George Outram's grave, Warriston Cemetery

George Outram (25 March 1805 – 15 September 1856) was a Scottish humorous poet,

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

, friend of Professor John Wilson, and for some time editor of '' The Herald'' in Glasgow.

Life

Outram was born on 25 March 1805 the son of Elizabeth Knox (1779–1866) and Joseph Outram, manager of the

Clyde Ironworks The Clyde Iron Works was a Scottish-based ironworking plant which operated from 1786 to 1978. Clyde Iron occupied a large site near the Carmyle and Tollcross areas of Glasgow. The plant was built by William Cadell (1737–1819) and Thomas Edin ...

. He was born in the parish of New Monkland and Coatbridge. In 1807 the family moved to

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

, the harbour area of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. He attended Leith High School and then the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. He qualified as an advocate in 1827. In the 1830s he is listed as living at 14 Fettes Row, on the northern fringe of

Edinburgh's New Town The New Town is a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was built in stages between 1767 and around 1850, and retains much of its original neo-classical and Georgian period architecture. Its best known street is Princes Street ...

. In 1837 he married Frances McRobbie (d.1880) who had been born in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. In the same year he took over the parent company which printed the ''

Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

,'' founded in 1783 by

John Mennons John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

. Under Outram's leadership the company grew considerably, becoming the "eponymous" Scottish printing company and renaming itself George Outram & Co. From 19 July 1839 the newspaper bore the name of ''Outram & Co'' as its printer. He died at his country residence of Rosemore on the

Holy Loch The Holy Loch ( gd, An Loch Sianta/Seunta) is a sea loch, a part of the Cowal peninsula coast of the Firth of Clyde, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The "Holy Loch" name is believed to date from the 6th century, when Saint Munn landed there afte ...

near

Dunoon Dunoon (; gd, Dùn Omhain) is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in the south of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located on the western shore of the upper Firth of Clyde, to the south of the Holy Loch and to the north of Innellan. As well ...

on 15 September 1856. He is buried in

Warriston Cemetery Warriston Cemetery is a cemetery in Edinburgh. It lies in Warriston, one of the northern suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built by the then newly-formed Edinburgh Cemetery Company, and occupies around of land on a slightly sloping si ...

in north

. The grave lies close to the sealed east gate, behind the large monument to the poet Alexander Smith. He is buried with his wife, three sons, and mother (who died last).

Works

He printed privately in 1851 ''

Legal lyrics and metrical illustrations of the Scotch form of process Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

'', and later some of his work was collected posthumously in ''Lyrics, Legal and Miscellaneous'', which was published with a short biography in 1874.

References

External links

*
''Lyrics, Legal and Miscellaneous''
1805 births 1856 deaths 19th-century Scottish lawyers 19th-century Scottish journalists 19th-century Scottish poets 19th-century Scottish male writers Members of the Faculty of Advocates Scottish newspaper editors The Herald (Glasgow) editors Scottish male journalists Scottish male poets {{Scotland-writer-stub