A tragic death remembered

186 years ago today, the six-year-old son of the Stranraer minister, William Symington, was killed in an accident in the manse garden (now McNeil funeral directors - the building is called ‘Mansewood’). The tragic story is recorded below (taken from this article):

Robert’s gravestone - built into the wall of the Reformed Presbyterian graveyard

“During the month that marked fourteen years since his ordination in Stranraer, William and Agnes’s fourth child, Robert, was playing in the manse garden when a stone pillar supporting a sun dial fell on him. He suffered an internal injury, and despite the efforts of three doctors, died within thirty-six hours.

There are a number of touching details associated with the tragic event. His mother gently asked him a number of questions about his faith in Christ and hope for Heaven. Doubtless most of them were catechism questions he had learnt before. But she couldn’t help asking him a final question: ‘Would you not be sorry to leave us all?’ To which he responded by putting his arms around her neck and telling her not to cry because he was going to be with Jesus’.

Thinking back to the event as a widow, nearly 30 years later, Agnes charged her youngest son never to forget a certain friend because of the love he’d shown at the time. The sons don’t tell us his full name, but she was almost certainly talking about James M’Gill. M’Gill was a farmer’s son from Portpatrick and had been part of the Stranraer congregation as a 13-year-old when Symington was ordained. He had gone on to become a minister himself, at Hightae, near Lockerbie.

Agnes told her youngest son: ‘You were an infant six weeks old when Robert died. Mr M‘G- had baptized you, and was on his way home when the tidings overtook him. He turned his horse and came back on the Saturday evening (Robert had died in the morning) and preached on the Sabbath. I crept into the vestry with you at my breast, and heard him preach on “Jesus wept.” Never forget Mr M‘G- as long as you live.”

Tomorrow night we’ll be considering what is a very real question for many who have faced similar tragedies: ‘How could a loving God allow suffering?’
Update: Audio of the talk is available here.

Logic on Fire

We’re looking forward to our GO team arriving tomorrow as we begin a week of leaflet distribution ahead of our mission next week and special services next Sunday, as well as visits to nursing homes, practical work, open air psalm singing and a couple of afternoons where we open the church up and serve free tea and coffee and seek to engage people in conversation.

Things kick off tomorrow night with a movie night in the church hall (7:30pm) where we’ll be watching the film Logic on Fire. It’s about the ministry of Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and is very relevant for Stranraer in 2019 - as he ministered in a time when most churches had stopped preaching the gospel. His years in Wales are particularly relevant as he went to a small, unglamorous place and preached and prayed and saw God do amazing things.

Against Evangelical Pessimism

We’ve just begun going through the book of Acts in our morning worship services. It’s a book which the great twentieth-century preacher Martyn Lloyd-Jones described as a ‘tonic’ for the church. And we do need a tonic in light of the pessimism which dogs much of the evangelical and Reformed church in the UK at present. Below is the first page of an article entitled ‘Against Evangelical Pessimism’, which Stephen referred to in a recent sermon. It’s written by Jeremy Walker, who spoke at the RP Ministers’ Conference in 2017. It appeared in the March 2019 Banner of Truth magazine:

Here are some highlights from the rest of the article:

We need to hook our prayers on the promises that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against the church of Christ, that God’s word shall prosper in the things for which he sends it, that God shall never lack a people, that his glory, he will not give to another, that the gospel is and must be the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, and that the weapons of our warfare are mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds.

Secondly, we must have confidence in the purchase of Christ. We must believe that he came into the world sinners to save, and that he did not merely make them saveable, but actually purchased a people for himself - those who had been given to him from before the foundation of the world. We must be assured that we are sent into all the world to preach the gospel of Christ and his finished work and present reign to every creature.

We must be assured that Christ is the bread of life. We must believe that his sheep will hear his voice and follow him. We must believe that, being lifted up on the cross and in the preaching of the cross, Christ will draw all to himself, and he will see the travail of his soul and be satisfied. We must believe that the strongest man has bound the strong man, and is now spoiling him of that which once was his. We must believe that he is reigning on high, waiting until all his enemies are made his footstool, that he is still gathering in his chosen ones from every kingdom, tribe, tongue and nation, and that he will come again to take his people home, that all whom he has loved and for whom he has died might be with him where he is.

Third, we must have confidence in the power of the Spirit. We must believe that the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, the God who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ can shine, too, in the hearts of others. We must be assured that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and that, having saved sinners like Paul and like me and like you, he can save others also.

We must believe that he can move the hearts of men and women to call their families and their friends, so that salvation comes not just to the Lydias, and the jailers, and the Matthews and the Zacchaeuses, but also to those with whom they are connected or come into contact.

We must remember that he can ensure that our preaching does not come in word only, but in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance, so that those who hear do not shrug off the words of a mere man, but hear the very Word of God to their souls.

Such confidences must be the fuel of our labours. Such confidences must stimulate fervency in our prayers. We must not allow our expectations to be formed by our fears, but rather fashioned in accordance with faith.

Evangelical pessimism ought to be a contradiction in terms. Such pessimism undermines our confidence, cripples our endeavour, shackles our hope, and dishonours our God. We must fight against it by faith; we must not allow ourselves to be drowned in a sea of doubt and dread dismay. We must trust God’s promises, labour because of Christ’s purchase, and rely on the Spirit’s power.

Memorial Inscriptions in Stranraer

From time to time, we get people asking whether their ancestors may have been buried in our graveyard.

One helpful but scare resource which answers that question is a book entitled Memorial Inscriptions in Stranraer, transcribed by J. Rafferty and G. Dinsmore. It was published in the year 2000 by Dumfries & Galloway Family History Society (ISBN: 1873977700).

It is part 1 of a 3 part series and deals with old kirkyards. It also contains memorial inscriptions from the graveyards at Church Street, Thistle Street and Ivy Place.

The entries for our graveyard on Dalrymple Street are as follows (with a few corrections):

1. Erected by James BROWN, in memory of his wife Agnes McNEIL who died 12th Decr 1876 aged 49 years. Also their children Robert, died May 1855, aged 3 months. Agnes, died May 1863 aged 5 years. Daniel, died Novr 1869 aged 1 year. James BROWN who died 16th Augt 1884 aged 54 years.

2. (top half of stone badly worn) — — — — — Jane McWIL(L) — — — — — — — — Also Jane CAMPBELL her daughter who died 12th October 185(1) aged 56 years. Also Peter CAMPBELL their son who died 4th September 1856 aged 68 years. Also Elizabeth HANNAH his wife who died 13th July 1850 aged 59 years.

3. (Stone built into wall) Robert second son of Rev. WILLIAM SYMINGTON, born August 22nd, 1827. Died August 31st, 1833.

4. Erected by Peter McCRACKAN, Mason, to the memory of his children, viz. Sarah who died 29th Oct, 1825 aged 13 years. Agnes, who died 7th May 1830 aged 29 years. Elisabeth, who died 10th March 1832, aged 15 years. And also his wife Agnes HERRON, who died 22nd April 1853 aged 75 years. Also the erector Peter McCRACKAN, who died 12th March 1853 aged 80 years.

5. Erected by Jane BELL Stranraer, in memory of Benjamin BELL her husband who died 17th April 1834, aged 59 — — —. Also John, her son who died at Lon--- 17th April 1835 aged 27 years. Also, Andrew, her son who died 8th June 1823 aged 11 years. Also James, her son who died 9th February 1834 aged 11 years. Also the said Jane BELL who died 29th March 1849 aged 66 years.

6. (Built into wall) In token of esteem. Erected by the Reformed Presbyterian congregation of Stranraer, to the memory of the Rev. John COWAN, their late Pastor, who died on January 13th AD 1817, being the 39th year of his age, and 13th of his Ministry.
His name shall be his monument alone.

7. (Built into wall) Erected by William McDOWALL Merchant Stranraer in memory of his parents. Magt GOURLEY, who died Nov 16th 1798, aged 49, & Robt McDOWALL who died June 16th 1801 aged 36. (Interred in the Parish churchyard) His children Agnes, who died May 19th 1827 aged 13, & Elizabeth, who died Feb 26, 1829 aged 24. (Also interred in the Parish churchyard) And the following:- (Interred in this burying ground) William his son, who died Feb 27th 1833 aged 24. Also his last surviving daughter Hannah McDOWALL, who died July 1st 1907, aged 92.

8. (Stone broken in 2 pieces) Erected by John BURNS Farmer, Larbrax 1849 to the memory of his mother Helen COCHRAN who died 16th Jany 1833 aged 76 years. Also his father John BURNS who died 1st March 1833 in his 95th year. Also the above Jo[hn Burns] -- died 26th O— — — — — Elizabeth — — — — — wife of James CAVEN late Farmer, Culreoch, who died 18th April 1859 aged 62 years. HYSLOP (Sculptor)

9. Erected by — — — — GORDON Merchant Stranraer in memory of — — — — — son who died 25th Augt 1817 aged 4 years and 6 months. — — —LEAN his son who died 17th Jany 1826 aged 1 year. ———GORDON, Marchant, Stranraer — — — — the 3d day of May 1849 aged 72 years. Margaret McCLEAN his wife daughter of James McCLEAN Esquire Merchant Stranraer — — — — — the 3d day of March 1850 aged 66 years.
(on top edge of stone) This ground is 9 feet by 7 feet 1 inches from centre of this stone.

10. Erected by Wm DAVIDSON in memory of his father William DAVIDSON, who died 29th March 1836. Also his son Robert who died 7th May 1827, aged 21 years. Also the erector of the stone William DAVIDSON who died Sept 1849 aged 60 years. Also his wife Grace McKAND who died Sept 1854 aged 80 years. Also their son Samuel DAVIDSON Merchant, Stranraer who died 4th August 1859 aged 43 years.

11. Burying ground of Jas KENNEDY Shoemaker Stranraer AD 1842.
(on reverse) In memory of Rachel BELL wife of Jas KENNEDY, who died 3d June 1852, aged 55 years. Also two daughter who died young.

12. (Stone split by tress, virtually unreadable) Erected by ————————————79 years.

13. In memory of James McMATH, Shipmaster, who died 5th Novr 1857 aged 60 years. Also Grace his daughter died at Glasgow 14th Octr 1871 aged 28 years. Also Mary his daughter died 9th Decr 1873 aged 40 years. Also Jeanie W McMATH his drand daughter died 26th June 1893 aged 12 1/2 years. Also James his son died 20th Sepr 1900 aged 59 years. Also Jessie his daughter died 29th Novr 1903 aged 50 years. Also Elizabeth CARSON, wife of James McMATH died 5th May 1897 aged 93 years. Also William his son died 26th June 1928 aged 86 years. Also Grace his grand daughter died 9th March 1960.
John IRVING Sculptor.

14. Erected by John DORMAN late of the RS & Miners. In memory of Jane GORDON his wife who died 27th April 1829 aged 34 years. John DORMAN his son who died 16th March 1829 aged 4 months. Elizabeth PAUL his mother who died 25th Novr 1835 aged 92 years. Grace MILLIGAN his second whife who died 25th July 1859 aged 59 years. The above John DORMAN who died 31st March 1876 aged — years. Also Margaret DORMAN his daughter wife of William BAIN who died 17th May 1870 aged 3- years. Also their children John died 26th March 1863 aged —years. Janet died 26th Sepr 1889 aged 2 years. The above William BAIN died 13th August 1878 aged 33 years.

15. Erected by Alexander McLELLAND Baker, Stranraer to the memory of his beloved parents. William McLELLAND his father, who departed this life upon the 23rd July 1830 aged 64 years. Mary CONNING his mother, —— departed this life —— u— — the 17 February —— aged 6- — —.

16. Erected by John FULTON in memory of his sons, viz. John interred here who died 16th March 1834 aged 21 years. Samuel who died at Macao in China 27th Octr 1842 aged 26 years. And Thomas who died in Canada 5th Septr 1846 aged 37 years. Also James who died at Port Glasgow 14th Septr 1852 aged 36 years. Also Flora WRIGHT his wife who died 11th Jany 1860 aged 60 years. Also the erector of the stone, John FULTON who died 26th March 1879 aged 97 years. Also Ann FULTON his daughter who died at Strathmiglo, Fife, 17th Augt 1879 aged 69 years. Also Agnes FULTON his daughter died at High St, 13th April 1898 aged 79 tears.

17. In memory of James FERGUSON Writer, born 26th April 1795. Died 20th April 1836.

18. Erected by John DAVIS in memory of John DAVIS his father, who died 2(9)th Sept 1872 aged 69 years. Also his sister Jane, wife of Thomas DIMMOCK, who died at Glasgow 5th Jany, 1876 aged 24 years. Also Margaret CLUCKIE his mother, who died 14th Novr, 1876 aged 60 years. Also Martha his sister, who died 4th Sept 1892 aged 38 years. Above John DAVIS died 23rd July, 1921 aged 75 years.

19. Erected by Margaret WRIGHT in memory of John McMASTER her husband late Baker in Stranraer, who died 23rd Sept 1853 aged 31 years. And Elizabeth WRIGHT her sister, who died 10th Augt 1855, aged 45 years. Also Peter her son, who died 9th April 158 aged 8 years and 7 months. And Mary WRIGHT her sister, who died 1st Feby 1881, aged 77 years. Also Margaret WRIGHT widow of the above John MCMASTER, who died at Stranraer, 24th April 1893 and is interred here.

20. (table stone) In Memory of Mr William McKENZIE late Teacher in Stranraer who died 2d January 1837 aged 39 years.
Mark the perfect man and behold the up right, for the end of that man is peace [Psalm 37:37]

21. Erected by Daniel DAILLY Draper Dundee in memory of his father Daniel DAILLY Stranraer, died 18th May 1854 aged 68 years. Also his mother Sarah ROGERS, died 19th Novr 1852 aged 60 years. And his sisters, Mary DAILLY died 1836 aged 16 years. Sarah DAILLY wife of Wm LOW, died 9th Novr 1863 aged 42 years. Cathe DAILLY wife of John YOUNG, died 10th July 1870 aged 57 years. Margt DAILLY wife of John MORROW, died 3rd June 1875 aged 50 years. Agnes DAILLY wife of John McLEOD, died 20th Decr 1891 aged 76 years. STEVEN & NISH (Sculptors)

22. Erected in memory of Robert McWILLIAM who died 1- Sepr 18-(6) aged -3 years. Also Agnes McMASTER his wife who died 26th Octr 187(2) aged 75 years.

23. Erected by James WITHER & Margaret McCAIG in memory of their beloved children, Agnes Neilson died 15th March 1847 aged 2 years. Alexander McCaig died 13th March 1849 aged 8 months. Jane died 1st Octr 1856 aged 6 years and 8 months.

24. Erected by Robert McQUEEN in memory of his father James McQUEEN. Also his mother Margaret WALLACE.

25. Erected by Hugh McCULLOCH Seedsman Stranraer in memory of his wife Jean BARCLAY who died the 5th April 18(14) aged 60 years.

26. In memory of John McKEACHIE late Farmer in Knocknain who died — April 1838 aged 78 years. (on reverse). Sacred in memory of Thomas McKEACHIE who died at Toronto Upper Canada 14th August 1844 aged 33 years. David McKEACHIE who died at Maneroo New South Wales 17th February 1845 aged 30 years. Margaret McKEACHIE who died at Knocknain March 1820 aged 3 years and 8 months. John McKEACHIE who died at Knocknain March 1820 aged 11 months. John McKEACHIE who died at Quebec Canada 26th September 1847 aged 27 years. Marcaret McKEACHIE who died at Knocknain 19th January 1841 aged 12 years.

Life after death will be the topic of 3 special talks held from 28th-30th August on the theme One Life. Then what? where we deal with the questions: Is this really all there is? Do we all go to a better place? Are they looking down on us?

200th anniversary of Symington's ordination

This past Lord’s Day (18th August) marked 200 years since William Symington was ordained in Stranraer. Below are a number of recent articles/talks about him - as well as some older resources we’ve made available online for the first time.

• Memoir of William Symington, D. D (written by his sons)

• The entry on him from the Dictionary of Scottish Church History and Theology (Roy Blackwood)

• “He being dead, yet speaketh.” - Funeral sermon preached by James McGill

• Contemporary account of a worship service led by him

• William Symington: RP minister in Stranraer, 1819-39 (Wigtownshire Antiquarian Society talk by Stephen Steele, February 2019)

• Contemporary account of a sermon preached at the tomb of Covenanter martyr Alexander Linn

• William Symington (Part 1): Early life and Stranraer years (Good News magazine, May 2019)

• William Symington (Part 2): Family man, author and public figure (Good News magazine, August 2019)

• A tragic death remembered (account of the death of his six-year-old son, along with a picture of the grave stone in the Stranraer kirkyard)

• William Symington (Part 3): The Glasgow years (Good News magazine, November 2019)

• Stephen Steele, ‘William Symington on the Christian Ministry’ in Reformed Theological Journal, vol. xxxvi (2020)