Reverend Samuel Martin

From ‘Armadale: Past and Present’ by R. Hynd-Brown 1906

Chapter V.

William Cameron: Armadale Schoolmaster and Poet

In the search for a schoolmaster, a young man named William Cameron came under the notice of the Committee. Mr Cameron, who was born at Denny on the 3^rd December, 1801, was the son of a woollen manufacturer, who in time was proprietor of woollen mills at Slamannan, Stirlingshire; Blackburn, near Bathgate; and Middle Strath, on the River Avon, in the parish of Torphichen.

Chas Roger, Esq., LL.D., F.S.A. (Scot.), in his “Modern Scottish Minstrel” says of Mr Cameron:-

“While receiving an education with a view to the ministry, the death of his father in 1819 was attended with an alteration in his prospects, and he was induced to accept the appointment of schoolmaster at the village of Armadale, in the parish of Bathgate. In 1833 he resigned this situation and removed to Glasgow, where he has since prosperously engaged in mercantile concerns. Of the various lyrics which have proceeded from his pen, ‘Jessie o’ the Dell’ is an especial favourite.”…

The parish minister was not above Mr Cameron’s notice, and the Rev. Samuel Martin, the parish minister of Bathgate, comes in for anything but flattering comment. Samuel, Mr Cameron tells us, squinted badly with both eyes and the character of man he was is shown in the lines given under the title –

“Rev Samuel Martin,” Of Bathgate, 1827.

From the kingdom of Fife on the shores of the Forth,

Which cannot be said to be far to the north,

By the will of the lord – a lord, I should say,

Young Samuel came squinting to Bathgate one day.

He had seen, thro’ the shadowy vista of years,

A method of living thro’ life, it appears;

He was right, and although it may greatly surprise,

We all must allow he had capital eyes;

And he still has the same ones for aught that I know,

Unless his old friends or new foes mean to show

That his vision’s impaired, while they beat and abuse

Him, for getting his stubborn wee head in the noose.

But O, ye his friends all, and O, ye his foes,

Have mercy on merciful men with your blows,

And allow the poor body to snooze out his dream,

Let him get at the skim, but he’s tasting the cream.

Now, somehow or other this same Samuel prig,

Tho’ an humble disciple, looks always so big,

And so haughtly struts thro’ the streets of the borough

As if he’d be laird of the manor to-morrow;

So say the censorious, but I should decide

It to be but his honest Levitical pride,

But why does the old son of Bachus refuse

To allow Sam’s right of his neck to the noose?

Brave Sam, a rich specimen thou art of more

Than of hunters of fortune or lovers of lore;

Thy noble and firm aristocratical soul

Beams out in its strength like a lord’s on the whole,

And might teach the vile submissive to stand

By our friends the conservative ones of the land.

O, those are the noble, the just and the wise,

Who only are worthy in Samuel’s two eyes;

He sees not, he hears not, the wild raving rad,

In the depths of his wisdom he knows they are mad,

Yes, mad to suppose as they have done of late,

The yoke should be thrown round the necks of the great,

As well as the poor – Why, the poor! They were born

To be just what they are! They may rant, they may scorn,

But who would say that a poor, ragged weaver

Can think for himself is a wicked deceiver!

O Samuel, wise Sam, stretch thy brave arm abroad

Try to stem revolutionary floods on our sod,

With thy back to the Kirk and thy feet to the foe,

Cry, odi communi vulgus et Simul arceo!

[This translates roughly as, ‘I hate the common masses and keep them away at once.’]

From The Bathgate Book p. 104

With the departure of 470 ministers from the Established Church on May 18, 1843 as a result of a dispute primarily over the role of the state in church appointments, the Rev Samuel Martin made his position known. He became one of the first signatories of the Act of Demission from the Church of Scotland.

[Oddly enough, Samuel Martin does not appear in the painting by David Octavius Hill of ‘The First General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland – Signing the Act of Separation and Deed of Demission at Tanfield, Edinburgh 23d May 1843.’. There are, however, a few unnamed faces so he may be one of those. Bathgate’s James Young Simpson and John Fleming are both shown.]

He then resigned his charge that he had held since 1825 and with his family left the manse for a small flat opposite the present site of St. David’s. Mr Martin was concerned about the material and education well being of his parishioners and was appointed as an examiner for the newly-built Bathgate Academy, a post he continued to hold after his resignation in 1843. He also instituted a savings bank in 1827 to encourage thrift among the working classes. It operated from the manse on Saturday evenings until his death in 1850.

For the first year after the Disruption, Mr Martin held services in a classroom at the academy. Soon members of his congregation who had followed his example joined the Free Church and had built a one-storey building in Engine Street on the site of St David’s, which was enlarged in 1858, with a gallery installed in 1862 and a hall in 1872.

From History of Bathgate and District by Alex. M. Bisset (1906) p.47

THE FREE CHURCH

The war of spiritual independence which was waged during what was known as “The Ten Years’ Conflict,” and which had its origin in the decision of the civil courts that State Aid to the Church of Scotland made her practically a creature of the state, culminated in the Disruption of 1843. The Rev. Samuel Martin, who was parish minister of Bathgate at this crisis, from the beginning contended stoutly for the evangelical party, and bore a great share in the trials and triumphs of that stirring period… In his memoirs we have a striking picture of his evacuation of the manse – a scene at once pathetic and heroic. After the Assembly of 1843 he returned to the manse in which nearly twenty of the most eventful years of his life had been spent, and began to prepare for leaving it… The garden, where, year after year, he had watched the growth of trees planted by his own hands, and tended the large white daisies which he had brought from the manse garden at Kirkcaldy (years after, when passing with him one bright moonlight night, he said, ‘Well, you may smile, but I found it hard in 1843 to leave these trees.’); and the home into which he had brought the beloved wife of his youth, and which had become the home of his children …. The procession from the manse was touching enough. The elder children and furniture had been sent on before; Mrs Martin followed, with her fifth boy, William, in her arms; and her husband walked beside her with the large family Bible under his arm. They moved along in silence to the small upper flat which they had rented, and which was the only dwelling they could then obtain.

In the years immediately succeeding the Disruption, Mr Martin laboured strenuously within the bounds of his own Presbytery and also in deputation work, with the result that stress and anxieties undermined his strength of body. He died at Bathgate on 15^th May, 1850, at the age of 48. A great number of his congregation “came out” with their minister, and erected the church in Engine Street, now known as St. David’s United Free. A new and larger church is now in course of construction on the old site, having sitting accommodation for 650, with class-room and hall attached.

[I remember the manse well enough. It was in Marjoribanks Street next to the rector’s house. At the back was a very extensive garden and in front were tall trees (presumably planted by Samuel Martin) which were home to a large rookery. The manse was built in 1812 to replace the old manse next to Kirkton Churchyard. The manse in Marjoribanks Street was sold in 1937 and a new manse bought in Balbardie Road. The rectory and manse were demolished to make way for West Lothian College (opened 1963).

A Map of the County of Linlithgow ca 1840 shows the Old Manse located about 300 yards east of Guildiehaugh Toll next to what is called a ‘Burying Place’ (Kirkton Churchyard). Samuel Martin is buried here. He was born in 1802 and he died in 1850. The Old Manse burned down in 1911.]

From the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland ca 1895

The parish of Bathgate contains also the small town of Armadale, 2½ miles W by S. It is bounded, N by Torphichen and Linlithgow, NE by a detached portion of Ecclesmachen, S by Livingston and Whitburn, SW by Shotts in Lanarkshire, and NW by Torphichen. Its greatest length from E to W is 6⅞ miles; its breadth from N to S varies between 2½ and 3⅞ miles.

[The map mentioned above shows that the Parish of Bathgate includes places such as Bathville, Deans, the Knock, Couston, Nethermuir Mill, Dykeside, Torbanehill, the Inch, and Drumcross.]

From Bathgate Academy 1833 – 1933 by Thomas Davidson

p15

Had the Will been carried out as Newlands undoubtedly intended, a princely legacy of of over

£60 000 would have fallen to Bathgate parish. As is well known, however, the document was challenged, and there ensued a protracted and costly litigation which ended in 1815 with a ruling by the Privy Council that the Trustees were entitled to only ten years’ interest on the whole estate … The sum that fell to the Trustees was approximately £14 500. As this was to be a capital sum, they could not proceed to the erection of a school until sufficient interest had accumulated.

p18-19

Despite this unavoidable delay, the Trustees wasted no time in making a temporary provision for the better education of the youth in the parish. Accommodation was secured in various places in the parish and the parochial schoolmaster – first Mr James Thornton, and then Mr James Taylor – was entrusted with the general supervision of the different schools. [Apart from the Parish School (on the site of Mid Street School – ‘The Wee Public’ – opposite the War Memorial), schools were located in Brown’s Square, Engine Street, Livery Street, Gideon Street, Drumcross, and in Armadale.]

Four times a year Mr Taylor submitted a Report to the Trustees [Samuel Martin being one.], giving details as to enrolments, progress, staff, etc. His opinions on the teaching and disciplinary powers of his subordinates are given with refreshing candour, Mr Cameron in Armadale being about the only one to receive unfailing commendation… In all, some £4606 was expended by the Trust on educational purposes before the actual opening of the Academy. [James Taylor was the first rector of the Academy. He died in 1834 and he is buried in Kirkton Churchyard.]

P23-24

It was agreed to have an Infant School for the time being and that the connection with the Parish School should cease as soon as the Academy opened… In all this preliminary work, the lion’s share was taken by the parish minister, the Rev. Samuel Martin. All sorts of tasks devolved upon him and were cheerfully and effectively discharged – receiving of applications, examining of candidates in their own schools, visiting of well-known institutions such as Dollar Academy in order to study their organisation and working, buying of text-books, maps, globes, etc. That the Academy ever came to be built was almost wholly due to Alexander Marjoribanks; that it developed along such sound educational lines was largely the work of the Rev. Samuel Martin.

p30

Difficulties arose and discontent was engendered in the town over the method of enrolling the youngest pupils. Mr Martin who was entrusted with this task was often deliberately deceived by parents regarding the age of their children and was thus exposed to charges of partiality and favouritism. So widespread did the abuse become that that it was resolved that the ages of all applicants for admission must be attested by an extract under the hands of the Parish Clerk.

From Reminiscences of Scottish Life and Character by Dean Ramsay (1872) p301

The Rev. Mr. M——– of Bathgate came up to a street-pavoir one day and addressed him, “Eh, John, what’s this you’re at?” “Oh! I’m mending the ways of Bathgate!” “Ah, John, I’ve long been trying to mend the ways o’ Bathgate, an’ they’re no weel yet.” “Weel, Mr. M., if you had tried my plan, and come doon to your knees, ye wad maybe hae come mair speed!”

[The Rev. Mr. M——- is Samuel Martin.]

From A Memoir of the Life of the late Robert Burns 1797 by Robert Heron (1764-1807)

The establishment of parish schools is one of the most beneficial that have ever been instituted in this country; and one which is no where so firmly fixed, or extended so completely throughout a whole kingdom, as in Scotland. Here, every parish has a schoolmaster. For a sum, rarely exceeding twenty pounds, in salary and fees, this person instructs the children of the parish in reading, writing, arithmetic, book-keeping, Latin, and Greek. The schoolmasters are generally students in philosophy or theology…So small are the fees for teaching, that no parents, however poor, can want the means to give their children, at least, such education at school as young Burns received.

End note

It is not known why William Cameron described Samuel Martin as a stubborn, haughty prig who looked down on the poor and on the working classes. In the words of Ian Hossack, “Samuel Martin was a Newland Trustee so was in effect William Cameron’s employer. Martin was an examiner for the various schools funded by the Trustees prior to the opening of the Academy. As an examiner he would have gone to the school in Armadale and there is a strong possibility that William Cameron took a strong exception to Martin and his methods.”

Acknowledgement

I am deeply indebted to Ian Hossack for providing me with so much additional and useful information. His knowledge of our local history is truly encyclopaedic.