If) Life of ^Iacmillan. 



II. — Resca7rhcs ill the Life of Joint Macmillan. P)y tln' Ki'v. TI. 

 M. P>. Ueid, B.D.. of Balmaghie. 



I take this opportunity of commuuicating certain inquiries 

 which I have carried throug'h in reg'ard to some points in the life 

 of the Rev. John Macmillan, minister of the parish of Balmaghie 

 in 1701, and afterwards the pastor of the United i^ocieties. 



I. The first matter i-i the date and place of Macmillan's 

 liirth. In the " History of the Reformed Presbyterian ('hurch." 

 published in 1893, by the Rev. Matthew Hutchison of New Cum- 

 nock, it is stated that he was " born in the parish of Penning-ham. 

 Kirkcudbrightshire, in 10 GO."* There are at least two distinct 

 mistakes here. Penninghame is in Wigtownshire^ and Macmillan 

 was not born in Penninghame, but in Minnigafm Kirkcudbright- 

 shire. The iisual spot assigned for his birthplace is a farm-house 

 called Barncauchlaw, about four miles from Newton-Stewart and 

 four and a half nriles from the Murray Monument. I visited the 

 place in August this year, in company with Dr John Grieve, a 

 great-great-grandson of MacmillaTi on the female side. Barn- 

 cauchlaw lies amid wild and picturesque scenery, quite near th(> 

 coaching" road, which is now a summer resort of toui'ists. AVe 

 received a warm welcome from the present tenant, whose name is 

 M'Geoch. It was stated by Mrs M'Geoch that the old small 

 house still stands, but has l)een much added to in recent times. 

 One little inner bedroom was considered most prol)al)ly the scene 

 of Macmillan's Inrth. Though there are no Macmillans now at 

 Barncauchlaw, tliey al)0und in the neighbourhood. There are 

 Macmillans at Palgown (since 1800), at Glenhead, at Glenlee ; and 

 in Newton-Stewart itself the name is fretjuent both among- 

 families and on public building-s, such as the M'Millan Hall. 



A few weeks ago I also visited Glenhead, being- attracted to 

 it by the genial reference in the •' Advertisement " to Mr 

 Crockett's "Men of the Moss Hags." Glenhead is a sheep farm 

 about 13 or 14 miles from Newton-Stewart, tenanted at present' 

 by a Mr John Macmillan, who gave me a most cordial welcome, 

 and showed much hospitality. The road to Glenhead is extremely 

 wild and precipitous, and certainly not one to be traversed after a 

 Galloway market day, unless by a very steady foot. Here I 

 found a verj^ old copy (perhaps, indeed, an editio princeps) of the 



•" Paee 140. 



