In Search of John Brown - The Ghillie

In a quiet corner of the old churchyard at Crathie lie the remains of our next John Brown. The simply inscribed headstone reads, Born 1827 - Died February 1883 aged 56 Years. Not only was it rather dispiriting to see your own name once again etched in stone but an even more disturbing fact was rapidly emerging - with the exception of JB the Protagonist all of the JBs to date had failed to reach their sixtieth year.
J. B. the Abolitionist came nearest to the magic 60 reaching the age of 59, J B the Sexton had been snatched away at the mere age of 51, now here was J. B. the Ghillie (servant to and friend of Queen Victoria) cashing in his chips at 56. Maybe the time had come to contact the living and let the dead rest a while, but not before I've told you about, if not the best known, then certainly the most notorious John Brown of all.
Born at Crathienard, near Balmoral, Deeside on December 28th 1827, the second son of John Brown a schoolmaster turned tenant farmer and Margaret (Leys), daughter of the blacksmith in Aberarder - He Became the Queen's Most Loyal servant