Old Photograph Post Office Ettrick Scotland


Old photograph of the Post Office in Ettrick, Scottish Borders, Scotland. The Poet James Hogg is known as the " Ettrick Shepherd " was born at a farm in Ettrick, by Ettrick Hall,and is buried in Ettrick Kirkyard. James Hogg, born 1770, died 21 November 1835, was a Scottish poet, novelist and essayist who wrote in both Scots and English. As a young man he worked as a shepherd and farmhand, and was largely self educated through reading. He was a friend of many of the great writers of his day, including Sir Walter Scott, of whom he later wrote an unauthorized biography. He became widely known as the Ettrick Shepherd, a nickname under which some of his works were published. His father, Robert Hogg, born 1729, died 1820, was a tenant farmer while his mother, Margaret Hogg, née Laidlaw, born 1730, died 1813, was noted for collecting native Scottish ballads. Margaret Laidlaw's father, known as Will o' Phawhope, was said to have been the last man in the Border country to speak with the fairies. James was the second eldest of four brothers, his siblings being William, David, and Robert. Robert and David later emigrated to the USA, while James and William remained in Scotland for their entire lives.



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