Foreword
About Myself
I am a retired maintenance engineer who resides in the town of Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland.
Born in Leith, Port of Edinburgh on the Firth of Forth in 1934, I was brought up there during the 2nd World War . As a child I enjoyed the experience, innocent of the seriousness of the time. www.oldleither.com
Schooling
I attended Dr Bells Primary School from 1939 - 1946 when I moved onto Leith Academy for my secondary education. Here I met the girl, Olive Jamieson whom I was destined to marry eleven years later in 1957. After school we went our own ways in 1949.
Olive attended a pre-nursing training college, Dean College in Edinburgh, before going onto Bangour General Hospital, West Lothian for her Registered General Training, graduating in 1956.
Employment
I joined an investment company but after two years I yearned for a seagoing career. With this in mind I began work in a shipbuilding yard in Leith. I qualified as a ship`s plumber but never took it up. I emigrated to Canada in early 1956. I returned to Scotland in late 1956. On Hogmanay that year I found myself meeting up with Olive for the first time for a long time.
Dating, Engagement, Marriage
We dated to go to the theatre in January and that was that. We were engaged by April and married on 30th November the same year, 1957.
We moved here from Leith, Edinburgh in 1966 along with our two children. Livingston at that time was in the process of developing from a rural community of several villages. Our New Move
Olive resumed her nursing after our third child was five years old. I began work as a maintenance engineer.
Writing
Always being a keen writer and fond of history, I became interested in the origins of the town, and in so doing I made contact with various Livingston towns and townships the world over. It was during my correspondence with the Township of New Jersey that I became interested in the subject of my narrative. Livingston, New Jersey was named for a William Livingston who was a descendant of `a vigorous Scots Minister of the Gospel.`
This intrigued me sufficiently that I determined to trace this person. What I discovered was a rich source of presbyterianism waiting to be brought to light. More eminent scholars and writers than me have chronicled the times and events of those days, but I did not feel deterred in adding mine to the list.
I have attempted to collate and present some of this material in modern text, but in the quest for desired effect, the colourful and descriptive language of middle Seventeenth Century Scotland has been retained.
I hope anyone who reads this will have as much satisfaction in so doing as I have had in compiling it.
I thank you for your interest, and I look forward to reading your comments in my guestbook if you feel inclined to remark.
Finally, I recommend you clicking on my Links to take you to other associated sites.
John P Stewart
My grateful thanks to the late Nell Livingston Blay, Sue Livingston Fritz, both of New Orleans La. and Robert Sewell, St Catherines, Ontario for their encouragement, aye even cajoling me to set up this site in the first instance.
Also to my son Alan for assisting in so doing. I am now being actively encouraged to have it printed in book form by Beth Livingston, Toledo, Oh.
