Hugh MacDonald (4 April 1817 – 16 March 1860) was a Scottish journalist, poet and author from Glasgow. He wrote for the newspaper the Glasgow Citizen for many years under the pen name 'Caleb'. [1] He is best known for his book Rambles Round Glasgow, published in 1854 by Thomas Murray and Son; [2] a version with modern footnotes was published in 2023. [3]
MacDonald was born on Rumford Street in Bridgeton, Glasgow on 4 April 1817. [4] [5] He was one of 11 children. His parents had moved from the Highlands to find work in the Glasgow textile industry, and MacDonald's father worked as a dyer in the Monteith and Company works in the Barrowland area. [6] MacDonald started work as a 'tearer' (junior assistant) at the same factory at the age of seven. [6] He was apprenticed to a block printer at the Barrowfield calico-printing works [2] and briefly ran a grocer's shop in 1848. [5] When the shop failed, he worked as a block printer for Harrow, McIntyre and Co. of Colinslie, Paisley. He initially continued to live in Bridgeton and walked to Paisley for work each day, [4] before temporarily relocating to the Renfrewshire town. [7]
MacDonald was a member of the City Club, a literary and artistic gathering which met in the Bank Tavern in Glasgow, [8] and was a founder member of the Ramblers Association. [6]
After around 1840 MacDonald moved into writing. He was a supporter of the Chartist movement and initially wrote poetry and articles for Chartist publications [5] such as the Chartist Circular. [6] In 1847 he came to public attention when he wrote a letter to the Glasgow Citizen defending the poetry of Robert Burns against an attack by Rev. George Gilfillan of Dundee. [6] MacDonald was a great enthusiast for Burns and quoted him extensively in his writing. [1]
James Hedderwick, who was editor of the Glasgow Citizen, then invited him to write for the paper. [9] MacDonald joined the staff of the paper in 1849. He wrote articles under the pen name Caleb, many of them of on social or political issues, [2] but it was his series of Glasgow travelogues, published over a period of three years, for which he became well known. These 'rambles' in the countryside around Glasgow were collected into a book, Rambles Round Glasgow, in 1854, which MacDonald dedicated to Hedderwick. [10] The book was very popular [8] and went through several editions. [11] MacDonald followed it up in 1857 with Days at the Coast, a travelogue of locations on the Firth of Clyde, which was also well received. [8]
MacDonald became sub-editor of the Glasgow Citizen. He later went on to write for the Glasgow Morning Journal and the Glasgow Sentinel , and edited the Glasgow Times. [5]
MacDonald married twice. His first wife, Agnes, died within a year of their marriage along with their newborn child. His second wife, Alison, had been a bridesmaid at Agnes and Hugh's MacDonald's wedding. Agnes had no living children but Alison had one son and four daughters with Hugh MacDonald. [4]
MacDonald became ill in spring 1860 after an expedition to Castlemilk to research his planned book, Footsteps of the Year. [6] He died on 16 March 1860 at the age of 42 [6] and is buried in the Southern Necropolis. [2] He was survived by his wife Alison and their five children.
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