John Younger, writer

This is an example of a so called table stone and one of only a few to be found in West Linton graveyard.

Here is the text as read on the top of the table gravestone:

Sacred

to the memory of

John Younger writer in Edinburgh

who died 26 May 1731 aged 59

and Also

James his Son who died 17 july 1732

aged 26

here lies the body of William Younger

eldest son of John Younger who died

aged 54 February 2nd 1755

And Also

of William Younger his eldest Son who

died 5th May 1770 aged 37 years

Also

interred here A.C. Younger esquire

of Ardyne

eldest son of the above

William Younger

who died 24th July 1819 aged 62

years.

On the side of this table grave, there are some wonderful symbols of mortality, such as the

shovel and spade, the hour-glass and the crossed scythes

James Alexander and Janet Johnstoune

A very old stone decorated on both sides. The text reads:

Hear Lyes James

Alexander who died

the 12th Day of Sept

1718 his age 63 and

Janet Johnstoune

his spuse who died

the 24 of December 1720

her age 48 who live

d in Whitefeld

As you can tell a stone with some interesting spelling mistakes!

A detail of the winged soul (making it's way to heaven according to all the books I've so far read on the subject and thus a symbol of immortality)

And here is the back of the gravestone, adorned with skull and crossbones, a winged hour-glass (all symbols of immortality or mortality, depending on your point of view!)and the text, barely decipherable, Memento Mori.

Helen White's gravestone

This gravestone must have fallen over many years ago as vegetation has begun to cover it and the words are already difficult to read. They also present a bit of a riddle. Here is the text:

Here lyes the

body of Helen White

spouse to Andrew Law in

Whitefield who died June

2nd 1794 aged 51 (?) years Also

his daughter who died

June 6th 1796, aged 7 weeks

This can only mean that Andrew Law married again shortly after his first wife, Helen White, died and the infant that died at 7 weeks was the child of his second marriage. And it's mother must have been a lot younger than her new husband as his previous wife was 51 at the time of her death. It seems a bit insensitive to me to bury that child in the same grave as his first wife although neither of them would know anything about it. But what about the feelings of his second wife on the subject. Even I, all that time later, found it more than a little bit surprising!

There might be more text on the other side of this stone, but I draw the line at trying to discover it by lifting it in any way. I leave the graveyard undisturbed at all times and record only what I can see.

Francis Brodie and Agnes Turnbull

Sacred

to the memory of

Francis Brodie

who died 5th February 1878

also

Agnes Turnbull

his widow who died 16(?)th May

1886 aged 81 years.

Also their children

Helen

who died 15th July 1912

buried in Comely Bank

cemetary Edinburgh

Marion

who died 22nd Feb 1920 (?)

and

Janet

who died 21st Dec 1923.

There is an engraving underneath:

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus

Romans VIII I

And at the bottom:

Erected by

his widow and family

And this is the other side of the gravestone where there is a tragic tale of a death at sea.

It reads as follows:

Also their grandson

Lce Cpl Francis Kerr

1/4th FOSB (not sure if I have all the letters correctly?) died 24th Oct 1915

on board the Aquitania

returning from the Dardanelles

and was buried at sea

William Cairns and family

The text on this richly decorated stone reads:

Here lyes

William Cairns

son to Robert Cairns who

died the XV of

may 1723 years

and of his age

the....??.....year

And on the other side of the stone there is more text. It reads as follows:

Sacred

to

the memory of

James Stevenson, Roadmaker

who died Nov 9

1795

Isobel Mitchell his spouse

and James Christian and Isobel (??, and educated guess, it could also say Isorit?)

their children also.

And further down:

James Stevenson mason

and

Margaret Stevenson

Their children are interned

here.

This stone is positioned next to the fallen stone shown here, of James Cairns. I'm not sure how James Stevenson is related to them.

Robert Millar, Schoolmaster

I've already uploaded another schoolmaster in a previous post but this one has a far more impressive monument erected in his honour. Here is the full inscription:

In Memory of

Robert Millar

Parish Schoolmaster

of West Linton 1863 to 1893

born in Dalkeith 31st Aug 1837

died in West Linton 22nd Jan. 1909

Erected by his neighbours, former pupils

and golfing friends as a recognition of

his faithfulness in the discharge of his

cons???ny interest in the life, work of

his pupils and his tireless services to

the local golf club of which he was the founder.

And finally the following which is inscribed on the pedastal and very hard to decipher:

God can and he will make some good use of all of us

the master did his best for the bairns and when they grew up

they did not forget him

Bairns being the Scottish word for children, if you've not familiar with the term.

Robert Millar founded the West Linton Golf Course in 1890 as can be read here.

James Cairns

Next to the previous post's gravestone was this one which as you can see has fallen over but is still in one piece. The inscription is as follows:

Erected by

James Cairns

in loving memory of his wife

Janet White

who died at Tantah Lodge, Peebles

on 14th May 1890

also his father and mother

Robert Cairns & Margaret Tait

also Mary, his daughter

also Jane White, his neice (misspelling as per the gravestone)

The above James Cairns

died 23rd Octr 1909 aged 79 years

James Lewess

Time to show another gravestone from the West Linton graveyard. And it is one that proved very difficult to read. Specially the ages of the deceased gave me great trouble and I'm far from sure that I have them down correctly.

But here is the text as I think it reads:

To the Memory of

James Lewess late Merchant

Linton who died 26 August 1832

aged 45 (?) years. And of Sophia

his daughter, who died 28 Nov

1829 aged 19 (could also be 15!) years. And also of

Isabella and Sophia who died in infancy.

Also of his sons

Robert who died in 1840

and John who died in 1849.

All you can say is that no member of this family got very old, and I also wondered what happened to James Lewess' wife who is not mentioned on this gravestone although I strongly suspect she was the one who was responsible for erecting the monument.

Perhaps there was once more text and it has now completely vanished from sight.

Robert Sanderson

It's a monument that catches your eye as soon as you enter West Linton graveyard from the Main Street. It's more a memorial stone than a gravestone but as it's so prominent I wanted to include it.

The text reads as follows:

Robert Sanderson

Poet and Patriot

Born in Linton, 10th

November 1836 where

he lived till he died

20th September 1902

Erected by many Friends

as a Token of Affection

and Admiration 1929

I have been unable to far to find out much information about Robert Sanderson or discover any of his poems but I'm on the case!

Wil Davidson's gravestone

I choose this grave to record today as my eye was caught by the beautiful winged soul at the top of the gravemonument. It also became my blip for today.

Here is the full inscription as far as it can still be read on the stone:

Here lyes

the body of Wil

Davidson tenant in

Stenstone who die

Febry 1792 aged

years (there is a blank here for his years on the stone)

Here lyes Marion

Stevenson spouse

to William Davidson

late tennant in

Murrays-Hall who

died April 10 1772

aged 54 years

Also here lyes Alex

ander Davidson their

oldest son late te

nant in Pauls-Well

who died the 8 day

of February 1807 aged

57 years and his wife

Barbara Stevenson

who died 11th March 1844, aged 84

There was more but it has now completely disappeared. According to Sheila Scott (see booklist in the sidebar) it then read 11.3.1844 aged 84.
I thought I was done when I finised deciphring the inscription on the front but thought I would just have a look at the back. As you can see it has a supporting iron rod but there were also more inscription, which reads as follows:

Here lyeth

the body of

Alexander Davidson

tennant in

Hallmyre who

died September

13th 1740 aged

75 years

And also Rachel

Purdie his spouse

who died January

10th day 1750

aged 68 years

Also Thomas Davidson

late tenant in Malcom

ston died July 12th 1798

aged......44 according to Sheila Scott (see booklist sidebar)

I'm afraid there was once more here too but it's now completely disappeared and there is no explanation of how or even if these Davidsons were related to those mentioned on the front of the stone.

John Mossman's Grave

This is the gravstone belonging to a local schoolmaster and his family. It has pillars to the side and what looks like plumes at the top surrounding a flowerlike centre. The top of both pillars is also decorated.

The inscription reads:

Sacred to the memory of Mr. John Mossman. Schoolmaster of this Parish who died March 11 1808, aged 69. And Jean Forrest his wife, who died March 19 1798, aged 45 years. As also five of their children viz. Mary, George, Jacobina, George, & Jacobina, who died all young.

There also are traces of text underneath this, on the pedastal but this is no longer decipherable.