Medallion portrait of Joseph Laing Waugh by William Birnie Rhind

Joseph Laing Waugh (1868–1928) was a Scottish businessman and writer.

Life

Waugh was born in

Thornhill, Dumfries and Galloway Thornhill ( gd, Bàrr na Driseig Archived frothe original on 5 March 2014) is a village in the Mid Nithsdale area of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, south of Sanquhar and north of Dumfries on the main A76 road. Thornhill sits in the Nithsdale ...

on 17 April 1868. He moved to

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 ...

around 1890 where he ran a successful wallpaper business. He lived at 3 Comiston Drive in the south-west of the city. His great love however was writing. His work is sentimental in nature and largely consists of humorous biographies of characters from

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...

. He died in

on 22 November 1928. He is buried in

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on ...

in western Edinburgh. The grave lies under a tree in the south-east section behind the grave of Samuel Bough. It has a portrait medallion by the sculptor

William Birnie Rhind William Birnie Rhind RSA (1853–1933) was a Scottish sculptor. Life Rhind was born in Edinburgh on 27 February 1853 as the first son of sculptor John Rhind (1828–1892), and his wife, Catherine Birnie. He was the elder brother of J. Ma ...

. Waugh is also memorialised at 19 East Morton Street, Thornhill, with a bust by Henry Snell Gamley completed after Gamley’s death by Rhind.

Publications

*''Thornhill and Its Worthies'' (1905 plus several later editions) *''Robbie Doo'' (1912) (Robbie Doo was a stone-mason in Thornhill) *''Robert Burns: A Poem'' (1912) *''Cracks Wi' Robbie Doo'' (1914) *''Betty Grier'' (1915) *''Cute McCheyne and Other Stories'' (1917) *''Heroes in Homespun'' (1921) *''And A Little Child Shall Lead Them''

Family

He was married to Isabelle Goldie (1876-1949).

Artistic recognition

A bust of Waugh is placed on a building in his home town of Thornhill. A portrait also exists in the Dumfries Museum. In August 2010 a lecture on Waugh was presented to the Thornhill branch of

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

References

1868 births 1928 deaths People from Thornhill, Dumfries and Galloway Scottish businesspeople Scottish non-fiction writers Burials at the Dean Cemetery {{Scotland-writer-stub