Gravestone of William Davie

Image: © Lairich Rig Taken: 8 Jul 2013

"Mark Davie Portioner Aderston To the memory of his Father Wm Davie who died 21st Jan'y 1826 aged 75" (A "portioner" is the proprietor of a small piece of land that was formerly part of a larger estate.) The Monumental Inscriptions records(*), in their transcription of this stone, have silently corrected "Aderston" to "Alderston", but I know of no such place. [(*) See the end-note. My comment above relates to the Monumental Inscriptions published in 1992; updated editions may have been published since then.] My own opinion is that "Aderston" was mis-carved for "Anderston" (a district of Glasgow). Illustrating that this is at least plausible, the 1834-35 Post Office Directory for Glasgow has an entry for a certain "Davie, Mark – Portioner, Stobcross street", possibly the same person; Stobcross Street was in Anderston. Furthermore, when this stone was carved, in around 1826, Anderston had not yet been incorporated into Glasgow; it was still a burgh in its own right. For views of the stone in context, see Image and Image

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