Duncan MacGregor Crerar
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Duncan MacGregor Crerar (4 December 1836 – 11 March 1916) was a Scottish poet who spent much of his adult life in western Ontario and New York City, writing sentimental poetry commemorating places and friends in Scotland. A native Gaelic speaker, he wrote primarily in English, with Gaelic phrases and diction. He was referred to by some contemporaries as "The Breadalbane Bard" or "Bard of Amulree". In his book Scottish Poets in America (New York, NY, 1889), John D. Ross described him:
In conclusion, we would state that Mr. Crerar is one of the most genial of men, kind, sympathetic, and generous in all his actions. In his own quiet, unobtrusive way, and unknown to the world, he has rendered assistance to many when they found the clouds of adversity hovering over them: and there are few men similarly circumstance who can boast of so large and so sincere a following of friends.
Crerar was born in Amulree, Glenquaich, Perthshire, Scotland, the son of Alexander Crerar (or MacKintosh) (1801 – before 1861), a mason and shepherd, and Janet MacGregor (1810 – 15 August 1885). His son eulogized him in his poem "Mementoes of My Father's Grave", written on 1 November 1878 in New York, and dedicated to Duncan's brother Alexander M. Crerar (born 9 July 1849) (published in the Celtic Magazine, Inverness, January 1883):
Mementoes of My Father's Grave
Soft, silky leaves of freshest green,
Which grew upon my father's grave;
Mementoes hallowed of a man
Whose heart was warm, sincere, and brave.
Of humble sphere, but noble aims,
He calmly stemmed life's stormy sea;
Upright and manly, frank and pure,
A trusty friend, and true was he.
A loving husband, faithful, kind;
A tender father, wise, discreet;
Our weal his chief concern, delight,
His happy home made labour sweet.
His words were few; for well he weighed
Each thought and subject ere he spoke;
In humour rich; and oft essayed
A simple, pleasant, harmless joke.
My father! thy blest memory
I dearly cherish day by day;
And for its sake I'll prize these leaves,
Which grew about thy sacred clay.
And when life's course with me is run --
When, soon or late, I must resign
This earthly frame-oh, may it rest
Beneath a turf as green as thine!
He eulogized his mother Janet in the poem, "S'Rioghal Ma Dhream" ("My Race is Royal"—Motto of Clan MacGregor), "In Affectionate Remembrance of My Beloved Mother. Died at Amulree, Dunkeld, Scotland, August 15, 1885", written 25 August 1885 in New York City:
"Mother is dead!" heart-rending news to me.
Dead my belovèd! Oh how keen my pain!
On earth, alas! we ne'er shall meet again:
"Mother is dead!" sent o'er the cold, deep sea!
"My Race is Royal," motto of thy line;
If Royal here, they welcome Royal there,
Where, free from every sorrow, trouble, care,
Thou dwellest in the light and love Divine!
To me henceforth this life will lonesome be.
Deep was thy love, self-sacrificing, kind.
Now do I feel all that thou wert to me,
Since thou art gone and I am left behind.
In gloomy sadness mourns for thee thy son.
Father, forgive: Thy will, not mine, be done!
Birth
Duncan MacGregor Crerar was born at Amulree, Glenquaich, Perthshire on 4 December 1837 [Perth Pamphlets, v.18]. He received a good education, studying under Robert Sinclair, and was destined by his parents to join the Presbyterian ministry. He abandoned these intentions, however, on the death of his father.
Emigration to North America
In 1857 he went to Canada, where he worked “in mercantile pursuits”. There he met many former friends from Amulree. Soon after his arrival, he entered the Active Militia as a member of Company "A" of Perth, Ontario, and served on the frontier during the Fenian Raids of 1865. John Ross states that "...in recognition of his valuable services, the Canadian Government, when under the direction of his warm friend, the Honourable Alexander Mackenzie, gazetted him Honorary Lieutenant of the company with which he served." [John Ross, Scottish Poets in America, 37]. It is probable that Crerar had known Mackenzie, a future Canadian Prime Minister, for a long time, as both came from Dunkeld, Perthshire.
After his military service, Crerar wrote for The Stratford Beacon, in Stratford, Ontario. He went to Toronto and studied for a short session. He then left for New York City, where he furthered his journalistic career. At the time of his marriage in 1869 he was the Assistant Manager of the Scottish American Journal of New York.
He returned to Scotland to wed. On 4 August 1869, he married Jessie Anderson Campbell (born circa 1842 - died before 1916) at the Free Church Manse, of Bridge of Perth, Kilmadock, Perth. Jessie Anderson Campbell was the 27-year-old daughter of Donald Campbell, a hotelkeeper of Langton, and Mary Campbell.
Crerar resided in New York until around 1905. Poems written after 1905 indicate that he returned to Scotland to live out his life. He dedicated several of these later poems to citizens of Crieff, where he spent his final years.
In religion, he was a liberal Presbyterian, attending regularly the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, led by the Reverend Dr. Hall. In Canada he joined the Free Masons, and was an officeholder in the Blue Lodge and Royal Arch. He was also a founding and active member of the Burns Society of New York City.