Difference between revisions of "Alexander Anderson (1845-1909)"

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Poet and University Librarian
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The poet Alexander Anderson (1845-1909) was a Librarian of Edinburgh University.
  
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Anderson was born on 30th April 1845 at Kirkconnel, the youngest of 7 children, having an older sister and 5 older brothers. His father was James, a man of many skills, who worked as a herd boy, a coal miner, a ploughman, a builder, and a gardener and it was this latter skill that took him to Crocketford to work at Brooklands House. He was also musical and wrote some poetry himself. His mother was Isabella, a motherly woman always ready with hospitality for visitors.
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== Early Life ==
  
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The family moved to Brooklands Lodge when Alexander was 3 and the 1851 census shows the family members living there as James (head of household) aged 43; Isabella, wife, aged 46; Janet, daughter, aged 16 and at home; John, son, aged 13, scholar; Thomas, son, aged 11,scholar and Alexander, son, aged 5 and not at school.
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Anderson was born on 30th April 1845 at Kirkconnel, Dumfries and Galloway. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to nearby Crocketford where his father James worked as a gardener at Brooklands House, Crocketford. Anderson attended Crocketford school and later assisted his father in his gardening work.
  
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Alexander attended Crocketford School where he was keen on handwriting, reading and watercolour painting. Any pennies he might receive were saved up and he would walk the 9 miles to Dumfries (and back!) to buy a book he wanted. On leaving school he appears to have helped his father with gardening tasks, receiving 1/3d a day for hoeing turnips!
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== As Surfaceman ==
  
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The family returned to Kirkconnel when Alexander was 16 and he worked for 2 years in the flag quarry at Old Kello and then at Carronbridge, before beginning his 16 years of work as a surfaceman for the Glasgow and South-Western Railway Company. It was at the age of 19 that he really began writing poetry, following the death of his beloved elder brother Tom.
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The family returned to Kirkconnel when Alexander was sixteen. He worked for two years in the flagstone quarry at Old Kello, before beginning work as a surfaceman or platelayer for the Glasgow and South-Western Railway Company. At the age of 19, he began writing poetry, publishing under the pseudonym of 'surfaceman'. In 1870 his verse began to appear in the Dundee journal ''The People's Friend'', and in 1873 the Dundee Advertiser published his first book A Song of Labour and other Poems in a run of 1000 which sold out in a fortnight. Three further volumes followed: ''Two Angels'' (1875), ''Songs of the Rail'' (1878), and ''Ballads and Sonnets'' (1879).
  
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He was persuaded to apply for the post of Assistant Librarian at the University of Edinburgh in 1880, never having been in a library before his interview, and was selected. It was a huge change from railway life but his grim determination to make a success of the job won him the affection of colleagues, students and professors alike. Ambitious to become better known in the literary world, he applied in 1885 for the post of Secretary to the Philosophical Institution and despite the fact that there were almost 200 applicants, he was successful. This new position enabled him to meet some of the prominent men and women of the literary world but he soon became dissatisfied with the work, which shut him away from ordinary readers, and he hankered to return to the library. He resigned in 1888 and returned to his old post and in 1890 was appointed Chief Librarian, a position he held until his death from cancer of the liver on 11th July 1909. He is buried along with the rest of his family in the churchyard at Kirkconnel.
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== As Librarian ==
  
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( text from [http://www.crocketford.org/villhall.html] )
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Anderson was a committed autodidact, spending all his spare time on self-culture and mastering several languages. In 1880 he was persuaded to apply for the post of Assistant Librarian of [[Library|Edinburgh University Library]]. Despite never having entered a library before his interview, he was selected. His commitment to his new post soon won him the affection of colleagues, students and academics. He briefly left the Library in 1885 when he was appointed Secretary to the Philosophical Institution, a role brought him into contact with many prominent literary figures. He soon became dissatisfied with the work, however, desiring more contact with ordinary readers. In 1888 he resigned and returned to his Library position. In 1890 he was appointed Chief Librarian, remaining in post until his death in 1909.
  
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[[Category:Support Staff|Anderson, Alexander]]
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== Sources ==
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*Crocketford Community Initiative [[http://www.crocketford.org/villhall.html], accessed 17 November 2014]
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[[Category:Support Staff|Anderson, Alexander]] [[Category:Librarians|Anderson, Alexander]] [[Category:Incomplete|Anderson, Alexander]]

Latest revision as of 10:44, 12 September 2023

The poet Alexander Anderson (1845-1909) was a Librarian of Edinburgh University.

Early Life

Anderson was born on 30th April 1845 at Kirkconnel, Dumfries and Galloway. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to nearby Crocketford where his father James worked as a gardener at Brooklands House, Crocketford. Anderson attended Crocketford school and later assisted his father in his gardening work.

As Surfaceman

The family returned to Kirkconnel when Alexander was sixteen. He worked for two years in the flagstone quarry at Old Kello, before beginning work as a surfaceman or platelayer for the Glasgow and South-Western Railway Company. At the age of 19, he began writing poetry, publishing under the pseudonym of 'surfaceman'. In 1870 his verse began to appear in the Dundee journal The People's Friend, and in 1873 the Dundee Advertiser published his first book A Song of Labour and other Poems in a run of 1000 which sold out in a fortnight. Three further volumes followed: Two Angels (1875), Songs of the Rail (1878), and Ballads and Sonnets (1879).

As Librarian

Anderson was a committed autodidact, spending all his spare time on self-culture and mastering several languages. In 1880 he was persuaded to apply for the post of Assistant Librarian of Edinburgh University Library. Despite never having entered a library before his interview, he was selected. His commitment to his new post soon won him the affection of colleagues, students and academics. He briefly left the Library in 1885 when he was appointed Secretary to the Philosophical Institution, a role brought him into contact with many prominent literary figures. He soon became dissatisfied with the work, however, desiring more contact with ordinary readers. In 1888 he resigned and returned to his Library position. In 1890 he was appointed Chief Librarian, remaining in post until his death in 1909.

Sources

  • Crocketford Community Initiative [[1], accessed 17 November 2014]
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