BURNESS, William (1796-1882) — Edinburgh
Law and lithographic printer. Produced William Corsar, Plan of the estate of Easter Ogil in the parish of Tannadice and county of Forfar 1828; Plan of Keppochhill Road, Glasgow 1831; Peter Watt, ‘Statement shewing the advantages a great Scotch northern railway company would possess by forming a railway throughout the counties of Fife and Forfar’ 1835, with a plan; David Stevenson, ‘Reduced plan & sections of the north & south harbours of Peterhead’ 1847, engraved by William Home Lizars (see BME 2011).
Born in Montrose 19 Jul 1796, the son of William Burness (1757?-1806) and his wife Mary Tate or Tait, who had married in 1789. Elected a member of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce in Apr 1842 and elected to the town council in Oct 1849. Recorded as printer to Her Majesty 1843-1865. In 1861 he was employing eighteen men and four boys, then resident in Drummond Place with his brother, a sister, two nephews, a niece, and three servants. The business shared premises with ‘Scott & Ferguson’ (Alexander Scott and John Ferguson — see BME 2011) from 1868 onwards. He died 10 Jan 1882 aged eighty-five and was buried in Warriston Cemetery 14 Jan 1882. The business seems fully to have merged with ‘Scott & Ferguson’ in the 1890s, before both firms were taken over by ‘Morrison & Gibb’.
10 South St. James Street, Edinburgh — 1825-1832
1 North St. Andrew Street, Edinburgh — 1832-1866
— 17 Duke Street, Edinburgh (home) — 1841
2 North St. Andrew Street, Edinburgh — 1866-1882
— 11 Drummond Place, Edinburgh (home) — 1861-1882
BNA. Census 1841-1881. LHD. NRS. Schenck. SBTI.