John Lapraik (1727 – 7 May 1807) was a Scottish farmer and poet, and friend of

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

Life

The family name is derived from the French 'Laprivick' or 'Lekprevick' and the first of the Scottish branch had accompanied Mary Queen of Scots to Scotland and after her defeat at Langside he settled at Dalfram Farm. Lapraik was born at Laigh Dalquhram, about three miles west of

Muirkirk Muirkirk ( gd, Eaglais an t-Slèibh) is a small village in East Ayrshire, southwest Scotland. It is located on the north bank of the River Ayr, between Cumnock and Glenbuck on the A70. Conservation The Muirkirk & North Lowther Uplands Special ...

, Ayrshire, in 1727. After attending the local school he succeeded his father, as the eldest son, to the family estate, which was of considerable extent. He also rented the lands and mill of Muirsmill, in the neighbourhood. In March 1754 he married Margaret Rankine, sister of Burns's friend John Rankine.John Lapraik
lapraik.com, accessed 9 March 2017. She died about 1762 after the birth of her fifth child. In 1766 Lapraik married Janet Anderson of Lightshaw, from a neighbouring farm. They had nine children, and Janet survived her husband by fifteen years. Lapraik held the lands of Nether Dalquhram, Laigh Hall or Upper Dalquhram and Douglass Dalquhram. He also leased the lands of Muirsmill close to Dalquhran. A memorial to John Lapraik - geograph

Ruined by the collapse of the

Ayr Bank Douglas, Heron & Company, also known as the Ayr Bank, was a Scottish bank with its head office at Ayr. It opened in November 1769 and folded in 1772 during the crisis of 1772. History The nominal capital of the company was £150,000 or £160,00 ...

in 1772, Lapraik had first to let and then to sell his estate; for several years he struggled to retain his mill and farms, but after an interval had to relinquish them. He was imprisoned as a debtor in Ayr, and released in 1785. He leased lands and the mill at Muirsmill a second time, moved to Nether Wellwood for a couple of years' and finally in 1798 he opened a public-house at Muirkirk, conducting the village post-office on the same premises. He died there, aged 80, on 7 May 1807.

Lapraik and Robert Burns

Early in 1785

heard the song "When I upon thy bosom lean" at a "rocking", or social gathering, in his house at Mossgiel Farm, Mauchline. Learning that Lapraik was the author, he made his acquaintance, sending him a verse epistle, dated 1 April 1785. (Burns was not aware that the song was an adaptation of an anonymous lyric published in

Walter Ruddiman Walter Ruddiman (1719 – 6 June 1781) was a Scottish printer, publisher and newspaper proprietor based in Edinburgh. Born in Alvah, near Banff, in the North-East of Scotland, he was the youngest son of the farmer James Ruddiman (c. 1680 – c. ...

's ''Weekly Magazine'', 14 October 1773.) Lapraik replied in kind, and Burns sent a second epistle dated 21 April 1785. There were altogether three epistles to Lapraik; they were published by Burns in 1786. Encouraged by Burns's interest, Lapraik published in 1788 a book of poems, ''Poems on Several Occasions''. It was financed by subscribers and printed by John Wilson of Kilmarnock, who had printed Burns's first published poems two years earlier. However, the book did not sell well.Poems and Songs
lapraik.com, accessed 9 March 2017. John Richmond, a great friend of Burns, assisted Lapraik with gaining subscribers for the publication.

References

Attribution *

External links

Video footage of the John Lapraik Memorial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lapraik, John 1727 births 1807 deaths 18th-century Scottish poets People from East Ayrshire Robert Burns