University of Guelph Library
Ewen - Grahame fonds: records of an Aberdeen merchant and his family
The Ewen-Grahame fonds is an important 18th and 19th century Scottish archive that has formed the basis for Guelph's Scottish collection for more than three decades. The fonds contains more than 12,000 items that document a family business and history from 1732 to 1892. The correspondence depicts the commercial development of Aberdeen and serves as a valuable social record for the study of this city. The entire archive was purchased in 1974 with the aid of a $10,000 grant from the Macdonald Stewart Foundation.
John Ewen (1745-1821), born in Montrose, was a merchant who also became a writer, philanthropist and reformer. He moved to Aberdeen in 1760 and married Janet Middleton in 1766 -- they had one daughter, Elizabeth, who married a son of Grahame of Morphie in 1787. In the latter part of the 18th century, John Ewen made his fortune as a jeweller and goldsmith. His trade expanded to include merchandise as diverse as hardware, patent medicines, foodstuffs, wine and spirits.
John Ewen lived and participated in an era of many political changes, especially after 1780. Generally, he worked to reform local government. He served as Secretary of the Convention for Burgh Reform in Scotland. He was involved in local urban commercial concerns and police matters: the "Police Bill" of the 1790s led to better lighting and cleaner streets in Aberdeen. Ewen was Principal Manager of the Gaelic Society and a patron of the arts. A man of many talents, Ewen is credited with penning the lyrics for the traditional song, The Boatie Rows, which begins:
"O Weel may the boatie row, And better may she speed;
O leesome may the boatie row, That wins the bairns' bread!
The boatie rows, the boatie rows, The boatie rows indeed;
And lightsome be their life that bear
The merlin and the creel!"
John Ewen died aged 75 on 21 October 1821 leaving substantial sums to Aberdeen public charities and to the magistrates and clergy of Montrose (his birthplace) for the maintenance and education of boys. His daughter, Elizabeth, challenged provisions of his will and appealed to the House of Lords, which on 17 November 1830 ruled in her favour, due to imprecise details given in Ewen's provisions.
His estate eventually passed to his grandson, Baron Grahame, who inherited land in Morphie, Kincardineshire, and Ballindarg, Forfarshire.
The Ewen-Grahame fonds has attracted attention for letters circulated between John Ewen and a "'Walter Scott." The relationship was based on business interests and friendship, with Scott serving as Ewen's agent in the Shetlands. However, the Walter Scott in question, after some research, was revealed to be a gentleman and retired naval lieutenant, not the famous author ["The 'Walter Scott' Letters in the Ewen-Grahame Collection at the University of Guelph" by A.H. Brodie in International Review of Scottish Studies, vol. 6 (1976): 83-88.] Nevertheless, the archive remains a rich source of material of family, commercial, and social history for Aberdeen.
The remainder of the fonds includes 19th century correspondence and financial records created by Ewen's daughter Elizabeth (Mrs. James Grahame); his grandson Baron Grahame; and other members of the Grahame family residing in the Aberdeen district.
A finding aid is available for the entire corpus of approximately 12,000 letters : Adobe Reader is required to view these documents and can be obtained at Adobe's website. The finding aid can be viewed at XS1 MS A001. Correspondence between major friends and business associates is filed alphabetically and arranged at the beginning of the fonds. Subsequent letters and documents are arranged chronologically from 1723 to 1892.