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Poe's Scottish Connections
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Searching For Poe In Scotland
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We first read of the wealthy uncle of John Allan and John Galt, another John Galt, of Craiksland Farm, Dundonald Parish, in the local history book, The Royal Burgh of Irvine, by McJannet. This repository of specific information of official records was one of the many that were in the Hogg Room of the Burns Museum. That information established the family relationship of the Duke of Portland's 1750 tenant, John Galt, Esquire, to the group of our subjects, whom I have labeled, "The Ayrshire Lads." John Allan was born on the property in 1780.
The Farm, seen below, however, passed to the family of the present owner, Mr. James Reed, who very kindly allowed us access to his farm and house. He indicated that the property passed from the Galts over a hundred years ago, and has been in his family since. As most of his fellow British dairy farmers' operations, Mr. Reed's stock of cows succumbed to Mad Cow Disease, and were destroyed. He has had to deal with the extraordinary economic hardship of transforming his animal husbandry into new farm products. Such has been the history of area farmers since the time of Robert Burns, whose own farm, Mossgiel, near Mauchline, failed.
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But for the gracious interest of our project by immediate-past Archivist of the Dundonald Parish Kirk, Bobby Kirk, who told us that he had something inside the church "which might be of interest to [us]," knowledge of the 1815 John Galt gift of the Holy Communion pewter set, seen to the right, would have passed into oblivion. Squire Galt was the wealthy uncle of John Allan, on whose estate he was born. No one knew from where the Holy Communion set came. The pastor, Bob Mays, and the Elders wanted to dispose of it and buy a new set!
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The granddaughter of Bobby and Inez Kirk took the photograph of specimens from the John Galt pewter set at our request from California. Mr. Galt was married to Jean Allan, one of the Allans of Dundonald parish. The roll of film on which our valuable photographs were taken were probably exposed from the security X-ray machines at the Glasgow and London airports. We are grateful that even photographs of poor quality survived.
In the extraordinary photograph to the left, the recent past Archivist of the Dundonald Parish Kirk, Bobby Kirk, is seen before he died. On this third, and final, tour of the Dundonald area, Kirk showed us the James Allan headstone in the cemetery of the Kirk yard. Grace Kenmotsu took the photograph, but one can see the film suffered unintended exposure prior to development. Kirk is the author of The Pictorial History of Dundonald. From that book at The Dick Institute, Brill made the discovery of the Allan-Burns-Galt-Poe connections that began before his first guess of 1750.
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Mr. Gordon Stewert, present Dundonald Parish Church Archivist, inside the church with his wife. During our second visit to his home, he found the documentation of the John Galt Holy Communion gift set in the church Session records. In the background can be seen the back of the cabinet on which the gift sits when not in use. Photo by Grace Kenmotsu, September 2003, during our attendance at the Robert Burns World Federation's Annual Conference, Kilmarnock.
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The 1750 farm of wealthy uncle, John Galt, of the Allans, Burns, Galts, and Poes who appears largely responsible for their subsequent fame, infamy, and wealth still exists today. Located in Dundonald Parish, as reported by Hervey Allen, the estate is listed on Government Ordnance Survey maps as Craicksland, within 15 minute walks of either the harbor at Troon, or the church. Seen in the closeup of the sign above the front door of the farm, present owner, James Reid, graciously showed us the estate, and explained his family's long ownership of the property. See, "The Dundonald Survey," in our book for details.
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