John Geddie (1848–1937) was a journalist and author of several books mainly on the subject 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 ...

. His earliest books were about foreign parts but it is not known whether he actually visited these places.

Life

Geddie was born on 8 December 1846 in

Garmouth, Moray Garmouth ( gd, Geàrr Magh narrow plain" spurious gd, Gairmeach, A' Ghairmich; sco, Gairmou', Garmo), is a village in Moray, north east Scotland. It is situated close to the mouth of the River Spey and the coast of the Moray Firth at nearb ...

on the

River Spey The River Spey (Scottish Gaelic: Uisge Spè) is a river in the northeast of Scotland. At it is the eighth longest river in the United Kingdom, as well as the second longest and fastest-flowing river in Scotland. It is important for salmon fishi ...

and in the Parish o
Speymouth

Moray Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Between 1975 ...

. He was the son of James Geddie, a

shipbuilder Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

, and of Margaret Spence. He was educated at

Garmouth Garmouth ( gd, Geàrr Magh narrow plain" spurious gd, Gairmeach, A' Ghairmich; sco, Gairmou', Garmo), is a village in Moray, north east Scotland. It is situated close to the mouth of the River Spey and the coast of the Moray Firth at nearby ...

Free Church School and at Milne's Institution,

Fochabers Fochabers (; gd, Fachabair or Fothabair) is a village in the Parish of Bellie, in Moray, Scotland, east of the cathedral city of Elgin and located on the east bank of the River Spey. 1,728 people live in the village, which enjoys a rich mus ...

. From 1864 to 1870 he was a law clerk in Elgin and

and attended law classes at

Edinburgh University 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 1582 ...

. While attending these classes, he encountered

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

on the few occasions that the latter attended the

conveyancing In law, conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of real property from one person to another, or the granting of an encumbrance such as a mortgage or a lien. A typical conveyancing transaction has two major phases: the exchange of contracts ...

class. In June 1882, Geddie became a Fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

. He was recommended as Fellow by

John Bartholomew John Bartholomew (25 December 1831 – 29 March 1893) was a Scottish cartographer. Life Bartholomew was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. His father, John Bartholomew Sr., started a cartographical establishment in Edinburgh, and he was educated ...

and the geographer,

John Francon Williams John Francon Williams (1854 – 4 September 1911) was a Welsh writer, geographer, historian, journalist, cartographer, and inventor, born in Llanllechid, Caernarvonshire. His seminal work was ''The Geography of the Oceans''. Family John Fran ...

(father of missionary and writer,

Aeneas Francon Williams Aeneas Francon Williams, FRSGS (17 February 1886 – 9 December 1971) was a Minister of the Church of Scotland, a Missionary, Chaplain, writer and a poet. Williams was a missionary in the Eastern Himalayas and China and writer of many publishe ...

). This followed the publication of his works on

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

and the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. As the latter work is 572 pages long and seems written by someone with an intimate knowledge of Russia, he may have travelled there though there is no record of this. In 1889, Geddie joined the

Institute of Journalists The Chartered Institute of Journalists is a professional association for journalists and is the senior such body in the UK and the oldest in the world. History The ''Chartered Institute of Journalists'' was proposed during a meeting in Manches ...

. According to Neil Macara Brown: "Geddie is credited with coining the term 'wee free' in reference to the remnant of the

Free Church of Scotland Free Church of Scotland may refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900), seceded in 1843 from the Church of Scotland. The majority merged in 1900 into the United Free Church of Scotland; historical * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), rema ...

. In a leader he jibed: 'It is hard to see how the poor wee

Free Church A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions from ...

, which has just come into so overwhelming an inheritance, is to free itself; even if it wished, from the fortune which the law has hung about its neck.'" In 1875, he married Isabella Cecilia Young (d. 1931) and they had four sons and three daughters. His interests were golf, cycling, and especially walking. He played a major role in the establishment of the

Braid Hills The Braid Hills form an area towards the south-western edge of Edinburgh, Scotland. The hills themselves are largely open space. Housing in the area is mostly confined to detached villas, and some large terraced houses. The ''Braid Hills Hotel'' ...

Public Golf Course and the Edinburgh Evening Dispatch Trophy there in 1888. He died in

on 20 January 1937.

His career in journalism

* 1870-1889 - Sub-Editor with

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...

. * 1886-1889 - Lead Writer with the Edinburgh Evening Dispatch * 1889-1929 - Assistant Editor and Lead Writer with

Published books

* ''Lake Regions of

Central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, ...

: A Record of Discovery'', Edinburgh and London: Nelson, 1881. * ''Beyond the

: A Story of Adventure'', Edinburgh and London: Nelson, 1882. * ''The

: Historical and Descriptive'', Nelson, 1882. * ''The Fringes of

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

'', (illustrated), Edinburgh: D. Douglas, 1894. * '' The Balladists,'' Edinburgh:

Oliphant, Anderson and Ferrier Oliphant, Anderson and Ferrier was a Scottish publishing company based in the national capital Edinburgh. It produced many hundreds of books mainly on religious and biographical themes, especially during its heyday from about 1880 to 1910. It is ...

, July 1896, ( "Famous Scots Series"). * ''The

Water of Leith The Water of Leith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Uisge Lìte'') is the main river flowing near central Edinburgh, Scotland, and flows into the port of Leith where it flows into the sea via the Firth of Forth. Name The name ''Leith'' may be of Britto ...

, From Source to Sea'', With illustrations by Joseph Brown; Edinburgh : W. H. White & Co., 1896. * ''The Home Country of R. L. Stevenson. Being the Valley of the Water of Leith from source to sea'', illustrated by Joseph Brown, (second edition), Edinburgh and London : W. H. White & Co., 1898. * ''Romantic Edinburgh'', London : Sands & Co., 1900, (with editions in 1911 and 1929). * ''Souvenir of the opening of the North British Station Hotel,

'', 15 October 1902, Edinburgh: Banks & Co., 1902. * ''

in Pictures'', (edited), London: Sands & Co., 1903. * ''The Heart of

'', with eight illustrations by Philip B. Whelpley. (pp. 131. Sands & Co.: Edinburgh & London, 1913.) * '' Thomas the Rymour and his

Rhymes A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...

''.

ith a portrait of the author The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...

Edinburgh: Printed for the Rymour Club and issued from John Knox's House, 1920. * ''The Scott country'', painted by E.W. Haslehust, London : Blackie & Son Ltd., 1922] * ''The Shores of

'', painted by E.W. Haslehust. London, 922. * ''The Fringes of

'', illustrated by Arthur Wall, London and Edinburgh: W. & R. Chambers, 1926. * ''London

Morayshire Moray; ( gd, Moireibh ) or Morayshire, called Elginshire until 1919, is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland, bordering Nairnshire to the west, Inverness-shire to the south, and Banffshire to the east. It w ...

Club,Cf.'' Annals of the London

Club'', by James Ray and W. C. Grant, London: C. Skipper & Co., 1894. Old

Characters'', (Edited), Elgin, 1931. * ''

the Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Loth ...

and

the Trossachs The Trossachs (; gd, Na Tròiseachan) generally refers to an area of wooded glens, braes, and lochs lying to the east of Ben Lomond in the Stirling council area of Scotland. The name is taken from that of a small woodland glen that lies at t ...

'', painted by E.W. Haslehust, London : Blackie & Son Ltd, 1933. * ''

'', painted by E.W. Haslehust, London and Glasgow: Blackie & Son Ltd., 1936.

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

* https://web.archive.org/web/20120224104245/http://www.suntree.us/geddieworld/gedalbum5.html * http://www.scoop-database.com/bio/geddie_john * http://www.bl.uk

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Geddie, John 1840s births 1937 deaths Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society People from Moray Scottish biographers Scottish editors Scottish journalists Scottish non-fiction writers Scottish travel writers