Lapraik, John

(1727-1807)

   Scottish poet, born at Laigh Dalquhram (Dalfram), near Muirkirk, Ayrshire, he succeeded his father to the considerable estate that had been in the family for generations. He also rented the lands and mill of Muirsmill, in the neighborhood. Lapraik was ruined by the collapse of the Douglas and Heron Bank in 1772, was forced to sell his estate and mill, and spent some time in the debtors' prison. Around 1796 he opened a public house at Muirkirk, conducting also the village post office on the same premises, where he died. He was buried in the churchyard at Kirkgreen and a ten-foot high cairn was erected from the stones of his house. The best source of information about John Lapraik is found in The Contemporaries of Burns and the More Recent Poets of Ayrshire (1840). Robert Burns and Lapraik became friends and Burns (a near neighbor) wrote The Three Epistles to his friend in 1785, subsequently published by Burns in 1786. Lapraik published Poems on Several Occasions: Poems and Songs in 1788.

   Sources: Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997.