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Letter from Robert Burns to Robert Ainslie, 29 July 1787
In this letter to his close friend Robert Ainslie, Burns discusses the pleasures and anxieties of fatherhood as he congratulates Ainslie on the birth of his child. He also says his publisher Creech requires him to be in Edinburgh in the next few days and he looks forward to meeting Ainslie there.
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Robert Burns tours the Highlands.
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Robert Burns meets Agnes Maclehose in Edinburgh.
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Robert Burns and Agnes Maclehose begin exchanging love letters.
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Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) dies in Rome.
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Burns returns to Tarbolton to see Jean Armour, who is pregnant.
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Jean Armour gives birth to twin girls, who both die, unnamed, within a month.
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Burns takes on the lease at Ellisland, the farm he and Jean will live in from 1789 to 1791.
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Letter from Robert Burns to Robert Ainslie
Burns asks Ainslie to call at the place she is staying to give her 'ten or twelve shillings' and suggest she move to the country to wait out the pregnancy. Burns tells Ainslie to ask for the unsigned letter he has just written to her for confirmation of her identity.
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Burns receives his Excise commission and begins his traineeship.
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The formal marriage of Jean Armour and Robert Burns is registered in Mauchline, although they likely married in March 1788.
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Jenny Clow, the maid of Agnes Maclehose in Edinburgh, gives birth to a son, Robert Burns Jnr.
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Burns sends the first version of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ to Mrs Dunlop. During his time at Ellisland Farm, Burns writes over 130 songs and poems, nearly a quarter of his total output.
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Robert Burns formally takes up Excise work with a salary of £50 per annum.
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William Blake writes Songs of Innoncence.
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Letter from Robert Burns to Robert Ainslie, 6 January 1789
This three page letter was written at Ellisland shortly after New Year, on 6 January 1789. Burns congratulates his friend Robert Ainslie who had at the age of only twenty-two become a Writer to the Signet. He also encloses a 'brushed up' version of an old song 'O Robin sure in hairst' for him, and announces his intention of visiting Edinburgh shortly to find Jenny Clow.
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George Washington becomes the first President of the United States of America.
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Jean Armour and Robert Burns move into Ellisland Farm.
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The fall of the Bastille in Paris marks the beginning of the French Revolution.
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Francis Wallace Burns is born to Jean Armour Burns.
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Letter from Robert Burns to Robert Ainslie, 1 November 1789
This three page letter was written by Burns at Ellisland on 1 November 1789 to his friend Robert Ainslie after a gap of several months, for which he apologises. The letter announces his appointment as an Excise Officer and the reasons leading up to it.