Biography

William Cochrane. (-1799) (aka. Of Muirfield and/or Gullane. Banker)

Of Muirfield and/or Gullane. Possibly married (1748) to Lillias Steuart, daughter of Sir John Steuart, 2nd Bart of Allanbank. A sometime woollen-draper in Edinburgh. Joint-manager (1762-1766), with Robert Herries (1730-1815), of Herries, Cochrane & Co. (the London branch of John Coutts & Co.) on Jeffrey Square.

My idenfication of Cochrane with Cochrane of Gullane, married to Lillias Steuart is based on one of the Yale editions (GC66, p. 32), which states that Cochrane was the uncle of the Coutts'. Assuming that he meant the Coutts brothers (See James Coutts), this would probably make him the William Cochrane of Gullan (Link) who married their mother, Jane Steuart's, sister Lillias Steuart. In CJJ, however, he is given the designation of Muirfield. Both designations may be correct, but the Yale editions have known to be erroneous on individual identifications before. The death year of Cochrane is also information from CJJ, and so refers to a William Cochrane of Muirfield. I'm pretty sure the books are referring to the same persons however, as Muirfield lies on the outskirts of Gullane, east of Edinburgh.

Life with James Boswell:

Boswell writes "[Cochrane] is a good, plain, comfortable Scots fellow; and his wife, though a lean exisitence, is a quiet civil being. He is entrusted by my father to pay me my allowance, and being his great friend, takes upon him to lecture me on my idle views of life." (LJ280363)

Mentioned on November 26, 1762 when Boswell went to see him to get his £25 allowance from home.

This article was last updated at February 05 2008 12:03:56 CET

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