Thomas Chalmers - Born (1780)




Thomas Chalmers was born in Anstruther, on the south-east coast of Fife, on theMarch 17th, 1780. He was the son of John Chalmers, a dyer, ship-owner, and general merchant in Easter-Anstruther, and Elizabeth Hall, the daughter of a wine-merchant of Crail, who, in the course of twenty-two years, were had nine sons and five daughters, of which Thomas was the sixth. John Chalmers inherited a very prosperous business from his father, but due to bad business, economic conditions and the cost of a large family, he largely lost his inheritance. Although not a good businessman, he was a devout Calvinist and a warm-hearted family man. Elizabeth was not a religious woman, but she involved herself a great deal in humanitarian concerns. After enduring the tyranny of a severe nurse, when he was three he went to the local parish school where his schoolmaster was equally severe. The young boy was taught mathematics by his uncle, who was a retired sea captain.

Additional Information

Old Post Office Close is a tiny close that is not marked on the map. I think I have marked the correct place, but it is difficult to find it on Google Earth.