Records of the Scottish Settlers in the River Plate and their Churches, etc

Introduction

BY THE REV. J. TV". FLEMING, B.D PUBLISHED BY GRANT AND SYLVESTER BUENOS AIRES

Preface

The following papers were written for the local Supplement to the Church Magazine, Life and Work, with the design of preserving in a collected form the interesting records of many local and social events in the lives of the Scottish Settlers in the Fiver Plate which otherwise would have been lost. They were not originally intended for publication in any other form, but at the suggestion of the Eev. J. W. Fleming, B.D., the editor of the magazine referred to, it was decided that they should appear in their present form as being one more conducive to their circulation and preservation. The author desires to acknowledge his indebtedness to John and WiUiam Parish Eobertson's Letters on South. America, and to the same authors' Letters on Paraguay, the former kindly lent by Mrs. Eamsay Thomson, and the latter by Eobert M'Clymont, Esq. As these volumes contain much interesting matter and are now out of print, the author hopes that his somewhat lengthy quotations may not be considered out of place.

His best thanks are due to H.B.M. Consul in Buenos Aires, Eonald Bridgett, Esq., for access to valuable records in the British Consulate ; to the venerable senior pastor, the Eev. James Smith, D.D. ; and to Arthur Towers, Esq. of Montevideo, for supplying periodicals and newspaper cuttings of much value ; and to Mrs. John M'Lean, Mrs. Methven, VI and Miss Grierson, three of the four survivors of the original Monte Grande colonists, for personal reminiscences and family papers. He also wishes to take this opportunity of thanking Messrs. Hope and Herbert Gibson of the Estancia " Los Yngleses " for valuable assistance in publishing the book ; and especially the Eev. D. J. Moir Porteous, B.D., of Mid- Calder, for correcting the proofs and seeing the work through the press. Without further preamble, the volume, such as it is, is left to the indulgent judgment of the reader. Buenos Aires, February 1897.

INTRODUCTION.

I believe the very title of this book will prove the best Introduction. No Scotchman or Scoto- Argentine with any traditional love for his country would be worthy of the name who did not desire to know something of the history of his fathers or his countrymen in these lands. Their efforts have made the land a far more pleasant one for him. One may question how far Scotch influence has been felt, but there can be no doubt what influence has been exerted has been for good. To Scotchmen who have arrived in recent years the presence of a church and schools, with their attendant social environment, cannot but be an appreciable force for good. The question naturally arises — How did these buildings and this community come to exist, and what has been their history ? This is the question it is proposed to answer in these pages.

For years I have been in the habit of collecting papers and making notes of interesting events in the history of the Scotch community. That history has been largely a religious one, for it is unquestionably the Presbyterian faith that has united Scotsmen into a community in these Bepublics. It has been difficult to find any one willing to write the history of our Church and its founders. It required one who had mixed a good deal with an earlier generation than the present. It was found, too, that the record of our Church history, which was proposed to be the scope of the series of papers, had become so entwined with the social and other interests, thau it was impossible to treat the one without referring to the other. Our inquiry has therefore taken a wider range than was at first intended.

I am convinced the subject will be interesting, for there has been not a little romance in our early history. It is a duty to our predecessors to refer to the work done in establishing the religious and industrial establishments that are so well known to-day, and it is a duty that ought to be done now, for in a few years none will remain of those who watched the early history of the Scottish community. So far as I am aware there is no man living now who came out in 1825 with the Scotch colony, and there are very few women — so few that we may at once mention their names : Mrs. Eobson, Chascomus ; Mrs. Methven and Miss Grierson, Buenos Aires ; Mrs. M'Lean, Buenos Aires. If there are any more, I do not know who they are, although it is possible there are others. Much valuable information that' could easily have been got ten years ago, when some of those who were grown up when they came out in 1825 were still alive, has now been lost for ever.

I hope, however, that these remarks will bring to light some old letters and papers bearing on the early colonists. It was astonishing how much was found to exist when this inquiry was actually taken up. H.B.M. Consul, Mr. E. Bridgets, has lent some old records which have yielded much information. The recollections of the ladies who knew the early colonists have also been very valuable. The Church records have, in some cases, been of priceless value, although they are defective at a most important epoch, and it seems very strange that apparently no Kirk-Session records existed till a few years ago. I am specially happy to say that I have persuaded a gentleman admirably qualified for the work to write these Introduction IX papers. He is one who has been heart and soul in the welfare of the Scottish Churches and their members, and although it was hard work to persuade him to set aside the diffidence he felt as to his ability to do credit to this history, that has been done, and I am quite sure the story could not be better told by any one living than by him who will write it. J. W. FLEMING. CONTENTS

Mr. Fleming's Visit to Scotland . . . 444