Harrower Family Tree » Edward Blair (1801-????)

Personal data Edward Blair 

• She was born on November 15, 1801 in Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Scotland.Source 1
• A child of Philemon Blair and Margaret McGowan

Household of Edward Blair

Notes about Edward Blair

1. BLAIR, EDWARD PHILEMON BLAIR/MARGARET MCGOWAN M 15/11/1801 465/ 60 14 Alloa

2. Philemon the 2nd reigned in the stead of his father. He came into office about the time of the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte (i.e. 1814), and was a real chip off the old block. He was very useful for many purposes, and was pretty generally employed by the merchants in the town. He was a capital “bottler,” and was allowed to be a fair judge of quality. In his chief occupation of grave-digger he used to have some quaint remarks. I remember on one occasion of a party who had a relative died, and who, before dying, had expressed a wish to be interred in another parish. Philie, on hearing of this, used the freedom of recommending surviving friends to “try her in Alloa first.” The advice was taken, and so far I have heard there has never been any complaints. Philie was a well-known character, and a considerable amount of liberty was taken with him. On one occasion, a person said to him, “I am afraid ye’ll no be lang in getting me, Philie.” “No a word about that,” he would kindly reply, “I would rather have either twa.” As stories about grave-diggers are very acceptable, I may mention that in his capacity of custodian of the old steeple, Philie's duty was to ring tho old church bell every night at ten o’clock. From causes which need not be particularly alluded to, Phillie sometimes rung the bell the wrong hour, and clocks and watches were not so plentiful then as they are now, people sometimes went to their beds an hour earlier than they intended. On one occasion when he was ringing the bell, two of your young Alloa swells (now no more) went in by the gate and locked the steeple door from the outside. It was a dark winter night and Philie was perplexed what to do. Looking over the opening above the dial plate, he called lustily to a passer-by to come and open the door. But the passer-by, thinking he was spoken to by a resurrectionist, took to his heels and ran. At length, seeing no way of escape from his unpleasant place of confinement, Philie had recourse to the expedient of ringing the “fire bell.” Very soon crowds gathered, and everybody was crying “fire, fire!” Where, where ?” At length several people went to the steeple itself, and loud overhead Philemon was heard howling "here, here,” and having given explanations, he was soon extricated from his prison. The end came at last, however. Philemon Blair, who as grave-digger, and as the manner of the class is, had callously consigned so many of the townsfolk to the narrow house, himself died and was buried, and Edward his son was called to reign in his stead. The careers of Ned, and his brother and successor Robert, are too recent for me particularly to describe. ...

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Timeline Edward Blair

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