James Moffat

Yet another gravestone next to the side wall of the graveyard.

It reads:

Sacred

to the memory of

James Moffat

tenant Milton Mill

who died 27th Sept 1865 aged 54 years

also Lillias

born 6th Nov 1842 died 25th June 1843 (presumably his daughter)

There is an inscription on the bottom, now barely readable but by Googling what's left I surmise the following:

The .......erass....................hereth and the

power thereof falleth

David Alexander

This gravestone can also be found along the right hand side (coming in from the Main Street) of the graveyard, by the wall dividing it from the neighbouring houses.

The text reads as follows:

In Memory of

David Alexander

who died at North Esk Reservoir

Carlops

on 22nd November 1854

also of

Mary Murrah

his wife

who died at Leith

16th December

1891

also Janet Alexander

their daughter who died

at Carlops 1st January 1908

Underneath there is the following quotation:

Not lost but gone before.

Jane Alexander and John Porteous

This gravestone is located at the right-hand side (coming in from the Main Street)along the wall dividing the graveyard from adjacent houses. The text reads as follows:

In memory of

Jane Alexander

who died 24th April 1841 aged 68 years

and John Porteous

her husband who died 15th March 1856

aged 82 years

Also

Margaret Porteous

their daughter who died 18th Nov 1863

aged 52 years

Andrew Porteous

their son who died 24th Oct 1884

aged 75 years

William Porteous

their son who died 12th Octr 1886

aged 83 years

Isabella, Mary, and Jean

interred in Dalry cemetary Edinburgh

Lower down is the following inscription:

On Christ the solid rock we stand

all other grounds are sinking sand

And on the pedestal:

Erected to the memory of most

loving and affectionate parents

by their youngest daughter.

Henrietta Watson

It's surprising to discover that most of the stones that have fallen over are actually more recent ones than the very old gravestones. Perhaps they made them more solidly in the olden days. This one can still be read but has fallen off its pedestal and has now been draped over that backwards. The text reads:

In memory of

Henrietta Watson

who died

at Belmore Cottage

19th March 1916

Also her niece

Bessie Watson

wife of John Rodger

died at Sydney 19th Dec 1908

Also their son

John Watson Rodger

died at Croftview 27th Nov 1905

Are the clasped hands at the top a symbol that the family reached out to each other across the distance between West Linton and Australia, or is that just a romantic notion of mine?

Ann Anderson and Samuel E Johnston

Today I photographed this stone. It has the following text:

Erected

in fond

remembrance of

Ann Anderson

wife of

Samuel E Johnston

who died at Dovecot, Romano

the 26th Dec 1876

aged 53 years

exemplar as a wife

devoted as a mother

dutiful as a daughter

beloved as a sister

faithful as a friend

Also the above Samuel E. Johnston

who died at the Inch, Liberton

4th Aug 1908, aged 85 years.

It did make me wonder what I could mean to be called Examplar as a Wife? What does it take to achieve this?!

Alexander Smith

This stone too like the previous one is set against the wall bordering the Main Street in West Linton.

The text reads as follows:

In Memory of

Alexander Smith

weaver and precentor

Linton

who died in 1861

and of

John and Mary Smith

his

brother and sister..

This is as far as I could read it, but according to my book Peeblesshire monumental inscriptions pre 1855, compiled by Sheila A. Scott ( first edition published 1971, 2nd ed. 1993) there was once more further down on the stone, and it used to also say that John Boraman weaver Linton was buried there, he died on the 3rd April 1729 aged 42, also his wife Isobel Buie.

I don't know how reliable this is, but I pass it on for your information. There definitely used to be more text on the lower pedestal and some of it can just about be distinquished and it seems to confirm the above. I have no idea because Sheila Scott doesn't mention it, what the relationship was between the Boramans and the Smiths apart from their occupation. Having one gravestone between them suggests that there must have been some family connection. Or maybe the new gravestone was simply put on top of the old one.

And in case you're wondering what a precentor is (I had no idea either!) it is apparently a person who helps facilitate worship

Alexander Tod

Another of the gravestones set into the wall that runs along the Main Street in West Linton. At the top an illustration of palm fronds, an emblem of immortality.The inscription for this one reads:

In Memory of

Alexander Tod

who died at Greenend Decr 23 1885

aged 59

and his children

Janet

who died March 15 1864 aged 12

James

who died Augus 4 1878 aged 21

William

who died April 2 1880 aged 26

his wife

Euphemia McColl

who died March 24 1891 aged 65

and Alexander, their son

who died August 5 1891 aged 23

Underneath is the following engraved text:

Yet again we hope to meet them

when the day of life is fled

then in heaven we hope to greet them

where no farewell tears are shed.

This family seems to have suffered considerable tragic losses, no wonder they clung on to this text!

Alexander Coutts

It's been quite some time since I last uploaded a picture of a new gravestone here, but on this blog as opposed to my normal one, I'm simply doing a new post whenever I can. No schedule and thus no pressure.

The text on this stone reads:

In Memory of

Alexander Coutts

died 15th April 1880

aged 62 years

also his sons

George

died 7th Dec 1848(or 3)

aged 15 years

John

died 3rd March 1850

aged 9 years

and Janet Ireland

his wife died 8th January 1903

aged 85 years

Also his father-in-law

George Ireland

died 5th February 1851

aged 85 years

and mother-in-law

Isabella Scott

died 7th Oct 1873

aged 88 years

James Arrol's daughters

A sad stone dedicated to 2 small girls. Here is the full inscription:

Erected

by

James Arrol

in memory of

Elizabeth

his daughter who died 11st Sept 1874

aged 2 months

Charlotte

his daughter who died 8th Nov 1878

aged 12 years

Alexander Forrester

As I discussed on a recent post on my regular blog, if you were a minister or reverend you would normally be sure of a prominent spot in the graveyard, either next to or against the church itself or as in this case against the outer wall of the graveyard (the one along the Main Street). This is the text for the above stone:

Erected

by

the Rev'd Alex'r Forrester

of Linton

on the 1st May 1832

In affectionate remembrance and hope

of a blessed resurrection

of

Mary Bayne his mother

who died 1807

of

Charlotte McCaul his wife

who died in 1825

of

Catherine Hunter, his daughter

who died that same year

And of

William his Eldest son

who died in 1811

of

James, His youngest son

who died in 1809

Also

sacred to the memory of

the Rev'd Alexander Forrester

for 46 years minister of the parish of

West Linton

who died on 29th May 1836

The reverend certainly suffered a tragic loss of many members of his family before he too succumbed.

This is one of those wonderful surprises you can come across in most graveyards and which will be familiar to stamp artists too. You merrily start stamping a text on a page and by the time you come to the end of the line there is no room left for the last letter! (solution: start stamping in the middle!). And it happens to stonemasons too, as you can see here. The r for daughter couldn't be squeezed in. Solution: carve it above. That might work for stamping too and look quite quirky. Don't know what the Reverend made of this though?!