New College - New Start?
An Evolving Identity (1881-1883)
Between 1881 and 1883, Sam reshaped his identity. He studied science, adopted a new name, and crafted the public self he would carry into adulthood.
Science, Study & New College
Having left Edinburgh in the spring to work as a travelling tutor, November 1881 saw Sam back in the city. He matriculated at New College, Edinburgh—the institution established by the Free Kirk following the Disruption of 1843. Curiously, records suggest he enrolled not in Divinity but in Science, pursuing a BSc. His student notebook, which begins on 3 November 1881, documents geology classes in progress. It also shows he was attending lectures before his official matriculation.
On 8 November 1882, Sam matriculated again in Science at New College, this time signing as Samuel Rutherford Crockett.
Choosing a Name
A letter to poet John Greenleaf Whittier on 27 October 1882 marks the first documented use of his full literary name. The addition of 'Rutherford' was a deliberate choice, almost certainly honouring Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661), the 17th-century minister of Anwoth in Galloway and author of Lex Rex. Rutherford represented principled resistance to tyranny—the same Covenanting tradition his grandfather William had celebrated in fireside stories at Little Duchrae.
The choice also echoed the literary form of 'Robert Louis Stevenson', placing Sam in that tradition of three-part Scottish literary names. It sounded authorial rather than agricultural. Most importantly, it distanced him from the blank space on his birth certificate. 'Samuel Rutherford Crockett' was a name he chose, not one bestowed by circumstances.
Crafting an Identity
New College matriculation records chart the evolution of his signature. On 9 November 1881, he signed 'Samuel Crocket'. On 8 November 1882, 'Samuel Rutherford Crockett'. By 4 December 1883, when he matriculated for a third time he signed 'Samuel R Crockett'. He was crafting an identity on his own terms.
After the December 1883 matriculation (the subject is unrecorded but we assume it was Divinity) there is a hiatus. The chronology of these years resists neat summary, as Sam's formal studies increasingly overlapped with his work as a travelling tutor.