John Ramsay of Ochtertyre

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

FSAScot (1736–1814) was a Scottish writer and antiquarian. A renowned letter-writer even in his own lifetime, most of his extensive correspondence has since been lost. His home in

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirli ...

is near

Blair Drummond Blair Drummond is a small rural community northwest of Stirling in the Stirling district of Scotland, predominantly located along the A84 road. Lying to the north of the River Forth, the community is within the registration county of Perthshire ...

, in the parish of

Kincardine-in-Menteith Kincardine is a civil parish in the Scottish council area of Stirling and the former county of Perthshire in the historic district of Menteith. It lies between the River Teith and River Forth and contains the villages of Blair Drummond and Thor ...

. Sometimes referred to as Oughtertyre or Auchtertyre, it is not to be confused by the larger

Ochtertyre Ochtertyre is a country house and estate in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is located in Strathearn, between Crieff and Loch Turret, north of the A85. History The ancient seat of the Ochtertyre estate was Castle Cluggy, on the shore of Loch ...

estate in

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

, owned by the Murray family.

Life

He was born at Ochtertyre House on 26 August 1736 the son of Anne Dundas, daughter of General

Ralph Dundas General Ralph Dundas (1730 – 7 February 1814) was a Scottish officer of the British Army. Early life Ralph Dundas was the son of John Dundas of Manour (1701–1780) and Anne Murray, daughter of John Murray of Polmaise. In 1730 his father boug ...

of Manor, and her husband, James Ramsay WS (d.1748), a lawyer. Ramsay succeeded to his father's

lairdship Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...

at the age of 12, in 1748. He was educated at

Dalkeith Grammar School Dalkeith High School is a secondary state school located in Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland. History Dalkeith High School was previously the historic Dalkeith Grammar School. A list of masters of the Grammar School at Dalkeith (located on the Hig ...

under a Mr Barclay, then studied

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

at 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 ...

. In the summers of 1752 and 1753 he spent much time at

Menstrie Menstrie (Scottish Gaelic: ) is a village in the county of Clackmannanshire in Scotland. It is about east-northeast of Stirling and is one of a string of towns that, because of their location at the foothill base of the Ochil Hills, are collec ...

Castle at the home of George Abercromby (1705-1800) where he spent time with the teenage

Ralph Abercromby Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Abercromby (7 October 173428 March 1801) was a British people, British soldier and politician. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-general in the British Army, was appointed Gov ...

(who went on to a famous military career). Ramsay then trained at his late father's law firm until he was admitted to the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constitu ...

, however he never practised. He instead retired to the family estate at Ochtertyre House, on the south bank of the

River Teith The River Teith is a river in Scotland, which is formed from the confluence of two smaller rivers, the '' Garbh Uisge'' (River Leny) and '' Eas Gobhain'' at Callander, Stirlingshire. It flows into the River Forth near Drip north-west of Stirlin ...

, to the east of Blair Drummond House in the parish of Kincardine-in-Menteith. Here “''he lived a life of elegant ease, like a classical Roman in his villa, looking after his estate, observing life, reading and writing notes on 18th-century Scotland which eventually filled 10 folio volumes''”. In 1785 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were John Walker,

James Hutton James Hutton (; 3 June O.S.172614 June 1726 New Style. – 26 March 1797) was a Scottish geologist, agriculturalist, chemical manufacturer, naturalist and physician. Often referred to as the father of modern geology, he played a key role i ...

and

Joseph Black Joseph Black (16 April 1728 – 6 December 1799) was a Scottish physicist and chemist, known for his discoveries of magnesium, latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. He was Professor of Anatomy and Chemistry at the University of Glas ...

. He was visited by

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 ...

in 1787, during Burns' visit to

Harviestoun Harviestoun is an estate in Tillicoultry parish, Clackmannanshire, central Scotland. It lies at the base of the Ochil Hills, around east of Tillicoultry and west of Dollar. History The Harviestoun estate was bought in around 1780 by Edinburg ...

near Dollar, and was visited by

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...

in 1793. Scott's character, Jonathan Oldbuck in "

The Antiquary ''The Antiquary'' (1816), the third of the Waverley novels by Walter Scott, centres on the character of an antiquary: an amateur historian, archaeologist and collector of items of dubious antiquity. He is the eponymous character and for all prac ...

" was based partly on Ramsay. He was also a friend of

Lord Kames Henry Home, Lord Kames (169627 December 1782) was a Scottish writer, philosopher, advocate, judge, and agricultural improver. A central figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, a founding member of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, and act ...

. He died on 2 March 1814 and is buried in the parish churchyard of Kincardine-in-Menteith, slightly west of Ochtertyre House.

Works

*''Highland Vocal Airs'' (1784) *''Scotland and Scotsmen in the Eighteenth Century'', 18 volumes *''Letters of John Ramsay of Ochtertyre, 1799-1812'' *''An account of the game of

Curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...

, with Songs for the

Canonmills Canonmills is a district of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It lies to the south east of the Royal Botanic Garden at Inverleith, east of Stockbridge and west of Bellevue, in a low hollow north of Edinburgh's New Town. The area was forme ...

curling club'' *''

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

and his Times''

References

1736 births 1814 deaths Lairds Scottish diarists Scottish memoirists 18th-century Scottish historians Historians of Scotland Sports historians People of the Scottish Enlightenment Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish antiquarians Scottish letter writers People from Stirling (council area) People educated at Dalkeith High School Scottish biographers Members of the Faculty of Advocates {{UK-historian-stub