William Burnes

William Burnes
William Burnes grave in Alloway Kirk
Born	11 November 1721 Dunnottar, Kincardineshire, Scotland
Died	13 February 1784 Lochlea, South Ayrshire, Scotland
Occupation	Gardener and farmer

William Burnes or William Burness (11 November 1721 – 13 February 1784), the father of Robert Burns the poet, was born at either Upper Kinmonth or Clochnahill Farm, Dunnottar, Kincardineshire, and trained as a gardener at Inverugie Castle, Aberdeenshire, before moving to Ayrshire and becoming a tenant farmer. His parents were Robert Burnes and Isabella Keith. He retained the spelling 'Burnes' throughout his life, however his son favoured the Ayrshire spelling of 'Burns'.

William had three brothers: George died young, James and Robert survived into adulthood. He had received a basic education which exceeded that of most boys of his time and was very competent in the three Rs, and displayed a very neat hand. The Burnes family are said to have had Jacobite sympathies, illustrated by the fact that William thought it necessary to get a certificate from three Kincardineshire landlords, testifying that he was 'a very well-inclind lad'. In 1748 his father, Robert Burnes, a gardener, who had ambitions as a farmer, was ruined by the economic depression that followed the Jacobite uprising of 1745.

At this time Edinburgh was known to have a demand for gardeners and William Burnes took the opportunity, spending the next two years 'landscaping' for Sir Thomas Hope in the city, part of his work being in Hope Park, later known as The Meadows. He next found employment in Ayrshire, working first for the Laird of Fairlie in 1750, and later moving to Carrick and working near Maybole. He was a good worker and received a certificate of good character from the session clerk and minister of Dundonald. In 1754 he was employed by the Crawfords of Doonside for a period of two years, lodging at Doonside Mill and saving for his future, his father having probably died at around this time, freeing him from the maintenance payments he had been making to his retired father back at Denside. He was ambitious to set up as a nurseryman for himself so he feued, from Dr Alexander Campbell of Ayr, seven and a half acres of land at Alloway. Unable to make a living in this way alone, he obtained in the summer and autumn of 1757 a position as head gardener at Doonholm, the estate of a retired London doctor, Provost William Fergusson of Ayr.