James Leggat, born 9th November 1843 in Barony Glasgow, spent part of his childhood at Malletsheugh Farm in Mearns, living with James and Margaret Allison, his maternal grandparents.He kept a diary and from this we have a first hand account of life for him at that time. 

A young woman in a privileged position, who visited Mearns, recorded her impressions of the village and the people. Ellen Elizabeth Anderson’s book is described as “Memories of Ayr and Ayr Folk and Fragmentary Jottings”. It is in the fragmentary jottings that she records her memories associated with Mearns.