William Houison Craufurd sometimes spelled William Howieson Craufurd (29 November 1781 – 17 September 1871) was a landed country gentleman. He was a Deputy-Lieutenant of the County of Ayr, Justice of the Peace, and Commissioner of Supply. After several years as an elder in the Church of Scotland, he left at the Disruption and joined the Free Church of Scotland. He was photographed by Hill & Adamson, pioneering photographers, who recorded many Free Church ministers and leaders.
William Houison Craufurd | |
|---|---|
 William Howieson Craufurd by Hill & Adamson | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 29 November 1781 |
| Died | 17 September 1871 |
| Deputy-Lieutenant of the County of Ayr | |
| Justice of the Peace | |
| Commissioner of Supply | |
Ancestry, early life and training
edit
William Houison-Craufurd of Craufurdland and Braehead, was born on 29 November 1781.[1] His father was James Moody, a Church of Scotland minister. James came to the West Church, Perth on 11 June 1772. James Moody assumed the name of Howison Craufurd in consequence of his succession by marriage to the estate of Craufurdland, by decision of the House of Lords on 14 March 1806. He subsequently demitted his post on 2 December 1807. William's mother was Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of John Howison and heiress of Braehead, Cramond.[2] William Houison Craufurd was educated at the High School of Edinburgh, from which he passed to the university.[3]
Political life and offices
editIn all public matters Mr Craufurd took a great and active interest. He was a Deputy-Lieutenant of the County of Ayr, Justice of the Peace, and Commissioner of Supply. All through life he was a keen politician, thoroughly Conservative, while the progress of events somewhat modified his views, he retained his political opinions to the end.[3]
Work as a Church of Scotland elder
editCraufurd occupied the chair at Bible Society and missionary meetings in Edinburgh, and joined with Dr Andrew Thomson in the defence of pure Bible circulation. He also enrolled himself in the ranks of Anti-patronage, a cause which in those days was treated with ridicule and scorn. As an elder of the church, he sat for nearly sixty years in the General Assembly, and although his voice was seldom heard in the discussions, his influence and vote were consistent. [3]
At the Disruption
editAt the Disruption, along with several other elders and a considerable following of the people, he left the Low Church of Kilmarnock, and attached himself to the Free High Church, in which for twenty-eight years, till the day of his death, he continued to bear office. In everything connected with the congregation he took the deepest interest. The Sustentation Fund especially was financially supported, and he made the Deacons' Courts of the various congregations in which his properties were situated the channel of communication.[3]
Later in life he was requested by his numerous friends to sit for his portrait, was hung in Craufurdland Castle. The Presbytery of Irvine, whose representative in the General Assembly he had been for fifty years, invited him to a public entertainment to celebrate his official jubilee.[3]
Royal tradition
editThe Howisons possessed Braehead in Mid Lothian since the reign of James the First. According to a tradition, which is embodied in the popular drama of 'Cramond Brig,' part of the estate was conferred by James the Second or Third, as a reward to one of their ancestors for having gone to the rescue of the king, then wandering about in disguise, when attacked by a gang of gipsies, and with no other weapon than his flail, with which he had been threshing corn in his barn, delivering him from his assailants. The tenure by which this land is held, is the presenting of a basin of water and a napkin to the king of Scotland, to wash his hands, King James, on entering Howison's cottage, before partaking of refreshment, having asked for water and a cloth to wipe the marks of the scuffle from his clothes. This service was performed by Mr. Howison-Crawfurd, then younger of Crawfurdland, in right of the lairdship of Braehead, to King George the Fourth, at the banquet given to his majesty by the city of Edinburgh, 24 August 1822, when he was attended by masters Charles and Walter Scott, the one a son, the other a nephew of the author of Waverley, as pages, attired in splendid dresses of scarlet and white satin. The rose-water then used has ever since been hermetically sealed up, and the towel which dried the hands of his majesty on that occasion has never been used for any other purpose. All the documents mentioned as granted to the above-named Archibald Craufurd, almoner to Queen Mary, were likewise carefully preserved by the Craufurdland family.[1]
Death
editHe died on 17 September 1871.[3] He was buried on 23 September 1871 at the family burial ground at Fenwick Parish Church.[4]
Family
editHe married on 14 June 1808, Jane Esther, only daughter of James Whyte, Esq. of Newmains, by his wife, Esther Craufurd, with issue.[1] She collected manuscripts including one of 'Epitaph' on Grizzel Grim by Robert Burns.
References
editCitations
edit- ^ a b c Anderson 1877.
- ^ Scott 1923.
- ^ a b c d e f Wylie 1881.
- ^ "William Houison Craufurd". Find a Grave. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
Sources
edit- Anderson, William (1877). "Craufurd of Craufurdland". The Scottish nation: or, The surnames, families, literature, honours, and biographical history of the people of Scotland. Vol. 1. A. Fullarton & co. pp. 702-703.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Brown, Thomas (1893). Annals of the disruption with extracts from the narratives of ministers who left the Scottish establishment in 1843 by Thomas Brown. Edinburgh: Macniven & Wallace. p. 89.
- Buchanan, Robert (1854). The ten years' conflict : being the history of the disruption of the Church of Scotland. Vol. 2. Glasgow; Edinburgh; London; New York: Blackie and Son. p. 590.
- Buchanan, Robert (1871). "obituary". The Home and Foreign Missionary Record of the Free Church of Scotland for 1871. Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson and Sons. pp. 254-255.
- Ewing, William (1914). Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843-1900. Vol. 2. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark. p. 27.
- Guthrie, Thomas (1874). Autobiography of Thomas Guthrie, D.D. Vol. 2. New York: R. Carter and Brothers. p. 44.
- McKay, Archibald (1858). The History of Kilmarnock. Kilmarnock: A. M'Kay. p. 267.
- Scott, Hew (1923). Fasti ecclesiæ scoticanæ; the succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the reformation. Vol. 4. Edinburgh : Oliver and Boyd. p. 235. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Wylie, James Aitken, ed. (1881). Disruption worthies : a memorial of 1843, with an historical sketch of the free church of Scotland from 1843 down to the present time. Edinburgh: T. C. Jack. pp. 179–184. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.