Author: Meikle, James
Biography:
MEIKLE, James (1730-1799: ODNB)
A surgeon and religious writer, he was born at Carnwath, Lanarkshire; his father, George Meikle, was a surgeon and druggist (his mother’s name is unknown). He did not attend school until he was nine because of frequent illness, including smallpox. He had a strongly religious upbringing and joined the Scottish Secession Church in about 1746. The family’s limited financial means, particularly after George Meikle’s 1748 death, meant he could not be educated for the church as he wished. He attended some medical lectures in Edinburgh, was licensed as a surgeon, and became a surgeon’s mate on board the Royal Navy’s Portland in 1758. Naval service allowed him time for reading and writing and a number of his religious works date from this time. On his discharge in 1762 he returned to Carnwath where he worked as a surgeon. He married Agnes Smith in 1779 but she died after their second child was stillborn in 1781. He was ordained an elder in the congregation at Biggar. On his sudden death, he left a second wife (name unknown but he married her in 1785) and five children. He wrote numerous devotional works, including Metaphysical Maxims (1797; reprinted 1805 and 1807). (ODNB 13 Jan 2020) SR
Other Names:
- Meikle