portrait painted, thus affordable to the masses.
He did not invent the silhouette, but 'A la Silhouette' became a phrase to
denote things cheap and/or austere.
Outline drawing of a shadow profile cast by candle or sunlight has been
practised for centuries, maybe even as far back as the Stone Age. Asian
countries had been using shadow puppets, 'ombres chinoises', for over a
thousand year, as entertainment.

Robert Fergusson (1750-1774)
Born in Edinburgh on 5th September to William Fergusson and Elizabeth
Forbes.
Died suddenly on 16th October 1774 in Edinburgh in Darien House
Hospital where he was held against his will, possibly due to mental illness.
He suffered a head injury reportedly from falling down a flight of stairs.
He went to St Andrews University in 1765, with the help from a grant
from Clan Fergusson.
He was a satirist and poet who strongly influenced the works of Robert
Burns.
He was a member of the Cape Club, and given the title, Sir Precentor,
alluding to his good voice.

Dr. Alexander Geddes (1737-1802)
Born in Arradoul, Ruthven, Banffshire on 14th September 1737.
Died in London February 1802.
He was a cousin of Bishop John Geddes.
Both taught by a Mr. Shearer of Aberdeen employed by the Laird of
Arradoul.
He entered the free seminary at Scalan, in the Braes of Glenlivet.
Aged 21, in 1758, went to the Scots College in Paris.
In 1764 returned to Scotland, and was sent to Dundee by his Bishop in
Aberdeen, Bishop Hay
where he settled in with the Traquair family in 1765.
He left there because one of the women took a fancy to him, he was
attractive and young.
He wrote a poem called 'The Confessional'.
He returned to Paris - then came back to Scotland in 1769.
In 1780 he was awarded the Degree of LL. D by Aberdeen University.
He was a liberal priest who would often worship at other churches, Bishop
Hay did not like this
He had a falling out with the Catholic Church.
He took a farm on - became a poet.
Some of his works have been erroneously attributed to Robert Burns.

336425

Bishop John Geddes (1735-1799)
Born on 9th September 1735 at Mains of Corridon.
Died on 11th February 1799 in the priest house of St Peter's, Aberdeen.
He was ordained a priest 18 March 1759 - and ordained a Bishop 30
November 1780.
He was a priest for 39.9 years, Bishop for 18.2 years.
He was the R.C. Bishop of Dunkeld - and Titular Bishop of Morocco.
He was Rector of the Scots College of Valladolid from 1771-1780, which he
re-established.
In 1790 he walked from Glasgow to Orkney, he overstrained himself and
for the rest of his life was a semi-invalid.
Bishop George Hay in Aberdeen was conservative, Geddes was liberal.
He was just the man with the charm to mix with Presbyterian Edinburgh.
He met Burns at Lord Monboddo's House in 1786.
He met Agnes MacLehose at Rev. Kemp's house 1787.
Burns gave him a copy of his poems, 'The Geddes Burns', then borrowed it
back to take on his tours.
'His learning was great, his piety, affability, humility - were all qualities so
engaging that it appears impossible for anyone who had an opportunity of being in
his company not to respect and love him.' (Abbe Macpherson).

James Graham (1765-1811)
He was born in Glasgow on 22nd April 1765. He was the second son of
Thomas Graham, a Glasgow lawyer, and Jean Robertson daughter of a
Glasgow merchant.
Died at Whitehill House, Glasgow on 14th September 1811.
Studied Literature at Glasgow University and on finishing his course went
to Edinburgh in 1784.
He began a career as a WS in 1791 and became an advocate in 1795. Never
happy with the law, in 1809 he was ordained by the Bishop of Norwich as
a deacon in the Church of England.
He was a Curate at Shipton, Gloucestershire and then Sedgefield, Durham,
but after suffering ill health all his life, died while on a visit home with his
wife. He left two sons and a daughter.
He was a writer and a poet. His 'The Sabbath', a sacred descriptive poem
in blank verse, was published in 1804, when it was reprinted on several
occasions. Other works of his are 'Mary Queen of Scots' (1801), 'British
Georgics' (1804), 'The Birds of Scotland' (1806), 'Poems on the Abolition of
the Slave Trade' (1810). He held strong enlightened views on education
and criminal law and was considered a philanthropist and a humanitarian.

James Gray (1770-1830)

334663

Died on 25th March 1830, in Bhuj from 'water in the chest', and is buried
beside his second wife, Mary Peacock, who died the previous year.
He married Mary Phillips (1773-1806) on 30th November 1795 daughter of
Peter Phillips, tenant farmer of Longbridgemoor, Annandale. They had
five sons and three daughters. Mary Phillips was a sister in law of James
Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd.
In 1808 he married Mary Peacock, friend of Agnes MacLehose. They had
no children.
James Gray began his working life as an apprentice to a shoemaker but
began to educate himself. By the time Robert Burns had arrived in
Dumfries in the 1790's, Gray was the Latin Master and virtually the Head
Master of Dumfries Academy where he taught Burns' children.
In 1801 he moved to Edinburgh and began teaching at the High School.
In 1822 he became Principal at Belfast Academy, but religion was calling
him more and in 1823 he became deacon in the Church of Ireland.
In 1826 he travelled to India where he became Chaplain at Booje/Bhuj in
Cutch, where he translated parts of the Bible into local language.
In 1815 Gray was the first person to challenge Currie's accusation of Robert
Burns being a drunkard, also alluded to in a biography written by
Alexander Peterkin.

Professor James Gregory (1753-1821)
Born in Aberdeen January 1753 to John Gregory and Elizabeth Forbes.
Died on 2nd April 1821, buried in the Canongate cemetery.
Married twice, eleven children to his second wife.
He was a M.D. In 1774. 1776 he was Professor of Physik in Edinburgh
University aged 23.
In 1783 he was one of the founders of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
1790 he was Professor of Medicine.
He was the inventor of Gregory's Powder (pulverised rhubarb, ginger,
magnesia).
He was given freedom of Edinburgh in 1815.
A defamation row with a fellow physician, Dr. Hamilton, ended with
Gregory giving Hamilton a beating with a stick, he was fined £100 (c£6-
£8,000). He was not contrite and said he would be happy to pay double for
the chance to do it again.

Gavin Hamilton (1751-1805)
Son of John Hamilton of Kype and Jacobina Young.
Married to Helen Kennedy and they had 8 children. He died on 8th
February 1805.
Gavin Hamilton was a Mauchline lawyer and a landlord to Burns' family

336447

at Mossgiel.
He was a friend and patron to Robert Burns.
Both were freemasons and held similar thoughts as to church and religion,
especially the strict and hypocritical views values of the Calvinistic 'Auld
Lichts' of the church. They had a more tolerant and modern and rational
viewpoint.
Hamilton often got on the wrong side of 'Auld Licht' minister of
Mauchline Parish Church 'Daddy Auld' and was castigated in August 1787
for allowing someone to dig potatoes in his garden on a Sunday!
He was one of the many who encouraged Burns to go into print with his
poems.
'The Kilmarnock Edition', 1786, was dedicated to Hamilton, calling him,
'the poor man's friend in need, the gentleman in word and deed.'

James Johnson (1742-1811)
Born on 24th April 1742 to Robert Johnston and Elizabath Dickson, married
28th September 1738, Roxburgh, had three brothers, George, William and
Robert. It is also reported that his parents were James Johnstan and Bessie
Bleck, married 7th June 1748 in Ettrick and he was born on 6th May 1753, it
is considered that the first pair are the correct parents (Mackay).
Johnston died in poverty 26th February 1811.
Married Charlotte/Charlote Grant on 2nd July 1791 (Johnson/Johnston)
(possibly).
On 2nd September 1792 a son, James (possibly), was born, but he died on
27th November 1793.
He became an engraver and music seller in Edinburgh, under the possible
tutorage of master engraver, James Reid. His engraving shop was in Bell's
Wynd and it is said he made the plates for more than 50% of music printed
in Scotland between the years of 1772-1790.
He became an Edinburgh Burgess in 1786.
In 1790 he opened a music shop, Johnson & Co., in the Lawnmarket in
Edinburgh. It ran until 1815 under his apprentice, John Anderson. It was
then named Johnson & Anderson.
His wife died in 1819 in a poorhouse, an appeal was set up for her support
in March 1819.
Burns involvement with Johnson allowed him to give his songs to the
world.
Burns was virtual editor of the Musical Museum, Clark the musical editor.
Originally the Museum was to be a collection of Scottish, Irish and English
songs in 2 volumes, after meeting Burns, it changed completely.
According to his obituary in the ‘Scots Magazine,’ he was ‘the first who
attempted to strike music upon pewter, whereby a great saving is made in the

334685

charge of that article.’ He left a widow in indigent circumstances, for whom
a public appeal was made in March 1819.
(It is suggested that just before his death he had taken into partnership
John Anderson, an apprentice, who seems to have been of some assistance
in the compilation of the "Museum." In the directory for 1811 Johnson &
Anderson are named as copper-plate and music engravers and printers,
475, High Street. In 1813 the address is North Gray's Close: in 1816,
Anderson, after having been in trade alone, has entered into partnership
with Walker (C. Partington, Kidson Music Publishers)).

John Kemp (1745-1805)
Born on 13th January 1745 at Gask Perthshire. Son on Rev. David Kemp of
Trinity Gask.
John Kemp became the Minister at the Tollbooth Kirk in 1779 when he was
transferred from Trinity Gask. He remained there for the rest of his life.
His Doctor of Divinity Degree came from Harvard University in America
in 1793.
He married three times, Beatrix in 1780, Lady Mary Ann Carnegie in 1797
and Lady Elizabeth Hope in 1799. Elizabeth died in 1801.
In 1805 he was named in a divorce case brought by Sir James Colquhoun
of Luss against his wife of nearly thirty years and Kemp. Kemp had
become a father-confessor to the lady, and his son, David Kemp a weaver
to trade, had even married Mrs. Colquhoun's daughter. Whether there was
ever any physical relationship will never be known as both Kemp and Sir
James died in 1805 so the case never reached court. But mud does stick.
Kemp was a hypocrite and used his position for power. He was a gossiper
and spread many stories about things that he had been told in confidence
by his parishioners. A rumour monger he was not a nice man.

Laudanum
Laudanum is tincture of opium added to alcohol.
The recipe was invented by Paracelsus, a 16th century alchemist, to
alleviate pain and discomfort.
It became very popular with persons of high and low rank and used as
relief from coughs to consumption. It being very cheap to buy, cheaper
than a bottle of gin or wine, many people became addicted.

Jane Maxwell, Duchess of Gordon (1746/48-1812)
Second daughter to Sir William Maxwell, 3rd Baronet of Monreith and
Magdalen Blair, married 6th January 1745, and said to have been born in
Edinburgh. (The Gordon Book).
O.P.R. for St Cuthbert's show she was baptised on 28th February 1746.

336469

(James MacKay)
Died in London 11h April 1812, aged 64, which would have made her birth
year 1748. (The Gordon Book).
Married the Duke of Gordon in October 1767 at 2 Argyle Square, the house
of her sister Mrs. Catherine Fordyce after which they lived in Gordon
Castle for next 20 years.
Her father was said to be a drunk, and both wife and daughters were said
to have lived in poverty in Edinburgh in Hyndford's Close. This may not
be totally correct.
His wife and 3 daughters, Catherine, Jane, Eglantyne, moved to Edinburgh
in 1760.
Jane lost a finger when aged fourteen, jumping from cart to cart in the
High Street, her hand got caught in the wheel spokes, she used to wear
gloves with a wooden finger in the place where her natural finger should
have been. She was also seen riding on the back of a pig down the High
Street. She was a wild child.
She was very intelligent, seeing this, Lord Kames looked after her
education.
Jane was considered a beauty by age 16 and a song, 'Bonnie Jenny of
Monreith, the flower of Galloway', was dedicated to her.
She fell in love at 16 with an army officer, thought to be Thomas Fraser, he
was posted to America where she was told he had died). She married
Alexander, 4th Duke of Gordon, aged 24, 'The Cock O' The North', who
lived in the Gordon Townhouse opposite Jane in Edinburgh.
It is said that on her honeymoon she received a letter from her 'dead' first
love, alive and kicking and asking her to marry him. Alexander is said to
have found her, inconsolable, with the letter, this may have affected the
rest of the honeymoon and marriage.
Part of Fochabers was demolished because of Alexander's extensions to the
castle.
She had seven children - two sons, 5 daughters. Her eldest son was called
George. Alexander, her husband, also had an illegitimate son, named
George at the same time to a Mrs. Christie, whom he was to marry on 30th
July 1820 after she bore him 9 children. Jane used to refer to them as 'My
George and the Duke's George'. (Jean Christie, The Fifth Duchess of Gordon
was not of noble lineage but was of humble origins and died on 2nd
August 1824 aged 54).
Jane and the Duke lived in Edinburgh in 1780's and held lavish dinner
parties. Jane lived for a time in George Square, Edinburgh, where in her
house it is said that Robert Burns first read his poetry to Edinburgh
Society.
The couple moved to London in 1787 and again held lavish dinners.

335607

George III loved her, and she had great influence with him, even though
she could have a course mouth. She promoted all things Scottish and made
Scottish dance and garb very popular. She spoke to everyone, high or low
born with ease, as she often said, 'I have been acquainted with David Hume
and William Pitt, and therefore I am not afraid to converse with anybody.'
Jane Maxwell raised the Gordon Highlanders in 1793 and bet the Prince
Regent she could enlist more than he. She toured Scotland organising
reels, and entrants to the reel were accepted to have entered the army.
Each recruit received the King's Shilling from her lips as a recruiting fee
and bonus. She enlisted 940 men. She is said to have designed the Gordon
tartan.
Though not as prolific a philanderer as her husband, she did have lovers,
and it is thought that her daughter, Louisa, was not Alexander's, though
unproven, Jane hinted at this.
Of her five daughters three married Dukes, one a Marquis and one a
Baronet.
In 1799 Alexander moved Mrs. Christie into the castle. Jane became ill and
depressed.
Alexander agreed to build Kinrara in Speyside for his estranged wife
c1805. She lived there off and on until she died.
Meanwhile her dwelling quarters were hotels throughout the country. She
died in 1812 in Poultney's/Pulteney's Hotel, Piccadilly, London
surrounded by her children. She was brought back home and buried at
Kinrara.
Lady Keith, on hearing of her death 'So the great leader of fashion has gone at
last - the Duchess of Gordon. Her last party, poor woman, came to the Pulteney
Hotel to see her coffin. She lay in state three days in crimson velvet, and she died
more satisfactorily than one could have expected. She had an old Scotch
Presbyterian clergyman to attend her, who spoke very freely to her, I heard, and
she took it very well. She received the Sacrament a few hours before her death.'
The minister was from the Scots Church in Swallow Street, Jane had
bequeathed a communion plate to them.
Mr. Duncan Macpherson, Kingussie, the venerable ' Old Banker,' who died
in Feb. 1890, at the ripe old age of 91, vividly described the intense interest
excited in Badenoch by the arrival of the remains of the Duchess in a
hearse drawn all the way from London by six jet-black Belgian horses. 'At
Dalwhinnie, the first stage within the wide Highland territory then belonging to
the family at which the general cortege arrived, the body of the Duchess lay in
state for two days. For a similar period, it lay at the Inn, then at Pitmain, within
half-a-mile of Kingussie, and was subsequently followed by an immense concourse
of Highland people to the resting-place at her beloved Kinrara. The coffin was
covered with crimson velvet.

336581

The Duchess was laid to rest on the banks of the Spey, she had chosen a
sequestered spot not far from Kinrara House, and she had planted it out. Her son,
Lord Huntly, planted a few larch trees round the enclosure, while his wife, who
was so very different from the gay Duchess, laid out a beautiful shrubbery, and
extended the plantation, making the paths through it. The spot is marked by a
granite obelisk graven with inscriptions which form a complete genealogical
history of her family, erected by her son George, who would be the 5th and last
Duke of Gordon.'

Dr. William Maxwell (1760-1834)
His father was James Maxwell of Kirkconnell, a Jacobite and Mary Riddell
his English wife. His father died when he was aged two and he had two
brothers, James and Thomas. A Catholic, he was sent in 1771 with his
brothers to the Jesuit College at Dinant in Flanders to study.
In 1784 he studied to become a doctor at Edinburgh University, in 1787 he
qualified.
Went on the 'Grand Tour' of Europe, got no further than Paris where he
met up with revolution.
Returned to Scotland in 1789 but then returned to the revolutionaries in
France.
It is said that he bought arms for the revolutionaries and was condemned
in the House of Commons by Edmund Burke.
Fled to France and enlisted in the National Guard, alleged to have
commanded soldiers who took Louis XVI to the guillotine.
France declared war on Britain on 1st February 1793, Maxwell fled home,
arriving at Dover on 27th February, not wanting to be seen a traitor.
Returned to Dumfries then later to Edinburgh.
Fathered an illegitimate daughter, Elisabeth in 1807, her mother is
unknown. She died in Edinburgh in September 1858.
A respected physician, he misdiagnosed Burns with 'flying gout' and
advised him to go horse riding and to bathe in freezing sea water, which
hastened his end.
Burns gave Maxwell a pair of pistols before he died.
The son born on the day of Burns funeral was named Maxwell and died
before he was three.
Along with Syme and Cunningham he collected funds for Jean Armour.
A lifelong Republican he died in Edinburgh on 13th October 1834.

John Miers (1756-1821)
Born in Leeds, his first business was set up in Edinburgh from approx.
1786-88.
He advertised that he could complete a sitting in around three minutes.

335629

His miniatures were then produced on plaster or ivory.
Price ranged from seven and sixpence (£56) to a guinea (£150) for a sitting.
Clarinda's silhouette cost about ten shillings (£72).
He became the most famous silhouettist in Britain of the time.
Her settled in London in 1788 and opened a studio in the Strand, where he
also sold jewellery.
He had about 100,000 silhouettes in his studio at the time of his death.

Patrick Miller (1731-1851)
Born in Glasgow, he was the third son of William Miller of Glenlee and
Janet Hamilton.
Died on 9th December 1815, buried in Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh.
He had a long relationship with a Miss Jean Lindsay, they had 2 daughters
and 3 sons. They may never have married.
Went into banking after leaving Glasgow University. Elected to the court
of the Bank of Scotland in 1767, he became deputy governor in 1790.
An inventor, he had a lifelong interest in naval architecture and design. He
designed a super warship, 'The English Sea-Spook', only Sweden was
interested.
He bought Dalswinton Estate in 1785, not a good buy.
He became interested in steam engines and attached one to a boat, it
successfully propelled a boat on Dalswinton Loch on 14th October 1788, the
first ever steam powered vessel - ever. The boat can still be seen at the
Loch, minus the engine. He stated that Robert Burns the poet, then a
tenant of Miller's, formed one of the party on board, his statement is
questionable, but Burns was possibly one of the watchers from the side-
lines, which he would not have liked.
He met Burns for the first time in December 1786. On 14th January 1787
Burns wrote, 'An unknown hand left ten guineas (£1504) for the Ayrshire Bard
in Mr. Sibbald's hand, which I got. I have since discovered my generous unknown
friend to be Patrick Miller, Esq. brother to the Justice Clerk; and drank a glass of
claret with him by invitation at his own house yesternight.'
He leased Ellisland to Burns from May 1788, bad choice by Burns.

Dr. John Moore (1729-1802)
Son of the Rev. Charles Moore and Marian Anderson (Charles was a
Moderate, Marian was an Evangelical).
Born in Stirling, he was educated at Glasgow Grammar School and
received the degree of M.D. from Glasgow University, where he practiced
from 1750-1777.
Married Jean Simson in 1757, her father, John, was a Scottish theologian,
and they had 8 sons and 3 daughters.

337503

He settled in London in 1777 to practice medicine.
Mrs Dunlop sent him a copy of Burns 'Kilmarnock Edition' and 5 copies of
the Edinburgh Edition in April 1788.
He was a member of the Hodge-Podge Club in Glasgow in the
1750s/1760s. He wrote the Hodge-Podge poem.
He advised Burns not to write in Scots, but in English.
Burns sent him his autobiographical letter on 2nd August 1787.
Moore occasionally expressed approval of revolution as a remedy for
political tyranny, especially regarding the situation in France during the
earliest years of the revolution.
He was a friend of Thomas Paine author of 'The Rights of Man'.
He moved to Richmond in 1799. Died 21st January 1802 in his home at
Clifford Street, London.
Is said to have given Byron his idea for the character of Childe Harold.

William Nicol (1744-1797)
Born in Dumbretton, Annan.
While young he opened a school in his mother's house, his father was
dead, they needed money.
He studied first for the ministry then for medicine.
He was 1774 classics master in the High School and lived at Park Place.
Nicol loaned Burns an old bay mare, Peg Nicholson - named after a
woman, Margaret Nicholson, who tried to assassinate George III in 1776 -
when he began farming at Ellisland. Burns wrote to Nicol on 9th February
1790, describing the mare's death.
He argued with the rector, Alexander Adam in 1795 and left to open his
own school.
He was highly intelligent but not a good teacher and often hit the boys.
Burns called one of his sons after him.
He is buried in the Old Calton Burial ground.

Erskine Ebenezer Nimmo (1731-???)
Born on 31st October 1731, Edinburgh, youngest and eighth child of James
Nimmo and Mary Erskine, they married 24th February 1720.
Miss Nimmo lived on the first floor of a building on the north side of
Alison Square. She kept house for her nephew William (Born, 11th April
1753), a Supervisor in the Excise, based in Lanark. He was the son of her
brother, James. He may have died late 1793/early 1794.
Burns knew her from his first Edinburgh visit, winter 1786, possibly via
Peggy Chalmers.
Agnes had been in Edinburgh from June/July 1782, and she said that the
first time she was in her house they spoke about Burns. The earliest that

335741

could have been was August 1786.

Mary Peacock (1767-1829)
Daughter of Alexander Peacock, an Edinburgh architect.
She married James Gray sometime in 1809, two years after the death of his
first wife, Mary Phillips. There were no children to this marriage.
She travelled with her husband to East Pakistan in 1827 when he was
appointed chaplain at Bhuj Cutch, even though she was terminally ill,
where she later died.
A friend in India said that she had 'an amicable disposition and well-informed
mind, well calculated to be an ornament in any society she moved in, but in India,
where talents and pleasing manners are not always to be found, she was
invaluable.' (Burns Chronicle 1990).

Maria Riddell (1772-1808)
Born in London on 4th November 1772. She was the youngest daughter of
William Woodley, Governor of the Leeward Islands and Frances Payne of
St Kitts.
Died 15th December 1808 at Chester.
Married Walter Riddell on 16th September 1790 in St Kitts. She was his
second wife, he died in Antigua in 1802. They had 2 daughters.
Maria's father agreed to pay Riddell £6,000 (£842,307) dowry if Riddell
would match the amount by settling an Antiguan estate called Barters on
Maria and any children. The profits from Barters aided Maria and her
children after the death of Walter Riddell.
In December 1793/January 1794, Burns misbehaved himself while at
Friar's Carse, through a surfeit of alcohol, and this caused a breach in the
friendship with him and all the Riddell clan.
She saw Burns at Brow, where she was recuperating from an illness, on 6th
July 1796, he was dead within a fortnight.
She forgave Burns for his cutting writings of her.
She wrote a memoir on Burns for the Dumfries Weekly Journal of August
1796 'so admirable in tone, and withal so discerning and impartial in
understanding, that it remains the best thing written of him by a contemporary
critic.'
From 1803 she lived as a state pensioner at Hampton Court after Walter's
death.
She married a Welsh landowner and Officer of Dragoons, ten years her
junior, Phillips Lloyd Fletcher, c30th March 1808 and is buried in the
Fletcher family vault at Chester.
She may have suffered from 'Graves Disease'.
Wrote her memoirs - Voyage to the Madeira and Leeward and Caribbean

337525

Isles, with Sketches of the Natural History of these Islands, Edinburgh,
1792.
A visitor to many sugar plantations, including her own, she makes little
reference to slavery. But in a letter to William Smellie, her publisher, in
November 1793, she writes, 'our ancestors, when they instituted the accursed
traffic of the slave trade, brought over a nation who, though long patient and
submissive to servitude, seem now to have nearly touched, by the degree of
Providence, the term of their bondage, and have already begun to retaliate the
injuries imposed upon them by their persecuting masters...the Negroes of St
Domingo, as you have probably seen by the papers, have massacred, in a general
insurrection, 12,000 of the French whites.'
Anna Maria Riddell, Maria's daughter, married Captain Charles Montagu
Hudleston Walker on 5th October 1811. She died 22nd February 1859.
Sophia, her other daughter, died of Whooping Cough aged four and a half
on 1st March 1797 in London.

Thomas Stewart
Letters addressed to Clarinda, etc, by Robert Burns, the Ayrshire Poet,
never before published. (Glasgow 1802) Stewart, Thomas ed.
c1800 Agnes was persuaded by her friends, Mary Peacock and James
Grahame to lend her correspondence from Burns to a Mr. Finlay who was
intending to write a Life of Burns. She agreed to this and that he might
take only a few extracts from the letters to use in his 'Life', Agnes stated
this as a condition for his receiving the letters, but alas not in writing.
Unfortunately, Mr. Finlay was unscrupulous and after using what he
wanted, he sold the letters on to a bookseller in Glasgow, Thomas Stewart,
who then published the letters in 1802. Stewart said that he had been given
permission to issue the letters by Agnes, which was not true. There were
25 letters from Burns in all, and in relation to the letters in this book were
in order: - Letters 2 - 1 - 9 - 22 - 28 - 36 - 43 - 12 - 13 - 40 - 15 - 30 - 33 - 17 - 23
- 19 - 26 - 45 - 46 - 47 - 48 - 53 - 56 - 55 - 73. The small book contained 63
pages.
The book was challenged in court in 1804 by Cadell & Davies (Currie's
publishers), William Creech, Gilbert Burns and the children of Robert
Burns as damaging to the poet's character and literary reputation, they,
being private letters and not meant to be seen by the public. The letters
were admittedly the property of Agnes MacLehose, but the children of
Robert Burns considered that they had a right to protect their father's good
name.
Excerpt from the decision of the Court of Session,16th May 1804.
‘In the letters, which are now before your lordships, he [Burns] has poured forth to
the goddess of his idolatry the expression of his ardent and passionate adoration.

335763

But they are letters which never were intended for the public eye, and which,
published as they have been without reserve or delicacy, or the correcting hand of a
friendly editor, are, in many respects, unfit for the public, unworthy of Burns, and
disagreeable and hurtful in the eyes of every friend of him or of his family.’
Stewart was ordered to stop selling the book by the courts via a Bill of
Suspension, but this only related to Scotland. He carried on selling his
'Letters to Clarinda' throughout the world along with his 'Poems Ascribed
to Robert Burns, the Ayrshire Bard (Glasgow, 1801).' Stewart knew the
volume of Letters would make money for him, and it did.
One of the Law Lords sitting that day was William Craig, Agnes' cousin.
His summation was that the letters should not be published without
permission on both sides, and as Burns' family had protested then that was
the end of the matter. Court expenses were granted to the Burns family,
not Thomas Stewart. (Burns Chronicle 2007 - Pauline Anne Gray/Podcast,
National Records of Scotland, 'A Private Matter etc.' 2018 - Hector
MacQueen).
Agnes died on 22nd October 1841 and less than 2 years later her grandson
gathered up all her known letters and those from Burns, 69 letters,
arranged them into a running order with a thumbnail description of each
letter's content, and published them in Edinburgh as 'The Correspondence
Between Burns and Clarinda', 1843. The final piece of the puzzle that
Burns followers of the time had been a-waiting for nearly 40 years.

John Syme (1755-1831)
Son of the Laird of Barncailzie, Kirkcudbrightshire, he was a Writer to the
Signet.
Appointed to the Sinecure of Director of Stamps, his office was in what is
now Bank Street.
Syme had a large house on the west side of the River Nith. Burns was a
frequent visitor.
In 1994 Syme accompanied Burns on his Galloway Tour.
Syme and Maxwell were members of the Dumfries Volunteers,
inaugurated 31st January 1795.
Syme and Dr. Maxwell arranged Burns' funeral.
He and Alexander Cunningham raised funds for Jean Armour.
He encouraged James Currie to write Burns' first biography.
He described Burns - 'The poet's expression varied perpetually, according to the
idea that predominated in his mind: and it was beautiful to mark how well the
play of his lips indicated the sentiment he was about to utter. His eyes and lips,
the first remarkable for fire, and the second for flexibility, formed at all times an
index to his mind, and as sunshine or shade predominated, you might have told, a
priori, whether the company was to be favoured with a scintillation of wit, or a

337547

sentiment of benevolence, or a burst of fiery indignation.... I cordially concur with
what Sir Walter Scott says of the poet's eyes. In his animated moments, and
particularly when his anger was aroused by instances of tergiversation, meanness,
or tyranny, they were actually like coals of living fire.'

George Thomson (1757-1851)
Born in Limekilns, Fife on 4th March 1757, son of Robert Thomson and
Anne Stirling.
Died at 1 Vanbrugh Place, Leith on 18th February 1851. Buried in Kensal
Green Cemetery, London, beside his wife. Dickens wrote the inscription
on his tombstone.
Married Katherine Miller, Born, 2nd July 1764, of Kelso on 11th December
1781 and had 2 sons, 6 daughters. She died at Brompton, London on 13th
October 1841.
At age five his family moved northwards to Banff where his father was
employed to teach 'the English language according to the new or English
method'. cFebruary 1765, his mother died. His father married again. c1774
the family left Banff for Edinburgh.
He joined the Edinburgh Musical Society, playing the violin in the
orchestra and singing in the choir. It was the singing of Pietro Urbani
which gave Thomson the idea of marrying Scots songs to accompaniments
to the leading masters of the day.
Although Burns requested Thomson to return any songs he had no
intention of using in order that Johnson could then have them, Thomson,
held on to them to make sure that nothing that passed into his greasy hand
ever left it, and Johnson could not ever use it or profit from it.
He tried to get copyright for Burns songs and Burns wrote 'Though I give
Johnson one edition of my songs, that does not give away the copy-right; so you
may take 'Thou lingering star, with lessening ray', to the tune of Hughie Graham,
or other songs, of mine...' Thomson was unsuccessful in securing the
copyright of the songs Burns provided for Select Scottish Airs.
He was involved in the first Edinburgh Music Festival in 1815.
In 1828 Jean Armour met Agnes MacLehose at Thomson's house in the
High Street.
In September 1838 he left Edinburgh for London then Brighton. In June
1845 he returned to Edinburgh and in 1848 chose London to live in again.
In 1849 he came back to Edinburgh.
Letter to Thomson from Burns May 1795 'The sober dour Scot has strong
human sympathies, but the spring is deep, and an earthquake is sometimes
required to make them flow.'
Thomson's daughter, Georgina, was the wife of editor and music
publisher, George Hogarth, and she and Hogarth's eldest daughter,

335785

Catherine Thomson Hogarth, married Charles Dickens in 1836, they
separated in 1858 having produced 10 children. Catherine's sister, Mary
lived with them and Dickens became 'attached' to her, she died in his arms
in 1837. Her death was the inspiration for the death of 'Little Nell' in his
book. Another sister, Georgina, became Dickens' housekeeper and advisor
and editor of his letters after his death. It is rumoured that they had an
affair and he fathered an illegitimate son with her, Hector Dickens. It has
also been reported that Hector Dickens was a conman.

Peter Williamson (1730-1799)
Known as 'Indian Peter'. Born in 1730 at Hirnley, Aboyne, son of a crofter
His parents, 'reputable, but not rich', sent him to Aberdeen to live with an
aunt.
Died on 19th January 1799 in Edinburgh.
While in Aberdeen in 1743 at the dockside, he was kidnapped by men
employed by the Aberdeen city merchants and magistrates, or as he was to
write, 'taken notice of by two fellows employed by some worthy merchants of the
town, in that villainous practice called kidnapping', and shipped along with
nearly seventy other young boys into slavery/indentured service in
America on the ship 'The Planter.' The kidnappees were incarcerated on
'The Green' in the centre of Aberdeen.
The ship ran aground at Delaware Bay, the crew abandoned ship and
'cargo' but returned next day for them when they saw that the ship had not
sunk.
He was strong and was bought in America by a Perth man called Hugh
Wilson. who had also been kidnapped at a young age. When Wilson died
he was freed to leave.
He married and in 1755, when his wife was visiting relatives, Cherokee
Indians attacked the homestead. Williamson was captured and held by
them for several months. On his escape he found out his wife had died.
An unfortunate man, his third capture was after he joined the Colonial
Militia and was held by the French at Oswego, now New York State.
He was repatriated in 1756 on the French ship 'La Renomme' to England.
In 1757 he published his book 'French and Indian Cruelty', in York, telling
of his trials.
He returned to Aberdeen in 1758. The Magistrates and Merchants of that
city were not happy at his honest claims. His books were burned, and he
was imprisoned and forced to say he had lied about the kidnapping then,
to add insult to injury, fined ten shillings (£82) and banished from
Aberdeen as a vagrant.
In 1771 his second marriage was to Jean Wilson, they had 9 children and
divorced 18 years later.

337569

He moved south to Edinburgh from where he sued Aberdeen City. He
won his case and was granted £100 (£16,442) compensation.
Ever an entrepreneur, he opened a coffee shop in Parliament House, Old
Parliament Close, then a Tavern, where he described himself as 'Peter
Williamson - Vintner from The Other World'. Peter was described as a
'robust, stout, athletic man and a great wag, of very jocular manners' and was a
popular landlord. His occasional exhibitions, when he dressed as a
Delaware Indian were also an attraction of considerable interest. A
wooden figure of him in Indian dress stood as a signpost outside the
tavern. The Tavern became known as the abode of 'Deid Chack' - the
dinner the Magistrates took after a hanging.
In 1773 he published the first Edinburgh Street directory (lasted until 1796)
cost one shilling (£7).
In 1774 he founded the Edinburgh Penny Post. Based in the Luckenbooths
he appointed 17 shopkeepers in Edinburgh as official letter receivers. He
employed 4 uniformed postmen with Penny Post written on their hats
numbered 1-4-8-16 (it made him look as if he had more employees and
was therefore successful). From an advertisement in the second edition of
his Edinburgh Directory published in 1774: 'The Publisher takes this
opportunity to acquaint the Public that he will always make it his study to
dispatch all letters and parcels, not exceeding three pounds in weight, to any place
within an English mile to the east, south and west of the cross of Edinburgh, and
as far as South and North Leith, every hour through the day for one penny (£1.40)
each letter and bundle.'
In 1776 he founded a weekly periodical 'The Scots Spy or Critical
Observer' it ran for ten months and contained local gossip and articles.
He returned to tavern keeping at Gavinloch's land and died of alcoholism
on 19 January 1799. He is buried in Old Calton Cemetery in an unmarked
grave about fifteen paces north-east of the Martyr's Monument. He was
buried in moccasins, fringed leggings, blanket and feathered headdress of
the Delaware Indian. His obituary in the Scots Magazine read: -

‘At Edinburgh, Mr. Peter Williamson, well known for his various adventures
through life. He was kidnapped when a boy at Aberdeen, and sent to America, for
which he afterwards recovered damages. He passed a considerable time among the
Cherokees, and on his return to Edinburgh amused the public with a description of
their manners and customs, and his adventures among them, assuming the dress
of one of their chiefs, imitating the war whoop, &c. He had the merit of first
instituting a Penny-post in Edinburgh, for which, when it was assumed by
Government, he received a pension. He also was the first who published a
Directory, so essentially useful in a large city.’

He is said to be the inspiration for 'A Man Named Horse', a short story

336707

written by Dorothy M. Johnson which first appeared in Collier's Magazine
on 7th January 1950, and was a film in 1970.

Alexander 'Lang Sandy' Wood (1725-1807)
Son of a farmer, Thomas Wood. A true eccentric, he carried out medical
visits accompanied by two pets, a tame sheep and a raven on his shoulder.
He is said to have been the first man in Edinburgh to own an umbrella,
c1780, he worried that the raven would get wet.
Died 12th May 1807. He is buried in Restalrig churchyard.
Married Veronica Chalmers c1760.
Both Dr. Gregory and Dr. Wood attended Burns when he fell and
dislocated his kneecap.
Byron wrote about him in 'Childe Harold's Pilgrimage', 'Oh, for an hour of
him who knew no feud, The octogenarian chief, the kind old Sandy Wood.'
He attended to James Boswell's ingrown toenails and performed many
operations on them.
He was a friend of George Hay, Bishop and Vicar Apostolic of the
Lowlands area (see Geddes).
Hay was meant for the medical profession before becoming a priest. Wood
said to him 'Well, Geordie, ye're a damn fule for yer pains in becoming a popish
priest, ye wad hae made a damn guid doctor.' (Hay was originally Episcopalian
and became a Catholic in 1748. His new religion barred him from
graduating from Edinburgh University or taking his diploma at the
College of Surgeons, he took a post as a ship's surgeon. He studied at the
Scots College in Rome). 'Lang Sandy’ was posthumously awarded a
diploma of Dr. of Mirth in 1813 by the Aesculapian Society.

337681

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Robert Burns Autobiographical Letter to Dr. Moore 2nd August 1787

Candidor Memoire Concerning Burns, Dumfries Journal August 1796

Robert Heron Memoir of the Life of the Late Robert Burns 1796/1797

James Currie Works of Robert Burns, Cadell & Davies 1800

R. H. Cromeck Reliques of Robert Burns, Cadell & Davies 1808

A. Cunningham Complete works of Robert Burns, George Virtue 1842

W.C. MacLehose Correspondence of Burns & Clarinda, Tait 1843

Dr. J. Adams Burns' Chloris (and Clarinda), Glasgow 1893

John D. Ross Burns' Clarinda, Grant 1897

T. F. Donald The Hodge Podge Club, MacLehose 1900

James C. Dick Songs of Burns, London 1903

Mary D. Stuart Romance of the Edinburgh Streets, Metheun 1925

John D. Ross Poems of Clarinda, MacKay 1929

R. Chambers Traditions of Edinburgh, Chambers 1931

De Lancey Ferguson Letters of Robert Burns, Clarendon 1931

John C. Hill Love Songs and Heroines, Dent 1961

John MacVie Burns in Edinburgh, Burns Federation 1968

R. L. Brown Clarinda, Martin Black 1968

James Kinsley Poems and Songs, Oxford 1968

James Mackay Complete Letters, Alloway 1987

Alistair Campsie The Clarinda Conspiracy, Mainstream 1989

Johnson & Burns Scots Musical Museum, (ED. Low), Scholar Press 1991

James Mackay Burns, A Biography, Mainstream 1992

Donald A. Low Songs of Burns, Routledge 1993

Ayrshire Archaeological Soc., Mauchline Memories of Burns 1996

John Cairney On the Trail of Burns, Luath 2000

D. O'Rourke Ae Fond Kiss, Mercat 2000

Maureen Bell Tae The Lasses, Sleepytown 2001

G. Scott Wilkie The Lassies, Neil Wilson 2004

Brannigan & McShane, Robert Burns in Edinburgh, Waverley Books 2015

C. Czerkawska The Jewel, Saraband 2016

The above books and countless other Biographies, Works, Letters etc. plus
researches on the world wide web, contributed to the content of this book. Never
forgetting the always interesting and surprising information held in the Burns
Chronicles since their instigation in 1892.

Monetary valuations are taken from the Bank of England Historical Inflation
Calculator (bank of england.education/inflation calculator) and Historical UK
Inflation Rates and Calculator (inflation.iamkate.com) for 2017.

Births, Deaths and Marriages have been checked on Scotland's People Ancestry
Site.

336729

MUSIC
Songs…Airs
380363

336841

382 365

383366

384 367

383568

386 369

383770

388 371

389372

390 373

391 374

393275