Record

CollectionGB 0231 University of Aberdeen, Special Collections
LevelSeries
Ref NoMS 30/12
Alt Ref NoMS 30/B.12
TitleCorrespondence from James Beattie and Mary Beattie to James Dun
Date1763 - 1792
Extent27 items
Administrative HistoryJames Dun [1708-1798]. He was Beattie's father-in-law. At Marischal College 1728-1732. Under-master at Aberdeen Grammar School in 1732. Master and later Rector from 1744. LLD Marischal College 1772. He married Mary Beaton [1706-1781], who was the daughterof Kenneth Bethune Scott. The mental health of the Duns' children was said to be inherited from her. Beattie lived in Dun's house when he first came to Aberdeen in 1758 and also after he married Dun's daughter in 1767, and the families shared a house for much of Beattie's life. In the final years of Dun's life the relationshp became tense with disagreements on the management of Mary Beattie's mental health.

Mary (Mally Beattie) (1744 - 1807), Beattie's wife. Beattie met her when he boarded with her father on first coming to Aberdeen in 1758. They married in 1767.
Custodial HistoryGifted by Alexander Mackie, A.M. in 1908.
DescriptionPrincipally correspondence from James Beattie to James Dun, but also including two letters from Mary Beattie. Also some 'Notes on laughter'.
Access StatusOpen
Physical DescriptionBound and mounted.
Publication NoteRobinson, Roger 'The Correspondence of James Beattie' 4 volumes (Bristol, England: Thoemmes Continuum, 2004).
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