As I was carrying out a little research a few weeks ago I came across a few bits of interest to pass on to you budding historians.
I was reading the paper:
The Scotch Baptist Tradition in Great Britain by D.B Murray
For now all you need to know is that Scotch Baptists were a group of belivers coming from various backgrounds but are not directly linked to Scottish Baptists of today. ( More on that another time)
So Murray mentions a letter by John Cowan an elder in Galashiels who on 11 December 1848 wrote to James Everson.
He was congratulating Everson for his pamphlet "Reasons for being a Scotch Baptist".
I continued to explain about his workload which although busy was nothing like Eversons. He contues to say that He visited Mr and Mrs Liddell at Plean House. He continued to Stirling and on to Glasgow in the following days.
Now having lived near Plean I wondered about the "Liddells".
Who were they what did they do etc.
Here is what I discovered.
Andrew Liddell
The visit was to Andrew (B 1789- 1854) and Margaret Liddell, Andrew son of Andrew (B 1736) a school teacher in Bainsford who became a clerk at the Iron works, Falkirk. Margaret was married previously, with children and had a son Robert Mclaren. I will talk about Andrew Liddell (1789).
Andrew was married to Janet Goodsir in 1820 and in 1829 on the 2 Novemebr he married Jessie Peddie. Interestingly enough there was a ante-nuptial contract which implies he had assets. So to have a will ( 19/6/1855 at the National Archives Kew) he must have had a measure of wealth.
Andrew as a young person was an assitant to father andrew at the iron works.
At 18 Andrew moves to work in the foundry at Edinburgh and then Leith. It was is wish to be surgeon but things took a different turn. He moves to Glasgow to become a partner in an iron foundry business around 1814/15. His Brother Robert Maclaren advancing funds to contribute to the capital after a retiring partner left.
Andrew now the main person in the foundry works on till retirement at age 44 gives the business to his nephew (Maclaren) which stage he becomes a Pastor at a Church in Brown street which he had purchased for the use of the congregation.He was a member of the Scottish Baptist Connexion, but he also had interests in Mechanics, Science, Philosphical Society, Arts, Patents Philanthroic work with the likes of the homeless destressed and temperance work. He was also a magistrate. He died in Novemeber 1854 at Bardowie House Baldernock.
Now having lived in Plean house, remember Cowan letter what happened?
