Lewis Balfour (1777–1860) was a Scottish minister of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

. He was a pivotal figure in the family life of

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 ...

Life

He was born on 30 August 1777 at Pilrig House between

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 ...

and

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 son of John Balfour of Pilrig (1740–1814), son of James Balfour. His mother was Jean Whytt (1750–1833) of Bennochy Lodge near

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; sco, Kirkcaldy; gd, Cair Chaladain) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, ...

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 ...

, daughter of Dr

Robert Whytt The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, Professor of Medicine at Edinburgh University. He was christened on 14 May 1777 in

South Leith Parish Church South Leith Parish Church, originally the Kirk of Our Lady, St Mary, is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. It is the principal church and congregation in Leith, in Edinburgh. Its kirkyard is the burial place for John Home (author of ''D ...

. Lewis was educated at the High School in

then studied Divinity 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 ...

. He was licensed to preach by the

in 1805 and in August 1806 he was ordained as minister of

Sorn Vehicle Excise Duty (VED; also known as "vehicle tax", "car tax", and more controversially as "road tax", and formerly as a "tax disc") is an annual tax that is levied as an excise duty and which must be paid for most types of powered vehicles which ...

. In 1823 James

Earl of Lauderdale Earl of Lauderdale is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The current holder of the title is Ian Maitland, 18th Earl of Lauderdale. The title was created in 1624 for John Maitland, 2nd Lord Maitland of Thirlestane, Berwickshire. The second Ear ...

acted as his patron and in 1824 he was translated to

Colinton Colinton ( gd, Baile Cholgain) is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland situated south-west of the city centre. Up until the late 18th century it appears on maps as Collington. It is bordered by Dreghorn to the south and Craiglockhart to the north ...

parish south-west of

and remained there for the rest of his life. From 1850 onwards his young grandson

was a frequent visitor. He died at Colinton manse on 24 April 1860. He is buried in an open vault on the north side of

Colinton Parish Church Colinton Parish Church is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. The church building is located in Dell Road, Colinton, Edinburgh, Scotland next to the Water of Leith. History St Cuthbert's Church, originally called the parish of Hailes, was ...

, between James Gillespie and Admiral John Inglis. His position as minister of Colinton was filled by Rev Dr William Lockhart DD of Denny.

Family

He was married in the

manse A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions. Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...

Galston, East Ayrshire Galston ( Lowland Scots: ''Gauston'', Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile nan Gall'') is a municipality in East Ayrshire, Scotland, which has a population of 5,001 (2001) and is at the heart of the civil parish of the same name. It is situated in wooded co ...

, on 26 April 1808 to Henrietta Scott Smith (born in 1787), third daughter of the Rev. Dr. George Smith DD (1748–1823), minister of Galston. Mrs Balfour died in the manse in Colinton on 13 March 1844. Their thirteen children included

James Melville Balfour James Melville Balfour (2 June 1831 – 19 December 1869) was a Scottish-born New Zealand marine engineer. He is best remembered for the network of lighthouses that he designed. Balfour was a highly energetic man, who despite drowning after only ...

George William Balfour George William Balfour FRSE (2 June 1823 – 9 August 1903) was a Scottish physician, known as a heart specialist. Early life and education Born at the manse of Sorn, Ayrshire, on 2 June 1823, he was the sixth son and eighth of the thirteen c ...

and Margaret Isabella Balfour, the latter of whom married the lighthouse engineer

Thomas Stevenson Thomas Stevenson PRSE MInstCE FRSSA FSAScot (22 July 1818 – 8 May 1887) was a pioneering Scottish civil engineer, lighthouse designer and meteorologist, who designed over thirty lighthouses in and around Scotland, as well as the Stevenson sc ...

and bore the world-famous author Robert Louis Stevenson (christened Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson, after his grandfather; but Lewis was changed to Louis to make it appear more French, and Balfour was dropped altogether). Another daughter, Henrietta Louisa Balfour (1822–1853), married R. H. Traquair, uncle of

Ramsay Heatley Traquair Ramsay Heatley Traquair FRSE FRS (30 July 1840 – 22 November 1912) was a Scottish naturalist and palaeontologist who became a leading expert on fossil fish. Traquair trained as a medical doctor, but his thesis was on aspects of fish anatomy ...

. Among their other sons were Lewis Balfour (1817–1870), who became a merchant in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, and Mackintosh Balfour (1825–1894), who became a manager in the Bank of Bombay. R. L. Stevenson's book ''

A Child's Garden of Verses ''A Child's Garden of Verses'' is an 1885 volume of 64 poems for children by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It has been reprinted many times, often in illustrated versions, and is considered to be one of the most influential child ...

'' remembers his summers at Colinton manse. The 1851 census has two young grandchildren, Lewis Balfour (born 1842 in India, died 1873), and John Boyle (born 1841 in India), both living at Colinton manse.

Family tree

The grave of Rev Lewis Balfour, Colinton churchyard

Artistic recognition

A family photographic portrait is held in the

Scottish National Portrait Gallery The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. The gallery holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Co ...

Publications

*Sermon on the Death of Rev David Wilkie (1838)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balfour, Lewis 1777 births 1860 deaths Clergy from Edinburgh 19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland Robert Louis Stevenson