He was invited by Mr. Roebuck of Kinneil to make a
working steam-engine for the purpose of pumping water from the
coal-pits at Boroughstoness; but his progress was stopped by want
of capital, as well as by want of experience. It was not until
the brave and generous Matthew Boulton of Birmingham took up the
machine, and backed Watt with his capital and his spirit, that
Watt's enterprise had the remotest chance of success. Even after
about twelve years' effort, the condensing steam-engine was only
beginning, though half-heartedly, to be taken up and employed by
colliery proprietors and cotton manufacturers. In developing its
powers, and extending its uses, the great merits of William
Murdock can never be forgotten. Watt stands first in its
history, as the inventor; Boulton second, as its promoter and
supporter; and Murdock third, as its developer and improver.
William Murdock was born on the 21st of August, 1754, at Bellow
Mill, in the parish of Auchinleck, Ayrshire. His father, John,
was a miller and millwright, as well as a farmer. His mother's
maiden name was Bruce, and she used to boast of being descended
from Robert Bruce, the deliverer of Scotland. The Murdocks, or
Murdochs--for the name was spelt in either way--were numerous in
the neighbourhood, and they were nearly all related to each
other. They are supposed to have originally come into the
district from Flanders, between which country and Scotland a
considerable intercourse existed in the middle ages.
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