Author: Pinkerton, Ebenezer
Biography:
PINKERTON, Ebenezer (1798-1844: findmypast.co.uk)
Whistle Binkie, or the Piper of the Party (1878) includes some poems and a biographical sketch of this author which describes him as the son of the Rev. Pinkerton of the Relief Church in Campbelton and gives his first name as Edward. Some of this brief biography is clearly wrong: his first name was Ebenezer. Although he was born at Campbelton, the Rev. James Pinkerton (1742-1804) was probably his grandfather not his father; his parents were James and Jean Gardner Pinkerton. Other details given in Whistle Binkie are more likely to be correct and can be confirmed by external evidence. Ebenezer studied at the Edinburgh High School and a Latin poem by him was published in the school’s collection in 1812. He entered the University of Edinburgh and joined the medical classes, earning his diploma in 1817. He taught in Campbelton and at a boarding school in Galashiels before becoming assistant surgeon on HMS Warspite in 1824/5. The ship sailed for India and returned in 1827 but Pinkerton had suffered a paralysis during the voyage. One of the poems in his book confirms his illness but suggests that his early life was spent in England not Scotland. He was discharged as unfit for service and paid £36 10s. annually as a naval pension. Whistle Binkie states that he moved to Glasgow where he gave instruction in Greek to university students. The final year on record for his pension payment is 1843, so a death date of 1844 is likely. Other than the pension payments, genealogical sites reveal few records that can be assigned to him with any certainty; it is not known if he married. The book is dedicated to Thomas Campbell (q.v.) “with gratitude for his kindness.” (Whistle Binkie, or the Piper of the Party [1878]; findmypast.co.uk 24 Aug. 2020; ancestry.co.uk 24 Aug. 2020)
Other Names:
- E. Pinkerton