Thomas Miller - 1st of Glenlee, Lord Barskimming, Lord Advocate - at James Boswell

Thomas Miller (1717-1789)

James Boswell The people in Boswell's life - A-E - F-J - K-O - P-T - U-Z Ancestors FAQ Trivia Bibliography Biography News Multimedia Discussion forum About this site Guide to Abbreviations Other weblinks	Biography Thomas Miller. (1717-1789) (aka. 1st of Glenlee, Lord Barskimming, Lord Advocate) 1st Bart of Glenlee. Son of William Miller of Glenlee. Called to the Scottish Bar on February 21, 1742. In 1753 he married Margaret Murdoch, daugther of John Murdoch of Rosebank, Provost of Glasgow, and Margaret Lang (Link). MP for Dumfries and Lord Advocate for Scotland in 1762-3. Appointed Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Session with the title of Lord Barskimming in 1766, a title he later changed to Lord Glenlee. Lord President from 1788. His estate was next to Ballochmyle, near Mauchline, and he was thus almost a neighbour of the Boswells at Auchinleck. He was an early patron of poet Robert Burns, who referred to him as the aged judge in The Vision I.XX.¹ Life with James Boswell: Boswell spent the evening with Miller, James Macdonald, Captain Johnstone and Andrew Erskine at Lord Eglintons on January 5, 1763. On March 17, 1763 they dined together. On this occasion Boswell didn't like "Mrs. Miller's abominable Glasgow tongue", and "resolved never again to dine where a Scotchwoman from the West was allowed to feed with us". As Pottle notes (LJ170363, n. 8) "he later married one". Shortly before leaving for Holland in July 1763, Boswell wrote to Miller "in the easy style of a companion, as he and I were always easy, and mention with satisfaction my having more rational views". Boswell was referring to his decision to continue his law studies to become an advocate. (LJ290763) In 1786 Boswell and Miller were involved in a dispute - with each other - "over the stool [...] of Turnerhill wood, which Miller's uncle, then the owner, had exchanged with Lord Auchinleck for other land about forty years earlier."² In 1789 Boswell was involved, together with Miller and Keith Stewart, in a dispute over the relocation of a tollbar in the parish of Muirkirk (Link). External links: Portrait of Lord Thomas Miller Glenlee - in the National Portrait Gallery Notes: Note 1: Burns, Robert (1897). The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns. Houghton Mifflin. (Read it now!) Note 2: Lustig, Irma S. & Pottle, Frederik A. Boswell: The English Experiment, 1785-1789., p. 60 This article was last updated at February 06 2008 21:18:42 CET Other links of possible interest	Other biographies that refer to Thomas Miller: Johnstone, George Stewart, Keith Wedderburn, Alexander
	© 2004-2008 Thomas Frandzen. Read About this site for further info and disclaimer. Please mail comments and corrections to webmaster@jamesboswell.info This URL was last modified: June 01 2008 22:08:34.

Thomas Miller (1717-1789)

James Boswell The people in Boswell's life - A-E - F-J - K-O - P-T - U-Z Ancestors FAQ Trivia Bibliography Biography News Multimedia Discussion forum About this site Guide to Abbreviations Other weblinks

Biography

Thomas Miller. (1717-1789) (aka. 1st of Glenlee, Lord Barskimming, Lord Advocate)

1st Bart of Glenlee. Son of William Miller of Glenlee. Called to the Scottish Bar on February 21, 1742. In 1753 he married Margaret Murdoch, daugther of John Murdoch of Rosebank, Provost of Glasgow, and Margaret Lang (Link). MP for Dumfries and Lord Advocate for Scotland in 1762-3. Appointed Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Session with the title of Lord Barskimming in 1766, a title he later changed to Lord Glenlee. Lord President from 1788. His estate was next to Ballochmyle, near Mauchline, and he was thus almost a neighbour of the Boswells at Auchinleck.

He was an early patron of poet Robert Burns, who referred to him as the aged judge in The Vision I.XX.¹

Life with James Boswell:

Boswell spent the evening with Miller, James Macdonald, Captain Johnstone and Andrew Erskine at Lord Eglintons on January 5, 1763. On March 17, 1763 they dined together. On this occasion Boswell didn't like "Mrs. Miller's abominable Glasgow tongue", and "resolved never again to dine where a Scotchwoman from the West was allowed to feed with us". As Pottle notes (LJ170363, n. 8) "he later married one".

Shortly before leaving for Holland in July 1763, Boswell wrote to Miller "in the easy style of a companion, as he and I were always easy, and mention with satisfaction my having more rational views". Boswell was referring to his decision to continue his law studies to become an advocate. (LJ290763)

In 1786 Boswell and Miller were involved in a dispute - with each other - "over the stool [...] of Turnerhill wood, which Miller's uncle, then the owner, had exchanged with Lord Auchinleck for other land about forty years earlier."² In 1789 Boswell was involved, together with Miller and Keith Stewart, in a dispute over the relocation of a tollbar in the parish of Muirkirk (Link).

External links:

Portrait of Lord Thomas Miller Glenlee - in the National Portrait Gallery

Notes:

Note 1: Burns, Robert (1897). The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns. Houghton Mifflin. (Read it now!)

Note 2: Lustig, Irma S. & Pottle, Frederik A. Boswell: The English Experiment, 1785-1789., p. 60

This article was last updated at February 06 2008 21:18:42 CET

Other links of possible interest

Other biographies that refer to Thomas Miller:

Johnstone, George
Stewart, Keith
Wedderburn, Alexander

© 2004-2008 Thomas Frandzen. Read About this site for further info and disclaimer.

Please mail comments and corrections to webmaster@jamesboswell.info

This URL was last modified: June 01 2008 22:08:34.