Lewis Balfour

Rev Lewis Balfour (1777–1860) was an 18th/19th century Scottish minister of the Church of Scotland. He was a pivotal figure in the family life of Robert Louis Stevenson.

Life
Pilrig House
Colinton Church

He was born on 30 August 1777 at Pilrig House between Edinburgh and Leith the son of John Balfour of Pilrig (1740-1814), son of James Balfour. His mother was Jean Whytt (1750-1833) of Bennochy Lodge near Kirkcaldy in Fife[1] daughter of Dr Robert Whytt.[2] He was christened on 14 May 1777 in South Leith Parish Church.

In August 1806 he was ordained as minister of Sorn.

In 1824 he was translated to Colinton parish, south-west of Edinburgh and remained there for the rest of his life. From 1850 onwards his young grandson, Robert Louis Stevenson was a frequent visitor.[3]

He died at Colinton Manse on 24 April 1860. He is buried in an open vault on the north side of Colinton Parish Church, between James Gillespie and Admiral John Inglis.

Family

He was married in the Manse in Galston, East Ayrshire on 26 April 1808 to Henrietta Scott Smith (born in 1787), third daughter of the Rev. Dr. George Smith (1748-1823).[4]

Mrs Balfour died in the Manse in Colinton on 13 March 1844.[5]

Their thirteen children included James Melville Balfour, George William Balfour and Margaret Isabella Balfour who married the lighthouse engineer Thomas Stevenson and together were parents to the world-famous author Robert Louis Stevenson. The latter was christened Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson, after his grandfather, but Lewis was changed to Louis to make it sound more French, and Balfour was dropped altogether. Their daughter Henrietta Louisa Balfour (1822-1853) married R. H. Traquair, uncle of Ramsay Heatley Traquair. Their son Lewis Balfour (1817-1870) was a merchant in Calcutta. Mackintosh Balfour (1825-1894) was a manager in the Bank of Bombay.[6]

Stevenson's book; A Child's Garden of Verses remembers his summers at Colinton manse.

The 1851 census has two young grandchildren, Lewis Balfour (b.1842 in India, d.1873), and John Boyle b.1841 in India, both living at Colinton manse.[7]

Family Tree
Lewis Balfour family tree
James Balfour (philosopher)Robert Whytt
John Balfour of PilrigJean Whytt
Rev Lewis BalfourHenrietta Scott Smith
James Melville BalfourGeorge William BalfourMargaret Isabella BalfourThomas Stevenson (engineer)
Robert Louis Stevenson
Colinton manse
The grave of Rev Lewis Balfour, Colinton churchyard

Artistic Recognition

A family photographic portrait is held in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.[8]

gollark: (30MB of which is tailscale)
gollark: Anyway, Alpine is quite minimal, I think. All the processes conveniently fit onto my screen in htop (half are just tailscale ones), and it's using 52MB of memory.
gollark: (Pis before the Raspberry Pi 3 *do not* exist.)
gollark: Well, 1-8GB, but my specific model 1GB.
gollark: This is actually bad.

References
  1. "Jean Balfour, 3rd of Pilrig". geni_family_tree. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  2. "Ancestors of Lewis Balfour". www.holmesacourt.org. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  3. "Colinton Community Conservation Trust :: A walk with Robert Louis Stevenson :: Educational Resource". www.colinton-conservation.org.uk. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  4. The Scots Magazine (May 1808), p. 397. https://www.geni.com/people/George-Smith-Min-of-Galston/6000000021420110105
  5. Greenock Advertiser (Friday, 15 March 1844), p. 2.
  6. Inscription on Balfour grave, Colinton churchyard
  7. 1851 census of Scotland
  8. "Mrs Balfour, d. 1844, Rev. Lewis Balfour of Colinton, d. 1860 and Miss Balfour [Group 26]". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
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