Scotland's Mark on America

Chapter 9

Chapter 93,571 wordsPublic domain

John Lawson (c. 1658-1711), Surveyor-General of North Carolina, a native of Aberdeen, published "A New Voyage to Carolina," in 1709, reprinted 1714, 1718, 1737, 1860, and twice translated into German (1712, 1722). Lawson was cruelly murdered by the Tuscaroras. Hugh Henry Brackenridge (1748-1816), born near Campbeltown, Argyllshire, Judge of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, was author of a political satire, "Modern Chivalry," a work now extremely rare. David Ramsay (1749-1815), physician and patriot, of Ulster Scot descent, Delegate to the Continental Congress, was author of historical works relating to the Revolution and to South Carolina. Gilbert Imlay, born about 1755 in New Jersey of Scottish parents, was the first Kentucky novelist, author of "The History of an Expatriated Family" (1793), etc. Robert Dinsmoor (1757-1836), poet, was brother of Governor Dinsmoor of New Hampshire. Hugh McCall (1767-1824), author of the first "History of Georgia," (published in 2 v., 1811-16), was of Scottish descent. His ancestor emigrated from Dumbartonshire to Ulster along with the ancestor of J.C. Calhoun. The ancestors of both remained two generations in Ulster before coming to America. The greatest name in American literature is that of the son of the Orcadian farmer, Washington Irving (1783-1859). He was the first who won international honors for American literature. John Mellish or Melish (1771-1822), born in Perthshire, died in Philadelphia, traveled extensively in the United States and published several volumes of his travels and also published many topographical and military maps. James Murdock (1776-1856), of Ulster Scot descent, translated and edited Mosheim's "Institutes of Ecclesiastical History," Milman's "History of Christianity," etc. Henry Marie Brackenridge (1786-1871), author and jurist, was son of the author of "Modern Chivalry." Thomas F. Gordon (1789-1860), lawyer and historian of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, etc., was of Scottish ancestry. Augustus Baldwin Longstreet (1790-1870), lawyer, newspaper editor, author of "Georgia Scenes" (1840), etc., was son of the inventor. Lydia (Huntley) Sigourney (1791-1865), poet and miscellaneous writer, was partly of Scots descent. Hew Ainslie (1792-1878), author of a "Pilgrimage to the Land of Burns," etc., was born in Ayrshire. David Paul Brown (1795-1872), born in Philadelphia of Scottish parents, was author of "The Forum; or Forty Years of Practice at the Philadelphia Bar." James Lawson (1799-1880), newspaper editor and dramatist, was born in Glasgow and died in Yonkers. Angus Umphraville of Missouri, the unknown author of "Missourian Lays" (St. Louis, 1821), was most probably a Scot. His verses are described as "simply wonderful." Maria J. McIntosh (1803-78), authoress, was descended from the McIntoshes of Georgia. George Washington Bethune (1805-62) of New York, a graceful poet and eloquent orator, was the son of Divie Bethune, a native of Dingwall. Robert Shelton Mackenzie (1808-80), born in Dublin of Scottish parentage, was editor of the standard edition of "Noctes Ambrosianæ," and in 1834 became the first regular salaried correspondent of an American newspaper, the New York "Evening Star." Rev. Robert Turnbull (1809-77), born at Whitburn, Linlithgowshire, edited the "Christian Review" for many years and was author of several works. James C. Moffat (1811-90), orientalist, poet, and Professor of Classics in Lafayette College, author of "Comparative History of Religions," etc., was born in Glencree, Wigtownshire. Robert Macfarlane (1812-83), Editor of the "Scientific American," and author of two or three technical treatises, was born in Rutherglen. John Milton Mackie (1813-94), of Scottish ancestry, was author of several important biographical works. William Secular (1814-72), born in Kilbarchan, Editor of the Lowell "Courier" (1841-47), published the "History of Massachusetts in the Civil War" (1868-71). Arthur MacArthur (1815-96), Jurist and Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin (1856-58), born in Glasgow, was author of "Education in Relation to Manual Industry" (1884) and "Biography of the English Language" (1889). William Ross Wallace (1819-81), author of "Perdita," etc., was described by Bryant as "a born poet." Donald Macleod (1821-65), son of the Rev. Alexander Macleod of Mull, Professor of Rhetoric in Mount St. Mary's College, Ohio, was author of historical and other works. His brother, Xavier Donald Macleod, was a poet and miscellaneous writer. Donald Grant Mitchell (1822-1908), "Ik Marvel," was of Scottish descent, and so was General Lew Wallace (1827-1905), author of "Ben Hur," etc. James Grant Wilson (1832-1914), son of the poet publisher, William Wilson, of Poughkeepsie, was born in Edinburgh, and attained the rank of General in the Civil War. He was afterwards author of several important biographical and historical works. William Swinton (1833-92), journalist, was correspondent of New York "Times" (1862-64), and author, was born in Haddingtonshire. He "produced many educational works which were widely adopted in both private and public schools throughout the country." Henry Ward Beecher called him the "American Napier" from the vividness of his historical descriptions. David Gray (1836-88), editor of the Buffalo "Courier" and poet, was born in Edinburgh. John Clark Ridpath (1841-1900), educator, historian, and author, was decended from the old Border family of Redpath. He was the author of "Great Races of Mankind" (1893), "History of the World" (1898), etc. Katherine Margaret Brownlee (b. 1841), a descendant of the Brownlees of Torwood, was author of several volumes of poetry. Leonard Allison Morrison (b. 1843) of New Hampshire, was a descendant of John Morrison who went from Scotland to Londonderry and thence to Londonderry, New Hampshire, in 1723. Always devoted to literary studies, as a historical and genealogical writer he has earned an enviable reputation. James Morrison Steele Mackaye (1842-94), actor and dramatist, was grandson of William Kay who came from Scotland about 1800. His son, Percy Wallace Mackaye (b. 1875) is a distinguished dramatist and poet. Wallace Bruce (b. 1844), poet and essayist, was descended from George Bruce who came from Scotland in 1635. While United States Consul at Edinburgh (1889-93) he secured the erection of a statue of Lincoln in the Calton Burial Ground, to commemorate the services of Scottish-American soldiers in the Civil War. James Kennedy, born at Aberlemno, Forfarshire, in 1850, is a well-known poet, author, and lecturer. John D. Ross, born in Edinburgh in 1853, is author of several literary works particularly relating to Scotland. Francis Marion Crawford (1854-1909), the novelist, son of Thomas Crawford the sculptor, was also of Scottish descent. Henry Morse Stephens, the historian, was born in Edinburgh in 1857. Ernest Evan Seton-Thompson (b. 1860), artist, author, and naturalist, and Charles William Wallace (b. 1865), philologist and Shakespearean scholar, are both of Scottish descent. John Hanson Thomas McPherson (b. 1865), historian and educator, author of "History of Liberia" (1891), is a descendant of Robert McPherson who came from Scotland in 1738. George Barr McCutcheon (b. 1866), author of many widely read works of fiction ("Graustark," "Brewster's Millions," etc.) is a descendant of John McCutcheon who emigrated from Scotland in 1730. Mary Johnston (b. 1870), author of "Prisoners of Hope" (1898), "To have and to hold" (1899), etc., is a descendant of Peter Johnston who emigrated to Virginia in 1727.

SCOTS IN THE CHURCH AND SOCIAL WELFARE

Francis Makemie (c. 1658-1708), the organizer of the first American Presbytery, was born in Ulster of Scots parentage. In 1676 he went to Glasgow to attend the classes in the University there, and his name still stands in the matriculation register of the University: "Franciscus Makemius ... Scoto-Hibernus," i.e. Francis Makemie, a Scot of Ireland. In 1683 he was ordained by the Presbytery of Laggan and sent over to the American colonies, where he immediately began the organization of churches and presbyteries. William Traill, another Scot, Moderator of the Presbytery of Laggan, was sent over shortly before Makemie but he confined his work to preaching. George Gillespie (1683-1760), born in Glasgow, was one of the earliest ordained ministers in New Jersey and Delaware. Alexander Garden (1685-1756), an Episcopalian, born in Edinburgh, settled in Charleston, South Carolina, as Rector of St. Philip's Episcopal Church. Samuel Auchmuty (1722-77), son of the eminent Scottish lawyer of Boston, was Rector of Trinity Church, New York city, and had charge of all the churches there. Thomas Gordon, the "fighting parson" of Bacon's Rebellion (1676) was a Scot. Henry Barclay (1712-64), Rector of Trinity Church, New York, Trustee of the New York Society Library, and a Governor of Columbia University, was the son of John Barclay, a Scot, Surveyor General of East New Jersey. Robert Sandeman (1718-71), born in Perth, and died in Danbury, Connecticut, was principal founder of the Sandemanians or Glassites. John Mason, a native of Linlithgow, "one of the most accomplished preachers and pastors of his day," was appointed Minister of the Scotch Presbyterian Church, New York, in 1761. James Caldwell (1734-81), soldier parson of the Revolution, was of Scots parentage or descent. Finding the Revolutionary soldiers short of wadding he distributed the church hymn books among them, with the exhortation, "Now, boys, put Watts into them." His son, John E. Caldwell, was one of the founders of the American Bible Society. Alexander McWhorter (1734-1807), of Scottish parentage, took an active part in Revolutionary matters and was a Trustee of Princeton College. McWhorter Street in Newark, New Jersey, is named in his honor. James Waddell (1739-1805), famous in Virginia as "The Blind Preacher," was probably a grandson or great-grandson of William Waddell of Monkland parish, Scotland, one of the prisoners captured at Bothwell Brig in 1679. Samuel McClintock (1732-1804), minister of Greenland, New Hampshire, of Scottish origin, was present at Bunker Hill and appears in Trumbull's painting of the battle. Four of his sons served in the Revolutionary war. Alexander McLeod (1774-1833), born in the island of Mull, died in New York as Pastor of the First Reformed Church. Described as "a powerful preacher, a man of learning and wisdom, and a devout Christian." George Buist (1770-1808), born in Fifeshire, Scotland, educated in Edinburgh, "one of the most eloquent and distinguished divines of his day," was Pastor of the Scots Church in Charleston and President of the College of Charleston. Alexander Campbell (1786-1866), founder of the Campbellites, was born in Antrim of Scots ancestry. Walter Scott, another of the founders, was born in Moffat, Dumfriesshire. John Dempster (1794-1843), founder of Boston Theological Seminary, which afterwards became the Theological School of Boston University, was of Scots parentage. Peter Douglas Gorrie (1813-84), clergyman, and historian of the Methodist Church in the United States, was born in Glasgow. John McClintock (1814-70), of Drew Theological Seminary and leading editor of McClintock and Strong's "Cyclopædia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature," was of Scottish descent. Robert Stuart MacArthur, born in Canada, in 1841, of Scots parentage, Minister of Calvary Baptist Church, New York, has published many volumes of sermons, essays, and narratives of travel. Robert Mackenzie (b. 1845), President of San Francisco Theological Seminary, was born in Cromarty. Robert McIntyre (b. 1851), Methodist Episcopal Bishop of California, was born in Selkirk. Joseph Plumb Cochran, Medical Missionary to Persia, the "Hakim Sahib" of the natives, was grandson of a Scot. John Alexander Dowie (1848-1907), founder of the so-called "Christian Catholic Apostolic Church in Zion," was born in Edinburgh. Mary M. Baker Glover Eddy (1821-1910), claimed partly Scots descent (from MacNeils of Barra).

Charles Pettigrew (1743-1807), Bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina, was of Scottish descent. James Kemp (1764-1827), second Bishop of Maryland, was born at Keithhall in Aberdeenshire. Charles Pettit McIlvaine (1799-1873), Bishop of Ohio (1832-73), author of "Evidences of Christianity," 1832, was also of Scottish origin, from the MacIlvaines of Ayrshire. William Edward McLaren (1831-1905), third Bishop of Chicago, was grandson of a Scot. The first missionary Bishop of Duluth, James Dow Morrison (b. 1844), was son of Rev. John Morrison and his wife who emigrated from Glasgow in 1837. Abram Newkirk Littlejohn (1824-91), first Bishop of Long Island, was a descendant of Hugh Littlejohn of Perthshire. James Steptoe Johnston (b. 1843), second Bishop of western Texas, was of Scottish descent; and Hugh Miller Thompson (1830-1902), second Bishop of Mississippi, was an Ulster Scot, born in Londonderry.

Richard Gilmour (1824-91), second Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland (1872-91), born in Glasgow, Scotland, of Presbyterian parents, was noted for his zeal in behalf of Catholic education. Robert Seton (b. 1839), a descendent of the Setons of Winton, was created Archbishop of Heliopolis in 1903. Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton (1774-1821), of the same family, was founder of the Roman Catholic Order of Sisters of Charity (1809), of which she was the first Mother Superior.

John McLean (1759-1823), merchant and philanthropist, was founder of McLean Asylum for Insane at Somerville, Massachusetts. Robert Rantoul (1778-1848), of Scottish parentage, worked hard to ameliorate the criminal legislation of the country, and took part in establishing a charity school at Beverly, Massachusetts, which was said to be the first Sunday School in America. Mrs. Graham, a Scotswoman, celebrated in New York city for her benevolence and charity, founded a Sunday School in New York for young women in 1792. The movement however languished for some years until her daughter, Mrs. Bethune, also born in Scotland, organized the Female Sabbath School Union of New York in 1816. By her work in this connection Mrs. Bethune earned her title of "Mother of Sabbath Schools in America." Fanny Wright (1795-1852), Madame Frances D'Arusmont, born in Dundee, Scotland, lectured extensively in the United States on social, religious, and political questions, and was the author of "Views on Society and Manners in America," etc. Robert Dale Owen (1801-77), born in Glasgow, social reformer, spiritualist, author, and Member of Congress from Indiana (1843-47), was a strong advocate of negro emancipation. James Miller McKim (1810-1874), of Ulster Scot descent, was one of the organizers of the National Anti-Slavery Society (1835), later publishing agent of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, and in 1865 one of the founders of the New York "Nation." Albert Brisbane (1809-90), of Scottish and English descent, was the "Father of American Fourierism." Albert Keith Smiley (1828-1912), educator and reformer, was born in Maine of Scottish ancestry; and Thomas Kirby Cree, of Ulster Scot origin, was Secretary for twenty-five years of the International Committee of the Young Mens' Christian Association. John MacVicar born in Canada in 1859 of Scottish parents, was one of the originators of the Commission form of government, developing what became known as the "Des Moines Plan." James Duncan, born in Kincardine in 1857, is the well-known Labor Leader.

SCOTS AS LAWYERS

John Mercer (1704-68), author of "An exact abridgment of all the public Acts of Assembly," Williamsburg, 1737, was a descendant of the Mercers of Aldie. Robert Auchmuty (born in Scotland, died in Boston, 1750), and his sons were distinguished lawyers of Colonial times. Hugh Maxwell (1787-1873), born in Paisley, was Assistant Judge Advocate General (1814) and District Attorney of New York (1819-29). Edward Duffield Ingraham (1793-1854), of Scottish descent, was at the head of the legal profession of his time in Philadelphia. He was also an eminent bibliophile, possessing a library of thirty thousand volumes. Robert Rantoul (1805-52), of Scots ancestry, was member of the first Commission to Revise the Laws of Massachusetts, Member of the first Massachusetts Board of Education, "an honor intended to be conferred only on such as were well qualified by their literary acquisitions to discharge its responsible duties." He was also a prominent agitator against the fugitive slave law, and organizer and corporator of the Illinois Central Railroad, the first transcontinental line projected. John Jay McGilvra (1827-1903), of Scots parentage, took part in many prominent enterprises for the public benefit in Washington State, and forced the Northern Pacific Railroad to restore five million acres to public domain. Lawrence Maxwell, born in Glasgow in 1853, was Solicitor-General of the United States (1893-95), and also held many other important positions. David Robert Barclay, author of the well known "Barclay's Digest" of the decisions of the Supreme Court (St. Louis, 1868) was of Scots descent. William Birch Rankine (1858-1905) of Scots parentage, took up the work of developing Niagara power and founded the Niagara Falls Power Company (1886). Thomas M. Logan (b. 1840), lawyer, soldier, and railroad officer was a descendant of Logan of Restalrig. David Clarence Gibboney (b. 1869), Special Counsel for the Pure Food Commission in 1906, grandson of a Scot, has also made a reputation for prosecution of gamblers, dive-keepers, illicit liquor dealers, etc., in Philadelphia.

SCOTS IN ART, ARCHITECTURE, ETC.

John Smibert (c. 1684-1751), born in Edinburgh, came to America in 1728 and settled in Boston, where he met success as a portrait painter. He was the first painter of merit in the colonies, and painted portraits of many of the eminent magistrates and divines of New England and New York between 1725 and 1751, the year of his death. His work had much influence on the American artist, John Singleton Copley. Gilbert Charles Stuart (1755-1828), born in Rhode Island of Scottish parents, was the foremost American portrait painter of his day. He painted several portraits of Washington, and also portraits of Presidents John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Justice Story, Fisher Ames, John Jacob Astor and others. Cosmo Alexander, a skilled portrait painter, born in Scotland, was his teacher for a time. Charles Fraser (1782-1860), born in Charleston, South Carolina, of Scottish ancestry, first studied law and retired with a competency. He then took up art and achieved eminent success in miniature painting and as a painter of landscapes, pictures of genre, still life, etc. William Dunlap (1766-1839), artist and dramatist, founder and early Vice-President of the National Academy of Design, was of Ulster Scot descent. His family name was originally Dunlop. Robert Walter Weir (1803-89), of Scots parentage, is best known for his historical pictures, he being one of the first in America to take up this branch of the art. "The Embarkation of the Pilgrims" (1836-40) in the Rotunda of the Capitol at Washington is by him. Russell Smith, born in Glasgow in 1812, was a scientific draughtsman and landscape painter. Two of his finest landscapes, "Chocorua Peak" and "Cave at Chelton Hills" were exhibited in the Philadelphia Exhibition of 1876. His son, Xanthus (b. 1839), was a well-known marine and landscape painter and painted many of the naval engagements of the Civil War. James Hope, born near Abbotsford in 1818, settled in New York in 1853, distinguished as a landscapist, was chosen an Associate of the National Academy in 1865. Alexander Hay Ritchie (1822-95), born in Glasgow and educated in Edinburgh, was a most successful painter in oils as well as an engraver in stipple and mezzotint. His paintings of the "Death of Lincoln" and "Washington and his Generals," obtained great popularity. As a portrait painter fine examples of his work are "Dr. McCosh" of Princeton, "Henry Clay," etc. He also did a good deal of book illustrating. Thomas Lachlan Smith (d. 1884), also born in Glasgow, was noted for his Winter scenes. Two notable pictures of his, "The Deserted House" and "The Eve of St. Agnes," were exhibited at the Centennial Exhibition. Still another Glasgow artist, John Williamson (1826-85), born at the Tollcross in that famous city, became an Associate of the National Academy, and made the scenery of the Hudson and the Catskills his special study as shown by his "The Palisades," "Sugar Loaf Mountain," "Autumn in the Adirondacks," etc. William Hart (1823-94), born in Paisley, became an Academican in 1857, and was afterwards President of the Brooklyn Academy and of the American Water Color Society. James McDougall Hart (1828-1901), born in Kilmarnock, brother of William Hart, already mentioned, Academican of the National Academy of Design, was noted for his landscapes and paintings of cattle and sheep. His "Summer Memory of Berkshire" and his "Indian Summer" attracted considerable attention at the Paris Salon in 1878. James David Smillie (1833-1909), son of James Smillie, the Scottish engraver, during the Civil War made designs for government bonds and greenbacks. In 1864 he took up landscape painting and was one of the founders of the American Water Color Society (1867) and National Academican in 1876. His brother, George Henry Smillie (b. 1840), was also distinguished as a landscape painter. He made a sketching tour in the Rocky Mountains and the Yosemite Valley in 1871, and became a National Academican in 1882. Walter Shirlaw, born in Paisley, Scotland, in 1838, died in Madrid, Spain, in 1909, was the first President of the Society of American Artists. His easel pictures "are marked by rich color and fine composition, and he is one of the few American artists who have successfully painted the nude. His water-colors and etchings have brought him high reputation in these forms of expression." Walter MacEwen, born in Chicago of Scottish parents, has painted many pictures and has received medals and decorations for his work. In 1895-96 he painted nine large panels and a number of small ones for the Hall of Heroes in the Library of Congress. George Inness (1825-94), the famous American painter, is believed to have been of Scottish ancestry. James T. Dick (1834-68), William Keith (b. Aberdeenshire, 1839), Robert Frank Dallas (b. 1855), John White Alexander (b. 1856), Robert Bruce Crane (b. 1857), Addison Thomas Miller (b. 1860), and John Humpreys Johnston, are all artists of Scottish parentage or Scottish ancestry. John Robinson Tait (b. 1834), artist and author, son of a native of Edinburgh, has written much on art subjects. John Wesley Beatty (b. 1851), Art Director of the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, is of Scottish parentage. John Ward Dunsmore (b. 1856), Director of the Detroit Museum of Arts and Founder of the Detroit School of Arts; and John Ferguson Weir (b. 1841), Dean of the School of Fine Arts at Yale University, are of Scottish descent.