Author: Wilson, Robert
Biography:
WILSON, Robert (1795-1859: ancestry.co.uk)
He was born at Kirknewton, Midlothian, to Catherine (Boak) and James Wilson. His was a large family in humble circumstances, and he was apprenticed to a joiner after being educated at the local school. However, he was ambitious and moved to Edinburgh where, with the support of an older brother, he eventually began to study for the ministry with the United Secession Church. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Edinburgh in 1828 and was sent to Kendal where he was ordained. He married Helen Brodie in 1829; they had a number of children but at least four died in childhood. He stayed with the church in Kendal until 1833 when he was moved to the Nicholson Street United Presbyterian Church in Greenock. He was a popular preacher and had wide-ranging interests outside of his work—particularly in practical mechanics. In about 1855 he was made DD by the University of St Andrews. He remained in Greenock until his death from lung disease. He also published The Pleasures of Piety, a poem in eight books (1837), and Strictures on Geology and Astronomy (1843). (ancestry.co.uk 22 Dec. 2020; United Presbyterian Magazine [1859] 18-26) SR
Other Names:
- R.W.