Simon Somerville (Tae) Laurie 1829 - 1909
Simon Somerville (Tae) Laurie , eldest son. Educ. High School, Edinburgh (1839-1844) and Edinburgh University (matric. 5 Nov 1844, graduated 3 May 1849 aged 19.5). While still an undergraduate, he was appointed Assistant in Latin to Professor Pillans which extended his study by a year. The next few years are rather obscure. It's thought he acted as a private tutor in London, on the Continent, and in Ireland. It is said he was tutor in the house of Mrs Bloomfield, a friend of Thackrays. He doesn't appear to have been in England, Wales or Scotland for the 1851 census although he was in Edinburgh at the time of his father's death in 1852. He corresponded at that time with the managers of the Royal Infirmary. His address, probably that of his parents, was 4 Rankeillor st. This was in easy walking distance of the Royal Infirmary where his father was Chaplain. In January 1855 he took a public appointment in Edinburgh as Secretary of the Education Committee of the Church of Scotland. Elgin Courier 23 February 1855: The Secretaryship of the Education Committee -On Thursday the General Assembly's Education Committee elected Mr Simon Somerville Laurie, A.M., to the office of their Secretary, in the room of Mr Gordon, recently appointm=ed one of the Government Inspector of Schools. [Mr Laurie is a grandson of the late Rev. Simon Somerville of the U.P. Church, Elgin.]- In 1856 he was as Visitor of the schools. He was an Educational reformer. From Feb 1860, the family house at Brunstane was divided and Tae et al took half. The 1861 census records him as Secretary to Church of Scotland Educn Comm. M A Education Secy (1871 census). Secretary to the Endowed Schools Commission (1872-) Held Bell Chair of the Theory, History, and Practice of Education, University of Edinburgh, 1876 and due to this appointment left Brunstone to move to Nairne Lodge, nearer Edinburgh. 1881 Census he was recorded as Professor of Institutes & History of Education In Edinburgh University (M A). By this time, the family had moved to Nairne Lodge, Duddingston, nearer town. Tae was appointed to the Chair of Education at Edinburgh in 1887. At this time he was "Professor of the Institutes and History of Education in the University of Edinburgh". He said "If there is one thing more than another, next to religion, which keeps the spirit of a nation patriotic and living, it is the management of its own education." After 1898, Tae moved to 22 George square. Professor of Education, Edinburgh, 1905-6. He wrote at least 22 books (most of which are held at Glasgow university library). Quasi cursores; portraits of the high officers and professors of the University of Edinburgh / Hole, W. B.. - Edinburgh. - 188 Critical dictionary of English literature and British and American authors / Kirk, J. F.. - London. - 1891 (2 vols). S.S. Laurie, 1894 - School Review, Chicago. Vol. II (pp 465-7), by Anon. Quasi Cursores, 1884 (pp.129-31) - W. Hole Makers of Scottish Education 1929 (pp 193- 209), - A. MorganLa Philosophie de .S. Laurie 1909 (Notice biographique) - G. Ramacle Professor S.S. Laurie of Edinburgh, 1895 - Educational Review, New York, Vol. IX) See:- Who was Who, 1897-1916 See:- Scotsman, Wed. 3rd March 1909 (obit.) See:- Dictionary of National Biography, Suppl. II, 1911 (Article by Foster Watson Cycolpedia of Education, 1913 (article by A. Darroch) Books by SSL: Author of "On the Fundamental Doctrine of Latin Syntax" by Simon S. Laurie, MA, pub. Constable, 1859 - his first published book. (See Notes and Queries 2nd S. VIII. Sep 10 1859) On the Philosophy of Ethics. 1866. Primary Instruction in relation to Education. 1867 Notes on certain British theories of Morals. 1868. Life and educational writings of Comenius. 1881. Metaphysica nova et vetusta, a return to Dualism. 1884. New edn. 1889, French tr. 1901. Ethica, or the Ethics of Reason. 1885. 2nd edn. 1891. Lectures on the rise and early constitution of Universities. 1886. Institutes of Education. 1892. Historical Survey of pre-Christian Education. 1895. 2nd edn. 1900. Synthetica. 1906. Gifford Lecture, given at Edinburgh Univ., "Synthetica being meditations epistemological and ontological. Vol. II. On God and Man (London: Longman, Green and Company, 1906), x + 416pp. Institutes of Education 2nd ed. pub. 1899. R. D. Anderson, `Laurie, Simon Somerville (1829-1909)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/34422, accessed 23 Sept 2005] Source: Who Was Who Publisher: A&C Black Category: Biography Date of publication: January 2006 LAURIE, Simon Somerville (1829-1909) Details: LAURIE, Simon Somerville, MA, LLD Aberdeen, St Andrews, and Edinburgh; FRSE; Hon. FEIS; Emeritus Professor of the Institutes and History of Education; and Gifford Lecturer on Natural Theology, University of Edinburgh, 1905-1906; born Edinburgh, 13 November 1829; eldest son of late Rev. James Laurie and Jean Somerville, daughter of Rev. Simon Somerville; married 1st, 1861, Catherine Anne (died 1895), daughter of W. Hibburd, Berkshire; two sons two daughters; 2nd, 1901, Lucy, daughter of late Professor Sir John Struthers, MD. Education: High School and University, Edinburgh. Work: Emeritus Secretary to Education Committee of Church of Scotland; Visitor and Examiner to Dick Bequest (Educational) Endowment, 1856; Secretary to the Endowed Schools (Scotland) Commission, 1872; Hon. Secretary to Association for Promoting Secondary Education in Scotland, founded 1876; at one time President of Teachers' Guild of Great Britain and Ireland; at one time Member of Edinburgh University Court; Corresponding Member of The American National Educational Association. Publications: Constable's Series of Educative Reading Books, 1861; Philosophy of Ethics, 1866; Primary Instruction in relation to Education, 1867 (5th edn 1898); Notes on British Theories of Morals, 1868; Life and Educational Writings of John Amos Comenius, 1881 (6th edn 1898); Metaphysica Nova et Vetusta, by Scotus Novanticus (pseudonym), 1884 (2nd edn 1889); Ethica, or the Ethics of Reason, by Scotus Novanticus, 1885 (2nd edn 1891); Mediaeval Education and Rise and Constitution of Universities, 1886; Language and Linguistic Method in the School, 1890 (3rd edn 1899); Institutes of Education, 1892 (2nd edn 1899); Historical Survey of pre-Christian Education, 1895 (2nd edn 1900); The Training of Teacher and Methods of Instruction---selected papers, 1901; Studies in the History of Educational Opinion from the Renaissance, 1903; Synthetica, being Meditations, Epistemological and Ontological, comprising the Edinburgh University Gifford Lectures of 1905 and 1906; many philosophical and educational articles. Address: 22 George Square, Edinburgh. Clubs: University, Edinburgh. Died: 2 March 1909 1871 census records him visiting in Banff staying at 33 Low St - Fife Arms Hotel. ---------------- http://www.giffordlectures.org/Author.asp?AuthorID=107 Simon Somerville Laurie 1829 - 1909 Professor of Education, University of Edinburgh Lectures * 1905-1906: On God and Man Biography Educationist and philosopher Simon Sommerville Laurie was born on 13 November 1829 in Edinburgh. His parents, James Laurie (a chaplain to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary) and Jean Somerville (the daughter of a Presbyterian minister), were not financially well off. Laurie began to tutor younger students early in his life in order to pay for his education at Edinburgh University from 1844 to 1849. He then moved to London and travelled to Ireland, as well as other locations in Europe, where he worked as a tutor. Laurie returned to Scotland in 1855 when he began his pedagogical career as the secretary of the Church of Scotland's Education Committee, which had jurisdiction over "assembly schools" run in the Scottish highlands. He was soon hired as a secretary and inspector with the Dick bequest, an endowment that encouraged higher quality education in rural parish schools in Scottish counties. Laurie's role was to inspect instructors who had been funded by the bequest to ensure they were teaching to the bequest founders' standards. It was in this capacity that he began his career as a writer on educational matters. Laurie elaborated his seminal pedagogic views in his periodic reports to the governors of the bequest. Later, he began to publish books on various educational themes. Legislative reform in 1872 expanded the profession of elementary school teaching in Scotland, and as part of this widespread reform Laurie's books, including Primary Instruction in Relation to Education, published in 1867, and Institutes of Education, published in 1892, were used as training manuals for the new teachers. In 1876 Laurie was appointed to one of two university chairs of Education in Edinburgh, where he later became Emeritus Professor. Laurie's general approach to educational curriculum was of the liberal tradition. He emphasized the classics and languages in the hopes of training students to be enlightened citizens. In 1891 Laurie became the president of the Teachers' Guild of Great Britain, an organization devoted to professionalizing teachers and standardizing their education. Under Laurie's leadership the Guild pushed for the establishment of national standards for the training of educators, but the Scotch Education Department was advocating a vocational approach to teacher training. As a result, Laurie's lectures on education at the university were not recognized as "qualifying" courses for teachers. Though predominantly renowned for his educational reforms and writings, Laurie would have also considered himself a philosopher. Though he had never held a chair in Moral Philosophy, at the time of his death the academic journal Mind published an obituary that said "there has been lost to British philosophy a writer of rare intellectual courage, shrewd independence of judgement and great speculative insight." Unlike his educational writings, which Laurie wrote with an eye to his audience of students and pedagogues, his philosophical works are often nebulous and obscure. In part this is because he created new terms to refer to the philosophical concepts he wished to discuss; in part it is because, as Laurie's obituary states, he often wrote and philosophized as a pastime without much regard as to how his works would be understood or interpreted. The Meditations are, perhaps, a case in point. Although the second half of the Meditations was delivered as the Gifford Lectures in Edinburgh in 1905, they constitute an unsystematic mãaelange of thoughts related to various questions in natural theology. Leonard Russell and Walter G. Everett criticised them as unpalatable and unintelligible at times, though both reviewers note Laurie's important contributions to the field of natural theology in the United Kingdom. Russell argues, however, that a French translation of Laurie's philosophical works, Metaphysica Nova et Vetusta and Ethica, or the Ethics of Reasons, which were written under the pseudonym Scotus Novanticus (and translated as La Philosophie de S. S. Laurie, by Georges Ramacle), does a great deal to simplify and clarify the arguments found within the originals. During his lifetime, Laurie was honoured with doctorates from various Scottish universities and became a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1870. He married Catherine Ann Hibburd in 1861 and they had four children. His second wife, Lucy Struthers, was the daughter of a professor of anatomy at Aberdeen University. In 1903 Laurie resigned from his chair in Education at Edinburgh and in 1907 he retired from his duties with the Dick bequest. He died 1 March 1909 in Edinburgh and was buried in Edinburgh's Grange cemetery. His four children from his first marriage and his second wife survived him. Laurie's major publications include: On the Fundamental Doctrine of Latin Syntax (1859); On Primary Instruction in Relation to Education (1867); Notes Expository and Critical on Certain British Theories of Morals (1868); Chair of Education, University of Edinburgh: Inaugural Address (1876); Free education, ect., ect.: Chair of Institutes and History of Education: Introductory Lecture (1884); Metaphysica nova et vetusta: A Return to Dualism (pseud. Scotus Novanticus, 1884); Ethica, or, The Ethics of Reason (psued. Scotus Novanticus, 1885); Occasional Addresses on Educational Subjects (1888); Lectures on Language and Linguistic Method in the School, Delivered in the University of Cambridge, Easter Term, 1889 (1890); Institutes of Education: Compromising an Introduction to Rational Psychology (1892); Historical Survey of Pre-Christian Education (1895); John Amos Comenius, Bishop of the Moravians: His Life and Educational Works (1899); On the Educational Wants of Scotland (1881). Josipa Petrunic University of Edinburgh ------ On God and Man 1905-1906 Simon Somerville Laurie Table of Contents While in his academic life Simon Sommerville Laurie refrained from subscribing to any neo- Hegelian schools of thinking, his Gifford Lectures are nonetheless steeped in a Hegelian interpretation of history and spirituality. In his `dialectic' view of humanity's progression through the ages, Laurie argues that the ultimate goal of human life is to unite our spirits with God-that is, with the `Absolute' or `Unconditioned One'. Yet, unlike some of his predecessors, Laurie does not focus his Gifford Lectures on the sinful or fallen nature of human life. Rather, he argues that God preordained all aspects of life. The evils inherent in it are also a part of Divine life. It is true that while life is at times brutal and evil, it is not in vain, he concludes. Life is a constant struggle, but a struggle with an `end'. Each struggle we overcome, each `evil' we avoid, is a progression toward a greater knowledge of God and therefore a reunification with him. In the meantime, we can know God empirically through our perceptions of the natural world, which includes human nature. By better understanding our ethical motivations, for example, we can come to know that part of God that is resident within ourselves. Life is a hunt for the eternal in the world of the finite, and while the `eternal' will never be fully clear to us during our lifetimes, the mystery of God gives us the hope to go on living. Josipa Petrunic Honorary Graduates of The University of Edinburgh 1903 Doctor of Laws Prof Simon Somerville Laurie LLDP Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 10 Year published: 1995 Supporting documents: Abbreviations Pages: 1-13 Citation: 'List of commissions and officials: 1870-1879 (nos. 1-37)', Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 10: Officials of Royal Commissions of Inquiry 1870-1939 (1995), pp. 1-13. URL: http://www.british- history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=16604&strquery=Laur ie. Date accessed: 07 August 2007. 6. Endowed Schools and Hospitals (Scotland) 1872-75 App. 12 Sept 1872. Rep. (1) 30 Apr 1873, C.755, xxvii; (2) 1 May 1874, C.976, xvii, 111; (3) 15 Feb 1875, C.1123-i-ii, xxix. Cost £2,724. Sir T.E. Colebrooke; Earl of Rosebery; Sir W. Stirling- Maxwell; C.S. Parker; J. Ramsay; H.H. Lancaster; A.C. Sellar. Secretary: S.S. Laurie. (Named in Warr.) J.M.D. Meiklejohn was appointed Assistant Commissioner. To inquire into all endowments of educational funds not reported on by the Commissioners under the Universities (Scotland) Act of 1858; and into the administration, and courses of study in any Hospitals or Schools supported by such endowments; and to recommend any necessary changes for the increase of their usefulness and efficiency. ----------- FORMER FELLOWS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. 1783-2002 531 LAURIE, SIMON SOMERVILLE. 13/11/1829-02/03/1909. Ref: 876. Male. Place of Birth: Edinburgh. Place of Death: 22 George Square, Edinburgh. Place of interment: Grange Cemy, Edinburgh. Profession: Educationalist. Appointments Held: Secretary 1855-1905, Education Committee, Church of Scotland; Professor 1876-1903, Theory, History & Practice of Education, Edinburgh University. Schools and Tutors: High School, Edinburgh 1839-44. Undergraduate Studies: MA(Edinburgh 1849). Postgraduate Studies: LL.D(Hon St Andrews 1887, Edinburgh 1903, Aberdeen 1906). Marital Status: Married 1st (1860) Catherine Ann Hibburd d. 1895, 2nd (1901) Lucy Struthers. Family: Sons Arthur Pillans Laurie FRSE 1861-1949, Malcolm Laurie FRSE 1866-1932. Mother: Jean Somerville. Father: James Laurie, Chaplain to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Other Family: son-in-law of Sir John Struthers FRSE 1823-99 and brother-in-law of David Orme Masson, FRSE 1858- 1937, uncle of James Irvine Orme Masson, FRSE 1887-1962. References: DNB, 2nd Supplement, 2, 1912, 419-21; Who Was Who 1; Annual Register 1909,117. Date of Election: 21/03/1870. Proposers: Philip Kelland (Billet 21/2/1870, 7/3/1870). Fellow Type: OF. -------------- Lease for 21 years from 25 March 1900. ACC/1046/007 1900 10 Aug These documents are held at London Metropolitan Archives Contents: 1. Simon Somerville Laurie, professor of University of Edinburgh, Katherine Hamilton Bruce of Grange Dornoch, Sutherland, widow and William Brassey Hole of Edinburgh, esq. 2. David Lewis Griffiths of Cardiff, Glamorgan. Premises: dwellinghouse, stables, outbuildings, garden and pieces of land (total 6a. 3r. 18p.) known as "Fairfields" at Roe Green, Kingsbury. Plan endorsed on first sheet. Rent: £200. yearly. Endorsed: Lease, dated 24 March 1902, for 19¼ years from 25 December 1901. 1. S.S. Laurie, K.H. Bruce and W.B. Hole. 2. D.L. Griffiths. Premises: triangular piece of land containing two roods thirty six poles at Roe Green. Rent: £15. yearly. Surrender, dated 31 March 1905. 1. D.L. Griffiths. 2. K.H. Bruce, W.B. Hole and Arthur Pillans Laurie of Edinburgh. Rhyl Record and Advertiser 1 August 1903 Edinburgh University The Edinburgh University graduation ceremony in medicine took place on Saturday. Th hon. degree of LL.D. was conferred on Sir Andrew Fraser, Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal; Sir Henry Maclaurin, Chancellor of Sydney University; Justice Rampini, of Calcutta; and Professor Laurie, of Edinburgh. "Lease for 21 years from 25 March 1900. This record is held by London Metropolitan Archives: City of London See contact details Title: Lease for 21 years from 25 March 1900. Reference: ACC/1046/007 Description: 1. Simon Somerville Laurie, professor of University of Edinburgh, Katherine Hamilton Bruce of Grange Dornoch, Sutherland, widow and William Brassey Hole of Edinburgh, esq. 2. David Lewis Griffiths of Cardiff, Glamorgan. Premises: dwellinghouse, stables, outbuildings, garden and pieces of land (total 6a. 3r. 18p.) known as "Fairfields" at Roe Green, Kingsbury. Plan endorsed on first sheet. Rent: £200. yearly. Endorsed: Lease, dated 24 March 1902, for 19¼ years from 25 December 1901. 1. S.S. Laurie, K.H. Bruce and W.B. Hole. 2. D.L. Griffiths. Premises: triangular piece of land containing two roods thirty six poles at Roe Green. Rent: £15. yearly. Surrender, dated 31 March 1905. 1. D.L. Griffiths. 2. K.H. Bruce, W.B. Hole and Arthur Pillans Laurie of Edinburgh. Date: 1900 10 Aug Held by: London Metropolitan Archives: City of London, not available at The National Archives Language: English "
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| Born: St Mary's parish, Edinburgh, Scotland 13th Nov 1829 | Baptised:
| | Died: 22 George sq, Edinburgh, Scotland 2nd Mar 1909 | Buried: Edinburgh, Scotland 5th Mar 1909
| | Family: Laurie formerly of Scotland |
Sources
Census
- 1841 census (member of household - 6 Huntly St, Edinburgh, Scotland)
- 1851 census (head of household -
No address ) - 1861 census (head of household - 16 Fettes Row, Edinburgh, Scotland)
- 1871 census (lodger - Fife Arms Hotel, Low Street, Banff, , , Scotland)
- 1881 census (head of household - Nairne Lodge, Duddingston, Edinburgh, Scotland)
- 1891 census (head of household - Nairne Lodge, Duddingston, Midlothian, , Scotland)
- 1901 census (head of household -
No address )
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Timeline
| 13th Nov 1829 | Born (birth) Edinburgh, Scotland | | 6th Jun 1841 | Member of household in 1841 census (census) Edinburgh, Scotland | | 31st Mar 1851 | Head of household in 1851 census (census) | | 16th Feb 1860 | Married Catherine (Kate) Ann Hibburd
(Laurie ) 1827 - 1895 (marriage) Sunninghill, Berks., England | | 1861 | Head of household in 1861 census (census) Edinburgh, Scotland | | 1871 | Lodger in 1871 census (census) Banff, Scotland | | 3rd Apr 1881 | Head of household in 1881 census (census) Edinburgh, Scotland | | 6th Apr 1891 | Head of household in 1891 census (census) Duddingston, Midlothian, Scotland | | 28th Dec 1898 | MARR/ROLE WITN Okeford Fitzpaine, Dorset, England | | 1901 | Head of household in 1901 census (census) Edinburgh, Scotland | | 3rd Jul 1901 | Married Lucy (Osy) Struthers
(Laurie ) 1871 - 1963 (marriage) Edinburgh, Scotland | | 2nd Mar 1909 | Died (death) Edinburgh, Scotland | | 5th Mar 1909 | Buried (burial) Edinburgh, Scotland | | c. 1909 | Made a will (will) |
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