Lewis Balfour (1777–1860) was a Scottish

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

minister and grandfather to the author

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 ...

Life

Balfour was born on 30 August 1777 at Pilrig House between

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

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

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; ; ) 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, making it Fife's second-largest s ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

, the daughter of Dr

Robert Whytt Robert Whytt (1714–1766) was a Scottish physician. His work, on unconscious reflexes, tubercular meningitis, urinary bladder stones, and hysteria, is remembered now most for his book on diseases of the nervous system. He served as President of ...

, Professor of Medicine at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

and his father was the son of James Balfour. He was christened on 14 May 1777 in

South Leith Parish Church North and South Leith Parish Church, originally the Kirk of Our Lady, St Mary, is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. Prior to the union with the former North Leith Parish Church in 2024, the building was known as South Leith Parish Churc ...

. Lewis was educated at the

High School A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

then studied divinity at the University of Edinburgh. He was licensed to preach by the

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

Sorn Sorn may refer to: Places * Sorn, East Ayrshire, a village in Scotland * Sorn Castle, East Ayrshire, Scotland * River Sorn, Islay, Scotland * Sørn and Bernt, rocks off the coast of South Georgia * Sorn, restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand People * ...

. 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. History The title was created in 1624 for John Maitland, 2nd Lord Maitland of Thirlestane, Berwickshire. The se ...

, acted as his patron and in 1824 he was translated to

Colinton Colinton is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland situated southwest 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-east. To the north-w ...

parish south-west of

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

was a frequent visitor. His position as minister of Colinton was filled by Rev Dr William Lockhart of Denny.

Family

On 26 April 1808, he married Henrietta Scott Smith (born 1787), the third daughter of the Rev. Dr George Smith (1748–1823), minister of Galston. They were married at 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 '' ...

in Galston. Their thirteen children included the engineer James Balfour, the physician

George William Balfour George William Balfour Royal Society of Edinburgh, 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, East Ayrshire, Sorn, Ayrshire, on 2 June 1823, h ...

and Margaret Isabella Balfour. Margaret married the lighthouse engineer

Thomas Stevenson Thomas Stevenson President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 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 ...

and was the mother of the author

. Their daughter Henrietta Louisa Balfour (1822–1853), married R. H. Traquair, uncle of naturalist and palaeontologist

Ramsay Traquair Ramsay Heatley Traquair Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE Fellow of the Royal Society of London, FRS (30 July 1840 – 22 November 1912) was a Scottish naturalist and palaeontologist who became a leading expert on fossil fish. Tra ...

. Their sons Lewis Balfour (1817–1870) was a merchant in

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

, and Mackintosh Balfour (1825–1894) was 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 records two grandchildren living at Colinton Manse, Lewis Balfour (born 1842, India, died 1873), and John Boyle (born 1841, India).1851 census of Scotland He died at Colinton manse on 24 April 1860. He was predeceased by his wife Henrietta who also died at the manse on 13 March 1844. Balfour 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.

Family tree

Artistic recognition

A family photographic portrait is held in the

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

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 19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Robert Louis Stevenson