Colmac 2014 ©
Archibald Edmiston, the Chief Magistrate of Gorbals, Timber Merchant and Builder. A second meeting followed very quickly, on the 27th of February, 1840. A Committee was formed, made up of the Magistrates of Gorbals.Two members are particularly noteworthy: Colin Sharp McLaws (who it was later stated was the projector of the scheme), and Archibald Edmiston. This committee issued a prospectus, re-emphasising that the new graveyard was to be one “where lairs could be disposed of at such a moderate level, and payment taken in such small installments as to put the prospect of a burial place within the reach of the poorest.” What is now called the Central Division, the original seven-acres, was bought from a Mr. Gilmour, father-in-law of Colin McLaws, and was afterwards vested in a committee of the Magistrates of the Gorbals. (Archibald Edmiston has now disappeared from the scene). This committee`s function was apparently to act as guardians of the land and legal protector. The organisation of the affairs of the division was by a committee of lairholders, who met annually, were elected, were responsible for the recording of, and payment for, lairs, appointment of a superintendent, and his necessary staff. The affairs of the Central Division seem to have gone along fairly smoothly for many years, although signs of alteration to the original plans appear after a while. In the first two years, there is a surprising amount of burials, and then reburials, almost exactly a year later. But this could be explained by the time it would take to prepare the ground, and lay it out.
Drawing of Southern Necropolis circa 1849