Author: Lapraik, John
Biography:
LAPRAIK, John (1727-1807: ODNB)
His parents’ names may have been John Lapraik and Mary (Beggs) Lapraik; his father was a farmer at Dalfram, Muirkirk, Ayrshire. John's most likely year of birth is 1727 but no records have been located. Although he succeeded his father to the extensive family estate and also rented lands at Muirsmill, he was financially ruined by the collapse of the Ayr bank in 1773 and was imprisoned for debt. He was twice married. On 8 Mar. 1754 he married Margaret Rankine with whom he had five children before her death in 1762. In about 1766 he married Janet Anderson with whom he had nine more children. Lapraik is best known for his connection to Burns who admired his poem “When I upon thy bosom lean” and addressed three epistles to Lapraik. Burns’ patronage led to the publication of Poems, on Several Occasions at Kilmarnock. Lapraik opened a public house and post office at Muirkirk in 1796. He died there on 17 May 1807 and was buried in the churchyard at Muirkirk. (ODNB 27 Sept 2019; James Patterson, The Contemporaries of Burns [1840]; ancestry.co.uk 19 Aug. 2025) SR