James Burns was a Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

-born merchant of the 17th century and the author of the Memoirs of the Civil War and during the Usurpation from 1644 to 1661. Little is known of his history, but he is supposed to be the son of Robert Burns, who is mentioned in Ure's History of Glasgow,’ and whose name appears in the List of Linen and Woollen Drapers, commonly called English Merchants, since the year 1600. The manuscript of his ‘Memoirs’ is lost, but there is a transcript of them, which is evidently much mutilated, by George Crawford

George Crawford

George Crawford was a founding member of the Canadian Senate. A Conservative, he was elevated to the senate on 23 October 1867 by Royal Proclamation, and served in that capacity until his death....

, a historian of Renfrewshire

Renfrewshire

Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfrewshire, the others being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east...

. The ‘Memoirs’ are filled with detailed accounts of the incidents which befell the nobility of Scotland during turbulent times.