EPS Member

MG Dobbie
( 1829 - 1882)

EPS Secretary from 1878 until 1882. 

MG Dobbie died in late 1882, when he was Secretary of EPS.  

The President reported to the EPS Meeting on 6 December, the death of MG Dobbie.  His funeral had been attended by about 60 EPS Members who assembled at Pilrig then walked four abreast in front of the hearse to Rosebank Cemetery. 

The President gave a short account of MG Dobbie's life to the EPS Meeting on 6 December 1882, based on information gathered by the Interim Secretary, Mr Dougall.  

He said:

" Mr Dobbie was born in Glasgow in 1829, and at the early age of eleven years he entered the service of Messrs Fullarton & Co., publishers, and came with the firm to Leith in 1842.

... [while in Leith as a youth]  he showed his great love of books by being an assiduous member of the Mechanics Library, and for several years he acted as its librarian. 

He founded the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Society and went on to become its President.

He became a Member of EPS on 5 February 1873, [and was] elected Secretary on 6 November 1878,

... At great labour he collected and put in order the literary archives of the Society.   

... In November 1880, he became engrossed with a new idea which took shape in December of the same year, in the publication of No 1 of 'Transactions', of which he was naturally very proud."

[TEPS  -  i.e. the Transactions started by MG Dobbie:  December 1882]