He was born in
Spittal-on-Rule in
Roxburghshire, his family being one of the three main farming families in the area. He attended school in
Jedburgh then went to
Edinburgh University to study divinity alongside
Edward Irving. He received a licence to preach and did so until the Disruption of 1843. However, his great love was in scholastic study. In 1851 he stood unsuccessfully for the Greek chair at
Edinburgh University, losing to
John Stuart Blackie. In 1866 he received an honorary doctorate (LLD) from his alma mater, recognising his contributions to scholastic literature. He rented rooms in Edinburgh and had a holiday cottage in
Langton to the south. He died on 8 July 1885. He is buried in a southern section of
Dean Cemetery in western Edinburgh. He never married and had no children. ==Artistic recognition==