John Crawford - house painter and poet

John Crawford was born in Greenock in 1816.  After serving his apprenticeship with Reid, Huie & Co chandlers, West Breast, Greenock he worked as a house painter and when he was 18 years old moved to Alloa and worked there.  As well as working to provide for his family, John Crawford also wrote poetry.

 

He published a collection of his poems and songs - “Doric Lays” in 1850, dedicated to Alloa merchant Alexander Bald (1783-1859), who had encouraged Crawford in his writing.  Crawford’s poems cover a wide variety of subjects, both homely tales of everyday life and more general works.  Many were written Scots and some in English.  He was also responsible for the illustration on the front of the edition of his work.

My Auld Wifie Jean

My couthie auld wifie aye blithesome to see,

As years slip awa’ aye the dearer to me;

For ferlies o’fashion I carena ae preen,

When I cleek to the kirk we’ my auld wifie Jean.

In 1835 he married Jean McDougal in Alloa and the couple had three sons and a daughter – Alexander Hope Crawford, born in 1841, William Motherwell Crawford, born in 1845, Mary McPherson Crawford born in1852 and Andrew McDougal Crawford born in 1854.  One of the sons may have died young, two of his sons and his daughter later settled in Canada.  Many of his poems and songs refer to children –

Mother’s Pet

Mother’s bairnie, mother’s dawtie,

Wee, wee steering stumping tottie,

Bonnie dreamer, - guileless glee

Lights thy black and laughing e’e.

John Crawford died in Alloa in 1873.  It was reported that he had just returned from a visit to Greenock, to see his daughter off to stay with her brothers in Canada.

He was also interested in history and had been in the process of writing “Memorials of Alloa”.  It was published after his death.  Rev Charles Rogers (who had a lot to do with the plans for the Wallace Monument in Stirling) wrote a memorial of Crawford’s life at the beginning of the book. 

There was another aspect to John Crawford’s life, apart from his poetry that made him interesting to the public.  He was related to Highland Mary (Mary Campbell) who was one of the loves of Scottish poet Robert Burns.

Crawford was the son of Alexander Crawford, a carpenter in Greenock and Mary McPherson.  His mother was the daughter of Peter McPherson and Mary Campbell (who may have been Highland Mary's aunt).  It was said that he was born in his grandmother’s house in Charles Street – the same one where Highland Mary died.  Highland Mary was buried in the Old West Kirkyard in a plot owned by Peter McPherson, Crawford’s grandfather.  

Interestingly, at the Burns Exhibition in Glasgow in 1896 there was an exhibit labelled “Dram glass given by Mrs Burns (Jean Armour) to Peter McPherson, uncle to Highland Mary.  Presented by Mrs Crawford, widow of the late John Crawford, author of “Doric Lays, etc", to James F Lyon, Alloa, 27 May 1896.”  You can view it here.

He was obviously an admirer of Burns for on 25 January 1859 (the centenary of the birth of Burns) he held a dinner at his home and it was described as “The Gathering o' the Bards”.