| Administrative History | James Hay Beattie [1768-1790]. Eldest son of Beattie. Named, with permission, after Beattie's patron James Hay, Earl of Erroll. His childhood is lovingly recorded in many letters, which show that Beattie was always a deeply involved parent, and in the memoir Beattie wrote shortly after James Hay's death. His childhood and adolescence were marred by his mother's mental illness, and her total disasppearance from his life when he was aged about eleven. He attended Aberdeen Grammar School, and then Marischal College from 1781 to 1786. He considered entering the church, but Beattie secured his appointment on 28 Spetember 1787 as his own assistant and successor. James Hay sometimes taught the Arts class, but was already ill with tubercolosis, of which he died on 19 November 1790. His father assembled a substantial volume of his prose and verse, printed in an edition of 200 copies for circulation among his friends in 1794, and subsequently published with Beattie's own poems in 1799
According to the letter, Steeven was formerly a servant to [Thomas] Gray and is now butler in Pembroke Hall. |
| Description | Letter from James Hay Beattie, Hunton, to Mr George Glennie, Maryculture [Maryculter], talking about Glennie's letter; telling Glennie to enjoy the summer and leave his reading & writing until the winter; and mentioning the Beatties' trip to London from Aberdeen. Letter mentions their meeting with Steeven at the Colleges, Cambridge and the Beatties' short excursion to Windsor to see Mr Herschel's [?Sir William Herschel (1738 - 1822), musician and astronomer] astronomical apparatus, which James Hay briefly describes. Letter describes the house in which the Beatties were staying, as well as the countryside. James Hay writes that his father is benefiting from the climate and journey, and James Hay says he is himself better with regards to his stomach, compared to the last time he saw Glennie. Letter mentions the Beatties' intended trip to London and then to Scotland.
Annotated on reverse: 'Mr George Glennie, - Maryculture to be left at Mr Murray's shop Broadgate Aberdeen'. |