William Aiton was a Scottish law agent, agriculturalist and sheriff-substitute of the county of Lanark

Lanark

Lanark is a small town in the central belt of Scotland. Its population of 8,253 makes it the 100th largest settlement in Scotland. The name is believed to come from the Cumbric Lanerc meaning "clear space, glade"....

. He was an authority on all matters bearing on Scottish husbandry.

He was born at Silverwood

Silverwood, Ayrshire

Silverwood in the Parish of Kilmarnock lies in East Ayrshire, Scotland. This was once a small estate with a mansion house; it is now a farm. The plantation nearby is named after it.-The estate:...

, Kilmarnock

Kilmarnock

Kilmarnock is a large burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of 44,734. It is the second largest town in Ayrshire. The River Irvine runs through its eastern section, and the Kilmarnock Water passes through it, giving rise to the name 'Bank Street'...

, in 1760, a neighbourhood which he left in 1785 to go to Strathaven

Strathaven

Strathaven is a historic market town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The town was granted a Royal Charter in 1450, making the Town of Strathaven a burgh of barony. The town's principal industry was primarily weaving in the 19th and early 20th centuries, however this declined when faced by...

, Lanarkshire

Lanarkshire

Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...

, where he practised for many years as a law agent. He next went to Hamilton, where he held office as one of the sheriff-substitutes of the county from 1816 up to 1822. He died in 1847. At no period did his income exceed a hundred a year, and yet out of this, with a family of twelve children, he educated four sons for liberal professions, often sending them his last guinea when they were students at college.

Works

His works are: 1. ‘A Treatise on Moss-earth,’ Ayr, 1811. 2. ‘General View of the Agriculture of the County of Ayr,’ Glasgow, 1811. 3. ‘General View of the Agriculture of the County of Bute,’ Glasgow, 1816. 4. ‘A History of the Rencounter at Drumclog and Battle at Bothwell Bridge,’ Hamilton, 1821. 5. ‘An Inquiry into the Pedigree of the Hamilton Family,’ Glasgow, 1827. 6. ‘Inquiry into the House of Aiton in Scotland,’ Hamilton, 1830.