John Baird (Scottish divine)
Encyclopedia
John Baird was a Scottish divine.
Baird was the eldest son of the Rev. James Baird, who was successively minister of Legertwood, Eccles, and Swinton, all in Berwickshire
, was born at Eccles 17 Feb. 1799, and educated at the Whitsome and Kelso
grammar schools. Later he proceeded to the University of Edinburgh
, where, in 1823, he founded the Plinian Society for the study of natural history, and was its first president. Going to Ireland in 1825, he was for some time engaged by the Irish Evangelical Society as one of their preachers. In 1829 he was ordained minister of Yetholm, Roxburghshire, where he died 29 Nov. 1861. A colony of gipsies, who were little better than heathens, had long been settled at Kirk Yetholm
, and Baird set himself resolutely to reclaim these people, and to make them Christians and useful members of society. The work was done in connection with a society formed in Edinburgh for the 'Reformation of the Gipsies in Scotland,' and it met with a considerable amount of success. Baird wrote the 'Scottish Gipsies' Advocate,' Edinburgh, 1839, and contributed an 'Account of the Parish of Yetholm' to the 'New Statistical Account of Scotland.' A memoir of him, by W. Baird (London, 1862), contains a list of words used by the gipsies of Yetholm, compared with Grellman's list of the continental gipsy language, and the corresponding words in Hindustani.
Baird was the eldest son of the Rev. James Baird, who was successively minister of Legertwood, Eccles, and Swinton, all in Berwickshire
Berwickshire
Berwickshire or the County of Berwick is a registration county, a committee area of the Scottish Borders Council, and a lieutenancy area of Scotland, on the border with England. The town after which it is named—Berwick-upon-Tweed—was lost by Scotland to England in 1482...
, was born at Eccles 17 Feb. 1799, and educated at the Whitsome and Kelso
Kelso High School (Scotland)
Kelso High School is a secondary school in Kelso, Scotland, under the control of the Scottish Borders Council. It is one of nine secondary schools in the Scottish Borders and the only one in Kelso. Pupils come to Kelso High School from the town of Kelso, the villages of Ednam, Eckford, Heiton,...
grammar schools. Later he proceeded to the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, where, in 1823, he founded the Plinian Society for the study of natural history, and was its first president. Going to Ireland in 1825, he was for some time engaged by the Irish Evangelical Society as one of their preachers. In 1829 he was ordained minister of Yetholm, Roxburghshire, where he died 29 Nov. 1861. A colony of gipsies, who were little better than heathens, had long been settled at Kirk Yetholm
Kirk Yetholm
Kirk Yetholm is a village in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland, south east of Kelso and less than west of the border. The first mention is of its church in the 13th century. Its sister town is Town Yetholm which lies half a mile across the Bowmont Water...
, and Baird set himself resolutely to reclaim these people, and to make them Christians and useful members of society. The work was done in connection with a society formed in Edinburgh for the 'Reformation of the Gipsies in Scotland,' and it met with a considerable amount of success. Baird wrote the 'Scottish Gipsies' Advocate,' Edinburgh, 1839, and contributed an 'Account of the Parish of Yetholm' to the 'New Statistical Account of Scotland.' A memoir of him, by W. Baird (London, 1862), contains a list of words used by the gipsies of Yetholm, compared with Grellman's list of the continental gipsy language, and the corresponding words in Hindustani.