Author: Paterson, Walter
Biography:
PATERSON, Walter (1790-1849: ancestry.co.uk)
Born at Balmaclellan, Kirkcudbrightshire, he was the son of Walter, a stonemason, and his wife, Mary Lock; his grandfather, Robert, was “Old Mortality” whose history is given in the introduction to Walter Scott’s novel of that name. Few details about his education have been located but Notes & Queries says that he spent some time as a professor in a Prussian university. He was ordained to the church at Kirkurd, Peebleshire, in 1837 and married Elizabeth (surname unknown); they seem not to have had any children. One of the notes in his book thanks Walter Scott (q.v.) for encouragement, and he corresponded with Scott. In an 1815 letter he seeks Scott’s help in finding work as a tutor. He was buried in the churchyard at Kirkurd. (Notes & Queries [1870]; NLS Scott letters; ancestry.co.uk 18 Aug. 2020) SR