| Though he was apprenticed to a surgeon, he did not complete his studies and enlisted as an ensign under the Earl of Effingham and saw action during the Seven Years War. He retired from the army at the end of the war having reached the rank of lieutenant, and returned to his medical studies, and set up practice in Kirkwall. He later enlisted as a naval surgeon having become a Licentiate of the Company of Surgeons, and served during the American and French wars. He was much troubled by debt of the family estates throughout his life. He was married twice, first to Ann Corbet in 1759, divorced 1770; and secondly to Grizel Ross in 1771. He also authored several works including The Present State of the Orkney Islands Considered (Edinburgh, 1775) and Considerations on the fisheries in the Scotch Islands (London, 1787). |
