John Jamieson (3 March 1759 – 12 July 1838) was a Scottish minister of religion, lexicographer, philologist and antiquary. His most important work is the Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language.[1][2]
John Jamieson | |
|---|---|
 John Jamieson by William Yellowlees | |
| Born | 3 March 1759 Glasgow |
| Died | 12 July 1838 (aged 79) |
| Resting place | St. Cuthbert's Cemetery, Edinburgh |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Citizenship | Great Britain |
| Education | Glasgow Grammar School |
| Alma mater | Glasgow University (1768-71) Edinburgh University (1775-6) College of New Jersey (DD 1795) |
| Occupation(s) | Licensed minister (1781) Minister of secessionist congregation Forfar, Angus Minister of the Nicolson Street Antiburgher Church, Edinburgh (1797–1830) |
| Notable work | "Etymological Dictionary of The Scottish Language" (1808) "History of the Culdees" (1811) "Views of the Royal Palaces of Scotland" (1828) |
| Spouse | Charlotte Watson (died 1837) |
| Notes | |
Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1803) Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (1815) Fellow of the American Antiquarian Society Fellow of the Royal Literary Society Member of the Highland Society | |
Life
editHe was born in Glasgow in March 1759[3] the son of Rev John Jamieson, minister of the Associate Congregation on Duke Street. He was educated at Glasgow Grammar School.[4]
He studied at the University of Glasgow 1768 to 1771, and subsequently attended classes in Divinity at the University of Edinburgh, 1775–6.[5] After six years' theological study, Jamieson was licensed to preach in 1781 and became pastor of the Secessionist (Anti-burgher) congregation in Forfar, Angus.[6] He was 23 years old at the time and was ordained on 23 August 1780 and the following August being involved in a "romantic, moonlit marriage".[7]
In 1788 he was asked to replace Rev Adam Gib at the Anti-burgher church in Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, but did not accept this until its next vacancy, being inducted on 30 May 1797.[8] The union of the Burgher and Anti-Burgher "New Licht" churches to form the United Secession Church in 1820 was largely due to his exertions.[6]
He retired from the ministry in 1830, spending the rest of his life in Edinburgh. In the 1830s he is listed as living at 4 George Square on the south side of the city.[9]
Jamieson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1803. His proposers were James Bonar, Alexander Fraser Tytler, and William Moodie.[5] He was also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1816.[10]
In 1827 he was elected a member of the Bannatyne Club.[11]
He retired due to ill health in 1830 and died at home, 4 George Square, Edinburgh[12] on 12 July 1838 and is buried in St Cuthbert's churchyard. He was buried with his son Robert (who pre-deceased him) in a large and elaborate grave in the southern section. His inscription is on the rear of the monument.[13][14]
Works
edit
Jamieson's major work, the Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language appeared in 2 vols. in 1808. A meeting the Danish scholar Grim Thorkelin had suggested this work, and, working with Thomas Ruddiman's glossary to Gavin Douglas's version of the Aeneid, Jamieson completed the work almost alone. He prepared an abridgment in 1818 (reissued in 1846 with a memoir by John Johnstone), and aided by numerous others, he added two supplementary volumes in 1825. The work drew on folklore and provincialisms. The introductory antiquarian dissertation supported a theory on the Pictish influence on the Scots language.[15] A revised edition by John Longmuir and David Donaldson was issued in 1879–87. These volumes remained the standard reference work for the Scots language until the publication of the Scottish National Dictionary in 1931.
Jamieson's other works included:[15]
- Socinianism Unmasked, 1786.
- The Sorrows of Slavery, 1789, a pamphlet on the African slave trade
- Sermons on the Heart, 2 vols., 1791. Around the same time as The Sorrows of Slavery.
- Congal and Fenella, a Metrical Tale, 1791.
- Vindication of the Doctrine of Scripture, in reply to Joseph Priestley's History of Early Opinions, 2 vols., 1795.
- A Poem on Eternity, 1798.
- Remarks on Rowland Hill's Journal, 1799.
- The Use of Sacred History, 1802, vol.1, vol.2
- Important Trial in the Court of Conscience, 1806.
- Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language, 2 vols 1808.
- A Treatise on the Ancient Culdees of Iona also retitled A History of the Culdees, 1811, published, through Walter Scott's support, by Ballantyne.
- Hermes Scythicus, 1814, expounding affinities between the Gothic and the classical tongues.
- Supplement to the Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language, 2 vols 1825.
- Views of the Royal Palaces of Scotland (1828) published posthumously
Jamieson wrote on other themes: rhetoric, cremation, and the royal palaces of Scotland, besides publishing occasional sermons. In 1820 he issued edited versions of John Barbour's Bruce and Blind Harry's Wallace. Posthumous was Dissertations on the Reality of the Spirit's Influence (1844).[15]
Family
editIn 1781, Jamieson married Charlotte Watson (died 1837), daughter of Robert Watson, Esq., of Easter Rhind, Perthshire, and had seventeen children,[citation needed] of whom only two daughters and one son survived. His son, Robert Jameson (died 1834) advocate, became a distinguished member of the Faculty of Advocates. His daughter Margaret Robina married Donald Mackenzie of the 21st Fusiliers and was mother of Donald Mackenzie, Lord Mackenzie.[16]
References
edit- Citations
- ^ "Jamieson's Dictionary of Scots". Jamieson's Dictionary of Scots.
- ^ Rennie 2012.
- ^ Bayne & Haigh 2004.
- ^ Anderson 1877, p. 565-567.
- ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b Chisholm 1911.
- ^ Small 1904a, p. 81-82.
- ^ Small 1904a, p. 429.
- ^ "(132) - Scottish Post Office Directories > Towns > Edinburgh > 1805–1834 - Post Office annual directory > 1832–1833 - Scottish Directories - National Library of Scotland". nls.uk.
- ^ "Member List". American Antiquarian Society.
- ^ Kay's Originals vol.2 p.320
- ^ Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory, 1835-36
- ^ a b Rogers 1871, p. 62-63.
- ^ a b Smith 1915.
- ^ a b c Bayne 1890.
- ^ Mair, Robert Henry (1871). Debrett's Illustrated House of Commons and the Judicial Bench. Dean & Son. p. 399.
- Sources
- Anderson, William (1877). The Scottish nation: or, The surnames, families, literature, honours, and biographical history of the people of Scotland. Vol. 2. A. Fullarton & co.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. - Bayne, Thomas Wilson (1890). "Jamieson, John (1759-1838)". In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 21. London: Smith, Elder & Co. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Bayne, T. W.; Haigh, John D. (reviewer) (2004). "Jamieson, John (1759–1838)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Rev. ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/14639. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- Brown, James (1867). The epitaphs and monumental inscriptions in Greyfriars Churchyard, Edinburgh. Collected by James Brown ... with an introd. and notes. Edinburgh: J. M. Miller. pp. 112-113.
- Chambers, Robert (1870). Thomson, Thomas (ed.). A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen. Vol. 2. London: Blackie. pp. 386–387.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Jamieson, John". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 149. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Jamieson, John (1846). "Memoir of Dr. Jamieson". In Johnstone, John (ed.). A dictionary of the Scottish language : in which the words are explained in their different senses, authorized by the names of the writers by whom they are used, or the titles of the works in which they occur, and derived from their originals. Edinburgh: William Tait. pp. ix-xvi.
- Mackelvie, William (1873). Annals and statistics of the United Presbyterian Church. Edinburgh : Oliphant and A. Elliot; Glasgow : D. Robertson.
- McKerrow, John (1839a). History of the Secession Church. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: William Oliphant and Son.
- McKerrow, John (1839b). History of the Secession Church. Vol. 2. Edinburgh: William Oliphant and Son.
- Paterson, James (1885). Maidment, James (ed.). Kay's Edinburgh portraits; a series of anecdotal biographies chiefly of Scotchmen. Mostly written by James Paterson and edited by James Maidment. Vol. 2. London: Hamilton, Adams. pp. 200-205.
- Rennie, Susan (2012). Jamieson's Dictionary of Scots: the Story of the First Historical Dictionary of the Scots Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199639403.
- Rogers, Charles (1871). Monuments and monumental inscriptions in Scotland. Vol. 1. London: Published for the Grampian Club [by] C. Griffin. pp. 38-39.
- Roxburgh, Kenneth B. E. (2006). "Gib, Adam". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/10579. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.) This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Scott, David (1886). Annals and statistics of the original Secession church: till its disruption and union with the Free church of Scotland in 1852. Edinburgh : A. Elliot. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Small, Robert (1904a). History of the congregations of the United Presbyterian Church, from 1733 to 1900. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: David M. Small.
- Small, Robert (1904b). History of the congregations of the United Presbyterian Church, from 1733 to 1900. Vol. 2. Edinburgh: David M. Small.
- Smith, John (1915). Paul, James Balfour (ed.). Monumental Inscriptions in St Cuthbert's Churchyard Edinburgh (Older portion). Edinburgh: Scottish Record Society. p. 76.
- Thomson, Andrew; Struthers, Gavin (1858). Historical sketch of the origin of the Secession Church and the History of the rise of the Relief Church. Edinburgh and London: A. Fullerton and Co.
- Walker, James (1888). The theology and theologians of Scotland : chiefly of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark. p. 117. Retrieved 25 August 2018.