Alexander Goalen was born in 1768 and was a son of Walter Goalen and his first wife Mary Mitchell.
He married Helen Gladstone around 1807. Helen was sister to Sir John Gladstone of Fasque, who built and gifted St Thomas Parish Church to the town of Leith. Sir John was the father of the British Prime Minister William Gladstone.
Alexander and Helen had the following children:
Alexander Goalen built and lived at Starbank House in Leith. Alexander died in 1851 and, on his death, his house passed to his son Walter Michell Goalen. When Walter died in 1889, Leith Town Council bought the house for £2,235 and made the grounds into a public park. This is a photograph, taken around 1891, of the ‘star bank’ which existed in the park at the time.
This is a Google Map showing a location of the park. Press ‘Satellite’ to view an aerial photograph of the park. You can drag the image with your mouse and use the +/- controls to zoom in and out. To drag, move the cursor to where you want to begin dragging, click and hold the mouse button, and move the mouse to where you want to stop dragging. Then release the mouse button.