Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/McCombie, William (1809-1870)
McCOMBIE, WILLIAM (1809–1870), journalist, son of a small farmer, was born at Cairnballoch, in the parish of Alford, Aberdeen, on 8 May 1809. His only education was at parish schools, and at an early age he became a labourer on his father's farm. He soon showed a taste for literature, and local debating societies gave him an opportunity of cultivating his talents. His earlier essays were published in London in 1835, under the title of ‘Hours of Thought,’ and were recommended by Dr. Chalmers to his students. While still engaged in agricultural work, he began to contribute articles to newspapers and to the ‘British Quarterly Review.’ In 1849 he joined the staff of the ‘North of Scotland Gazette,’ and afterwards promoted the establishment of the ‘Aberdeen Daily Free Press,’ which first appeared in 1853 under his editorship. He held this position till his death in Aberdeen on 6 May 1870.
McCombie was for many years a mainstay of liberal politics in the north of Scotland, but his interests were very varied, as his works show. His ‘Hours of Thought’ reached a third edition in 1856. His other publications were: 1. ‘Unity and Schism,’ 1838. 2. ‘Moral Agency,’ 1841. 3. ‘Life and Remains of Alexander Bethune,’ 1844. 4. ‘Capital and Labour,’ 1846. 5. ‘Essays on Education,’ 1857. 6. ‘Modern Civilisation,’ 1864; and 7. ‘A Pamphlet on the Irish Land Question,’ 1869. He had been accustomed to preach occasionally in baptist and other pulpits, and after his death his daughter edited a volume of his sermons, 1871.
[Aberdeen Daily Free Press, 13 May 1870; Brit. Mus. Cat.]