Author: Park, William
Biography:
PARK, William (1788-1843: ancestry.co.uk)
He was born in Effgill, Dumfriesshire, to William Park; his mother’s name may have been Grizzel Beattie. His book includes an appendix with some poems and a biography of his father who served in the Royal Navy and lived in Grenada where he contributed to a newspaper. The biography does not give the name of William Park’s mother, nor does it explain his birth in Scotland at a time when his father was in Grenada. He served as a farm-servant to the minister at Eskdalemuir, and the preface to his book is dated from there. At some point he married Jean Laidlaw and they had at least seven children. The 1841 Census records them living with their children and one married daughter (and her family) at Holmains farm, Dalton, Dumfriesshire. In the final few weeks of his life, he became editor of the Free Church newspaper, the Dumfries Standard. After his death, Jean and some of the children emigrated to Ontario, Canada. William was buried in Watcarrick cemetery. (ancestry.co.uk 24 Aug. 2020)