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Sarcophagus monument to Dr David Kinloch of Aberbothrie, 1617. Also to Lieut Colonel William Rattray on the North panel. The translation of the latin inscription, now partly defaced, is as follows :- "The monument of sepulture of a man of the greatest honour, Mr David Kinloch of Aberbothrie, of great learning, and adorned through life with many illustrious virtues ; a most skilful Physician of the kings of Great Britain and France, by whose letters and seals the nobility of his family and descent is amply testified and proved. He died in the year of human salvation, 1617, and of his age 58." Dr Kinloch was Physician to James VI., and whilst confined in one of the prisons of the Inquisition in Spain, he cured the Grand Inquisitor of a dangerous disease, and was set free with many tokens of gratitude. He was recognised as one of the foremost Latin poets of his time, and several of his poems were published by Sir John Scot of Scotstarvit in the Delitiae Poetarum Scotorum. On one of the sloping sides of the tomb there have been numerous coats of arms : many of these are now defaced. Dr Kinloch`s own arms still remain, and there are ribbons with the names of Ramsay, Lyndsay, Scrymgeour, and Stewart. On the same slab an inscription formerly stood in memory of Sir James Kinloch Nevay, who garrisoned Dundee for Prince Charles in 1745, and whose estates were forfeited. Previous to Sir James` inscription being placed there, there were four Latin verses commemorative of Dr Kinloch, which have been thus translated :- "Gallant Kinloch, his famous ancient race, Appears by this erected on this place ; This honour great indeed - his art and skill, And famous name, both sides of the pole do fill Revised by Dr Mitchell 1829, claimed by Mrs Mitchell, Seagate widow of Dr Mitchell. The monument of sepulture of a man of the greatest honour, Mr David Kinloch of Aberbrothie, of great learning, and adorned through life with many illustrious virtues; a most skilful Physician to the Kings of Great Britain and France, by whose letters and seals the nobility of his family and descent is amply testified and proved. He died in the year of human salvation 1617, and of his age 58. Sir James Kinloch Nevay, Baronet, died the 5 February, 1776, aged 72. His daughter, Mary Kinloch, spouse of John Rankine of Dudhope, died the 23 of September, 1782, aged 41. His daughter, Henrietta Kinloch, died the 28th December, 1791, aged 52. His daughter, Anna Kinloch, died on the 15 October, 1793, aged 48 years Source: Thomson.
Collection of Epitaphs and Monumental Inscriptions Chiefly in Scotland 1834 (R Monteith) Monumentum sepulturæ, viri amplissimo honore, Clara inter proceres, hæc monumenta probant; Magnus ab his cui surgit honos: sed major ab arte,, Dr DAVID KINLOCH was one of that wide circle of literary men that served to give Dundee a very eminent place in the world of letters during the reign Of JAMES VI. He was descended from the Fifeshire family of KINLOCH of that Ilk, and claimed as his ancestor a certain JOHN DE KYNDELOCH, who held lands in Fife circa 1165. His grandfather, SIR GEORGE KYNDELOCH of that Ilk, had four sons, the youngest of whom was bred to the sea, and settled at Dundee about the middle of the sixteenth century. Genealogists have differed as to the name of this youngest son, but the entry on the Burgess Roll affords contemporary evidence on the best authority that he was called JOHN KINLOCH, and not WILLIAM as frequently stated. Dr DAVID KINLOCH seems to have been his only son, and he was born in Dundee in 1559 60. Having studied medicine at St Andrews University he went abroad, like many of the students of his time, to complete his education on the Continent; and he returned to his native land with an established reputation as a physician of exceptional skill. His merits were brought under the notice of the KING, and when he purposed departing on another journey to France he obtained a special letter of introduction from JAMES VI, recommending him to the fostering care of those Monarchs through whose dominions he might pass. That letter is now in the possession of his descendant and representative, COLONEL JOHN KINLOCH of Logie. During his second voyage it was his misfortune to fall into the hands of the Spanish Inquisition, by whom he was condemned to death as a heretic. The consistent tradition still current in the family relates that his execution was delayed for some time, and that when he inquired as to the cause of his protracted imprisonment, he was informed that it had been intended to make him one of the victims of an auto da fe, but that the illness of the Grand Inquisitor had prevented the accomplishment of this purpose. He then disclosed the fact that he was a practitioner of medicine, and discreetly suggested that it might be within his power to bring about the recovery of this high official. As the case was a desperate one, his suggestion was adopted, and, through the exercise of his skill, he was enabled to restore the patient to health. The grateful dignitary not only set KINLOCH at liberty, but also loaded him with marks of special favour, and procured for him one of the Orders reserved for nobles of the higher rank. The portrait of Dr KINLOCH, which is now at Logie House, shows him in his robes as a physician, bearing the decoration which he had thus gained by his ability. The exact date of Dr KINLOCH’S return to Dundee is not recorded, but there is every likelihood that it was shortly before his admission as Burgess, in 1602. His house stood on the west side of Couttie's Wynd, near the spot where Union Street has been opened up, or, as it is described in some of the Council Minutes, "his foreland lay foreanent the wind mill" at Yeaman Shore. It has been stated that this property belonged to WILLIAM KINLOCH, in 1581, who is described as the father of the Doctor, though the entry in the Burgess Roll contradicts this theory. It is certain, however, that he was in possession of this tenement in 1610, as the Council took proceedings against him at that date for an alleged encroachment upon the public road. He survived till 1617, at which period he was buried in the Howff of Dundee. The literary fame of Dr KINLOCH rests principally upon a Latin medical poem, which he wrote in two books, entitled De Hominis Procreatione, and De Anatome, et Morbis Internis, and which was published in 1637 by SIR JOHN SCOT of Scotstarvit in the Delitae Poetarum Scotcotorum., beside the works of other three eminent Scottish Latinists PETER GOLDMAN, HERCULES ROLLOCK, and DAVID WEDDERBURN. This poem is useful as showing the physiological theories then accepted by the most eminent scientists. The year before his death Dr KINLOCH acquired the estate of Aberbothrie, and also of Balmyle in Perthshire, which was afterwards called Kinloch, and still gives the territorial title to his descendants. By his marriage with GRIZEL HAY, daughter of HAY of Gourdie, he had two sons and one daughter. The latter was married to THOMAS FOTHRINGHAM of Powrie, and from the two former the KINLOCHS Of Kilry and the KINLOCHS of Gourdie are descended. Source E.B. On the North Side Panel Sacred to the memory of William Rattray was originally buried in the grounds of Downie Park, near the confluence of the South Esk and Prosen. A decade after Rattray's death, a period of heavy rain caused the River Prosen to burst its banks and flood waters entered into where Colonel Rattray was buried and washed out part of the tomb, after this event his body was then moved to the churchyard of Kirriemuir. Some Thirty years or so later, Rattray's widow moved his remains again, to their final resting place in the Howff. The following is an extract from The Dundee Courier and Argus, Friday November 23rd 1888. "Towards the "back end" of last century, William Rattray, a scion of Corb Castle, above Blairgowrie, set out for India. He joined the East India Company's Bengal Service, and rose to the rank of colonel. When he set out his father, the laird of Corb, was only able to hand him ten pounds as a nucleus for his fortune. When there he married an Indian lady, by whom he had two daughters. On amassing "his fortune" he resolved to return home. His wife and one of the daughters died before reaching this country. After their return the colonel and his brother wished to buy back their ancestral estates, which had been confiscated of broken up in 1745, but this was not to be. One of the brothers purchased the estate of Arthurstone, near Coupar Angus, and William bought the lands of Downie Park, near Cortachy, for £16,000. There was no house at this time. After the purchase was completed, he declared, "it is paid now, but God knows how it was won," and said, "if I get any honest man's son to marry my daughter, I will give her the lands of Downie and all the money," She, however, predeceased the father. The above extract © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. & © 2014 brightsolid Newspaper Archive Ltd |