IV. NOTICE OF AN EFFIGY OF A COVENANTING MINISTER, AND OTHER TOMBS, IN MORTON CHURCHYARD. BY REV. J. K. HEWISON, F.S.A. SCOT. d churchyarol e th f Mortonn o I d , Thornhill, Dumfriesshire, lien a s effigy within a few feet of the southern wall of the burial-place of the anqient family, of Douglas, who formerly held Morton Castle and Fingland Dairyn i , t I remaine groun.e th th n i dso t allotted ol f o d Milligans famila , y well know n Nithsdalni d Gallowayoan , where their nam preserves ei d in connection with many farms, suc Milliganstous ha n (Dunscore); Strathmilligan, Crossmilligan,. Cormilligan, Foremilligan, and others. .The family never .figured prominently amon e morgth e powerful clans ;of the South e ,Douglases th suc s a h , Kirkpatricks, GriersoiiSt Menzieses, Gordons, Dairy in pies, and Cunninghams ; but representatives seemed'to have been widely spread .and comfortably e settleth n i d 17th century. In old registers the name appears as Omulligiin, Amulliekyn, and, dropping 'the Irish distinction, Mulligan, . Muliken, and Millignn. ,. ... In the neighbouring churchyard of Dalgarnock two rough memorial NOTE N TOMBO S N MORTOI S N CHURCHYARD. 125 slabs retain the memory of " IOHN'MVLIGAN 1640" and."iA'Mis MVLIGAN 1650," while another has in cursive lettering the "inscription, " Here lyeth John Muliken geri n Dalgarnbci t k who die 169n di 4 aged 51. person.oA " f this latter nam includes ei d amon e fugitiveth g d rebelan s s denounce n 1'6S4i d , viz., " John ' Mulliken i n Barscob," while beside his name is that of " James Mullike n i Knocknoon,"—bo'tn n i h Galloway, however. The effigy (fig. 1) lies adjacent to a well- carved slab bearing this 'inscription :— " This burial place belong Joho t s n Millig'au n bwri o departewh n d thi5 sy lifMa e 1684 likways to Alexander Milligan sum tmis in bwrn his son who departed this life the 5 of Dec. 1696 his age being 46. Erected by Hendreta Blekie his relict and John Milligan their Soon. Anno 1697." Burn, a large farm in Morto'n parish, was for- merly subdivided into several holdings and shiel- f whico s Whitefoldingse wa hon , , and another Lurgfoo r Blairfooto t e residencth , f Danieo e l Macmichael, the Covenanter martyred at Dalveen n 1685e effig i thia Th s carvef i nyo . slat dou b d 'freestonre of e froe sandstonth m e bedsf o , Gatelawbridge e quarr th d probabl f an ,o y t ou y which "Old Mortality"—^Bobert Paterson— leased whicd an , s situatehi mile don e south-east e .graveyardth of e slaTh b . measure 6 fees t 1 inch in length, 1 foot 10 inches in breadth Fi§' l- Effigy in Morton Churchyard, at the shoulder of the figure, 12J inches in breadt e footvaried th an t , ha n thicknes si s fro3.o t J m3 inches . The effigy itself measures 5' feet 8J inches in length. It is'broken in halves at the knee, as represented in . the ' illustration. It 'is well executed in bold high relief, but the head appears lop-sided. .; 6 12 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , FEBRUAR , 1898Y14 . The dres thas Roundheasa i f to Covenanter do r preacher e wors ,a th n i last quarte e 17tth hf o r century,—consistin close-buttonea f go d surtout dropping to the knees, and with sleeves terminating in pendulous cuffs, knee-breeches, long stockings gartered, and high-heeled shoes with buckles or more probably large ribbon knots. Prominen e Genevth e ar ta bands, whicinche7 e har s lond 5Jgan inches broade right-hanTh . d corner of the slab is broken, so that only a few letters are decipherable around the head, viz., "John Millig(an)," "Jean (Nil)." This inscription, incised in cursive characters, is of a late date, and has all the charac- teristic "f so Ol d Mortality' cuttingn s "ow . e MilliganTh s were well know r theifo n r covenanting tendencies. Several of them appear in the lists of the suspects and persons fined durin persecutione gth "e Proclamatioth Charlef n I so . sII n with List of Fugitives" promulgate1684y Ma connection i , h 5t n do n with Dum- frie notee ar e sfollowin th d g tenants residen e neighbourhooth n i t f do Morion:— " Thomas Mulligen at the Mill of Closeburn. William Mulligan in Floors (Keir). John Mulligen in Maloford (Penpont). Robert Mulligan son to James Mulligen in Beuchan (Keir). • William Milliga Morton i n Mains." Morton Mains farm adjoins the farm of Burn. e Recorth n f I Baptismdo r Mortofo s n Parish appear followine sth g entry :—" John Milligau and Jean Smith in Blairfoot had sone baptised called Gilbert before many witnesses Dec . 1688.30 . " Thi evidentls si y the John of Burn who is mentioned with his mother on the Burn tomb- o afterwardwh stone d an , s becam e paristh e h teacher e woman'Th . s e effigy reath nam ma dyn o eeithe r ((S)mit(A r Mill(igan)o ) e Th . weatherin e stonth n e o gpermit n elastia f o sc reading. I havHowever s a er beefa o s ,n abl o discovert e o preachen , e th f o r nam f Joheo n Milligan hel dbenefica e covenantinth n i e g periods i r o , mentioned in" the diaries of that time. But in the Session Record of the parish we find that in 1714 John Milligan in Whitefold (that is e above-describee Burth th f no d tombstone appointes wa ) d schoolmaster NOTES ON TOMBS IN MORTON CHURCHYAKD. 127 of Morton, at the annual salary of £40 Scots, with school, proclamation, and baptism fees. John, unfortunately, was a weak vessel, and after a public exhibitio f repentancno siie f inebrietyth o i r quio fo t es hi d t ha , office. The appointment points to the possession of some scholarship on e teacher f thosth pare o f th probablo e o te on wh ,preacher s ywa o wh s studie ds license abroawa d o preacht dan s wan Hi f patronago t. n ei the anti-covenanting atmosphere of Queensberry is easily accounted for. When "Old Mortality" arrived in Nithsdale, about the year 1738, or earlier, there were four kind f sepulchraso l memorial churchyardsn si , viz., unlettered stones, rudely lettered slabs, ornamental slabs resting on supports verd an y, finely executed slabs with bold raised lettering. The last two kinds indicated persons of position and substance, and were few. Amon rudele th g y lettered slabs were those markin e graveth g s of Covenanters d thesan , e "Old Mortality" recuf o t deeperm a I . opinion that the most of the existing Covenanter memorials are the work of " Old Mortality " in entirety. The raised Gothic and Eoman lettering went out in favour of incised lettering—" Old Mortality's " letters measuring abou incheo tw t s hig Covenantersn ho ' stonese h t bu ; favoure e cursivth d Nithsdale th for n m i Gallowad ean y churchyards. At first, the upright stones were diminutive. They rarely want the favourite symbols, which " Old Mortality" delighted to execute, viz., winged angel-heads, skulls, sandglasses, mirrors, implements of trade, anunfailine dth g " memento niori. Nithsdaln I " entirele eh y superseded the rather grotesquely floriated shrouds bearing angelic figures which were the high art of Barrie his predecessor, by correct geometric designs, flowers d leavesan , , which afterward s sond assistanthi san s s executed with no mean beauty and refinement. In Closeburn churchyard (about mileo tw s from Gatelawbridge), where thera fin s ei e exampl f thio e s later work (M'Tur f Stromilligan'so k , 1775), wil e founb l a Coved - nanter's tombstone safely , ma whicy e assumw h e d Mortality"Ol " recu afterwardd an t s inscribed traditioe Th . thas ni originae th t l stone wae s replaco e persecutor t Th broke heire th d th . f ha seo it y nb o wh , inscription runs thus:—" Here lyeth the corps of lohn Mathison (registered fugitive in Shankerton 1684) who was banished to foreign lands for adhering to the Covena(n)ted vor(k) of Keformation of which 12£ PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F O S , FEBRUAR , 189814 Y . lohii Kilpatric Bridgebufghhean ki chien o fd handha dreturnede H . ' from thence and lived many years. He dyd in 1716 aged 69." The old high lettering appears ancient t beneatBu . h this n "i , Old ' Mor-; tality's " cursive lettering, is another inscription memorialising William Mathison, John's die o son s thi1775n i i dwh , st I cursiv, e lettering found on the Gatelawbridge slabs, between the years 1738 and 1800, whic s worthhi f noteyo . Ther e e contemporariescoreeth ar f o s s ;and near neighbours of "Old Mortality" in Nithsdale, similarly'memorial- ise regards da s styl f stoneo e , symbols d inscriptionsan , e slabth sn O . curioue ar s coincidence f ideaso s , words d spellingba , , form f letterino s g which leav doubo en t that Robert Paterson and s Highlanhi . d assistant Sand e were e Ra ysculptor th 7 f theso s e d stoneswha An s mori t . e curious e wanth , f variete Covenanterso t th n yi ' stones themselves offers a reaso r concludinnfo g that these stone worthlese sar contemporars a s y historical memorials. , To return to the effigy : " Old .Mortality '' delighted in figure cutting, but in a covenanting district, had little encouragement for such : ' "idolatry.