William Skirving

William Skirving (c. 1745–1796) was one of the five Scottish Martyrs for Liberty. Active in the cause of universal franchise and other reforms inspired by the French Revolution, they were convicted of sedition in 1793-94, and sentenced to transportation to New South Wales.

William Skirving was born about 1745 in Liberton, near Edinburgh to William Skirving, a farmer, and his wife (probably Margaret, née Bryden). He was educated at Haddington grammar school and at Edinburgh University, originally with a view to the ministry in the Burgher Secession Church (a branch of Presbyterianism). On graduation he studied divinity for a short time before changing direction and taking up a position as a tutor in a private household, and then leasing land to farm at Damhead. In 1775 he married Rachel Abercrombie (b. 1748) the only child of Andrew Abercrombie, who had been a farmer and merchant in Fife. William set about farming in Strathruddy, Fife, on land Rachel had inherited from her father. In the same year, William’s father passed on to him some of his tacks (leased lands), and in the following year William senior died. William and Rachel had two sons William (b. 1779) and Alexander (b. 1782). In 1792 he moved to Edinburgh and published a manual of husbandry. He had hopes of obtaining the Chair in Agriculture at Edinburgh University but was unsuccessful.

In 1792 he also became active in setting up the Edinburgh Society of Friends of the People an organisation of Radical Whigs and other reformers inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution. In December 1792, when the Edinburgh Society held its first political convention, he was appointed general secretary to the convention. At that time, the only precedents for such conventions were in the French and American Revolutions. The Friends of the People called for universal suffrage, annual elections and were seeking to make contact with like-minded groups such as the United Irishmen. Although the Society made a point of saying that they were not advocating riot, revolution or republicanism, but wanted to work for Parliamentary change, their ideas were nonetheless highly threatening to the British Government, which had managed to resist much more moderate changes supported by the Whigs. Thomas Muir, a young lawyer who was Vice President to the Convention, and the voice of the radical faction, was charged with sedition, partly on the grounds of reading aloud an address from a representative of the United Irishmen. When the next convention was held, the Reverend Thomas Fyshe Palmer who had taken on Muir’s role, was arrested. The charge against him was preparing for publication and circulating a pamphlet written by George Mealmaker. William Skirving remained as secretary through these arrests and arranged for the publication an account of the trial of Thomas Fyshe Palmer.

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