138 B I 0 GRAPH I C AL S KE T C 11 E S.
In the month of November 1777 he married Jean Wilson, daughter of
John Wilson, bookseller in Edinburgh, a connection which, as will immediately
be seen, turned out to be a very unfortunate one.
Williamson had the merit of establishing the first Penny-Post in Edinburgh.
He also published a Directory, “which he sold at his General Penny-Post
Office, Luckenbooths.” The copy before us, for 1788, is dedicated to the Lord
Provost and Magistrates of Edinburgh ; and the following dedicatory epistle is
prefixed :-
“MY LORDS AND GENTLmEN-At the earnest request of a respectable
part of the inhabitants of Edinburgh, I have been induced once more to make
an actual survey of the city and its much-extended suburbs, and to publish a
Directory for the present year,
‘‘ The patronage I have always received from the Magistrates of Edinburgh
I acknowledge with gratitude j and I flatter myself they will approve of the
present publication.
“ That the city may flourish to the remotest ages-that the noble efforts
made by the present Chief Magistrate for its embellishment, the convenience of
its inhabitants, and for the desirable object of making the port and harbour of
Leith (so intimately connected with the city) more extensive and commodious
for trade, may be crowned with success-is the sincere wish of,
My LORDS and GENTLEMEN,
“ Your most obedient humble servant,
(‘ P. WILLIAMSON.”
At this period his wife and daughter appear to have contributed their assistance
to the maintenance of the family, as the following notice is printed on the
cover of the Directory :-
“ MRS. WILLIAMSON AND DAUGHTER,
at their House, first fore stair above the head of Byres’s Close, Luckenbooths,
Engraft Silk, Cotton, Thread, and Worsted Stockings, make Silk Gloves, and
every article in the engrafting branch, in the neatest manner, and on the most
reasonable terms ; likewise Silk Stockings washed in the most approved stile ;
also Grave Cloaths made on the shortest notice.
Orders
given in at P. Williamson’s General Penny-Post Office, Luckenbooths, will be
punctually attended to.’)
“N.B.-Mantua-Making carried on in all its branches as formerly.
From a process of divorce which he instituted in the year 1789 against
his wife, and in which he was successful, it appears that but for the gross misbehaviour
of the former, he might have attained pretty easy circumstances.
The F’rocurator for the defender, in the case just alluded to, represents his