Henry Duncan | |
|---|---|
 Henry Duncan from Disruption Worthies[1] | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 October 1774 Lochrutton,Kirkcudbrightshire,Scotland |
| Died | 12 February 1846(1846-02-12) (aged 71) |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Occupation | minister known for founding the world's first commercial savings bank |
.jpg)
Henry DuncanFRSE (8 October 1774 – 12 February 1846) was a Scottishminister, geologist andsocial reformer. The minister ofRuthwell inDumfriesshire, he founded the world's firstmutual savings bank that would eventually form part of theTrustee Savings Bank. He served asModerator of theGeneral Assembly of theChurch of Scotland in 1839. At the Disruption has left the Church of Scotland and sided with theFree Church. He was also a publisher, a philanthropist and an author, writing novels as well as works of science and religion.
Duncan was born in 1774 atLochrutton,Kirkcudbrightshire, where his father, George Duncan, was minister.[2] As a boy he met the poetRobert Burns, who visited Lochrutton Manse. Duncan was educated inDumfries at theAcademy. After studying for two sessions atSt. Andrews University he was sent toLiverpool to begin commercial life, and under the patronage of his relative,Dr. James Currie, the biographer ofRobert Burns, his prospects of success were very fair; but his heart was not in business, and he soon left Liverpool to study at Edinburgh and Glasgow for the ministry of theChurch of Scotland. Whilst inEdinburgh he joined theSpeculative Society, and became intimate with the political figures,Francis Horner andHenry Brougham.[3]
In 1798 he was ordained as minister of the Church of Scotland and became Minister atRuthwell in Dumfriesshire in 1799, where he spent the rest of his life. Duncan from the first was remarkable for the breadth of his views, especially in what concerned the welfare of the people, and the courage and ardour with which he promoted measures not usually thought to be embraced in the minister's rôle. In a time of scarcity he brought Indian corn from Liverpool. At the time when a French invasion was dreaded he raised a company of volunteers, of which he was the captain. He published a series of cheap popular tracts, contributing to the series some that were much prized, afterwards collected under the titleThe Cottage Fireside. He originated a newspaper,The Dumfries and Galloway Courier, of which he was editor for seven years.[3]
The measure which is most honourably connected with Duncan's name was the institution ofsavings banks. He is widely acknowledged to have formed the country's first savings bank in 1810, theRuthwell Parish Savings Bank[4] and Duncan was unceasing in his efforts to promote the cause throughout the country. His influence was used to procure the first act of parliament passed to encourage such institutions. By speeches, lectures, and pamphlets he made the cause known far and wide. The scheme readily commended itself to all intelligent friends of the people, and the growing progress and popularity of the movement have received no check to the present day. Great though his exertions were, and large his outlay in this cause, he never received any reward or acknowledgement beyond the esteem of those who appreciated his work and the spirit in which it was done.[3]
Although Dr Duncan and the Ruthwell Savings Bank were hugely influential, the Bank itself was not a great success. By 1875 only 29 accounts remained, and these were transferred to Annan Savings Bank.[5] The bicentenary of this event was celebrated with a conference held by theCentre for Theology and Public Issues at theUniversity of Edinburgh.[6] Speakers investigated Duncan's legacy in light of current social, financial, and religious dynamics. TheSavings Bank Museum tells the story of early home savings inBritain.[3]
Duncan published some work anonymously. In 1821 he published another tale of humble Scottish life, — " The Young South-Country Weaver,"[7] a fit sequel to "The Cottage Fireside."[8] In 1823 Duncan received the degree of D.D. from theUniversity of St. Andrews. A number of years later (1826) he published, anonymously, a work of fiction in three volumes, " William Douglas; or, The Scottish Exiles," intended to counteractSir Walter Scott's aspersions on theCovenanters in "Old Mortality."[9][10][11] This was hailed as a work of real genius, and was remarkably well received by the Scottish public.[1] In 1836 he published the first volume of a work which reached ultimately to four volumes, entitledThe Sacred Philosophy of the Seasons. It was well received, and ran through several editions.[12][13][14][15] He also contributed to Tales of the Scottish Peasantry by Henry Duncan, D.D., and others.[16]
To theTransactions of the Scottish Antiquarian Society he contributed a description of a celebrated runic cross: theRuthwell Cross (now in Ruthwell church), one of the finestAnglo-Saxon crosses in Britain. This late 7th/early 8th century cross, which he discovered in his parish and restored in 1818, and on which volumes have since been written, is remarkable for itsrunic inscription, which contains excerpts fromThe Dream of the Rood, anOld English poem.[3]
He made a memorable contribution likewise to geological science. In 1828 Duncan presented a paper to theRoyal Society of Edinburgh describing the discovery of the fossil footmarks of four legged vertebrate animals in thePermian red sandstone ofCorncockle Quarry, nearLochmaben.[17] The paper, published in 1831, was one of the first two scientific reports of a fossil track (the other being made byMr. J. Grierson[18]). Duncan also corresponded with the palaeontologist RevWilliam Buckland about the tracks.[19] A cast of the tracks ofChelichnus duncani can be found in theNational Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.[3] The original fossils can be seen atDumfries Museum.
While at first not very decided between the moderate and the evangelical party in the church, Duncan soon sided with the latter, and became the intimate friend of such men as Dr.Thomas Chalmers and Dr.Andrew Thomson. In the earlier stages of the controversy connected with the Scottish church he addressed letters on the subject to his old college friendsLord Brougham and theMarquis of Lansdowne, and toLord Melbourne, home secretary.[3]
In 1839 Duncan becameModerator of the General Assembly of theChurch of Scotland, and at the time of theDisruption of 1843 became one of the founding ministers of theFree Church of Scotland[20] leaving a manse and grounds that had been rendered very beautiful by his taste and skill.[3]
Henry Duncan was visited byRobert Murray M'Cheyne during his vacations in Ruthwell.[citation needed]
Duncan was president of a Missionary Society. He also campaigned on behalf of Catholic Relief and on the Emancipation of Slaves.[21]
Duncan's first wife whom he married in November 1804 was Agnes Craig, daughter of his predecessor, the Rev. John Craig. They had two sons and a daughter. Agnes Duncan died of influenza in 1832.[22] Duncan's second wife, whom he married in 1836, was Mary Grey, daughter of George Grey ofWest Ord, sister ofJohn Grey of Dilston, a well-known Northumbrian gentleman (see memoir by his daughter, Mrs. Josephine Butler) andHenry Grey (a minister), widow of the Rev. R. Lundie ofKelso, and mother ofMary Lundie Duncan andJane Lundie Bonar.[2] She was a lady of considerable accomplishments and force of character, and author of several books.[23]
Duncan's son George John Craig Duncan was born in 1806. He became the minister atKirkpatrick Durham. His wife wasIsabelle Wight Duncan, who was a notable author.[24][25]
His second son, William Wallace Duncan, born in 1808, was the minister of Cleish and husband of his step-sisterMary Lundie Duncan.[2] Henry Duncan's daughter Barbara referred to by Thomas Carlyle as "the bonny little Barbara Duncan" married the Rev. James Dodds of Dunbar.
Duncan was a man of most varied accomplishments – manual, intellectual, social, and spiritual. With the arts of drawing, modelling, sculpture, landscape-gardening, and even the business of an architect, he was familiar, and his knowledge of literature and science was varied and extensive. In private and family life he was highly estimable, while his ministerial work was carried on with great earnestness and delight. Thestroke of paralysis that ended his life on 19 February 1846 fell on him while conducting a religious service in the cottage of an elder.[3]
The headquarters ofTSB Bank (a descendant of the original Trustee Savings Bank) at 120 George Street is namedHenry Duncan House.[26]
The following is a full list of Duncan's publications:[23]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link) This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Blaikie, William Garden (1888). "Duncan, Henry". InStephen, Leslie (ed.).Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 16. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 165–166. Endnotes:| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
