An account of the life and works of Dr. Robert Watt : author of the 'Bibliotheca Britannica' / by James Finlayson, with a portrait.

  • Finlayson, James, 1840-1906.
Date:
1897
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An account of the life and works of Dr. Robert Watt : author of the 'Bibliotheca Britannica' / by James Finlayson, with a portrait. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

    19/62 (page 9)
    the farm in the parish record is Bonnyton,1 not Muirhead, now Girgenti, so named by its present proprietor, John Cheape, representative of the Cheapes of Sauchie, Stirlingshire. The account of him inserted in the “Life” above alluded to [Chambers’ “ Dictionary ”] closes when his studies in the Latin and Greek languages commenced with the writer of this account in October or November, 1792; and he was then about eighteen years old. It was only one hour’s private attendance in the morning that he could spare, as he had his occupa- tion of carpenter to attend to through the rest of the day. Notwithstanding, such progress did he make in both languages, that he entered the Latin and Greek classes of Glasgow University in 1793, and obtained a prize in the Greek class from Pro- fessor Young. In 1794, he attended the Greek and Logic classes also at Glasgow; and in 1795-96, the Moral and Natural Philosophy classes at Edinburgh. During the summer, 1796, he taught a private school in Kilmaurs parish, when he became an admirer of the late Eev. Mr. John Bussell of Kilmarnock, 1 Chambers, op. cit., gives the name as ‘ Muirhead.’ An extract from the Stewarton records, now in the Register House, Edinburgh, hhQVR* ‘1774 May first Robt a son to John Watt in Bonnyton and Jatt Callderwood his Spouse baptised 2 ’ The termination of ‘ Bonnyton ’ is a little indistinct in the register. ‘ Jatt ’ is a contraction for ‘Janet.’