Search just our sites by using our customised search engine

Unique Cottages | Electric Scotland's Classified Directory

Click here to get a Printer Friendly PageSmiley

Significant Scots
Geddie, John


John Geddie (1848-1937) was a journalist and author of several books mainly on the subject of Edinburgh but also elsewhere. He was born on 8 December 1848 in Garmouth, Moray on the River Spey and in the Parish of Speymouth, Moray. He was the son of James Geddie, a shipbuilder, and of Margaret Spence. He was educated at Garmouth Free Church School and at Milne’s Institution, Fochabers. From 1864 to 1870 he was a law clerk in Elgin and Edinburgh and attended law classes at Edinburgh University. In June 1882, Geddie became a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He was recommended as Fellow by John Bartholomew and the geographer, John F. Williams. This followed the publication of his works on Africa, the Himalayas and the Russian Empire. In 1889, Geddie joined the Institute of Journalists. According to Neil Macara Brown: "Geddie is credited with coining the term 'wee free' in reference to the remnant of the Free Church of Scotland." In 1875, he married Isabella Cecilia Young on the 11th of June, 1875 at 41 Grindlay Street, Edinburgh, according with the forms of the Free Church of Scotland, and they had five sons and four daughters, but one, of two named James, [born in 1876], died before a second James was born in 1879. Geddie's interests were golf, cycling, and especially walking and he played a major role in the establishment of the Braid Hills Public Golf Course and of the Edinburgh Evening Dispatch Trophy there in 1888. He died aged 88 years on 20 January 1937 at home in 54 Liberton Drive, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Genealogy of John Geddie (1848-1937)

Romantic Edinburgh
Souvenir of The Opening of the North British Station Hotel
15th October 1902


Return to our Significant Scots page


 


This comment system requires you to be logged in through either a Disqus account or an account you already have with Google, Twitter, Facebook or Yahoo. In the event you don't have an account with any of these companies then you can create an account with Disqus. All comments are moderated so they won't display until the moderator has approved your comment.

comments powered by Disqus

Quantcast