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Robert Paterson (1716–1801), known as "Old Mortality", was a stonemason who took it upon himself to travel around lowland Scotland carving inscriptions for the unmarked graves of Covenanters martyred in the 17th century.
Robert's son Walter Paterson was also a stonemason, and was father to
Robert Paterson (1716–1801), known as "Old Mortality", was a stonemason who took it upon himself to travel around lowland Scotland carving inscriptions for the unmarked graves of Covenanters martyred in the 17th century. 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 ...
made him a principal character in his novel ''Old Mortality
''Old Mortality'' is one of the Waverley novels by Walter Scott. Set in south west Scotland, it forms, along with ''The Black Dwarf'', the 1st series of his ''Tales of My Landlord'' (1816). The novel deals with the period of the Covenanters, ...
'' (1816).
Life
Paterson was born nearHawick
Hawick ( ; sco, Haaick; gd, Hamhaig) is a town in the Scottish Borders council area and historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east of Selkirk. It is one of ...
in 1715. Through the patronage of Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick, whose cook he had married, he obtained the lease of a quarry at Gatelawbridge
Gatelawbridge is a hamlet in the region of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is situated two and a half miles east of Thornhill and near the gorge Crichope Linn. The origin of the name is unknown though in the past the locals called it Gateley ...
, but in 1745 his house was plundered by the retreating Jacobites
Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to:
Religion
* Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include:
** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometime ...
, and Paterson himself, a pronounced Cameronian
Cameronian was a name given to a radical faction of Scottish Covenanters who followed the teachings of Richard Cameron, and who were composed principally of those who signed the Sanquhar Declaration in 1680. They were also known as Society Me ...
, was carried off a prisoner.
He subsequently devoted his life to cutting and erecting stones for the graves of the Covenanters
Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covenan ...
, for 40 years wandering from place to place in the lowlands. He died in poverty at Caerlaverock
Caerlaverock (; gd, Cille Bhlàthain) is a civil parish in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.
The parish was historically in Dumfriesshire. The area includes:
* Caerlaverock Castle, a 13th-century castle, located south of Dumfries, Scotland
* Ca ...
in 1801, and a stone to his memory was erected by Scott's publishers in 1869 in the churchyard. There is also a memorial in Balmaclellan
Balmaclellan (Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile MhicIllFhaolain'', meaning town of the MacLellans) is a small hillside village of stone houses with slate roofs in a fold of the Galloway hills in south-west Scotland. To the west, across the Ken River, the ...
churchyard where Paterson lived for many years.
Family
Robert's son Walter Paterson was also a stonemason, and was father to Nathaniel Paterson
Nathaniel Paterson (1787–25 April 1871) was a Scottish minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly to the Free Church of Scotland in 1850/51. He was a close friend of Walter Scott and was included in his circle of "worthies".
L ...
who became Moderator of the General Assembly
The moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator. The Oxford Dictionary states th ...
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 1850.
Paterson's tombstone reads "To the Memory of Robert Paterson, Stone-engraver, well known as " Old Mortality," who died at Bankend of Caerlaverock, 14th February, i8or, aged 88; also of Elizabeth Gray, his spouse, who died at Balmaclellan village, 5th May, 1785, aged 59 ; also of Robert, their son, who died 30th April, 1846, aged 90 ; also of Agnes M'Knight, his spouse, who died 5th August, 1818 ; also of John, their son, who died 29th January, 18 10, aged 13 ; also of Alexander, who died at Wakefield, 26th October, 1837, aged 42; also of Robert, their son who died at Liverpool, 3rd February, 1865, aged 65— Erected by Thomas Paterson, 1855."
References
Citations
Sources
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Paterson, Robert 1715 births 1801 deaths People from Hawick Scottish stonemasons People associated with the Scottish Borders