A Gaelic Love Note

A Scottish Psalm book from 1798, found in Fulton County, NY

This was posted on FB in 2020 by Ye Olde Blakey (whoever that is!) I came across it while Googling the Wedderburns at Camno…

“220 year old Scottish secret leads to Fulton County.

Last year, I purchased a rare book from 1798.

The "Sailm Dhaibhidh", a beautiful book of psalms written in Gàidhlig (also known as Scottish Gaelic).

It was once owned by Robert Ballantine (of Perthshire, Scotland) as evidenced by his inscription in English. The inscription also states that he was a servant to John Wedderburn and is dated March 28, 1802, Camno (an area of Scotland)

(BTW, I found an infamous John Wedderburn of the time. Thankfully, however, the Mr. Wedderburn that employed Robert Ballantine is not the slave trader by the same name.)

However, this book also contains a very mysterious page; it is a full page of handwritten text. I thought it was perhaps an antique handwriting style in the Gàidhlig language.

Some of the letters appear as such but others do not.

I posted the page to Gàidhlig and Gaeilge (Irish) language groups, (and sent the image to "Leabharlann Nàiseanta na h-Alba", The National Library of Scotland, hoping for a translation of the 220 year old hand.

It soon became clear that it was not just old handwriting. It was written in code and dated 1803.

Through a scholar on an Irish language studygroup page, a historian in Scotland, Jack McLachlan, became interested and solved the mystery of the cipher. He was also able to fill in some information about the people involved, as well.

The encrypted inscription is a dedication of the book from young Mr. Robert Ballantine to Ms. Jannet Forbes.

(See photo of solved cipher, with code-key)

Of the couple and their life in Scotland, our hero-historian states that,

"In 1803, Robert Ballantine was a 23yo farm servant for John Wedderburn at the farm he tenanted at the Mains of Camno near Meigle. John Wedderburn ( 1747 - 1822 ) was the 2nd cousin of the slaver Wedderburn. John Wedderburn's descendants were still tenanting the Mains of Camno in the 1870s. Thankfully, your Wedderburn is a farmer and not a slaver.

Jannet was born in Cammoch near Moulin (a deserted farm steading now) in 1783 and she and Robert were probably lovers/courting in 1803 when he gave her his book of Gaelic psalms (and maybe that's why they had a cipher together). Jannet was already pregnant by the time they were married in Moulin in June 1805.

Jannet and Robert sailed to the US soon after to join her older brother in Broadalbin, NY who left Scotland the year before. She was probably very pregnant during the voyage as her first child (of at least 9) was born in Broadalbin early in 1806. She and Robert stayed in Fulton Co and lived into their late 70s. They are both buried in Perth, NY. "

I inquired of Mr. McLachlan about the couple's Gàidhlig language. He adds,

"Both Robert and Jannet would have used Gaelic as their first tongue at work and at home, though they would have English too. By the 1790s there was a big push to teach written Gaelic in their parish (and Gaeldom as a whole). Here is (see photo) a 1793 account of the language of Moulin parish. The parish school tended to focus on English, Latin, Mathematics etc, but there were 5 other schools that did teach written Gaelic.

My guess is Robert could speak and write both Gaelic and English fluently and that Jannet could speak Gaelic and English, but was only taught to read English in school."

So, a rare, antique book of psalms in Gaelic, printed in 1798, with a sweet note written to a sweet-heart in 1803.

I wonder if there are more unsolved letters or notes such as this from this interesting couple still in existance.

I also wonder if they passed their Gàidhlig language on to their children.”

POSTED BY “YE OLDE BLAKEY”

Lizzie Clark Millar Corsetmaker

Robertsons on the move