William Burnes
William Burnes | |
---|---|
Dunnottar, Kincardineshire, Scotland | |
Died | 13 February 1784 Lochlea, South Ayrshire, Scotland | (aged 62)
Occupation(s) | Gardener and farmer |
Spouse | Agnes Broun |
Children | 7, including Robert, Gilbert, Agnes, and Isabella |
Relatives | Robert Burnes (brother) |
William Burnes or William Burness (11 November 1721 – 13 February 1784) was the father of the poet
Life and character
William had three brothers: George died young,
At this time
Unable to make a living in this way alone, or possibly seeing it as a better option, he obtained in the summer and autumn of 1757 a position as head gardener and overseer[5] at Doonholm, the estate of a retired London doctor, Provost William Fergusson of Ayr.[2][6] As overseer for two years he was fully employed and had the responsibility for "..laying out parks and gardens, planting of avenues of trees, construction of roads, re-planning of farms." on the various lands that had been purchased to become the Doonholm Estate.[5]
In 1775 and 1776 Ayr Town Council awarded him the contract for laying out the new Greenfield Avenue and it was this work that provided him with the funds to purchase the aforementioned feu from Dr Alexander Campbell of Belleisle.[7]
Marriage
Burnes, a tall, shy, and reserved man,
In February 1767 William Burnes, William Reid of Doonside Mill and a blacksmith named John Tennant got permission from the council to build a dry stone dyke around Alloway Kirk to prevent Elias Cathcart's cattle from straying into the then unenclosed churchyard; they did this at their own expense.[5]
Robert was their first child, born on 25 January 1759, followed by
Towards the end of the Mount Oliphant lease period Fergusson died and William fell behind in his rent. The exchanges over these arrears with the factor were alarming for William and the rest of the family, but the debts were settled amicably by the estate taking a mortgage on the Alloway cottage, leaving William free at the end of his lease in 1777 to move to Lochlea, South Ayrshire.[2]
Litigation
It was a time of great agricultural improvements and for four years all went well, however, William then fell into arrears with his rent whilst farming and improving Lochlea, and his landlord, David McLure of Shawwood, put two legal petitions before the Sheriff of Ayrshire over alleged arrears of rent. McClure was himself in financial difficulties. William Burnes eventually won his appeal to the Court of Session on 27 January 1784, and paid the balance of the rent which had been set against his own expenses in liming, fencing, and erecting new buildings.[9]
Death
Upon his deathbed at Lochlea Farm William said that he feared for the good conduct of one of his family. Upon enquiry he told Robert that he was referring to him, evoking silent tears of
Influence upon Robert Burns
William Burnes taught his children reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, and history. It is significant that he wrote
John Murdoch[12] spoke of William as 'the saint, the father, and the husband' and: "a tender and affectionate father of whose many qualities and rational and Christian virtues he would not pretend to give description ... In this mean cottage I really believe there dwelt a larger portion of content than in any palace in Europe."
Isobel Burns remembered her father as being cheerful, keen to make his children happy, approachable, affable, and fond of a joke, rarely given to anger.[15]
William disliked the Tarbolton dancing class that Robert attended. The poet later wrote that "In my seventeenth year, to give my
Robert Burns's later commented on his father, saying:
"…I myself have always considered William Burnes as by far the best of the human race that ever I had the pleasure of being acquainted with, and many a worthy character I have known. I can cheerfully join with Robert in the last line of his epitaph borrowed from Goldsmith – 'For even his failings leaned to virtue's side.' He was a tender and affectionate father; he took pleasure in leading his children in the path of virtue; not in driving them as some parents do, to the performance of duties to which they are averse. He took care to find fault but seldom, and, therefore, when he did rebuke he was listened to with a kind of reverential awe."[2]
Robert Burns composed the following lines for William's headstone :
"O ye whose cheek the tear of pity stains,
Draw near with pious rev'rence, and attend!
Here lie the loving husband's dear remains,
The tender father, and the gen'rous friend.
The pitying heart that felt for human woe,
The dauntless heart that fear'd no human pride,
The friend of man – to
foe;'For even his failings lean'd to
virtue's side'."[2]
The original grave was "carried away in chips" by visitors wanting a souvenir and a second was provided by Mr. David Auld of Doonbrae.[16]
See also
References
- Notes
- ^ Mackay, Page 20
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Calgary Burns Club Retrieved : 22 April 2012
- ^ Mackay, Page 28
- ^ a b c Mackay, Page 22
- ^ a b c d e f Strawhorn, Page 120
- ^ a b Mackay, Page 24
- ^ Strawhorn, Page 119
- ^ a b Mackay, Page 26
- ^ Strawhorn, Page 121
- ^ Mackay, Page 130
- ^ Mackay, Page 131
- ^ a b Mackay, Page 35
- ^ Mackay, Page 33
- ^ The Dublin University Magazine. William Curry, Jun., and Company. 1853. pp. 172–.
- ^ Mackay, Page 129
- ^ Mckie, James (1875). A Manual of Religious Belief. McKie & Drennan. p. xxxii.
- Sources
- Hunter, Douglas & McQueen, Colin Hunter. (2009). Hunter's Illustrated History of the Family, Friends, and Contemporaries of Robert Burns. Published by the authors. ISBN 978-0-9559732 -0-8.
- Mackay, James (2004). Burns. A Biography of Robert Burns. Darvel: Alloway Publishing. ISBN 0907526-85-3.
- Mckie, John (1875). A Manual of Religious Belief with Biographical Preface. Kilamrnock : McKie and Drennan.
- Strawhorn, John (1989). The History of Ayr. Edinburgh: John Donald. ISBN 0859762815