Author: Picken, Ebenezer
Biography:
PICKEN, Ebenezer (1769-1816: ODNB)
Born at Paisley, he was the son of Ebenezer Picken and his wife, Agnes Ingraham or Ingram. He was educated in Paisley before attending the University of Glasgow where he preferred a literary path over becoming a Secession minister as his father wished. His writing was encouraged by Alexander Wilson (q.v.). In 1791 he moved to Falkirk to open a school; there he married Robina Belfrage with whom he had nine children (just five survived infancy). The family struggled financially and moved several times, arriving in Edinburgh in 1796. Seeking employment, Picken went to America in 1809 but soon returned to Scotland. Before his death in Edinburgh from tuberculosis, he assisted Andrew Duncan with a work on Edinburgh monumental inscriptions. His Pocket Dictionary of the Scottish Dialect was issued anonymously and posthumously in 1818. Two of his children also wrote poetry—Joanna Belfrage Picken (1798-1859) and Andrew Belfrage Picken (q.v.)—and they emigrated to Canada with two of their siblings. (ODNB 3 July 2020; ancestry.co.uk 3 July 2020) SR
Other Names:
- E. Picken