354 ATHELSTANEFORD [PRESB. OF JOHN JENKISON, educated at Univ. 1701 of Edinburgh ; M.A. (13thJuly 1695) ; licen. by Presb. of Peebles 9th July 1700 ; called 25th June, and ord. 18th Sept. 1701 ; died 15th Feb. 1730, aged 55. Hemarr. (1) 7th Oct. 1702, Marion, daugh. of John Veitch of Dawyck, and had issue—Robert ; John ; Anna ; Isobel : (2) 27th Jan. 1714, Katherine Cunningham, and had five sons and two daughs., of whom Margaret marr. 19th March 1749, Andrew Laurie, school- master, Edinburgh.—[Wodrow's Anal.] 1731 ROBERT BLAIR, born 1699, eldest son of David B., min. of the Old Kirk Parish, Edinburgh ; educated at the Univ. of Edinburgh and in Holland ; licen. by Presb. of Haddington 5th Aug. 1729 ; pres. by Francis Kinloch, advocate, 11th Aug. 1730; ord. 5th Jan. 1731; died 4th Feb. 1746. He enjoyed the friendship of Isaac Watts and Philip Doddridge, and it was to some extent through the influence of the latter that the poem of The Grave, which brought the writer so much celebrity, was published. "His tastes were elegant and domestic. Books and flowers seem to have been the only rivals in his thoughts. His rambles were from his fireside to his garden ; and though the only record of his genius is of a gloomy character, it is evident that his habits and life contributed to render him cheerful and happy." He marr. 11th April 1738, Isabella (died 1st Aug. 1774), eldest daugh. of William Law of Elvingston, Professor of Moral Philo- sophy, Univ. of Edinburgh, and had issue — David ; William ; Francis ; Robert of Avontoun, Lord President of the Court of Session, born 1741, died 20th May 1811 ; Archibald ; Anna. Publications— Verses to the Memory of Professor Law (Edinburgh, 1728); The Grave (London, 1743; Ander- son's ed., with Memoir, 1796). — [Test. Beg., Carlyle's Autob., Diet. Nat. Biog.] JOHN HOME, born 21st Sept. 1722, son of Alexander H., town-clerk of Leith, a connection of the Earl of Home, and Christian Hay ; educated at the Grammar School, Leith, and at Edinburgh Univ. ; M.A. (18th March 1742) ; licen. by Presb. of Edinburgh 4th April 1745. Was an ardent volunteer in support of the Government in 1745, and when acting as lieutenant in a regiment raised in Glasgow, he was taken prisoner after the battle of Falkirk, and imprisoned in Doune Castle, but along with others effected his escape from this place of confinement ; ord. min. of Athelstaneford 17th July 1746. His play of Douglas was produced in the theatre, Edinburgh, on 14th Dec. 1756, and then and afterwards evoked much enthu- siasm. Many of his brethren in the ministry strongly disapproved of his having this connection with the stage, and a libel was about to be served upon him in 1757 when he resigned his charge. He became private secretary to John, Earl of Bute, and at his house he often met the Prince of Wales, afterwards George III. In 1760 he was given from the King's privy purse a pension of £300, and in 1764 he was appointed Conservator of Scots Privileges at Campvere. He frequently sat in the General Assembly as the representative of the Scots Church at Campvere. In 1770 he built a house on the farm at Kilduff, Athelstaneford, and it is related that his former parishioners insisted on carting the materials free of charge. Subsequently he lived in Edinburgh, where he died at Merchiston, 5th Sept. 1808. He was an intimate friend of Principal Robertson, David Hume, Dr Carlyle, and other literati of the time. He marr. 15th July 1770, Mary (died at Moffat, 31st March 1816), daugh. of William Home, min. of Fogo. Publications — Douglas (Edinburgh, 1757) ; Agis (London, 1758) ; The Siege of Aquileia (London, 1760) ; The Fatal Discovery (London, 1769); Alonzo (London, 1773); Alfred (London, 1778) ; The History of the Bebellion in Scotland., 1745-6 (London, 1802).—[Mackenzie's Life, Stewart's Life of Bobertson, Carlyle's Autob., Somerville's Life; Sir Walter Scott in Quarterly Beview, June 1827 ; Maclean Watt's Scot- tish Life and Poetry, Diet. Nat. Biog.] JOHN MAIN, pres. by David Kinloch, 1757 younger of Gilmerton ; ord. 22nd Dec. 1757 ; trans, to Newton 12th Oct. 1770.