Author: Gillespie, William
Biography:
GILLESPIE, William (1776-1825: ODNB)
The son of the John Gillespie, minister of Kells in Galloway, and Dorothea (McKean) Gillespie, he was born at the Kells manse and attended the local parish school while also receiving private tuition. He studied theology and medicine at Edinburgh University, and began writing poetry during his student days. He tutored Alexander Don of Newton Don and travelled with him through the western highlands. He was licensed as a preacher by the presbytery of Kirkcudbright in 1798 and, in 1800, ordained as his father’s assistant and successor. His service as chaplain to the Kirkcudbright yeomanry cavalry led to his brief arrest in 1820 when, in a prayer for the royal family, he included the name of Queen Caroline. In 1825 he married Charlotte Hogan but he died suddenly of erysipelas during their wedding tour. (ODNB 9 Jan. 2019; LPS) SR