Robert Burns - Famous Scots



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Famous Scots: Robert Burns

Born

25th January 1759, Alloway, Ayrshire

Died

1796, Dumfries

Robert Burn's grandfather, a Robert Burness, had been a farmer in Kincardineshire but had lost his farm after the 1745 Jacobite rebellion, possibly as a result of showing sympathies for that cause. Robert's father, William moved via Edinburgh to Alloway, obtained a small piece of land and built a cottage. He married a local tenant farmer's daughter, Agnes Brown, and there first son Robert was born. Six other children followed. William worked as a gardener and supplimented this with his own small market garden.
Robert's mother, Agnes, could only barely read but an elderly relative named Betty Davidson amused the children with rich traditional tales and songs of fairies, witches, warlocks and much more. Young Robert's imagination was fuelled by these renditions.
A John Murdoch was employed by five families of Alloway to educate their children in the little school there. He lodged with each of the families in turn and received a modest salary. When Robert Burns was around seven years old his teacher was only 18. John's strict methods of teaching resulted in much being added to Scottish Culture in the years to come. In later life, after Burns fame had spread, John Murdoch is said to have failed to see the full potential of the young Robert!
In 1766, the family moved to take up tenancy of Mount Oliphant farm, just outside Alloway. This was a big mistake but Robert's father wanted to be a farmer. The land was poor and they could not afford the farm labourers and servants needed to operate the concern. The young Burns children had to take on heavy farm work themselves. Times were hard, food scarce and butcher meat unknown. When young growing bodies need nutrition, Robert was denied it. His later death at only 37 can be attributed to heart damage done toiling at Mount Oliphant. Despite hardship, Robert's education continued in an on and off fashion - grammar, French and mathematics.
By his twenties, Robert Burns had become an accomplished poet in his own right and a collector of traditional songs. His father died in 1784 and he inherited the farm which was still a virtual failure. In 1786 he was about to leave Scotland for the West Indies and published Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect in Kilmarnock. It was an instant success. Robert travelled to Edinburgh, thrilled society there and published another lucrative volume in 1787. This financed tours of Scotland from which he drew inspiration for further works.
In 1788 he married Jean Armour although he had had previous relationships and others after his marriage. Robert had children by several women and had courted many more. But these were very promiscuous times in rural Scotland with illegitimacy common, as anyone who has tried to trace their ancestry through this period must know.
Robert then returned to south west Scotland to become part time farmer / part time excise officer. Modern research suggests that he may have been effectively exiled to Dumfries for political reasons. He was a republican, champion of the rights of the poor and he supported the French revolution in1789. He may have expressed too many revolutionary thoughts in Edinburgh for the authorities. Since he was a popular individual he have been spared prosecution if he moved away to a government job and kept quiet. One possibility is that a series of revolutionary letters anonymously published in Edinburgh newspapers during the early 1790's were actually written by Burns from Dumfries.
His health was never good and he died prematurely, aged only 37, in 1796.