Peter Williamson

Peter Williamson, "Indian Peter" (1730-1799) was an adventurer and entrepreneur.As a boy, while visiting his aunt, he was kidnapped from the quay at Aberdeen and shipped to America.He served as an indentured as a slave for seven years in Philadelphia, then married and settled in Pennsylvania.In 1754 he was captured by Cherokee Indians, and because of his strong physique, was kept as a slave instead of being killed.He eventually escaped and enlisted in the army where he was then taken prisoner by the French and shipped to Plymouth as an exchange prisoner.When he finally returned to Scotland he went to Aberdeen where he tried to raise an action against the magistrates for his boyhood kidnapping.He was driven out of Aberdeen and eventually settled in Edinburgh where he raised his action in the Court of Session and was awarded £100.He established a Coffee Room in Parliament House in Old Parliament Close and in 1770 instituted the Penny Post in Edinburgh.In 1773 he produced the first Edinburgh Street Directory.He was the inspiration for the fictional film "A Man Called Horse".