Alison Cockburn also Alison Rutherford, or Alicia Cockburn (8 October 171222 November 1794) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

poet, wit and

socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...

who collected a circle of eminent friends in 18th-century

enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

Edinburgh including

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

and

David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; – 25 August 1776) was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist who was best known for his highly influential system of empiricism, philosophical scepticism and metaphysical naturalism. Beg ...

Life

Born at Fairnilee House, in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

, between

Galashiels Galashiels (; , ) is a town in the Scottish Borders with a population of around 12,600. Its name is often colloquially shortened to "Gala". The town is a major commercial centre for the Borders region with extensive history in the textile in ...

and Selkirk, she was the daughter of Robert Rutherford of Fernilee. She married an impoverished

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

, Patrick Cockburn of

Ormiston Ormiston is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, near Tranent, Humbie, Pencaitland and Cranston, located on the north bank of the River Tyne at an elevation of about . The village was the first planned village in Scotland, founded in 173 ...

in 1731. Unable to afford a home of their own they lived for 4 years in the house of her elderly father-in-law, "an old Presbyterian of the deepest dye" who condemned as ungodly cards, plays, and dancing. On the death of the old man they moved to Edinburgh, and she began to mix in society where her liveliness and wit made her welcome in spite of her relatively lowly status. In 1745 during the Jacobite rising she vented her

Whiggism Whiggism or Whiggery is a political philosophy that grew out of the Roundhead, Parliamentarian faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (1639–1653) and was concretely formulated by Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, Lord Shafte ...

in a squib upon

Bonnie Prince Charlie Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...

, and narrowly escaped being taken by the Highland guard as she was driving through Edinburgh in the family coach of the Keiths of Ravelston, with the parody in her pocket. This cites her ''Letters and Memorials ... with notes by T. Craig Brown'' (1900). Her husband died in 1753, and left her a small income. She continued to mix in artistic and intellectual circles from her home in Bristo Street, on Castlehill, Edinburgh. Despite the added loss of her only son in infancy we are told of, "her insatiable love of mischief, mockery and match-making, everywhere welcome, both in town and country, a good companion, a wise friend, ready to jest over her own ailments." In 1765 she published her lyrics to the traditional Border Ballad the '' Flowers of the Forest'' beginning "I've seen the smiling of Fortune beguiling". It is said to have been written before her marriage in 1731 and concerns a financial crisis that had ruined the fortunes of a number of the Selkirk

Laird Laird () is a Scottish word for minor lord (or landlord) and is a designation that applies to an owner of a large, long-established Scotland, Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a Baronage of ...

s. Later biographers, however, think it probable that it was written on the departure to London of a certain John Aikman, with whom Alison appears to have had an early attachment. Another later set of lyrics to the song by

Jean Elliot Jean Elliot (April 1727 – 29 March 1805), also known as Jane Elliot, was a Scottish poet. She wrote one of the most famous versions of ''The Flowers of the Forest'', a song lamenting the Scottish army's defeat in the Battle of Flodden. Pu ...

of Minto written in 1756 is also in circulation and should not be confused with Rutherford's. In 1773 she was living at St Andrew Square in a then-new house in Edinburgh's New Town. In 1777 she remarked of a young

that he was "the most extraordinary genius of a boy I ever saw." She befriended

in 1786, whom she described as having "a most enthusiastic heart of love". She was a great friend of the philosopher

. She was an indefatigable letter-writer and a composer of parodies, squibs, toasts and "character sketches", then a favourite form of composition. The "Flowers of the Forest" however is considered the only thing she wrote that possesses lasting literary merit. However her correspondence and writing about the governess Henrietta Fordyce, who became her confidante and protégé, is credited with establishing Fordyce's notability. At her house on Castlehill, and afterwards in Crichton Street, she received many illustrious friends, among whom were

Henry Mackenzie Henry Mackenzie FRSE (August 1745 – 14 January 1831, born and died in Edinburgh) was a Scottish lawyer, novelist and writer sometimes seen as the Addison of the North. While remembered mostly as an author, his main income came from legal ro ...

, William Robertson, David Hume,

John Home Rev John Home (2 September 1722 – 4 September 1808) was a Scottish minister, soldier and author. His play '' Douglas'' was a standard Scottish school text until the Second World War, but his work is now largely neglected. In 1783, he was ...

Lord Monboddo James Burnett, Lord Monboddo (baptised 25 October 1714 – 26 May 1799) was a Scottish judge, scholar of linguistic evolution, philosopher and deist. He is most famous today as a founder of modern comparative historical linguistics. In 1767, h ...

,Betteridge, R. & McLean, R. (2019), ''Northern Lights: The Scottish Enlightenment'', National Library of Scotland, p. 10 the Keiths of Ravelston, the Balcarres family and Lady Anne Barnard, the author of "Auld Robin Gray." As a Rutherford she had a connection with Sir Walter Scott's mother, and was her intimate friend. Lockhart quotes a letter written by Mrs Cockburn in 1777, describing the conduct of little Walter Scott, then scarcely six years old, during a visit which she paid to his mother, when the child stated that he liked Mrs Cockburn due to her being "a virtuoso like imself" Cockburn died on 22 November 1794. She is buried in the kirkyard of Buccleuch Parish Church (aka St. Cuthbert's Chapel of Ease) in south Edinburgh.

Bibliography

* Graham, H.G., ''The Social Life of Scotland in the Eighteenth Century'', A.&C. Black, London (1899). p. 331.

References

Sources

Alison Cockburn
Brief biography at Scotland's People database. Accessed May 2007

Volume IV page 149.

at the Gazetteer for Scotland. University of Edinburgh. Accessed May 2007

Women in History of Scots Descent – Song Writers. Accessed May 2007
Oxford Biography Index
Accessed May 2007 *

External links

Poem, words and melody. Accessed May 2007

Accessed May 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cockburn, Alison 1712 births 1794 deaths Scottish women poets Scottish women writers Alison People of the Scottish Enlightenment 18th-century Scottish poets Scottish socialites People from the Scottish Borders 18th-century British women writers 18th-century British writers