Author: Watson, Walter
Biography:
WATSON, Walter (1780-1854: ODNB)
He was born at Chryston, Calder, Lanarkshire, to Janet (Risk) and William Watson, a weaver. He attended the local parish school for a few years from the age of six and worked as a herd-boy in the summers. He learned to weave and, when he was eleven, worked full-time as a weaver and then as a sawyer before, in 1799, enlisting with the Scots Greys. He joined his regiment at Coventry and travelled to Weymouth (where he saw George III). He was discharged in 1802 and returned to Chryston; in 1803 he married Margaret Wilson, daughter of a farmer. Although criticism of his grammar from the local teacher discouraged Watson from publishing his verse, he worked to improve the verses and his 1808 book proved popular but financially unrewarding; many of his subscribers were as poor as he was and were unable to pay. In 1808-11 he was involved in the local branch of a trade society established in Glasgow to agitate for better pay for weavers. When they went on strike, Watson worked as a sawyer to support his growing family. In 1819 he began working as a sawyer at Kilsyth: this was the beginning of a period of frequent moves for the family as Watson worked, successively, at Arnbrae, Kirkintilloch (where three of his sons died), Craigdarroch, Campsie (where, briefly, he worked for a printing company), Auchinairn, and, finally, Duntiblae. He died at home in Duntiblae, survived by his wife and three of their ten children. He was buried in the churchyard at Calder and a monument was erected to his memory in 1877. He is said to have published a collection of poems in 1823 but no trace of that book has yet been discovered. His Poems and Songs Chiefly in the Scotch Dialect was issued in 1842 and 1853 (with a biography). (ODNB 12 Dec. 2020; ancestry.co.uk 12 Dec. 2020; “Biographical Sketch of the Author,” Poems and Songs [1853])