James Grahame W.S. (1765 - 1811)

Born 22 Apr 1765 in Glasgow, Scotland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 14 Sep 1811 at age 46 in Whitehill, Glasgow, Scotland

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Biography

James Grahame, the second son, was born in 1765, and in 1791 became a Writer of the Signet (WS)., and in 1795 was admitted advocate, and apprenticed to Laurence Hill (a cousin). But his heart was not in the law, and in 1809 he was ordained by the Bishop of Norwich a deacon in the Church of England. He acted as curate in one or two parishes, but his health, never good, soon began to fail, and in 1811 he died at his brother's home, Whitehill (house) when on a visit there along with his wife.

He and his wife Janet Grahame and their 3 children lived in Edinburgh (where they met), various church postings (at least one in England) and at her family home in Annan, 'Bruce-Moat-Cottage', or 'The Moat'. Ownership of the The Moat was transferred to James in May of 1803, but Janet's father and sister Hannah continued to live there.

James was a poet, and the long narrative poem, 'The Sabbath' [1] which was published in 1804, went rapidly through a number of editions.

Many letters (1785-1811) written to James are recorded in the book 'Letters of Wm Grahame, ancestors and descendants'.

From the Glasgow Poets: "JAMES GRAHAME 1765-1811 THE Cowper of Scotland, as he has been called, though he possessed neither the humour nor powers of satire of the English poet, was born in Glasgow, April 22, 1765. His father was a writer in the city, and destined his son for the same profession, while the choice of the young man himself was the Church. But though both of these schemes were in turn carried out, the effective issue of Grahame's life was decided for him by circumstances in quite another direction. At school he received a wanton blow on the back of the head which rendered him delicate throughout life, subjected him to frequent attacks of headache and stupor, and in the end caused his death. By this acquired delicacy a stimulus was given to the reflective side of his character, and at his father's summer cottage on the bosky banks of the Cart he gathered impressions of nature still and fair which were to flower and ripen later into poetry. Meanwhile he passed through the Grammar School and University of Glasgow, and, yielding to his father's wish, entered the law office of his cousin, Lawrence Hill, in Edinburgh. In 1791 he became a Writer to the Signet, but, his health suffering at the desk, he passed, two years afterwards, into the Faculty of Advocates. Three years later he married. It was during the following period that his poetry was given to the world. Already, while attending the University, he had issued a small book of verse. Part of this he now revised, and published anonymously as 'The Rural Calendar' in the Kelso Mail in 1797 ; and four years later he produced 'Mary Stuart, an Historical Drama.' These contained passages of high promise, but attracted little notice. Accordingly, in 1804, when he had another poem ready for publication, he determined to keep the authorship secret. Not even his own household knew of it, and he took the extreme precaution of meeting the printer at obscure coffee-houses to correct the proofs. The poem was 'The Sabbath', and when the book was ready he took a copy home, and left it on a table. Returning a little later he found his wife absorbed in reading the new work. He said nothing, but paced the floor anxiously, waiting for her verdict, and his feelings can be understood when at last she burst out with, " Ah, James, if you could only write like this ! The book was severely handled by the Edinburgh Review, and afterwards by Lord Byron, but it's fame was already secure, and a second edition appeared in 1805. To this Grahame added 'Sabbath Walks', and had the satisfaction to see three editions disposed of within twelve months. At Kirkhall, a sequestered spot on the banks of the Esk, where he spent two summers, he next wrote 'The Birds of Scotland.' This work, describing in minute, loving detail the haunts and habits of these feathered creatures, appeared in 1806. And in 1809 he published his 'British Georgics.' Regarding this last work the criticism of Lord Jeffrey was probably just. " No practical farmer," he wrote, "will ever submit to be schooled in blank verse, while the lovers of poetry must be very generally disgusted by the tediousness of those discourses on practical husbandry which break in, every now and then, so ungracefully, on the loftier strains of the poet. Grahame wrote no more. In the year in which the 'British Georgics' appeared, he determined at last, his father having been long dead, to follow his early bent. Proceeding to London, he entered the English Episcopal Church, was ordained by the Bishop of Norwich, and in succession held the curacies of Shipton Moyne in Gloucestershire, and St. Margaret's Sedgefield Durham. In each place he proved an eloquent and successful preacher. His health, however, rapidly declined ; he returned north for change ; and at Whitehill, Glasgow, his brother's residence, expired, September 14, 1811. His death was the first subject to stir the poetic genius of his friend John Wilson, the future "Christopher North," who honoured his memory with a tribute no poet could despise. A detailed account of his life is furnished in Chambers's "Illustrious Scotsmen" (vol. II. p. 489), and a collected edition of his works, with a memoir by the Rev. George Gilfillan was published at Edinburgh in 1856."

The 37 poems of James Grahame[2]

Sources

• Birth: Ancestry.com. Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. FHL Film Number: 0102912, 1042934, 990755

• Clan Macfarlane Genealogy[3]

• Letters of William Richard Grahame, His Ancestors and Descendants, 1782-1923, William Richard Grahame, Fred B. Grahame, Dorothy Grahame Sattler Magra Pub., Jan 1, 1991 - Canada[4]

• Wikipedia[5]

• Electric Scotland[6]

• Letter of condolence upon his death from Joanna Baillie[7]

• Find a grave (with an incorrect picture)[8]

• Stephen, Sir Leslie, ed.; London, England: Oxford University Press; Dictionary of National Biography, Volumes 1-20, 22; Volume: Vol 08; Page: 366

• Lines sacred to the memory of the reverend James Grahame, by John Wilson, Publication date 1811[9] John Wilson of Elleray FRSE (18 May 1785 – 3 April 1854) was a Scottish advocate, literary critic and author, the writer most frequently identified with the pseudonym Christopher North of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine[10].

• Re Bruce's Moat, 'Evan Bane; and other poems', D M. Ferguson 1832[11]

• A History of the Society of Writers to Her Majesty's Signet: With a List of the Members of the Society from 1594 to 1890 and an Abstract of the Minutes of the Society of Writers to H.M. Signet (Great Britain) Society at the University Press, 1890

• The poetical works of Henry Kirke White and James Grahame: with memoirs, critical dissertations, and explanatory notes, James Nichol, 1856[12]

• Biographical Sketches of the Hon. the Lord Provosts of Glasgow', by , J. Tweed Barr[13]

• The Glasgow poets : their lives and poems by Eyre-Todd, George, 1862-1937, Publication date 1903[14]

• Page 366, Dictionary of National Biography, 1890[15]

• Page 157, A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen, Volume 2,

Robert Chambers, Thomas Thomson Blackie and son, 1870[16]

• Scots Poets[17]