Burns descendants visit museum to see family artefact

Luciana Docherty, age 13, along with her grandmother Irene, father Campbell, and younger sister Carolina, made the trip to the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway to get a glimpse of a precious family artefact.

Elizabeth, or Bess, was Burns’ first child, who was born to Elizabeth Paton in 1785, and she was raised by the poet’s mother. Robert Burns gifted young Bess a 1793, second Edinburgh edition of ‘Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect’ for her eighth birthday. Part of the museum’s collection of prized Burns items, the book was removed from its case for the first time in more than 10 years so that three generations of descendants could see the 230-year-old tome up close.

Irene didn’t know that Robert Burns was one of her great-grandfathers until her daughter-in-law, Fiona, traced the family tree several years ago. The family has now embraced their poetic roots and has become more involved in Burns celebrations, especially the annual Burns Supper held at the Burns Cottage each year.

The Burns Supper is organised and hosted by Hugh Farrell, a longtime volunteer at the Museum, who guided a visit from Luciana’s school a few years ago. When Luciana proudly presented her family tree, Hugh, who rarely encounters genuine Burns descendants, saw an opportunity to involve the family in his annual tradition.

In January 2023, both Luciana and Campbell attended the Burns Cottage Supper, with Luciana giving a reading of ‘A Poet’s Welcome to his Love Begotten Daughter,’ written for her ancestor, Bess, and Campbell giving a speech in ode to Robert Burns. At the invitation of Hugh, they will be attending the supper again in 2026.

Luciana Docherty said: ‘We recite Burns‘ poems at school and always have a competition, so I’ve done it in front of people before, but it was great to be at the supper in the place where Robert Burns was born. I’m really proud to be a descendant of Burns, and it was amazing to be up close to the book he gave to my great-grandmother over 200 years ago. My whole family is really thankful to Hugh for organising it.‘

Hugh Farrell, Volunteer at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, said: ‘I’ve been working at the Museum a long time and I’ve had many people say they are descendants of Burns, but it’s very rarely the case. When Luciana visited with her school and showed me her family tree, I was very confident that this was genuine, and it was wonderful to be able to invite her and her father, ninth and tenth generation descendants, to participate in a Burns Supper in the very place their ancestor was born.

‘Our Burns Suppers at Burns Cottage are very special occasions. The earliest known supper was held in Burns Cottage in 1801, when nine men attended in remembrance of Robert Burns. They resolved to meet every year on his birthday and continued to do so before moving the event to the King‘s Arms Hotel in Ayr in 1810 to accommodate more guests. After many decades without one, I began hosting a supper in the Cottage in 2016 on behalf of the Friends of Robert Burns Birthplace Museum. Each year, we are joined by people from all over the world, and funds are raised for the Museum and the conservation of the Burns Collection and Burns Cottage. We are looking forward to 2026, and to having Burns’ descendants in attendance again for this wonderful celebration.‘