Abstract
George Young was born on 25 July 1777, the fourth of ten children of John and Jean Young, at their small farm in the parish of Kirk-Newton, south-west of Edinburgh. Since George was born with only a right hand (the left forearm ended in a stump), agriculture was ruled out as a future vocation. His pious parents therefore educated him with a view to Christian ministry, a course consistent with his own spiritual convictions, which developed early in life.