Of Anglo-Irish descent, Macgeorge was born in Port Glasgow on 6 September 1774. After the family moved to Glasgow he pursued a career in law, setting up in partnership with William Bogle in 1797. In 1807 he was appointed Extractor in the Burgh Court, where he was held in considerable esteem. He later acquired a large general practice.
Politically a Whig, he supported the first Reform Bill and was elected to the Municipal Council of Glasgow. After living in a small villa in Finnieston, in 1812 he moved with his wife Elizabeth Jackson to a larger house in Sandyford Place, with three acres of ground attached. His office was in Brunswick Place.
He died in Helensburgh on 2 October 1857.
THERE was nothing eventful in the life of Mr. Macgeorge. He was distinguished mainly by the high place which at an early age he took, and throughout a long life maintained, in his profession as a lawyer, and for the singular probity and independence of character which secured the confidence of his clients, while it won for him the respect and regard of his fellow-citizens.
He was descended from the ancient Anglo-Irish family of Bermingham. His Scottish ancestor was John MacJore or Macgeorge of Auchenreoch and Larg, a gentleman who fought with others of the landed gentry of Galloway on the side of the patriots at the battle of Bothwell Bridge. The father of Andrew Macgeorge sold the property in Kirkcudbrightshire and settled in Port-Glasgow, where he entered into business, and where the subject of this notice was born on 6th September, 1774.
The family afterwards removed to Glasgow, and Andrew having expressed a desire to adopt the law as a profession, was, at the age of fifteen, apprenticed to Mr. Thomas Falconer, then a well-known practitioner in Glasgow. On the expiry of his apprenticeship he obtained employment in the Sheriff-Clerk's office, and afterwards as a clerk with Mr. Maxwell of Dargavel. In 1797 he was invited by Mr. William Bogle to become his partner, and he continued with him till 1807, when he was appointed Extractor in the Burgh Court in room of Mr. Robert Thomson, who had been appointed Depute Town-Clerk. Subsequently he became partner with Mr. William Laurie, but after a few years this partnership was dissolved, and he began business on his own account. He soon acquired a large general practice, but in the local courts - the Sheriff and the Burgh Courts - his practice was exceptionally large, and his pleadings, which at that time were always in writing, were marked not only by legal ability, but by the choice language in which they were expressed. The Burgh Court was at that time presided over by one of the most accomplished lawyers that Scotland ever saw - Mr. Reddie, who was characterized by Lord Brougham as a gentleman deserving to be called the Lord Chancellor of Scotland. Mr. Reddie held Mr. Macgeorge in great esteem, and used to hold him up as a model to the junior practitioners in his Court. In the Church Courts, also, his practice became very large, and he distinguished himself there not only in the written pleadings, but by the skill which he showed in the management of many difficult cases.
He was of active habits, and, during the stormy time of the war, in the early part of the century, he enrolled himself in one of the regiments of volunteers which were raised in Glasgow. He had a highly cultivated mind - was fond of pictures and music, and all his tastes were pure and fresh. With a ready wit and never-failing humour, he was a charming companion, and a favourite with the young men of his time. At an early age he became a member of one of the most famous of the Glasgow Clubs - the "Coul Club" - described by Dr. Strang, in his interesting work, as a "fraternity in which genius and conviviality were long united." He was a great reader, and was successful as a writer of verses. Dr. Strang gives a specimen of what he calls "Club poesy," which he selects, he says, "chiefly because it was regarded by all succeeding members as a most graphic picture of the feelings and sentiments of the Club, and also because it was the composition of Mr. Macgeorge - a gentleman who had always been looked upon as one of the ablest and worthiest of our citizens."
In politics Mr. Macgeorge was a Whig of the old school - what would now be called a Liberal-Conservative. He early saw the necessity of a reform in the representation of the people in Parliament, and he warmly promoted the first Reform Bill. When it passed, he was elected a member of the new Municipal Council of Glasgow, in the proceedings of which he took an active part, using his influence in the promotion of all useful reforms, but resisting what appeared to him to be extreme. Among smaller matters, it was chiefly to his influence that the gold medals and chains, which had been worn by the Magistrates, were not melted down, as was urged by many of the more advanced members. Along with Mr. Fleming of Claremont, and Mr. Mills, who became Lord Provost, he rendered good service in important matters in the first days of the reformed Council, when many questions arose requiring the exercise of sound judgment and delicacy of treatment. When more advanced views came to prevail he retired from the Council, but he continued to take an active part in all important public questions and schemes of philanthropy. In Church matters he showed a special interest. He was much consulted on the questions which led to the Disruption, and he took a prominent part in the subsequent negotiations with Government which resulted in what is known as Lord Aberdeen's Act. Of the great measure of Church Extension, advocated by his friend Dr. Chalmers, he was a warm advocate, and along with that great divine and other influential citizens he did much to ensure the success of that important scheme, which has resulted in already (1885) adding to the Church of Scotland more than 330 endowed parishes.
In the early part of his professional life Mr. Macgeorge lived at a small villa which he had purchased at Finnieston, then a rural village. About 1812 he removed to a larger house in Sandyford Place, with about three acres of ground attached, which he purchased from Mr. Thomas Watson, brother of Mr. Watson of Linthouse. This place, which is all built over now, was then also a long way from the city. It was on the opposite side of the road from Claremont, then belonging to Mr. Black, whose family lived there in summer, and went into town to spend the winter in a fine mansion which Mr. Black possessed at the head of Jamaica Street. Mr. Macgeorge's office was then in Brunswick Place, which was at that time west of most of the other places of business. The population of Glasgow was then only about 110,000, and so limited was the number of families of the better class that Mr. Macgeorge used to say that previous to 1820 a gentleman could seldom give a dinner party without every other gentleman in the town being aware of it, and knowing who the guests were.
Mr. Macgeorge died at Helensburgh, October 2, 1857, aged eighty-three years. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Jackson, Esq., for many years Provost of Dumfries, by whom he had a large family. His eldest son, Robert, a man of high culture and of fine literary tastes, entered the Scottish Episcopal Church, and became Dean of Argyll.
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