Ettrick roots strike a chord for songwriter

Retired journalist Loudon Temple, who began recording as Cheery Odin in his mid-70s, was looking into his mother’s side of the family when he found a connection to the Rev James Smith, minister at Ettrick Kirk from 1823 to 1858.

Loudon has recorded four CDs drawing on memories of his early life in Selkirk and Hawick. His research revealed that the minister had also documented the people and places around him, recording how rural life in the valley changed during the 19th century.

Loudon, whose middle name is Smith, had already traced his Temple roots before turning his attention to his mother’s family.

“It’s been a great journey,” he told The Southern this week. “Absolutely amazing to make these discoveries.”

His maternal grandfather, Loudon Smith, was the man he was named after. His great-grandfather, John Smith, was a well-respected builder whose family worked in Selkirk and the surrounding area.

“The man who preached in the Ettrick Valley all those years ago was his uncle,” Loudon said.

He credits his second cousin Sandy Smith, himself a retired builder, with helping him piece together the family tree. Sandy had spent considerable time tracing the family back to the early 1700s.

James Smith was born in Kirkmichael in 1787 and took up his post at Ettrick Kirk in 1823. The church is also known as the Boston Kirk after the Rev Thomas Boston, who served the parish from 1707 to 1732.

Loudon said: “I was amazed to find that he had written the detailed 1833 Parish Account of Ettrick for the New Statistical Account of Scotland. That was a meticulously detailed account of the agricultural practices, changing sheep farming methods, local lifestyle, and expanding population of the valley during the early 19th century.

“He documented how the rural area was so remote and isolated at the time, that wheeled transport had not yet arrived and people would be in the habit of crossing the river, whenever they had to, on stilts.”

Smith recorded the gradual shift from packhorses to wheeled transport, noting the introduction of up to 36 carts and 20 ploughs in the valley. He also wrote about the recent construction of the Tushielaw Inn.

Loudon discovered that Smith was also parish minister to poet and novelist James Hogg, known as the Ettrick Shepherd, during the height of his literary fame. When Hogg died in November 1835, he was laid to rest in Ettrick churchyard, where Smith himself would later be buried.

For Loudon, one of the most striking discoveries was that both sides of his family could be traced back to farm labourers and itinerant workers who lived and worked in the countryside in the 1700s.

“I’ve been drawn to the countryside all my life,” he said. “Some of my happiest childhood memories were of camping holidays in the Ettrick Valley and helping out at harvest time when that came along. The Smiths and Temples in my bloodline in the 1700s were mostly agricultural labourers and I’ve also experienced that love of the great outdoors, thanks to my genes!”

Loudon’s latest CD, Souters, is a collection of songs about his personal and family ties to Selkirk, where he was born, and the town’s characters, unsung heroes and traditions. Celtic Music Radio named it album of the week last month.

“I’ve enough material now, for two more albums,” he said. “Inevitably, I’ll be re-visiting the Ettrick Valley, in song, for sure!”