Joseph Train
On Blair's recommendation he was appointed as a excise man
or gauger in Ayr where he published his first set of
poems, Poetical
Reverie, in 1806; this work was dedicated to
Blair.
Posted to Newton Stewart, Train began to collect Galloway
folktales, customs and anecdotes which were brought together and
published in his Strains of the Mountain
Muse published in 1814. Walter Scott saw a copy
of this book and contacted Train, encouraging him in his pursuit of
local knowledge and stories; the two continued to write to each
other until Scott's death in 1832. Scott drew heavily on these
Galloway tales and a many of his characters including Wandering
Willie in Redgauntlet, Madge Wildfire
in Heart of
Midlothian and Edie Ochiltree in
The Antiquary were
based on information or ideas supplied by Train.
Train, after some time in Cupar, took up customs posts in
Dumfries and Castle Douglas. He continued his interest in local
history publishing An
Historical and Statistical Account of the Isle of
Man in 1845 and The Buchanites from First to
Last in 1846; the latter was an account of a
bizarre Galloway religious sect inspired by the prophesies of
Elspeth Buchan 'Friend Mother'. Train's last work
The Wild Scot of Galloway: a
Poem was published in 1848.
During Train's time in the Stewartry he was responsible for
securing for Scott the bronze pony cap from Torrs near
Kirkcudbright. This incredible piece of Iron Age metalwork, now in
Edinburgh's Museum of Scotland, is one of the finest archaeological
objects ever found in the country.
In 1909 a monument to Train was unveiled in the MacMillan
Hall, Newton Stewart. A similar monument was erected in Castle
Douglas Town Hall.
Further reading:
John Patterson, 1858, Memoir of Joseph Train,
Glasgow.
Julia Muir Watt, 2000, Dumfries and Galloway - a literary
guide, Dumfries.
