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HISTORY OF THE CONGREGATIONS OF THE
UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
FROM 1733 TO 1900
HISTORY OF THE CONGREGATIONS
OF THE
UNITED PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH
FROM 1733 TO 1900
Rev, ROBERT SMALL, D.D., Edinburgh
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOLUME 1l
EDINBURGH
DAVID M. SMALL, 3 HOWARD STREET
1904
THE RIVERSIDE PRESS LIMITHD, EDINBURGH.
PREFACE
The second volume, though too long deferred, is less complete than I could
have wished. First, it was intended that a list of all the Moderators in the
various Synods from 1745 to 1900 should appear in the Appendix, but up to
1820, owing to the smallness of the three Synods, the occupancy of the Chair
went for little, and since 1847 the names have been given in faithful array
in the Clerical Almanac, so that it was thought this addition might be
fitly dispensed with. Hence some who attained to this dignity among us
have the fact passed over, though with most of them it is incidentally
mentioned. Second, I would have much inclined to annotate and correct
the list of students given at the close of Dr M'Kelvie's Annals, especially
that part which includes the Antiburgher section. Though both Dr
M'Kelvie and Dr George Brown profess to give the names of the students
who entered the Antiburgher Hall each session, they can have had no
authentic documents to draw from, and must have ever and again made
entries and determined dates by conjecture. We have means for sup-
plementing their defects, but, unfortunately, time is wanting, and also ability
to prosecute the needed inquiries.
The reception which the first volume has met with is more encouraging
than I had ventured to hope for. Interest, of course, has been confined very
much to the United Free Church and, as was to be expected, to the United
Presbyterian section thereof. After two rivers have peacefully coalesced they
may show for a time by the colour of their waters that they had flowed
in separate channels. The bitterest complaint I have met with has
been the reverse of what was looked for. I have been blamed for conceal-
ment of facts — one example being that I wound up a minister's course by
simply stating that he was loosed from his charge ; whereas I ought to have
told that the root evil was drink. There are cases in which more may be
read between the lines than is expressed, and balancing between the
feelings of relatives and the claims of truth is like attempting to split
the apple under the terror of wounding the child.
Looking back over the completed work I see many omissions which
cannot now be supplied, e.g. books ignored, owing to the author's limited
reading, or because they did not come within the current of his narrative.
Minor inaccuracies are certain to be discovered. It is as when a wayfaring
man, having passed through a locality, describes it to a general audience,
among whom one or two are natives of the place and familiar with its every
nook and crevice,
(ireat are my obligations to Mr William Crawford for the invaluable
service he has done me in my disabled condition. But for him and members
of my own family the present volume must have been either held back
indefinitely or given to the press in an unrevised and unfinished state.
Thanks are also due to those brethren who have favoured me with com-
munications of which readers will get the benefit in the list of corrections
and additions. R. S.
46 CoMisTON Drive,
Edinburgh, December 1904.
CONTENTS
PRESBYTERIES
Galloway
Glasgow
Eastern Division
Southern Division
Northern Division
West Highland Churches
Greenock
Hamilton
Kelso .
Kilmarnock and Ayr
Southern Division
Kirkcaldy
Lanark
Melrose
Orkney
Paisley
Perth .
Eastern Division
Southern Division
Western Division
Northern Division
Shetland
Stirling
FAGE
I
22
123
161
168
211
246
277
352
403
428
475
510
544
565
583
606
636
653
663
APPENDIX
The Church Case in the Light of Secession and Relief History 718
INDEX
I. Congregations .
II. Ministers and others .
Corrections and Additions
vii
725
728
743
I
History of the Congregations of the
United Presbyterian Church
PRESBYTERY OF GALLOWAY
WIGTOWN (Antiburgher)
The first distinct mention of Wigtown congregation in early Secession
records is at the Antiburgher Synod in February 1750. They had given a
unanimous call to Mr John Tennant, whom they wished recalled from
Ireland to be ordained over them. It was decided, however, to continue him
there till next meeting, and by that time he had calls from several congrega-
tions in Ireland. The result was that in August 1750 Wigtown people had
to surrender Mr Tennant to more pressing claims, and next year he was
ordained at Roseyards, in the county of Antrim. When the Seceders about
Wigtown were congregated cannot be ascertained, but the title-deeds of
their property are dated 21st October 1749, and the church was finished
some time in the following year. The membership was drawn at first from
a wide range, extending to Stranraer on the west, a distance of twenty-six
miles, and taking in a great part of Galloway. The places mentioned as
receiving occasional supply of sermon are Minnigaff, Mochrum, and Kirk-
cowan, and the preacher who appeared oftenest among them was Mr John
Swanston. At the rupture of 1747 they must have taken the Antiburgher
side almost in a body, as these names never again occur in the Minutes of
the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow. Soon after this the county town seems
to have been fixed on as the seat of the congregation.
First Minister. — Andrew Ogilvie, from Marnock, who, before acceding
to the Secession Presbytery, had been parochial teacher in Botriphnie, of
which Mr Campbell, a man of great evangelical fervour, was minister.
Ordained at Wigtown, in September 1751, the call being signed by 86 male
members, who must have formed a widely-ramified family. They had diffi-
culty for years in supporting a fijced ministry, and hence, prior to 1755, the
Presbytery declared him "transportable." The meaning was that they were
prepared to remove him from Wigtown whenever he should obtain a call to
another place. In 1757 the congregation was behind with the stipend, and
this led the members about Stranraer, as is to be related elsewhere, to
propose to have him "transported to that corner altogether." In 1763 the
people, afraid of losing their minister, reported that they had paid up most
of their arrears, and had also adopted a method for ministering more effectu-
ally to his support in time coming. The financial arrangements in old
Secession congregations were seriously defective owing to the ordinary
funds being drawn almost exclusively from seat rents, the weekly collections
going to side purposes. Mr Ogilvie died, 25th April 1783, in the sixty-second
k'
2 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
year of his age and thirty-second of his ministry. Of his two sons, who
entered the Hall together, Andrew, the younger, after being eleven years a
probationer, received ordination on 2ist April 1801, with the view of dis-
pensing sealing ordinances in Orkney, but he continued on the preachers'
list till the end. He died, 5th June 1835, in the seventy-fourth year of
his age.
Second Minister. — Alexander Ogilvie, son of the former minister. In
the earlier part of the vacancy the congregation called Mr James Biggar,
afterwards of Urr, but he was appointed by the Synod to Newtonards, in
Ireland. Mr Ogilvie was ordained, 12th April 1786. The call was signed by
97 male members, 12 of whom were elders. The church had been enlarged
shortly before by the erection of galleries, which increased the sittings to
450. Mr Ogilvie died, 21st January 1831, in the seventy-third year of his
age and forty-fifth of his ministry. A daughter of his became the wife of the
Rev. Peter Hannay, one of his successors in Wigtown. At a moderation six
months after Mr Ogilvie's death 43 voted for Mr Hannay, and 45 for Mr
Thomas Nicol, afterwards of Pitrodie. Objections to the sustaining were
advanced on the plea of undue influence, and after witnesses were examined
2 votes had to be discounted, which produced a tie, and the call was
set aside.
Third Minister. — James Towers, from Airth. Called also to Dairy,
Ayrshire. Ordained, 28th November 1833. In September 1836 the com-
municants numbered 307, having increased 75 since Mr Towers' ordination.
Nearly one-third of these were from other parishes, most of them from
Kirkinner, a number from Penninghame, and a few from Sorbie and Minni-
gaff. Fifteen families were from more than six miles, yet the minister
could testify that they attended as regularly as any in the congregation.
The stipend was ^120, with ;^io for sacramental expenses, but there was
no manse. The debt was inconsiderable. The church was rebuilt in 1845,
with sittings for 600. On 6th January 1847 Mr Towers accepted a call to
Grange Road, Birkenhead, a newly-formed congregation, whose call was
signed by 71 members and 47 adherents, the stipend promised being £,100.
The church was opened in the following year, and in 1854 a gallery had to
be erected, which mcreased the sittings from 600 to 738. Thus Grange Road
grew under the ministry of Mr Towers till it became not only a strong church
but the mother of churches. In 1879 ^^ retired from active service to make
way for a colleague, and died, 29th July 1891, in the eighty-fourth year of his
age and fifty-eighth of his ministry.
Fourth Minister. — Peter Hannay, translated from Creetown after a
ministry there of eleven years, and inducted to Wigtown, his native congre-
gation, on 3rd January 1849. The Rev. Alexander Dalrymple, junior
minister at Tarbolton, had been previously called. The stipend was now
;^I35, with ^24 for house rent. Mr Hannay died, after a brief illness, 26th
May 1855, in the fifty-first year of his age and eighteenth of his ministry.
The congregation had a new manse ready for occupancy, and Mr Hannay
was about to take possession, when the summons came to " the house ap-
pointed for all living." Next year a volume of his sermons was published,
with a Memoir by the Rev. James Inglis of Johnstone. It also contains a
historical sketch of the Secession in Wigtownshire, which appeared ten years
before as an Appendix to a sermon preached at the closing service in the old
church.
Fifth Minister. — ]OYm Stevenson, who had resigned Haddington
(West) owing to ill-health two years before. Believing himself restored to
fitness for regular work he had accepted a call to Zion Chapel, Newcastle ;
but when the induction day came he did not appear, and at a meeting
PRESBYTERY OF GALLOWAY 3
of Presbytery the following week he withdrew his acceptance. He was
inducted to Wigtown, 3rd June 1856. But again the nervjus system yielded
to the strain, and the connection had to be dissolved, 9th June 1857. He
then retired to the family residence near Kilmarnock, where he officiated as
an elder in Princes Street Church. He died at Saltcoats, 8th January 1897,
in his seventy-third year. In a few months Mr John Hinshelwood, after-
wards of Haddington (East), was called to be Mr Stevenson's successor at
Wigtown, but declined.
Sixth Minister. — JOHN Squair, from Nairn. Mr Squair was first called
to three other vacancies in close succession — Hartlepool (West) ; Burray, in
Orkney ; and Kendal ; but Wigtown came in, and was accepted. Ordained,
24th May 1859. The stipend was ^150, with manse, garden, and an acre of
ground lying in grass. There was a debt at this time of ;^8oo, contracted
mainly by the building of the manse ; but as years passed it gradually de-
creased, and at last entirely disappeared. Within the last thirty years the
population of the parish has decreased over a third, and at the close of 1899
the membership was 153, and the stipend from the people ^175, with the
manse.
WIGTOWN (Relief)
The attempt to have a Relief congregation in this place was a blunder from
first to last. A beginning was made by Glasgow Presbyteiy on nth February
1834 in consequence of a letter from Mr Reston of Newton-Stewart, who had
preached by request at Wigtown on Sabbath week, and had a large audience
m the evening. The Court Hall, he ascertained, could be had free of e.\-
pense, and " many of the inhabitants expressed their willingness to pay for
supply." A preacher was sent at once, to remain till the end of March.
Sermon having been kept up for o\er a year a congregation was organised
on loth August 1835, with 20 names on the communion roll. In the spring
of 1837 the people were engaged in erecting a place of worship, and the
Presbytery promised collections to aid them in the undertaking ; but progress
was hindered for want of funds, though grants were made to Wigtown by the
Synod year after year. In June 1838 it was found that ^55 had been raised
by subscription in the town and neighbourhood, and ^26 had been received
from five sister congregations, but there was a debt contracted of ^174. In
1840 the place of worship was still unfinished ; pecuniary difficulties were
great, and a legal prosecution was threatened. By the end of that year
^343 had been sunk on the building, and ^130 was still to pay. In May
1 84 1 the Presbytery of Newton-Stewart reported to the Synod that the roof
was on, but the windows were not in, the walls were not plastered, and no
seats were fitted up. The end came on 8th July 1843, when the Minute of
a congregational meeting was laid before the Presbytery, at which it had
been unanimously agreed to sell the church, and on 27th August it was
intimated that it had been bought by the Free Church congregation for
£,200. The debts so far as known were slightly over ^150, but £,\ was
all that remained to reimburse denominational funds after expenses were
paid. At next Synod the Presbytery reported that "the congregation at
Wigtown had ceased to exist." Had it gone on the two U.P. congregations
would only have weakened each other.
4 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
STRANRAER, IVY PLACE (Antiburgher)
The early Minutes of the Antiburgher Presbytery of Glasgow having dis-
appeared we have no means of tracing the history of this congregation back
to the beginning. The earliest reliable notice is in May 1757, when the
Antiburgher Presbytery of Dumfries had a petition from Stranraer craving
that a probationer might be appointed to continue among them for some
time to assist their minister, the Rev. Mr Ogilvie. This shows that they
formed a branch of Wigtown congregation, though the two places are
twenty-six miles apart. At next meeting they urged that Mr Ogilvie should
either be transferred to Stranraer altogether or that they should be allowed
to call a minister for themselves. A disjunction from Wigtown must have
been obtained soon after.
First Minister. — James Douglas, from Wigtown. Ordained, 2nd May
1759, the call signed by yj male members. Dr George Brown states that,
owing to some dissatisfaction with Mr Douglas' marriage, a number of his
people became Cameronians. There is a reference in the Presbytery Minutes,
of date nth February 1761, to trouble the session of Stranraer had had with
several in the congregation, who found fault with Mr Douglas' father-in-law.
That gentleman had caused an Irishman to be apprehended when the com-
munion was being observed, and Mr Douglas had intimated from the pulpit
the satisfaction of the session with what had been done. The Presbytery
approved of this as just and reasonable, and the parties who had caused the
turmoil were to be dealt with. Hence, probably, the uprise of Reformed
Presbyterians in the town. Mr Douglas died of fever in October 1772,
in the fourteenth year of his ministry. There was a membership in 1767,
according to Dr Brown, of 240.
Second Minister.— ^\\AA.\y\. Drysdale, from Muckart. Ordained, 20th
April 1774. In 1791, as we find from the Old Statistical History, there were
443 names on the examination roll of this congregation, and they were
scattered over the whole of Rhinns. It was not till after Mr Douglas' death
that their regular place of worship was built, their meetings having previously
been held in what was originally a dwelling-house. A new gallery was put
up in 1800, a token of increase, though a disruption was experienced at the
time of the Lifter Controversy some years before. Mr Drysdale died, loth
April 1810, in the sixty-fourth year of his age and thirty-sixth of his ministry.
His last illness was erysipelas, brought on by exposure to the chill March
winds, and it speedily reached a fatal issue. He was never married.
Third Minister. — John Robertson, who had resigned Rothesay a year
and a half before. Inducted, loth July 181 1. The people had intended to
make the stipend ;^90 ; but now by an enactment of Synod no one was
to be. settled in a town on less than ^100. Hence they agreed to name that
sum, and pay the rent of a dwelling-house besides. Mr Robertson in his
second charge had his lot cast among a people deeply imbued with the
Covenanting spirit. The congregation was widely scattered, extending from
north to south thirty-six miles, and from east to west eighteen. This
was a remnant of Antiburgher times. It was when away preaching one
Sabbath at a station eleven miles distant that Mr Robertson's public work
came to an end. After four months' illness he died on 19th January 1835, in
the sixty-first year of his age and thirty-fifth of his ministry. A sermon of
his appeared in one of the two volumes published in 1820 by ministers of
the Antiburgher Synod.
In 1836 the communicants of this congregation numbered 250, of whom
only a fourth resided in the parish. Of the others fully two-fifths were from
the parish of Inch, which comes close in to the town of Stranraer. Leswalt
I
PRESBYTERY OF GALLOWAY 5
stands next with about half the number, and then other parishes in the
following order : — Portpatrick, Stoneykirk, Ballantrae, Kirkcolm, and Glen-
luce. About 30 families came from more than six miles. The late
minister's stipend was ^120, and he had a manse, on which some debt
rested, but the church was unburdened. Instead of seat-letting the con-
gregation met and apportioned among themselves the expenses of stipend.
The highest subscription was ^5, 5s. and the lowest is. 6d., the average
being about 15s. The people appear thus far to have wrought harmoniously
together, but they were now passing through a period of unrest which lasted
four and a half years.
Soon after Mr Robertson's death the Rev. James M'Crie of Old Meldrum,
a licentiate of Wigtown Presbytery, was brought south to assist at the com-
munion. Nothing followed till the end of the year, when a moderation
resulted as follows : — For the Rev. James M'Crie, 38 ; for Mr Adam Lind,
afterwards of Elgin, 24 ; and for Mr Alexander M'Gregor, afterwards of
Kilwinning, 12. This gave Mr M'Crie an absolute majority of 2 ; but when
the call came before the Presbytery a complaint was made that the voting
had been confined to male communicants. The case was referred to the
Synod, by whom the call was set aside.*
In November 1836 Ivy Place congregation called Mr David Croom,
but Mr M'Crie's former supporters kept aloof. Those who knew Mr Croom
in after years do not require to be told that, though he had nothing else in
sight, he was certain m these circumstances to put aside the Stranraer
invitation, and give the people in that place no further trouble. But feeling
kept as strong as ever, and in February 1837 a petition for disjunction
signed by 30 male and 41 female members came before the Presbytery, and
was carried by protest to the Synod. This led to a meeting of a Synodical
Committee at Stranraer on 7th June to endeavour along with the Presbytery
to restore peace to the congregation. After grievances had been fully
ventilated they had a very agreeable conversation with six representative
men from each side, and it was thought that, if meetings for prayer were
arranged for, and the Lord's Supper observed, brotherly feeling might be
restored. However, at the Synod in September the requisitionists were
up again, "adhering to their petition for disjunction as strongly as ever."
They were told that they might apply individually to the session for
certificates of membership, but the Synod could in no way countenance
the setting up of a third congregation in Stranraer. Six months after this
the appearance of Mr John Pedcn brought the two parties into oneness, and
a moderation was applied for, the stipend promised being ^30 higher than
before, and leading men among the disjunctionists acting as commissioners ;
but Mr Peden had a prior call to East Regent Place, Glasgow, which he
accepted, much to his own regret before many years had passed. The way
was clear now for harmonious action.
Fourth Minister. — Robert Hogarth, from Dairy, Ayrshire. Ordained,
6th August 1839. The call was signed by 130 members and 72 adherents,
and the stipend was to be ^130, with manse and garden, which was
ultimately increased ^70. During the first twenty years of Mr Hogarth's
ministry the cong.cgation was much borne down with debt, and yet they
were able to show an annual return of nearly ^40 for missionaiy and
benevolent purposes. In 1844 they made a special effort and reduced the
burden by ^200, and in 1859 the last of it, amounting to ^540, was cleared
off under the stimulus of ^100 from the Board. On 23rd August 1881 Mr
Hogarth's demission was accepted. He had been laid aside for some time
from all official duty by illness, and, there being no hope of speedy restora-
* See vol. i. p. 715.
6 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
tion, he intimated his wish to retire, waiving all claim to the manse or to
any allowance from the congregation. As he intended to leave Stranraer
he believed that it would be better for all parties that he should not hold
the position of senior minister. Though the people would gladly have
retained him among them they acquiesced in the proposal he had made.
Thus the church was preached vacant, Mr Hogarth retaining his seat in
Presbytery and Synod. He now removed to Glasgow, and ultimately to
Stirling, where he died, 12th March 1893, in his seventy-sixth year. Three
of his sons are in the ministry of the U.P. Church — the Rev. John P.
Hogarth, Renfrew ; the Rev. William Hogarth, Rigg-of-Gretna ; and the Rev.
Thomas Biggart Hogarth, Clackmannan. The last name reminds us that
their father was a nephew of Thomas Biggart, Esq., of Dairy, Ayrshire, a
wealthy friend and benefactor of the U.P. Church.
Fifth Minister. — GEORGE Hunter, M.A., from Sydney Place, Glasgow.
The stipend was now ^225 in all, and the ordination took place, 27th June
1882. After labouring in Stranraer for seven years with much devotedness
Mr Hunter offered himself to the China Inland Mission, and was accepted.
The congregation, believing that his resolution had been arrived at under
divine guidance, agreed to the severance, and he was loosed from his charge,
29th October 1889. But Mr Hunter's course in China was comparatively
brief On his way to a distant station he was seized with malarial fever,
and he died, 12th March 1900, leaving a widow and two children. He was
in the forty-fourth year of his age and eighteenth of his ministry.
Sixth Minister. — James S. Smith, M.A., from Bonkle. Ordained, loth
June 1890. The stipend was the same as before, with a manse. A new
church, with 530 sittings, was opened on Wednesday, i6th March 1898, by
the Rev. William Watson of Birkenhead. It cost about ;^4ooo, and the
collections that day and on the following Sabbath, when Dr Hutchison,
the Moderator of Synod, preached, amounted to ^260. The money previ-
ously subscribed was over ^3000, and ^250 was received from the Church
Building Fund. The membership at the close of the following year was
305, and the stipend as before.
STRANRAER, BELLEVILLA (Burgher)
On 31st July 1793 the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow received a petition
for sermon from 23 persons in Stranraer. These were the remains of a
little party which had broken off from the Antiburgher congregation over the
"Lifter" question, and to them the Old Statistical History refers two years
before as " Smytonians," and states that, like another class of " sectaries "
in the place — the M'Millanites, they were not numerous. In Dr M'Kelvie's
Annals it is explained that their minister, Mr Drysdale, had given them
offence by siding with Mr Smyton of Kilmaurs for a time, and then for-
saking him, but there is no trace of any such thing in the Synod records.
When the "Lifter Presbytery" fell into fragments the Smytonians in
Stranraer, like most of their brethren, sought and found an asylum among
the Burghers, and on the first two Sabbaths of September Mr Dewar of
Fenwick preached to them by appointment of the Burgher Presbytery of
Kilmarnock. This was followed on 15th October by a paper from some
people in and about the town expressing satisfaction with Burgher
principles, and desiring to be taken under the Presbytery's inspection.
From this time Stranraer ranked as a vacancy, the preachers generally
remaining several Sabbaths at a time owing to the distance. In February
1797 Mr Dewar was again sent two Sabbaths to Stranraer to preach and
PRESBYTERY OF GALLOWAY 7
set in order the things that were wanting. They had two elders among
them already, and the people wished these men constituted into a session,
which was done. Next came a call to himself signed by 45 members and
69 adherents, besides an unattested paper said to contain nearly 200 names,
but it was agreed without a vote to continue him at Fenwick.
First Minister. — William Irving, from Ecclefechan. The stipend
promised was ^70, with sacramental expenses, but before granting a
moderation the Presbytery wished to make sure that the meeting-house
was in course of being roofed in. The call to Mr Irving was sustained
in August 1798, and preferred at next meeting to another from Mauchline,
but for a whole twelvemonth the state of the building kept the ordination
back. In February 1799 the commissioners informed the Presbytery that
they had been disappointed in not getting the wood forward from Liverpool,
and this caused delay till 25th September, and then Mr Irving was ordained
in their own place of worship. The cost was put, forty years after, at between
^500 and £,boo. Stranraer was reckoned so far apart in those days that
the minister had regularly to apply to the Presbytery for assistance at his
yearly communion, and two of their number were usually appointed. But
in the beginning of 1818 Mr Irving requested a visit from a committee to
inquire into the state of the congregation, where everything was running
into disorder. Stipend was in arrears, elders and others were deserting his
ministry, and the managers were neither collecting the seat rents nor
fulfilling their obligations. The Synod found that Mr Irving's conduct had
been irreproachable, and they recommended the congregation to conduct
themselves towards him as became Church members by supporting him
and encouraging his heart in the service of the gospel. The Presbytery,
however, followed another line of action, and at a special meeting in
Stranraer on 4th November 1818 they accepted Mr Irving's demission.
The congregation fulfilled their part of the contract by paying him over
^230, the amount of his claims, and the church was preached vacant.
Mr Irving now itinerated as a probationer for about two years. The
following account of his death, on 17th October 1820, is abridged from the
Recorder., a short - lived but ably - conducted Union magazine : — He was
passing from Auchterarder to Dunning, and had reached the west end of
the village, when he left the public road, to allow his horse to water at a
well. The horse suddenly falling he was thrown forward into the well,
and, though taken out at once, he almost immediately expired. Dislocation
of the neck was ascertained to have been the cause of death. The sad
recital closes thus : " His fervent piety, irreproachable conduct, and
amiable manners endear his memory to his friends, and soothe their
sorrow for his departure."
Stranraer congregation had supply of sermon regularly in their vacant
state, and after a year and a half they called Mr William Rutherford, who
was appointed by the Synod to Newtown St Boswells. The call purported
to carry the names of 62 persons in full communion, but the Presbytery
reduced the number to 51. Of ordinary hearers there were 45, and the
stipend undertaken was ^iio.
Second Minister. — William Smellie, M.A., from Tarbolton. The call
was signed by 90 members and 60 adherents, male and female. This being
the first call presented to the United Presbytery of Wigtown Mr Smith
of Whithorn could not but express his disapproval of females being admitted
to vote or subscribe. It was opposed, he maintained, to the apostolic rule
and the constitution of human society, and though it was allowed by the
late Burgher Synod, he would resist any attempt to make it a law of the
United Church. The question of woman's vote comes up again under the
8 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
history of Ivy Place congregation. Mr Smellie was ordained, 17th April
1822, and in less than a dozen years his church was much ahead of the
older Secession congregation in membership. In 1836 the communicants
were returned at 347, and the stipend was ^138, with an occasional allowance
for travelling expenses. More than two-thirds of the families were in nearly
equal numbers from Leswalt, Inch, Stoneykirk, and Portpatrick, with a few
from Kirkcolm and Kirkmaiden. P'ifty families came from more than six
miles. The debt, which must have been long burdensome, was now under
^100. Mr Smellie died, 24th April 1863, in the sixty-ninth year of his age
and forty-second of his ministry.
Third Minister. — Thomas Dobbie, M.A., son of the Rev. James Dobbie
of Annan. Called some time before to Everton, in Lancashire, and also to
be Dr M'Kerrow's colleague at Manchester ; but after his trials for ordination
at Everton had been sustained, and all looked well for the young congrega-
tion, progress was arrested owing to the sudden failure of Mr Dobbie's
health. Ordained at Stranraer, 13th April 1864. The stipend was to be
^200, and there was the promise of a manse as soon as possible. On 20th
December 1867 Mr Dobbie declined a call to Thread Street, Paisley, and
at the same meeting Mr Matthews of Bridge Street Church gave in the
demission of his charge. Union follo*ved, and at this point we pause, to
resume with the history of the United congregation.
STRANRAER, BRIDGE STREET (Relief)
The first application from Stranraer to the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow for
sermon was on 17th November 1817. It came from "a number of respect-
able people," and Mr Nichol of Ayr having preached to them and reported
favourably of their prospects they were recognised as a forming congregation
on 3rd March 1818. It was not till 1821 that their church, with 650 sittings,
was built, the cost being ^800, the greater part of which was derived from
borrowed money. It is not correct to say that it was the preaching of
Mr Symington of the Reformed Presbyterian Church which prompted this
movement, as he was not ordained at Stranraer till two years after the
congregation was formed.
First Minister. — John M'Gregor, from Glasgow (East Campbell Street).
Ordained in the open air on 5th May 1824 "on account of the multitude who
had assembled." The stipend promised was ^130, with an increase of ^5
for every ^100 of debt paid off. In 1836 the membership amounted to 363,
of whom nearly one-half came from other parishes, Leswalt taking the lead
by a great way ; while Inch, Portpatrick, and Stoneykirk followed, with a
few stragglers from Kirkcolm, Ballantrae, and Kirkmaiden. Of these
families 31 were from farther than four miles. The stipend was now
;^i40, and the debt of ^500 was being gradually reduced. Mr M'Gregor
died, 24th September 1852, in the fifty-second year of his age and twenty-
ninth of his ministry. The congregation in the following year got into
confusion over a divided call to Mr George Barlas, and feeling ran so high
that 78 members, including 5 of the session, craved a disjunction, which
Presbytery and Synod alike refused to grant. Mr Barlas had now accepted
Auchtermuchty (East), so that the parties came together again. A
unanimous call followed to Mr John M'Laren, who set all other invitations
aside in favour of Cowcaddens, Glasgow.
Second Minister. — GEORGE D. Matthews, B.A., from Kilkenny,
Ireland. Having graduated at Trinity College, Dublin, Mr Matthews
entered our Theological Hall in 1848. Ordained at Stranraer, 31st August
PRESBYTERY OF GALLOWAY 9
1854, the stipend being ^140, and 110 members and 30 adherents having
signed the call. Towards the close of 1867 Mr Matthews was invited to
undertake the charge of Jane Street Church, New York, and his resignation
was accepted on 3rd March 1868. At this point the history of Bridge Street
congregation merges in that of Bellevilla, under the name of the West
Church. In 1874 Mr Matthews removed to Canada, where he became
minister of Chalmers' Church, Quebec. He after\vards filled the Chair,
first of Systematic Theology and then of Moral Philosophy, in Morrin
College, Quebec. In 1888 he retired from professorial work, and became
General Secretary of the Evangelical Alliance, and in that capacity he
resides in London. Bridge Street Church is now used for Sabbath school
purposes by the two congregations of the Established Church.
STRANRAER, WEST (Bellevilla and Bridge Street United)
As already stated, when Mr Matthews' resignation of Bridge Street was
pending commissioners from the congregation expressed the wish of the
people to enter into union with Bellevilla under the pastorate of Mr Dobbie.
The movement being gone into with entire unanimity on both sides the
Presbytery on 3rd March 1868, after accepting Mr Matthews' resignation,
declared the two congregations united. For a time they met in Bridge
Street Church, and within six months the stipend was raised to ^300. On
22nd February 1870 Mr Dobbie declined a call to Bristo Church, Edin-
burgh, but on 25th February 1873 he accepted St Andrew's Place, Leith.
During the ensuing vacancy the congregation called Mr Walter Duncan,
who preferred Dumbarton (Bridgend), and Mr William Thomson, who pre-
ferred Alloa (West).
Second Minister.— ^\\AAX^\. Muirhead, M.A., from Lothian Road,
Edinburgh. Called also to Kelso (East), and Irvine (Trinity), and ordained
at Stranraer, 9th March 1875. The present church, with 500 sittings, and
built at a cost of ^3000, was opened on Wednesday, 22nd October 1884, by
Principal Cairns. The openmg collections that day and the next two
Sabbaths amounted to nearly ^250, and cleared the debt entirely away.
The West manse was built by Bellevilla congregation two or three years
before the union with Bridge Street. The cost was ^700, of which ^100
was received from the Manse Board. The membership at the close of 1899
was 229, and the stipend ^310, with the manse.
WHITHORN (Antiburgher)
The first distinct mention of this congregation in Secession records is at
tthe Synod in May 1793, when they brought up a call to Mr John Mitchell
'n competition with another from Anderston, Glasgow (now Wellington
'hurch). The call from Whithorn was subscribed by 18 male members,
>nd when the vote was taken Glasgow carried by 20 to 16. The church,
irith 600 sittings, is said to have been built in 1790. It is also stated that
"le nucleus of the congregation consisted of a very few who had been wont
attend at Wigtown, eleven miles to the north. In 1794 they called Mr
Lndrew Small, but 4 members and some adherents alleged rashness of pro-
fcedure and the unripeness of the congregation for supporting a minister.
he objections being overruled as frivolous Mr Small accepted, on con-
lition of having it in his power to draw back should the opposition prove
formidable. At a subsequent meeting he gave in reasons for asking to be
lo HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
set free, and commissioners from Whithorn having been heard this was
agreed to, the Presbytery expressing very strong disapproval of "the
irregular and almost unprecedented conduct of the remonstrants." Mr
Small's name appeared for many years on the preachers' list, but he never
got another call. He then settled down in Abernethy, his native place,
where the family name figured at an early period in the session records of
that place. In 1823 Mr vSmall published a book on "Roman Antiquities
discovered in Fife." In the Autobiography of James Skinner he stands
forth graphically as spellbound among the superstitions of an earlier age.
He died at Abernethy, i6th March 1852, in his eighty-sixth year.
First Minister. — John Smith, from Auchinleck, where his father had
been an elder, first in the Established Church and then in the Secession.
Licensed in 1778, and after itinerating as a preacher for nine years he was
called to Belmont Street, Aberdeen, but owing to want of harmony the call
was put aside. Mr Smith's English accent, like that of Dr Jamieson in
similar circumstances, was objected to as savouring of affectation. Dis-
couraged by want of success he turned aside to business for a time ; but in
May 1794 the Synod considered it desirable to have a preacher ordained for
location in distant places, and Mr Smith was fixed on. At next meeting
Kilmarnock Presbytery reported that they had ordained Mr Smith as
instructed, and that he was now under call to Whithorn. A stray Minute of
session has come down to us, recording the order followed on the modera-
tion day. After prayer for direction in the solemn work before them the
minister who preached and presided suggested the Rev. John Smith, the
candidate whom the session had previously agreed on. He then asked
three times if there were any other names to be added, and there was no
response. A show of hands being taken a considerable number were held
up for Mr Smith, and only one against him, and he was declared duly
elected. Then, a blessing being invoked on the work of the day, the call
was read in the hearing of the congregation, who were desired to attend the
session in order to append their names. The number who subscribed was
26. They were but a little company, reminding us of the disdainful state-
ment in the Old Statistical History that the parishioners of Whithorn in-
cluded among them "a few sectaries of the Cameronian and Antiburgher
description."
Mr Smith was inducted, 3rd June 1795 — ^ vndin whose talents came to be
much appreciated both in his own congregation and among his clerical
brethren, and under his ministry solid work went on. He died, 24th April
1830, in the seventy-ninth year of his age and thirty-fifth of his ministry.
He had been incapacitated for pulpit work for a considerable time, and
arrangements were being made for providing him with a colleague when the
end came. Mr Smith's eldest son, the Sheriff-Clerk of the county, was for
fifty-six years an elder in Whithorn church. The congregation during this
vacancy called Mr William Marshall, the call being signed by ']^ members
and 21 adherents, all males — a limitation to which their late minister attached
much importance, as comes out under Stranraer (Bellevilla). The stipend
promised was ^120, the same as before, and they were to add a house or
give an equivalent, but Mr Marshall, according to his own wishes, was
appointed by the Synod to Coupar-Angus.
Second Minister. — JOHN Henry Gardiner, son of the Rev. James
Gardiner of Newtonards, Ireland, and a grandson of the Rev. John Eraser,
Auchtermuchty. Ordained, 13th July 1831. The services were conducted
in a tent. Dr Taylor of Auchtermuchty preached, and the Rev. John
Skinner of Partick, another grandson of Mr Eraser, was present as a cor-
responding mcmbe?. Mr Gardiner died, loth April 1833, in the twenty-sixth
PRESBYTERY OF GALLOWAY ii
year of his age and second of his ministry. His Life and Diary was pub-
lished by his uncle, the Rev. Dr Fraser of Kennoway, in 1836. During this
vacancy the congregation called Mr James Boyd, afterwards of Brechin,
but owing to want of harmony the Presbytery set the call aside.
Third Minister. — J AMES GlBSON, from East Campbell Street, Glasgow.
Ordained, nth February 1835. The stipend was now ^105, but there is no
mention of a manse. On 8th December 1840 Mr Gibson accepted a call to
Maygate, Dunfermline.
Fourth Minister. — James Fleming, son of the Rev. William Fleming,
West Calder. Called when a preacher first to Holywell, which had newly
come in from the Established Church, and next to Livery Street, Bathgate,
but these calls he declined. Whithorn came next, and after it Pell Street,
London, which passed out of existence not long after. Ordained at Whit-
horn, 6th July 1842. This was followed by a ministry of more than half-a-
century. In 1865 Whithorn congregation took advantage of the Synod's
newly-launched scheme to get themselves equipped with a dwelling-house
for their minister. Their first manse was built at a cost of ^750, the Board
allowing ^150. Mr Fleming held the office of Presbytery clerk for thirty-
two years, and at the Synod of 1890 he was promoted to the Moderator's
Chair. The 9th of March 1892 was a marked day in the annals of Whithorn
congregation. The new church was opened by Dr Monro Gibson of
London, the son of Mr Fleming's predecessor, and the jubilee of their
minister was celebrated the same day, when he was presented with ^160.
But the night shadows were now beginning to gather, and at the close of
1895 the congregation, at Mr Fleming's suggestion, made arrangements to
provide him with a colleague. Besides retaining the manse he was to have
^40 a year from the congregation, and the junior minister ^130. In March
1896 Mr Alexander Steele, now of Ecclefechan, was chosen by a majority
of 3 over other two candidates combined, but the call being opposed by
42 members the Presbytery saw good reason for setting it aside.
Fifth Minister. — Adam F. Findlay, M.A., from Johnshaven. Ordained,
29th July 1896. In issuing this call there was again want of harmony, though
the antagonism was less pronounced than before. We find, however, that
during 1896 the communion roll came down from 149 to 11 1. It must have
been a trying experience for Mr Fleming towards the close of the day. At
the Union in October 1900 he still survives, in the fifty-ninth year of his
ministry. His son, the Rev. John Dick Fleming, B.D., is minister in
Tranent, and an older son was for three and a half years minister of Boston
Church, Cupar, but died early. The membership of Whithorn at the close
of 1899 was 106, and the stipend from the people the same as before.
NEWTON-STEWART (Relief)
This small burgh is situated on the river Cree, between the parishes of
Penninghame and Minnigaff", and towards the end of last century it had
a population of 900, but no church, either of the Secession or Relief, nearer
than Wigtown, eight miles to the north. On i6th August 1791 the Relief
Presbytery of (Glasgow had the wants of the place brought under their notice
by a letter from a certain residenter, but they wished to know if they might
count on as many people coming forward as could support a minister, and
also what their motives might be for leaving the Established Church. At
next meeting a formal petition for supply was received, and the Rev. William
Thomson of Beith was commissioned to visit Newton-Stewart and preach
there two Sabbaths. Next year a church was built with 4C0 sittings — " a
12 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
dreary, barn-like building at the north end of the town." The cost was so
far met by voluntary subscription and voluntary labour, but a considerable
amount of debt seems to have rested on the property. The first preacher
they called, but without success, was a highly popular young man, Mr John
Pitcairn, afterwards of Kelso (East).
First Minister. — William Strang, from Dovehill, Glasgow. Ordained,
3rd October 1 793. At next meeting a list of elders was approved of, and
orders were given to have them ordained. In 1805 Mr Strang brought up
certain complaints against his people bearing on money matters. He
alleged that on accepting their call he had the verbal promise of a dwelling-
house and garden, but had never obtained them. He also accused certain
elders and managers of combining together to destroy his usefulness, and
scatter the congregation. The subscribers for the meeting-house on their
part petitioned either to have Mr Strang removed or their connection with
the society ended. On inquiry it was found that there had been talk about
inability, leaving Mr Strang to preach to the bare walls. His resignation
was given in, and accepted on 5th November 1805 on the understanding
that arrears of stipend, amounting to ^84, were to be paid. Mr Strang was
inducted to Ford in the early part of 1807. It was mentioned in the
Edinburgh Courant at the time of his death that it was he who first brought
the celebrated Alexander Murray, Professor of Oriental Languages in Edin-
burgh University, into notice, having in one of his rambles when at Newton-
Stewart found him sitting on a moor, a shepherd boy, with some Greek and
Latin books at his side.
Second Minister. — James Jardine, from Dundee (The Tabernacle).
Ordained, 16th June 1807. The stipend was to be ;^ 70, with dwelling-
house, and a garden in front of the church and a little park behind it, also
;^2, los. at each communion. Accepted a call to Newlands, 28th September
1809.
Third Minister.— ] A.MES Kerr, from Earlston (West). Ordained, 25th
October 18 10. The stipend was now ^80, with ^3 at each communion, and
^i, los. for public burdens. From a Memoir of Mr Kerr in the Christian
Journal for 1842 it is evident that he was a man who "walked with God,"
and a minister in whose preaching Christ was all in all. But he was far
from popular, owing partly to an injury which had affected his organs of
speech, and his discourses were better fitted for building up than for gather-
ing in. After labouring faithfully at Newton-Stewart for fourteen years he
resolved, from conscientious motives, to retire, believing that another might
occupy the field to greater advantage. His resignation was accepted on 9th
November 1824, but the remembrance of his humble, deep-toned. Christian
character remained. He was engaged as a preacher till a few months before
his death, on 15th May 1842, in the seventy-second year of his age and
thirty-second of his ministry. The first Sabbath school in Newton-Stewart
was begun under his fostering care.
Fourth Minister. — James Reston, from Tollcross, a brother of the Rev.
David Reston, Coupar-Angus. Ordained, nth August 1825. Eleven years
after this the communicants were given at 250, of whom about 30 were from
other parishes — Minnigaff and Kirkcowan in particular. Six families came
from beyond six miles. On 4th December 1837 Mr Reston accepted a call
to what is now James' Church, Dundee. The congregation some time after
called Mr James Hamilton, who declined acceptance "owing to the smallness
of the number that had voted for him." The Presbytery wrote to him ex-
plaining that the failure was owing to a great public market being held on
that day, but they were answered with a full and final refusal. It was
quite in keeping with his bearing when ordained at Largo, and when he
PRESBYTERY OF GALLOWAY 13
resigned. Another call, addressed to Mr Matthew Battersby, was unanimous ;
but he promptly declined, and got Hamilton (Auchingramont) instead.
Fifth Minister. — WiLLlAM Reid, from Dunfermline (Gillespie Church).
Ordamed, i8th August 1841. The stipend promised was ^90, with manse,
garden, and glebe. Of Mr Reid we have ascertained little beyond this, that
he was married to a daughter of the Rev. John More of Cairneyhill, and
that the manse at Newton-Stewart became a seminary for young ladies
somewhat like that from which Mrs Reid had come. In September 1863
it was intimated to the Presbytery that Mr Reid was laid aside by illness,
and at next meeting that he was still very unwell. He died, 29th November,
in the fifty-fourth year of his age and twenty-third of his ministry.
Sixth Minister. — Ephraim Smith, from Sydney Place, Glasgow. Or-
dained, 5th October 1864. The stipend promised was ^iio, with the manse,
which was superseded by another in the following year, built at a cost of
£62(), exclusive of what was got for the old manse, the Board aiding to the
extent of ^250. A new church, with 400 sittings, was opened on Thursday,
nth July 1878, by Ur Logan Aikman, and though it cost ^2500 it was
entered free of debt. On Sabbath, ist June 1890, Mr Smith was seized with
apoplexy when preaching in Garlieston Free Church, and though he rallied
for a little a relapse came, and he died on the iith of that month, in the
sixty-first year of his age and twenty-sixth of his ministry.
Se^ienth Minister. — James A. Dawson, from East Campbell Street,
Glasgow. Having emigrated to New Zealand at the close of his literary
course Mr Dawson pursued his theological studies there under the Assembly's
Board of Examination. After obtaining licence he was ordained at New
Plymouth, 26th May 1885, but resigned in the following spring owing to
ill-health, and returned to .Scotland. At the Synod in May 1888 the Presby-
tery of Glasgow (North) was authorised to receive Mr Dawson to the status
of an ordained probationer on condition that he attended a session at the
Theological Hall and passed the exit examination. Inducted to Newton-
Stewart, loth February 1891. The membership at the close of 1899 was
146, and the stipend from the people the same as he has had all along —
;^iio, with the manse.
KIRKMAIDEN (Burgher)
This short-lived congregation began in a petition for sermon from Kirk-
maiden — " Maiden Kirk" — to the Burgher Presbytery of Kilmarnock on 17th
June 1806. Mr Wilson of Cumnock was appointed to preach there two
Sabbaths in July, and this led to a further application of the same kind from
80 persons, most of them heads of families. This was a large beginning, and
sermon v/as afterwards kept up about two successive Sabbaths each month.
But distance was the great drawback, Stranraer* being the only place in
Wigtownshire where there was a fully-foiTned Burgher congregation, and
this was ten miles away. However, though supply was irregular applicants
were admitted into Church fellowship, and on the third Sabbath of January
1810 three elders were ordained. But at this point vitality ebbed, and for
nearly two years the cause was in a state of suspended animation. Tokens
of life having reappeared in the early part of 181 2 appointments were re-
newed much as before, and in the summer of 181 5 two members of Presbytery
were sent within the bounds to encourage and stimulate the people of
Kirkmaiden and Glenluce. The expenses of the journey came to over ^5,
a sum sufficient to prevent the experiment from being repeated, and aid had
to be sought from the Synod Fund on behalf of these two places. In this
14 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
unsatisfactory state matters continued at Kirkmaiden till 1817, when the
name appears on the Presbytery roll for the last time.
After this sermon was occasionally kept up at Drumore, a village of 300
inhabitants, about a mile to the north of Kirkmaiden parish church. Mr
Smellie, who was ordained at Stranraer in 1822, was accustomed to preach
there at least once a year, and in 1841 services were arranged for during
summer, a few individuals boarding the preachers gratis, and the attendance
being reported at 100. In 1836 Mr Smellie had 11 members from the parish
of Kirkmaiden, great as the distance was, and in the Relief congregation
and the first Secession there were also a few, besides some who had con-
nection with Glenluce. This was all that remained of what promised once
to be a vigorous church in the southern division of western Galloway.
GLENLUCE (Burgher)
This congregation had its beginning in a brief evangelistic tour of Mr Schaw
of Ayr to Galloway in the summer of 1808. Along with the report he gave
in to the Burgher Presbytery of Kilmarnock a petition was received from
Glenluce for sermon, and supply appointed for the fourth Sabbath of August
and the first of September. The mission was renewed next summer, and in
September Mr Irving of Stranraer, the only Burgher minister within reach,
was appointed to examine applicants for membership. Some time after this
Glenluce disappeared from the Presbytery records, but in 18 13 the Synod
allowed ^12 to pay for sermon there, and a year later a Presbyterial inquiry
brought out a membership of 14, with an attendance of about 300. A further
application for aid from the Synod Fund was recommended, which brought
them other ^10. Still matters kept in a languid state, sermon not being
formally asked for till nth March 1817, when 61 persons applied to be
organised into a congregation. Mr Irving was to converse with parties
wishing to be received into Church fellowship, and on 22nd April those
approved of were congregated, but how many came forward for examination,
or stood the test, is not stated. On the first Sabbath of November three
elders were ordained, and at next meeting a moderation was applied for,
with the promise of ^100 of stipend.
First Minister. — Thomas Hill, from Blackfriars, Jedburgh. Ordained
13th May 1818, the call having been signed by 28 members in all. The
place of worship, with 320 sittings, seems to have been taken possession of
by this time. In little more than a year Mr Hill complained to the Presby-
tery that his usefulness was much impaired by a fama which had gone
abroad concerning him, and both he and his elder stated that something
would have to be done if the congregation were to be preserved. Investiga-
tion conducted at Glenluce on 2nd November 18 19 brought out untimely
hours and other accessories, with an attempt to prove an alibi. The con-
gregation was divided in opinion, some believing their minister had made
his defence good, and others declaring their resolution to pay him no more
stipend. The Presbytery decided unanimously for suspension sine die. At
next meeting, on the 30th, Mr Hill offered to demit his charge, and withdraw
the protest he had tabled, if the Presbytery would uplift the sentence and
vindicate his character, but they refused to treat with him on any such
terms. Mr Hill afterwards acknowledged the sentence to be just, and
submitted to censure in order to be restored to his status as a preacher.
The Presbytery, being deeply affected with what they now heard, allowed
the protest to be withdrawn, and agreed to administer solemn rebuke. On
;ith April 1820 his demission was accepted, and a minister appointed to
PRESBYTERY OF GALLOWAY 15
preach the church vacant, and give his best advice to the congregation.
After a vacancy of nearly two years they called Mr James Thomson ; but a
rival call followed from Maybole, and to save trouble and expense they asked
liberty to sist procedure, as they had no prospect of success in the com-
petition. After what they had passed through they could not promise more
than ^80 ; but, they argued, " though the stipend is inadequate, if the young
man is pleased to accept, the Presbytery ought not to interfere." The
answer was that, from want of acquaintance with the world, preachers are
generally incompetent to judge as to adequate support. The call, however,
was allowed to drop.
Mr Hill removed to Hawick, and in May 1822 he applied to the Synod
to be restored to office, which, after careful inquiry and a year's delay, was
agreed to. He died suddenly at Montreal on 14th March 1824. The
newspaper notice states that he had been preaching in St Petei-'s Street
Church since his arrival in Canada "last fall," as assistant to the Rev.
Mr Easton, and that after conducting morning service that Sunday "he
returned to his lodgings, and had just seated himself, when he fell to the
floor lifeless."
Second Minister. — James Pullar, from Barrhead. Ordained, ist April
1823. The call was signed by 40 members, male and female, and 53
adherents. Twenty years afterwards there were 80 communicants, and
an average attendance of 150. In 1845 a debt of ^85, probably of long
standing, was extinguished by the aid of ;^35 from the Liquidation Board.
On 4th February 1868 Mr Pullar's resignation was accepted. He was now
in the forty-fifth year of his ministry, and during a great part of that period
he preached three discourses each Sabbath. Possessing ample means of his
own he would take no allowance either from Glenluce congregation or the
Aged and Infirm Ministers' Fund. He died at Glenluce, 23rd January 1874,
in the seventy-fourth year of his age, after a long and severe illness. The
Rev. John Squair of Wigtown is Mr Pullar's son-in-law.
Third Minister.— ^KOKK^T Carslaw, from Eaglesham. Ordained, 22nd
September 1868. On Tuesday, i8th Februaiy 1890, the present church,
built at a cost of over ^1500, and seated for 300, was opened by Dr
Drummond, Moderator of Synod. The collection on the occasion reached
;^67. The small amount of debt which remained was entirely cleared off
in 1897. The membership at the close of 1899 was in, whereas twenty
years before it was only 78, and the stipend from the people had risen from
;^8o to ;{^ioo. The congregation seems never to have had a manse. Mr
Carslaw is married to a daughter of the late Dr Simpson of Sanquhar.
CREETOWN (Burgher)
This congregation owed its origin to a mission into Galloway of Messrs
Jrown of Biggar and Law of Newcastleton by appointment of Synod in
"le summer of 18 19, and on 31st August of that year several respectable
ihabitants of Creetown sent up a petition to the Burgher Presbytery of
Lnnan for sermon. Supply was henceforth kept up with few blank Sabbaths
jU after the Union in 1820. The station was congregated in April of that
ear, with a membership of 14, admitted after examination, and in July 1821
iree elders were ordained. For a long course of years there was much to
try the spirits of the people, though members of Presbytery encouraged
them by Sabbath services, and in other ways as opportunity offered. In
1 83 1 it was feared that they might never reach the position of a fully-
organised church, and that it might be expedient to place them on the
i6 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
missionary platform. But the people hoped for something better, and in
the end of 1835 they asked for a moderation, undertaking to give ;^6o a
year for stipend, besides a dwelling-house, and it was calculated that ^10
would be obtained from the Mission Board. This issued in a call to
Mr George Morris, of whom some particulars are given under Lumsden,
Aberdeenshire. Disappointment followed, as Mr Morris wrote to the
Presbytery intimating that the debility of his frame told him he would not
consult the interests of Creetown congregation if he agreed to become their
minister. They were again disappointed through Mr Andrew Reid, after-
wards of Lossiemouth, who had been located a considerable time among
them, declining their call. Before this the people had fitted up a place of
worship, with 170 sittings, in an economical way, of which more further
on.
First Minister. — PETER Hannay, from Wigtown. Ordained as a
missionary preacher, 5th May 1835, and located at Oban in that capacity.
Remained there till February 1837, when he left with the intention of going
abroad. After being stationed for a short time at Kirkcowan he was called
to Creetown, and inducted, 26th July 1837. It was a time of embittered
feeling, and certain aspersions were thrown out against the Secession cause
at Creetown by the Church of Scotland Magazine in the following year.
There the congregation is described as consisting of 20 or 30 members,
their place of worship an old house rented or bought, and their minister
the late missionary at Oban, " to whom salary is no object." The answer
was that, though Mr Hannay's flock was small, the communicants were 70
in number, and we know that before long they made his stipend ^80. The
relation lasted till 5th December 1848, when he accepted a call to Wigtown,
his native congregation.
Second Minister. — James R. Scott, from Rose Street, Edinburgh.
Ordained, 6th June 1849. There was now a membership of 100, and a
stipend of ^85, which was supplemented to ^100. In 1852 Mr Scott had
the offer of Mossbank, vShetland, but, as was to be expected, he remained
in Creetown. Resolving to emigrate to Canada under the auspices of the
Mission Board he was loosed from his charge, with the reluctant ac-
quiescence of his people, on 15th June 1858. Before the end of the year
he was inducted to Perry Town, in that colony. He afterwards
laboured at Whitby and then at Cambray. He retired owing to fail-
ing health in 1875, and died on 25th February 1893, in the forty-fourth
year of his ministry. Creetown congregation after a vacancy of half-a-year
called Mr George Black, from Hutchesontown, Glasgow ; but he accepted
Walker, near Newcastle, where he was ordained, 22nd June 1859, and died,
2 1st September 1864, in the thirty-fourth year of his age and sixth of his
ministry. Of one of Mr Black's predecessors it was said : " The atmos-
phere of the place, heavily charged with noxious vapours, proved almost
fatal to him." He left in time ; but Mr Black kept at his post till the lungs
were hopelessly diseased, and then returned to his old home to die.
Third Minister. — James Brown, M.A., from Moffat. Ordained, 17th
August 1859. The stipend from the people was to be ^80, including every-
thing. On Friday, 19th April 1861, a new church, with accommodation for
nearly 300, and built at a cost of over j^8oo, was opened by Dr Edmond of
London. On ist November 1864 Mr Brown accepted a call to Morningside,
Edinburgh, but during his ministry at Creetown an important point had
been gained by the congregation obtaining an attractive place of worship.
Fourth Minister — John Munro, who had retired from Gardenstown
three years before. Inducted, 6th June 1865, and his demission was accepted,
6th November 1866. He now returned anew to the preachers' list, and
J
PRESBYTERY OF GALLOWAY 17
aftenvards resided in Edinburgh, where he died, nth April 1875, '" the
sixty-third year of his age and twenty-eighth of his ministerial life.
Fifth Mtnister.—ROBKRT Lindsay, M.A., from Dairy, Galloway. Called
also to Sandwick, in Orkney, and to Lochmaben. Ordained, 3rd March 1868.
The present manse was built soon after at a cost of ^585, of which the
Board contributed fully one-half. After he had laboured on for twenty-six
years in uninterrupted health illness set in one Sabbath evening in June 1894,
and his stately form was to be seen in the pulpit or in the Synod Hall no
more. He died on 23rd August, aged fifty-four. In May next year the
congregation brought up a call for Mr Donald Ross, who intimated that he
had accepted Westray.
Sz'xt/i Minister. — Alexander W. Black, from Berkeley Street,
Glasgow. Ordained, 12th September 1895. The membership at the close
of 1899 was 91, and the stipend from the people ^90, with the manse.
PORT-WILLIAM (Relief)
In the parish of Mochrum, in the southern division of Wigtownshire, the
Secession obtained a slight footing so early as 1746, as appears from what
is given under Kirkcowan, and it is likely that the Antiburgher congregation
of Wigtown had a few families in that district from the first. But it was not
till 1832 that the movement took shape which issued in the erection of what
is now the U.P. congregation of Port-William. At this time there were
about a dozen members of the Secession church at Whithorn residing in
the parish — the scanty remains of what had been. On ist May of that year
a number of the inhabitants were granted sermon by the Relief Presbytery
of Glasgow, and next year a church, with 330 sittings, was built. Port-
William had a population at this time of 400, and it is two miles from the
parish church.
First Minister.— GKOYt^Gls. WALKER, from Falkirk (West). Ordained,
29th May 1833. The stipend promised was ^90, with hopes of increase.
On 7th December 1835 Mr Walker stated to the Presbytery that it was
highly expedient his lalDours at Port-William should come to an end, and the
congregation, while regretting the circumstances which made this step
desirable, ofTered no objections. The Presbytery, on the ground that the
desire for separation was mutual, dissolved the relation. In Dr M'Kelvie's
Annals it is stated that Mr Walker now emigrated to America, and became
minister of a congregation in Dobbsferry, State of New York. All we know-
further with certainty is derived from the following newspaper notice : —
"Died at New York, loth February 1843, Rev. George Walker, a native of
Falkirk." His age was given as thirty-five.
Second Minister. — WiLLlAM Dunlop, from Irvine (Relief). Ordained,
2nd November 1836. The stipend at this time was ^100, and the member-
ship 1 10. In 1865 the congregation, under the impulse of the Synod's
scheme, set about building their first manse, which was done at the very
moderate figure of .^510, the Board granting ^250. Mr Dunlop, after
labouring on for nearly forty years, was so completely disabled by paralysis
hat only on one or two occasions did he take part in public work again.
A colleague thus became indispensable, and it was arranged that Mr Dunlop
should have his lifetime of the manse and an allowance of ^20 from the
congregation. They were to give the junior minister ;^5o, which it was
expected would be made up to ^220 from Central Funds and the Ferguson
^^.Bequest.
^B Third Minister. — JAMES Adam, from Lochee. Ordained, 28th August
■ si
i8 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
1877. It augured ill for the permanence of the relationship that within ten
months one of the members complained to the Presbytery about a letter he
had received from the minister, and Mr Dunlop concurred in the complaint.
The matter being looked into, and parties heard, the Presbytery enjoined
Mr Adam to withdraw the offensive document and apologise for having
penned it, a decision to which he submitted. Mr Dunlop died, 2nd November
1 88 1, the very day on which he had been ordained forty-five years before.
He was in the sixty-ninth year of his age. He had two brothers who
became U.P. ministers — Hugh, who was for a time in Bankhill Church,
Berwick * ; and James, who was first in Biggar (South) and then in Mother-
well.
Mr Adam was now sole pastor for five years, but in April 1886 a dispute
between him and the managers wrought on till it ended the connection. It
appears that at Mr Dunlop's death the manse needed repairs, and to stimu-
late the liberality of the congregation Mr Adam told the managers he would
let the ^25 go which they owed him for stipend if they raised the ^15
needed to put the house in proper order. They thanked him for his
generosity and agreed to the proposal, and the money was expended as
had been arranged. But, though they understood the debt to be cancelled,
Mr Adam explained that he only agreed to postpone the term of payment,
and the result was a display of acrimonious feeling, which, in the opinion of
the Presbytery's committee, gave little promise of either financial or spiritual
prosperity to the congregation. Mr Adam now felt constrained to demit
his charge, and, the commissioners from Port-William offering no opposi-
tion, the resignation was accepted on 9th November 1886. At the Synod
in 1888 he applied to be admitted to the probationer list, but it was pro-
nounced inexpedient to grant the application. Next year he craved a
recommendation, to be used by him in Queensland, but this also was refused.
His name again came up at the Synod in 1897, when he renewed his request
to have his name placed on the roll of probationers. It appeared that he
had been engaged in mission work under the Church Extension Com-
mittee at Victoria, where he was faithful in the discharge of his duties.
He had since returned to Scotland, and was in the membership of the U.P.
congregation at Bearsden. The decision come to was that, though he might
be employed as occasional supply, his name was not to be placed on the
regular list. Mr Adam retained his ministerial status all through from the
time he left Port-William.
Fourth Minister. — John Langlands, M.A., from Montrose (Knox's
Church). Ordained, 22nd June 1887. The membership had been somewhat
reduced within recent years, but the people were still to make their part of
the stipend ^70, with the manse. In the early part of 1900 circumstances
favoured a union with the Free Church congregation, an object much to be
desired, as the united membership would not have been more than 200. On
20th March the Presbytery, in answer to a request from the f^ree Presbytery
of Wigtown for an expression of opinion on the subject, intimated full
approval of what was proposed, and a joint committee was appointed to
confer with all concerned. It was found m the end that the U.P. congrega-
tion was willing to go into the union provided Mr Langlands were to be
retained, but this was a condition which the other congregation refused to
accept. It was vain to attempt pressing the matter further, and it was
* The Rfv. Hugh Dunlop was ordained at Berwick, 2nd August 1848 ; but the
cause refused to be revived, and he resigned, nth March 1851. After acting as a
probationer for three years he gave himself to mission work, first in Ayr, and after-
wards in connection with Queen's Park, Glasgow. He died, 31st January 1888,
aged seventy-one.
PRESBYTERY OF GALLOWAY 19
agreed that ordinances should be kept up in the Free Church by a retired
minister meanwhile, or in some similar way, and the door kept open for
resuming negotiations when better feelings should prevail. The names on
Mr Langlands' communion roll at that time numbered 83, and the stipend
from all sources was ^186, and the manse.
GATEHOUSE (United Secp:ssion)
The earliest attempt to form a Secession congregation in this place was
made in 1816. On 25th June of that year a gentleman in the locality
represented to the Burgher Presbytery of Annan by letter that circumstances
were favourable for entering on mission work there, and that a number of
people wished sermon in connection with the Secession. The Rev. John
Law of Newcastleton was accordingly sent to preach one or more Sabbaths
in that part of Galloway, and on 29th October a petition for occasional
supply followed, with 53 signatures. Supply was kept up with regularity two
Sabbaths each month till February 1818, when intimation came from the
people that, as they had no convenient place to meet in, preaching would
have to be discontinued for the time. A new church was in course of
erection at Gatehouse for the parish of Girthon, to supersede the now roofless
ruin which stands over two miles to the south, and this may have abated the
desire for sermon from any other quarter. Thus the scene closed, not to be
reopened till after a break of nineteen years.
The Secession Presbytery of Wigtown arranged on 20th February 1837
to have a preacher sent two Sabbaths to begin mission work in Gatehouse
as soon as convenient, and at next meeting Mr Towers of Wigtown stated
that he had addressed respectable audiences there on the second Sabbath
of March, and that supply should be provided for the whole of April. After
this reports that the station continued to prosper were brought in from time
to time, and in the summer of 1838 a site was looked out for a place of
worship. Three probationers were now located for periods of six months in
succession ; Mr A. R. Johnston, who left to be ordained at Duntocher ;
the Rev. David Hogg, formerly of Rattray ; and Mr Alexander Paterson,
afterwards of Dairy, in Galloway. The station was congreg^ated on 20th
February 1839, with a membership of about 50. The church, with 200
sittings, was to be opened on Sabbath, 24th May 1840, by the Rev. John
Young, M.A., of London, and, failing him, by Mr Johnston of Duntocher.
The cost seems to have been about ^390, of which the Board granted ;^ioo,
and the people raised ^130. The population at that time was about 20CX3.
The village is partly in the parish of Girthon and partly in that of Anwoth,
two parishes from which the congregation of Kirkcudbright, eight miles
distant, had about 20 adherents, young and old, so that there was some
Secession material to draw from. In August 1840 a call was addressed to
Mr Walter Muckersie, who, after taking time for deliberation, declined, and
was afterwards ordained at Ferry-Port-on-Craig.
First Minister. — JAMES FALCONER, from Glasgow (now Sydney Place).
The call was signed by 41 members and 36 adherents, and the stipend of
£60 from the people was to be made up to ^80 by a grant from the Mission
Board. Ordamed, 5th April 1842; and in 1845 the building was freed from
debt, the people raising ^80, and an equal sum being granted by the
Liquidation Board. On 30th March 1847 Mr F'alconer resigned his charge.
The membership was now reduced to 36 and the average attendance to
about 50. On 20th April the resignation was accepted, the Presbytery
recording it as their conviction that the decline had arisen from circum-
20 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
stances over which the minister had no control. They instanced the
removal of some who had taken a lively interest in the congregation, and
they also expressed disappointment at the want of steadfastness on the part
of others from whom better things might have been expected. Mr Falconer
was inducted as colleague at Spittal on nth July 1848, but resigned on
account of ill-health, loth October 1849, and died at Glasgow, 20th April
1851.
Second Minister. — John Thorburn, who under pressure accepted the
call, and was loosed from Dunning (Relief) that the way might be opened
for union between the two congregations there. Inducted, 14th January 1851.
This relationship lasted eight and a half years, and had then to be dissolved
owing to a serious act of forgetfulness on his part and deep dissatisfaction on
the part of his people. On 23rd August 1 859, after being rebuked, he was loosed
from his charge, and his name recommended to be put on the probationer
list. He itinerated as a preacher from September 1861 to December 1864,
and died in the Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, on 21st February 1865, in the
fiftieth year of his age. Mr Thorburn, so far as we can gather, and as
appears from some slight productions of his pen, was a preacher of more
than average ability, but somehow ill-fortune attended him in each of his
three successive charges.
Third Minister. — Andrew Clark, from Paisley (Thread Street). Or-
dained, 23rd October i860. The stipend from the people was ^60, and the
call was signed by 40 members and 16 adherents. Under his ministry com-
pacting went on, though there was no very great building up. Mr Clark
died at Largs, i6th July 1883, in the fifty-first year of his age and twenty-third
of his ministry. There was a membership at this time of "]"]., and the funds
yielded ^75 of stipend.
Fourth Minister. — Alexander B. Dykes, M.A., from Shamrock Street,
Glasgow. Ordained, 27th February 1884, and translated to Gorebridge, 4th
October 1887. With a declining population around numerical increase, even
under a young minister, was scarcely to be expected.
Fifth Minister. — James G. Clark, M.A., son of the Rev. John Clark of
Urr. Ordained, 15th Januar}^ 1889. At the close of 1899 there were 70
names on the communion roll, and the stipend from the people was ^70,
which was made up to ^206 in all by Supplement, Surplus, and ^40 from
the Ferguson Bequest Fund. There is no manse, and never has been.
KIRKCOWAN (United Secession)
The name of Kirkcowan, along with that of Mochrum, comes up in the old
Secession records so early as 7th October 1746, when an accession was
given in from some people in these parishes, and Mr John Swanston was
appointed to preach to them on his way to Ireland, and again some months
afterwards on his way back. Between these passing visits they had one
Sabbath filled up, and then they merge in the Associate congregation of
Galloway, with its seat in Wigtown. It was not till nearly a century after
that the Secession Presbytery of the bounds commenced evangelistic opera-
tions at Kirkcowan, a village at this time of 500 inhabitants. In the
Missionary Report for 1837 it is stated that the station began in 1835, the
circumstances being as follows : — A Baptist minister had been preaching in
the village for two years. Of those who had been waiting on his ministra-
tions about a dozen were deprived of their Christian privileges by the parish
church session for promoting "divisive courses." Joined by a number more
they had sermon from the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow from the middle of
I
PRESBYTERY OF GALLOWAY 21
October to the end of November 1835. Then the Secession Presbytery of
Wigtown stepped in, and agreed, on 20th September 1836, to send preachers
to Kirkcowan for six months, the meetings being held in a private house
fitted up for the purpose. On 21st March 1837 the supporters of the station,
to the number of 60, petitioned for regular supply during summer. The Rev.
Peter Hannay now ministered to them for some months while pausing
between Oban and Creetown. The feeble cause at Kirkcowan owed much
at this time to the minister and congregation of Eaglesham, who interested
themselves deeply in its welfare, and aided to the extent of ^30 a year.
First Minister. — Thomas Smah., from Ecclefechan, who got licence in
18 1 7, and after twenty years of probationer life might find it a relief to
undertake regular work even in a very humble sphere. His location at
Kirkcowan began in June 1838, and his salary was to Ije ^80 a year, and on
24th July he received ordination, the services being conducted in a tent.
It was deemed expedient to have Mr Small qualified to administer sealing
ordinances, but there was no pastoral bond formed. In another year the
station was congregated, there being a membership of about 70. Four
elders were next elected and ordained, but it was not till i6th July 1844
that Mr Smail was inducted. The call was signed by 33 members and 8
adherents. The stipend promised by the people was ^40, and Eaglesham
was to furnish ^10 for three years, and the Board was expected to grant
other ^10. Matters continued on this level for seventeen years ; but in
i860 the membership was down to 55, and the people could not offer more
than ^25 in addition to keeping their humble place of worship in repair.
But Mr Smail was now among infirmities, and on 17th April of that year
his resignation was accepted. He survived only nine days, dying on the
26th, in the sixty-ninth year of his age. The name figures in Thomas
Carlyle's Reminiscences, whose fellow-townsman he was, as well as fellow-
student,and at whose hand he g^ets contemptuous treatment. He speaks of him,
however, as having developed into " a flowery preacher," a description the
accuracy of which there is nothing to confirm. But we know at least that
Mr Smail held the fort faithfully at Kirkcowan for upwards of twenty years.
Second Minister. — John Dawson, from Queen Street, Edinburgh. Or-
dained, 26th June 1861. The stipend was ^40 from the people, ^30 from
the Board, and ^50 was expected from the Ferguson Fund. On i6th March
1862 the congregation took possession of a new church, with 220 sittings,
built at a cost of £700. It was opened by Dr MacGill, the Home Mission
Secretary, and was nearly free of debt. Four years afterwards a manse was
erected, which also cost ^700, of which ^385 was raised by the people or
their minister, and ^315 was granted them by the Board. Mr Dawson
died, 17th August 1871, after a long and painful illness, in the forty-sixth
year of his age and eleventh of his ministry. Those who knew Mr Dawson
when a divinity student can attest that he was a man of high-toned
Christian character.
T/iird Minister. — David F. Mitchell, from Carnwath. Ordained,
17th December 1872. The congregation prior to this had called, without
success, Mr Adam Gray, now of Kirn. Mr Mitchell, acting under medical
advice, demitted his charge before the third year of his ministry was com-
pleted, with the view of emigrating to a milder climate, and the connection
was dissolved, 21st September 1875. He is now minister of a Presbyterian
congregation in South Brisbane, Queensland.
Fourth Minister. — Alkxander Scott, B.D., from Quecnsferry. Or-
dained at Ballyfrenis, in Ireland, 12th March 1868, and inducted to Kirk-
cowan, i8th October 1876. Accepted Musselburgh (Bridge Street), 6th
June 1882. Kirkcowan membership had now come up from 68 to 83. A
22 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
short time after Mr Scott's removal the congregation called Mr William
Yule, who declined, and obtained Baillieston.
Fifth Minisfer.—V^l-LhlXM Henderson, from Selkirk (First). Ordained,
26th June 1883. At the close of 1899 there was a membership of 90, and a
stipend of £70 from the people, which was made up from the Ferguson
Bequest and Central Funds to ^186, with the manse.
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW
GREYFRIARS (Burgher)
On 13th December 1738 a petition signed by 83 persons, members of
Praying Societies in and about Glasgow, was presented to the Associate
Presbytery craving to be taken under their inspection. The first time they
had sermon was on Thursday, 26th April 1739, when the services were con-
ducted by Messrs Ebenezer and Ralph Erskine and Mr James Thomson of
Burntisland. As Ralph Erskine states in his Diary, two tents were erected
for them within two miles of the town. The Association had branches
already in Rutherglen, Gadder, and New Kilpatrick, and they were after-
wards joined by Praying Societies in Mearns, Neilston, Kirkintilloch, Old
Monkland, and other parishes around. The first session was constituted on
9th February 1740, and consisted of six elders and three deacons. Mean-
while there was occasional sermon at various places in the neighbourhood,
and even before acceding to the Presbytery an attempt was made to ascer-
tain what the several societies would subscribe for the maintenance of a
minister.
First Minister. — James Fisher, formerly of Kinclaven. Elected, 5th
June 1740, with great unanimity, 17 who had voted for Ralph Erskine
signing the call. For thirteen months the decision was put off from meeting
to meeting, Mr Moncrieff of Abernethy being bent on retaining Mr Fisher
in Kinclaven, but on 8th October 1741 he was inducted into his new charge.
Ebenezer Erskine, his father-in-law, preached from the text : " I have
ordained a lamp for mine anointed," and the sermon appears among the
author's published discourses. In addressing the people he brought in the
duty of proceeding with the erection of a regular place of worship. They
had been meeting for some time at Crossbill, and there the induction took
place, but on the first Sabbath of November 1742 they took possession of
the church they had built in Shuttle Street. Into the Controversy on the
Burgess Oath Mr Fisher threw himself with indignant warmth, and along
with Ralph Erskine took the lead on the side of forbearance. Adam Gib was
bold enough to impute the attitude he took up on this question to hostility
to Mr Moncrieff for having tried to fix him down at Kinclaven, and this
story was brought up in .Struthers' "History of Scotland" so late as 1828.
Mr Fisher published a pamphlet in 1748, entitled "A Serious Enquiry into
the Burgess Oaths of Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Perth," in which the subject
is reasoned out with comparative calmness. A year later he wrote another,
addressed to members of his congregation who had gone to form " The
Mother Antiburgher Church " in Glasgow. For his misdeeds by speech and
pen Mr Fisher was one of three selected at the outset to undergo the
sentence of the greater excommunication at the hands of the Antiburgher
Synod — " the first droppings of a thunder-shower." But before this he was
chosen by his own Synod to be their Theological Professor, an office which
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 23
he held till 1764, when failing strength and the demands of an overgrown
congregation compelled him to resign. Two years later, when he was
verging on threescore and ten, he expressed a strong desire to have the
help of a colleague, and also to see the congregation comfortably settled
before his death.
The first call came out in the early part of 1768. It was addressed to
the Rev James Clunie, who had been settled in Dundee only three months
before. The signatures numbered 1162, adherents included, but none of
them under the age of sixteen. The sad issue is^iven under the histoiy of
School Wynd, Dundee. A call followed in 1770 to Mr William Fletcher
signed by 564 and dissented from by 210. The Presbytery referred the call
to the Synod, by whom it was laid aside " as improper to be carried into
execution in the present embroiled state of the congregation." Bridge of
Teith became the scene of Mr Fletcher's labours.
Second Minister. — George Henderson, from Kinross (West). A rival
call from Cambusnethan was sustained on the same day, but Mr Henderson
was, with some reluctance, ordained colleague and successor to Mr Fisher
on 22nd August 1 77 1. His intimate friend, the Rev. George Lawson of
Selkirk, was present as a corresponding member, but it was not he who
preached the ordination sermon, as his biographer supposed. There were
three discourses preached on the occasion, but all by members of Presbytery,
as had been previously arranged. The stipend was to be ^80 meanwhile,
but should he become sole pastor it was to be raised to what the senior
minister had — ^100, with the manse. Mr Fisher died, 28th September 1775,
in the seventy-ninth year of his age and fiftieth of his ministry. Of his family
one daughter became the wife of her mother's cousin, the Rev. James
Erskine of Stirling ; another was married to Mr Erskine's successor, the
Rev. Robert Campbell, but they both died early ; a third was the mother of
the Rev. Dr Wardlaw of Glasgow ; and a fourth left an infant daughter a
few days old — Erskine Gray — who became the wife of the Rev. Ebenezer
Brown of Inverkeithing. A very faithfully prepared Life of Fisher by
Dr Brown of Broughton Place, Edinburgh, with a large amount of valuable
information drawn from original sources, forms a half volume of the " United
Presbyterian Fathers."
Of Mr Fisher's publications one, which appeared in 1742, relates to the
great Revival in the west of Scotland. It is very much an amplification
of the Associate Presbytery's judgment on George Whitefield as a priest
of the Church of England, whom it was wrong in the friends of a
covenanted reformation to countenance, and in it Mr Fisher, like his
brethren, deplored " the symptoms of delusion attending the present
awful work upon the bodies and spirits of men." The Secession Fathers
consistently set themselves against those physical manifestations which
some ascribed with confidence to the operations of the Spirit of God.
Twice effects of a similar kind showed themselves in their own congrega-
tions on communion occasions — once at Orwell and once at Abemethy,
under the preaching of the Rev. David Smyton of Kilmaurs — when "the
noise among the hearers was so great as to interrupt the progress of the
service ; but Mr Ralph Erskine, who was present, wisely put a stop to the
commotion by solemnly rebuking the people and warning them that nothing
extravagant or disorderly could be supposed to proceed from Divine
influence." * But it was by the Catechism which bears his name that
Mr Fisher did most service with his pen to the Secession Church and to
the cause of revealed truth. It is an exposition of the Shorter Catechism
by way of question and answer, and it did much in our fathers' days to
* Christian Repository for 1820, p. 168.
24 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
train both young and old to a master}' of sound theology. Of the book
itself Dr William Anderson wrote as follows : — " It is the glory of the
faith, the mental philosophy and the theology of Scotland. In scholastic
subtlety of distinction it ecjuals that of Aquinas and Scotus, while it is
clothed with a charm of piety, and advances with a power of scripture
proof in which they were so deficient."
After Mr Fisher's death Mr Henderson went on single-handed for five
years, but in March 1781 a petition for pulpit supply was presented by
the congregation to the J^resbytery "because of their minister's present
indisposition." For a time the pulpit was filled almost every Sabbath by
ordained ministers, and in a few months Mr Henderson expressed to the
session his felt need of a colleague. This was followed by a request for
a moderation, the stipend of the junior pastor to be ^100.
Third Mittister. — Alexander Pirie, from Linlithgow, where he had
been ordained only a year and a half before. Inducted, nth June 1782.
Mr Henderson was so far recovered that he preached and presided on
the occasion. He may also have been able to take a regular share of
the work at first, but in August of the following year Mr Lawson of
Selkirk wrote him : " I am sorry to hear that you are still in a poor
state of health, but glad, at the same time, to hear that you do not murmur
at the hand by which you are afflicted." But there is nothing in the letter
to indicate the prospect of ultimate recovery. The end must have been
sudden. Dr M'Kelvie states in a note appended to his Life of Michael
Bruce that Mr Henderson preached on Sabbath and died on the following
Thursday. This answers to the 2nd of December 1784, the date given in
the Scots Magazine. He was in the thirty-ninth year of his age and
fourteenth of his ministry. Mr Henderson was a close friend of Bruce,
and his name is well known in that connection. It is to him that the
poet refers in his " Lochleven " as " Lelius I partner of my youthful hours."
Five of Mr Henderson's sermons were put into print by his son, with a
brief Memoir prefixed, so late as 1859. His widow, a daughter of Bailie
Buchanan, Greenock, survived her husband fifty-three years.
Ten years after Mr Pirie was left sole pastor the congregation got deeply
involved in the controversy about the magistrate's power, and petitions
against interference with the Formula went up to successive meetings of
Synod, one of them subscribed by 109 members. As the crisis drew on the
session was troubled by members betaking themselves for baptism to Pollok-
shaws, where Old Light views prevailed. For nearly a year before the rupture
in the Synod the dissatisfied party in Glasgow formed themselves into a
society, and were holding meetings " for prayer and conversation." They
issued a strongly expressed manifesto on the Original Principles of the
Secession, with charges of apostasy against the Synod in general and certain
of their leaders in particular.* This party had two retired ministers among
them, both of whom were from Shuttle Street — the Rev. John Thomson,
recently of Kirkintilloch ; and the Rev. George Thomson, who had been in
Rathillet long before. So the Original Burgher congregation in Glasgow
sprung into existence 500 strong. The withdrawals in 1799 must have
thinned the pews of Shuttle Street Church, though it is too much to say
that they reduced the congregation to "a shadow." When the worst was
coming it was resolved to have Mr Pirie provided with a colleague, the
stipend to be ^160. The Rev. Ebenezer Brown of Inverkeithing was first
fixed on ; but he was averse to a change, and the Synod in April 1800 de-
ggided accordingly.
SynoThis "Testimony " is dated 18th January 1799, nine months before any member
chosen i gave in a declinature-
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 25
Fourth Minister. — John Dick, M.A., who had been fourteen years in
Slateford. Inducted, 21st May 1801. While the collegiate relation lasted
Mr Dick used to conduct service on Sabbath evening once a month. Hence
his able volume of Lectures on the Acts of the Apostles, published in 1808.
But Mr Pirie died, 28th February 1810, in the sixty-second year of his age
and thirty-sixth of his ministry, and these services were discontinued. In 181 5
Mr Dick obtained the degree of D.D. from Princeton College, New Jersey.
In 1817 Shuttle Street stipend was ^320, the highest received by any Dis-
senting minister in Glasgow. In April 1820 Dr'Dick was appointed Pro-
fessor of Theology, an office which he accepted with much reluctance.
During the first session he had only the Burgher students in his class, but
afterwards, owing to Professor Paxton's refusal to concur in the Union, he
had both sections under his care. This continued till 1825, when there were
154 in attendance, and that year Dr Mitchell was appointed to the Chair of
Biblical Criticism, relieving Dr Dick of the first and second year students.
On 1 8th November 1821 Greyfriars Church was opened, with 1500 sittings,
built at a cost of ^8300. The collection was ^260, which a newspaper of
the day spoke of as " the largest sum ever collected on such an occasion in
Glasgow." The Professor died after a very brief illness on 25th January
1833, in the sixty-ninth year of his age and forty-seventh of his ministry.
It was apoplexy in the end, and, "such were the rapid advances of disease,"
wrote Dr Heugh, "that I could not have recognised the well-known face of
Dr Dick." His Lectures on Theology were published a year after his death,
in four volumes, which used to hold a high place in the examination of
students and in the manses of the U.P. Church. The Biography prefixed
was written by his son, Mr A. Coventry Dick, advocate, the author of a
masterly "Dissertation on Church Polity," which appeared in 1835 as a
contribution to the discussion on Voluntaryism. Dr Dick was a son-in-law
of the Rev. George Coventry of Stitchel.
Fifth Minister. — David King, translated from Dalkeith, where he had
been little more than three years. At their meeting in September 1833 the
Synod decided that in the case of transporting or competing calls the
decision shall be left to the individual more particularly concerned, and
accordingly Mr King's preference was endorsed without a vote. It was the
end of the old dispensation, and Greyfriars induction took place, 15th
October 1833. As the call was signed by only 454 members it would seem
that the congregation had come down from what it used to be. Dr Dick
was too thoughtful and self-restrained to be aboundingly popular, and as
years advanced he may have waned before younger men. But now there
was the setting in of a springtide of prosperity, which declined only with
Dr King's decline. In 1836 the communicants numbered 820, and there
was a stipend of ^370. The congregation was also expending ^60 a year
on the missionary station at Oban, besides paying an annuity of ^100 to
Dr Dick's widow. In 1840 Dr King published a pamphlet on the Voluntary
question, entitled " The True Independence of the Church of Christ." In the
Atonement Controversy he also figured, taking his stand on the side of
forbearance, and all the while there was the high standard of pulpit efficiency
maintained. "The sun of his intellectual power, I am afraid, shines too
bright to last long," was a lady's verdict when his Glasgow ministry opened ;
but year after year the work went on amidst nervous tension and a great
amount of mental tear and wear. We think now, If he had but learned to
rest, and rest in time ; but even when abroad in 1848 his pen was all activity,
and this was followed by his volume on the " State and Prospects of
Jamaica." That same year appeared his "Geology and Religion," which
passed rapidly through five editions. In 1854 we read, with painful interest,
26 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
of his powers being so strung up that even in sleep a sermon would be
composed, to be traced out in pencil before it faded from the tablets of the
mind. Then the fainting, the restlessness, and the long, deep, deathlike
slumber. We recall what he wrote of John Bright, whom he once met at
a hydropathic in Yorkshire : " He has overdone his brain, and is here, a
nervous patient, dispirited, tremulous, and disabled." On 13th March 1855
Dr King wrote the Presbytery intimating his wish, on account of impaired
health, to retire from the active superintendence of Greyfriars congregation.
The arrangement come to was that he should retain his status, and receive
an allowance of £2)7o for two years, and afterwards ^270. This leads us
on to the retreat at Kilcreggan, where work was resumed on a quiet scale,
and where we shall take up the broken thread. It is enough to add here
that Dr King's resignation was accepted on 27th October 1862, that he
might accept a call to London (Westbourne Grove).
In April 1855 Greyfriars congregation presented to the Rev. John Cairns
of Berwick what was described as the only perfectly unanimous call that
church had ever given, but Glasgow was to be baffled, as Edinburgh had
been already. At the next moderation the Rev. James Knox of Ayr was
carried over the Rev. Alexander MacEwen of Helensburgh by a majority
of 63. The call was declined, and in a few months Mr Knox was brought
in to Pollok Street, and Mr MacEwen to Claremont Church, which
may have told doubly on the membership of Greyfriars. When a moderation
was next applied for the stipend was made ^400 instead of ^500.
Sixth Minister. — Henry Calderwood, M.A., from Edinburgh (Rose
Street), but a native of Peebles. Ordained, i6th September 1856. Mr
Calderwood had acquired distinction before the close of his theological
course by his well-known work on the " Philosophy of the Infinite," in
which he tried conclusions on high themes with his old professor Sir
William Hamilton. Though weighted with the cares of a large congrega-
tion he was not turned aside from his favourite study, as his article on
John S. Mill's Utilitarianism in the British and Foreign for 1867 attested.
Another article, on Professor Ferrier of St Andrews, which appeared soon
after, is perhaps in its own way the most masterly thing he ever penned.
Two years before this Glasgow University had conferred on him the degree
of LL.D., and in 1868 he was appointed Professor of Moral Philosophy
in the University of Edinburgh. His resignation of Greyfriars Church
was accepted on 8th September of that year, and he girt himself for onerous
duties of another kind, though he never turned his back upon his former
profession or his denominational connection. In 1880 he was Moderator
of the U.P. Synod. He also edited the denominational magazine from
1884 to i8gr, and contributed largely to its columns, without emolument
or reward. But the side work he undertook along with his regular round
of duty told upon the springs of life ; the heart's functions got disturbed, and
he died suddenly on 19th November 1897, in the sixty-eighth year of his
age. A list of Professor Calderwood's published works, ending with his
unfinished Life of David Hume for the Famous Scots Series, need not
be inserted here. His Life, with its wide range of activity, has been befit-
tingly given to the public by his son, Mr W. L. Calderwood, Edinburgh,
and his son-in-law, the Rev. David Woodside, B.D., Glasgow.
Seventh Mi7iister. — JAMES BUCHANAN, translated from Linlithgow
(West), where he had been six years. Inducted, 29th April 1869. Loosed
from his charge, 26th May 1881, having been chosen by the Synod to
succeed Dr MacGill as Foreign Mission Secretary. Mr Buchanan's business
talents, along with a serious inbreak on his health, recommended his trans-
ference to this situation, the duties of which he has since discharged with
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 27
systematic efficiency. During this vacancy the congregation called
Mr Walter Brown ; but the youngest congregation in Edinburgh was to
be his choice and not the oldest congregation in Glasgow.
Eighth Minister. — William S. Goodall, M.A. from Stewarton, where
he had ministered for five years. Inducted, 12th September 1883. As the
position was known to be difficult he was invited in 1890 to remove to
Dunbeth, Coatbridge, but remained in Greyfriars. Though the congrega-
tion is changed from what it was in Dr King's time there was a membership
of nearly 700 at the close of 1899, and the stipend was ^520.
CATHEDRAL SQUARE (Antiburgher)
This is " The Mother Antiburgher Church in Glasgow " in a new domicile
and under a new name. It began in the withdrawal of certain "burgesses
and others" from the ministry of Mr Fisher at the Breach of 1747. On
6th August of that year the Antiburgher Synod received a petition from a
considerable number of Glasgow congregation craving advice, supply, and
"a constitute session." All they obtained, meanwhile, was liberty to receive
sealing ordinances from neighbouring ministers. In this state matters con-
tinued till Mr Mair of Orwell was appointed to preach to them on the first
Sabbath of June and intimate that their former minister was under sus-
pension. He was also to constitute two elders and two deacons into a session
if it were thought necessary. In 1749 the Praying Societies were told to look
out for six elders and four deacons. One elder was needed for the parish of
Monkland, another for Cambuslang, and a deacon for the parish of Cadder.
The congregation met at this time in a hall in what is now Queen Street. In
February 1752 the Synod refused to sustain a call from Glasgow to Mr
Alexander Niramo as it was given by "a scrimp majority," and he was
ordained soon after at Newcastle (now Blackett Street). [Vol. I. page 567.]
First Minister. — JOHN J.\MlE.sON, from Craigmailen. His father was a
farmer near Linlithgow, of whom Dr George Johnston has said : " It is a
singular fact that this man, the father and grandfather of two Antiburgher
ministers, was himself a rigid Episcopalian, and died a churchwarden of the
vicar of Riccarton." At the close of his theological course in 1751 the
Presbyter)' of Perth and Dunfermline were instructed to take Mr Jamieson
•on trials for licence that he might undertake a mission to Pennsylvania ; but
a call from Glasgow came in, and his ordination took place, iith January
1753. Next year ground was bought in Havannah Street, on which to build
a church. Mr Jamieson laboured on for seventeen years, generally conduct-
ing three services each Lord's Day, but on the third Sabbath of May 1770
he was seized with palsy in the pulpit. The congregatipn were annoyed to
find that some people ascribed this serious and sudden illness of their
minister to the amount of work they had laid upon him, and, since "from
the nature of his trouble it was the universal opinion he would never be able
in the best state of health to discharge his functions as formerly," a colleague
was the inevitable resource. Mr Jamieson, who was feeling himself greatly
better, looked with disfavour on the proposal ; but, seeing the people fixed
in their purpose, he expressed concurrence. His stipend had been /70,
but they were now to make it ^80, and the junior colleague was to have ^60.
Second Minister. — James Ramsay, from Whitehaven. Like Mr Jamieson,
he had been fixed on for America, but in him Presbyter}- and Synod had a
refractor)' subject to deal with. Under pressure he accepted ordination on
1st August 1770, but with the proviso that he would go "only if he could by
any means get over his difficulties." These thickened in as time passed ;
28 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
and he was, moreover, in demand for Glasgow, to say nothing of his native
congregation at Whitehaven. For resistance to his superiors he was sus-
pended for a time from preaching, but when the sentence ran out the Synod
appointed him to the Havannah. He was inducted on 30th June 1772, the
call being signed by 237 male members. From Mr Ramsay's pamphlet of
390 pages, entitled " Conscience Disburdened in a Flight from Persecution,"
we can trace through a dark-coloured medium the windings of his ministerial
life. He possessed rare pulpit gifts, but they were linked to a most unhappy
temperament. None the less, and largely through the influx of Seceders
into Glasgow, the congregation prospered and the church required to be
greatly enlarged. Mr Ramsay, by his own showing, was amidst down-
bearing labours. For several summers there were three services on Sabbath,
and a discourse on Thursday evening, and his colleague could never take
more than one service, and during the inclement season he only preached
on alternate Sabbaths. For himself, he made a point of visiting his whole
congregation of 900 members once a year, except the families in Anderston,
where Mr Jamieson resided. This work engaged him more or less three
days every week during five months in winter and the early spring.
The setting up of a congregation in Anderston fretted Mr Ramsay, though
he tells that he opened their church, concurred in Mr Mitchell's ordination,
"and promised himself better days than he had feared." But offences
came owing to parties on the Havannah side crossing the dividing line at
Jamaica Street and worshipping at Anderston. While he was in this un-
happy state of mind Mr Jamieson died on 15th December 1793, in the
sixty-eighth year of his age and forty-first of his ministry. Mr Ramsay
being unreliable for regular pulpit work some of the people began in a very
few years to talk of a colleague.
Third Minister. — Robert Muter, from Strathaven, where he had been
brought up in the Established Church, but joined the Secession when a
student. Having obtained licence in March 1799 he preached in the
Havannah, and the first discourse he gave was delivered, we read, with all
the " readiness and vivacity of popular oratory, and in a capital voice, which
had been a great desideratum among the preachers." After a further trial of
his gifts the call came out with comparative unanimity to Mr Muter, and
was preferred by the Synod to another from Leslie (West). The senior
minister was to have ^140 and the junior ^130. But Mr Ramsay's ill-
disguised aversions were now to burst forth and bear down every semblance
of his better nature. Believing that there was a lion in the way Mr Muter
drew back from ordination at Glasgow, and was even drawn into corre-
spondence with Leslie ; but at last he accepted the call, and Mr Ramsay
instantly resigned. Remonstrances followed, and there was delay from one
meeting to another. On 8th April 1800 the culmination was reached. That
day Mr Ramsay opened out before the Presbytery what he called his
Defence, a bulky document consisting of eighty-six large quarto pages. At
the first sederunt he overtook twenty-four pages, dealing with Mr Muter's
delinquencies in seven divisions. Then there was an adjournment till six
o'clock, when he commenced anew before an audience of, he supposed, 2000
people. Other thirty-three pages brought them to nine or ten o'clock, when
he needed to pause, having been " on his feet all day, and reading^ as loud
as he usually spoke from the pulpit." Other matters occupied him till nearly
midnight. His brethren bore up wonderfully, and after he concluded they
thought it best to refer the whole affair to the Synod.
When the Synod met in April Mr Ramsay was not present, and instead
of taking up the case they appointed the Presbytery to meet on 13th May
along with correspondents from other Presbyteries. The congregation
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 29
having agreed, with only five dissentient voices, to oppose the resignation
no longer the connection was dissolved, and next day Mr Ramsay "went
home to his house with a serious but an easy and serene mind, and a glad
heart." He now spent his Sabbaths at home. He had been sitting loose
to. Secession principles for many years, and he now set himself to examine
the foundations of Presbyterianism, with the result that the whole fabric
crumbled into ruins among his hands. A book followed on the Nature,
Constitution, and Administration of Gospel Churches. He was an out-and-
out Independent now, and, some of his former people having gathered round
him, they met for public worship in the Trades' Hall, and formed a church
of about 30 members. We are quite prepared to hear after this that " Mr
Ramsay preached with astonishing power three times every Sabbath for
several months." This would go on while the excitement lasted, and then
there would be the reaction. The fact that he had renounced his witnessing
.profession with serious aggravations was brought before the Synod, and he
tfas deposed, ist May 1801. In 1802 his health failed, and Mr William
['Gavin, the author of" The Protestant," though only a layman, was installed
his colleague. But though the little company had now a chapel of their
5wn in Hutchesontown there was gradual decline, and in 1807 Mr M 'Gavin
isigned, and Mr Ramsay, it is to be inferred, withdrew into private life. In
parting with him let us record Mr M'Gavin's testimony to his merits : "All
le old Seceders who knew him in his prime, and who have conversed with
le on the subject, have confessed that as a preacher they never heard his
6qual." Mr Ramsay died at Rothesay, 12th August 1824, in the seventy-
seventh year of his age. His old congregation paid him an annuity to the
close. All we know of his family is that his eldest son. Captain James
"lamsay of the Columbian Navy, encountered a sad fate. The Glast^ow
ierald recorded in February 1826 that, when asleep in his bed on ship-
sard, he was assassinated by his gunner, who immediately terminated his
)wn existence.
Of Mr Ramsay's controversial writings the first was a goodly pamphlet,
jublished in 1778, entitled "The Relief Scheme Considered," in which he
Struck out against Free Communion, and was at the opposite pole from
Independency. This involved him in warfare with the Rev. Patrick Hutchison
Df Paisley, and led to a second publication of a similar kind. In 1782 he
lingled in the "Lifter" Controversy, recommending forbearance in his
[" Irenicum," But in the end his pen got ample employment in the opening
)ut of his own grievances and in bitter and sometimes amusing animadver-
sions on all and sundry.
Mr Muter was ordained, 14th August 1800. There were numerous
k^ithdrawals from the membership at first, but there was also rapid increase,
ind on 29th November 1801 a new church was opened, fronting Duke Street,
nth sittings for 1224, and built at a cost of ^4500. In 1817 there was a
[stipend of ^280. The word "ambitious" has been applied to Mr Muter in
those days, and his discourses seem to have had more of the high-wrought
Style than was common in Antiburgher pulpits. In 1832 he had the degree
of D.D. from Rutger's College, New Brunswick. But two years before this
le had been promoted to the rank of senior minister in Duke Street, though
le was not quite threescore. At this point the congregation entered on a
[train of experiences altogether unique.
Fourth Minister. — Walter Duncan, son of the Rev. Alexander Duncan
[of Mid-Calder. Appointed by the Synod to Glasgow in preference to Dum-
[barton, and ordained as colleague to Mr Muter, 17th June 1830, each
linistcr to have ^240. Deposed, 14th April 1835, and submitted to the
sentence in 9 penitential spirit. Further reference to Mr Duncan will come
30 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
up in connection with the churches in East Regent Place and Pariiamentary
Road.
Fifth Minister. — Hamilton M. MacGill, from Mauchline. Chose Glas-
gow in preference to Buchlyvie and Thornliebank, and was ordained on 2nd
February 1837. In little more than three years we are among the normal
workings of a collegiate charge. By that time about three-eighths of the
names on the communion roll had been added since the commencement
of Mr MacGill's ministry, and it became evident that among them there was
a growing wish to have the senior minister thrust into the background.
Amidst strong opposition from the majority this was followed by the dis-
junction of a large party from Duke Street on loth November 1840, with
Mr MacGill for their minister, but this belongs to the history of Woodlands
Road Church. Dr Muter was now left sole pastor again, but that was only
to be for a few months. Twice had disruption cut down the membership,
but now there was to be a repairing of the breaches by amalgamation.
Sixth Minister. — John Graham, brought in, along with his people,
from Blackfriars Street Relief Church. At a meeting of Presbytery on 9th
March 1841 the two ministers and commissioners from both congregations
had declared their wish for coalescence. Difficulties came up, but these
were got over, and the union took place on 25th March 1841. After sermon
the questions of the Formula were put to Dr Muter and Mr Graham, and
the people having signified their acceptance of both as their ministers by
holdmg up the right hand Mr Graham was set apart by prayer to the
collegiate charge of the congregation. At next meeting of Synod the
ministers who examined the Minutes of Presbytery reported that they con-
sidered the proceedings in this case "not only as most anomalous but
irregular and unconstitutional in the highest degree, inasmuch as there does
not appear to have been either a call given or an edict served." Dr Muter
died, 5th May 1842, in the seventy-first year of his age and forty-second of
his ministry. He was a son-in-law of the Rev. Andrew Mitchell of Beith
and a brother-in-law of Dr Mitchell of Wellington Street.
We come now to a third disruption in Duke Street. A certain newspaper
had come out with the report of a congregational banquet held in the
Assembly Rooms, at which the rules of propriety were infringed, and on
nth February 1845 Mr Graham asked the Presbytery to investigate into this
matter. The committee of inquiry reported in April that the meeting,
besides being unduly prolonged, had been disfigured by spirit-drinking and
story-telling, with an utter absence of edifying entertainment. A sentence
of strong condemnation, was to be read from the pulpit, and inquiries
affecting the minister were also to be instituted. On 15th July a libel was
framed ; but on the 23rd Mr Graham renounced the authority of the Presby-
tery, and on 9th September he was declared no longer a minister or member
of the United Secession Church. He made no attempt to retain possession
of Duke Street pulpit, but withdrew to the Lyceum Rooms with a consider-
able number of his people. A church was afterwards built for him in
Barrack Street, to which we shall come shortly.
Seventh Minister. — Alexander Duncan, the eldest brother of Mr
Walter Duncan. The congregation was much reduced in numbers, and for
their encouragement the Presbytery agreed to occupy Duke Street pulpit Ijy
turns every alternate Sabbath. Amalgamation was now arranged for with the
congregation of East Regent Place, Mr Duncan, the minister there, being
to remove with his people to Duke Street on 9th December 1845, but the
particulars come in more fitly in connection with the winding-up of East
Regent Place Church. Mr Duncan died, 27th February 1853, in the fifty-
first year of his age and twenty-sixth of his ministry. The first-born of the
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 31
six brothers, he was also the first to be called away. He had been seized
with apoplexy at a children's soiree in the church on the preceding
Thursday, and died on Sabbath forenoon.
Eighth Minister. -]o\in Brown Johnston, from Kirkcaldy (Bethel-
field), his second charge, where he had been junior colleague six years.
The call was signed by 129 members and 22 adherents, which shows how
much this old congregation had suffered and how little coalescence had
done to repair its ruined fortunes. The stipend named was ^200, but, fore-
casting better days if the call were accepted, they came up other ^50.
Inducted, 26th January 1854. Had the degree of D.D. from Hamilton
College, State of New York, in i860. Four years after this Dr Johnston
declined a call to Dublin ; but on 12th September 1868 he was translated to
Govan, leaving Duke Street congregation in something of its early strength.
Niftth Minister. — Matthew Crawford, from Sanquhar (South), where
he was ordained eleven years before. The stipend was now ^450, and this
call, in contrast with the former, was signed by 516 members and 159
adherents. Inducted, i8th March 1869. The present church in Cathedral
Square, with nearly 1000 sittings, and built at a cost of ^20,000, was
opened, 30th May 1880. The old building had been sold to the North
British Railway Company two years before, and brought ^18,500, but of this
sum ^5000 went for the new site. In January 1886 it was stated to the
Presbytery that Mr Crawford, finding himself unable for ministerial duty,
had agreed to accept a yearly allowance of ^75, and was to be freed from all
responsibility
Tenth Minister. — Joseph L. Skerret, translated from School Wynd,
Dundee, which was his third charge, and inducted, 5th August 1886, his
stipend to be ^375. Shortly after this Mr Crawford went to reside in Partick,
partly, perhaps, to give his colleague greater freedom. But when a retired
minister goes beyond the bounds of his congregation his former services and
his present claims are in danger of passing into the background. Whatever
may have been the explanation in this case complications arose, which led
ultimately to the appointment of a Synodical Commission to meet with
parties and give judgment. An adjustment was arrived at through Mr
Crawford consenting to accept ^250 in satisfaction of all claims. Five years
later a larger commission, entrusted with more important work, visited
Cathedral Square, and on 24th May 1894 they suspended the Rev. J. L.
Skerret from office si7te die., on the ground of culpable imprudence, and
loosed him from his charge.
When Glasgow Presbytery decided on 3rd April 1894 to proceed against
Mr Skerret by libel they interdicted him from exercising the functions of his
office meanwhile ; but next Sabbath he and his adherents worshipped in the
Argyle Halls, Duke Street, and his explanation was that instead of preaching
he conducted evangelistic services. There they continued to assemble
regularly, and after sentence of suspension sine die was passed a number of
ihis sympathisers from Cathedral Square Church demanded a meeting of the
congregation to take up a resolution for the immediate sale of the property.
This being refused by the session, of whom ten elders kept by the congrega-
jlion, while only one or two followed Mr Skerret, the case passed into the civil
courts. The impression of the pursuers appears to have been that if they
inly got the merits under the notice of the Lords of Session all would be put
llo rights. There was failure at eveiy stage, and the expenses to the gainmg
Jarty reached ^207, of which the Synod relieved them. As the result of
recent events, it was stated that the congregation had been reduced by about
f^a half, and its financial resources correspondingly impaired. In September
1894 they called the Rev. John Forsyth of Kilwmning, who declined.
32 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Eleventh Minister. — James Primrose, M.A., translated from Broxburn,
where he had laboured nearly fifteen years. Inducted, 25th April 1895. In
the following December the membership was 375 ; whereas three years before
it was returned at 807. The stipend was to be ^300. In 1896 Mr Primrose
published " The Mother Antiburgher Church of Glasgow," being a compre-
hensive yet carefully minute history of his own congregation, written and
arranged in a way that makes it verj' attractive. This was followed in 1898
by "Strathbrock ; or, the History and Antiquities of the Parish of Uphall," a
book of wide antiquarian research, for which native aptitudes are required.
The volume was favourably reviewed by the Press, and the author shortly
afterwards elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, Scotland. At the
Union the membership of Cathedral Square came close on 600, and the
stipend was ^350.
KELVINGROVE (Relief)
This congregation represents the original Relief Church in Glasgow. In
1763 the magistrates of the city were declared by the Lord Commissioners
for the planting of churches to be the exclusive patrons to vacant parishes
in the town, and a presentation to the Wynd Church was issued on this
footing soon after and carried into effect. These proceedings gave great
offence to many, as the General Session, or the session of the vacant parish,
used to share the right of nomination. This led to the erection of a chapel
in Cannon Street, with 1800 sittings, which was designated " The Meeting-
House of the Free Presbyterian Society." The church was opened on
17th August 1766 by Mr Baine of College Street, Edinburgh. Two months
before this the congregation had been taken under the inspection of the
Relief Presbytery, but when they proceeded to fix on a minister difficulties
arose. Boston of Jedburgh was first thought of, but in September he wrote
them, stating that he could not see his way to remove to Glasgow. How-
ever, the proposal to have his son from Alnwick inducted as his colleague,
should the call be accepted, was favourably entertained, and on that under-
standing Boston preached a day in Cannon Street, but at a meeting on
28th October a motion for delay was carried by 112 to 89. We find from
Gillespie's manuscripts that he officiated in Glasgow on Sabbath, 21st
December, and intimated a moderation for the following Wednesday ; but
it must have come to nothing, and within two months Mr Boston died.
First Minister. — William Cruden, M.A., who had been ordained at
Logie-Pert, 12th September 1753. Mr Cruden was the choice of Logie parish,
Stirlingshire, in 1759, but patronage prevailed in favour of another. The
Evenitig Courant of nth April 1767 announced that on Tuesday last Mr
Cruden of Logie, near Montrose, was unanimously chosen to be minister
of the Relief Church, Glasgow ; and he was inducted on i6th June following.
Having no session he gave in to the Presbytery on 9th November a list
of those deemed suitable for elders and deacons, and he was empowered
to serve an edict and proceed to their ordination. When the question of
Free Communion came before the Relief Synod in 1773 Mr Cruden, along
with Mr Cowan of Colinsburgh, took up strongly conservative ground, and,
when it was carried that it accorded with Relief principles to hold occasional
communion with Episcopalians and Independents, he withdrew from further
connection. In the beginning of 1774 he became minister of Crown Court
Church, London, where he remained till his death, on 5th November 1785.
His tombstone in Bunhill burying-place gives his age as sixty, and in Wilson's
History of Dissenting Churches in London he is characterised as "a worthy
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 33
;ind respectable minister, of approved talents and piety, and lived in London,
greatly respected by his brethren." He was the author of a collection of
iiymns, entitled " Nature Spiritualised," and a volume of his sermons was
published in 1787.
On 17th April 1774, as we find from a newspaper report, it was carried
by a majority of Mr Cruden's former congregation to apply to the Established
Church to have their place of worship placed on the footing of a Chapel of
I^ase, members retaining the right to choose their own minister. The terms
were agreed to, and on 8th May " The Meeting-house of the Free Presby-
tciian Society " was opened as a church under the inspection of the Established
Tresbytery of Glasgow. On the following Tuesday a section of the members
petitioned the Relief Presbytery to be recognised as a forming congregation,
which was done, and thus the continuity was preserved. Next year they
built Dovehill Church, at a cost of ;^i88o, with sittings for 1400.
Second Minister. — Thomas Bell, from Jedburgh (High Street), where
he had laboured for nine years. The translation was twice forbidden by the
Relief Synod, though Mr Bell pleaded his unhappy situation, and Jedburgh
people did not wish to retain him against his will. Mr Bell and Dovehill
congregation took the matter into their own hands, and without formal
recognition by any Church Court he entered on his ministry at Glasgow,
and for nearly three years he and his people were out of all ecclesiastical
connection. On 17th January 1780 they applied to the Presbytery to be
readmitted, but this could not be done without the infliction of sharp
censure. On ist March, besides rebuke, in which the commissioners shared,
Mr Bell was suspended from office for two Sabbaths. The guilt of rebellion
being now wiped out Dovehill congregation came forward on 14th April
with a call to the Rev. Thomas Bell, " late minister of Jedburgh," which was
at once accepted, and his induction followed on the 28th. The Church
Courts of the Relief never again exercised authority in the case of a trans-
porting call, with one notable exception at Auchtergaven.
In the latter part of 1797 the congregation was called to consider what
they were to do owing to their minister's inability to preach. When waited
on he gave it as his opinion that help was needed, but declined to be
more specific. He was so infirm that he could not even write his brethren
for assistance, and the Society was left to provide pulpit supply as it best
could. The proposal carried to have a colleague, who should receive ^140,
the stipend which Mr Bell had and was to retain. Before proceeding to an
election a remarkable Article in the Constitution was read to the congrega-
tion. The elders in a body were to vote first, then the managers, then the
committee chosen by the congregation, and, last of all, the communicants and
proprietors, being members. At the first moderation Mr Watt of Blairlogie
had a majority in whatever way the balance may have been struck, but the
session, managers, and committee agreed to desist from the prosecution.
The congregation, however, did not acquiesce, and though the Presbytery
sustained the call Mr Watt refused to accept. It bears the marks of a
contest between the classes and the masses. From this point dates the
origin of Hutchesontown on the one hand and John Street on the other.
Third Minister. — John Brodie, from Aberdeen, where he was ordained
eighteen years before, and where he was described by Dr George Brown as
"the popular minister of the Relief congregation, Shiprow." Inducted on
nth October 1798 as colleague to Mr Bell. Invited back to Aberdeen
within six months, but remained in Dovehill. After a time Mr Bell was able
to take some share of public work ; but he died, 15th October 1802, in the
sixty-ninth year of his age and thirty-fifth of his ministry. He was a weighty
preacher, with more of the doctrinal in his discourses than was usual among
n. c
I
34 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
his brethren of the Relief. His publications include "A Treatise on the
Nature and EfTects of Saving Faith " and " Discourses on the Supreme
Deity of Jesus Christ." He even approximated to the Antiburgher standard
on certain points, being opposed to the use of hymns and paraphrases in
public worship, besides writing with vigour in defence of Covenanting. He
translated Witsius on the Antinomian and Neonomian Controversies, and
his scholarship is attested by his translation from the Dutch of Dr Wynpersse
on " The True and Eternal Godhead of our Lord Jesus Christ." *
After becoming sole pastor Mr Brodie received a yearly gift of ^50 or
^60 in addition to the regular salary of ^140. He died, 7th October 181 1,
in the sixty-first year of his age, according to the Scots Magazine^ and thirty-
second of* his ministry. All that remains of his pulpit work is a sermon,
entitled " The Preaching of the Gospel the great Means of Salvation,"
published the year he left Aberdeen. His son was long minister of the
Relief Church, East Campbell Street.
Fourth Minister. — JOHN Barr, from Beith (Head Street). A prior call
to Langholm (South) led to sundry complications, which are given in their
own place. Ordained, 24th March 18 12, the stipend to be ^200, which was
raised to ^270 in 181 5. Mr Barr was laid aside from all public work by a
sudden stroke of illness in June 1831, and though he survived for a number
of years he never preached again. He was the author of " Plain Catechetical
Instructio.ns for Young Communicants," a little book which ran through at
least sixteen editions. But a colleague being required now to take the entire
work, the congregation called the Rev. John French of Strathaven, who
declined, much to the Presbytery's regret.
Fifth Minister. — WiLLiAM Lindsay, who had been ordained at John-
stone two and a half years before. Inducted, 22nd November 1832. At
the close of 1836 Mr Lindsay's stipend was £,110., and Mr Barr had a
yearly allowance of ;^ioo. Up till then it had been ^150, which he wished
to surrender entirely, but the people would agree to nothing more than a
deduction of ^50. In Dovehill, as in most of the Relief churches in Glasgow,
the proprietorship system prevailed, and at this time more than half the
sittings belonged to private individuals, for which they paid an annual
rent to the congregational funds. The debt on the church amounted to
fully ^750, which was reckoned of little account. The right of electing
managers belonged originally to the proprietors, but for some time they
had shared the privilege with the congregation. Mr Barr died at Rothesay,
17th March 1839, in the sixty-second year of his age and twenty-seventh of his
ministry. A daughter of his was connected by marriage with a well-known
Campbeltown family, and was the mother of the late Mr John Colville of
Motherwell, M.P. for the North-East Division of Lanarkshire.
At the Relief Synod in May 1841 Mr Lindsay was appointed to the
Chair of Exegetical Theology and Biblical Criticism, and in 1844 he received
the degree of D.D. from the University of Glasgow. In December of the
latter year a new church was built in Cathedral Street, with 1 100 sittings,
* Mr Bell's son James was the author of "Bell's System of Geography," pub-
lished in 1 83 1 in six goodly volumes. He is described in the Life of Dr William
Anderson as " an insatiable book glutton," from whose stores of-information the Doctor
drew largely when a student. He figures more graphically as a walking encyclopaedia
in the early life of Dr James Hamilton of London. But "although his mind was
stored with the knowledge of the world his treasure lay in heaven, and thither-
wards his heart tended." A small annuity was settled on him by his father, and the
last decade of his life was spent in Campsie, where he died on 3rd May 1833, in the
sixty-fourth year of his age. The minister of Strathblane found "the rural philo-
sopher," when the end was near, " leaning like a child on the Saviour's breast."
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 35
and there the congregation remained thirty-five years. The Union of 1847
necessitated a readjustment of Chairs in the Theological Hall, and to Dr
Lindsay was assigned the department of Biblical Criticism and Sacred
Languages, a province in which he and Dr Eadie partially overlapped,
and after Dr Brown's death in 1858 he held the Chair of Exegetical Theology
alone. Of his work in this department we have a valuable specimen in
his " Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews," published in two volumes
the year after his death. Admirable were the care and thoroughness with
which Professor Lindsay wrought out his conclusions. In this respect
Mr Brooks, his successor in Johnstone, contrasted him with Dr William
Anderson: "If you inquired," he said, "what was Dr Lindsay's opinion
on any subject he would not answer unless his mind were matured ; Dr
Anderson would have told what were his present views." There was a like
contrast in the Junior Hall between the two colleagues, Drs Lindsay and
Eadie. But his judicial characteristics are best brought out in his little
volume on "The Relationships which bar Marriage," published in 1855.
There is also his "Life of the Rev. Thomas Gillespie" in the "United
Presbyterian Fathers," where he was under the disadvantage of having
slender material to work on. Dr Lindsay died suddenly on Sabbath,
3rd June 1866, after officiating twice in his own church. He was in the
sixty-fourth year of his age and thirty-sixth of his ministry.
Sixth Minister. — THOMAS Whitelaw, M.A., from Perth (North). Or-
dained at South Shields (Mile End Road) on 23rd March 1864 as colleague
and successor to the Rev. Thomas M.'Creath, whose son-in-law he became.
Called to succeed Dr Lindsay, and inducted, 25th April 1867. The stipend
was to be ^400, and the call was signed by 279 members and 32 adherents.
On iith December 1877 Mr Whitelaw accepted a call to King Street,
Kilmarnock. On Wednesday, i6th October 1878, intimation came that
the church was in an insecure state owing to underground railway opera-
tions, and the congregation never worshipped in it again. Next Sabbath
they met in the Berkeley Hall, about a mile to the west, and continued
there till they were about to emerge from the vacant state. Prior to leaving
the old church the congregation had secured a site at Kelvingrove Park,
but a number of the Presbytery were opposed to the removal, believing
that the Western district of Glasgow was already overchurched, and that
Cathedral Street was more necessitous now than when the former place of
worship was opened. After a discussion of several hours the transfer-
ence was sanctioned in November 1878.
Sei'enth Minister. — Peter Rutherford, translated from Bristol, where
he had been seven and a half years, after ministering five years in Falkirk
(now Graham's Road), and inducted, 30th April 1879. The call was signed
by only 149 members and 80 adherents, which attested how much the
church had suffered in the transition state. The weight of the congregation
had been swaying westward, but a goodly proportion of families must have
lieen left behind, the more so that they were without a fixed ministry. The
congregation was now worshipping in the Queen's Rooms, Sauchichall
Street, but on Thursday, 13th May 1880, the new church, with sittings for
|822, was opened by Dr Edmond of London. It cost, with the site, fully
J 1 8,000, but the price paid by the railway company for the old building
iras ^21,000, which, but for extra expenses, would have covered everything.
lelvingrove is a mile and a quarter west from Cathedral Street, but, taken
11 in all, it was as suitable a position as could have been fixed on. The
lembership at the close of 1899 was 430, and the stipend, including expenses,
iras ^525. Mr Rutherford is a son-in-law of a predecessor of his in
falkirk, the Rev. William Steel.
36 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
ANDERSTON (Relief)
The origin of this congregation requires to be traced with minuteness. To
begin at the beginning, a pamphlet, entitled " Unity and Peace Recom-
mended," was published in Glasgow in the summer of 1766. It was written
from the Antiburgher point of view, but it found fault with the censures
pronounced on " the separating brethren " ; it pleaded for union between the
two branches of the Secession ; and it argued against making promiscuous
hearing a matter of Church discipline. The publisher was John Bryce, an
elder in the Havannah Church, and two of his brother elders and a deacon
were believed to be implicated, but they explained to the session that they
were not the authors, nor did they subscribe to everything it contained.
Still, on 6th July 1767 some members of the congregation brought up a
complaint against those office-bearers who were involved in the publication
of the obnoxious pamphlet, and the session agreed to refer the whole affair
to the Presbytery, which condemned the conduct of these four men as
" offensive, rash, and inconsistent." They also required them to express to
the session their approbation of the Antiburgher Testimony, and they were
to refrain from disseminating scruples about the sentence of excommunica-
tion passed on the separating brethren. There the case might have ended,
but at a subsequent meeting certain members of Presbytery urged that the
offenders had been too mildly dealt with, and the Synod was appealed to,
by whose directions the Presbytery met on 4th October to enter fully into
the merits. Several correspondents were with them, and, Adam Gib being
among the number, it was clear that severity and not compromise was to
be the order of the day. Mr Gib opened the proceedings with a sermon
from Haggai ii. 5 : " According to the word that I covenanted with you
when ye came out of Egypt, so my Spirit remaineth among you : fear ye
not." The application would be : Fear not to go straight forward with
disciplinary work when fidelity to covenant engagements is concerned.
Mr Gib and four others were afterwards appointed to draw up matters of
complaint against the offenders, one of whom was James Monteith, who
became the head of a well-known family in Glasgow, and was afterwards the
central pillar of the Relief cause at Anderston. It was not his name, how-
ever, that stood first on the culprit list — it was that of John Bryce, from whose
shop in the Saltmarket issued most of the Secession sermons and pamphlets
published in those days.
When the several articles of offence were brought forward Mr Monteith
admitted that the sentences pronounced on such men as the Erskines and
James Fisher had been matter of grief to him. He acknowledged also that
he had been favourable to union with the Burghers. At the close of the
examination the three elders were required to be done with their scruples before
next meeting, under pain of being suspended from office. Against this edict
Mr Monteith dictated a protest, and when it was objected that there was
no accompanying appeal the parties replied that there was no use carrying
an appeal to Edinburgh, as they had Edinburgh with them already, meaning
in the person of Mr Gib. At next meeting, on 22nd November, there was a
communication from the other elders but none from James Monteith, who
was, therefore, found guilty of contumacy, and for this and former offences he
was laid aside from the eldership. On 17th January 1769 he petitioned to
have the sentence reviewed ; but he never followed up his request, and this
is the last time his name appears in the Antiburgher records. He then
passed over to the Relief, and took the lead in the erection of the Relief
church in Anderston, which was opened in 1770, with 1140 sittings.
This narrative sets aside the story which has found currency through Dr
I
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 37
Strang's " History of Glasgow and its Clubs," published in 1856. It ascribes
the origin of Anderston Relief congregation to the action of Glasgow Anti-
burgher session in suspending Mr Monteith from fellowship and office for
having heard sermon in the Tron Church one Sabbath when he sought
shelter there with his delicate wife from a thunder-shower. In the Minutes
of the Havannah session there is no trace of any such thing, and the allega-
tion that in those days cases were not engrossed in session Minutes where
the parties refused submission to Church censure, and broke away, is a sheer
fiction. Dr Strang's book only affords another specimen of the way in which
floating traditions will transmogrify simple facts. So much for the origin
ascribed to Anderston Relief Church in Dr M'Kelvie's Annals and con-
tended for in the memorial volume of that congregation's history.
First Minister. — Joseph Neil, who had been ordained at Keighley,
Yorkshire, in 1756. In Miall's History of Congregationalism in Yorkshire
a curious account of Mr Neil's antecedents is given. It is stated that, having
offended his Presbytery by marrying when a student, "and having been
expelled in consequence," he came from Scotland with views not favourable
to Presbyterianism, and that his congregation was Independent. It is added
that, " though a man of diligence and success, the smallness of his income
at length compelled Mr Neil to retire from Keighley, and return to Scotland
in 1770." Expulsion by a Presbytery for an ill-timed marriage cannot be
true, and as for having to leave Keighley on account of scanty means, it
does not harmonise with the testimony he bore to the liberality of his people in
his farewell sermon : " Exerting yourselves more, I believe, than any congrega-
tion in England (circumstances being considered) to render me and my family
easy in reference to the things of this world." Mr Neil was inducted to
Anderston, igth November 1770. The church was finished before this, and
on 1st January 1771 two elders were constituted into a session, one of them
being Mr James Monteith, and eight others were ordained. Mr Neil died,
20th February 1775, in the forty-eighth year of his age and fifth of his
ministry in Anderston. In 1773 he published a sermon on "The Nature
and Necessity of Christian Communion in order to Everlasting Happiness,"
and this was followed the year after his death by a volume of his discourses.
Some ill-judged expressions such as this: "The obedience of the Divine
Surety recommends our sincere though imperfect obedience to the divine
acceptance and reward," gave Ramsay of Glasgow occasion to charge the
author with Arminianism — but there seems to have been no reason to
question his general soundness in the faith.
Second Minister. — James Stewart, from Dunblane, and a licentiate of
Glasgow Established Presbytery. Five months before Mr Neil's death he
was engaged as his assistant, and on 15th August 1775 he was ordained as
his successor. Among the dissenting denominations in Scotland the Relief
took the lead in the introduction of hymns into public worship, and in this
movement Mr Stewart was first among the foremost, having compiled a
volume for the use of Anderston Church five years before the innovation was
sanctioned by the Synod. About this time the meeting-house required to
be enlarged to 1250 sittings. Three detached discourses of Mr Stewart's
were published \y; himself, each of them bearing on the times. The first,
entitled " Britain's Fall," led him to speak of her fall in religion, her fall in
victory, and her fall from empire both by sea and land, and then this dark
state of things is ascribed to a variety of guilty causes. Another, of a brighter
stamp : " A Plan of Reform proposed to the Christian People," appears in
the centenary volume of Anderston Church, and is direct, practical, and
comprehensive.
Third Minister. — G.WIN Struthers, from Strathaven (East). Having
38 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
chosen Anderston in preference to Kilbarchan he was ordained as colleague
to Mr Stewart, 31st July 1817. The stipend was ^180, with ^15 for sacra-
mental expenses. Mr Stewart died, 4th June 1819, in the seventy-fourth
year of his age and forty-fourth of his ministry. In 1836 the communicants
were 1050, and the debt on the property was £6yo. The stipend at this
time was ^265, and it had been made up to ^250 shortly after the death of
the senior minister. The present church was opened, i6th February 1840,
with the same number of sittings as the former. Mr Struthers had the
degree of D.D. conferred upon him by Glasgow University in 1843, and
at the second meeting of the United Presbyterian Synod he was chosen to
the Moderator's Chair. In the summer of 1854 Dr Struthers showed tokens
of failing strength, and his work in Anderston closed with the communion
services in October of that year. In a few months he was completely
prostrated every way, and another was required to perform the whole work.
He died, i ith July 1858, in the sixty-eighth year of his age and forty-first of
his ministry. A well-compacted and ably-written sketch of his life appeared
in the U.P. Magazine for that year.
From among Dr Struthers' published writings we select his History of
the Relief Church, a book of permanent value. It betokens thorough ac-
quaintance not only with the Rise, Progress, and Principles of the Relief but
with the various phases of denominationalism in Scotland throughout the
period embraced. Altogether, Dr Struthers was deservedly looked on as the
ablest man in the Relief Synod, though by no means the best orator. The
Campbeltown Case brought out his mental grasp and legal acumen, and later
on the Relief Magazine ever and again bore witness to his powers as a con-
troversialist. His " Treatise on the Principles of Christian Communion as held
by the Relief Church '' also did nmch to clear the way for the Union of 1847.
Fourth Minister. — JOHN LOGAN AiKMAN, translated from St James'
Place, Edinburgh, and inducted as colleague to Dr Struthers, 28th February
1856. The stipend was to be ^300, with ^20 for expenses, and the senior
minister, though entirely laid aside, was also to have ^300. In 1861 Mr
Aikman published the largest and the least known of his works, the " Cyclo-
paedia of Missions," a book on which a great amount of labour must have
been expended. In 1869 he had the degree of D.D. from New York, which
was duplicated from Glasgow University the year of his death. Meanwhile
Anderston Church, though less favourably situated than some others, kept
up well, having a membership of about 1000, and giving a stipend of ^600.
Dr Aikman died on Sabbath, 13th September 1885, aged 65. He preached
on the preceding Sabbath from : "Them also which sleep in Jesus will God
bring with Him." In no other case has the U.P. Synod lost its Moderator
by death, and the same thing, I believe, may be said of the Secession and
Relief Synods all through. Anderston congregation now called the Rev.
John G. Train, Buckhaven, who declined, and within a month accepted
an invitation to Hull.
Fifth Minister. — Alexander R. MacEwen, B.D., who had been nearly
six years in Moffat. Inducted, 2 1 st September 1 886. The stipend was ;^6co,
as before. Accepted a call to Claremont Church, his native congregation,
on 1 8th June 1889, leaving a membership of 1030.
Sixth Minister. — Alexander L. Henderson, son of the Rev. Dr
Henderson, Paisley. Having declined Rockvilla, Glasgow, Mr Henderson
was ordained at Durham in 1879. Called to Erskine Church, Stirling, in
1882, and removed in a few years to Camphill, Birmingham, to succeed the
Rev. James M. M'Kerrow. Inducted to Anderston, 13th February 1890,
the stipend to be ^525, which continued for the next ten years. The
membership at the close of 1899 was 903.
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW ^g
SYDNEY PLACE (Burgher)
The first notice of a movement towards the formation of a second
BurgJier congregation in Glasgow came before the Presbytery on nth
February 1789. It was time for Church Extension to take shape in both
sections of the Secession. Since 1747 the population of the city had
increased from 20,000 to nearly 60,000, and it was now mounting upwards
at the rate of 1500 a year. No wonder that the church in Shuttle Street
was becoming too strait for the attendance, and that the supply of sittings
came short of the demand by 620. The first proposal was to erect a second
place of worship on the church grounds, have a second minister, and make
the charge collegiate. But wiser counsels prevailed, and it was resolved to
build the additional church in a different part of the town altogether. This
issued in the erection of the large building in East Campbell Street at a cost
of ^1500, with sittings for 1361, and in an application to the Presbytery for
supply of sermon. After a committee had conferred with all parties the
petition was granted, the reason assigned being that " many of the members
have no access to hear the gospel ; the meeting-house is so crowded." This
was on 4th May 1789, and the new church was to be opened on the following
Sabbath.
On 1 6th June a petition from 148 members to be disjoined from Shuttle
Street Church was agreed to, a decision against which the Rev. John
Thomson of Kirkintilloch, who had strong proclivities that way, protested
to the Synod, alleging that the disjunction was granted "on principles
neither proper nor scriptural," but his protest was dismissed without a vote.
Mr Thomson expressed himself so unguardedly against the Building
Committee at one of the Presbytery meetings that they summoned him
before the Lords of Session, a step for which they afterwards expressed
regret. It was needful now to be provided with an eldership, and twelve of
their number having been chosen the Presbytery arranged for the ordination
on the second Sabbath of November. It was a vigorous beginning.
J^yrs/ Mim's/er.- -William Kidston, previously of Kennoway. Mr
Kidston preached in East Campbell Street on an early Sabbath after the
church was opened, and on 28th January 1790 he was chosen to be their
minister, though under appointment to be ordained at Kennoway, as will
come up under the history of that congregation. The Synod refused to
sustain the call from Glasgow, and the settlement at Kennoway went on.
There was quietness now for over a year, but a second call to Mr Kidston
from Campbell Street came before the Synod in September 1791 signed by
41 1 members and 233 seat-holders. The translation carried, and Mr Kidston
was inducted on the i8th of the following month. The stipend was to be
^120. The increase, we may well believe, was rapid, but a partial arrest
came through the Old and Nesv Light Controversy, which began to stir in
1795. Opposition to any interference with the Formula had its headcjuarters
in the west, and the two Glasgow congregations had their full share of the
turmoil it occasioned, but, so far as we can judge, Campbell Street was the
greater sufferer. Dr John M'Farlane, who had good means of knowing,
said the losses were about 400, and it is certain the seat rents fell from
^198 in 1799 to .^iio in 1801. The Old Light cause was strong in Glasgow
from the first, and in other two years one of the calls they issued carried the
signatures of 691 members. They built their church near by, and obtained
the Rev. William Watson of kilpatrick for their minister. This was the
pulpit occupied for some time by the Rev. John Clark, whose Life, with its
mteresting pictures of college days and college studies, was written by his
40 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
friend and fellow-student, afterwards Principal Cairns. It is now Campbell
Street Free Church.
But with only five churches of the Secession in its various sections, and the
population of Glasgow up now to 83,000, it was no hard matter to regain
lost ground. Mr Kidston in no long time gathered a full congregation around
him again ; but about the close of 1813 his health suddenly gave way,
and "he was laid aside from all public duty until 1817." In the Presbytery
Minutes of their first meeting in 18 14 it is stated that Mr Kidston, their
clerk, being absent through indisposition, another was appointed pro
tempore. For almost four years his name is entered in none of the sederunts,
though he still engrossed the Minutes and subscribed them. In June 181 5
commissioners appeared wishing arrangements made for a second minister, but
the Presbytery delayed in hopes that the season would have an influence for
good on Mr Kidston's health. In July they applied for a moderation, and a
letter was read from Mr Kidston expressing his desire to have this gone
into at once, which was agreed to.
Second Minister. — William Brash, from Bristo Church, Edinburgh.
Called already to Ecclefechan, but the Synod, in keeping with his expressed
wish, gave Glasgow the preference. Their call was signed by 509 members
and 183 adherents, and Mr Brash was ordained, 26th December 18 15. The
stipend was to be ^160, and two years later the ministers had ^200 each.
There was rapid increase now, the number admitted to Church fellowship
amounting in three years to 430. The preaching of Mr Brash was " fervid
and graphic," and the effect was heightened by the youthful appearance of
the preacher, who was only in his twenty-second year. In December 181 7
Mr Kidston appeared in the Presbytery anew. It was a sign that his
activities were finding their way back into the old channel. The charge was
now to be for twenty years collegiate in the full sense. In 1833 Mr Kidston
had the degree of D.D. from St Andrews University, and again in 1837 from
the University of Glasgow. The year before this the communion roll stood
at 800, and the stipends were as above named, with ^19 each for expenses.
A much larger sum than the original cost had been laid out on the property,
on which there was a debt of ^1400. In 1838, owing to growing infirmities,
Dr Kidston retired from active duty. A year previously he resigned the
clerkship of Presbytery, which he had held for forty-one years, and in 1839
he resigned the Synod clerkship, which he had held for nearly twenty years.
The Synod, in accepting the resignation, sympathised deeply with him in
the severe indisposition under which he laboured. This accounted for the
laying down of the threefold burden.
But though Dr Kidston was older than his colleague by twenty-six years
he was to be the survivor. Mr Brash was but a little way into his majority
when he entered on his ministry, and for the first two years he had the sole
charge of the congregation. It was both an early and a heavy beginning,
and this was to have as its counterpart an early breakdown. Trying
experiences of another kind may also have told on his powers of endurance.
Disease of the heart began to manifest itself prior to 1849, and though
he resisted for a time it gradually gained the mastery, and laid him aside
from all public work. Dr Kidston was still able to preach occasionally, but
little could be looked for from one who was in the sixtieth year of his
ministry. For the requirements of that large congregation it was essential
that a third minister should be obtained to undertake the whole responsibility.
Third Minister. — John Ker, M.A., a native of Tweedsmuir, but brought
up under the ministry of Dr Brown, Broughton Place, Edinburgh. Or-
dained at Alnwick (Clayport Street), nth February 1845. ^^ is strange to
read that on the moderation day Mr Ker was carried over Mr David
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW
41
[Laughland, afterwards of Nevvarthill, by only 18 votes. In 1849 he was
called to Barrhead, and in the beginning of 1850 to Campbell Street,
Glasgow, but he did not yet see his way to leave his first charge. Campbell
f Street then made choice of Mr David Young, who had already written
accepting Milnathort, and though this new development made him pause
[he adhered to his former decision. A second call was now brought out to
'Mr Ker, which proved successful, and he was inducted on 19th March 1851
[as colleague to Dr Kidston and Mr Brash. Then commenced an inflow of
[prosperity, 588 new members being admitted within three years.
Mr Brash died, 24th November following, in the fifty-eighth year of his
|age and thirty-sixth of his ministry. A brief Memoir, with a beautiful tribute
[to his Christian worth, appeared soon afterwards in the U.P. Magazine from
[the pen of his junior colleague. Of Mr Brash's family his son John was
Iminister at Wamphray for some years, and then went to America. From
[the period of Mr Brash's death Dr Kidston gradually sank, and on 23rd
{October 1852 he died, in the eighty-fifth year of his age and sixty-third of
[his ministry. As the oldest member present, Dr Kidston was chosen
Moderator of Synod at the Union in May 1847 — Dr Jamieson of Scone, who
twas his senior in age though not in office, being absent. He opened the
j Synod in October with a sermon from the text : " We are all one in Christ
[Jesus," which was published. That and another discourse, preached in con-
fnection with the Glasgow Missionary Society some years before, are all that
1 remain of Dr Kidston in print. An animated sketch of his life and character
iwas given by his son-in-law, Dr John M'Farlane, in a sermon preached in
; Campbell Street Church the Sabbath after the funeral, of which the sub-
E stance is to be found in the U.P. Magazine for the following year.
Mr Ker was invited to remove to Bristol in 1855. There a congregation
Ihad been recently formed, and there was an impression abroad that England
[had a right to draw on the best men Glasgow had to give. The stipend was
I to be ^400, with his life assured for ;^iooo ; but Mr Ker put the proposal
t aside, and remained in Campbell Street. Inspirited by this decision the
[congregation resolved next year to dispose of the old church, for which they
[obtained ^1000, and erect a new one in Sydney Place.
At next Synod Mr Ker was chosen to be the first Home Mission
I Secretary, but in the face of strong pressure he firmly declined to accept.
He stated that the managers of Sydney Place had undertaken heavy re-
;sponsibilities in connection with building operations, and he was pledged
I to stand by them as far as in his power ; besides, he felt that he wanted
those aptitudes for business which the office required. The committee
appointed to converse with him, in presenting their report, suggested a
meeting with the congregation, but the Synod resolved instead to proceed
I with a new election. Looked at now, the whole conception seems pre-
iposterous, but some may have apprehended that Mr Ker's health would
not hold out under the incessant demands of heavy ministerial work, and
their wish may have been to avert the danger by assigning him another
sphere of usefulness. If so, their fears were to have a speedy fulfilment.
Before the month was ended he came to a pause in the middle of a
1 prayer-meeting address — the hand of God had touched him. The church
m Sydney Place, with sittings for 1200, and built at a cost of ^8200, was
opened on 28th November 1858 by Drs Cairns and Edmond ; but their
own minister was away, " in extreme suffering and weakness."
Fourth Minister. — J.\MES Frame, from Perth (York Place), where he
thad laboured for two years on his way from Peterhead to Glasgow. In-
jducted as junior minister, 9th September 1863. He was to have ^350
lof stipend, and Mr Ker's allowance was ^250. It was only occasionally
42 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
that the latter could appear in the pulpit, but his name was a tower ofj
strength to the congregation. For Mr Frame the burden was great, and]
in the summer of 1870 there were signs of failing energy, but he toiled
on till July, expecting that the holidays would put all to rights. Instead'
of this languor remained, and then gastric fever set in, and on 14th
July 1870 he died, in the thirty-ninth year of his age and seventeenth]
of his ministry. His son, of the same name, was ordained at Millportj
thirteen years afterwards.
The congregation now called, without success, the Rev. William Graham
of Liverpool to be colleague to Dr Ker, who had obtained the degree of «
D.D. from Edinburgh University in 1869. A year later they called thcj
Rev. A. S. Matheson of Alloa, but with the same result.
Fifth Minister. — James MacEwp:n, M.A., from Hawick (East Bank),!
after a ten years' ministry there. Inducted, 25th September 1872. The^
stipend was to be ^500, with ^25 for expenses, and Dr Ker, who was
to be responsible for no part of the work, declined to accept more than
^150 a year. This arrangement continued till the latter was chosen by
the Synod to the Chair of Practical Training in 1876. Though never
accepting the status of Professor, Dr Ker discharged the duties of the
office with high efficiency, except during one session, when he was laid
aside by ill-health, and substitutes were provided. He died suddenly,
4th October 1886, in the sixty-eighth year of his age and forty-second of
his ministry. His sudden removal made a wide blank in the U.P- Hall
and in the front rank of the U.P. ministry. Of the works he has left
behind him his "Lectures on the History of Preaching" may be singled ^
out as an endujing memorial of his professorial work. There are also!
his two volumes of sermons, which were published, the one in 1869 and!
the other in 1886, both of which passed rapidly through successive j
editions; and most suggestive of all are "Thoughts for Heart and Life,"]
being extracts from unpublished material, written for the most part inj
note-books without any view to publication. A volume of Letters came]
last, of interest going far beyond the circle of friendship to which they]
were addressed. Since Dr Ker's death Mr MacEwen has been sole
pastor, carrying on the entire work of that large congregation un-j
aided. At the Union the stipend was ^525, and the membership at]
the close of 1899 was a few units over 700.
EAST CAMPBELL STREET (Relief)
Thls was the second Relief congregation in Glasgow, keeping Anderstonj
out of view. On 8th August 1791 a number of heads of families appliec'
to the Relief Presbytery to be recognised as a forming congregation,!
but in the absence of Mr Bell, the minister of Dovehill, the petition wa^
allowed to lie on the table. On i6th August Mr Bell was present, anc
the prayer of the petition was granted without opposition, but the churcl
not being in readiness it was not till the fourth Sabbath of April 179^
that services were begun. The building, exclusive of the site, cost
little over ^2000, and it contained 1372 sittings.
First Minister. — James Dun, called from Kilsyth, where he hac
been ordained twelve years before. Inducted, 6th September 1792. TheJ
stipend promised at first was ^146. On 2nd October Mr Dun brought
forward a list of names, 6 in number — " persons chosen by the proprietors
of his congregation for elders" — and he was authorised by the Presbyterv
to set them apart to office according to the Rules of the Church. Ol
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 43
Mr Dun we are informed by a successor of his, the Rev. WiUiani Ramage,
that some of his admirers spoke of him as the foremost man the Relief
Church had ever produced. He died, 2nd January 1805, in the fifty-
sixth year of his age and twenty-fifth of his ministr>^ A sermon preached
by him at the opening of the Synod in May 1792 is all that remains of
his pulpit work. As a preacher, says Mr Ramage, he was not impassioned
and rhetorical but calm, conversational, and almost wholly without action.
The congregation now called the Rev. Robert Walker of Cupar, who
after some hesitancy decided not to remove, and then the Rev. John Pitcairn
of Kelso, who resisted all attempts to draw him to Glasgow.
Second Minister. — Robert Brodie, M.A., son of the Rev. John Brodie
of the mother church in Dovehill. After some hesitancy about signing the
Confession of Faith he was ordained, nth June 1807. Mr Brodie seems to
have been a tasteful and refined rather than a powerful preacher, and hence
we are told his audience was latterly select rather than large. In 1836 the
communicants were about 650, and the stipend averaged ^250. The debt
was only ^500. Mr Brodie died, 6th August 1846, in the sixty-second year
of his age and fortieth of his ministry. A volume of his discourses was
published in 1848, under the editorship of the Rev. William M'Dougall of
Paisley, who had been brought up under Mr Brodie's ministry, and was
expected to furnish a befitting memoir, which was never done.
Third Minister. — William Ram.\ge, called from Kilmarnock (King
Street), where he had been four and a half years, and inducted, 6th May 1847.
The call was signed by only 196 members, and the stipend was to be ^300.
On 1 2th March 1856 a large wing of the congregation petitioned to be dis-
joined along with their minister and transferred to a new church which they
had erected in Berkeley Street, and on 9th April this was agreed to, their
brethren who kept by the old walls wishing them all success.
Fourth il//«/j/t'r.— Alexander Wallace, translated from Potterrow,
Edinburgh, and inducted into his fourth and last charge, 30th April 1857.
The stipend was to be ^340. It would lead us to doubt whether the con-
gregation had been large enough to divide when we read that the members
who remained, though they formed the majority, were only 360 in number,
but under Mr Wallace there was rapid increase. In May i860 he was
invited to remove to Sydney, New South Wales, and in September 1861 he
was called to succeed Dr Alexander Fletcher as minister of Finsbury Chapel,
London. As these congregations were not under the U.P. Synod neither
gall came before Glasgow Presbytery, and both were declined. There was a
general wish that Finsbury Chapel should be accepted, in order to bring
Dr Fletcher's congregation into connection with our Church, but Mr Wallace
decided to remain in Glasgow. Then Albion Chapel, in the same part of
London, sought to obtain his services, but was equally unsuccessful. The
present church, with sittings for 1400, was built on the old site at a cost of
^6500, and opened by Dr Cairns of Berwick on Sabbath, loth March 1864.
That year ^Ir Wallace received the degree of D.D. from Westminster
College, United States. In the new building the membership kept increas-
ing, till a maximum of 1300 was reached in 1875. ^^ Wallace the while had
been active with his pen. In i860 his "Memoir of James Stirling" ap-
peared, a book of lastmg interest, in which the service he rendered to the
temperance cause is condensed and perpetuated. In 1868 he published
"The Desert and the Holy Land," a field which gave full scope to his
exuberant powers of description. There is also his volume of lectures on
"The Peasant Literature of Scotland," a subject in which he took warm
interest and was quite at home. But as years passed energy began to fade,
and it was said that after an attack of whooping-cough, out of season " like
I
44 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
snow in summer," he never was quite the same man again. In 1890
Dr Wallace retired into the background to make way for a colleague.
Fifth Minister. — W. Shaw Stewart, from Buckhaven where he had
been ordained three and a half years before. Inducted, 15th January 1891,
and obtained the degree of D.D. in 1892. Each of the ministers was to have
^300, and the membership was slightly over 900. On 14th February 1893
l3r Wallace passed into the emeritus position with an allowance of ^50 a
year. He died on 20th August 1893, in the seventy-eighth year of his age
and forty-eighth of his ministry. In the beginning of 1900 East Campbell
Street membership was 657, and the stipend ^400.
GLASGOW, WELLINGTON CHURCH (Antiburgher)
This was an offshoot from the old Antiburgher church in Duke Street, which,
through the growth of the town, was filled to overflowing. The applicants
for disjunction, 81 in number, were described as residing in Anderston,
Partick, Meikle Govan, up the water of Kelvin, and places adjacent to the
west of Jamaica Street. They had a place of worship nearly finished, and,
with the concurrence of the minister and session of Duke Street, they were
erected into a separate congregation, the three elders and three deacons resid-
ing within the bounds to be constituted into a session. This was on 5th
November 1792, and Mr Ramsay, their minister, was to preach to them on
the following Sabbath.
First Minister. — John Mitchell, son of the Rev. Andrew Mitchell,
Beith. Mr Mitchell was also called to Whithorn ; but at the Synod in May
1793 Anderston was preferred, as the Minutes show, by 20 votes to 16, the
reasons assigned being priority in time and superiority in numbers. The
calls were signed by 56 and 18 male members respectively, and Mr Mitchell
was ordained, ist August 1793, the stipend being ^80. From the first the
young minister cultivated the graces of style, a thing little attended to by
Secession ministers in those days. Neil Douglas, Relief minister in Dundee,
who heard him give an ordination address at Rothesay in 1797, described it
as "a piece of finished composition, perhaps too much so for the audience
and the occasion." In 1804 Mr Mitchell obtained ^100 for a prize essay on
the Evangelisation of India. In 1807 he received the degree of D.D.
from Princeton College, New Jersey, and thirty years afterwards the honour
was duplicated by Glasgow University. In 1810 galleries were erected in
the church, and the sittings increased from 550 to nearly 1000. In 1818 the
communicants numbered about 450, and the stipend was ^300. In September
1825 Dr Mitchell was chosen by the .Synod to the newly instituted Chair of
Biblical Literature. He was now fifty-seven, and he pleaded his advanced
years and heavy ministerial duties as a reason for declining the appointment,
his brother, Mr Andrew Mitchell, urging similar arguments on his behalf,
but the will of the Synod prevailed. On 15th July 1827 the new church in
Wellington Street, with 1492 sittings, was opened, the cost of the whole being
about ;^ 1 0,000. Of Dr Mitchell's appearance in his own pulpit on a Sabbath
forenoon in 1834 we have the following account from the pen of a gifted lady,
to be met with again. The whole aspect and demeanour of the preacher
prepossessed her in his favour, and she wrote : " The devotional service was
solemn and appropriate and spiritual. In the lecture there was a ground-
work of substantial thought and sound consecutive exposition, with a grateful
glow of fervent godliness pervading the whole. In expression much elegance ;
in counsel much practical wisdom." She adds : " With a little more
various modulation of voice and somewhat more energy of action the
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 45
preacher would be still more acceptable and impressive." But years were
now beginning to tell on Dr Mitchell's vigour, and in 1840 it was deemed
proper to proceed with the election of a colleague, the junior minister to
have ^300 and the senior at least as much.
Second Minister. — John Rohson, M.A., from Lasswade, where he had
been ordained seven and a half years before. At the moderation 183 voted
for Mr Robson, 93 for Mr Johnston of Limekilns, and 64 for Mr James
Robertson, preacher, ultimately of Newington. The induction took place,
2nd June 1840. The membership was fully 800. In the third year of his
Glasgow ministry Mr Robson had to sojourn for a time in Jamaica for the
benefit of his health ; and he was seated beside his brother-in-law, the
Rev. James Paterson, when the latter was thrown from his gig, and killed
on the spot. In February 1843 Ur Heugh, after administering the Lord's
Supper in Wellington Street, wrote that the old minister could do
nothing, and his young colleague was away an invalid. In May of the
previous year Dr Mitchell notified the Synod that he could not undertake to
teach the class next session, and it was arranged that the junior section of
the Hall should meet in Glasgow, and that certain ministers should be
associated with the Professor in the superintendence of the class ; but the
work devolved mainly on the Rev. John Eadie, who succeeded to the Chair.
At next Synod Dr Mitchell resigned, stating that owing to growing frailties
the duties of the Chair, "alvvays heavy, would now be oppressive." He died,
25th January 1844, in the seventy-sixth year of his age and fifty-first of his
ministry. In addition to the prize essay already mentioned and some stray
discourses Dr Mitchell was the author of a discriminating Memoir of Pro-
fessor Paxton, prefixed to an edition of the " Illustrations of Scripture "
published in 1842. The fullest estimate of his own gifts and excellences is
given in the sermon preached by his colleague on the occasion of his death,
most of which appeared in the Secession Magazine for 1844.
Soon after returning from Jamaica Mr Robson was invited to succeed
his brother-in-law at New Broughton, but, feeling quite restored, he had no
difficulty in deciding to remain in Glasgow. Had the degree of D.D. from
Glasgow University in 1844. Next year we find the congregation raising
over ^900 for missionary and benevolent purposes. The £3000 of debt on
the new church they were at the same time clearing off. In a year or two
the communion roll showed between 1250 and 1300 names, and at this high
figure it remained for years, till by the organising of congregations in the
suburbs its numerical strength was slightly reduced. In December 1864
Dr Robson's semi-jubilee as minister of Wellington Church was celebrated,
when he was presented with 1000 guineas. But about this time there came
symptoms that his usefulness might be extended but a little way into the
second half of the jubilee period. The healthy action of the heart was
impaired, and though he moved on for a time it was under the conscious-
ness of failing strength, and in 1866 he found it needful to suggest a '
colleague.
Third Minister. — J.VMES BLACK, translated from St Andrews, and
inducted, 6th February 1868. The senatus of that old University conferred
on Mr Black the degree of D.D. almost immediately after he left. Each
minister was to have ^550 of stipend, and for some years Dr Robson was
able to take a fair share of ministerial work. But the ailment at the citadel
K life gained ground, till, on the morning of the communion Sabbath, 21st
l^nuary 1872, he peacefully passed away. He was in the sixty-eighth year
of his age and forty-first of his ministry. Under Dr Black's sole pastorate
,the congregation maintained its old level of prosperity, and in 1880 it was
"^ :ided to remove to the west end of the city. The new church, seated for
46 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
1015, was opened on Saturday, nth October 1884, by Principal Cairns, and
the name changed to Wellington Church. The site and the buildings
together cost about ^26,500. To meet this outlay ^12,000 was obtained by
the sale of the old church, which certain preparatory expenses reduced to
;^9ooo. Over ^11,000 was raised at the opening services, and the balance
of ^6000 was cleared off in 1888 and 1889 by special effort. In 1892, owing
to partial decline in Dr Black's health, it was deemed proper, first by him-
self and then by the congregation, to have steps taken with the view of
obtaining a junior minister.
Fourth Minister. — David W. Forrest, M.A., called from Moffat, and
inducted on 15th March 1894. Each of the colleagues was to have a stipend
of ^630. In 1897 Mr Forrest published his volume of Kerr Lectures, entitled
"The Christ of History and of Experience," and in the following year he
received the degree of D.D. from Glasgow University. On loth July 1899
he was loosed from Wellington Church on accepting a call to Skelmorlie,
where the strain would be less, and where he would have more leisure for
the exercise of his pen. On applying for liberty of moderation the commis-
sioners intimated that the stipends were to be the same as formerly. A call
to the Rev. G. A. Johnston Ross, Westbourne Grove, London, followed,
and his unexpected declinature left severe disappointment behind it. Dr
Black remains meanwhile with the responsibility undivided, but the con-
gregation keeps in the waiting attitude. Of the Doctor's publications we go
back with interest to what, so far as we know, was the earliest — the sermon
preached at Largo after the premature death of their minister. Rev. David
Hay, a young man who had been brought up in St Andrews congregation.
Passing by several discourses of a similar kind we might single out for
special mention "The present Attitude of Science to Religion." But by much
the most important production of his pen is " The Christian Life : an
Exposition of the 'Pilgrim's Progress,'" published in two volumes in 1875.
Coleridge knew no book comparable to the " Pilgrim's Progress" "for teach-
ing and enforcing the whole system of saving truth according to the mind
which was in Christ Jesus." So instead of amplifying on the flowing
drapery Dr Black deals with the essential merits, and employs Bunyan's
allegory "for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in
righteousness." At the Union Wellington Church had a membership of 1032.
JOHN STREET (Relief)
A NUMBER of Glasgow people having begun to build a place of worship in
John Street they petitioned the Relief Presbytery to be received as a
forming congregation, which was agreed to on loth October 1798, but with
the condition annexed that in the election of a minister after the first occa-
sion the right of voting was to be limited to those in full communion. The
church, built at a cost of ^4440, and containing some 1500 sittings, was
opened on the third Sabbath of November. In the early part of 1799 a call
was given to the Rev. John Pitcairn of Kelso (East) ; but he could give
them no encouragement to go on, and the call was withdrawn. It must
have been a severe disappointment to the parties concerned, as it was to
obtain him for their minister that they withdrew from Dovehill.
Fi7'st Minister. — John Watson, who had been ordained scarcely two
years before at Duns. Inducted to John Street, 29th May 1800. It proved
an unfortunate choice in the end, although Mr Watson's ministry lasted
twenty years. On 2nd May 1820 two petitions came up to the Presbytery,
ODP /jpm the session and the other from the managers, wishing inquiry into
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 47
the circumstances of the congregation. Mr Watson was conversed with,
when he admitted that reports unfavourable to his character for sobriety had
gone abroad, and that these were in some instances well founded. Sorrow
was expressed and amendment promised ; but on 7th June 1820 he
demitted his charge, feeling that his usefulness in John Street was at an end.
The connection, as the congregation requested, was dissolved, and their
minister was suspended from office sine die. He removed to the Isle of
Man, where he died in 1823. The first payment to his widow from the
Widows' Fund was made in August of that year. The congregation allowed
him ^100 per annum till his death. His successor, fifty years afterwards,
spoke of the dismal state in which he found the church, " through the failure
of the once promising, but latterly lamentable, ministry of his predecessor."
Second Minister. — William Anderson, son of the Rev. John Anderson
of Kilsyth. As his troubled entrance into John Street pulpit has been much
commented on we shall give the particulars from the Minutes of Presbytery.
Mr Anderson got licence on 5th September 1820, and was appointed to
preach in John Street on Sabbath week. The congregation having tested
his abilities a call in his favour was sustained on 6th March 182 1. On loth
April Mr Anderson delfvered a homily before the Presbytery on ist Timothy
iv. 7 : " Refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather
unto godliness." In the discourse he struck out against the system some
ministers had of praying in the introductory exercises that the Spirit would
bring seasonably to their recollection the truths they had been meditating
on, or suggest something better fitted for edification. It was, he said, as
if they put themselves on a level with the apostles, who were to trust to the
aids of the inspiring Spirit, and take no thought what they were to speak.
The petition, he ofttimes judged, was put up in thoughtlessness and formality,
if not in the spirit of designing hypocrisy. When he finished the Presby-
tery agreed "for many weighty reasons not to sustain." At a subsequent
meeting other parts of his trial exercises were approved, but before proceed-
ing further it was deemed needful to inquire into certain reports about his
way of preaching, and specially they wished a pledge that he would discon-
tinue the practice of reading his discourses. On i8th July he gave in a
paper, in which he urged that, so long as he had the approval of John Street
congregation, he saw no impropriety in making free and public use of his
manuscript. Delay was still resolved on, and on 6th November Mr Anderson
was subjected to what some might deem an inquisitorial e.xamination. He
had previously acknowledged that he had used ill-considered expressions in
the pulpit, and for this offence he was willing to be admonished by the
Moderator. But satisfaction was required on three points — doctrine, prud-
ence, and the non-delivery of his discourses. Of the ten questions with
which he was now confronted some were frivolous, such as that relating to
repeating lines from Shakespeare, which he admitted he had been four times
guilty of in fourteen months. But two or three of the questions went a great
way deeper. Was it the case that in one of his public discourses he had
represented the Saviour's argument for the resurrection of the dead from the
words spoken to Moses at the bush as invalid ? In reply he read from his
manuscript that had such reasoning been used by any interpreter but Jesus
Christ, or one taught by His Spirit, we would have been ready to pronounce
it sophistical. But, worst of all, he had said from the pulpit that, rather than
the hallelujahs of heaven, many sinners would prefer the company of that
other place, could they but "carry on a lucrative brimstone traffic there, or
did they find that there were wine and women and theatres in hell." It is
doubtful whether very many Presbyteries, even in our own time, would look
on this as " sound speech which cannot be condemned." But sorrow was
48 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
expressed for some "hard sayings" he had used ; and as for the manuscript,
he would meanwhile dispense with it, and if after eighteen months he felt
unable to go on he would resign his charge. On 22nd January 1822 he
was asked if he were willing to harmonise with his brethren, and having
given satisfaction on a variety of points he was ordained on 7th February
following.
At the Synod in May 1829 strong measures were in course of adoption
on the organ question, and Mr Anderson stood up boldly for toleration. He
argued that the use of instrumental music in public worship was not opposed
to our Presbyterian standards, nor in the case before them did it endanger
the unity of Christian fellowship. A motion against interference with
Roxburgh Place Church concluded the speech, and he felt so strongly on the
subject that he hinted "he might be speaking there for the last time." Mr
Anderson's father seconded, but when the vote was taken all the support
they had came from two elders. This slight number, however, did not
represent the entire minority, as 15 declined to vote, 8 of whom favoured a
middle motion, declaring the introduction of the organ to be highly inex-
pedient, though they weie not prepared to say it was opposed to Scripture or
the spirituality of gospel worship. After the Synod Mr Anderson published
two pamphlets, the one "An Apology for the Organ," and the other "A
Chapter of Organ History." His position being assailed these were followed
by an Appendix to the " Apology for the Organ." Soon after this he entered
on the public advocacy of Pre-Millenarianism, and in 1831 he published
" An Apology for the Millennial Doctrine as held by the Primitive Church."
To this theory he clung to the last, and it gave a colouring to some of his
discourses, and particularly to a discourse on "The Prospects of the
World," to which full reference has been made under Aberdeen (St Paul's).
Of Mr Anderson's pulpit appearances about this time we have a graphic
picture from the pen of a lady of cultured mind, the wife of the Rev. James
M'Crie of Old Meldrum. Happening to be in Glasgow one Sabbath in
1834 she embraced the opportunity "of hearing the first preacher, as
report would have it, in the Relief denomination." She describes him as
"rather tall and swarthy complexioned, his large dark eyes indicating
strength of mind and perhaps more vehemence of temperament than even
strength of mind. There is a wildness and fear-nothingness, with a haze
of mysteriousness, apparent in his whole aspect and contour. The discourse
was an exposition of ' The lost Piece of Silver.' There were many excellent
thoughts in it. The figure was usefully and impressively unfolded. The
illustrations of character were truthful, occasionally stirring, though now
and then grotesquely absurd." This last feature she animadverts on, with
the wish that he would throw away his oddities ; but she adds : " As it is, he
holds no mean place in the service of the Redeemer."
The purifying and compacting of John Street Church had meanwhile
been going on year by year — work in which the minister found himself much
hampered. "The secular affairs were administered by a committee of
pew proprietors, some of them not members of the church, who, instead
of being helpful, were for many years obstructive of our progress." From
the report given in to the Commissioners on Religious Instruction in 1836
it appears that the seats were originally portioned out among those who
subscribed for the building of the church, and who became bound in return
to pay an annual feu-duty, amounting in all to ^296, which was on an
average 4s. a year on each sitting. The congregation was in course of
buying up the sittings "at an extortionate price" as they came to be
disposed of, and at this date they held about one-half. The rates fixed
by the managers should have yielded ^520, but the proprietors kept by the
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 49
original feu, some of them letting their seats and pocketing a good per-
centage. The membership was now 900, and the stipend ^^270. Of the
debt ^loco rested on the building, and for this the proprietors were
responsible. Other ;^6oo stood against the congregation. The financial
affairs of John Street required to be put on a simpler basis, and this may
not have been fully done till the new church was built.
In 1850 Mr Anderson published his well-rounded-off treatise on Regenera-
tion, and had the degree of LL.D. conferred upon him by Glasgow
University. In 185 1 he published his book on "The Mass," which has
been characterised by his biographer as "a terrible piece of critical
anatomy," and it was followed by " Penance and the other Romish Sacra-
ments." Most of the lectures included in these volumes were originally
delivered to crowded audiences in the City Hall, and they were such as
probably no other man could have produced. They helped him to earn
the encomium with which the inscription on the tablet to his memory in
John Street Church concludes : "A fearless Advocate of every good Cause,
and an eloquent Denouncer of all Unrighteousness." When afterwards
challenged by the Secularists of Glasgow to meet Holyoake in public
debate he made the characteristic reply that " to prepare for such a
thing was what he had neither leisure nor inclination for, and that the
Council of Trent had long enough occupied his head with jargon, immor-
ality, and impiety."
Third Minister. — ALEXANDER M'Leod, who had been eleven and a
half years in Strathaven (West). Dr Anderson, though only in his fifty-
seventh year, had requested his people to provide him with a colleague.
Deafness was growing upon him, and it impaired his fitness for the
ministrations of the sick-chamber and the conducting of Bible classes.
But though he was to take his full share of pulpit work he firmly declined
to accept more than ^250 of stipend, the junior minister to have ^350.
Mr M'Leod was inducted, nth October 1855, the call being signed by 701
members and 129 adherents. The present church, built on the old site, was
opened on Sabbath, ist January i860. It was seated for 1400, and the
collection amounted to £\ 134. Though the total cost was little under ^10,000
in seven years it was free of debt. The two ministers kept all through on
friendly terms ; but it comes out that there were party preferences in the
congregation, and on 9th February 1864 Mr M'Leod accepted a call to
Claughton, a suburb of Birkenhead, where a congregation had been recently
formed. The call was signed by only 43 members and 17 adherents, but
they promised a stipend of ^400, with expenses. Next year Mr M'Leod
received the degree of D.D. from Glasgow University. Great must have
been the contrast between the huge congregation in John Street and the little
company to which he ministered in Claughton ; but success was only a
question of time. In 1866 the new church, with sittings for 800, was opened,
the cost being set down at ^9000. In 1871 Dr M'Leod was invited back
to Glasgow by Parliamentary Road Church, but he resolved to go on in
Claughton. He died, 12th January 1891, in the seventy-third year of his
age and forty-seventh of his ministry. His "Christus Consolator" was
published in 1870, and his earlier works have already come in under the
heading of Strathaven (West). Of-Dr M'Leod, Dr Anderson wrote thirty
years before : " He is a great man, both intellectually and morally, my
colleague."
Fourth Minister. — DAVID M'EwAN, from College Street, Edinburgh,
after ministering there for nearly thirteen years. Inducted, 12th October
1865. The congregation had previously called the Rev. James M'Owan of
Perth (North). Dr Anderson now retired from regular pulpit work, though
n. D
50 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
he generally preached in John Street once a month. He was to have an
annual allowance of ^300, and his colleague's stipend was not to be less
than ^400. The congregation showed no signs of decadence as yet, the
membership reaching 1 140. Dr Anderson, who resided during the last decade
of his life in Prospect House, Uddingston, died, 15th September 1872, his last
wordsbeing: "Near the Kingdom." His Life,by George Gilfillan, was published
next year, a book marked by the fervour and critical skill for which its
author stood pre-eminent. For compactness, however, and literary grace we
prefer his portrait of William Anderson, which appeared first in Hogg's
Instructor and then in his Second Gallery. Another discriminating estimate
of Dr Anderson's gifts as a thinker, a preacher, and a writer we cannot
afford to overlook — that by Dr Hutton of Paisley, prefixed to the volume
of discourses headed by "Reunion in the Heavenly World" published
in 1876.
Mr M'Ewan received the degree of D.D. from Glasgow University in
1873, ^iid '" May 1875 he was invited to succeed Dr John M'Farlane in
Clapham Church, London, being carried over the Rev. John Dobie by 105
votes to 88 ; and, having accepted the call, he was loosed from John Street on
13th July, and was inducted to Clapham on 7th October. In his new charge
he had a membership at first of fully 500, and it steadily increased till in sixteen
years it reached a good way over 900, and furnished a stipend of ^looo —
the largest, next to that of Dr Monro Gibson, of any Presbyterian minister
in London. In 1898 Dr M'Ewan obtained for his colleague the Rev.
Thomas Currie, M.A., from Warrender Park Free Church, Edinburgh.
Fifth Minister. — John Brand, from Bell Street, Dundee, where he had
been ordained eight and a half years before. Inducted to John Street, 31st
March 1876, the stipend to be ;^6oo. Four years after this it was ^700,
and the membership was returned at 1 100, but there was now to be a rapid
decline through emigration to the suburbs. Mr Brand found the incessant
pastoral work required, extending over far distances, too much for him, and
on 8th June 1886 his demission was accepted. After a brief pause he
undertook the building up of a new cause at Downfield, in the neighbour-
hood of Dundee, his old centre, and there the rest of his ministerial life was
to be spent.
Sixth Minister. — John F. Blair, previously of Gardenstown, where he
had ministered nearly six years. Inducted, 1 6th August 1887. John Street
membership, which used to go up among the four figures, was now reduced
to 600, though the stipend named was ^450. A return to the inflow of
better days no one could look for, and in eleven years the numbers were
down another hundred. In March 1899 Mr Blair resigned owing to diffi-
culties of various kinds, and on nth April he was loosed from his charge.
He then removed to New South Wales, where he was inducted soon after
into Campbell Street, Balmain, in the Presbytery of Sydney.
Seventh Minister. — Alexander Wylie Blue, from Campbeltown. Or-
dained, 26th April 1900. The membership at the beginning of the year was
480, but the stipend was still to be .1^450. During the brief period between
the above date and the Union there was good promise of increase under a
new ministry.
HUTCHESONTOWN (Relief)
On 9th February 1799 the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow received a petition,
from the Gorbals to have a congregation formed there. On 9th April this
was agreed to, and the church, built at a cost of ^3000, was opened by Mr
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 51
Hutchison of Paisley on the second Sabbath of May. In Clelland's Annals
the sittings are placed at 1700. This congregation and that of John Street
were nearly contemporaneous and much alike in their origin. Both sprung
from the same contested election in the parent Relief church at Dovehil).
John Street was begun by friends of the Rev. John Pitcairn, Kelso, the
minority's candidate, and Hutchesontown by friends of the Rev. John Watt,
Blairlogie, the majority's candidate. Though the latter had declined the
divided call from Dovehill the impression was that he would accept
Hutchesontown, where all was harmony. The moderation took place in
January 1800, and as Mr Pitcairn disappointed his friends in John Street,
so Mr Watt disappointed his friends in Hutchesontown.
From the Society's Rules and Regulations, which got the sanction of the
Justices in 1826, we obtain insight into the workings of the proprietor
system so common in the early Relief churches. The secular affairs in this
case were under the control of twelve managers, including a preses and
treasurer. Only proprietors in full membership could hold office or vote on
any occasion, and none but proprietors could be managers. The treasurer
was to uplift the whole revenues, except extraordinary collections required
by the session for purposes such as the relief of the poor or sacramental
expenses. Proprietors in arrears with feu-duty for two years were to forfeit
their sittings, and any proprietor wishing to sell his right was to make his
first offer to the managers at the price they had cost him. If the offer were
declined he might dispose of them to any other purchaser ; but the managers
were not bound to divide the property or, in the case of heirship, to enter
the seats under more names than one. A proprietor might sublet his pew,
but not at a higher rate than 5 per cent, on the original cost, exclusive of
repairs.
First Minister. — William Thomson, from Beith (Head Street), where
he had laboured twelve and a half years. Inducted, 14th August 1800.
The call had been protested against, but the protest was withdrawn, and
Mr Thomson having expressed his wish for Glasgow the translation was
agreed to. In 1836 the communicants numbered between 800 and 900, and
were admitted to be on the decrease. The debt was £700, and the stipend,
which had been ^200 in 18 17, was now ;^300, with ^26 for sacramental
'expenses. Three years after this Mr Thomson required a colleague, being
now on the verge of fourscore. He died, 25th July 1842, in the eighty-
[third year of his age and fifty-fifth of his ministry. Mr Thomson was char-
acterised by Mr Ramage of Berkeley Street as a man of great force of
character, and a natural orator, with "homely ways and pithy Doric,
[quickened by the true Promethean fire."
Second Minister. — James vS. Taylor, translated from Coldstream (East),
Iwhere he had been ordained twelve years before. Inducted, igth November
11839, as colleague and successor to Mr Thomson, with whose uncultured
strength his own tasteful style and manner must have been in striking
contrast. As junior minister he was to have a stipend of ^200. Mr Taylor
tas much respected by his brethren, and took a high place among the
preachers in Glasgow. At the Union in May 1847 he was one of the three
ministers fixed on from the Relief side to address the huge evening audience
in Tanfield Hall. But along with his gifts and graces there was a one-idead
sensitiveness which led to unhappy results. In 1845 a fretting case from
,his session came before the Synod by protest, which was sustained by a
[majority. Then, as we read in the Minutes, "the Rev. James S. Taylor,
peeling himself aggrieved by the decision, intimated his intention of resigning
this charge." This was specially awkward, as he was Moderator of Synod at
Lthe time ; but after a committee had conferred with him the explanations
52 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
they gave so far satisfied him, and he did not now "feel himself under the
painful necessity of separating from his ecclesiastical connection." But
matters were not always to be thus adjusted. In 1872, when the Synod
sanctioned the introduction of instrumental music into public worship,
Mr Taylor wrote the Moderator renouncing connection, because, he said,
"I a,m obliged to regard the U.P. Church as having on a point of vital
moment ceased to be a witness for truth in the land." A committee was
appointed to have an interview with him, but he declined all conference
on the subject, and the case was remitted to the Presbytery of Glasgow.
Again attempts to have conversation with him were baffled, " because his
mind had long ago been made up on the matter in question," and on 13th
August Mr Taylor's resignation of his charge was accepted. After this
he went over to the Baptists, and preached till 1880 to a few of his people
who kept by him. He died at Helensburgh, suddenly and unseen, on
29th December 1888, in the eighty-sixth year of his age and sixty-first of
his ministry. Though distance came between him and the clerical friend-
ships of his youth and manhood a graceful tribute to his memory appeared
in the denominational magazine soon after his death.
Third Minister. — WILLIAM NAIRN, M.A., translated from Keith, where
he had been nearly four years. Inducted, 2nd July 1873. The stipend
was to be ^450. In 1887 Mr Nairn published a volume of sermons, entitled
"The Books were Opened." On 8th July 1888, when enjoying his holidays
at Arran, he fainted while out fishing, and was carried to his lodgings, only
to die. He was in the fiftieth year of his age and nineteenth of his ministry.
We read that his heart was weak, and that after preaching he was liable to
weary, sleepless nights. This may partly account for his closing illness and
sudden death.
Fourth Minister. — James B. NICHOLSON, M.A., from Kettle, where he
had been ordained four years before. Inducted, 19th February 1889. On
Sabbath, 14th May 1899, centenary services were conducted in the venerable
building, which stands as it stood before the intervening century was born.
At the close of the year the membership was close on 1000, and the stipend
was ^525.
GREENHEAD (Relief)
On 2nd July 1805 a petition for sermon was laid before the Relief Presbytery
of Glasgow in the name of a body of people residing in Bridgeton and its
vicinity. The application was granted, and the station was opened on the
last Sabbath of that month. Along with a set of rules drawn up previously
it is stated that the movement arose from the wish to obtain the blessings
of a gospel ministry, the village standing in need of a house for public
worship. The Articles agreed on bore that the money contributed was to
be paid in five instalments, two months apart, and the subscribers were
to have their choice of seats according to the sums given, and where two
or more were equal the order was to be determined by lot. In calling a
minister all who brought certificates of church membership and took
sittings were to have the right to vote, but the election of managers was
to lie with the proprietors only. On this footing the building was proceeded
with, and when completed it had 1293 sittings, and cost almost ^^1600.
For more than thirty years this was the only place of worship in Bridgeton.
In 1807 the congregation issued three unsuccessful calls — first, to Mr
M'llquham of Milngavie, but, having his choice of ToUcross, he wrote them
to go no further ; second, to Mr M'Farlane of Waterbeck, but his time to
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 53
accept had not yet come ; and third, to Mr Walker of Cupar, who declined
Bridgeton, as he had done Campbell Street a little before.
First Minister. — John Reston, who had been in four charges, the fourth
being Carrubber's Close, Edinburgh, where he had not much to keep him
from accepting a fifth. Inducted, 17th March 1808. Within two years he
was libelled by his elders, mainly for insobriety, and the Synod in May 18 10
found the charges proven ; but, satisfied from the evidence " that he has
been labouring under distress of body and debility of mind, they see it their
duty to blend mercy with judgment." Their decision was to loose him from
his charge and suspend him from office, leaving it to the Presbytery of
(ilasgow to remove the sentence if they should see fit. Mr Reston must have
had popular gifts, but he was erratic and unreliable. A complaint was made
to the Presbytery in 1819 that he had been allowed to preach in John Street
Church, though still lying under suspension. We find from the newspapers
that he died at Wilmington, after a short illness, on nth August 1829.
Sccottd Afinistcr. — John M'Farlane, who had been seven years in
Waterbeck, and now accepted what he had declined three years before.
Inducted, 20th .September 1810. The stipend was to be ^180, with £\2
for expenses and ^20 for a house. He died, 6th December 1829, in the
tifty-ninth year of his age and twenty-seventh of his ministry. His son
James entered the Relief Hall in 1825, but joined the Establishment before
his Theological course was finished. He was ordained to the third
charge, Stirling, in 1831, and after being in St Bern;. id's, Edinburgh, for a
number of years he became known as Dr M'Farlane of Duddingston.
Instead of taking the evangelical side during the ten years' conflict he was
the author of a pamphlet upholding Patronage and the policy of the
Moderates throughout. He died in 1866, aged fifty-seven.
Third Minister. — JOHN EDWARDS, from Campsie. Ordained, 23rd
September 1830. Five years after this the membership, which had increased
300 during that period, numbered 916. Mr Edwards' stipend, which had
been ^180 at first, was now ^216, having risen slightly year by year. There
was a debt on the property of fully ^1400, and the proprietors still held 219
of the sittings. In 1858 the church buildings were renovated and improved
at an expenditure of ^3000, and the sittings reduced to looo. In 1870
Mr Edwards received the degree of D.D. from Philadelphia, United States,
and two years after this arrangements were made to provide him with a
colleague, the junior minister to receive a stipend of ;^400 and the senior
minister ^200. In November 1872 the congregation called Mr Jeffrey of
King's Park, Dalkeith, but he remained in the east for the time.
Fourth ii/zV/Zj/^-r.— Alexander Hislop, M.A., from Earlston (West).
Ordained, 2nd October 1873, and loosed, 13th February 1877, on accepting
a call to Helensburgh. In a few months the congregation called Mr Robert
S. Wilson, but he deemed it inexpedient to accept, and was ordained soon
iafter at Castle- Douglas.
Fifth Minister. — JOHN Steel, called from St David's Free Church,
[Kirkintilloch, where he had been ordained, 26th August 1869. Inducted to
^reenhead, 24th April 1878. Dr Edwards died, 20th August 1888, in the
sighty-fourth year of his age and fifty-eighth of his ministry. Though
slightly ailing for some time he rose that morning and dressed as usual, and
short time after it was found that the long life journey was over and that
le had entered into rest. Little remains to attest what Dr Edwards was,
)ut we go back with undimmcd interest to a lecture of his on ".Self-Educa-
tion," which, after appearing in a volume of Lectures to Young Men, formed
two articles in Hogg's Instructor for 1845. ^^ contained stimulus and
lirection for youthful readers bent on self-improvement in the face of
54 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
difficulties, and it showed the author to be a man of wide reading, mental
culture, and solid attainments. Mr Steel received the degree of D.D. from
Glasgow University in 1896. The congregation at the close of 1899 had a
membership of 732, and the stipend was ^440.
TOLLCROSS (Relief)
On 1st July 1806 a large body of people in and about ToUcross, a village a
mile east of Parkhead, petitioned the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow to be
received as a forming congregation. They stated that they were building
a house for public worship, and it appears from a newspaper paragraph that
the work was going on in the early summer. The application was granted
forthwith, and Sabbath services were begun. The church, when finished,
had 1 23 1 sittings, and it cost ^2300.
First Minister. — WILLIAM M'Ilquham, translated from Milngavie,
where he had been for eight years. A competing call came out from
Bridgeton at the same time ; but of the two newly-formed congregations
Mr M'Ilquham preferred Tollcross, where he was inducted, 21st May 1807.
The stipend in 1817 was ^180, with a manse. Mr M'Ilquham died, 2nd
September 1822, he and his eldest daughter, aged sixteen, being buried in
the same grave. He was in the fifty-third year of his age and twenty-fourth
of his ministry.
Second Minister. — WlLLIAM Ney, from Kilsyth. Ordained, 25th May
1824. Though Mr Ney's course was brief, and had a troubled close, the
biographer of Dr William Anderson, his fellow-townsman, tells us "there
was no man in the Relief body of whose abilities and commanding eloquence
Anderson entertained a higher opinion." But the gold became dim, and on
8th November 1831 Mr Ney had to be loosed from his charge and sus-
pended sine die. He died in his father's humble cottage at Kilsyth about a
year afterwards. The precise date cannot be given ; but his widow received
the first payment of her annuity at Whitsunday 1833. His age was thirty-
seven, and they had been married only two years when he lost his ministerial
standing through intemperance.
Third Minister. — William Auld, son of the Rev. William Auld,
Greenock. Ordained on a harmonious call, 28th February 1833, and in
three years the communion roll rose 400, and reached a total of 916. The
church was crowned with a steeple and bell in 1834 at a cost of ^280, and
about the same time a manse was built at a cost of £700. Since the close
of Mr Ney's ministry the funds had improved by at least ^100, but the
stipend was only ^140, with house and garden. This was partly owing to a
debt of ;^ 1 400 on the property. At this time one-fourth of the congregation
were from Old Monkland parish, and 45 families came from more than two
miles. Of the membership, the report bore that one-fifth were hand-loom
weavers and one-fifth were miners. The proprietors numbered 127, and
they included, in addition to the original contributors and their heirs, those
who had subscribed at least a guinea for the erection of the steeple. The
management of the Society's secular affairs was entirely in their hands,
including even the fixing of the seat rents, and they were not all members
of the congregation. In 1876 it was arranged to provide Mr Auld with a
colleague, whose stipend was to be ^250, the senior minister to have ^150,
with the manse.
Fourth Minister. — Charle.s M'Evving, from Stornoway, where he had
been minister four and a half years. Inducted, nth December 1876. Three
years after this the membership was 361. On the evening of Tuesday, 24th
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW • 55
October 1883, Mr Auld's jubilee was celebrated with much interest, befitting
discourses having been preached from ToUcross pulpit by his colleague and
others on the preceding Sabbath. But he was now nearing what the con-
gregation in their congratulatory address called "the dawn of the better
life day," and on 17th April 1885 he died, in the seventy-ninth year of his age
and fifty-third of his ministry. Mr Auld's son, the Rev. James M. Auld, was
ordained on 22nd February 1875 by Glasgow Presbytery as a missionary to
Kaffraria. For some years the station of Elujilo was under his charge, but
since then he has laboured at Columba, in the same colony. After becoming
sole pastor Mr M'Ewing's salary was raised to ^300. At the close of 1899
there was a membership of 625, and the stipend was ^345.
REGENT PLACE (Antiburgher)
In November 1817 a petition was presented to the session of the old Anti-
burgher congregation in Duke Street craving to have the reading of the
line in the praises of the sanctuary restored and repeating tunes discon-
tinued. It was the conservative element in conflict with modern innova-
tions. The session refused to interfere, declaring that these were matters
which it lay with the minister to arrange, a dictum which the rules and forms
of the present day do not sustain. Irritation wrought on for more than a year,
when it found a salutary outlet in Church Extension. On 2nd March 1819a
packet of papers was given in to the Presbytery, and a committee was ap-
pointed to examine the various documents and report on them at next meet-
ing. On 23rd March it was agreed to lose sight of disputes about the
non-reading of the line and such things and keep by the simple question of
granting a disjunction. To ascertain whether the petitioners were backed
by a large enough constituency two petitions were to lie in the session-house
of Duke Street on certain evenings, to be signed, the one by members and
the other by adherents, who wished to be disjoined. On 27th April the
petitions were brought up, the one signed by 1 57 members, of whom 13 were
from Anderston congregation, and the other by 69 adherents. Thereupon
it was agreed to erect the applicants into a separate congregation. Thus
at the Union in the following year Edinburgh and Glasgow had each five
Secession congregations ; but while in Edinburgh three were Burgher and
two Antiburgher, in Glasgow three were Antiburgher and two Burgher.
But the meeting-house in Regent Place was not finished, and sermon
was not required till the first Sabbath of August. That day the new church,
with 1446 sittings, was opened by Mr Muter, whose appearance in the pulpit
was the pledge of peace between the two congregations. An election of
elders was next to be proceeded with, and a session was formed on the
fourth Sabbath of October. The first call came out on 30th December,
signed by 85 male members and adhered to by 61 female members and
1 14 non-communicants. The stipend was to be ^300, and it was reported
that there were 600 seats let. The call was addressed to the Rev. Hugh
Heugh of Stirling ; but at the Synod in May he indicated strong attachment
to his people, and it was decided not to translate. He was called again in
June 1820, but the former decision was repeated. There was nothing more
done now till April 1821, when the Presbytery held a special meeting to
receive an application from Regent Place for a moderation. The whole
proceedings connected with this call were condensed into the shortest space
possible. On Friday the moderation was granted ; on Saturday and Sabbath
the pulpit intimation was made ; on Monday the election took place ; and on
Tuesday the call was set aside. The preacher chosen was Mr James
56 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Whyte, for whom seven calls gathered up for the Synod's decision a year
later. In Regent Place Church Mr Whyte's gifts were not universally ap-
preciated, the signatures fell short, and in the Presbytery it carried not to
sustain "on account of the divided state of the congregation." They were
now to fall back on their former choice.
First Minister. — HUGH Heugh, who had been fifteen years in Stirling
(now Viewfield). The numbers signing in his favour now amounted to 260
members and 203 adherents. Along with this call another from Nicolson
Street, Edinburgh, to be colleague to Dr Jamieson, came before the Synod
on 13th September 1821. The discussion lasted eight hours, when it carried
to translate to Glasgow. Mr Heugh, as was given in a report at the time,
"stated his known attachment to his congregation, which was undiminished,
begged the Court to throw out of view every secular consideration connected
with himself or his family, and entreated that, wherever a doubt existed in
the minds of members, Stirling should have the benefit." The vote stood
thus : Glasgow 55, Stirling 52, Edinburgh i, and he was inducted, 9th
October 1821. What about repeating tunes now and the reading of the
line 1 The minister, before the year was out, put such matters at rest by
desiring the precentor to introduce the new music and by consenting to
wear the gown and bands. It was unworthy prejudice denied house room
even in its own temple. Some families of the sterner sort might seek else-
where, but the congregation was safe into the tide of progress.
Mr Heugh had the degree of D.D. from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1831,
but of such honours he wrote some years afterwards : " They are of vastly
little value — a mere shoulder tinsel knot." He took an active part in the
Voluntary Controversy, and published a pamphlet in 1833, entitled "Con-
siderations on Civil Establishments of Religion." In 1836 Regent Place
had a membership of about 1 1 50. There was a debt of ^2245, which was
being reduced by the yearly overplus. The stipend, including expenses and
life insurance, was ^468. The congregation also, besides supporting two
city missionaries of their own, bestowed ^90 a year on Inveraray church, and
^250 on Bellevue, Jamaica. About the year 1843 Dr Heugh felt the evening
shadows beginning to gather, and a sojourn on the Continent was recom-
mended, the fruits of which we have in his " Notices of the State of Religion
in Geneva and Belgium." But, though partial restoration came, he felt
persuaded that he would never be able to resume full work again, and steps
were taken to procure a colleague. At this juncture Dr Heugh stepped
forward to take his part in the Atonement discussions, and at the time
when a breach was threatened he acted as a mediator. On neither side did
he go to extremes, and his " Irenicum " helped to smooth the way to better
things. It was a motion of his that carried at the Synod in May 1845, when
the Clerk's table was laden with conflicting Memorials. But when July came,
and Dr Brown was libelled, his state of health was such that he could not go
beyond a silent vote. At this time the Rev. David Croom of Sanquhar was
under call to be his colleague, but declined.
Second Minister. — James Taylor, translated from St Andrews. Having
been called with much harmony he was inducted, 26th February 1846.
The stipend was to be ^300, and he had scarcely settled down in Glasgow
when he received the degree of D.D. from St Andrews University. With
Dr Heugh the fibres now yielded one by one. Once he addressed his
people at the communion, once he was present at the prayer meeting, once
he took his seat in the session, and once in the Presbytery. Once he
accompanied his colleague in a round of pastoral visitation, and once in
some visits to the afflicted. Then he might have said : " It is done." It
was when in this worn state that he had to suffer for the part he took in the
f
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 57
Atonement Controversy ; but the recital pertains to the history of Kirkgate,
Leith, and the Rev. William Marshall. Dr Heugh died, loth June 1846, in
the sixty-fourth year of his age and fortieth of his ministry. His memory
survives in a biographical volume of much merit by his son-in-law, the Rev.
Hamilton M. MacGill, D.D. A companion volume of his discourses was pub-
lished at the same time, of which a friendly critic wrote that, " wanting his
admirable delivery, they have lost much of their charm," a remark which
admits of wide application. Mrs Heugh, who was a daughter of the Rev.
John Clarkson of Ayr, died, 15th September 1877, in her ninety-eighth year.
On nth July 1848 Ur Taylor, with a large proportion of his congrega-
tion and a larger proportion of its wealth, was disjoined from Regent Place
and transferred west to Renfield Street. By request he was to occupy the
pulpit till the first Sabbath of August, and dispense the communion on that
day. The Presbytery expressed gratification at the spirit displayed by both
parties.
Third Minister. — John Edmond, translated from Dennyloanhead,
where he had been Dr Stark's colleague for eight years. The congregation
which remained in Regent Place were in readiness for a moderation at next
meeting of Presbytery. Mr Edmond was described about this time by a
brother minister of strong literary bent as "one of the most effective
speakers in the U.P. body, mildly animated, tremulously powerful, with
sweetness now and then soaring almost into strength." The first call
having been declined another followed, but they were induced by the object
of their choice to have it withdrawn. They next fixed on Mr Andrew
Morton, probationer, but he preferred Sir Micliael Street, (irecnock. Now
the resolve was formed to call Mr Edmond again, believing that in the
circumstances he would not a third time say them nay. He yielded, and
his induction took place, 5th June 1850. During the ten years which
followed there was steady progress in Regent Place Church, and though
the situation was unfavourable the membership at the close of that period
was about 1000, with a revenue of ^1600 a year. But now Church Exten-
sion was commencing with vigour in London, and as the first-fruits a con-
gregation was formed in Highbury on 31st October 1869. After a half year
had passed, though the members numbered only 39, they called the Rev.
John Edmond of Glasgow, and at a meeting of Presbytery on 12th June
i860 Mr Edmond, in presence of a huge audience, intimated his acceptance,
taking the front place in the new movement.
The church at Highbury was opened on 4th December 1862 by Dr
Cairns of Berwick, with sittings for 1050, the cost being about ^9000. The
stipend was ^500, of which ^200 was guaranteed by the Synod for three
years, but owing to the rapid gathering in of better-class families the
supplement was dispensed with before that period expired. In the beginning
of 1861 Mr Edmond had the degree of D.D. from Glasgow University. In
1870 he was sent as a deputy to the first General Assembly of the Presby-
terian Church of America. When in Canada he conducted a Sabbath
;rvice in Dr Ormiston's church, Hamilton, and the Doctor having removed
lortly after to New York he was invited to become his successor. The call
jras forwarded with 435 signatures of members, and the promise of 3500
|ollars, and a manse, but Dr Edmond decided to remain at his post in
lighbury. In 1872 he wrote an account of his tour through the United
jtates and Canada in twelve articles, which extended through the twelve
lumbers of the U.P. Magazine iox \\\'ai\.yQ:?iX. At the intervening Synod he
lied the Moderatoi-'s Chair. In 1885 the Rev. Peter Carmichael, from the
Reformed Presbyterian Church, Airdrie, was inducted as his colleague, and
7th October 1893 ^^r Edmond died, in the seventy-eighth year of his
58 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
age and fifty-second of his ministry. Of his published writings a large pro-
portion were addressed to the young. Before leaving Glasgow he issued
"The Children's Charter," and this was followed by "The Children's
Church at Home," the first series in 1861 and the second in 1863. In 1871
his "Scripture Stories in Verse" appeared, most of them reprinted from the
Juvenile Missionary Magazine.
Fourth Minister. — William R. Thomson, who had been five years in
Bethelfield, Kirkcaldy. Prior to this Regent Place congregation attempted
to obtain the Rev. W. B. Robertson of Irvine, but, like churches of even higher
mark, they were disappointed. There were 826 members at this time, and the
stipend was to be ^450. Mr Thomson was inducted, 3rd October 1861, and
accepted Sir Michael Street, Greenock, on 29th April 1863. A call from
Regent Place to the Rev. William M. Taylor of Bootle quickly followed, but
was declined, and then, after a lengthy pause, they called the Rev. William
Thomson of Haddington, who preferred to remain in a quieter sphere.
Fifth Minister. — Alexander Oliver, B.A., who had been in Galashiels
(East) for eleven years. Inducted, 26th January 1865, the stipend to be the
same as formerly. On 12th May 1878 the new church at Dennistoun, with
sittings for over 800, was opened by Professor Cairns. The cost was about
^13,000, but that sum was more than covered by the price received from
the railway company for the old building. In 1888 Mr Oliver received the
degree of D.D. from Edinburgh University. Since coming to Glasgow he
has published two books, the one, entitled " In Defence of the Faith," in
1886, and the other, " What and How to Preach," in 1892, the latter being a
set of lectures prepared by appointment of Synod for our divinity students
in connection with the work of Practical Training. At the Synod in 1894 Dr
Oliver was raised to the Moderator's Chair. The stipend of Regent Place
Church at the close of 1899 was ^600, and the membership stood at, or
slightly over, the same figure.
CALTON (Relief)
The place of worship in which this congregation began had a far-back
history. It was built in 1756 for Mr Hugh Innes, one of two ministers who
split the old Reformed Presbytery and set up another for themselves based
on Eraser of Brae's scheme of Universal Redemption. It remained in the
hands of this party till 1791, when the congregation collapsed, the last
minister being Mr George Thomson, who had been at one time Burgher
minister of Rathillet. The property was afterwards acquired by the main
body of Reformed Presbyterians in Glasgow, under Mr John M'Millan.
On this congregation removing to their new church in Great Hamilton
Street the Relief Presbytery, on petition to that effect, appointed Mr
M'Farlane of Bridgeton to preach in the vacant chapel on the first Sabbath
of February 1820. On ist March commissioners appeared from a body of
people " in and about Calton " to be taken under the Presbytery's inspection,
and it was agreed to recognise them as Kirk Street Relief Church.
First Minister. — J AMES TuRNBULL, who had been nearly seven years in
Colinsburgh. Inducted, 27th June 1820, the stipend to be ^120. Next
year a new church, with 1394 sittings, was built at a cost of ;^2200. Houses
and shops, which brought a good return, were also erected on part of the
ground, the outlay being ^2100. In the summer of 1826 disputes arose in
the session over a proposal by Mr Turnbull to have the Lord's Supper
administered quarterly and week-day services dispensed with, but on 5th
September a graver matter was introduced into the Presbytery. Seven of
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I
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 59
the elders requested an investigation into reports affecting their minister's
character. At three successive meetings witnesses were examined in long
array, and Mr William Anderson, who along with other two members of
Presbytery had conducted the precognition, pressed home the charge with
much vehemence. Mr Turnbull admitted that on the night specified his
head was so confused on Glasgow streets that he did not know east from
west ; that in his bewilderment he asked two women to tell him his where-
abouts ; and that he went with them into a shop and paid for a dram, but
left without tasting it, and reached home after midnight. It makes us doubt
whether the insobriety and improper demeanour imputed to him were
altogether the invention of "a wicked, enthusiastic visionary." But members
and adherents to the number of 750 petitioned the Presbytery in his favour.
They were convinced, they said, of his entire innocence, and it was their
settled determination to abide by their minister, come what might. The
sentence was that for certain imprudences Mr Turnbull should be suspended
from preaching on Sabbath first, and should be rebuked before the con-
gregation. He bowed to the decision, expressed sorrow for his faults, and
promised circumspection for the future.
At next meeting of Presbytery Mr Thomson of Hutchesontown reported
that he preached in Calton Church as appointed, but "Mr Turnbull declined
to make his appearance when called for." In one of the public papers it
was reported that the church " was doubly crammed in all parts," and it
was further stated by a friend of Mr TurnbuU's that the streets and lanes
leading towards the place of worship were crowded, and that the carrying
out of the Presbytery's sentence would have been to hold up the minister
to derision. He himself rebelled against the sentence altogether, and on
2nd January 1827 his brethren declared him no longer a Relief minister.
This brought the case before the Synod by protest and appeal, the con-
gregation unanimously resolving to adhere to Mr Turnbull till the matter
was settled. At the Synod the committee which sat on the case reported
that they found the appellant in a good frame of mind, that he larrrented the
sin he had committed, and that he cast himself upon the mercy of the Court.
He was then called to the bar, rebuked by the Moderator, and suspended
for four Sabbaths. Against the latter part of the sentence the commissioners
from the congregation protested, and this brought matters back to where
they were.
Mr Turnbull on returning to Glasgow did not lie aside for four Sabbaths,
and on 13th July the Presbytery received his written resignation of connec-
tion with the Relief By this time he had deserted the Calton pulpit, and
was preaching in another place of worship. A week afterwards he put in
an appearance, and declared himself to be still the minister of a Relief
congregation, but when he was about to be admonished from the Chair
he declined the Presbytery's authority. Accompanied by the great body of
his people Mr Turnbull now occupied a chapel in Great Hamilton Street,
called the Noddy Kirk. On 6th July 1830, along with his session and
congregation, he petitioned the Presbytery for readmission, but at next
meeting it was decided that he would have first to give satisfaction for his
former declinature of their authority. All we know of Mr Turnbull further
is that in July 1832 he ceased to be a member of the Widows' Society
through non-payment of the rates, but all attempts to discover when or where
he died have been baffled. In the report of the Commissioners on Religious
Instruction in Glasgow a few years after this there is no mention of either
him or his congregation. Dr Aikman, however, was mistaken in stating
that Mr Turnbull was deposed from the office of the ministry.
Second Minister.— k\J£y.p>.^V)VM. Harvey, who had been ordained to
6o HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Kilmarnock (King Street) in 1822. The call to Calton was signed by only
57 members, but he accepted, and was inducted, 17th January 1828. Though
there was a great clearing out. the elders who brought up the charge against
Mr Turnbull would remain, and there were eleven managers and about 100
communicants and seat-holders who acquiesced in the Presbytery's decision.
Such was the nucleus Mr Harvey had to commence with ; but the Calton con-
gregation increased, while that in the Noddy Kirk was sure to decrease.
In 1836 Mr Harvey reported a membership of 920, and there were no
sittings to let. But the stipend still stood at ^250, and there was an
annuity of ^100 paid to a Mrs Elder, of whom we know nothing. The
debt amounted to ^3570, but more than two-thirds of the interest was met
by rents from property. Mr Harvey made himself a power in the Relief
Synod all along, but specially during the Voluntary Controversy, and it
is to the question of Church and State that most of his published writings
are directed. His famous debate with Mr Maitland MacGill Crichton we
shall deal with under the heading of Pittenweem. He died of malignant
fever, 25th September 1843, '-^ th^ forty-seventh year of his age and twenty-
second of his ministry. The Presbytery put upon record their deep sense
of the bereavement they had suffered by the removal of a brother " so
talented, so serviceable, so public-spirited, and of such decided integrity."
Third Minister. — James G. Stewart, from Strathaven (West). There
was division at the moderation, but, instead of petitioning the Presbytery
not to sustain, the minority proceeded to set up a new cause, now Gillespie
Church. The call was signed by 499 members and 80 seat-holders, and
Mr Stewart having accepted, though with hesitancy, he was ordained, 23rd
July 1844. The congregation could not undertake more than ^200 of
stipend, and the loss sustained by so many withdrawals was not to be
recovered for thirty years. Great was the contrast between Mr Stewart and
his predecessor, and this may have told unfavourably. While the one
courted publicity and threw his energies into public movements, the shrink-
ing nature of the other kept him habitually in the shade. The only time
Mr Stewart turned aside from the quiet tenor of his way was in 1854, when
he published by request a treatise, entitled ''The .^nti-Sabbatarian Defence-
less," consisting of lectures he had delivered to his own people. As*a
hindrance to success, the old burden of debt remained almost undiminished.
Amidst many discouragements Mr Stewart's unostentatious work went on
year after year, but without any perceptible rising of the tide. He died,
1st May 1874, in the sixty-second year of his age and the thirtieth of his
ministry.
Fourth Minister. — Robert Campbell, who had been transferred from
Canon .Street, Glasgow (now Bellgrove), and inducted to Aldershot on
6th June 1865, a position for which he possessed marked adaptations. But
after doing energetic work there he consented to grapple with the difficulties
of keeping Albion Chapel, London, from extinction, and was admitted to his
third charge on 19th September 1872. In August 1874 the Presbytery of
London were informed that the lease of the chapel being to expire in June
1876 the City Corporation had resolved to pull the building down and let the
site for secular purposes. The Presbytery now felt that the sooner the con-
gregation shifted to another situation the better, and on 9th November it
was announced that they were worshipping in a hall in Hackney, having
gone where there was the best opening, and where the largest number of
the existing congregation could be kept together. But before another month
had passed a great door and effectual opened in Glasgow for their minister.
Calton cong^regation with their large, empty church addressed a call to
Mr Campbell signed by 127 members and 36 adherents ; but, drawing on
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 6i
the future, they put the stipend at ^350. The invitation came opportunely,
and Mr Campbell was inducted, 5th January 1875. As for Albion, the
congregation resolved on 24th March thereafter to resign its records into
the hands of the Presbytery, and request to be dissolved. This was done
on 7th June, no alternative seeming practicable. Thus passed away the
commodious church built for Alexander Fletcher in the beginnings of his
abounding popularity, and where Dr John Young ministered during what
we may consider the best twenty years of his thoughtful life.
Of Mr Campbell in Calton Church all we require to say may be con-
densed into a single sentence. In five years the congregation had a
membership of 938, a total income of nearly ;^iioo, and gave a stipend of
^500. After this there was little room for increase ; but the work of con-
solidating went on, and in the beginning of the Union year there were 1198
names on the communion roll, and the stipend was as before. In 1892
Mr Campbell appeared as the author of " Jezebel : a sacred Drama," skilfully
conceived and vigorously executed.
ERSKINE CHURCH (United Secession)
This congregation with its minister came over from the Independents in
1821. We find from Kinniburgh's "Fathers of Independency" and from
Greville Ewing's "Memoirs" that the members had withdrawn originally
from a congregation in connection with the Relief Synod. They worshipped
at first in The Tabernacle in Jamaica Street, built by the Haldanes, and
vacated at Whitsunday 1809 by the Rev. Greville Ewing's congregation.
Declining to avail themselves any longer of Mr Haldane's liberality, owing
to his having embraced Baptist views, they met for a time first in one
city hall and then in another. On i6th October 1814 they took possession
of their new church in Nicholson Street, with 910 sittings, and built at a
cost of ^2100.
First Minister. — John Campbell, a native of Lochgilphead, which
accounts for his mastery of the Gaelic language. Brought up in the
Established Church, and studied Theology two sessions in that connection.
His views of Church government having undergone a change he attended
the Rev. Greville Ewing's classes for a time, and then became one of
Haldane's missionary preachers. He was ordained at Dunkeld, 6th May
1801, Mr Ralph Wardlaw, who was then in location at Perth, taking the
opening exercises. Mr Campbell removed to Dundee in 1804 to the
West Port Church, formerly Relief and under the care of Mr Neil
Douglas, but now Congregationalist. In 18 10 he became pastor of the
newly-formed congregation, Jamaica Street, Glasgow, where he and his
people so far swerved from the genuine type of Independency as to
have a regular eldership, and after ten years they decided to adopt the
Presbyterian system altogether. The Secession Church had recently
come into greater prominence through the Union of Burghers and Anti-
burghers, and on 30th January 1821 Mr Campbell and his congregation
applied for admission into its fellowship. The petition was signed by
ten elders and more than 100 male members, and the movement seems
to have been gone into with entire unanimity. On 27th February Mr
Campbell preached " an excellent and impressive sermon " before the
' Presbytery, of which he entered in his Journal : " I was enabled to deliver
with tolerable ease the thoughts I had been collecting on my text."
Then minister and elders having assented to the questions of the Formula
62 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
another Secession congregation was added to the five already existing
in Glasgow.
In 1 82 1 and 1822 the Synod, availing itself of Mr Campbell's ex- ,
perience and his command of the Gaelic language, appointed him to
itinerate for six weeks or two months in the Western Highlands. He
also passed over in the summer of 1826 to preach the gospel to the
native Irish in their own tongue, and had even the wish to devote him-
self entirely to evangelistic work of that kind, but in the following year
his health showed symptoms of decline. In April 1828 he required sick-
supply for his pulpit, and he died on loth July, in the fifty-ninth year of
his age and twenty-eighth of his ministry. His eldest son, who was on
the point of being admitted to holy orders in the Episcopal Church,
predeceased him by seven months. Of Mr Campbell the Glasgow Herald
recorded in connection with his death : " He was mainly instrumental
in the late revival of evangelical religion in Ireland, having two years
ago preached no less than seventy sermons, chiefly in the Irish tongue,
in the districts where the revival took possession." A Memoir of Mr
Campbell was published, with extracts from his Diary and Correspondence,
by Dr John M'Farlane, one of his successors in Nicholson Street.
The congregation in February 1829 called Mr John Reid, whom the
Synod in April appointed to Cowgate, Edinburgh. A few months later
they called the Rev. James Thomson of Maybole, but the Presbytery
allowed the call to drop.
Second Minister. — James Smith, from Denny. The call was signed
by 230 members and 114 adherents, and the stipend was to be £170.
Ordained, 14th April 1830. The congregation had been in straits towards
the close of Mr Campbell's ministry, owing, they said, to the commercial
state of the country and other causes. Under Mr Smith there was large
improvement, the seat rents rising in three years from ^88 to ^231, and
the collections from ^82 to ^144. In 1836 it was reported that the
communicants had increased in five years from 240 to over 600. The
stipend was now ^200, with at least ^20 in name of expenses. There
was a debt of ^1253 on the property, but it was in course of being re-
duced. On loth December 1839 Mr Smith was loosed from his charge,
having resolved on emigrating to America. There had been a loss of
nervous energy, consequent, it was said, on a crushing love disappoint-
ment, and he believed that a change of scene was desirable. In the
United States he became minister of the College Church, Washington ;
but his health seems never to have been fully re-established, and after
struggling on for a few years he was compelled to give in his demission.
He then returned to Scotland, and died in Glasgow, 12th March 1845, in
the forty-third year of his age. The Senatus of Washington College,
the members of which had sat under his ministry, conferred on him the
degree of D.D. after he left. On receiving notice of the honour done
him he seemed saddened, and said : " I doubt this will be of little use
to me now." A tombstone to Dr Smith's memory stands in the burying-
ground beside Denny U.P. Church.
Third Minister. — John M'Farlane, called from Kincardine, where he
had been for nine and a half years, and inducted, 22nd September 1840. At
the moderation 102 voted for Mr M'Farlane and 47 for Mr James Morison,
preacher, shortly to be ordained at Kilmarnock. The stipend promised was
to be from ^160 to ^200. In 1842 Mr M'Farlane had the degree of LL.D.
from the University of Glasgow. The congregation, as Dr M'Farlane stated
when leaving for London, had scarcely 300 members when he began his
labours among them, which implies a great falling off since 1836, and they
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 63
were heavily burdened with debt. On 15th May 1842 they removed to
Erskine Church, with its 1200 sittings, the cost being ^4245. In 1846 it was
announced that ^1115 had been paid off within six months, and the debt was
finally liquidated in 1854. The old building was sold to an Independent
congregation, the Rev. David Russell's, for £700. In 1861 Dr M'Farlane,
who had interested himself deeply in the cause of Church Extension in
London, was fixed on by the newly-formed congregation in Clapham to
become their minister, and, though subscribed by only 36 members and
89 adherents, the call was accepted, and on 12th November he was loosed
from Erskine Church, the membership of which, he stated, was just touching
1200. He was inducted into Clapham on 15th April 1862, where his ministry
proved a great success.
Dr M'Farlane's career as an author began in Kincardine in 1837, where
he was joined by Dr M'Kerrow, Bridge of Teith, in preparing the " Life and
Correspondence of Dr Belfrage, Falkirk." In his first charge he also took
part with his pen in the Voluntary Controversy. In Glasgow he published
"The Mountains of the Bible," in 1849 ; "The Night Lamp," bearing on his
sister's death-bed experiences, in 1851 ; "The Life and Times of Dr
Lawson," in 1861. These were followed after he went to London by the
" Memoir of Dr Archer," and a " Memoir of Dr M'Kelvie," prefixed to a
volume of his sermons, and in a condensed form to his Annals and Statistics.
Other publications of his remain in goodly array, but full particulars are
given by Dr William Graham of the English Presbyterian College, London,
in his Life of Dr M'Farlane, published in 1876. He died, 7th February 1875,
in the sixty-eighth year of his age and forty-fourth of his ministry.
Fourth Mittister. — Robert S. Drummond, M.A., translated from St
James' Place, Edinburgh, after a ministry there of four years, and inducted,
22nd May 1862. The stipend promised was ^500, which was ultimately raised
to £700, with some additions. In 1869 Mr Drummond received the degree
of D.D. from Glasgow University, and on 28th May 1872 he accepted a call
to the English Presbyterian Church, St John's Wood, London, to succeed
the Rev. Dr Roberts, who had been promoted to the Humanity Chair in
St Andrews University, where he conformed to the Established Church.
Here the newly-ratified scheme of Mutual Eligibility had its first beginning.
After seven years Dr Drummond comes before us again under Belhaven
Church, Glasgow.
During this vacancy Erskine Church attempted to widen out the circle
of Eligibility by calling a minister from among the Independents, the Rev.
Alexander M'Auslane, Dr Fletcher's successor in Finsbury Chapel, London.
But this was a contingency for which the Rules of Synod did not provide,
and the Presbytery had no power to sustain the call.
Fifth Minister. — JAMES JEFFREY, M.A., translated from King's Park,
Dalkeith, where he had been ordained seven and a half years before. The
sti])end was still £700, with expenses. Inducted, 5th June 1873. O"
1st November 1887 a section of the membership was disjoined from Erskine
Church and erected, with Mr Jeffrey for their minister, into Trinity con-
gregation, Pollokshields.
Sixth Minister. — James Kidd, B.D., translated from St Andrews after
a ministry of nearly eight years. Inducted, 25th September 1888. In 1895
' r Kidd's "Morality and Religion" was published, the second volume of
e Kerr Lectures, and that year he received the degree of D.D. from
■Glasgow University. At the close of 1899 the membership of Erskine
Church was 681, and the stipend, including expenses, ^525.
64 HISTORY OP^ U.P. CONGREGATIONS
ST VINCENT STREET (United Secession)
On loth October 1822 two petitions were presented to Glasgow Secession
Presbytery from members of Campbell Street (now Sydney Place) and
Anderston (now Wellington Church) to be formed into a separate con-
gregation in Melville Street, where they had a place of worship " in a state
of forwardness." A paper of adherence was also given in from 93 persons
not in connection with the Secession, and, according to the Christian
Monitor^ there were 400 in concurrence. At next meeting the sessions of
Greyfriars and Duke Street reported that the proposal for a new congrega-
tion ought not to be entertained ; but those of Anderston, Nicholson Street,
and Regent Place made no objections, the last named adding that they appre-
hended no danger to existing interests from the proposed erection. On
the petition being granted Dr Dick and Messrs Muter and Campbell
protested and appealed to the Synod, their chief complaint being that in
building a place of worship without the sanction of the Presbytery the
parties had acted irregularly, but when it was agreed to overture the
Synod to prevent such irregularities in future the protest was withdrawn.
On 8th April 1823 a petition was presented by 69 persons to have their
names added to the list of applicants for sermon. They stated that the
church would be ready for occupancy on the third Sabbath of that month.
The sittings were 1576, and the cost, including the purchase of the ground,
was ^4460. Six elders were ordained on the third Sabbath of October,
and after another year the congregation called Mr John Smart, who had
been appointed by the Synod to St Andrew's Place, Leith. Edinburgh
Presbytery pleaded the decision of their superiors for disregarding this new
intervention, and with Mr Smart's approval went straight on with the
ordination. The call was signed by 180 members and 134 adherents, while
the stipend promised was .2^300, with sacramental expenses. In March 1825
they made choice of Mr William Nicol, but not with unanimity, and the
Synod appointed him to Jedburgh (Blackfriars).
First Minister. — Alexander O. Beattie, who had been ordained at
Leslie seventeen years before, and was now translated from Kincardine. It
was not Mr Beattie's way to express himself on any subject with bated
breath, and when the call came before the Synod he intimated a decided
wish to be removed to Glasgow, which carried by a majority of 20. Inducted,
18th October 1825. Success attended Mr Beattie in each of his three
charges, though it was in the growing city of the west that it had full
scope for visibility. In ten years the congregation had a membership of
little under 1600, and out of 1576 sittings 1538 were let, a larger proportion
than in any of the sister churches. Secession or Relief. The stipend was
^335, but a debt of ^3000 was still allowed to rest on the property. Mr
Beattie, having passed through the Medical Classes in Glasgow University,
took the degree of M.D. in 1833, which was capped by that of D.D. from
Oxford, Ohio, in 1844. When within a few years of his jubilee arrangements
were made to provide Dr Beattie with a colleague.
Second Minister. — George Marshall Middleton, called from Kinross
(West) in 1854, but the call was declined. Another, signed by 737 members
instead of 484, followed in 1855, and having accepted it Mr Middleton was
inducted, 2nd October of that year. His stipend as junior minister was to be
^300. For a time Dr Beattie shared the work, but in July 1857 he was seized
with paralysis, and never appeared in the pulpit again. He died, loth June
1858, in the seventy-fifth year of his age and fifty-first of his ministry. The
present church was opened on Wednesday, i8th February 1859, with 1380
sittings. For the old building the railway company paid ^15,000, but in
\
. PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 65
providing another over ^21,000 was expended. Mr Middleton laboured on
for seven years as sole pastor, and then organic disease of the heart weakened
his strength, and a colleague was required to relieve him of the burden.
In 1864 the Rev. John Mitchell Harvey of Alloa (West) was called, but
he did not accept.
Third Minister. — J AMES Rennie, translated from King's Park, Dalkeith,
after a fifteen years' ministry there. Having preferred St Vincent Street,
Glasgow, to Egremont, Liverpool, he was inducted, ist August 1865. Mr
Middleton was away in quest of health when his colleague was inducted,
and they never met after the relationship was formed. On his way home
from Jersey he died at Moffat, very suddenly, on 3rd July 1866. There was
no symptom of special illness, but, whilst talking quietly with his nearest
relative, the labouring heart ceased to beat, his countenance changed, and
he passed away. He was in the fortieth year of his age and sixteenth of
his ministry. Of both Dr Beattie and Mr Middleton memorable notices
appeared in the U.P. Magazine., the one by Dr Eadie, the other by Dr
David Young. They furnish a contrast between Dr Beattie's "open-
mouthed and measured elocution, every sentence swelling out into oracular
volume and majesty," and Mr Middleton's graceful elocution, at once the
perfection of nature and the perfection of art.
From the early days of his ministry Mr Rennie had taken an active part
as a member of Synod in everything pertaining to " the service of song in
the house of the Lord." It was fit, therefore, that in 1896, when the revised
draft of the Hymnary was to be laid on the table, he should be called to
fill the Moderator's Chair. Two years after this a colleague was arranged
for, and in October 1898 the congregation called the Rev. J, Smyth Wood,
St George's, Sunderland, who declined.
Fourth Minister. — David M'Queen, who had been translated from
Arthur Street, Edinburgh, to East India Road, London, in 1893, where he
was amidst abounding labours for five years. Inducted to St Vincent Street
on 31st May 1899, each minister to have a stipend of ^300. On 13th
March 1900 Mr Rennie retired from the collegiate position, and was enrolled
minister-emeritus. The congregation, aided by a Committee of Presbytery,
hoped to give him 800 guineas in lieu of an annual allowance. The
membership at the Union was a little over 400, and Mr M'Queen's stipend
was ^400.
EGLINTON STREET (United Secession)
This church was intended to meet the wants of Secession families on the
south side of the river. Lauriston (now Erskine Church) was the only con-
gregation they had in that part of the town, and it was an accession from
the Independents, and wanted the charm of novelty. Accordingly, on 9th
December 1823 a number of persons in the Gorbals intimated to the Presby-
tery of Glasgow that they intended to erect a church there, and that, having
meanwhile procured a commodious place to worship in, they wished sermon at
once. The petition was granted, and Mr Kidston of Campbell Street preached
to them on the third Sabbath of that month. For another year they figured
in the Presbytery records as "the congregation assembling in the Lancas-
trian schoolroom, Lauriston." Then, as we find from a Glasgow newspaper,
their own chapel was opened on Sabbath, 9th January 1825, by Messrs
Heugh, Mitchell, and Kidston. On 14th June a congregation was formed,
the members being admitted partly by certificate and partly by examination,
but the numbers are not given. In August a session of four elders was
II. E
66 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
constituted, and a moderation was at once applied for, the stipend promised
being ^200, with sacramental expenses.
First Minister. — John Johnston, who had been minister at St Andrews
for nearly sixteen years. The call was signed by 80 members and 121 ad-
herents, and the induction took place, 19th October 1825. Mr Johnston was
a very effective preacher, and, as I remember him when he paid his last
visit to St Andrews, he carried the remains of his popularity with him. into
an advanced old age. But his difficulties in Eglinton Street ultimately
proved too great for him to overcome. The church, with sittings for 12 18,
cost over ^4000, and this entailed a burden which pressed heavily on
minister and congregation year after year. In 1836 Mr Johnston stated that
up till then the debt had gone on increasing till it amounted to more than
^5000. The stipend at this time was ^220, and the communicants were 565,
a number more than double what they were five years before. Still, towards
the close of 1840 the managers, under special discouragement, declared that
they could not go on unless their financial affairs were put on an altered
footing. Finding the way blocked Mr Johnston resigned, and was loosed
from his charge, 9th March 1841. When setting out for America he received
from Thomas Carlyle a testimonial as " a man of affectionate, graceful dis-
position, of good talent usefully as well as gracefully cultivated, whose whole
past life has been spent in honourable and well-accepted labour as a
Christian minister." He added : " To me he was a benefactor, my first
good instructor in the Latin language ; his father was my father's venerated
minister, and still dwells in my memory as one of the most venerable and
truly Christian men I have ever seen in the world." On reaching his
destination Mr Johnston joined the Old School Presbyterians, and became
minister of Jane Street Church, New York. Thence he was transferred to
the city of Jersey, where he remained till 1854, when he retired from active
service, his people having provided him with a handsome annuity for life.
He then returned to this country, retaining the status of senior minister, and
died at Moffat, 4th May 1864, in the eightieth year of his age and fifty-fifth
of his ministry. A Memoir of Mr Johnston appeared soon after in the U.P.
Magazine., written by Dr M'Farlane of London in his best style.
Second Minister. — William Burgess, M.A., translated from Urr, where
he had been five and a half years. Inducted, 28th April 1842. The stipend
promised was ^200, with expenses, and ^25 would be added as soon as
800 seats were let. The call was signed by 174 members and 76 adherents.
The congregation had twice called the Rev. William Johnston prior to this,
but he remained in Limekilns. The debt must long have been oppressive,
but it was gradually reduced. A special effort, for example, in 185 1 brought
it down ;^5i3. In April 1862 the state of Mr Burgess' health required him
to repair to a warmer climate for three months ; but at the expiry of that
period he was still an invalid, and on 6th August he died, in the fifty-third
year of his age and twenty-sixth of his ministry. The congregation were fit
now to undertake a stipend of ^400, and on this footing they called the
Rev. James M'Owan of Perth.
Third Minister. — Walter Morison, B.A., from Cathcart Street, Ayr,
where he had laboured fully ten years. Inducted, 23rd March 1864. At
the moderation 218 voted for Mr Morison and 108 for the Rev. John C.
Baxter of Dundee, but the call was signed by 440 members and 147 ad-
herents. In 1870 Mr Morison declined a call to Brighton, but on 14th
February 187 1 he accepted Westbourne Grove, London, to succeed Dr King.
That year he published a volume, entitled " Passio Christi," and in 1873 he
red^ived the degree of D.D. from Glasgow University. In 1889 appeared
" The-sFootprints of the Revealer," the merits of which arc tersely expressed
vi^^.
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 67
as follows : — " Sympathetic in spirit, adequate in argument, popular in style,
and convenient in form." In 1896 Dr Morison passed into the emeritus
position, his ministry closing on the last Sabbath of MarCh, and in the early
part of the following year the Rev. G. A. Johnston Ross was inducted as his
successor.
Fourth Minister.— G^OKG^ HiLL DiCK, from Stockbridge, where he
had been ordained four years before. The stipend was ^500, with expenses,
and the call was signed by 573 members and 129 adherents. Inducted, 4th
January 1872. Eight years after this the membership of Eglinton Street
was considerably over 1000, and the stipend was ;^52o. Mr Dick died,
26th February 1893, in the fifty-fifth year of his age and twenty-sixth of his
ministry. Next year a volume of his sermons and essays was published,
entitled " The Yoke and the Anointing," with a biographical sketch by his
son. Mr Dick was a nephew of the Rev. George Hill, Musselburgh, and a
son-in-law of the Rev. Peter Mearns, Coldstream.
Fifth Minister. — Robert Auld, translated from Wick, after a ministry
there of four years, and inducted, nth January 1894. Eglinton Street
at the close of 1899 had a membership of 822, and the stipend was ^400.
CAMBRIDGE STREET (United Secession)
I After 1824 there was a pause of ten years in the work of Church extension
[in the city. On 14th October 1834 eighteen members from various
1 Secession congregations and loi adherents intimated to the Presbytery of
: Glasgow that they were erecting a place of worship in Cambridge Street,
and they wished to have sermon as soon as it should be "in a sufficient
state of repair." No objections being offered by sessions the Presbytery
on Tuesday, iith November, formed the petitioners and others with certifi-
cates into a congregation, and Drs Mitchell and Beattie were appointed to
[open the church on Sabbath first. The building, with over 1000 sittings,
and the ground together cost ^3110, and of this sum ^2500 rested as debt
Ion the property. On the fourth Sabbath of February 1835 three elders were
lordained and one inducted.
First Minister. — John Eadie, from the village of Alva and the con-
jgregation of Tillicoultry. Ordained, 24th September 1835. The call was
[signed by 84 members and 74 adherents, and the stipend promised was
|;^200, with expenses. In the following year there were 254 names on the
[communion roll. In 1843 Mr Eadie was appointed by the Synod to the
[Chair of Biblical Literature, as successor to Dr Mitchell. During the former
[session he had conducted the class, and among the students there was
|eagerness to have his services secured permanently. He had also given
)roofs of wide acquaintance with Biblical Literature, both German and
British, in a review of a sermon on Hades by the Rev. George GilfiUan of
Dundee. This able and elaborate paper appeared in the United Secession
Magazine for May,* and on the 5th of that month, when the vote was taken,
Mr John Eadie was carried by a great majority over Drs King and Mar-
shall and Mr William Johnston. Next year he had the degree of LL.D.
from the University of Glasgow, and this was followed in 1850 by D.D.
from the University of St Andrews. In 1846 he was invited to remove to
Rose Street, Edinburgh, but declined. In three months the offer was
Renewed, but in compliance with his own request the second call was with-
The substance of this review is given in Dr Eadie's Biblical Cyclopaedia
ider " Hades."
68 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
drawn. By this time Cambridge Street congregation was large and flourish-
ing, and in 1863 a section of the membership, including a large proportion
of the leading families, resolved to remove to the west end of Glasgow and
take their minister with them. A new church was built in Lansdowne Place,
and on loth November of that year, Dr Eadie having intimated to the
Presbytery his concurrence in the proposal, the new congregation was
declared to be constituted, and on Sabbath the 15th, Cambridge Street
Church was preached vacant. Prior to this most of the works by which
Dr Eadie is best known were published — his " Commentary on Ephesians"
in 1854, that on Colossians in 1856; the " Life of Dr Kitto" in 1857; and
"Paul the Preacher" and the "Commentary on Philippians" in 1859.
Other pubhcations of his are named at the close of the Lansdowne
period. When Dr Eadie left Cambridge Street the Rev. William Sprott,
the minister appointed to intimate the Presbytery's decision in the case,
was called forthwith to fill the vacant pulpit, but he remained in Pollok-
shaws.
Second Minister. — Robert Cameron, who had been first in Perth
(North), and was now translated from Egremont, Liverpool, where he had
been inducted, loth July i860, and had laid the foundations of a good con-
gregation. Admitted to Cambridge Street, 4th October 1864. The stipend
was to be ;!^5oo, as before, with ^25 in name of expenses. Under Mr
Cameron's ministry recent loss of numbers was largely made up for, and the
stipend rose to ^600. On i6th November 1897 he was enrolled minister-
emeritus, a position which his studious habits fitted him for enjoying, but in
less than six months all was over. He died, 25th April 1898, in the seventy-
second year of his age and forty-second of his ministry. That day he
seemed in his usual health, and went out in the afternoon, leaving the Bible
open at the text on which he was preparing a discourse. He returned home
about five o'clock, and in an hour he was dead. A younger brother, the
Rev. David Cameron, was minister of Newton-Mearns, and John, an older
brother, died, 2nd January 1847, in the fourth year of his theological course.
Mr Cameron's son, the Rev. James R. Cameron, is minister of Kilcreggan.
Third Minister. — Peter Smith, called from London Road Church,
Glasgow, and inducted, 22nd February 1898. The membership at the close
of 1899 was 754, and the stipend was i^Soo.
BLACKFRIARS STREET (Relief)
This congregation applied on ist November 1836 to be received into con-
nection with the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow, and was admitted at once.
It had previously been under the care of the Rev. Robert Jackson, and was
described as the Independent Relief Church, Regent Place. The minister
stated to the Commissioners on Religious Instruction that the chapel, with
800 sittings, was opened in January 1835, and that they met previously in
various schoolrooms and places of worship. He is entered as having been
minister for seven years, but he himself spoke of having been in the habit
of officiating at funerals and preaching in Glasgow for twenty-eight years.
The church, with dwelling-houses attached, cost ;^39oo, of which ^3400
rested as debt on the property. The minister received the balance of the
funds after all accounts were discharged, and as the whole income for 1835
was under ^90 his stipend must have approximated to a vanishing quantity.
The communicants numbered about 100, and had been " nearly stationary
during the last five years." A note is appended, which bears that the place
of worship had since been sold to the Relief denomination, and that the
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 69
congregation was getting supply from the Relief Presbytery. Mr Jackson
now disappears, nor is his name to be met with in the clerical lists for
Glasgow either before or after.
First Minister. — JOHN Graham, whose name has been already linked
with the beginning of the Relief Church, Arbroath. Having removed to
Newcastle in 1827 he is lost sight of for eight years. His next appearance
is before the Relief Presbytery of Kelso on 3rd February 1835, when he
wished to know what steps would have to be taken that his people and
himself might be received under the Presbytery's inspection. On 31st
March the Clerk reported that he had got a number of certificates in Mr
Graham's favour from ministers about Newcastle, and, these being found
satisfactory, his application was recommended to the Synod. The matter
being left in the hands of the Presbytery they ascertained that Mr Graham's
moral character was unblemished, and that he might be admitted " with the
utmost safety." Five of their number were now appointed to proceed to
Newcastle to test his literary and theological attainments, from which
it would seem as if he had not passed through a regular preparatory course.
If all were right they were to proceed with the admission of his congregation
and himself into Church fellowship, and on 12th August this was done with
due formality.
On 7th March 1837 the newly - admitted congregation of Blackfriars
Street applied for a moderation, promising a stipend of .^150, and the call
came out in favour of the Rev. John Graham, Wall Knoll, Newcastle. On
1 8th April the case came before Kelso Presbytery ; but Mr Graham's mind
was not made up, and they adjourned till to-morrow. When to-morrow
came the balance was still in a state of equipoise, and he was allowed another
fortnight for consideration. On 3rd May he was still unable to decide, and
on the 9th all he could say was that he did not feel it his duty to accept
Blackfriars. A second call, however, was closed with at once, though the
offer was reduced to ^130, and on 21st September 1837 he was admitted to
his charge in Glasgow. In little more than a year confusion arose, and three
of the four elders resigned. A complaint also came up from some of the
managers that Mr Graham had taken a lease of the building on his own
responsibility. His predecessor had stated to the Commissioners on Re-
ligious Instruction that the chapel belonged to private individuals, but was
1 to be made over to the congregation as soon as they were able to meet the
I debt. That time had never come, and now the building was virtually in the
[hands of a single proprietor, from whom the minister and two of his leading
jmen took it for behoof of the congregation, a step which, in the opinion of
the Presbytery, the emergency warranted.
In this state matters continued till 2nd March 1841, when the congrega-
I tion craved the Presbytery's advice in reference to a proposal for union with
' the Secession congregation of Duke Street. No deliverance was come to,
and when the Presbytery met again, on 6th April, the Moderator reported
that Mr Graham had been inducted colleague to Dr Muter of Duke Street
Church, and that the Rev. Dr Struthers had preached on the occasion. A
petition was then given in from a number of the members to be still recog-
I nised as a Relief congregation, and the Presbytery recommended them to
secure, with that view, the present or some other place of worship. At next
[meeting commissioners reported that no progress had been made, but they
were to use further efforts. This is the last we hear of Blackfriars Relief
(Church till we come to the origin of Albert Street congregation.
70 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
EAST REGENT PLACE (United Secession)
This congregation began in an exodus from Duke Street, when steps were
taken to procure a colleague to Dr Muter in room of Mr Walter Duncan.
A large party in the church wished the place left open, in the hope
that their young minister would be speedily restored to office ; but at a con-
gregational meeting it was carried to apply for a moderation, and along with
this petition to the Presbytery, on 8th December 1835, there came up a
protest from 268 members against a decision of session refusing to allow
them a disjunction. The Presbytery advised the session to grant certificates
to those who should apply for them, and on 3rd February 1836 the applicants,
to the number of 213, were erected into a congregation. On 8th March
eight persons were chosen for elders, four of whom had been in office before.
The meetings at this time were in the Lyceum ; and for the next twelve-
month the congregation were kept in the waiting state. In April 1837 they
sent up a petition to the Synod signed by 281 members and 115 adherents
praying them to restore Mr Duncan to the functions of the ministry. He
himself had a memorial forward to the same effisct, but by a majority of
80 to 66 it was decided not to entertain the proposal. By this time the
church in East Regent Place was finished, with its 1370 sittings and a heavy
burden of debt. Before the end of the year Mr Duncan began to preach
regularly in the Trades Hall, and many of his admirers in East Regent Place
gathered round him. The session as well as the attendance was thinned,
and seven new elders had to be elected, only three of whom agreed to accept.
In this trying position the congregation called, first the Rev. Joseph Brown
of Dalkeith, and then the Rev. John Cooper of Fala, but neither of them
was inclined to face the contingencies involved.
First Minister. — John Peden, from Newmilns. Called also to Stranraer
(Ivy Place). The Glasgow call was signed by 172 members and 85 adherents,
and the people, notwithstanding heavy liabilities, promised ^220 of stipend,
with allowances. Ordained, 3rd July 1838, and was loosed, 14th December
1841. Mr Peden in intimating his demission explained that when his ministry
began the membership was 179 and the debt ^4600. In two years the
communicants increased by 190, and the annual revenue by ^200, but when
it came to be known that they were in straits accessions decreased. He
also stated that it was a working-class congregation, and that, considering
the high scale of liberality required otherwise, they could do little towards
the reduction of the debt. The resignation was accepted ; but Mr Peden's
merits were known, and within a month the congregation of Church Street,
Berwick, applied for a moderation, promising ^150 of stipend, and on 22nd
February 1842 he was inducted to his second charge. He died, nth July
1858, in the forty-eighth year of his age and twenty-first of his ministry.
At the first meeting of Presbytery after Mr Peden left, the vacant con-
gregation asked a moderation, the stipend to be ;i^20 higher than before.
They had the junior minister of Duke Street in view, the Rev. John Graham,
whose gifts of elocution they may have expected to fill the church. But the
numbers signing were fewer than before, several perhaps holding back from
fear of responsibility, and the call was declined.
Second Minister. — Alexander Duncan, from Girvan, where he had
laboured for fifteen years. Inducted, 30th June 1842. The stipend was now
pitched at £170. The congregation was still kept down by a load of debt,
and, though the Presbytery brought the case under the notice of sessions, it
yielded no effectual relief But in September 1845 Duke Street fell vacant
through Mr Graham being declared out of connection, and the membership
was weakened by the withdrawal of his supporters. Here now was the best
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 71
method for East Regent Place people, as they said, keeping up gospel ordin-
ances. A basis of union between them and Duke Street was brought before
the Presbytery on 9th December 1845 and spoken to by commissioners on
both sides. Mr Duncan was to be their minister, his stipend ^170, as before.
Duke Street Church was to be the place of worship, but the debts on
East Regent Place were to remain against the present obligants. On that
footing the Presbytery declared the union consummated, and Dr Beattie was
to preach in Duke Street on the following Sabbath and intimate this deed
to the congregation. The pecuniary affairs of East Regent Place were
brought before the Synod at its next meeting by the managers, but, while
expressing sympathy with the petitioners, they " did not see reason to recom-
mend the case to their congregations." The commodious building was now
occupied by an E.U. church under the Rev. Fergus Ferguson, but on its
acquisition by the railway company they removed to Montrose Street
Church, which was vacated by Dr Young's congregation in 1875.
LONDON ROAD (United Secession)
On 8th August 1837 a petition for supply of sermon was presented to
Glasgow Secession Presbytery by a committee entrusted with the erection
of a new church at the eastern extremity of Glasgow. The building was
now finished, with 1094 sittings, and on the following Sabbath it was
opened for public worship. On I2lh December, with the consent of
neighbouring sessions, 47 members were constituted into a congregation.
First Minister. — GEORGE Jeffrey, from Coldstream (West), but a
native of Leitholm. Ordained, 5th December 1838. The call was signed by
four elders and 44 members, and the debt at this time was ^2800. In 1853
Mr Jeffrey was called by the Associate Reformed congregation, Jane Street,
New York, a church which had afterwards for its ministers Mr John Brash
from Wamphray and Mr G. D. Matthews from Stranraer. The stipend was
to be ^600 ; but he decided without hesitation on remaining in Glasgow,
and the call was never brought before the Presbytery. In 1861 he received
the degree of D.D. from New York. On the resignation of Dr Kidston in
1839 Mr Jeffrey was appointed Presbytery Clerk, an office which he held
till his death, and the duties of which he discharged with vigour and
efficiency. Indeed, whether guiding ecclesiastical deliberations as Clerk
of Presbytery or administering rebuke as Moderator of Synod, he was
alike prompt and decisive. On social or semi-political questions he also
spoke straight out, as in a Fast-day sermon in 1854 on "The War," and in
exposing " The Pro-Slavery Character of the American Churches, and the
Sin of Holding Communion with them." Dr Jeffrey died, after a short
illness, 23rd May 1887, in the seventy-second year of his age and forty-
ninth of his ministry. He was a son-in-law of Dr Ritchie of Edinburgh,
but was early left a widower. With his younger brother, Dr Robert T.
Jeffrey, and otherwise, the family relationship in Glasgow was beautifully
kept up in their household arrangements.
Second Minister. — Peter Smith, translated from Port-Glasgow (Clune
Park), and inducted, 5th September 1888. The stipend was to be ^420,
but it was afterwards raised ^50, and there was a membership of 700. On
26th January 1898 Mr Smith accepted a call to Cambridge Street Church.
The stipend named was ^70 less, but if he remained in London Road there
was the fear of health giving way.
Third Minister.— ]. Anderson Watt, from the English Presbyterian
72 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Church, Gateshead, where he was ordained in 1886. Inducted to London
Road, 8th June 1899. The stipend in December 1899 was ;^57o, and the
membership was over 900.
BATH STREET (United Presbyterian)
The Synod in May 1837 having refused to restore the Rev. WaUer Duncan
to the office of the ministry 60 or 70 of his former people, now in East
Regent Place Church, signed a requisition inviting him to come and preach
to them. Accordingly, services were begun by him in the Trades Hall two
months after, and on the first Sabbath of May 1839 the church in Parlia-
mentary Road, with 1 100 sittings, and built at a cost of ^3200, was opened
for public worship. His eldest brother, the Rev. Alexander Duncan of
Girvan, took one of the services, and for this breach of Church rule he was
called to account by Kilmarnock Presbytery. In May 1843 the Synod
received a petition from Mr Duncan and 503 members of his church, con-
curred in by 249 ordinary hearers, to be received into communion. Parties
were heard, and the whole case was handed over to a committee, the
decision being reserved for next meeting. In October it was found that
Mr Duncan had retired from the exercise of the ministry, in token of sub-
mission to the sentence of deposition, but the committee was not prepared
to recommend restoration forthwith. It was therefore resolved to let the
matter lie over till another Synod. This involved other seven months
during which Mr Duncan's lips were sealed. At that meeting it was moved
that, as he had for ten months surrendered his connection with Parlia-
mentary Road Church, and had renewed his expressions of regret for having
disregarded the sentence of deposition, he be rebuked for this part of his
conduct, and restored. Delay having carried by 87 votes to 58 Mr Duncan
declined further subjection to the Synod's authority, and at next meeting of
Glasgow Presbytery the congregation of Parliamentary Road intimated that
they would look to them for no more sermon.
The case now slumbered for nineteen years, but in May 1863 Mr
Duncan and his people applied anew to be admitted into the fellowship of
the U.P. Church. The petition was unanimously recommended by Glasgow
Presbytery, and the Synod, considering that twenty-eight years had passed
since the sentence was pronounced, granted the application without demur.
Having ascertained that in the ordination of elders and the admission of
members the rules of the Church had been strictly adhered to, the Presby-
tery met in Parliamentary Road Church on the evening of Tuesday, 30th
June, when a sermon was preached by Dr Eadie. The members signified
their assent to the Basis of Union adopted in 1847, and the minister and
elders to the Formula. Then Dr Robson offered the admission prayer,
and the Rev. Walter Duncan, along with his congregation, was readmitted
to the Church of his fathers. But what remained of his ministerial course
was comparatively brief. He died, 27th December 1870, in the sixty-third
year of his age and forty-first of his ministry, leaving a son of the same
name, who was ordained three years afterwards over Bridgend Church,
Dumbarton. At his last annual soiree Mr Duncan stated that he had a
membership of 950. After an unsuccessful call to the Rev. Dr M'Leod of
Birkenhead the congregation obtained for their
Second Afinis^er.— Robert Johnstone, LL.B., from Arbroath (Princes
Street), where he had been ordained eleven years before. Inducted, 3rd
January 1872. The stipend was to be .^500, with ^20 for expenses. Mr
Johnstone was previously known by his " Lectures, Exegetical and
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 73
Practical, on the Epistle of James," and to these he added a companion
volume on Philippians in 1875. Next year he obtained the degree of D.D.
from Edinburgh University, and on 26th July he was chosen by the Synod
to succeed Dr Eadie in the Chair of New Testament Literature and
Exegesis. In 1888 Dr Johnstone published his Exposition of ist Peter,
a volume we can scarcely pass from without adverting to the sobriety and
thoroughness with which he discusses the vexed question of " The Spirits in
Prison." With the view of Union with the Free Church it is intended to
transfer Professor Johnstone from Edinburgh to the corresponding Chair in
the Divinity Hall at Aberdeen.
Third Minister. — James Scott, translated from Union Church, Kirk-
caldy, and inducted into his third charge on Wednesday, 31st January 1877.
The present church in Bath Street was opened on the preceding Sabbath
by Dr Johnstone, their previous minister, when the collections amounted to
^1340. But the semblance of abounding prosperity was not to be main-
tained. An oppressive debt rested on the property, and though by the
earnest efforts of minister and people this was much' broken in on, Mr
Scott's health and spirits gave way, and he retired from the active duties of
the pastorate on 9th March 1891, with an allowance of ^100 a year. In
1893 l^c undertook the care of the little congregation at Wamphray, where
he remained two years. Then came complete retirement, and on 15th
May 1896 he died, in the sixty-fourth year of his age and thirtieth of his
ministry.
Fourth Minister. — John M. Wilson, B.D., son of the Rev. James
Wilson, Dudhope Road, Dundee, who had acted for some time as assistant
in Wellington Church. Ordained, 25th February 1892. In November 1899
it was intimated to the Presbytery that with the aid of a Bazaar the church
had got free of debt, and at the end of that year there was a membership of
505, and the stipend was ^350.
WOODLANDS ROAD (United Presbyterian)
This congregation was an offshoot from Duke Street Church (now
Cathedral Square) in 1840. After the Rev. H. M. MacGill had been
colleague to Dr Muter for three and a half years dissatisfaction began to
prevail. Instead of having the two ministers kept on equality there was a
party urgent to have their stipends readjusted and the labours of the senior
minister abridged. With these modifications in view, at a meeting of the
congregation 81 members against 147 voted that the collegiate relation
could be no longer maintained on its present footing, and while matters
were in this condition Mr MacGill, on 8th September, tabled his resignation.
On the same day 186 members, including six elders, petitioned the Presbytery
to be disjoined from Duke Street and formed into a new congregation.
The Presbytery met with the two parties the following Monday, but no basis
of agreement could be arrived at. On loth November the petitioners asked
in addition to have the pastoral tie between them and Mr MacGill reserved
unljroken. He had in the interim been called to Airdric (Wellwynd) ; but
this call he now put aside, and expressed his cordial concurrence in the
arrangement proposed. The Presbytery agreed to grant the petition, and
without further ceremony the applicants were placed under the care of Mr
MacGill as their minister, the six elders among them to be constituted into
a session.
They worshipped at first in the Mechanics' Hall, Hanover Street, and
on their first anniversary as a congregation their new church in Montrose
74 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Street was opened, with looo sittings, the cost being ^3000. At the Synod
in 1858 Mr MacGill was elected Home Mission Secretary, Dr Sommerville
to be confined to the Foreign Department. Six years after this the Synod
was overtured to admit both Secretaries to full ministerial status in
Presbytery and Synod. In opposition to this it was urged that only those in
fixed pastorates were entitled to be constituent members of Church Courts.
It was a question on which Mr MacGill felt acutely, contending that his
position was lowered and his influence for good seriously impaired by keeping
him on inequality thus far with his clerical brethren. So early as 1807 the
Antiburgher Synod had yielded the point by retaining the Rev. George
Paxton in all his former privileges when they appointed him Professor of
Theology without a pastoral charge, but now other counsels prevailed. At
the Synod in May 1866 the discussion reached its keenest, and the two
parties were so nearly balanced that in a crowded house, and amidst much
excitement, the vote had to be taken by calling the roll, when the negative
side carried by a very trifling majority. In that state the matter rested till
a broader question emerged, and the Mission Secretaries came in under the
wing of the Theological Professors to their seats in the Church Courts, but
this was not till 1877.
In 1868 Mr MacGill was appointed to succeed Dr Sommerville in the
Foreign Mission Department, and in 1870 he obtained the degree of D.D.
from Glasgow University. It was thought that the transference from the
one secretaryship to the other would better secure exemption from discomfort ;
but the Jeypore Case came on in i877,bringing exposure to vexations innumer-
able. Looking back over that period of trial we cannot but regret that Dr
MacGill ever left the ranks of the regular ministry and the quiet routine of
pastoral life. In this connection he comes before us as he was painted by
George Gilfillan, who found in him, from first to last, "all that is amiable,
gentle, and intelligent." The Jeypore Case was wound up in 1878, and at next
meeting the Synod requested him to take entire rest for a period of six
months. But relaxation and change of scene brought only temporary relief,
and he died at Paris, 6th June 1880, in the seventy-fourth year of his age.
In 1876 Dr MacGill published "Songs of the Christian Creed and Life,"
consisting chiefly of renderings of hymns from Latin and Greek into English
verse. " Many of these translations," says Julian in his Hymnology, "are
exceedingly good, and stand in the very first rank of modern English verse."
But Dr MacGill is best known by his Life of Dr Heugh, his father-in-law,
with its compactness, fulness, good taste, and living interest.
Second Minister. — David Young, from Milnathort, where he had
been ordained eight years before. Inducted to Montrose Street, 22nd
March 1859. The stipend was to be ^{^400. In 1873 M*" Young re-
ceived the degree of D.D. from Glasgow University. On Wednesday,
loth November 1875, being the thirty-fifth anniversary of the congrega-
tion, their new church in Woodlands Road was opened by Dr Cairns,
who preached from the text: "A name that is above every name." The
collections that day and next Sabbath amounted to ^1460. The cost
was about ^15,000, of which fully ^5000 was obtained for the church in
Montrose Street. It was bought by the Evangelical Union congregation,
under the ministry of Dr Fergus Ferguson. In 1880 Mr A. R. MacEwen
was called to be Dr Young's colleague, but he preferred Moffat, and
there was no further movement in the direction of a second minister till
1884, when Mr MacEwen was called a second time, but with the same
result.
Third Minister. — David Woodsid?:, B.D., from Stromness, where he
had been not quite four years. Inducted, 24th September 1885. A year
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW • 75
before this Dr Young appeared in his own pulpit for the last time, and
was then retiring to Bridge of Allan in an enfeebled state, or, as he ex-
pressed it, with an arrow in his breast. He died, 14th July 1896, in the
seventy-fifth year of his age and forty-sixth of his ministry. Though
Dr Young was engaged in literary work when a student, having edited
the Alloa Advertiser^ he never appeared as a full-fledged author. Beyond
"Readings in Genesis" and "Notes of a Tour in the East," which ap-
peared in the U.F Magazine for 1865 and 1871, he has left nothing
behind him to perpetuate his name. The congregation under his
successor had a membership of 633 at the close of 1899, and the stipend
was ^625. Mr Woodside has come favourably before the public within
the last two years in connection with the Life of his father-in-law,
Professor Calderwood.
GILLESPIE CHURCH (Relief)
The call of Calton Church to Mr James G. Stewart on 8th April 1844
being much divided, a number of dissatisfied members presented a
petition with 299 signatures to the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow craving
to be recognised as a forming congregation. Next week a minister
who had preached to them in the Mechanics' Hall, Canning Street, re-
ported an attendance of about 500. On nth June the cause was
organised with a membership of 150, and a moderation was granted, the
stipend to be ^200, with ^10 for expenses. Two of their number, who
had been elders in Calton, were to be constituted into a session.
First Minister. — John W. Borland, who had been eight years in
Bloomgate, Lanark. Inducted, 3rd September 1844. On Sabbath, 28th
September 1845, the new place of worship in Great Hamilton Street was
opened, with 1000 sittings, when the collections amounted to ^400. The
cost, including the ground, was put at ^^3600. The obligation to pay part
of the annuity promised to the widow of Mr Harvey, the late minister of
j Calton, gave rise to resistance, but at last ^8 was fixed on as the just
^proportion, making numbers the basis of the calculation. For a course
I of years the debt was a heavy burden, but in 1851 and 1852 it was re-
'duced by ^400, and a free-will offering for the same purpose in 1857
[brought it down ^1000 additional. Still, it was long ere either of the
sections into which the old Calton congregation was divided enjoyed
prosperity. In 1874 Mr Matthew Galbraith of Charlotte Street, Aberdeen,
was called to be Mr Borland's colleague, and then Mr John Ruthven of
Kinross (West), but both declined. The senior minister was to have ^20
|a year besides the annuity from the Aged and Infirm Ministers' Fund.
Second Minister. — JA^[ES Imrie, M.A., from Musselburgh (Bridge
Street), where he had been ordained twenty-one years before. Inducted
to Gillespie Church, 1st June 1875, the stipend promised being j^300.
iFour years afterwards the membership was given at 200, and the stipend
iwas £,\%o. Mr Borland died at South Shields, 25th November 1878,
*"l the seventieth year of his age and forty-third of his ministry. In 1883
le entire debt of the congregation, amounting to ^2000, was swept away
Tthrough the exertions of the minister. In 1889 Mr Imrie published a
volume of discourses under the title of " Preach the Word." He also
published lectures on the Book of Esther. On 26th April 1892 he
retired into the emeritus position, and connected himself with Regent
Place Church. He was paid ^1000 in lieu of retiring allowance. He
died on ist July 1897, in the seventy-second year of his age and forty-
76 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
fourth of his ministry. Mr Imrie had two brothers ministers in the
Established Church. Of these WiUiam, the elder, attended the U.P. Hall
three sessions, but became parish minister of Penicuik in 1864, where he
died in 1887, aged fifty-one. The younger was ordained at Logie, and
died, minister of St John's, Edinburgh, in 1891, aged forty-nine.
Third Minister. — Adam Shaw, M.A., translated from Leven, where
he had been nearly three years. Inducted, 12th December 1892, the
Board having guaranteed a stipend of ^200. The congregation had
previously called the Rev. John Lennox of Beith. The membership at
this time was only 108, but it reached 627 before the close of 1899,
and during that period the stipend rose to ^350.
RENFIELD STREET (United Presbyterian)
This congregation was organised on nth July 1848 by the disjunction of
eleven elders and 400 members from Regent Place, with Dr Taylor for their
minister. They were about to remove to a new church, with 1236 sittings, in
Renfield Street, three-fourths of a mile to the west. It was originally
expected that this erection would supersede the old place of worship in
Regent Place, but at a meeting of the congregation 197 against 142 voted
to remain. The large party adhering to the present building now acquiesced
in the severance, and the church in Renfield Street was opened on the second
Sabbath of August by Dr Brown of Broughton Place, Edinburgh, when the
collection amounted to ^750. The total cost was close upon ^12,700, but
in 1857 it was announced that the congregation had paid off ^8000 of debt
in eight years. On 14th January 1873 Dr Taylor demitted his charge,
having been appointed Secretary to the Education Board. From the early
period of his ministry in Glasgow he had been active with his pen, and
otherwise, in pleading the cause of national education. In a series of articles
in the denominational Magazine for 1847 and 1848, as we well remember, he
opened out the case with clearness and much plausibility. At that time the
Synod was greatly divided on the question, and when the goal was reached
in 1873 it seemed as if Dr Taylor had got no more than his due reward ; but,
" Put not your trust in princes." In six years the office was abolished, and
no other was ever provided for him by Government to supply its place.
This seeming wrong left Dr Taylor free for more important though less
lucrative work. To this we owe "The Age we live in " and the "Great
Historic Families of Scotland," the literary outcome of his later years. All
along he had contributed largely to dictionaries and reviews, but his fullest
and most ambitious work is the " Pictorial History of Scotland," published
in 1859. He died at Corstorphine on i6th March 1892, when within two
days of completing his seventy-ninth year. Had he survived a little longer
he would have received the degree of LL.D. from Edinburgh University.
Second Minister. — James G. vScott, translated from St Andrews, and
inducted, 30th April 1873. The stipend was ^600, and the membership six
years afterwards was 650. On loth June 1884 Mr Scott asked the Presby-
tery to relieve him from active duty, as a throat affection necessitated his
removal to a dry and warm climate. The congregation, having testified to
the efficiency of his ministry, intimated that they would raise for him a sum
of not less than ^600. At the same time they foresaw that on Mr Scott's
retiring from pulpit work many of their abler members would take the
opportunity of connecting themselves with other churches.
Third Minister. — Andrew F. Forrest, who had been ordained at
Stirling (Erskine Church) nine years before. Thence he was translated to
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW
77
Bristol in 1881, and now he was inducted to Renfield Street on 28th April
1885. In September 1887 Glasgow Presbytery welcomed Mr Scott back
from his sojourn in South Africa and Australia. When in Tasmania he had
declined a call to Bothwell and Green Ponds owing to the severity of the
climate in winter. He died in London on 23rd October 1888, in the fifty-
fifth year of his age and twenty-ninth of his ministry. Renfield Street
at the beginning of 1900 had a membership of 828, and the stipend was
;^6oo.
SHAMROCK STREET (United Presbyterian)
On nth June 1850 a petition to be recognised as a distinct congregation
was presented to Glasgow Presbytery by a number of members from
different congregations in the city. They were building a church, with 900
sittings, on the farthest outskirts of Glasgow to the west, and at next meeting,
on 19th July, no objections having been made by neighbouring sessions,
they were congregated. The arrangement was premature, as they were not
to require supply of ordinances till the church was opened. This took
place on Sabbath, 6th October, Drs Anderson, Eadie, and Robson being the
officiating ministers. Next month 34 members, who gave in certificates,
were added to the roll, and a month later Dr William Johnston was called
to be their minister, the stipend to be ^320. The call was declined, as is
given with some interesting particulars under Limekilns. In April 185 1
another unsuccessful call was addressed to the Rev. W. B. Robertson of
Irvine with the signatures of 59 members and 36 adherents.
First Minister. — James Robertson, from Portsburgh, Edinburgh,
where he had laboured eighteen years. Inducted, 6th November 185 1, and
had the degree of D.D. from Union College, New York, in 1852. In the
course of the following year a debt of ^750 was liquidated and the stipend
raised to .1^450. In i860 Dr Robertson published " Old Truths and Modern
Speculations," a book marked by the richness of style for which the pro-
ductions of his pen were distinguished. The strain arising from this suc-
cessful effort, combined with heavy ministerial work, may have occasioned
the breakdown which followed. He died, 14th January 1861, in the fifty-
eighth year of his age and twenty-eighth of his ministry. " Dr Robertson's
son, Eric Sutherland, attended our Divinity Hall, Session 1878-9, and then
turned to literature. In this capacity he edited a forty-volume series of
"Great Writers," besides being the author of a Life of Tennyson and
other books. In 1892 he took orders in the Episcopal Church, and since
1896 has been vicar of St John's, Windermere. Shamrock Street Church
had a membership at Dr Robertson's death of over 800, and with this
enlarged constituency they again invited Mr Robertson of Irvine to be their
minister, but without effect. They next called the Rev. Robert Johnstone,
Arbroath, but he also declined.
Second Minister. — John Dobie, from Linlithgow (West), where he had
been ordained eleven years before. At the moderation four candidates were
proposed, and the result was looked forward to as doubtful, but Mr Dobie
had a considerable majority in the end, and the call was described as more
largely signed than either of its immediate predecessors. Inducted, 30th
April 1862. Mr Dobie received the degree of D.I^. from Chicago, United
States, in 1 87 1. At the height of his ministry the congregation reached its
maximum, having over 1000 members, and the stipend being pitched for
several years at j[/Joo. But as time passed an ebb tide set in, perhaps owing
to the uprise of rival churches in the district and the impairing of Dr Dobie's
78 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
strength, and in 1889 the stipend stood at ^350, with ^150 to an assistant
On 28th October next year Dr Dobie intimated to the Presbytery that he
felt himself unable for the whole work, and would retire on the appointment
of a colleague. He had been laid aside not only for weeks but for months,
and he wished to be entirely relieved. An annual allowance of ^150 was
agreed on, with a substantial gift at the time, and the colleague was to have
Third Minister, — John Pollock, translated from Merchiston, Edm-
burgh, and inducted, i8th June 1891. In January 1896 Dr Dobie's annuity
from the congregation was commuted for a slump payment of ^650, which
the Presbytery recommended the congregation to augment to ^800. In
1898 Mr Pollock published a short narrative of our Church's history,
entitled " Stranger than Fiction," with a chapter headed " How Prince
Charlie split the Secession." With dates for his guidance he had reached
the conclusion that the religious clause in the Burgess Oath was introduced
after the Rebellion of 1745, and was meant to debar the Pretender's Popish
friends from the rights of citizenship. The origin of the clause in question
is not easily arrived at, but certainly it was not extemporised to meet a
passing emergency. It appears from a pamphlet by Ebenezer Erskine that
the question which " split the Secession " was discussed by the Associate
Presbytery " when Mr Wilson was with them," and he died several years
before Prince Charlie touched our shores. We know also that those
Secession Fathers who maintained the lawfulness of swearing the Burgess
Oath argued that this was sanctioned by the Church of Scotland in her best
days, and Ralph Erskine in one of his pamphlets on the subject traced the
institution back to Reformation times. Taking these things into account
we cannot make Prince Charlie a factor in the evolving of our denomina-
tional history. Still, Mr Pollock's solution had appearances in its favour,
and it was no long time in finding its way once and again into print.
At the Union, Shamrock Street, under Mr Pollock, had a membership of
about 720, and furnished a stipend of ^350, as before.
MISSION CHURCHES
We shall here take in a group of congregations which all originated more
or less in Home Mission work. Most of them after passing through the
first stages of development removed to better localities, and came through
severe struggles into line with ordinary working-class churches. They are
eleven in number : Alexandra Parade, Elgin Street, Burnbank, Sandyford,
St Rollox, Albert Street, Bellgrove, Springbank, Cumberland Street, Cran-
stonhill, and Rockvilla.
ALEXANDRA PARADE
In April 1849 the Presbytery of Glasgow took up with favour a proposal to
institute a mission church in the heart of the city, with an experienced
minister to evangelise among the sunken masses. For some time there was
no progress made, but in the beginning of 1852 Dr Taylor reported that
operations had been commenced six months before in Stirling Square, near
the seat of the earliest Secession congregation in Glasgow.
First Mifnster.—GEOKG-E. Blyth, from Ceres (West). Ordained in
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 79
Bristo Church, Edinburgh, on 24th August 1820, to proceed to Russia as an
agent of the London Missionary Society. After labouring at Astrakhan with
much devotedness for two years he was obhged to leave by what purported
to be an imperial decree. He was now designated to Jamaica on the last
day of 1823, the service being again in Bristo Church. Hampden became
his new sphere of labour, where a church to accommodate 700 was built in
1828, and enlarged to 1000 by the introduction of galleries some years after.
The membership by this time numbered between 700 and 800. After
labouring for nearly thirty years in by much the largest of our Jamaica
congregations Mr Blyth had to return to Scotland in enfeebled health. In
the summer of 1851 he was employed to grapple with home heathenism in
the heart of Glasgow, and in six months it was reported that he had
gathered 200 people about him. On 9th November 1852 a congregation
was formed with a membership of 29, and on 5th October 1853 Mr Blyth
was inducted, the call being signed by 34 members and 38 adherents, with
a stipend of ^200 guaranteed by the Presbytery's Mission Committee. A
meeting-place in Canon Street had been provided free of charge by John
Henderson, Esq., of Park. During the next seven years the annual increase
averaged 24, so that in i860 the membership reached 180. On 13th January
1863 Mr Blyth's resignation, owing to growing infirmities, was accepted, the
congregation testifying to the zeal and success with which he had laboured
among them. After this he removed to Partick, where he acted as an elder
in Mr Lawrie's congrjegation. He died, 4th July 1866, in the sixty-ninth
year of his age and forty-sixth of his ministry. His "Reminiscences of
Missionary Life," published in 1861, relate in an artless way his experiences
in the foreign field. Mr Blyth's brother Thomas entered the Antiburgher
Hall along with himself, and acted as a probationer from 1821 to 1836. He
then became a farmer in the neighbourhood of Kinross, where he was long
an elder in the East congregation. He died, 4th July 1872, aged about eighty.
Second Minister. — WALTER Muckersie, who had been in Ferry-Port-
on-Craig twenty-two years. The congregation had removed from Canon
Street to a position half-a-mile to the north in May 1863, and was now
worshipping in a hall in Mason Street. During the vacancy there was a
serious decline in numbers, so that by the end of 1863 the membership was
only 82, and they could not promise to raise more than ^70 a year by their
own exertions. But their attention was now turned to Mr Muckersie, who
had identified himself with the Revival movement, and had been largely
engaged in evangelistic work. The call was signed by 56 members and 24
adherents, and the induction took place on the evening of^ist May 1864 in
Duke Street Church, for the sake of larger accommodation. After a time
another place of worship was urgently needed, and Mr Muckersie felt him-
self in the midst of discouragements. But at that time a church in Frederick
Street, vacated by the congregation of Free St David's, came to be disposed
of, and his people secured it at a cost, including improvements, of ^1700.
It was taken possession of in November 1866, with sittings for 850, and in
the course of seven years the building was free of debt. After other seven
years there was a membership of 540 and a stipend of ^290.
On 7th September 1890 Mr Muckersie felt constrained to retire from
active duty owing to failing strength and impaired memory. He received a
gift of ^130 in place of a retiring allowance, and was to retain the position
of senior minister. Six years afterwards he sought back to what remained
>f the old home circle at Kirkcaldy, and died there unseen on 23rd May
[897, in the eighty-fourth year of his age and the fifty-fifth of his ministry.
On rising from table a little before in his usual health his last words were
3ut the meeting-place for the death-divided.
8o HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Third Minister. — John Kerr Craig, translated from Dean Street,
Edinburgh, his third charge, which he had held for eight years. Inducted,
24th February 1891. Like other churches in the same part of the town that
of Frederick Street had suffered by the population tending outward, and
though the membership was returned at 470 the people could only undertake
;^25o of stipend. As real success was not to be looked for in their present
situation a transference to Alexandra Parade, three-fourths of a mile to the
north-east, was agreed to by the Presbytery in February 1893. It was a
heavy undertaking to face, especially when Central Funds were low, and on
9th July 1894, before building operations were completed, Mr Craig accepted
a call to Wigan, ie Lancashire. Thence he removed in 1899 to Canonbury,
London, to succeed the Rev. Robert Wylie, formerly of Rathillet. There the
congregation, though small, is growing, but in none of his last three charges
has the stipend come up to what he had in Dean Street.
On Sabbath, 3rd February 1895, the new church, with 700 sittings, and
built at a cost of over ^4000, was opened. The old property brought about
^1000, and altogether the debt at this time was reduced to £1700. Still,
this was much for the congregation in its enfeebled state, and in view of a
fixed ministry a supplement of not less than ^100 for the first year had to
be arranged for.
Fourth Minister. — William M'Kenzie, from Claremont Church,
Glasgow. Ordained, 28th May 1895, having previously declined Westray.
The membership was put at 279 when the vacancy occurred, and only half
that number signed the call, but by the end of next year it numbered 388.
Before the end of 1898 the burden of debt was removed, ^250 having
been obtained from the Liquidation Fund, and by the close of the following
year there was a communion roll of 520, while the congregation furnished a
stipend of ;^29o.
ELGIN STREET
On 13th April 1852 the Presbytery of Glasgow agreed to open a preaching
station on the south side of the Clyde, " in a very poor, populous, and need-
ful locality." It was explained that there had been evangelistic work going
on there for some time, and it was desirable that this should be permanent.
Though the district fixed on could be gone round in five minutes it was
calculated that it contained no fewer than 2000 of the non-church-going
class.
First Minister. — David M'Rae, M.A., who had twenty-six years of
ministerial experience behind him, first at Lathones and then at Oban.
On loth August 1852 he was invited by the Presbytery's Mission Committee
to take the oversight of the infant cause in the Gorbals, and having accepted
the call he entered on his difficult field of labour on the twenty-first of that
month. A congregation was formed with 64 members on 7th April 1853,
and three elders were ordained three months afterwards. Mr M'Rae was
formally inducted on 29th September, the call being signed by 71 members
and 80 adherents, and the stipend was to be made up to ^200 by the help
of the Presbytery's Mission Committee. The services were conducted in
Erskine Church, and Mr Edwards of Bridgeton in his address to the
minister said : " Five minutes' walk from Portland Street to the site of your
own church in Main Street is all that is necessary to conduct from the
extreme of modern civilisation to the extreme of modern wretchedness."
Next year there was a membership of 104, and from this time an average
gain of 60 a year, till in i860 they numbered 468, with a total income of
I
PRESBYTERY OP^ GLASGOW 8i
^320, so that the congregation was now self-supporting. The new church
in Main Street, Gorbals, was opened on Sabbath, 14th June 1854, with
accommodation for 600, and within five years a gallery was erected to hold
other 300, the entire cost being about ;^3000.
Second Minister. — John C. Jackson, from Colinsburgh, where he had
been ordained nineteen years before. At the first moderation the show of
hands gave Mr Jackson and the Rev. W. R. Murray of Ardrossan'6i votes
each, but on a division the latter had 70 and the former 63. This call
being declined Mr Jackson became the unanimous choice of the congrega-
tion, and was inducted as colleague to Mr M'Rae on 27th July 1869. The
call was signed by 202 members and 65 adherents. The arrangement was
that the senior minister should have ^100 a year and the junior ^250, Mr
Jackson to be responsible for the whole work. The church in Elgin Street,
with sittings for 11 50, and erected at a cost of ^7800, was opened on 12th
October 1873 by Mr M'Rae's son, the Rev. David M'Rae of Gourock, and
the collections on this and the following Sabbath amounted to nearly ^400.
The old building had been acquired by the City Improvement Trust, and
this necessitated removal. But there were heavy encumbrances now, as the
new church was built on an expensive scale in the hope of attracting better-
class families from about Pollokshields and Crossbill. These districts, how-
ever, set about providing churches for themselves, and Elgin Street was left
to struggle with a load of debt which increased year by year. On 12th
February 1878 Mr Jackson accepted a call to Crail, and the pulpit, we may
say, fell vacant.
Third Minister. — David K. Miller, who had been eleven years in
Leitholm. Inducted, 29th October 1878, on a divided call, 102 having voted
for Mr Miller and 99 for Mr Ruthven of Kinross. The congregation now
found that their expenditure was exceeding their income by ^320 a year, the
debt amounting to ^4150. From this trying situation Mr Miller was re-
lieved by a call to Eyemouth, which he accepted, 6th April 1880. An
appeal was then made to some of the sister churches on the south side to
aid in keeping the water-logged vessel afloat, and in this way ^50 or ^60
a year was secured. But an energetic minister was the first necessity.
In the second year of the vacancy Mr Jackson was invited back from Crail,
but without effect. The stipend promised at this time was ^250, which
included ^40 from the Ferguson Fund. They next called Mr D. W. Forrest,
preacher (now Dr Forrest of Skelmorlie), but he also declined. Mr M'Rae
died, 19th July 1881, in the eighty-fifth year of his age and fifty-fifth of his
ministry.
Fourth Minister. — JOHN GOOLD, from Montrose (St Luke's), where he
had been five years. Inducted, 7th September 1882. The congregation
now set earnestly about the reducing of their debt, and by prolonged effort,
with the aid of ^550 from the Board, it was brought down to ^^2000 in 1885,
and in 1892 the total amount was ^150x3, which was manageable compared
with what it had been. At the semi-jubilee of the new church on 6th October
1898 it was announced that the entire debt had been extinguished. A year
later the membership was about 560, the stipend ^350, and the total income
over ^800.
BURNBANK
This congregation sprung from Mission work in the Cowcaddcns in 1851,
where ground was broken by the Rev. Timothy East, formerly a Congrega-
tional minister in Birmingham, whose name is remembered in connection
with a sermon he preached in the Tabernacle at Moorfields from the text :
II. F
82 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
" What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own '
soul?" It was this discourse which turned John Williams "from indiffer-
ence to strong- devotion." Mr East having retired after going on for fully
a year the Presbytery took the cause under their own superintendence, and
invited a preacher of remarkable devotedness to undertake the building up
of a spiritual temple in that trying locality.
First Minister. — John M'Laren, from Dennyloanhead, a younger
brother of the Rev. William M'Laren, Blairlogie. Having accepted the
invitation he kept by his purpose, though in the interim he had calls from
Peebles (now the Leckie Memorial), Longridge, and Stranraer (Bridge
Street), and was also within a few votes of being chosen for the North
Church, Perth. On the ist Sabbath of October 1853 he entered on his
field of labour, preaching from the text : " Compel them to come in." On
2nd May 1854 a congregation was formed with 27 members, and Mr M'Laren
was ordained on 31st October. This was the third of the Presbytery's
Mission churches, and it had the most rapid success among them, the
membership rising to 363 in 1859 and the contributions to £'yio. On
Sabbath, 23rd May 1858, the uncomfortable hall in Stewart Street was
exchanged for a new church in City Road, with accommodation for 850 or
900, and built at a cost of ^3000. But Mr M'Laren was now to be with-
drawn from the field under the grasp of deadly disease. In January 1859
he was removed to Blairlogie, but ere long recovery ceased to be looked
for. "Spring and early summer," says his biographer, "covered the
Ochils and the broad valley of the Forth with green, while day by day
his young life was withering." He died, 21st June, in the thirty-third year
of his age and fifth of his ministry. A monument in the Necropolis,
Glasgow, marks where he is buried. A Memoir of Mr M'Laren was
published in 1861 by the Rev. Peter Leys of Strathaven, with four sermons
he had preached to his people on special occasions.
Second Minister. — David Pirret, from Broughton Place, Edinburgh.
Ordained at Sutton, in Lancashire Presbytery, on 24th October 1855. On
the moderation day in City Road Mr Leys was very nearly invited to
become Mr M'Laren's successor, having 57 votes against 63 for Mr Pirret,
who was inducted, 27th March i860. There were at this time 354 names on
the certified roll, but the call, though harmonious, was signed by only 126
members, a circumstance indicative perhaps of the Mission church element.
We understand, besides, that high as Mr M'Laren's standard of admission
had been, and faithful as his dealings were with the souls of applicants, the
lapsing for a number of years was considerable. But the congregation was
in a state to offer a stipend of ;^2oo, and in 1865 the debt of ^2000 which
rested on the building was extinguished. Five years of steady progress
followed, and then there was a movement for the erection of a church in a
better locality, the impression being that in New City Road they were "at a
great disadvantage as compared with the neighbouring congregations." In
May 1870 the proposal was favourably entertained by the Presbytery, but
two months afterwards a petition from nine elders and others who wished to
remain in the present church urged that their interests should be regarded
in the disposal of the property. In September it carried at a congregational
meeting by 154 to 102 to proceed no further in the direction indicated, and
this was unanimously agreed to a month afterwards. But in May of the
following year 50 members brought up a complaint that within five months
the above arrangement was departed from and the church sold to the
Independents. In the Presbytery a majority expressed disapproval of the
hasty and irregular manner in which the congregation had acted, a decision
^Iiich entailed nothing serious.
I
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 83
The new church, built in a better locaHty a third of a mile to the west,
was opened on Sabbath, 19th September 1872, by Professor Calderwood,
who preached in the forenoon. It is seated for iioo, and cost upwards of
^5000. The opening collection was fully ^450, and seven years afterwards
the membership was 725 and the stipend ^500. But as Mr Pirret advanced
in years this high level was not maintained, and on 12th February 1895 ^^
was enrolled minister-emeritus. In lieu of a retiring allowance he received
a slump sum of ^looo. Though now amidst failing strength he gave him-
self willingly, especially in the summer season, to evangelistic work, in which
he had had much experience. When a divinity student Mr Pirret wrote a
prize essay, which developed into a volume, published in 185 1, entitled
"The Ethics of the Sabbath."
T/tird Minister. — ROBERT PRIMROSE, translated from Partick (East),
and inducted to his fourth charge on 21st May 1895 ii^ the fourteenth year
of his ministry. The stipend at first was ;^300, but at the close of 1899 it
was ^475, and the membership numbered 808.
SANDYFORD
On 24th April 1855 a petition to be erected into a congregation was pre-
sented to the U.P. Presbytery of Glasgow from a body of people who were
worshipping in a schoolroom in Catherine Street, Cranstonhill. They
pleaded want of accommodation in the churches of Wellington Street,
Anderston, and Shamrock Street. On loth July it was reported that the
applicants had been formed into a congregation with a membership of 42.
First Minister. — William Miller, who had retired from Longridge
three years before in ill-health. On 4th November 1854 he began to preach
in the above schoolroom under the auspices of an Evangelistic Committee.
On 3rd January 1856 Mr Miller was inducted; there being now 126 names
on the communion roll. The people were to raise ^100 of stipend, and they
expected a like sum from outside sources, and, if all went well, they calcu-
lated on reaching the point of self-support by another year. Though
essentially a Mission church the congregation was not included in the
Presbytery's Home Mission Scheme. The new church in Cheapside Street
was opened in November 1856, with sittings for 632. The building cost
about ^1400, of which more than ^800 had come from friends outside.
Mr Miller died, 13th January i860, in the fifty-fifth year of his age and
twenty-ninth of his ministry.
Second Minister. — John Wilson, Ph.D., from Edinburgh (Nicolson
Street). Called first to Arbroath (now Princes Street) ; but there was some
opposition, and Glasgow, which came very soon after, was accepted. Or-
dained, 5th June i860. The stipend promised was ^^200, and the member-
ship was 180. On 5th October 1873 the present church, with sittings for
950, was opened, the cost being ^^5000. In 1884 the debt was reduced
^looo, with the aid of ^200 from the Board, leaving £2000 still to liquidate.
The communion roll at this time reached its maximum of nearly 500, and
the stipend for years had been ^300. Dr Wilson died, 21st February 1895,
in the sixty-third year of his age and thirty-fifth of his ministry. The
Presbytery entered in its records that he was in the truest sense a student
and a scholar, and that in pulpit preparation and pastoral duty he spent
himself beyond measure. In August of that year the congregation called
the Rev. William Hay,* but he declined on the ground that he meant to
devote himself to the medical profession.
* Mr Hay belonged to Cvimbernauld congregation, and obtained licence from
84 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Third Minister. — W. M. Paton, B.D., from Abernethy, where he had
been nine and a half years. Inducted, 23rd December 1895. At the close
of 1899 the membership was 418 and the stipend ^308.
ST ROLLOX
The district of St Rollox was described in 1878 as without exception the
most "unimpressionable" in the whole city of Glasgow. The mass of
the inhabitants, it was added, was professedly Roman Catholic, but with
little more than Romish licence and intolerance. Forty years before this a
Glasgow Evangelistic Association commenced work there, but appearances
did not encourage them to persevere. On 24th April 1855 a petition came
up to Glasgow Presbytery from St Rollox and Garngad bearing that Mission
operations had been carried on there for two years ; that the audience
averaged 100 during the day and 150 in the evening; and that those in
attendance wished to be erected into a congregation. On 12th June the
petition was granted, and a member of Presbytery appointed to form 32
persons with certificates into a congregation. This was done on the 20th
of that month, and four of their number were, without loss of time, elected
to the eldership and ordained.
First Minister. — David Forrest, who after a long struggle with ill-
health had been loosed from his charge at Troon in April 1852. On
recovering so far as to find himself able for a fair amount of ministerial
work he chose St Rollox to commence with, and the result has been given
above. Now that the congregation was organised it was desirable that the
pastoral tie should be formed, which was done on 4th March 1856, the call
being signed by 67 members and 32 adherents. The people promised ^100
of stipend. For eight years public worship was conducted in a hall, but on
Sabbath, 24th March 1861, a new church was opened, with 440 sittings. The
services were conducted by Drs Anderson and Eadie, and their own minister.
The building cost ^1200, but through the liberality of friends in Glasgow,
among whom Mr John Henderson of Park merits honourable mention,
the church was entered free of debt, an opportune tribute of respect to
Mr Forrest and his arduous, self-denying work. But, though at that time
Mission churches were springing up in various parts of the town under the
fostering care of the Elders' Association, St Rollox was looked on as outside
the general scheme. None the less, Mr Forrest toiled faithfully on, and, as
self-support was not to be looked for, the congregation was put on the sup-
plemented list in 1874. There were then 152 names on the communion roll,
and the people contributed ^100 of the stipend, which was made up to ^180
in all. In the beginning of 1875 Mr Forrest was laid aside by illness, and
in a few months it was felt that a colleague would have to be arranged for,
the retiring minister to have ^40 a year and the colleague ^205, of which
^100 would come from the Mission Fund and the Ferguson Bequest.
Second Minister. — James M. Cruickshank, who had resigned Westray
in April 1874 to escape the Orkney cUmate, and returned to the preachers'
list. During his second period of probationership he was both acceptable
and popular, receiving calls to Logiealmond, Auchterarder (North), Banff,
and Kilmarnock (Holm) ; but St Rollox came, and he was inducted there,
Falkirk Presbytery in 1884. Having emigrated to South Africa he became pastor of
a church at Kimberley. On returning to this country he passed through a regular
medical course, but was also engaged more or less for pulpit supply, and in this
capacity attracted the notice of Sandyford congregation. He is now a medical
practitioner in Sunderland.
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW
85
loth August 1875. Mr Forrest meanwhile was relieved from active duty,
and on 6th June 1876 he resigned his place as senior pastor, retaining his
seat in Presbytery and Synod. He also at personal inconvenience kept up
his connection with his old congregation to the end. He died, 12th
September 1877, in the seventy-first year of his age and thirty-seventh of his
ministry, leaving a son who at the Union was the Rev. Dr P^orrest of
Skelmorlie. At the end of that year the membership was returned at 213,
and Mr Cruickshank's stipend was ^220 in all, of which ^105 came from the
congregation. But removal to a better situation was now coming to be
strongly desired by the Presbytery as well as by the people, the drawbacks,
however, being the want of funds and the fear that the congregation might
lose the characteristics of a Mission church. Hence for fifteen years the
proposal remained in suspense, and it was not till October 1892 that the
foundation stone of a new church, intended to accommodate 700, was laid in
Springburn Road, nearly a mile from the original site of the congregation.
It was stated that ^4500 would be required to complete the building, but of
this sum two-thirds had, already been obtained. The ordinary income in
their new situation was ;i^4So in 1896, and the largest item on the other side
next to ^140 of stipend was the sum paid for interest on a bond of ^2000.
On 31st March 1898 Mr Cruickshank, who had been ailing for some time,
was touched by the hand of death when engaged in quiet conversation, and
in a moment passed away. He was in the sixty-third year of his age and
thirty-second of his ministry.
Third Minister. — WlLLlAM Adam, M.A., who had resigned Elgin (South
Street), a year and a half before in the interests of union. Inducted, ist
September 1898. At the close of 1899 there was a membership of 645, and
the stipend from the people was ^255.
ALBERT STREET
This congregation began under the fostering care of Regent Place Church,
and was intended to meet the wants of the non-church-going* population
around. With this view the building in Blackfriars Street, which had been
occupied by the Rev. John Graham and his congregation before they
amalgamated with Duke Street, was bought for ^1400 by the Elders' Home
Mission Association, and the Rev. William Cowan was invited to take the
superintendence. Having accepted he began his labours on ist July 1855,
on which day the place of worship was reopened. On 8th April 1856
Mr Edmond, minister of Regent Place, reported that a congregation had
been formed of 47 members, of whom 4 were received by certificate from
other churches and 43 admitted by examination. An election of two elders
was now to be proceeded with, and on the Sabbath following 45 of the 47
members sat down at the communion.
First Minister. — William Cowan, who had been ordained at Buckhaven
ten years before. The call was signed by 56 members and 17 adherents, the
congregation of Regent Place becoming responsible for the stipend. In-
ducted to Blackfriars, ist October 1856, and in this new and trying sphere
he laboured with much devotedness for eight years. He died, 15th August
1863, in the forty-eighth year of his age and eighteenth of his ministry.
Mr Cowan had seen the shadowed side of family life, having been thrice
left a widower, each of his wives having lived only between three and four
years. The membership of Blackfriars Church at his death was 224, but it
declined considerably during the vacancy.
Second Minister. — Alexander Brunton, from Oban, after ten years'
86 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
experience of ministerial life, as had his predecessor. Inducted, 25th October
1864. Regent Place congregation had now expended ^1500 on Blackfriars
Mission Church, and at this point the tie, which had proved of so much
service to the feeble cause, was severed. The congregation now promised
;^i 10 of stipend and the Mission Board j^ioo. In 1 87 1 a change of situation
was felt to be required. The original design had been to remedy the obscure
position of the church by changing the front entrance ; but it was found that
this could not be done at a cost of less than ^i 100, and the district having
become largely occupied by workshops and places of business a new site
was secured in Albert Street, at some distance to the north-east. The
new church cost altogether about ^3500, and was opened on the second
Sabbath of September 1872 by Professor M'Michael. The old build-
ing was sold to the railway company, and brought ^1500 to the
Building Fund. The burden that remained was considerable, but the last
of the debt, amounting to ^192, was cleared off in 1881, with the aid of
a grant of ^100 from the Liquidation Board. The removal to Albert Street
brought a large addition to the membership, which was returned in 1900 at
356, the stipend from the people being ^192.
BELLGROVE
The cradle of this congregation was the City Hall Saloon, Candleriggs,
where it was nurtured for a time as a Mission station, under the care of
Greyfriars Church. On 5th April 1862 a congregation of 65 members was
formed, and next month two of their number were chosen to the eldership.
First Minister. — Robert Campbell, from Cumnock. For four years
Mr Campbell had laboured in this district with much success, and though
he was only a divinity student the people petitioned for and obtained his
continuance among them after they were congregated. He obtained
hcence in January 1863, and no time was lost in forming the pastoral bond,
the congregation undertaking ^63 from their own funds, which sum, with
outside subscriptions and a grant of ^50 from Greyfriars, was to be made
up to ^200. Mr Campbell was ordained, 24th June 1863, the call being
signed by 83 members and 34 adherents. The church in Canon Street
having been recently vacated by what became Frederick Street congrega-
tion the Presbytery decided when sustaining the call that the congregation
should remove thither at once. It was in Canon Street, accordingly, that
the ordination took place. In the end of 1864 it was arranged, with their
own approval, that Canon Street should look no longer to Greyfriars for
aid but should draw from the Home Mission Board, the hope being that
they would by-and-by become self-supporting. But on 9th May 1865 Mr
Campbell accepted a call to Aldershot, and in two months the Presbytery
took steps to further the union of Canon Street with some other aid-
receiving congregation. How this was accomplished is now to be traced.
As for Mr Campbell, we meet with him again in connection with the history
of Calton Church.
The Rev. John Fraser, who had conducted Missionary operations in the
Trongate for upwards of a year, having removed to the south side in April
1863, worship was still kept up in the Tontine under the superintendence of a
Committee of Presbytery, with John Henderson, Esq. of Park, for its con-
vener. In the following November they invited the Rev. William Barras to
remove from Buckie to undertake the care of this Mission station, and he
was introduced to his new field of labour on Sabbath, 6th December. Mr
Henderson must have made himself responsible for the whole salary, as it
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 87
was nearly eleven months before even a church-door collection was made.
Those gathered in to Church fellowship were placed under the wing of Duke
Street session, and in February 1865 there were 36 present at the com-
munion. Canon Street congregation now took steps to have Mr Barras
brought from the Tontine to be Mr Campbell's successor, and this resulted
in a unanimous call, signed by 124 members and 41 adherents. For stipend
the congregation was to contribute ^100, and Mr Henderson was to give
another ^100. The membership of Canon Street was 220 when Mr
Campbell left, but it had lost considerably during the vacancy. It now
received an addition of 60 or 70 from the Tontine, where services were
discontinued.
Second Minister. — WiLLlAM Barras. Inducted, 26th December 1865.
In the second year of his ministry in this new sphere there was an increase
of 64 members and an addition of eight to the eldership. But a new church
had been spoken of in Mr Campbell's time, and now it was clear that the
extension of Ingram Street would deprive the people of their place of
worship. The death of Mr Henderson on ist May 1867 was the loss of
their best benefactor, and to make up the ^200 of stipend for 1868, ^100
had to be obtained from the Mission Board. But the feeling grew that self-
preservation required them to remove to another locality, and with this
design a site was taken in Bellgrove Street. A Committee of Presbytery
opposed the transference, but the congregation decidedly adhered to their
purpose. At last, on 8th September 1868, after a long and keen discussion
m the Presbytery, the removal was sanctioned by a majority of one. The
new church, with sittings for 730, was opened by Dr Harper on 12th June
1870. It cost ^3800, and though the Building Fund had been gathering up
for years there was a debt to face of £,1100. At the time when the congrega-
tion decided to leave the original district they were told that it must be in
reliance on their own resources ; so that, in the words of another, " Bellgrove
Church was put on its own basis, and left very much to itself to sink or
swim." But encouragement came in the shape of 108 accessions to the
membership during their first four months in Bellgrove Street, and in 1870
the membership increased from 248 to 357. Still, there were long years of
struggle for minister and people, even in the midst of numerical progress,
but by means of a Bazaar held in December 1878 the debt was reduced
;(^720, and next year there was a stipend of over ^250. In March 1882 the
last of the debt was cleared off by two grants of ^350 each — the one from the
Ferguson Bequest and the other from the Synod's Liquidation Board. Mr
Barras died, 6th May 1891, in the sixty-second year of his age and thirty-
first of his ministry. He had been struck down by paralysis three days
before, but his vitality had been previously drained away by influenza. He
left Bellgrove Church with a membership of nearly 600, and the stipend for
years had been ^315. On loth November 1892 a stained-glass window in
the church was unveiled, with the words : " In memory of the Rev. William
Barras, pastor 1860-91." A carefully-dra\vn-up volume, from which a good
part of the above particulars have been taken, presents us with a clear view
of his life work.
Third Minister. — W. T. WALKER, M.A., translated from Oban after a
ministry there of seven years. Inducted, 12th November 1891. At the
close of 1899 there was a membership of 691 and a stipend of ^315.
SPRINGBANK
This congregation originated in Mission work which had been conducted
in Springbank by Cambridge Street Church for a long course of years. In
88 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
May 1862 lay agency was superseded by the appointment of Mr William
Sinclair, probationer, to act as evangelist and missionary. The engagement
was renewed from month to month until it became permanent. On loth
March 1863 a petition for supply as a Mission station was laid before
Glasgow Presbytery from 124 persons in Springbank, which was described
as a village two miles from Glasgow, and 61 of their number asked besides
to be formed into a congregation. After inquiry this was agreed to on
14th July, and soon afterwards two of their number were ordained to the
eldership, Dr Eadie being the minister on whom these preliminaries
devolved.
First Minister. — William Sinclair, from North Leith. Ordained,
22nd January 1866. The call was signed by 52 members and 39 adherents,
and the stipend was to be made up to ^205. The congregations of Cambridge
Street and Lansdowne stood by their foster-child for five years, and aided
in almost the same proportion at an average rate of nearly ^80 a year.
On 1 2th May 1867 a new church was opened, with 500 sittings, the cost of
the building being ^1850. The site, which is considerably nearer the
heart of the town than the original village was, had been chosen .by the
Extension Committee, who made a grant of ^200 to aid the erection, and
there was also some assistance obtained from the P'erguson Bequest Fund.
About 1870 the congregation became self-supporting, and within other two
years the debt was all but paid. Springbank had now profited largely by
extensive building operations, and in 1873 galleries were put into the church,
which increased the sittings to 740. Six years after this there was a com-
munion roll of about 350 and a stipend of not less than ^260, which in due
time was raised to ^300. In 1899 Mr Sinclair by reason of impaired
health required regular assistance with his pulpit work, and it was felt
desirable that he should have a colleague. On 25th October 1900, the week
before the Union, a call was sustained to Mr Thomas Cameron, and his
ordination fixed for 13th November, which would make it the first in the
United Free Church. There was a membership now of 750, and the junior
minister was to have ^250 and the senior ^200.
CUMBERLAND STREET
On loth June 1862 a paper signed by 106 persons who were attending
Sabbath ordinances in the Tontine Reading-Room, Glasgow, was given
in to the Presbytery asking to be erected into a congregation. On 9th
December 65 persons who had been admitted to membership by examina-
tion were congregated, and 2 of their number were soon after ordained to
the eldership. It is to be regretted that there was not a larger amount of
well-tested material to work with when the foundations of a Christian church
were being laid. In April next year the congregation, by advice of the
Presbytery, removed from their temporary place of worship in the Trongate
to an Academy in Commercial Road on the south side of the river, a
distance of nearly a mile, and, as worship was to be continued in the
Tontine, it was to be expected that some of their number would be left
behind. It was among those who remained that the Rev. William Barras
began his labours when brought from Buckie to the heart of Glasgow.
In the end of 1863 the party meeting in Commercial Road applied for a
moderation, the stipend to consist, as they calculated, of ^50 from them-
selves, ^100 from the Board, and ^50 from other sources.
First Minister. — JOHN ERASER, a native of Grantown-on-Spey, who
emigrated to Canada in his youth, and studied for the ministry there. He
I
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 89
was ordained at Chatham, a congregation in connection with the U.P. Church
in that colony, in 1851, and in 1856 he vvas translated to Goderich. Having
returned to Scotland he was admitted by the Synod in May 1862 to a place
on the probationer list, and about this time, if not considerably earlier,
he settled down to carry on Mission work in Glasgow, with the Tontine
Reading-Room for his centre. This explains the application from 106
persons already referred to, and it was under his supervision that the
communion roll of 65 members was made up. Mr Eraser was inducted to
the pastoral charge of Commercial Road Church on 23rd February 1864,
the call having been signed by 69 members and 14 adherents. In the
spring of 1866 minister and people removed to a brick building, with
accommodation for 450, and erected at a cost of ^313, of which the
Presbytery raised nearly one-third, the other two-thirds being provided by
the efforts of minister and congregation. On the forenoon of Sabbath,
2 1st February 1873, the present church, built on the same site, was opened
by the Rev. Walter C. Smith, then of the Free Tron, Glasgow. It cost in
all not less than ^4500, and has sittings for over 1000. Seven years after
this there was a membership of 600 and a total income of £700, which
might well afford a stipend of ^200. But churches of this class are sure,
even at their best estate, to be wanling in cohesion, so that we are less
surprised to find that in other eight years both the membership and the
funds had fallen nearly one-half There was, moreover, a debt of ^2500,
and the stipend was ^230 in arrears. The result was that Mr Fraser, on
whom years were telling, withdrew from active duty on 8th January 1889,
and he shortly afterwards received a gift of ^400 in lieu of a retiring
allowance. He died, 5th May 1894, in the seventy-first year of his age
and forty-third of his ministry.
Second Minister. — James Eason, M.A., from Carluke. Ordained, 17th
September 1889. The people were to attempt a stipend of ^230, which
proved too much for them. But in 1 892 the funds were relieved by a strong
and successful effort to clear off ^2000 of debt, which left only ^500
borrowed from the Loan Fund. On 29th July 1895 Mr Eason accepted a
call to Duns (South), where, owing to a recent union, he had a larger and an
abler congregation to work with.
Third Minister. — John Cook, who had laboured six years in Buckie.
Inducted, 9th January 1896. Four years afterwards the membership was
374 and the stipend ^224
iry I
^22^
CRANSTONHILL
A Mission station, which had been long maintained at Cranstonhill by
Wellington Street Church, was now in a state of ripeness for being
formed into a regular congregation. This was done on 13th July 1875,
there being a membership of 250 attested by Wellington Street session,
and on 2nd October five elders were ordained and one inducted by
Dr Black.
First Minister. — Robert Edgar, M.A., who had been seven and a
half years in South Ronaldshay. Inducted, 31st January 1876. Trusting
to the fostering care of the parent church the congregation promised a
stipend of ^200. The work was to proceed much as before, but on a
higher platform, and there were no buildings to provide or extra burdens
to bear. On iith June 1878 Mr Edgar accepted a call to St Andrew's
Square, Greenock.
Second Minister. — George G. Green, M.A., from Buckie, where he
90 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
had been about thirteen years. Inducted, 5th December 1878. The
stipend was to be made up to ^290, of which the people raised ^150.
The membership a year afterwards was 295. In June 1885, with the
view of building a new church, for which ^2000 was already subscribed,
Cranstonhill had their place of worship made over to them by the
mother congregation. The building was opened on Sabbath, i8th
December 1887, by Drs Drummond, Black, and Bonnar, when the
collections amounted to over ^100. The cost altogether was ^4000, and
the sittings are between 800 and 900, and it is practically free of debt.
At the close of 1899 Cranstonhill had a membership of 909, and the
stipend was ^300.
ROCKVILLA
Mission operations had been carried on in this part of Glasgow for a
course of years by Shamrock Street Church, and on 13th November 1877
a regular preaching station was formed by Glasgow Presbytery. A year
after, on 8th October, the members, 104 in number, were erected into a
congregation, and in six months they called Mr A. L. Henderson, who
declined, and was ordained at Durham. Shamrock Street congregation
had engaged for ^80 and the use of their premises for three years, and,
trusting to subsidies from the Mission Board and probably the Ferguson
Bequest, the people undertook altogether a stipend of ^232, though their
own income for the year was only ^58.
First Minister. — John Milne, M.A., who had resigned Greenlaw the
year before. Inducted, 25th November 1879, the call being signed by
96 members and 20 adherents. They were now in a fully organised state,
but the meeting-place was complained of as unsuitable, and prosperity was
denied. At the expiry of the three years Shamrock Street Church agreed
to continue the ^8o for another year. In the beginning of 1883 the
Presbytery found that, though Mr Milne was doing good work, the
membership was only 112, and the withdrawal of the ^80 would have
to be made up for. In the end of that year an iron church was re-
commended, but owing to a shortcoming of funds there was nothing
done. A year later Mr Milne wrote to the Presbytery that he could go
on no longer with any hope of success unless more comfortable ac-
commodation were provided for the congregation, and on 14th July 1885
his resignation was accepted, the people much regretting the circum-
stances which seemed to make this a necessity. He afterwards removed
to Edinburgh, and was living in the Braid district in a very infirm state
at the time of the Union.
Second Minister.—^. Bruce Meikleham, son of the Rev. John
Meikleham, Grange. When Mr Meikleham's work began, with a location
of sixteen months, there were only 72 members, and the collections
averaged 14s. each Sabbath, but in seven months their numbers had
increased by a half, and the attendance was doubled. Mr Meikleham
was ordained, 21st March 1887, the congregation undertaking a stipend
of j{^8o, and the Board to grant ^100 for three years, besides house rent.
A new church, with 650 sittings, was opened at Possilpark on Thursday,
4th September 1890, by Dr Drummond of Belhaven. It cost ^2800, but
the congregation had been so liberally assisted by friends in Glasgow
that only a debt of ^600 remained. Two years after this there were
316 names on the communion roll, and the stipend from the people was
^150. At the close of 1899 the membership had grown to 414, and the
stipend to ;^200, without supplement.
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 91
CALEDONIA ROAD (United Presbyterian)
On 1 2th October 1854 the Presbytery of Glasgow was appHed to for
sermon by some members and adherents of the U.P. Church, with the
view of forming a new congregation on the south side of the Clyde.
There was nothing done at that meeting, as the parties had not got
disjunction lines. At next meeting 49 communicants and 12 adherents
renewed the application. It came out that they had separated from
Hutchesontown Church, in which there was turmoil at that time, the
minister being blamed for prompting the congregation to vote the
managers out of office. On 12th December the parties were erected
into a congregation, which was to meet for the present in Commercial
Road Academy, and on 13th February arrangements were made for
having three elders formed into a session.
First Minister. — Robert T. Jeffrey, M.D., translated from Denny
after a ministry there of twelve years. Inducted, 29th April 1856, the
call being signed by 93 members. The stipend promised at first was
^200, with ^25 in name of expenses. The new church was opened on
Sabbath, 22nd March 1857, with sittings for about iioo. Dr Jeffrey's
brother George, of London Road Church, preached in the forenoon, and
the collection at the three services amounted to j^35o. The entire cost
was ^7500, which was cleared off after some years without either Bazaar
or external aid. In 1859 Dr Jeffrey published his "Voices from Calvary,"
a volume which drew forth a beautifully-written review by William
Robertson of Irvine in the denominational magazine. In March 1861
he declined a call to remove from Glasgow to Albion Church, London.
The death of his brother in 1887 helped to weaken Dr Jeffrey's strength
by the way, and in 1890 it was found needful to have a colleague ap-
pointed, the senior minister to have ^225 and the junior ^400.
Second Minister. — William R. Thomson, B.D., from Earlston, where
he had been ordained two years before. Inducted, 22nd April 1890. Dr
Jeffrey died, ist August 1895, in the seventy-eighth year of his age and
fifty-second of his ministry. The circumstances were markedly pathetic.
The bond of affection between the different members of the family had
always been close and warm. The two brothers, for example, dwelt
side by side, each in his own house, but with a door through the wall
between. His brother's death cast a shadow over his own remaining
[years, and when his sister died on Monday, 29th July 1895, it intensified
jhis own burden of frailties. Next day he was laid down on what proved
phis death-bed, and on Thursday, as the funeral procession was about to
leave, he entered into rest. George Gilfillan, who knew the two brothers
i^ell, ranked them among his worthiest and warmest friends. He spoke
>f Dr (George as a man of "open, frank, and all-embracing heart" ; while
lis brother, with more eccentricity, had nearly equal warmth, and a still
stronger intellect. We know, besides, that as the evening advanced the
feccentricities of Robert's younger days were smoothed down, and he
^became more consei-vative in his theology even, as is attested in some
measure by his second volume of discourses, which was published in 1890,
with the title, "The Salvation of the Gospel." Under Mr Thomson the
jcongregation keeps up its strength and liberality, the membership at the
close of 1899 being close on 800 and the stipend .^525.
92 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
MARYHILL (United Presbyterian)
On loth July 1855 a petition from 31 church members and 'j'] adherents to
be congregated was presented to Glasgow Presbytery from Maryhill. On
14th August this was agreed to, and on 9th October the ordination of three
elders was arranged for. The station had been opened on 5th February in
a hall seated for 250, as the outcome of mission operations previously carried
on in the place by Shamrock Street Church, Glasgow. Maryhill is three
miles from the heart of the city to the north, and the population was esti-
mated at 3000, but the soil was hard to work. Indeed, this congregation
might, without much impropriety, have been included in the group of so-
called Mission churches.
First Minister. — Robert Niven, who was originally from the Relief
Church, Dovehill, Glasgow. Ordained on 2nd November 1835, to proceed
to Kaffraria as a missionary under the Glasgow South African Society.
Some time after the outbreak of the war of 1850 Mr Niven returned to
Scotland, and it was under his agency that the Mission at Maryhill was
carried on. He was inducted to his Home charge on 30th April 1856, the
call being signed by 75 members and 30 adherents. On the third Sabbath
of May 1859 the new church, with sittings for 430, and built at a cost of
;^I340, was opened by Dr Robertson of Shamrock Street. A gallery was
added in 1865, which provided additional accommodation for 140. A manse
was built in 1868, the cost, as reported to the Synod, being ^750, of which
the Board contributed one-third. Before Mr Niven retired the property
was free of debt. In 1872 it was felt that a colleague was needed, and it
was agreed that Mr Niven should have ;^5o a year, with the manse, and the
junior minister £170, the congregation to make up whatever might be short
of the ^40 expected from the Ferguson Bequest. They first called Mr
James S. Rae, who accepted Ecclefechan.
Second Minister. — James M. Rae, from St Paul's, Aberdeen. Ordained,
26th March 1873. Mr Niven took a share of the work for four years, but
on 6th February 1877 he retired under growing infirmities, and removed
from Maryhill soon after. He died at his son's residence in Gourock on
1 2th October thereafter, in the seventy-second year of his age and forty-
second of his ministry. Of Mr Niven's connection with the Foreign Field
and his experiences during the Kaffir War we have a minute and interesting
account from his own pen in the U.P. Magazine for 185 1, and in the same
periodical for 1861 Dr M'Michael gave particulars of the treatment he
received from the Governor, Sir George Cathcart, at a later time, when he
was ordered to leave the colony. I recall the impression made in at least
one congregation by Mr Niven's description of mission work in Kaffraria
when he was home on furlough in 1846. Mr Rae after a period of feeble
health died, 21st February 1882, in the thirty-eighth year of his age and
ninth of his ministry. There was a membership now of over 250.
Third Minister. — William Duncan, from Mid-Calder, where he had
been colleague to his uncle for eight years, hiducted, 21st November 1882.
The stipend from the congregation was to be £170, with the manse, and a
grant of ^30 was expected from the Ferguson Fund, but this was not long
required. In 1893 the church was enlarged by an addition of 250 sittings,
making 850 in all. This with the erection of new halls and the introduction
of an organ cost over ^3000. At the close of 1899 there were 502 names on
the communion roll, and the stipend was ;^240, and the manse.
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 93
CLAREMONT (United Presbyterian)
On 9th October 1855 a number of U.P. members applied to Glasgow Pres-
bytery to be formed into a new congregation in the Sandyford district, where
they had a place of worship nearly completed. On 13th November, after
some inquiry bearing on the mode of conducting public worship, the con-
gregating was agreed to, the members being 17 in number. At the meeting
in January 1856 a moderation was applied for, the stipend at the very outset
being struck to the tune of ^425 a year, but on the part of certain members of
jCourt there was sensitiveness as to some dreaded encroachment on Church
lorder. An organ was about to be put into the building, and the purpose, it
[was inferred, must be more than ornamental. The representatives of the
I congregation explained that it was deemed desirable to have the instrument
erected at once, but before using it they would give due notice to the Pres-
bytery. In March the applicants brought up a memorial, in which they
gave full expression to their intentions, and after long discussion a motion
carried to grant the moderation but enjoin the parties not to introduce the
organ without the sanction of the Synod. The ministers who set themselves
most decidedly against the proposed innovation were from the Relief side of
the Church, influenced, perhaps, by the remembrance of the Roxburgh Place
Case in their own Synod twenty-seven years before. One of them was the
Rev. James S. Taylor, who left the U.P. Church when the Synod afterwards
granted liberty to introduce instrumental music into the public worship of
God.
First Minister. — Alexander MacEwen, M.A., from Helensburgh,
where he had been ordained eleven years before. The call was signed by
25 members and 29 adherents, and the induction took place on Wednesday,
13th August 1856. On the following Sabbath the congregation entered their
new church, when the Rev. John Cairns of Berwick preached in the fore-
noon, their own minister in the afternoon, and Mr Ker of Sydney Place in
the evening. The entire cost of the building was about ^10,500, and it had
sittings for 1 100. Next year the contributions for the Building Fund were
over ^3000, and on this scale of liberality the debt rapidly melted away.
As for the organ, it remained a silent listener, on Sabbath at least, for sixteen
years, very much through the minister's influence, who carried discretion
into all his counsels. In 1872 the point was yielded, and the instrument,
which recjuired to be strung up anew after its long rest, was allowed to get
out its voice for the first time on the first Sabbath of November. In 1864
Mr MacEwen received the degree of D.D. from Glasgow University. He
died, after a long and severe illness, on 4th June 1875, '" the fifty-second
year of his age and thirtieth of his ministry. A volume of his discourses,
with a well-balanced Memoir by his son, and now his successor in Claremont
Church, was published in 1877. In Dr MacEwen the Church lost a minister
of solid excellence and a counsellor of rare sagacity.
Second Minister. — Adam S. M.\theson. Having accepted a call from
Alloa (Townhead) to Derby Road, Liverpool, he was admitted on i8th
September 1873 to the place vacated two years before by Dr Taylor of New
York. The offer of a larger sphere and a stipend of ^800 came from
Claremont Church in 1877, which he accepted, and the induction took place
on 17th April of that year. The congregation had previously called Dr
Drummond from St John's Wood, London, promising a stipend of ;^iooo,
but he declined. Under Mr Matheson the extensive machmery moved on
for ten years with vigour, but in March 1888 the Presbytery were asked
by sixteen of the elders to make inquiry into the state of their affairs. The
committee of investigation found that decline had set in, that differences
94 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
prevailed, and that an attempt should be made to have harmony restored.
On 1 2th June a letter was received from Mr Matheson demitting his charge,
and stating that the committee had taken upon themselves the responsibility
of recommending him to retire from the scene of discomfort. The resigna-
tion was accepted at a meeting on the 26th, and some months afterwards it
was intimated that Claremont congregation had sent Mr Matheson a cheque
for ^1000. He was admitted to High Street, Dumbarton, his fourth charge,
within six months, and to the partial relief which the change brought we
are indebted in some measure for subsequent productions of his pen.
Third Mi7iister. — Alexander R. MacEwen, B.D., brought from the
neighbouring congregation of Anderston, and inducted into what had been
his father's congregation, 12th September 1889. Dr John Smith had pre-
viously declined to exchange the collegiate charge of Broughton Place,
Edinburgh, for the sole pastorate of Claremont Church, Glasgow. The
stipend was ^800, as before. In 1892 the University of Glasgow conferred
the degree of D.D. on Mr MacEwen. Three years afterwards Dr MacEwen
gave to the world a standard work in his " Life and Letters of John Cairns,
D.D., LL.D." He has recently contributed to the "Famous Scots" Series a
little volume on " The Erskines," in which he has done as much justice to
the subject as was consistent with the narrowness of the canvas. Claremont
Church still divides with Wellington Church, as it has long done, the
honour of holding the foremost place in the U.P. denomination for abound-
ing liberality, their income in 1899 for missionary and benevolent purposes
alone amounting to nearly ^3500. The membership at the close of that
year was 978.
POLLOK STREET (United Presbyterian)
In the July number of the denominational magazine for 1855 a paragraph
appeared, in which it was stated that a church was in course of erection at
Pollok Street, "on the Govan road, near the new suburban village of
Pollokshields." Nothing further emerged till 13th November, when 45
members of the U.P. Church petitioned Glasgow Presbytery to be formed
into a congregation. At next meeting this was agreed to, public worship
to begin in the hall forthwith. The church was opened on i6th March
1856 by Dr M'Farlane of Erskine Church, with sittings for 986, the entire
cost of the buildings being ^6000.
First Minister. — James Knox, M.A., from Ayr (now Darlington Place),
where he had been ordained twelve years before. Inducted, 2nd September
1856. The call was signed by 114 members and 60 adherents. Mr Knox
had been called to Greyfriars Church in the beginning of the year, when he
had a small majority over the Rev. Alexander MacEwen of Helensburgh ;
but party feehng got in, and the call was declined. The Pollok Street move-
ment had drawn all along from Greyfriars, where the cohesion had been weak-
ened by Dr King's retirement, and now the new cause was strengthened by
Mr Knox's induction. At first the district was only beginning to be peopled,
but as building operations went on the congregation rapidly grew and
prospered. In 1870 Mr Knox received the degree of D.D. from the Uni-
versity of Glasgow. When the time came for lightening his labours by the
appointment of a colleague the congregation called the Rev. James
Drummond from Alexandria, but he remained some time longer in his first
charge.
Second Minister. — Andrew H. Anderson, who had been for a short
time in Leith (St Andrew's Place), and then for two years in Aldershot.
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 95
Inducted, 13th January 1876. The stipend promised was ^^412 to each
minister. In the beginning of 1883 Dr Knox withdrew from active duty
owing to faiHng health. UecHning any allowance from the congregation he
removed to Edinburgh, where he died on 17th January 1886, in the sixty-
ninth year of his age and forty-second of his ministry. Besides being a
masterly preacher Dr Knox was a man of wide accomplishments. His
originality is well illustrated by a lecture he published in 1870 on "The
Combined Progressive and Conservative Elements in Nature and Religion."
Mr Anderson's health had never been reliable, and in a quieter sphere he
might have found better adaptations than in either Leith or Glasgow. The
tear and wear of Pollok Street Church seems to have induced some relaxing
of the nervous tension, and the flow of prosperity came to an end. The
congregation now got restive, and on 5th October 1892 the Presbytery
sanctioned an arrangement under which Mr Anderson was to retire on
receiving payment of ^looo. Rest was needed, but it came in a way much
to be lamented. He had gone to live at Prestwick, and he died in the
neighbourhood of Ayr on 14th December 1892, in the fifty-first year of his
age and twenty-second of his ministry.
Third Minisfer.—QnAKhV^s, Robson, M.A., translated from Clune Park,
Port-Glasgow, after a ministry of four and a half years. Inducted, 8th June
1893. The congregation had previously called the Rev. James Macmillan of
Nairn, but without success. The present call was signed by 269 members,
and the stipend was to be .2^350. On 14th November 1899 Mr Robson
accepted a call to Inverness.
Fourth Mitiister. — Thomas P. Rankine, M.A., translated from Water-
beck, and inducted, 3rd May 1900. At that time there was a membership
of nearly 650, and the stipend was as before.
SPRINGBURN (United Presbyterian)
Springburn was described about the time of the Disruption as a village a
mile and a half north-east of Glasgow, inhabited chiefly by weavers. On
8th January 1856 a petition to be formed into a congregation was presented
to Glasgow Presbytery from 22 United Presbyterian members residing in
the place. They had been worshippmg for some time in a schoolroom,
under the superintendence of the Rev. James Lindsay, formerly minister of
Kilmarnock. No objections being offered, Dr George Jeffrey preached at
Springburn by appointment of Presbytery on the 25th of next month, and
declared the petitioners congregated. The first church, with 434 sittings,
was opened on Sabbath, 17th August, the cost being fully ^800. A call
was addressed in October 1857 to Mr Matthew Crawford ; but he had already
received three others, and a fourth which followed from Sanquhar (South) he
a,ccepted. The stipend was to be ^100 from the congregation, but supple-
ment was expected.
First Minister. — Walter Chisholm, from Galashiels (West). Or-
dained, 31st August 1858. Within three months Mr Chisholm signified to
the Presbytery that owing to ill-health he had been obliged to employ two
divinity students on a recent Sabbath, a thing which needed apology in those
days. Regular sick-supply followed, and he died, 25th November 1859, in
the thirty-second year of his age and second of his ministry. We remember
Mr Chisholm as a probationer of stately appearance, with an amount of
pulpit action above the average. During the vacancy which ensued Mr
Thomas Forsyth had the offer of Springburn, but he preferred to become
junior pastor at Gorebridge.
^^ft junic
k
96 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Second Minister. — James A. Johnston, who had been nearly nine years
in West Linton, and was now transferred to a field of more befitting possi-
bilities. A stipend of^i5ovvasall that the people could offer meanwhile,
but if this were supplemented by a grant of ^30 for one year aid would not
be required again. Inducted, 3rd July 1861. Mr Johnston gave himself
with much vigour to his special work, and also to the advancement of the
Temperance movement, a cause in which he had been deeply interested
before college days, and of which he remained an earnest upholder to the
end. A new church was opened on Thursday, 19th March 1874, by Dr
Cairns of Berwick. The cost was calculated at ^4000, and it was to accom-
modate 950. Springburn was now a part of Glasgow, and it had a popula-
tion of 24,000. Within other five years the membership of the congregation
approached 700, and the stipend was ^400. In 1894 Mr Johnston, who had
been in broken health for some time, had a colleague arranged for, who was
to receive ^300 a year, his own allowance to be ^150.
Third Minister. — Alexander Gilchrist, from Linlithgow (East).
Having removed to the United States Mr Gilchrist, after passing through a
regular curriculum of study, was ordained minister of Arlington Heights,
Illinois, in May 1890, in connection with the Presbyterian Church of
America. After labouring there for three years energetically and success-
fully, as the congregation testified in parting with him, he returned to
Scotland, and was received as a probationer into the U.P. Church at the
Synod in May 1894. Springburn congregation soon after this called Mr
David S. Cairns, now of Ayton, but he preferred not to accept. Mr Gilchrist
was inducted as colleague and successor to Mr Johnston, 23rd April 1895.
The senior minister died, 19th September thereafter, in the seventy-fourth
year of his age and when within a few days of completing the forty-third of
his ministry. The Rev. Adam Johnston Millar of Milnathort is his son-in-law
and also his nephew. At the close of 1899 the membership of Springburn
was over 1 100 and the stipend ^500.
SPRINGBURN, WELLFIELD (United Presbyterian)
On loth December 1895 the Presbytery's Extension Committee recommended
that steps should be taken with the view of having another church formed in
Springburn, which had a population now of 27,000. The movement had
been long talked of, but it was held back as St RoUox congregation was
expected to remove to this locality. The proposal having been sent down
to sessions that struggling congregation reminded the Presbytery of their
heavy burden of debt, and Springburn session suggested that the new
formation should have its seat at a reasonable distance from them. Under
the auspices of the Presbytery the station was opened on 19th January 1896,
and on 23rd March a congregation was formed with 106 certified members.
A further advance was gained by the ordination of ten elders on the last
Sabbath of April. A hall had been previously erected, with the aid of a
grant from the Board.
First Minister. — David M. Forrester, B.D., from Logiealmond,
where he had been ordained ten years before. The call was signed by 11 1
members, and a stipend of ^300 was guaranteed by the Church Extension
Committee. Inducted, 7th September 1896, and when the year ended there
were 163 names on the communion roll. On Thursday, 5th October 1899,
the new church was opened by the Rev. Dr Smith of Broughton Place,
Edinburgh. It has sittings for fully 800 and all suitable equipments. It
was estimated that the cost would be ^5000, but, owing mainly to the
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 97
foundation yielding, the total outlay amounted to over ^8000. The people
had ^1000 subscribed before the work was begun, and a grant of ^500 was
received from the Extension Fund. A few months before the Union an
additional ;^iooo was promised by the Board on condition of having the
debt cleared off, and the congregation was girding itself for a large effort
by means of a Bazaar to meet the requirement. It gave promise of being
largely patronised, so that it was expected that in a short time Wellfield
Church, Springburn, would walk unfettered. At the close of 1899 there was
a membership of 267, and the stipend from their own resources was ^165.
BERKELEY STREET (United Presbyterian)
This congregation was formed on 8th April 1856 by the disjunction of 140
members from East Campbell Street Church. The petition bore that they
had erected a new church in Berkeley Street, and wished to be transferred
thither along with their minister, whose stipend was to be at least equal to
what it had hitherto been. The majority remaining behind wished their
west-end brethren all success, and the Presbytery's way was clear to grant
the prayer of the petitioners, the four elders included among them to form
the new session. The church, with 900 sittings, was opened on Sabbath, i ith
May, by Professor Lindsay, who preached in the forenoon, and the collections
at the three services amounted to nearly ^300. The building cost ^5500,
and of this sum ^1500 had been contributed previously. The membership
was now about 200, and within a year the debt was reduced other ^1800.
The last of it was cleared off in 1866.
First Minister. — William Ramage, the pastoral tie of nine years
remaining undisturbed by the transition from east to west. In 1871 steps
were taken to provide Mr Ramage with a colleague, the senior minister to
have ^300 a year and the junior ^400. The district was well churched
now, and numerical increase may have been less rapid than was expected,
especially after the church was opened in Kent Road.
Second Minister. — GEORGE L. Carstairs, from St James' Place,
Edinburgh. Ordained as colleague and successor to Mr Ramage, 3rd
October 1871, having declined calls to Tillicoultry and Kilmarnock
(Portland Road). In 1873 Mr Ramage published a volume of sermons,
carefully thought out and tastefully composed, and in 1880 he received the
degree of D.D. from Glasgow University. On the last Sabbath of October
1881 he preached for the last time. Next day a severe attack of angina
pectoris laid him finally aside from all public work, though he survived
thirteen years. In 1882 he published six discourses, entitled "Divine
Forecasts." He died, 19th October 1894, in the eighty-first year of his age
and fifty-second of his ministry. In May 1889, when Mr Young was elected
Home Mission Secretary, Mr Carstairs' business training and general aptitude
brought him large support for the office, especially from the west, although
he was a reluctant candidate. At the close of 1899 there were over 700
names on the communion roll, and the stipend was ^520.
LANGSIDE ROAD (United Presbyterian)
On 14th April 1857 a petition from 21 persons in the district of Strathbungo
to be received into Church fellowship with the view of being erected into a
congregation was laid before the Presbytery of Glasgow. Along with this
^ there was a paper subscribed by 31 members of the denomination declaring
II. G
98 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
their readiness to encourage and support the movement. It was also stated
that ^loo had been collected for the building of a church, that a free site
had been obtained and ^500 to meet prospective expenditure, and it was
hoped the congregation would be self-supporting from the first. After some
demur from Pollokshaws session about the station having been begun
without the sanction of the Presbytery a committee met with the applicants,
and on iith August a congregation was formed with a membership of 17,
of whom 1 1 had been admitted by examination and 6 by certificate.
First Minister. — Henry Erskine Fraser, M.A., son of the Rev.
William Fraser, Alloa (West), and great-grandson of the Rev. Henry
Erskine, Falkirk. Mr Fraser, when a preacher, was called first to Methven
and then to Hexham, but having accepted North Shields he was ordained
there, 20th November 1845. Being invited to undertake the building up of
a congregation at Langside he resigned a flourishing charge on 2nd
September 1856 and removed to Glasgow. The population around being
sparse progress was not rapid, and it was not till February 1858 that a
moderation was applied for, but though the call which followed was signed
by only 26 members and 31 adherents there was a stipend promised of
^200. Mr Fraser was inducted on 23rd March, and for another year the
congregation continued to worship in a schoolroom at Crossmyloof. Then
on 6th March 1859 the new church, with 450 sittings, was opened by
Professor Eadie, when the collections amounted to over ^80. The cost
came up to ^1600. In 1879 steps were taken to secure a junior minister,
the pecuniary arrangements being that Mr Fraser should receive ^150 for
five years, and after that ;^i2o, the colleague to have £,'},\^.
Second Minister. — J AMES R. HOUSTON, translated from Govan (Green-
field), his third charge, and inducted into Langside Road, 24th June 1879.
At the end of that year the membership was 183. The entire work of the
congregation devolved on Mr Houston from the first, and in 1884 the
Presbytery, with his own consent, sanctioned the reduction of Mr Fraser's
retiring allowance to ^75 on account of the congregation's financial position.
He now removed to Edinburgh, where he died, after a brief illness, on 1 5th
May 1890, in the seventy-third year of his age and forty-fifth of his ministry.
His son, Mr Norman Fraser, was ordained two years afterwards at Saffron-
hall, Hamilton. A new church was opened on Friday, 21st May 1897, by
Dr Smith of Broughton Place, Edinburgh, the collections that day and on
the two following Sabbaths amounting to ^314. The building cost ^5600,
and there were 780 sittings. The membership of Langside Road in
December 1899 was 400, and though the interest on borrowed money must
have told largely on the funds the stipend kept at ^^31 5, as before.
WHITEVALE (United Presbyterian)
On 9th December 1862 a petition, purporting to be from the elders,
managers, and people of the Independent Secession Church, Barrack Street,
was presented to the Presbytery of Glasgow for admission and sermon. Their
minister, Dr John Graham, with whom we parted company under Cathedral
Square, was now dead, and in the funeral discourse Dr William Anderson
had prepared the way for this application. He deplored the unhappy step
which Dr Graham took when he put himself into the position of a fugitive
from discipline ; he testified to his friend's gifts as a pulpit orator, saying :
"With his rich, musical, baritone voice, and his persuasive appeals to the
natural affections, I have been as much moved by him as I ever was by any
preacher " ; and he promised the congregation a welcome reception into the
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 99
U.P. Church. A committee of inquiry reported on loth February that
Barrack Street Church had no eldership and no authentic communion roll.
Some members of Presbytery thought information desirable as to Christian
character before proceeding further, but the majority decided to recognise
the congregation at once, and appoint a provisional session to make up a
roll of membership. In August a moderation was granted, the stipend
promised being ^215.
First Minister. — William Munsie, from John Street, Glasgow, who
was already under call to Linlithgow (East) and Perth (York Place). Or-
dained, 24th November 1863. As the call was signed by 151 members we
may consider the entire number to have been about 200. Next year
prosperity was reported, and the debt reduced from ;^8oo to j[fooo. But the
isolated state of the congregation for sixteen years, coupled with the circum-
stances which led to it, cannot have been favourable to compactness, and
after a time difficulties emerged. In November 1868 the church was sold to
the Union Railway Company, and a site secured in Whitevale Street, much
to the satisfaction of the Presbytery. Unfortunately, the managers were
now finding themselves unable to meet their stipend liabilities ; but at this
very time a call came out to Mr Munsie from Slateford, and he was loosed
from Barrack Street, 13th April i86g. In their vacant state the congrega-
tion expressed the opinion that a union with some neighbouring congregation
was desirable, and a Presbyterial Committee was instructed to travel in
that direction, but after a time the majority decided against their former
proposal. It was now that formidable differences began to emerge, under
which there was serious, and almost entire, disintegration.
As they refused to entertain the suggestion to unite with Canon
Street congregation, whose removal to Bellgrove they had been recently
memorialising the Presbytery to forbid, and as they also looked unfavour-
ably on a junction with Blackfriars, the committee had given them to
understand that they might never get a minister at all. A meeting of the
congregation was now called without the sanction of the session, and in an
irritated mood they decided to go over to the Free Church. The managers
followed up this resolution by making an offer of ^1000 to the Free
congregation in East Miller Street, with which they proposed to unite.
Against this application of the money received for the church two of their
number entered a protest. The session, moreover, in which three ministers
of the Presbytery had been appointed to sit and vote, placed the eight go-
ahead managers under suspension. Litigation of a half ludicrous kind fol-
lowed. The money which the majority of the managers had voted away was
lodged in the bank in the name of three of their number, and could not be
uplifted without their conjoint authority. One of the three remained
faithful to the denomination, and the other two raised an action against the
bank to compel payment, but the Sheriff held that the third name was
eissential. The way was effectually blocked now, as the party refused to put
pen upon paper, and the congregation at a meeting regularly summoned by
the session declared in favour of keeping by their former connection. The
case was thereupon dropped, though not till four years were lost ; and after
legal expenses on both sides were deducted, ^iioo remained for building
purposes.
The congregation had meanwhile been worshipping in a hall near by in
very reduced circumstances, so much so that they required their pulpit
supply paid for from the funds of the Presbytery on alternate Sabbaths. In
1873 they called the Rev. William Blair of Dunblane, who declined the
offer, and in 1874 they removed to a wooden church they had built at
Campbellfield at a cost of ;^900.
loo HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Second Minister. — Adam Welch, translated from Kincardine, and
inducted, 2nd June 1874. The communion roll at this date was reduced to
71 names, but the Elders' Association in Glasgow was to make good a
stipend of ^300 for four years. The new church in Whitevale, with sittings
for nearly 1000, was opened on the evening of Friday, 4th October 1878, by
Professor Cairns. At the end of the following year there was a membership
of 243, and the stipend contributed by the people was ;^i6o. In 1888 the
debt of ^3000 which rested on the building was reported to have been
reduced to ^900, the Board granting ^450. At that time there was a com-
munion roll of 272. On loth March 1896 Mr Welch was enrolled minister-
emeritus, the congregation paying him, instead of a retiring allowance,
^1000, which was borrowed on the property, a sum which, in the opinion of
the Presbytery, was suitable to their circumstances. He was also admitted
an annuitant on the Aged and Infirm Ministers' Fund, but this privilege he
relinquished in 1898 as no longer required. His average stipend for sixteen
years had been £167, which a grant from the Ferguson Trustees raised to
£10"]. After retiring Mr Welch removed to Edinburgh, and in 1898 he
published a volume, entitled " The Authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews,
and other Papers," in which he works out his conclusions with much
ingenuity.
Third Minister.— VJ . H. Kellock, M.A. Inducted, 24th November
1896 after being six years in Kilmaurs. The stipend was to be made up
to £2jo, the Board granting ^120 for the first year, ^100 for the second,
and £2)0 for the third. The membership at the close of 1899 was 445, and
the stipend from the people ^190.
KENT ROAD (United Presbyterian)
This cause originated in a petition on i8th March 1863 from 18 persons for
sermon with the view of forming a new congregation towards the west end
of Glasgow. They were to commence in the Educational Rooms, Bath
Street. They stated that their intention was to build somewhere between
St George's Road and Woodlands Road. Though these places are not far
apart more definite information as to the locality was demanded at next
meeting on 14th April. Dr James Taylor in particular was clear against
giving any body of men a roving commission to settle down a church
wherever they pleased, and he carried the Presbytery with him by 20 votes
to 9. There was an impression abroad already that it was designed to call
Dr Joseph Brown of Dalkeith, and that the new formation was to carry a
strong infusion of the Abstinence element. A site in the neighbourhood of
Kent Road was at last agreed on, though there was a feeling on the part of
some in favour of a situation to the south of Dumbarton Road. On 9th
June 28 members were congregated — 26 from the U.P. Church and 2 from
the Established.
First Minister. — JOSEPH Brown, D.D., translated from Dalkeith, where
he had been twenty-nine years, and inducted, 22nd December 1863. Inferior
offers from Glasgow, Edinburgh, and London had been previously rejected,
but the golden opportunity had come at this late hour. The stipend was to be
;^40o. The church in Kent Road was opened on Sabbath, 26th March 1865,
by Dr Johnston of Limekilns, who preached in the forenoon. The collec-
tions amounted to ^666 ; the cost was ^6200 ; and there are 1090 sittings.
In ten years the little one had become, if not 1000, at least 900 strong.
In 1873 I^r Brown succeeded Dr Cairns of Berwick in the Moderator's
Chair, and on 12th February 1884 his jubilee was celebrated, when he re-
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW loi
ceived a cheque for ^iioo, along with several Addresses, one of them from
the Scottish Temperance League.
Second Minister. — Alexander Kirkland, from Hamilton (Auchingra-
mont). Had been Dr Brown's assistant for years, and in 1882, when acting
in that capacity, declined a call to Mearns. Ordained, 4th October 1887.
The senior minister was to have ^325 the first year and ^275 thereafter, and
his colleague was to rise from ^300 to ^350, and then to ^^375, with allowance
for expenses. Ur Brown died on nth April 1897, in the eighty-seventh year
of his age and sixty-third of his ministry. He has left behind him two little
volumes, both published in 1847, entitled "The Dwellings of Jacob" and
"The Lambs of the Flock." His name survives in his grandson, the Rev.
Joseph Brown Pirret, Thornhill. Though Kent Road, with so many rival
churches around, is scarcely what it was in its youthful prime it had at the
close of 1899 a membership of 788, and the stipend, with allowances, was
LANSDOWNE (United Presbyterian)
The building of this church was begun in the summer of 1862, under
the auspices of a committee consisting of 11 gentlemen, members of
Cambridge Street congregation. The formal severance from Cambridge
Street was not till loth November 1863, when 68 members, along with
Dr Eadie, were formed into a new congregation. It was a removal to a
wealthy locality, but it is gratifying to read Dr Eadie's assurance that many
of the poorer members were nearer the new church than the old one, that not
a few of that class would migrate with him, and that they would be specially
welcomed. On Sabbath, 6th December, the new place of worship, built
at a cost of over ^12,000, was opened by Drs Cairns, Eadie, and Buchanan,
the collections amounting to ^1230. The change brought no increase of
stipend for five years ; but at that time it was augmented, and in 1873 ^^
rose to £700. Meanwhile there were monitions that the evening shadows
were beginning to fall, but for nearly three years there was little abatement
of Dr Eadie's many-sided activities. In May 1876 the new arrangements
for the Theological Hall were completed, and on that occasion he appeared
in the Synod for the last time, and unlike his former self. To meet the
requirements of the lengthened session he was to have a colleague in
Lansdowne, but the pastoral tie was to remain unbroken. While all was
in this transition state the end came. Dr Eadie died, 3rd June 1876, in the
seventy-seventh year of his age, in the forty-first of his ministry, and in the
thirty-fourth of his Professorship.
During the Lansdowne period of his life Dr Eadie contributed largely
to various dictionaries and reviews. The last work published under his own
eye was the History of the English Bible, in two volumes, and he left in
manuscript his Commentary on the two Epistles to the Thessalonians,
which was given to the world in 1877, under the editorship of the Rev.
William Young of Parkhead. But we turn back with interest from these
higher ventures to his " Lectures on the Bible to the Young." .Some, who
read them as outlined in the Juvenile Missionary Magazine for 1847, will
recall the memorable headings " Read the Bible, Understand the Bible, Be-
lieve the Bible, Remember the Bible, Practise the Bible, Circulate the Bible."
Thus was Professor Eadie mindful of the command: "Feed my lambs."
In this volume we can scarcely pass by his " Life of William Wilson" in the
"United Presbyterian F'athers," or his " Chapters on the Secession Church"
in "Taylor's Pictorial History of Scotland." But all else must be left among
to2 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
the details of Dr Eadie's Life, as given by his friend of a younger day,
Dr James Brown of Paisley.
Second Minister. — Thomas Dobbie, called from St Andrew's Place,
Leith, soon after the vacancy occurred, but he declined. Being renewed
with a much larger array of signatures the call was accepted, and the
induction took place, i6th January 1877. The stipend promised was ^825,
and the membership at this period was about 700. After going on for
eighteen years in Lansdowne Mr Dobbie wished the assistance of a
colleague, which was speedily arranged for, the junior minister to have ^600
and the senior ^225. The congregation issued an unsuccessful call to
Mr G. A. Johnston Ross, Bridge of Allan, early in 1895.
Third Minister. — James Macmillan, M.A., who had been five and a
half years in Nairn. Inducted, 12th March i8g6, and loosed on 25th
September 1900 on accepting a call to the infant congregation of Newlands,
Glasgow. The membership at the beginning of that year was 759, and the
income for Missionary and Benevolent purposes over ^1000, the stipends
of the two ministers being as before.
IBROX (United Presbyterian)
The opening of a preaching station at Ibroxholm was sanctioned by
Glasgow Presbytery on nth April 1865, ^^id services were begun on
Sabbath, 14th May. The district had a population of 13,000. It is a mile
from Govan, and the Established Church of Bellahouston was the only one
within the Isounds. On 9th January 1866 a congregation was formed of
27 certified members, and on 26th February two elders were ordained and
two inducted.
First Minister.— ]oSEPH Leckie, translated after being sixteen months
in his second charge at Millport. Admitted, 5th June 1866. The call was
signed by 32 members and 44 adherents. The congregation was meeting
in a wooden church. I happened to hear Mr Leckie preach a remarkable
discourse on a Sabbath evening soon after from the text : "Life is
yours." Though the delivery had none of the animation which Dr John
Duncan felt needful, as he advanced in years, for setting his mental machinery
in motion, the discourse had all the qualities which are sure to captivate
a cultured audience. The new church, with 678 sittings, and built at a
cost of ^6000, was opened on Sabbath, 20th December 1868, by Dr
Robertson of Irvine. Eleven years afterwards the membership was 270,
and the stipend ^500. In 1877 Mr Leckie received the degree of D.D.
from Glasgow University, and in 1884 he published a volume of unique
discourses, which were sometimes named along with those of his special
friend, Dr John Ker. Dr Leckie died, 3rd January 1889, in the sixty-third
year of his age and fortieth of his ministry. A second volume of Dr Leckie's
sermons, entitled " Life and Religion," was published in 1891, with a Memoir
prefixed by his son in Boston Church, Cupar, affectionate but no way over-
coloured. Both volumes present striking side-views of truth, and lead into
by-paths of far-reaching meditation. The first to be called by the vacant
congregation was the Rev. D. W. Forrest, but he remained in Moffat.
Second Minister. — William T. Bankhead, B.D., originally from Port-
land Road, Kilmarnock. Ordained at North Shields in 1882, having
previously declined Safifronhall, Hamilton. Preferring Ibrox, Glasgow, to
Grange Road, Edinburgh, he was inducted, 27th March 1890. The church
after being enlarged to the extent of 250 sittings, and much improved, was
reopened by Professor Hislop on Sabbath, 21st November 1897. The cost.
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 103
including the erection of new mission premises some distance off, was over
^5000. At the Union Ibrox had a membership of 475 or thereby, and the
stipend was ^500.
QUEEN'S PARK (United Presbyterian)
This church was commenced as a preaching station by Dr Eadie on
Sabbath, ist October 1866, the parties interesting themselves in the move-
ment agreeing to bear the expenses of a temporary building and pulpit
supply. They were congregated on 8th January 1867, the petitions being
signed by 60 members and 26 adherents, and four elders were ordained
on the 25th of next month. The congregation rapidly advanced to a
flourishing maturity, the average attendance being already 300.
First Minister. — William Sprott, translated from Pollokshaws, and
inducted to Queen's Park, 13th May 1867. The stipend was to be ^450
at once. The new church, seated for 1200, was opened on 7th November
1869, when the collections were over £700. Under Mr Sprott there was
large and steady increase, till in five years Queen's Park was spoken of
as our largest congregation on the south side of Glasgow, with not a seat
to let. After Dr John M'Farlane's death on 7th February 1875 there was
some talk about removing Mr Sprott to Clapham Road, London, as his
successor. Whether in connection with this movement or not, Mr Sprott
visited the great Metropolis in the second week of March, and returning
homewards on Friday, the 12th, he met his death at Bedford through a
railway collision. At a crossing the driver having failed to read the danger
signals two carriages were smashed into fragments, and the impact bore
Mr Sprott, who was the greatest sufferer, over a wide distance, inflicting
injuries which made recovery hopeless. Nothing remained for him but
to make some slight adjustment of his worldly affairs, and calmly await
the event. He died next morning at eight o'clock, in the forty-ninth year
of his age and twenty-fifth of his ministry. He was expected to conduct
Anniversary Services at Kilmarnock on the following day, but a more
momentous engagement intervened.
Second Minister. — FERGUS FERGUSON, who had been eleven and a
half years in Dalkeith. Inducted, i6th March 1876. The call was
signed by 417 members and 96 adherents, and the stipend was to be
^700. In the biographical and critical sketch prefixed to the volume
of sermons by Mr Morrison of Brechin, Mr Ferguson a year before
leaving Dalkeith had entered largely into the need for having the
Standards of the Church revised. In discussing this question he touched
on twenty-two points as enforcing the claim, but the general argument
would not have suffered though the pen had been drawn through the
greater part of them. In March 1877 he put the matter into practical
shape by introducing an Overture into Glasgow Presbytery, in which he
complained of the Westminster Confession of Faith as wanting in " logical
form" and "literary style," and more especially as presenting an in-
adequate exhibition of the truth concerning God, the Universe, and Man,
Christ, the Church, and the Bible. When this Overture came before the
Synod, along with others. Professor Cairns remarked : " I cannot bring
the charges of Mr Ferguson under any systematic head, so as to say
that he wishes to change in any direction known to existing nomen-
clature." None the less, this was the Synod at which the foundations of
the Declaratory Act were laid, though for Mr Ferguson the movement
took a hostile form. Certain utterances of his were Ijelieved by Glasgow
I04 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Presbytery to furnish materials for a libel, which in its several counts
caused great confusion at successive meetings, and came in full form
before the Synod in 1878. But after careful dealings in committee Mr
Ferguson's explanations " on the great fundamental Articles of the
Christian faith " were accepted, and he was restored to his ministerial
functions. This was succeeded by comparative calm, disturbed sometimes
by mutterings of thunder from about Coupar- Angus. In 1885 Mr
Ferguson received the degree of D.D. from Glasgow University. In his
theology he has proved himself eminently conservative, especially in
relation to the Higher Criticism, and his gifts as a preacher have kept
Queen's Park Church at a high level of prosperity. The, membership at
the close of 1899 was 966, and the stipend at least ^850. Dr Ferguson's
son, the Rev. James Ferguson, is minister of Brandon Street, Hamilton.
DENNISTOUN (United Presbyterian)
On 4th May 1869 a petition with certificates from 41 members of the
denomination was laid before the Presbytery of Glasgow. They wished
to proceed with the erection of a new church in the north-east of the
city, and ^1500 was already subscribed for this purpose. There was also
a stipend of ^350 guaranteed for five years, and though three of the
neighbouring sessions were unfavourable a congregation was erected at
next meeting on 8th June. This was followed up on 29th August by the
induction of seven, and the ordination of three, elders. Many of the
leading families were from Greyfriars Church, a change of ministry there
being deemed a suitable time for inaugurating this new movement.
First Minister. — Walter Roberts, M.A., who had been ordained at
Airdrie (Wellwynd), six years before. Inducted to Dennistoun, 9th November
1869, the call having been signed by 52 members and 39 adherents. The
church was opened on Sabbath, 2nd October 1870, by Dr Rainy, who
preached in the forenoon ; cost ^6720, and sittings 900. At the Anniversary
Services in 1879 the last of the debt was cleared off by a collection of ;^86o.
At the close of that year there was a membership of 445, and the stipend
was ^500. On 8th August 1882 Mr Roberts' resignation had to be accepted
owing to ill-health and the need to remove to another climate. In Australia
he was never fit to undertake ministerial work, but he devoted himself to
the labours of the pen, still retaining connection with Dennistoun as senior
minister, though the pastoral relation was never to be resumed. Latterly he
edited the Star., the monthly organ of the Presbyterian Church.
Second Minister. — James L. Murray, who had been eleven years in
Kilmarnock (Princes Street). Inducted, ist May 1883. The stipend was
to be ^500, and the congregation also paid ^70 a year to Mr Roberts.
This continued till 1898, when it was surrendered, and ^35 was added to
Mr Murray's stipend. At the close of 1899 there was a membership of
626, and the stipend was as above. [Mr Roberts died, i8th July 1902,
in his sixty-seventh year. His widow was a daughter of the Rev. James
C. M'Laurin, Pollokshaws.J
ST GEORGE'S ROAD (United Presbyterian)
On 2nd May 1870, in consequence of City Road congregation being about
to remove to another locaHty, 50 members and 30 adherents applied
for sermon to the Presbytery. Their first place of meeting was a hall
in Grove Street, near the former church, and there they were congregated
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 105
on 9th January 1872 with a communion roil of 71. A session was then
formed by the ordination of three elders and the induction of two others.
They next removed to a wooden church in Garscube Road, the name the
congregation bore for several years. In August they called Mr James S.
Raie, but he declined, and was ordained at Ecclefechan. For stipend they
were to raise ^iio themselves, and the Board were to allow an equal sum,
while ^30 or ^40 was expected from the Ferguson Fund, making at least
^250. A second call, addressed to the Rev. Andrew Alston, Newmilns,
was also unsuccessful.
First Minister. — ROBERT ScOTT, M.A., from Logiealmond, where he had
been seven years. Inducted, 29th April 1873, ^^id fifteen months afterwards
the communicants numbered 310. On loth December 1876 the new church
in St George's Road was opened by Professor Cairns, whose missionary Mr
Scott had been in student days, and the opening collection was ^684.
The entire cost, including the site, was ^7500, and the sittings are 1000.
On 8th March 1880 a call to become colleague to Dr Cairns of Chalmers'
Church, Melbourne, was prosecuted before Glasgow Presbytery by repre-
sentatives of the Free Church Colonial Committee and accepted by Mr
Scott. The membership of St George's Road was now 650, and the stipend
^500. He was inducted to his charge at Melbourne on 27th July, and he
became sole pastor six months afterwards by the death of Dr Cairns. Mr
Scott resigned, ist December 1885, and returned to Scotland with high
attestations of his acceptability as a preacher. In Edinburgh he took a full
medical course with distinction, and is now in professional practice in
Sydney.
Second Minister. — Robert ANDERSON, D.D., translated from Milnathort,
and inducted, 2nd December 1880, in the twenty-second year of his
ministry. The stipend was now brought down to ^360, at which it remained
seventeen years. The debt in 1882 was ^3131, but by the efforts of the
people and a grant of ^250 from the Liquidating Board it was then reduced
to ^1275, and next year to ^1200, when the people, perhaps, thought they
were entitled to rest, and be thankful. Dr Anderson died, i8th March 1895,
in the sixty-eighth year of his age and thirty-seventh of his ministry. By
his marriage he was a brother-in-law of the Rev. Andrew Dickie, Aberdeen,
and his son, the Rev. R. S. J. Anderson, B.D., was ordained a few months
after his father's death at Wroxeter, Presbytery of Maitland, Canada.
Third Minister. — John Gray, B.D., from Irvine (Relief), after eight
years' service. Inducted, 4th September 1895. At the close of 1899 the
membership was 774, the highest point it had ever reached, and the stipend
for two years had been ^410.
EXTENSION CHURCHES
IN 1871 an Elders' Association was organised in Glasgow, one of its objects
being Church Extension among the careless and neglected. They aimed at
lising a fund of ^10,000, and in a short time they had subscriptions to
le amount of ^2000 with which to commence operations. This Association
merged in the Church Planting and Evangelisation Board, which was
instituted with the approval of the Synod in 1874. They hoped to raise
;^20,ooo for the work intended, but they found themselves hampered all
along by deficiency of funds. Looking back on their operations we incline
to say that they erred in two ways — (ist) in working so much with
arrowed money ; and (2nd) in sanctioning building operations on too
io6 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
costly a scale. But for sixteen years, and amidst many hindrances, important
work was done, of which the congregations whose history is now to be
sketched will give the outcome. They are six in number — Parkhead,
Plantation, Dalmarnock Road, Govanhill, Oatlands, and Mount Florida.
Fairfield, Govan, would also be included were it not outside the city.
PARKHEAD
A PREACHING Station was opened at Parkhead by the Secession Presbytery
of Glasgow in 1835, but their next report bore that it had been given up.
The place was described in the beginning of the forties as a village two
miles east from Glasgow, with 1 1 50 inhabitants, consisting chiefly of weavers,
carters, and labourers. Thirty years later it was a quoad sacra parish, with
a population of over 7000. The congregation now before us was the first-
fruits of the Church Extension movement begun under the auspices of the
Elders' Association. The station was sanctioned, 8th October 1872, and the
opening services were conducted by Dr John Ker on Sabbath, the 20th.
The congregating took place on 4th January 1873, and on nth March the
Presbytery arranged to have two elders ordained and one inducted. In
June the people called Mr Andrew Hunter, B.D., but he declined, and
obtained King's Park, Dalkeith. The number of subscribers was 31 members
and 37 adherents, but they expected to contribute ^100 of the stipend.
They next called the Rev. John Elder of Busby, but with the same result.
First Minister. — William Young, M.A., from Lilliesleaf, where he had
laboured for seventeen years. Inducted, 30th June 1874. The stipend was
to be ^300, the Board to grant ^50 for five years, and the Elders' Associa-
tion to make up the additional supplement needed. The congregation
worshipped in a wooden erection, but the new church, with sittings for over
750, was opened on Friday, 25th January 1878, by Professor Cairns.- The
estimated cost was ^^3500, the Board granting j^iooo. In the end of 1879
there was a membership of 235, and the people were giving ^180 of the
stipend. Better still, the funds for the year, swelled up by a Bazaar, showed
^1888 for congregational purposes, so that with a further grant of ^250 from
the Liquidation Board the entire debt of ^2343 was virtually swept away.
The field was now cleared for self-support, but a working-class congregation
of 250 members or thereby must have found a stipend of ^300 beyond them.
Hence amidst slow but steady increase there was a falling behind year by
year, and in 1886 the Synod granted ^100 for three years to make up for all
deficiencies. At the expiry of that period aid from Central Funds ceased.
At the close of 1899 Parkhead membership was 312, and the average stipend
from the people, supplemented by ^40 from the Ferguson Bequest, had kept
above ^250. In 1877 Mr Young was employed by the trustees to edit Ur
Eadie's Commentary on Thessalonians. His acquirements in Greek had
gained him the Simpson Prize of ^60 at the completion of his Arts course in
Aberdeen University, and the Doctor had acknowledged his indebtedness to
Mr Young in the Preface to the "Enghsh Bible." He was of further service
in the issuing of a new edition of Ephesians in 1883, and of Philippians
and Colossians in 1884.
PLANTATION
Thk opening of a preaching station on the south side of Paisley Road was:
sanctioned by Glasgow Presbytery on 13th August 1872, and services were
I
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 107
ommenced on the second Sabbath of November in a wooden church pro-
vided by the Elders' Association at a cost of £700. Appearances at first
were not encouraging, but on 8th April 1873 it was agreed to form 38 Church
members into a congregation. A session followed by the ordination of two
elders and the induction of one.
First Minister. — William Thomson, translated from his third charge,
at Kirkmuirhill, in the nineteenth year of his ministry. Inducted, 23rd
September 1873. The membership was 45, and the Elders' Association
guaranteed a stipend of ^300 for five years, the Mission Board becoming
responsible for the sixth part. On 3rd September 1876 the new church was
opened. It cost ^10,000, including the hall, and had 1006 sittings. The
debt on the church was liquidated in 1892. The congregation was a remark-
able success, and at the close of 1879 had a membership of 901, and could
afford a stipend of ^450. Mr Thomson died on Monday, 24th October 1898,
in the seventieth year of his age and forty-fifth of his ministry. He had
preached as usual the day before, but in the morning instead of waking up
he breathed his last.
Second Minister. — ANDREW SCOBIE, B.D., from Mearns. Ordained at
Rochdale, 12th November 1889, and inducted to Plantation, 25th April 1899.
The membership at the close of the year was ^yj., and the stipend ^400.
DALMARNOCK ROAD
This Extension church lies north of the Clyde, about three-fourths of a mile
from Rutherglen. It began in 1875 ^^'th the labours of an evangelist in the
district, and by the end of the year there were over 40 persons ready to offer
themselves for membership. The congregating took place, nth January
1876, and on 29th March two elders were ordained. Two unsuccessful calls
followed, the first in November to Mr John Goold, who accepted Montrose,
and the second in February 1877 to the Rev. John M'Neil, who remained
in Scone. There was a membership now of about 100, and the services of
the evangelist were still enjoyed.
First Minister. — ROBERT Hall, translated from Old Meldrum after a
ministry of fifteen years, and inducted, ist November 1877. The congrega-
tion continued to worship other three years and a half in what was described
as " a temporary structure under the railway arch at Mordaunt Street," which
had been provided by the Elders' Association. Though the place was
uninviting, Mr Hall, in little more than two years, had a membership of 220.
The new church, with 780 sittings, was opened on Thursday, 3rd March
1 88 1, by Principal Cairns. The cost, including halls, rooms, and furnish-
ings, was little under ^6000 — a big sum for a young congregation in a poor
locality to grapple with, even though assured of ^1000 from the Elders'
.\ssociation and ^350 from the Ferguson Bequest. But the question will
intrude: If Parkhead built a commodious place of worship at ^3500, why
should Dalmarnock Road, in compassing the same end, come under a burden
nearly twice as great ? However, in surmounting money difficulties an
active, buoyant temperament will accomplish wonders, and accordingly Mr
Hall, without having recourse to a Bazaar, had the satisfaction of seeing the
l^st ^1500 of debt extinguished in 1882, with the aid of ^200 from the
Extension Fund. But while Parkhead feu was only £,\ i a year that of
Dalmarnock Road averaged ^65. There were also half-yearly instalments
of ^25 payable to the Permanent Loan Fund. Thus one-half of the con-
gregational income bade fair to be absorbed. The Church Planting Board
had guaranteed a stipend of ^300 for not more than four years, and when
that period expired subsidies from the Evangelistic Fund were needed.
io8 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
At the close of 1884 the Presbytery found that during the seven years of
Mr Hall's ministry the membership had increased from under 100 to 395,
and that about four-fifths of these were drawn from the non-church-going
population of the district. This bespoke untiring visitation work, but it
promised little in the way of adequate stipend. At their next meeting the
Synod granted the congregation ^300, on a graduated scale of ^150 for the
first year, ^loo for the second, and ;^5o for the third, the hope being
expressed that the congregation by that time would be self-sustaining.
Instead of this, minister and people were now planning to have the feu of
^65 redeemed. The object was gained by burdening the property to the
extent of ^1500; but before the Union the money due to the Permanent
Loan Fund was paid off, and by means of a Bazaar the church buildings
were put into thorough repair. At the close of 1 899 there was a membership
of 432, and a Sabbath school with 38 teachers and 400 scholars. The
ordinary funds amounted to ^300, which, after meeting other demands,
yielded £iS'2 of stipend.
GOVANHILL
The opening of a preaching station at Cathcart Road was sanctioned by
Glasgow Presbytery (South) on 12th October 1875. Queen's Park congrega-
tion had intended mission operations in that district, but they allowed the
proposal to drop, understanding that other parties were occupying theJ
ground. Now the Church Planting Board secured a site, with schoolj
buildings thereon, which were fitted up as a place of worship, and opened!
on 1st December. This was followed on 6th June 1876 by the forming of 1
43 Church members into a congregation, over which three elders wereT
ordained on 3rd September.
First Minister. — Andrew Alston, translated from Newmilns, where!
he had been thirteen years. Inducted, nth January 1877. The call wasj
signed by 74 members and 60 adherents, and the Church Planting Boardj
guaranteed a stipend of ^300 for at least three years. But there was dis-j
couraging work to be engaged in, as well as the building of a costly church^
to face, and on 9th April 1878 Mr Alston accepted Carluke, a decision-
which was described as disheartening for the newly-formed congregation.
However, in a few months they called Mr Henry Drysdale, who accepted 1
Mount Florida. 1
Second Minister. — David M. Connor, LL.B., who had been eleven and]
a half years in Gillespie Church, Biggar. Inducted, 30th January 1879.
There was a membership of 263 at the end of that year, but having a|
formidable undertaking on hand the congregation only contributed for|
stipend ^55. The new church, with 1020 sittings, was opened on Sabbath,-
23rd May 1880, by Dr Aikman, when the collections amounted to ^185.
The cost was £6600 ere halls and other equipments were finished, of which
the Church Planting Board granted ^500, while ^350 was obtained from
the Ferguson Bequest and ^400 from the Extension Fund. The congrega-
tion, or rather the minister, raised all else by laborious effort and an
immensity of tear and wear, so that in 1885 the remainder of the debt,
amounting to ;^ 1 300, was extinguished. But aid from the Church Planting
Board had been withdrawn in 1880, and the feu of ^65 was a ceaseless
burden. In the circumstances the stipend of ^300 could not be maintained,
and in 1894^260 was agreed on instead. In 1897 ^1236 was raised by
means of a Bazaar, the design being to buy up the feu-duty. Though
defeated in their object the congregation, by investing the money, reduced
the yearly payment to limited dimensions. At the close of 1899 Govanhill
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 109
lad a membership of 378, and for several years the stipend, with the
lid of £20 from the Ferguson Fund, had averaged the ^260 above named.
OAT LANDS
The opening of a preaching station at Oatlands was sanctioned on 14th
September 1875. The services were conducted at first in a temporary
meeting-place, but on Sabbath, 15th October 1876, a hall of their own was
ppened, provided by the Church Planting Board, at a cost of ^870. On
I2th June 1877 the station was congregated with a membership of 29.
First Minister. — George Blair, who had been twelve years in Savoch-
)f-Deer. Inducted, 4th July 1878. The call was signed by 62 members
md 27 adherents, and the stipend was to be made up to ^300. The church,
vith sittings for 780, was opened on Sabbath, 21st May 1882, the cost of
he building and the site amounting to ^51 10. Of this sum ^1860 was paid,
vhich included ^500 from the Church Planting Board and ^250 from the
i^erguson Fund, leaving a burden of ^3250 on a working-class congregation,
nvolving over ^120 of yearly interest. At the close of a ten years' ministry
here was a membership of over 400, and the stipend from the people was
^260, but in spite of special efforts and the repeated surrender of /50 by
he minister the debt rather increased, till in 1891 it reached a total of ^400.
The Presbytery had now to interpose in earnest, as there were fears that
he property might pass into other hands. Soon afterwards help came to
he Glasgow Extension cause from the Bellahouston Bequest, the trustees
iiaking over ;i^53oo for church building purposes and liquidating of debt.
This brought ^500 to Oatlands congregation in its difficulties. A new
jrant of ^300 was obtained from the Central Fund ; subscriptions amounted
:o ^^235 ; the people were to raise ^250 ; a general appeal to the sympathy
md the aid of the Glasgow churches was expected to bring ^900, and thus
:he debt would be reduced to a bond of ^1200 on the site. It was found in
:he end that this liquidation effort in its various phases realised a total
Df over ^2400, and Oatlands congregation was freed from its crushing
aurdens.
But all was not yet put to rights. When the funds of a church are in an
jnpropitious state friction is apt to arise, and in this way Glasgow Presby-
:ery found in the beginning of 1896 that the vital interests of Oatlands con-
gregation were being endangered. In the conducting of their financial
affairs and in other things there had been grave irregularities, and owing to
their attitude of hostility towards their minister it was deemed expedient
to remove five of the office-bearers from membership, an action of which the
congregation approved by a vote of T"] to 13, the session to grant certificates.
After that all seemed to go on smoothly, but dispeace in a church leaves
lingering effects for evil. At the close of 1899 the membership of Oatlands
was given at 269, but they were still burdened with ;^i20o of debt, and the
funds only yielded ^160 of stipend. A substantial addition, it is to be
inferred, would be derived from the Ferguson Bequest.
MOUNT FLORIDA
This church is situated in the south of Glasgow, not far from the municipal
boundary. In November 1876 a deputation from parties in the district
urged the Church Planting Board to erect a temporary church in that locality,
expressing their opinion that, if this were done, httle more aid would be
no HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
needed. A wooden building, for which the Board paid ^650, was accord-
ingly opened on Sabbath, 30th September 1877. On 12th February 1878 a
congregation was formed with a certified membership of 47, and four elders
were chosen in the course of a few weeks.
First Minister. — Henry Drysdale, from Leslie (Westj. Having
declined Loughborough Road, Kirkcaldy, and Cathcart Road, Glasgow,
Mr Drysdale was ordained, 5th November 1878, the stipend promised being
^310 in all, the Home Board to grant ^250, to be spread over five years.
In less than a twelvemonth Mr Drysdale had the opportunity of removing
to Woolwich, but he remained in Mount Florida. The membership at the
close of that year was 103, and the stipend from the people was ^160. A
difference now began to emerge between the congregation and the Home
Mission Board. The site selected by local parties at the outset was to
involve heavy extra expenditure, besides the purchase money, which was
equivalent to a feu-duty of nearly ^50. The managers tried earnestly to
be relieved, that they might build on more suitable and less costly ground,
but the superior refused to cancel the bargain. The blame of making the
unfortunate selection was now thrown over on the Church Planting Board,
and the case came before the Synod in 1887, each side being fully argued
out in the printed papers. The contention on the part of Mount Florida
seems to have been that, as ^1000 was needed to raise the under buildings
up to the level, the grant which they had already received to that amount
ought not to count against their further claims for effective aid. The
Synod found that the Home Committee had fully implemented their
engagements, but, sympathising with the difficulties of Mount Florida, they
recommended application to be made for a grant from the New Extension
Fund. The expenditure on the station and congregation from Central
Funds, as shown by the Home Mission Board, already amounted to £22j6.
The building of a permanent church was now going on, worshipping
so long in the wooden erection having proved injurious to the progress of
the congregation. The cost reached £7000 before all was finished, and
of this sum ^2337 was already in hand, which was supplemented by
^1000 from the New Extension Fund. The church was opened, with 823
sittings, on Sabbath, 29th April 1888, by Professor Calderwood. Matters
assumed a more promising look now, though the circumstances of the
locality may have been unfavourable to rapid or extensive progress. In
1896 the debt of ^2100 which rested on the property at the opening was
entirely cleared off. At the close of 1899 the membership was 275, and the
stipend from the people ^300, as it had been for a goodly number of
years.
BELHAVEN (United Presbyterian)
On 1 2th January 1875 it was notified to Glasgow Presbytery by parties
residing about the Great Western Road that they were proceeding to erect
a place of worship at Belhaven Terrace, a part of the town where better-
class families were settling down. As the site chosen was nearly a mile
farther west than Lansdowne Place no harm would be done to other
churches, and the proposal was sanctioned at next meeting. A sum of
;^2ooo had already been promised towards the erection, and on loth August
23 members were formed into a congregation. Early in the following year
a moderation was applied for, the stipend promised being ;^75°-
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW iii
First Minister.— '^XIAA^VL R. Thomson, translated from Sir Michael
Street, Greenock, where he had been minister for thirteen years, and in-
ducted, nth May 1876. The church, with 900 sittings, was opened by
Professor Cairns on 9th October 1877, the entire cost being about ^12,000
and the opening collection ;^2000. Mr Thomson died, ist September 1878,
in the forty-eighth year of his age and twenty-fourth of his ministry. He
was to have conducted Anniversary Services at Saltcoats (now Trinity
Church) on the preceding Sabbath. He arrived on Saturday evening under
a severe cold, which next morning was so intensified that substitutes had to
be extemporised. Next day he reached his home in Glasgow, but the ail-
ment had got a deadly hold, and on Sabbath the end came. His father
was now on the verge of fourscore ; but the order of nature was inverted — the
father mourning for the son instead of the son for the father. Thus was the
promise of rich success for Mr Thomson in his new sphere of labour early
blighted.
Second Minister.— ROMV.KT S. Drummond, D.D., with whom we parted
when he was loosed from Erskine Church, Glasgow, in 1872. The claims of
Belhaven now prevailed over those of St John's Wood, a west-end church in
the metropolis of the British Empire, where he had been during the inter-
vening seven years, and Dr Drummond was inducted into his fifth charge
on 4th June 1879. The stipend was ^1000, and that year the funds of the
congregation showed a total income of over ^^4000, though the membership
was only 341, a marvellous example of what a young suburban church can
do when ability and the liberal spirit are combined. In the end of 1897 the
Rev. Adam C. Welch of Helensburgh was called to be Dr Drummond's
colleague, but he declined.
Third Minister. — James M. Witherow, M.A., son of the Rev. Thomas
Witherow, D.D., LL.D., Professor of Ecclesiastical History in Magee
College, Londonderry, from 1865 till his death in 1890. Mr Witherow was
ordained to Wallace Green, Berwick, 3rd November 1892, and inducted as
colleague and successor to Dr Drummond, 26th May 1898. In Belhaven
the membership at the close of the following year was over 600, inclusive of
116 at the mission station, and each minister had ^600 of stipend.
HENDERSON MEMORIAL (United Presbyterian)
This church owes its origin and its name to a bequest of ^5000 left by John
Henderson, Esq. of Park, for church building in populous districts of
Glasgow. In March 1870 it carried in the Presbytery to apply this money
to the erection of a single church, which might serve as a model for
Extension efforts among the masses in other parts of the city. A minority,
headed by Dr Joseph Brown, would have much preferred to see the ^5000
spread over a wider surface instead of being concentrated on the interests of
a single congregation. The plans were not matured for several years, a
site being in contemplation, first at Finnieston and then at the Calton, but
ultimately the district of Overnewton was fixed on. As the work progressed
it was thought specially befitting the donor's design to have a minister
appointed, who should also conduct classes for the training of evangelists.
On i6th June 1878 the church was opened by Professor Cairns, with sittings
for 900, besides a range of commodious buildings for various branches of
^Christian effort.
^^K First Minister. — David Hay, from Butterburn, Dundee, where he had
^^Ben ordained fifteen years before. Inducted, 19th September 1878. There
112 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Glasgow Presbytery and the Home Board, and in their name the translation
was prosecuted. The Synod had previously sanctioned a stipend of ^300,
and ^150 besides for conducting the Training Institute. Next year a
membership of no was reported to the Synod, with the various church
agencies in successful operation. It also appeared that the buildings at
Overnewton, including the large sum paid for the site, had cost not much
short of ^12,000, leaving a burden of ^4500 on the property. The training
class was too much of a nondescript to prove the success which was expected,
and having but limited and uncertain material to work on it was discon-
tinued in 1888. With the congregation itself there was gradual increase,
till after ten years the communion roll numbered 261, but as the members
were drawn almost entirely from the poorer classes it needed ^200 at the
very least from Central Funds to keep the stipend at ;^300. This state of
things was discouraging for all parties, and specially for the minister. The
guarantee, however, was not withdrawn till 1891, when the Synod substituted
a grant of ^150 for two years, and at the expiry of that period the Henderson
Memorial Church was to be left in the hands of the Home Mission Board
like other aid-receiving congregations. On 12th June 1894 Mr Hay inti-
mated to the Presbytery his wish to withdraw from the active duties of the
pastorate, and on 14th August this was agreed to, the question of a retiring
allowance being left to the Synod for disposal. In 1896 a grant of ^100 a
year was carried by the Moderator's casting vote over a motion to make it
^^250. Since then Mr Hay has resided in Edinburgh, with the status of
senior minister, but with exemption from all work and all responsibility.
The congregation now called the Rev. J. Forsyth, Kilwinning, who declined.
Second Minister.— liyiOXViY W. Stirling, from Gardenstown, where
he had been ordained four years before. Inducted, 26th March 1895. To
make up a stipend of ^250 the Board engaged for a grant of ;^ 150 the first
year, ^iio the second, and ^90 the third. The membership in December
1899 was 383, and the stipend from the people ^190.
NITHSDALE (United Presbyterian)
On 6th September 1887 it was reported to the Presbytery of Glasgow
(South) that the Rev. David Burns, who had been loosed from St Paul's,
Aberdeen, had come within their bounds to take charge of a mission
station at Strathbungo, under the wing of Queen's Park Church. This was
followed on 3rd April 1888 by a petition from 104 persons representing that
the work had prospered greatly under Mr Burns, and that the time had
come for them to be congregated. A committee reported soon after that
there was room for a new congregation in the district, that the names of
the applicants were all entered on Queen's Park communion roll, that the
income was not less than ^165 a year, and that they were to have the
mission halls from the mother congregation for three years free of charge.
On 6th June the Presbytery met at Nithsdale, when Dr Ferguson
preached, and declared the petitioners erected into a congregation. Five
of his elders were at the same time appointed a provisional session under
his moderatorship.
First Minister. — DAVID Burns. Inducted, i8th September 1888. The
call was signed by 88 members and 39 adherents, and the stipend was to
be made up to ^250, Queen's Park having engaged to subsidise the funds
to the extent of ^200 the first year, ^175 the second, and ^150 the third.
This arrangement would be come to in the hope that at the expiry of that
period Nithsdale Church would be able to dispense with outside aid, but
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW
J 1
lix and a half years passed without the self-supporting state being reached.
[n the early part of 1895 Queen's Park Church engaged to pay in full of
11 claims ^125 for that year and ^100 for 1896, and the building was also
be made over for behoof of the congregation. In 1896 a petition from
fithsdale explained that the congregation was formed to anticipate the
rants of a large district which had been laid out for feuing, but which was
jot built upon till now, and they wished it treated as if it were a new
luse. It was proposed to enlarge or rebuild the place of worship, which
vas seated for 350, but owing to the state of the funds this proposal had
be dropped, leaving Nithsdale with its humble equipment to compete
riih the stately and well-furnished churches around. The Mission Board
ranted ^150 for 1897, though from the district not being necessitous
ley reckoned the cause to lie outside the scope of the Evangelistic Fund.
Text year, after a conference with a Committee of Presbytery, they declined
place Nithsdale on the Augmentation Fund. Mr Burns had meanwhile
iven evidence of his gifts by the publication of "Sayings in Symbol," a
Volume of essays suggested by Bible figures of speech, which was much
Appreciated. The funds of the congregation so far improved in 1899 that
"ley afforded a rise of ;^io to their part of the stipend, and the membership
^tood at 147. Over against discouragements in Glasgow Mr Bums has
:quired distinction in other ways, and has in particular his name entered
long the "Poets of Angus and Mearns." The Synod in May 1900, on
le recommendation of Glasgow Presbytery, agreed that Nithsdale should
placed on the Augmentation Fund, and this, with an additional ^30 from
le Ferguson Bequest, raised the entire stipend, with house rent, to ^205.
KELVINSIDE (United Presbyterian)
'his district in the western suburbs of Glasgow was marked out by the
^resbytery in March 1892 as a fit part of the city for the planting down
af a new church, and in November it was stated that 51 persons had
Identified themselves with the movement. Services were commenced
jfore the end of the year, and it was ascertained that a neat erection, to
xommodate ^50 people, could be put up for j^5oo. The promise of ^250
iras now obtained from the Board, and the Presbytery's Committee had
;curity for ^285. On 22nd January 1894 a congregation was formed of
^6 members with certificates from U.P. sessions, and in a very few weeks
lere were 53 in all.
Ft'rs^ Minister. — Alexander Whyte, B.D., B.Sc, who had been
)rdained at Duntocher four years before. Inducted, 9th July 1894. The
ill was signed by 51 members and 24 adherents, and to secure a stipend
\i ^300 the Board, together with private friends, guaranteed .^200 for
hree years. The people at first only undertook ^loo, but in a short
ime they came up other ;^5o. The hall was opened on Saturday, 2nd
[ay 1896, Dr Black, Rev. John Young, Mission Secretary, and others
iking part in the services, and in the Report of the Extension Committee
)r 1897 it was entered that Kelvinside had become self-supporting. But
\\. this very time Mr Whyte, who had previously obtained leave of absence
')r six months, felt compelled to resign his charge, having ascertained
lat his only hope of recovery lay in removing to a warmer climate.
The resignation was accepted, 19th May 1897, the Presbytery testifying
his scholarly attainments and the good work he had done at Kelvinside.
[e received a parting gift of .^410 on leaving for New Zealand, where
^e had been for a short time when a preacher. In that colony he now
II. H
114 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
ministers to a congregation in Havelock, Hawke's Bay Presbytery, to
which he was inducted on 5th June 1898.
Second Minister. — James Crichton, B.D., from Elgin (Moss Street),
after a ministry there of nine and a half years. Inducted, 2nd December
1897. In the last return the membership was 351, and the stipend ^180.
A church had been planned two years before this, the cost not to go
beyond ^4000 ; but operations were delayed, though the need for more
ample accommodation was becoming urgent. The membership at the
close of 1899 amounted to fully 400, and the people contributed ^280
of stipend.
POLMADIE (United Presbyterian)
Mission work was commenced in Polmadie district by Govanhill congrega-
tion in 1880, and in 1883 a hall was erected, which ultimately cost upwards
of ^600. The work was carried on partly through evangelistic agents till
1893, when it was handed over to the Mission Board, and the station was
transferred to the care of Queen's Park Church, who were to attend to its
interests for at least three years, and pay the missionary's salary. In
February 1895 the premises were burnt down, and the services had to be
conducted in a temporary meeting-place. For several years at this stage
sealing ordinances were enjoyed under the supervision of Queen's Park
session, and in view of having a church erected the Bellahouston trustees
engaged to furnish a grant of ^1000, while a gentleman friendly to the
cause promised a free site. Thus was the way opened towards success.
On the 4th Sabbath of February 1897 the new church was opened, when
the collections amounted to ;i^42. The entire cost was put at ^3500, and
there are sittings for 630. On 27th May a regular congregation was formed
with 185 members, almost all of whom had their names on the communion
roll of Queen's Park Church. In December 1898 the provisional session
represented to the Presbytery that it was time to have a probationer
appointed to conduct regular services at Polmadie, and as the total income
was not more than ^115 a year the Board agreed to a grant of ^50 for the
next six months. Everything was now in readiness for a fixed pastorate.
First Minister. — William Taylor, from Ibrox, Glasgow. Ordained,
7th September 1899. The call was signed by 143 members and 125 adher-
ents, and the stipend promised by the people was .^70, which was to be
supplemented by ^iio from the Extension Fund. At the Union there was
a membership of about 350.
SHETTLESTON (United Presbyteri.\n)
The village of Shettleston, according to the old reckoning, was two miles
east of Glasgow, and used to be of little account. But in 1896 the quoad
sacra parish of the same name included a population of nearly 20,000,
having doubled the number in sixteen years, and the only U.P. congrega-
tion within its borders was at ToUcross. With the view of having one at
Shettleston itself a local committee was formed in April of that year, and
services were commenced in a school on Sabbath, 6th September. On
8th December a congregation was formed, which had 44 members at the
end of the year, and on 9th February thereafter four elders were ordained.
A site for a church was already sanctioned, and the promise of .2^500 from
the Extension Fund to aid in the erection followed soon after.
First Minister. — James Hyslop, from Langholm (North). Ordained,
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 115
2nd September 1897. The call was signed by 45 members and 24 adherents,
and the Board was to give ^100 for the first year, ^75 for the second, and
^50 for the third, on conditioh of the stipend being made up to ^200. At
the close of 1899 there were 163 names on the communion roll, and the
stipend from the people was ^118, los., the total income for the year being
^342. At the Union the congregation was still meeting in a temporary
])lace of worship, but the plans of a church, with 650 sittings, had been
drawn up two years before. The estimated cost was ^3500, of which the
people expected to raise ^1000.
NEWLANDS (United Presbyterian)
This Extension church is planted down on the borders of PoUokshields, and
is meant to provide in some measure for the growing population of that
large district. In July 1897 the Extension Board made a grant of ^500
to aid in the erection of a suitable hall, but it was not till September
of the following year that the memorial stone was laid and operations begun.
Another .^500 was received from the Loan Fund, and opening services were
conducted on Thursday, ist June 1899, by Dr Ferguson of Queen's Park.
On 1 2th September 36 members were constituted into a congregation, and
on 13th March 1900 an additional grant of ^250 was annbunced. On
1 2th June, six elders having been previously ordained, a moderation was
applied for, the stipend promised being ^315, of which the Board was to
furnish ^150 for three years.
First Minister.— ]\MV.'g, Macmillan, M.A., who had been colleague to
the Rev. Thomas Dobbie of Lansdowne Church for four and a half years.
The call was signed by 83 members and 34 adherents, and on the day it
was accepted the commissioners stated that it had been agreed to raise
the stipend from ^315 to ^420. The induction took place, i6th October
1900, and to all appearance fuller accommodation will speedily be required.
PARTICK, DOWANHILL (United Secession)
On 14th October 1823 a petition from 102 residenters in Partick was laid
before the Secession Presbytery of Glasgow for a continuance of sermon.
Sabbath evening services had been kept up for some time by the Secession
minister of Glasgow, and at a public meeting held on 13th September this
application was agreed to. Supply was granted, and before the year closed
a place of worship was commenced, the first erected in that village. It cost,
with ^150 for the ground, ^1600. On i6th September 1825, members of the
Secession, and others with whom a Committee of Presbytery had conversed,
were formed into a congregation. A unanimous call to Mr Ebenezer Halley
was brought up to the Presbytery in December signed by 48 members and
91 adherents ; but another followed from St Andrews, and was preferred by
the Synod.
First Minister. — JOHN Skinner, from Auchtermuchty (East), his mother
being a daughter of the Rev. John Fraser, who was long our minister there.
Ordained, loth April 1827. In his time two other congregations sprang up
in Partick, and the progress of the Secession cause was not rapid, the
increase between 1831 and 1836 being by the minister's own showing only
44- At the latter date the communicants numbered 230, and the stipend
ii6 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
was the sum promised at the beginning — ^130, with ^10 in name of expenses
— but he had received in addition gifts from the Church funds amounting to
£^0 or ^80. The inner arrangements of the building for the first twenty-
four years were pecuhar — only the galleries were occupied, with flooring
across the open space and over the low church. In 1836 the debt on the
property consisted of ^600 on a bond and ^720 borrowed principally from
members of the congregation. That year an arrangement was carried
through by which this larger part of the debt was cancelled on payment of
^180, of which ^50 was raised by the people themselves, and ^130 came
from sister congregations in Glasgow. This brought their liabilities within
manageable compass.
During the Voluntary Controversy Mr Skinner was a prominent figure
at public meetings — more so, perhaps, than any other member of Presbytery.
He also published in 1838 a goodly volume, entitled "The Scottish Endow-
ment Question, Ecclesiastical and Educational," written in a rollicking style.
" The author," said a friendly reviewer, " allows himself to run wild in all
kinds of playfulness, invective, sarcasm, irony, indignant reprehension, broad
and almost reckless humour." These qualities pertained to the idiosyn-
crasies of the man. In Balgedie congregation, where his grandfather was
well known, Mr Skinner's fearless bearing when a preacher was long
spoken of But his. fiery vehemence in controversial discussion may not
have conduced to the permanence of the ministerial bond at Partick, and on
1 2th November 1839 Mr Skinner intimated to the Presbytery his resolution
to demit his charge, an announcement which was received with deep regret.
On loth December the connection was dissolved, the congregation believ-
ing that it was vain to oppose the acceptance. In the United States Mr
Skinner ministered for a number of years to a Presbyterian congregation in
Lexington, Virginia, and in 1846 he received the degree of D.D. from
Washington College, Pennsylvania. The accompanying letter bore that this
was in recognition of his attainments in literature and the important service
he had rendered the great cause of i-eligious liberty by his published
opinions in the land of his birth. On 8th March 1849 he was inducted to
Harmony, in New Jersey, and on the i8th to Easton, in Pennsylvania, both
congregations to be under his charge.
In a few years he removed to Canada, and here an important piece of
information comes in from a Toronto newspaper, of date i8th May 1853,
which reads thus : " On the nth inst. a scene of rather a novel character
was exhibited at a meeting of the Presbytery of Hamilton in connection
with the Church of Scotland. A Dr Skinner, who is said to be a lineal
descendant of the Erskines, and, according to his own statement, seems to
have been a kind of Boanerges in defending the Anti-Endowment principle,
published a recantation of his Voluntaryism, and joined the Church of
Scotland." Next year he figures as minister of London, Canada West, in
that connection, and in 1857 he has Nelson and Waterdownie under his
care, in the same Presbytery. He died, 24th March 1864, in the sixtieth year
of his age and thirty-seventh of his ministry. His son in a recent letter says :
" He was tired and wearied from the great pain he had endured for some
days." This came from a large carbuncle on the back of his head, which
paid no heed to the lance of the surgeon.
Second Minister. — Thomas M. Lawrie, from Edinburgh, Nicolson
Street. Ordained, 3rd March 1841, having already declined Berwick
(Church Street). The congregation had previously called Mr James
Robertson with much enthusiasm ; but he did not see his way to accept,
and some time after gave himself to the building up of a broken cause at
Musselburgh. The stipend had been reduced to .;^ioo, with ^10 for
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW
117
cpenses ; but there was to be rapid growth now, and in 1848 the ground
Jat had to be taken in and fitted up with pews. In the beginning of 1843
Ir Lawrie was sent over to Belfast to preside at a moderation, and he
iturned with a call signed by 35 members, and addressed to himself. He
jst no time in intimating to the Presbytery that he was not to accept, but
lis did not prevent the offer being repeated in the end of the year. Whence
le faintest hope of success came it is hard to conjecture. But the state and
jjrospects of this Belfast congregation at that time will be indicated under
Test Kilbride. On Sabbath, nth November 1866, the new church in
)owanhill was opened, with 1050 sittings. The cost was scarcely under
|l 2,000, and the old church became the property of Particle (East). The
)wn had now grown into a large and wealthy suburb of Glasgow, and the
jngregation had increased and become strong in like proportion. When
[r Lawrie was in the forty-eighth year of his ministry the services of a
tgular assistant were required, and then a colleague was resolved on.
Third Minister. — William Dickie, M.A., translated from Wilson Church,
■*erth, where he had been settled eight years before. Inducted to Dowan-
iill, 14th March 1889, his stipend to be ^500, the senior minister to have
^300. On 31st March 1890 Mr Lawrie's jubilee was celebrated, when,
jsides a presentation of silver plate, he received a cheque for 1300 guineas.
[n his speech on that occasion he told how during his ministry the missionary
contributions had risen from £,b a year to ^725, and the total income from
J160 to ^2000. He might also have contrasted the stipend of ^iio, which
le had at first, with the joint stipend of ^800. Mr Lawrie died at Ayr, 1 5th
\pril 1895, ^" the seventy-seventh year of his age and fifty-fifth of his
unistry. The membership at the close of 1899 was 859, and the stipend
C600.
PARTICK, NEWTON PLACE (Relief)
)N 2nd December 1823 a number of the inhabitants of Partick and its
leighbourhood petitioned the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow to be taken
inder their inspection as a forming congregation, which was agreed to.
Lnderston Relief Church had a large branch in that village, and in a
biographical notice of Dr Struthers it is stated that, though this movement
|ed to the loss of 200 members, he subscribed /50 towards the building of
leir church, which was erected at a cost of ^1734, with sittings for 840.
The Relief congregation at Partick almost kept step with the Secession in
|ts first stages. In the application for sermon they were only seven weeks
jehind ; and the new churches were opened— the Secession in May 1824 and
le Relief in July. With the settlement of a minister, however, the Relief
fgot two years ahead.
First Minister. — James C. Ewing, son of the Rev David Ewing, Salt-
coats. Ordained, 19th May 1825. The stipend was to be ;^i2o, with ^10
for expenses.- In 1836 the membership was 249, being 19 higher than that
[of the Secession, and the stipend was as before. There was a debt of ^i ico
ion the property ; but this was gradually reduced, and in 1856 the last of it
[was cleared off by a special effort. Mr Ewing interested himself much in
Ithe famous Campbeltown Case, and when Lord Moncrieff issued an Inter-
llocutor and Note, which trenched, as he believed, on the privileges of
[dissenting churches, he published " Remarks " thereon, characterised by
imuch mental vigour and legal acuteness. This was in the beginning of
1837, and his death followed on 13th April, after a severe illness of eight
[days. He was in the thirty-fourth year of his age and twelfth of his ministry.
ii8 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
A volume of his discourses was published in the following year, with a brief
Memoir by Dr vStruthers.
Second Mifiister. — Robert Wilson, from Calton, Glasgow. Ordained,
24th April 1838. Mr Wilson had distinguished himself at Glasgow University,
obtaining among other honours the first prize in the senior Greek class ; but
his intense application to study may have lodged the seeds of disease in his
frame, and before he had been more than a year in Partick consumption
showed itself. In the spring of 1840 his brethren arranged to give him a
day each that he might try the effect of change ; but the ailment prevailed,
and he died on 14th October, in the thirtieth year of his age and third of his
ministry. Half-a-year after this the congregation called Mr James Bonnar,
afterwards of East Kilbride ; but the subscribers were few, and the call was
declined.
Third Mijiister. — John M'Coll, from Bridgeton, Glasgow, brother of
the Rev. Alexander M'Coll, Bankhill, Berwick. The call was signed by 218
members and seat-holders, considerably more than double the former
number. The stipend was now ^130, with sacramental expenses, and
Mr M'Coll was ordained, 19th August 1841. There was a debt of ^1150
still resting on the property, but under Mr M'Coll's ministry it was cleared
off in a few years. A new church, built on the old site, was opened in
January 1865, with 800 sittings, the cost being ^5400, and in ten years the
debt had ceased to be burdensome. In October 1882 a moderation for a
colleague was applied for, who was to have ^300 of stipend, and Mr M'Coll
^250, the membership being about 350.
Fourth Mtmster.—T)AWlT> M'EWAN Morgan, from College Street,
Edinburgh. Ordained, nth January 1883. It was intended to recognise
Mr M'Coll's services to the denomination by proposing him for the
Moderator's Chair in 1884 ; but he was under his last illness when the
Synod met, and he died on 7th May, in the sixty-fifth year of his age and
forty-third of his ministry. Mr Morgan on becoming sole pastor had his
stipend raised to ;^4oo. On loth December 1895 he accepted a call to
City Road, Brechin.
Fiffh Minister. — John T. Burton, M.A., translated from Nicolson
Street, Edinburgh, after being there eleven years. Inducted, 2nd June 1896.
The membership at the close of 1899 was 744, and the stipend ^400.
PARTICK, EAST (United Presbyterian)
On 1 2th May 1863 a petition was presented to Glasgow Presbytery from
Partick with 407 signatures craving to be erected into a congregation.
This was the outcome of mission work carried on under the auspices of
Mr Lawrie's congregation by Mr Robert M. Gibson, a student from
Johnstone (West), during his Divinity Hall course and before it. On nth
August, in his last session at our College, the congregation was formed, and
in December three elders were to be ordained. Having obtained licence in
January 1864 Mr Gibson was called in the following April, the call being
signed by 78 members and 72 adherents. The petitioners undertook ^50 of
the stipend, and Mr Lawrie's congregation agreed to give .2^100 for five years,
and a grant was expected from the Ferguson Fund besides. Mr Gibson
was ordained on 27th June. The place of worship at this time was " the
mission school," but need was felt before long for more suitable accommoda-
tion. This was acquired very opportunely by the removal of Mr Lawrie's
congregation to their new church at Dowanhill in November 1866. The
old property was now sold to the mission congregation at ^1150, a sum
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 119
^500 beneath the estimated value. In 1870 Mr Gibson was called to Albion
Chapel, London, but preferred to go on in Partick. Nine years afterwards
he had a membership of 600, and a stipend of ^400 from the people. In
1889 Mr Gibson felt his need of a colleague, when it was arranged that he
should receive ^^150 a year and the junior minister ^250.
Second Minister. — Robert Primrose, translated from St Andrew's
Square, Greenock, and inducted into his third charge, 13th January 1890.
Loosed, 30th April 1895, on accepting a call to Burnbank, Glasgow. About
this time the yearly payment to Mr Gibson was commuted into a slump
sum of ^800.
Third Minister. — William G. Macfee, from Dennistoun, Glasgow.
Ordained at Pendleton, Manchester, in 1890, and inducted to* Partick,
22nd October 1895, the stipend to be ^350. A new church was opened on
Thursday, 9th February 1899, by the Rev. Dr MacEwen, Claremont Church,
the cost of site and buildings being ;^8ooo. On 26th June 1900 Mr Macfee's
resignation of his charge was accepted, as he required to remove to a
kindlier climate. He left the property almost free of debt, and testimony
was borne to his success at Partick. The East congregation had a member-
ship now of over 700.
PARTICK, VICTORIA PARK (United Presbyterian)
This congregation took its name at first from Whiteinch, a village west from
Partick, in which Dowanhill congregation had conducted mission work for
several years. On 5th June 1875 the station was congregated with a
lembership of 59, all certified from Dowanhill, and in the following January
moderation was applied for, the stipend promised being ^300, the Board
aid with a grant of ;!^25o, to be distributed over three years.
First Minister. — Peter Wilson, M.A., from Renton. Ordained in the
lother church at Dowanhill on 29th March 1876, the call being signed
68 members and 49 adherents. The place of meeting for a
[me was a cooking depot ; but a church was already arranged for, and
^3000 subscribed towards the erection. As 3 members gave ^500 each,
id a fourth ^250, it is clear that the suburban was already asserting itself
irer the mission element. The new church was opened by Principal Cairns
Friday, 5th October 1877. The collections that day and on the following
Sabbath reached the sum of ^^1064. The entire cost amounted to ^7646,
"le last of which was cleared off in 1883. On 9th August 1881 Mr Wilson
:cepted a call to St Andrew's Place, Leith. There was a membership now
" over 320.
Second Minister. — JOHN WiLSON, M.A., translated from Stow, his third
large, where he had been nearly eight years. Inducted, 12th January 1882.
1888 the name was changed'Trom Whiteinch to Victoria Park, in adapta-
^on to the surroundings. At the close of 1899 there was a membership of
j8, and a stipend of .^350.
GOVAN (United Secession)
[n 1836 Govan was a village of little more than 2000 inhabitants, and the
[Wily place of worship it had was the parish church. On 28th September
11837 application for sermon as a mission station was made to Glasgow
"Secession Presbytery by 76 persons, and on 14th November Dr Muter was
appointed to preach there on Sabbath first. Evening services had been
I20 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
kept up in the village for about twelve years previously by dissenting
ministers from Partick, and otherwise, and now Mr James Hay, probationer,
was located there for visitation and regular Sabbath work, but after going
on for some months he was transferred to Inveraray. For the next five years
Govan was supplied by a succession of preachers, the Presbytery consider-
ing that the cause deserved to be countenanced, and the Home Mission
Board granting for its support ^30 a year. On 13th June 1843 the station
was congregated with a membership of 27.
First Minister.— ] MAYJf^ Hay, translated from Inveraray. On 2nd May
1843 Govan people expressed a wish to the Presbytery to have Mr Hay
stationed ^mong them anew, and they were to take on themselves the whole
liabilities. This was agreed to, and in a few weeks Mr Hay entered on a
new location in that growing village. On 14th November thereafter three
elders were ordained and one inducted. In 1847 steps were taken to have
the pastoral bond formed, but before this point was reached troubled waters
had to be passed through. Whether a party in the congregation were bent
on having a wider area of selection does not appear, but when a moderation
was applied for affairs were found to be in such a state that the Presbytery
had to interpose. At next meeting the committee reported that the four
elders and a number of the members had been disjoined, all attempts at
reconciliation having failed. Before this the communion roll had risen to
80, but it was now reduced to 38. Nevertheless, proceedings went on, and
Mr Hay was inducted, 22nd June 1847, four new elders having been ordained
a few Sabbaths before. The people were to raise ^70 of the stipend.
Worship had previously been conducted in a schoolroom, but in March of
that year a new church, with sittings for 350, was opened, the cost being
^1000. The membership a year after this was 105, and the total income
^120. But the village of Govan was now swelling up into a large town, with
a population in 1851 of 15,000. The congregation shared the benefit, though
not to a proportionate extent, and in 1855 a gallery was erected at a cost of
^300. Mr Hay died, 13th January 1868, in the fifty-ninth year of his age
and thirtieth of his ministry, leaving a membership of 400. There was now
to be an entering on altered hues and a higher platform. " One layeth the
foundation, and another buildeth thereon."
Second Minister.— ]0}Xii Brown JOHNSTON, D.D., who was brought
out to Govan from Duke Street, Glasgow, in the twenty-third year of his
ministry. There was some irritation at the transition time, a party in the
congregation insisting that none of the ministers agreed on had been heard,
and accordingly a petition against sustaining the call was signed by 81
members. No doubt the feeling in the congregation generally would be
that, having" reason to believe Dr Johnston would not be disinclined to
accept, they required to go no further. The objections being set aside the
induction took place, 17th September 1868, the stipend to be ^300. After
going on in this, his fourth charge, for nearly ten years, the Doctor's strength
began to yield, and a colleague was arranged for, the two ministers to have
^300 each.
Third Minister. — George Crawford, from East Kilbride. Ordained
on a harmonious call, 12th September 1878. Adverse fortunes now set
rapidly in. Amidst commercial depression, and under a debt of ;^3ooo, the
funds went back, and disintegration followed, till within two years the inter-
vention of the Presbytery was applied for. Investigation revealed that
there was a cleavage in the congregation, some holding by the one minister
and some by the other, and an adjustment of differences, or the bringing
back of better days, appeared hopeless without an entire change in the
pastorate. A Minute of Presbytery to that effect having been communicated
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 121
to the two colleagues they both came forward at next meeting, on 6th July
1880, and in succession tendered their resignations. It must have been a
scene of painful interest to all concerned. The congregation had previously
decided to give Dr Johnston a yearly allowance of ^75 in testimony of their
gratitude for the work he had done among them ; but within nine months
the curtain fell. He died in Edinburgh, 14th April 1881, in the sixty-
second year of his age and thirty-si.xth of his ministry. In 1875 Dr Johnston
published a volume of discourses, entitled "The Ministry of Reconciliation."
Though massive in their theology, and well-thought-out, they suffer for want
of the full-toned voice, under perfect command, which gave double effect to
the author's pulpit utterances. His Memoir of the Rev. Robert Shirra of
Kirkcaldy is to be referred to elsewhere. As for Mr Crawford, the people
bore strong testimony to his ministerial gifts, and their hopes that he would
speedily find another sphere of labour were realised, as he was inducted into
Mid-Calder in 1883.
Fourth Minister. — THOMAS R. ANDERSON, M.A., from Saffronhall,
Hamilton, where he had been for ten years. The stipend promised was
^367, los. instead of the .^600 formerly divided between the two ministers,
and the call was signed by 185 members and 70 adherents. Inducted, 28th
April 1 88 1. About this time a second congregation was formed in Govan,
which must have told upon the increase of the older church, the membership
of which at the close of 1899 W'ls 412, and the stipend ^317, los.
GOVAN, FAIRFIELD (United Presbyterian)
In the end of 1875 the report of the Glasgow Church Planting Board bore
that a wooden church, which had done service at Plantation till it was no
longer needed, was being erected at Govan, and on 14th March 1876 opening
services were sanctioned by Glasgow Presbytery. At first the station was
manned by an evangelist, but on ist May 1877 a congregation was formed
with 37 certified members, and on 12th June two elders were ordained and
two inducted.
First Minister. — J. R. Houston, translated from Carluke, his second
charge, in the fifteenth year of his ministry. Inducted, 14th November 1877.
A stipend of ^300 was guaranteed by the Church Planting Board for four
years, and the call was signed by 162 members. The Evangelistic Fund
was to aid with £,2'^o of a grant — ^100 for the first year, ^90 for the second,
_and ^60 for the third. On loth June 1879 Mr Houston accepted the
~ >llegiateship of Langside Road. At the end of that year there was a
Jembership of 322. The first the congregation now called was the Rev.
imes Milligan of Houghton-le-Spring, who did not accept.*
Second Minister. — A. ScOTT Macpherson, from the E.P. Church,
felton, Northumberland, where he was^ ordained in 1873. The stipend
Mr Milligan was from the U.P. congregation, Ecclefechan. He joined the
Udependents at Annan, and was partly educated for the ministry under them,
laving emigrated to Canada he got licence in connection with the Free Church
lere in May 1861, and was ordained in three months over the congregations of King
lid Laskey. He returned to Scotland in impaired health in 1868, was received by
lie U.P. Synod, and inducted to Houghton-le-Spring on 26th October 1869. De-
led a call to Willington Quay in 1876. About the time of the Govan call he
ceived the degree of I). D. from America. When about to retire he died, very
kddenly, on 6th January 1892, aged sixty-two, and is l>iiried in Ecclefechan Church-
Ird, near Thomas Carlyle. Dr Milligan and llie Rev. Hugh Tail, formerly of
lusselburgh, were married into the same Ecclefechan family.
122 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
promised was ^295. Inducted, i6th March 1880. A new church was
opened by Principal Cairns on Friday, 24th March 1882, with 800 sittings,
and built at a cost of ^{^4000. In 1887 the funds yielded a stipend of ^285,
and there were 570 names on the communion roll, being slightly ahead of
the older congregation. At the close of 1899 the membership was 940, and
the stipend ^350.
POLLOKSHIELDS (United Presbyterian)
This church comes abruptly into notice on 2nd September 1879, when a
petition was presented from Pollokshields to Glasgow Presbytery (South)
to have the station there formed into a .congregation, which was done at
once. When, or in what circumstances, sermon was commenced is not
given, nor how many applicants there were, but at the end of the year the
members numbered 117. In June 1880 they called the Rev. James Jeffrey
of Erskine Church, Glasgow, but owing to irregularities the call was not
sustained. His time for removing to Pollokshields was to come later on.
In October they called Mr A. R. MacEwen, probationer, who accepted
Moffat, and in February 1881 the Rev. Hugh Stevenson, who remained a
fixture at Melrose.
First Minister. — ALEXANDER Brown, translated from North Leith, his
second charge, after a four years' ministry there, and inducted, ist September
1 88 1. The call was signed by 148 members and 62 adherents, and the
stipend promised was ^500. The church was opened by Principal Cairns
on i8th May 1883. It cost ^14,790, including mission halls, and has
sittings for 975. In little more than four years the membership was 700,
and the stipend ^600. Since then the increase has gone on, and at the
close of 1899 there were 854 names on the communion roll, and Mr Brown
had a stipend of £700.
POLLOKSHIELDS, TRINITY (United Presbyterian)
On 5th May 1887 an application from 86 members of the denomination
residing in the district was made to Glasgow Presbytery (South) for the
sanction of a site, with the view of having a new congregation formed at
West Pollokshields, and in June the proposal was agreed to. On 4th
October the movement assumed a new form, 75 members of Erskine Church
petitioning to be erected along with their minister, the Rev. James Jeffrey,
into a distinct congregation. Building operations, they stated, were going
on, and they undertook a stipend of ^500. At next meeting, on 1st
November, Erskine Church reported that they were content to leave the
matter in the hands of the Presbytery, and after a discussion of three hours
the erection was carried by 20 to 13, the four elders who joined in the
petition forming the session. But protests and appeals now cropped up
in mazy confusion, the main objection to the Presbytery's action, so far
as we can make out, being that West Pollokshields was not to have the
free choice of a minister, as the selection was virtually monopolised by
members of Erskine Church residing in the locality. It is an objection
that would have applied equally to the course followed when Lansdowne
congregation was formed under Dr Eadie, Renfield Street under Dr Taylor,
and Berkeley Street under Mr Ramage.
When the case came before a Committee of Synod in May 1888 the
protests one after another were withdrawn ; but an overture on the general
subject led to some legislation, which has not simplified certain rules of
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW ' 123
procedure. When a minister with a section of his congregation removes
to a church in another district it is needful now to have a regular induction,
as if the pastoral bond were being formed anew, and at least in one case
the edict was served and the door opened for objections. To give the
innovation consistency there ought to be a moderation and a formal call,
minister and people being treated as if they were entering into marriage
bonds for the first time. The Synod, however, confirmed the Presbytery's
procedure in the present case, so that the induction ceremony was dispensed
with. By the end of the following year the new congregation had a
membership of 293. On the forenoon of Sabbath, 20th September 1891,
the new church was opened by Dr Drummond, Belhaven Church, Glasgow,
with sittings for 830, and built at a cost of ^11,000. Since then the debt
has been reduced year by year, till at the Union not much more than a
fifth of the entire sum remained. The membership in December 1899 was
599, the stipend ^600, and the entire income over £2200.
EASTERN DIVISION
AIRDRIE, WELLWYND (Burgher)
On 4th August 1789 the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow received a
petition for sermon " from some people in and about the town of Airdrie
not at present in our communion," which was granted. It appears, how-
ever, from the congregational records that they had had services from
members of the Presbytery before this. The formal application resulted
from the meeting of a few individuals shortly before, who "took into con-
sideration the good effects that might arise from having a place of worship
in this town." Airdrie, from being a mere hamlet or farmsteading, was
fast growing into large dimensions. From the constitution of the First
Committee of Management we can estimate the quarters from which the
strength of the movement came. Of the members 5 were from Old Monk-
land, 5 from New Monkland, 2 from Shotts, and 8 from Airdrie. In a short
time we read of garden ground purchased at Wellwynd for 45 guineas on a
disposition for 999 years, of 2 guineas paid for a house to preach in for the
time, of money borrowed to meet accounts, and ^25 received from sister
congregations. The church building went on, and in November 1790 it
carried to finish the galleries, and provide 696 sittings in all. The opening
may, therefore, be assigned to the early part of 179 1. In March of that year
;i mocferation was applied for, the stipend promised being ^50, and a free
liouse ; but under pressure from the Presbytery they came up ^10, and
agreed to provide the minister with a horse when it was required. The
^st call was addressed to Mr James Henderson, but the Synod appointed
n to Hawick (East Bank).
First Minister — K^Vt^v.-^ DUNCANSON, from Queensferry. Had a call
Kinross (West) signed by 350 members, and another to Airdrie signed
192 members ; but the Synod, partly, no doubt, to make up for their former
''appointment, assigned him to Airdrie. Ordained, 21st August 1792. In
early years of Mr Duncanson's ministry differences arose between the
Bsion and the managers as to the disposal of the church funds. The
bsion alleged that it belonged to them to pay the minister's stipend and
ler public burdens, and* on that account seat rents and collections ought
ke to pass through their hands. The managers, on the other hand, con-
ided that they were chosen by the congregation to manage all money
124 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
matters, and that the session, as a session, had no more right to interfere
with these affairs than any private member had. Along with this came
up the question of which party had the right to collect at the plate, and
an appeal to the law courts was even threatened. At this stage the minister
interposed with a letter of salutary advices. His wish was that, for the
removing of certain things which had caused discontent, deacons should
be ordained, and differences buried for ever. " A word in season, how
good is it," and such seems to have been experienced at Airdrie. In 1796
we find the congregation engaged with the building of a manse, at a cost
of about ^250, which increased the debt on the property to somewhere
about ^400. Towards the close of the century the membership was slightly
encroached on by the Old Light Controversy, there being a small party
opposed to any change in the Formula, and it was even reported that they
were to make a demand for the key of the church, on the plea that the
majority "had departed from the principles for which the meeting-house
was built."
Still the cause prospered, and there is mention of a considerable im-
provement in the funds and a rise in the minister's income. In 1806 the
stipend, including an allowance for a horse, was ^80 ; the interest on
borrowed money was ^16, 7s. ; for feu and taxes on the manse ^8, 5s.,
making an expenditure of ^104, 12s. in all. Over against this there was
for seat rents ^82, and the managers received from the session ^30 of
the church-door collections, giving an income of ^i 12 for ordinary expenses.
But in 1818 Mr Duncanson was laid aside by ill-heath, and the congregation
began to suffer. A colleague was spoken of; but when the proposed
arrangements were laid before the Presbytery dissatisfaction was expressed
with the provision made for the senior minister, and, the managers under-
standing that Mr Duncanson was considerably worse, the further considera-
tion of the matter was delayed. They met again after the interment on
28th June 1 8 19. Mr Duncanson had died on the 23rd, in the fifty-second
year of his age and twenty-seventh of his ministry.
Second Minister. — William Nicol, from Dumfries (Buccleuch Street).
He had previously accepted a call to the Burgher.'congregation, Johnshaven,
but on Airdrie coming forward he refused to proceed further. The call from
Airdrie, though unanimous, was signed by only no members, and Mr Nicol
was ordained, J7th November 18 19. His stipend was to be ^120, and a
manse. He died, 7th June 1823, in the thirty-second year of his age and
fourth of his ministry. A memorial stone was erected in the church burying-
ground as "a tribute of gratitude and esteem by his Monday evening class."
Third Minister. — George Sommerville, from Kelso (First), but said
to have been a native of Carlisle. Ordained, 9th December 1824. The call
gave evidence of increase, being signed by 253 members and 72 adherents.
The debt amounted at this time to ^450. A resolution of the session in
1828 would have caused disturbance in some congregations. A person
almost deprived of his sight wished the line read before the singing, and
for the sake of the petitioner, as well as others, this was agreed to. During
Mr Sommerville's ministry the accessions stand well, being generally
between 20 and 30 at each communion. In 1835 the members were
returned at 550, and it was stated that there had been an increase of 280,
or fully one-half, under Mr Sommerville. The stipend was still ^120, but
£,\ was allowed at each communion, and there was the manse and garden.
Of those under his pastoral care about one-fourth \vere from other parishes —
most of these from Old Monkland, a goodly number from Bothwell, an<
a few families from Shotts. On nth February 1840 Mr Sommerville'^
resignation was accepted by the Presbytery. His household arrangements
I
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 125
had lowered him in the estimation of his people, the complaint being that
liis servant or housekeeper was lifted out of her place. There had also
been a written promise of marriage, which he never fulfilled, and it led to
the severance of the pastoral tie. In 1846 Mr Sommerville built a small
meeting-house in Airdrie at his own expense, and began to preach, out of
all denominational connection. This went on for at least a dozen years,
though ultimately he was entered in the County Lists as a iMethodist
minister. He had applied at the commencement to the .Secession Presby-
tery for readmission, and to have the people adhering to him recognised
as a congregation under its inspection ; but the petition was refused, on
the ground that former evils had not been rectified, and his written promise
of marriage had never been implemented. About the year i860 he with-
drew from ministerial work, and died in Uunlop parish, Ayrshire, 9th
November 1861, in the sixty-sixth year of his age. The building is now
used for evangelistic meetings. On a stone above the door are the words :
"The little sanctuary. Ezekiel xi. 16," the verse from which the name it
bore was taken.
Fourth Minister. — Matthew M'Gavin, M.A., from Stonehouse, where
he had laboured ten years. Inducted, 2nd March 1841. At an election of
elders soon after this, Chapelhall, Coatdyke, Cadder, and Rawyards are
entered as districts requiring to be represented. On 21st November 1847
the present church was opened by the minister's brother, the Rev. James
M'Gavin of Dundee, when the collection amounted to ^140. It was to
contain 750 sittings, and cost ^1700. The system adopted at the election
of elders under Mr M'Gavin was of a kind seldom followed. The nomination
was by voting papers, and on one occasion these gave no fewer than 42
names. Then about a dozen who had most support constituted the leet.
These were printed, and the papers given out for the members to mark the
6 or 7 whom they preferred. In this way 5 were ordained in 1849,
making 13 in all. On loth February 1863 Mr M'Gavin's resignation
was accepted. A deputation of the congregation had waited upon him,
wishing the step delayed ; but he told them that his mind was fully made up,
and their only course was to acquiesce. The separation they felt to be
painful after a pastorate of twenty-two years marked by unbroken peace.
He proceeded to Queensland, where he ministered to the congregation of
Creek Street, Brisbane, till his death at Sydney on i6th December 1874,
in the sixty-eighth year of his, age and forty-fourth of his ministry. Mr
M'Gavin's musical tastes led to the publishing of "The Precentor's Guide."
He also composed a Psalpi tune, known as Clydesdale, which used to do
service in some of our churches. Mr M'Gavin's pulpit appearances were
unlike those of his brother in Dundee. The two once assisted together at
a communion in Balgedie, and we recall the contrast between the artless
vigour of the one and the artistic finish of the other.
Fifth Minister. — WALTER Roberts, M.A., from Pollokshaws. Ordained,
27th October 1863. The stipend was now ^180, but there was no manse.
This blank was made up in a few years by the building or acquiring of a
new manse at a cost of ^800, of which the people raised ^550, and obtained
^250 from the Board. Mr Roberts was loosed from Wellwynd, 9th November
1869, on accepting a call to Dennistoun, Glasgow.
Sixth Minister.— ]OK'ii Paterson, B.D., from Uddingston. Ordained,
5th September 1871. At the Union of 1900 Wellwynd had a membership of
almost 440, and the stipend was ^240, with the manse.
126 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
AIRDRIE, SOUTH BRIDGE STREET (Relief)
This congregation was an offshoot from Newarthill, six miles distant.
Dissatisfaction had arisen in the mother church over the secular manage-
ment of its affairs. The majority of the members, it was alleged, were kept
in the dark about the state of accounts, and redress was refused by the
session. What, perhaps, pleaded more powerfully for the change was the
removal of families from Newarthill to Airdrie and Chapelhall. Feeling
culminated in a petition to the Secession Presbytery of Glasgow in January
1833 from 75 members and 29 adherents to be disjoined from Newarthill and
formed along with their minister, the Rev. Andrew Ferrier, into a congrega-
tion, with its seat at Airdrie. The proposal was resisted by the session, and
rqay have been looked on with disfavour by the PresbytCT"y in the interests
both of Wellwynd Church and of Newarthill. But persistency prevailed, and
on 1 2th March 1833 the disjunction was granted, the only condition being
that those who were leaving were to pay their proportion of stipend arrears
and borrowed money, which made them responsible for ^127 at the very
outset. As showing that the division was not altogether local, about a dozen
of the petitioners resided in Newarthill.
The young congregation met in the Masons' Lodge till a church was
built in Graham Street. They had one elder among them, and two others
who had held office in Secession congregations were admitted members of
session after their edict had been served. A third was received in the same
way soon after, and three were ordained, so that the number of perfection
was reached. Meanwhile the building, planned for 672 sittings, went on, but
the funds had to be supplied by the minister, the cost of the site and erec-
tion amounting to ^1200. Over against this there was a rapid increase in
numbers, so that by the end of 1834 there were 245 names on the communion
roll. Then in August 1836 Mr Ferrier reported a membership of 350, and at
the close of that year it reached 423. The minister also stated that the
congregation paid him an annual rent of ^52 for the chur.ch, and had no
further responsibility in connection with it. His stipend was about ^100,
and it had increased with the growth of the congregation. A hundred
families came from more than two miles, most of them from the parishes of
Old Monkland and Bothwell. So far as we have gone appearances are
favourable, but, when looked into, the income has discouraging features.
The maximum derived from seat rents and ordinary collections was not over
^120 in 1835, and how this could afford a stipend of ^100 after ordinary
expenses were met and ^52 paid for the chapel is inconceivable.
The membership had swelled up too rapidly, and instead of strength it
proved a source of discouragement and weakness. So early as October
1834 the session felt uncomfortable on this point, and entered in their
Minutes the need for great caution in admitting to sealing ordinances
persons of whom they knew nothing. Some, they said, seemed to apply to
be received into membership merely to have their children baptised. From
that class regular attendance on ordinances was not to be looked for. In
May 1837 it was resolved, instead of purging the communion roll, to go
down to the foundation anew. Two lists were now to be kept, the one to
include reliable members, and the other the names of those whose attend-
ance on public worship and consistency of behaviour required to be tested.
The next record of numbers gave of the first company 144, and of the second
127, which showed a serious cutting down or dropping away. Graham
Street Church, with novelty on its side, had got into favour with the mixed
multitude, and once a beginning is made in that way they bring in each
other. But other things occurred to cause Mr Ferrier much discomfort.
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 127
He spoke out in support of Voluntaryism with no bated breath, and also
published a sermon on Civil Establishments of Religion, entitled " Nebuchad-
nezzar's Golden Image." This exposed him to libellous imputations, for
which he sought redress in the Court of Session, and after years of delay
obtained a decision in his favour. But meanwhile the congregation had
gone back, and adverse circumstances made him turn his thoughts in the
direction of a distant sphere of labour.
On 15th June 1841 a meeting of Glasgow Presbytery was called at Mr
Ferrier's request. He prefaced his resignation by stating that, though he
and his people had lived in harmony, yet, owing to circumstances over which
neither he nor they had control, the membership had declined. to half its
former number, and that political and religious agitation threatened further
results of the same kind. It was all owing, he said, to the stand he had
macfe in defence of scriptural principles, and now he had received encourage-
niei-^t to quit the scene of dispeace and embark for the United States. At
next meeting, on 13th July, commissioners from the congregation testified to
their minister's inflexible rectitude, but they acquiesced in the step he had
resolved to take. The pastoral tie was accordingly dissolved, and on 12th
August Mr Ferrier set sail for New York. Very shortly before leaving
.\irdrie he had edited two of his father's great sermons, with full particulars
of his life prefixed. Not long after reaching America he was chosen
President of Madison College, Union Town, Pennsylvania, where he also
ministered to an Old School Presbyterian congregation, and in 1843 he had
the degree of D.D. conferred upon him by Union College, Schenectady, New
^'ork. In 1847 he became minister of Caledonia, Canada West, in connec-
tion with the Free Church, but his Voluntaryism being too pronounced
for the atmosphere around him he passed over to the U.P. Church of
Canada in 1851, and took his congregation with him. He died, 27th April
i86i, in the sixty-eighth year of his age and forty-fourth of his ministry.
At the time Mr Ferrier left, affairs were in a far-down state in Graham
Street Church, and, looking round, the people took up the impression that
a transition from the Secession to the Relief might be helpful. It would at
least make a wider distinction between them and Wellwynd congregation.
Accordingly, on 2nd November 1841, as the result of a unanimous vote, they
petitioned the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow to receive them into their con-
nection. There was a pause on the part of the Presbytery, and, as Union
between the two denominations was in progress, it was thought seemly to
sound their Secession brethren before anything further was done. How-
ever, on 9th November the Secession Presbytery received notice of the
congregation's withdrawal with acquiescence, and next day their petition for
admission to the Relief was unanimously granted. On 12th December Mr
Beckett of Rutherglen preached in Graham Street Church, put the questions
of the P'ormula to the seven elders, and the congregation testified their
accession by the holding up of the right hand. As the place of worship was
not their own there was no question of property involved ; but, on the other
hand, security for permanence was wantmg, and the yearly rent was oppres-
sive. However, the first requirement in their altered connection was a
minister of popular gifts, who would inspire the people with new life and
pilot them through their straits and difficulties. With this view a call was
brought out to Mr James Martin in the beginning of 1843 signed by 136
members and 43 adherents, the stipend to be ^100. The call was accepted
at once, but on the opening up of better prospects at Beith the acceptance
was withdrawn, much to the disappointment of the congregation and the
Iipproval of the Presbytery.
Second A/mis/er.—AhKXANDER Barr, from Beith (Head Street). Or-
128 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
dained, 31st October 1843. While th^ call was pending the meeting-house
in Graham Street was advertised for sale by public auction ; but the con-
gregation, encouraged by the Presbytery, came forward ofifering Dr Terrier's
trustees the upset price of £700, and the bargain was understood to be
concluded. The sum of ^^300 was to be paid down at once, of which the
people hoped to raise ^^200 by subscription papers, and the Presbytery
became responsible for the other ^100. The purchase should have fitted
both parties, but differences arose over certain servitudes needed for pro-
tection against the darkening of the window-lights, and after wearisome
negotiations with the trustees the resolve was formed to cancel the agree-
ment, and set about building a new church. It was clear the altered lines
would entail increased expense, and foreseeing this one or two of the leading
men threw up office, and, it is to be feared, left the congregation. The
church in Graham Street passed into the hands of the Reformed Presby-
terians, and now ranks as Graham Street Free Church. The old congrega-
tion, meanwhile, were accommodated in the Independent Chapel till August
1846, when their own church in South Bridge Street, with sittings for 650,
and built at a cost of nearly ^900, was ready for occupancy. It was to be
opened on the fifth Sabbath of that month by the Rev. William Anderson of
Glasgow.
Under Mr Barr there was steady progress, the accessions at his first
communion being 34, of whom only 9 were by examination. In 1874 the
stipend was £170, and that was the year the present manse was bought, the
price being ^710. Repairs raised the entire cost to ^850, of which the
Manse Board granted ^150. Early in 1884 the Presbytery Minutes indicate
that Mr Barr's strength was ebbing, and he died on 23rd May, in the seventy-
first year of his age and forty-first of his ministry. The membership at the
beginning of that year was 320, and the stipend £176, besides the manse.
Third Minister. — ROBERT Sinclair, from Queen's Park, Glasgow. Or-
dained, 29th January 1885. At the moderation there were 5 candidates
nominated, and the final vote stood thus — for Mr Sinclair 106, and for the
Rev. James Howat of Arbroath 84. The stipend was up now to ^200, with
the manse, besides Synodical and sacramental expenses. On 14th August
1900 Mr Sinclair's resignation of his charge was accepted, as he wished
relief " from what had become for him a very difficult and trying position."
A Committee of Presbytery who met with the congregation deemed it un-
wise to press Mr Sinclair to remain, but found no distinct blame attachable
to either side, and the congregation having agreed by a majority to offi;r no
opposition the connection was dissolved. At next meeting liberty of modera-
tion was granted to South Bridge Street. The membership at this time was
little over 200, and the stipend was to be ^130 at first, with the manse.
Mr Sinclair's name was to be put on the probationer list, and he removed to
his old centre in Glasgow.
COATBRIDGE, DUNBETH (Relief)
On 7th August 1836 a preaching station was opened at Coatbridge by the
Relief Presbytery of Hamilton, the services being conducted in the open air
by the Rev. Peter Brown of Wishaw. So recently as 1830 Coatbridge con-
sisted of only a few cottages, thatch-roofed or tile-covered, but through the
opening up of coal fields and the introduction of iron works it was rapidly'
growing into importance. Between 1831 and 1841 the population increased
from 750 to 1600, and ten years later it amounted to over 8000. Originally
the nearest places of worship were the parish church of Old Monkland, two
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 129
miles south-west, and the churches in Airdrie, two miles to the east. The
need for gospel ordinances at their own doors was so much felt that already
several hundred pounds were subscribed for the building of a meeting-house ;
but meanwhile a large hall was hired for Sabbath services. In December
1836 the rising cause was transferred to the care of Glasgow Presbytery, and
on 2nd May 1837 steps were taken to have a regular congregation formed.
First Minister. — William Stirling, from Kilsyth. Called harmon-
iously, with the promise of ^80 for the first year. Ordained, 27th March
1838. On Sabbath, 19th May 1839, the new church, with sittings for 800,
and built at a cost of over ^1300, was opened by the Rev. John French of
Edinburgh. The day being beautiful it is not surprising that the novelty of
the occasion drew " an enormous crowd," so that the services were held, not
in the newly-finished building, but in the open air, and the collection amounted
to ^85. In 1846 the debt which remained was entirely cleared off. Mr
Stirling proved his special fitness for the situation both by his pulpit work
and the part he took in social questions. Almost from the first he stood
forth as an able and consistent advocate of Total Abstinence, a cause for
which there was both room and urgent need in a place like Coatbridge. In
the course of thirty years larger accommodation was needed, and on the first
Sabbath of May 1872 the present church was opened, with sittings for 1000,
and built at a cost of ^6018. A manse had also been built in 1865, on
which ^1000 was expended, the Board allowing ^150. After other ten
years of faithful work Mr Stirling required to have a colleague, a measure
for which the congregation were quite prepared. The stipend arrangement
was that he should have ^200, with house rent, and the junior minister
/,32o, and the manse.
Second Minister. — ALEXANDER Ramsay, B.D., from Victoria Street,
Dundee. Ordained, 3rd January 1883. The collegiate relation lasted only
a few months, as Mr Stirling died on loth May following, in the seventy-
second year of his age and forty-sixth of his ministry. This was Thursday,
and Anniversary Services, previously arranged for, came in between the
death and the funeral. A week later a memorial sermon was preached by
the Rev. Dr M'Leod of Birkenhead, which appeared in the U.P. Magazine
soon after with a warm tribute to the excellences of the Doctor's intimate
and much-esteemed friend. Mr Ramsay continued in Coatbridge till 26th
March 1889, when he accepted Highgate, London. After a vacancy of a
year the congregation called the Rev. William S. Goodall, of Greyfriars,
(ilasgow, but he declined to remove. The membership at this time was 671.
Third Minister. — Alexander Weir, translated from Kirkcaldy (Victoria
Road), where he had been four years. At the moderation Mr J. W. D.
Carruthers, now of the North Church, Perth, had a considerable proportion
the votes, but Mr Weir was inducted, 6th January 1891. Dunbeth had a
Membership of 900 at the Union, and the stipend was ^470, with the manse.
COATBRIDGE, BLAIRHILL (United Preshyterian)
LAIRHILL began as a mission station under the care of Dunbeth congrega-
E)n. It first comes up in Glasgow Presbytery in February 1882 petitioning
I have their missionary continued among them for five years, with power to
spense sealing ordinances, a petition which could not be granted. On
^th February 1883 a congregation was formed with a membership of 58,
"id in the end of the year Mr James M'Nee was called, but he accepted
aardbridge.
First Minister. — William G. Miller, who had been nearly thirteen
II. I
13© HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
years in Glengarnock. Inducted, ist May 1884. The people were to give
j^ 1 00 of stipend, and they expected ^30 from the Ferguson Fund, which
was raised to ^40, and there was supplement besides. At the close of 1887
the membership was 150, and besides the ^140 already mentioned the
Central Funds furnished ^60. Their new church, with 600 sittings, was
opened on the evening of Friday, 22nd September 1893, by the Rev. Alexander
Ramsay, B.D., Highgate, London. It cost ^^2450, of which sum the Ex-
tension P'und furnished ^300, the Ferguson Bequest ^250, and the congre-
gation raised ^^1400, leaving only a debt of ^500 to the Permanent Loan
Fund. In 1896 this was cleared off, ^80 being remitted. At the close of
1899 Blairhill had a membership of 280, and their own funds furnished a
stipend of ^150.
COATBRIDGE, COATDYKE (United Presbyterian)
In 1 88 1 Coatdyke, which is a mile east from Coatbridge and west from
Airdrie, had a population of 17,000, and was largely dependent upon the
Clyde Tube Works. Evangelistic operations had been carried on for years,
partly in connection with Mr Stirling's congregation, Coatbridge, and on
14th June of this year the mission was placed under the joint charge of his
session and that of Wellwynd, Airdrie, with authority granted to dispense
sealing ordinances to those admitted to Church fellowship.' In May 1883
the Evangelistic Committee reported to the Synod that the meetings were
now held in an iron church, erected and freely granted for the use of the
mission by the proprietors of the public works, and increasing numbers were
attending the services. In August 1887 it was intimated to the Presbytery
that a preacher was labouring at Coatdyke with great acceptance, and on
13th September a congregation was formed in answer to a petition from
106 members and 15 adherents. On 13th December three elders were
ordained.
First Minister. — John Hill, M.A., from Bellgrove, Glasgow. Ordained,
2nd April 1888, after a location of at least eight months. The stipend
arranged for was ^100 from the people, ^25 from the masters of the works,
and ^40 from the Board, besides a grant from the Ferguson Bequest. The
membership at the end of that year was 260. The new church was opened
by the Rev. A. R. MacEwen, D.D., Glasgow, on the forenoon of Sabbath,
28th March 1897. It cost at least ^2800, and has sittings for about 600.
At the end of 1899 the membership of Coatdyke was 287, and the stipend
from the people ^160.
CAM BUS LANG (United Secession)
The name of this parish got prominence in the early days of the Secession
from the great Revival movement known far and wide as "The Cambuslang
Wark." The minister at that time was the Rev. William M'Culloch, a man
of much earnestness. In the beginning of 1742 tokens .of intense interest in
sacred things appeared among his people, and the concourse grew till at the
communion in August not less than 30,000 people, it was calculated, were pre-
sent. The impression was deepened by the preaching of George Whitefield,
who had arrived upon the scene in June, and other devoted ministers of
well-known name hastened to Cambuslang to take part in the work, witness
the power of Divine grace, and share in the benefit. Mr M'Culloch nine
years after reckoned up some 400, of whom 70 resided in Cambuslang, who
I
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 131
gave evidence in their after lives that they underwent a saving change at that
time. It was then that several leaders of the Secession, including James
Fisher, Adam Gib, and Ralph Erskine, forgot alike candour and charity in
their attempts to write down and speak down what other godly ministers
beheved to be, notwithstanding its imperfections, a work of God. This may
partly account for the fact that not till nearly a century after did Cambuslang
become the seat of a Secession congregation. At Mr M'CuUoch's death in
December 1771 his parish became the scene of a disputed settlement, which
kept the pulpit vacant for nearly three years. The effect was likely to be a
loss to the Established Church and a gain to Dissenting congregations round
about. It is certain that the Relief Church of Bellshill used to draw a con-
siderable number of members from Canlbuslang, and it was probably similar
with Secession churches in Glasgow and other places within reach.
But in January 1836 a step in advance was taken, when the congregation
of Campbell Street, Glasgow (now Sydney Place), opened a preaching station
at Cambuslang, defraying all expenses. They had a nucleus of 30 persons
connected with the United Secession Church to begin with, and the attend-
ance ran from 100 to 120. At first the services were only in the evening, but
in a few months a missionary was sent to preach regularly and do evangel-
istic work. In the beginning of 1837 Mr Andrew Reid, probationer, after-
wards of Lossiemouth, entered on a location at Cambuslang, where he con-
tinued amid zealous labours for over a year. On 9th January 1838 the station
was congregated, in answer to a petition with 104 names appended. On
I rth August a church, with sittings for 600, was opened by the Rev. William
Brash of Campbell Street Church, with the full prospect of permanence.
The cost was about ^620, of which the congregation, with the assistance of
the foster-church in Glasgow, raised ^300, and the Board made a grant of
^120. What remained, with other obligations, was cleared off in 1845, ^^e
Board bearing the one-half. In the end of 1839 the congregation called
Mr George Walker, but he preferred to be ordained for location at Muirkirk.
Though the signatures were only 49 in all the people were in a position to
promise ^i 10 of stipend.
First Minister. — JOHN Bennet Munro, son of the Rev. John Munro of
Nigg, and grandson of the Rev. William Bennet of Forres. Ordained,
28th May 1840, the call being signed by 33 members and 63 adherents.
.'Vfter seeing Cambuslang fully organised, and the first year tided over,
Campbell Street Church withdrew its support, and application was made to
the Synod Fund for a grant of ^^50. A year later pulpit supply had to be
obtained owing to the ill-health of the minister, and on 13th September 1842
his resignation was accepted, the Presbytery testifying to the efficiency of
his labours. After a long period of rest he became his father's successor at
Nigg. In September 1843 Cambuslang congregation called Mr David
Lumgair, afterwards of Newtown, and were bitterly chagrined when he failed
to accept, alleging that he had given them reason to expect something
different, a charge of which the Presbytery acquitted him.
Second Minister. — Andrew W. Smith, from Coldstream (West). Or-
dained, 28th November 1844, the call being signed by 42 members and 18
adherents. For stipend the people were to contribute ^50, and they
expected a like sum from the Synod. On 5th May 1846 Mr Smith con-
strained the Presbytery to loose him from his charge owing to dissensions
in the congregation of which he was not aware when he accepted their call.
Ie then returned to the preachers' list, and in September of the following
iar was admitted to Pitlessie. Sermon was kept up at Cambuslang ; but
e cause came to be looked on as hopeless, and on 13th July 1847, at the
quest of the people, supply was discontinued, and two years afterwards the
132 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
place of worship was sold. A portion of the foundation is still to be seen in
the garden of Bushyhill House, marking the site of what was sometimes
known as Bushyhill Church.
It is hard to suppress the feeling that a collapse like this might have
been prevented. The Liquidation Board in the report they made to the
Synod ten years before explained that the village of Cambuslang and its
neighbourhood contained a population of 3000, and that those in attendance
upon gospel ordinances did not average much more than 400. Unlike some
of our Secession fathers, they also saw in the Cambuslang Revivals " signal
tokens of God's power and grace," and what had been in bygone days they
believed might be again. But now when interest languished and strife
intervened the field, though necessitous, was abandoned, and the church,
built largely by the liberality of Christian friends, passed into other hands.
There was, however, to be a repairing of the ruins under better auspices
after the lapse of a generation. It was on 29th September 1874 that the
Presbytery of Hamilton agreed to open a preaching station at Cambuslang,
the services to be conducted by members of Presbytery. The population
had largely increased during these twenty-six years, and included many
well-to-do families from Glasgow. Within three months a brick church was
decided on, and on 25th February 1875 a congregation was constituted with
32 certified members, and before the end of April the number had increased
to 70. A session was now formed, three elders being ordained and a fourth
inducted who had held office in Pollok Street, Glasgow. The brick church
was opened on Sabbath, 27th June, built at a cost of about ^850, which was
fully met with the aid of a grant from the Mission Board of ^200.
The first call was addressed to the Rev. Alexander Brown of King Street,
Kilmarnock, the stipend to be ^285 in all, but a declinature followed.
First Minister. — William Baird, from Wellington Street, Glasgow.
Ordained, 2nd May 1876, after declining a call to Leeds. The brick build-
ing was seated for 350; but in the summer of 1878 it was enlarged to
accommodate 500, and at the close of the following year there was a
membership of 254. On 30th April 1896 Mr Baird was loosed from his
charge, having accepted an invitation from the Home Mission Board to
devote himself to evangelistic work throughout the Church. The arrange-
ment was sanctioned by the Synod, and he was to receive a salary of ^300.
In this wide sphere of activity, for which he has shown marked aptitude, he
was still engaged in 1900. He left a flourishing church at Cambuslang,
with an adjacent population which had doubled itself during his twenty
years' ministry.
Second Minister.— Wu.UAU Gray, M.A., from Maisondieu, Brechin,
where he had been ordained eleven and a half years before. Inducted, 22nd
December 1896. The stipend at first was only ^250, but it was raised soon
after to the former level of ^^300. A new church, with sittings for 786, was
opened on Sabbath, 3rd December 1899, by Drs Ferguson and Corbett,
Glasgow, and the Rev. H. A. Paterson of Stonehouse, who had been active
in originating the station twenty-five years before. Including halls and
everything, the building cost .^9500, but the way had been prepared for this
large expenditure by liberal subscriptions, and a very productive Bazaar
besides. At the close of 1899 there was a membership of 560, and a stipend
of ^300-
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 133
BOTHWELL (United Presbyterian)
On 13th July 1847 Glasgow Presbytery received a petition from 50 members
of the denomination residing in lilantyre, with a paper of adherence from 40
others, asking to be erected into a congregation. The nearest U.P. churches
were in Hamilton, three miles distant, and the recent Union between the
Secession and Relief opened the way for the present movement, the leader
all through being Mr John M'Innes, father of the Rev. John M. M'Innes,
afterwards of Ayr. At next meeting of Presbytery Mr Beckett of Ruther-
glen reported that he had preached at Blantyre on a recent Sabbath, and
had constituted into a congregation 44 persons who had given in disjunction
lines from U.P. sessions. On the first Sabbath of September a session
was formed by the induction of three elders and the ordination of a fourth.
In June 1848 a call was addressed to the Rev. John Paterson, formerly of
Rattray, signed by 75 members and 61 adherents, the stipend promised
being ^120, exclusive of expenses, but after some delay the call was
declined. The congregation for a number of years worshipped in a chapel
of which they were granted the use by Messrs Monteith & Co., proprietors
of Blantyre Public Works.
First Minister. — Peter Bannatyne, from Rothesay, who had been
ordained at Hexham on 19th November 1845. Inducted to Blantyre, 28th
November 1848. On 19th March 1853 the foundation stone of their own
church was laid in the village of Bothwell. It had sittings for 400, and the
cost was about ^1000. A debt of ^600 which remained on the building
was cleared off in 1861 with the aid of .2^100 from the Debt Liquidating
Board. In the early part of 1874 Bothwell was receiving sick-supply from
the Presbytery, and on 5th May Mr Bannatyne's resignation, tendered on
the ground of ill-health, was accepted. His yearly allowance on retiring
was ;^ioo, with ^30 in lieu of the manse, which was at least equal to his
entire stipend at the beginning. Still, the congregation, sharing as it did in
the wealth of Glasgow, was able to promise his successor ^260, with the
manse, and on this footing they called the Rev. John Smith of Burghead,
now Ur Smith of Broughton Place, Edinburgh, but he declined. A second
call, addressed to the Rev. William Blair, Dunblane, in the following year,
had a like reception.
Second Minister. — Andrew L. Dick, from Bannockburn, where he had
ministered over thirteen years. Inducted, 28th October 1875. Next year
Mr Bannatyne found himself able to become Secretary and Treasurer to the
Anglo-Indian Evangelisation Society, and this would bring partial relief to
the funds of Bothwell Church. That office he held for ten years, and had
then to lay the burden down. He died at Portobello, 15th April 1889, in the
seventy-ninth year of his age and forty-fourth of his ministerial life. Mr
Dick's death followed on 26th December, in the fifty-sixth year of his age
and twenty-eighth of his ministry. He had retired from active duty on 9th
November 1886 owing to failure of health and some unpleasantness of long
standing in the congregation. He was to have ^75 a year, but if he were
far restored as to take another charge or a salaried appointment like his
)redecessor this was to cease. During his period of retirement he was
irtially available for pulpit supply, and he retained the status of senior
linister to the end, but resided in Glasgow.
Third Minister. — James Mackie, B.D., from Stewarton. Ordained,
^5th January 1887. The membership at the end of that year was 114, and
1900 it was 167, with a stipend of ^{^250, and the manse.
134 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
UDDINGSTON (UNITED Presbyterian)
On loth December 1861 an Extension Committee of Glasgow Presbytery
reported that they had obtained a place of meeting at Uddingston, that
services were already begun, and that a local committee had been formed.
The town of Uddingston, seven and a half miles E.S.E. of Glasgow, had a
population at this time of 1300, which rose to 3500 in twenty years. It is in
Bothwell parish, and the nearest U.P. church was a mile and a half distant.
On 9th December 1862 the people worshipping at the station petitioned to
be congregated, which was done under the convenership of Dr William
Anderson, who had now taken up his abode at Prospect House, Uddingston,
and greatly befriended the cause. There was a membership at first of 40,
and at next meeting an election of four elders was arranged for. The church,
built on a site gifted to the congregation by a neighbouring proprietor, was
opened on Sabbath, 8th March 1863, by Dr Anderson, when the collections
at the three diets of worship amounted to ^130. The total cost was ^1800,
and the sittings were 500. A twelvemonth after this the death of one of
their leading men brought the congregation face to face with pecuniary
difficulties, and a moderation, which had been applied for and granted, was
delayed.
First Minister. — John M'Luckie, translated from Bloomgate, Lanark,
where he had been six years. Inducted, 4th January 1865. The call was
signed by 73 members and 53 adherents, and their spirits having revived in
view of a hopeful settlement the people raised the stipend from ^120 to
^200. Under a popular minister, and amidst a growing population, the
cause progressed, and in 1868 a manse was built at a cost of ^iioo, of which
^300 came from the Board. After other ten years the Presbytery saw
reason to inquire into tlie position of affairs at Uddingston, and on 8th April
1879 their committee reported that there was nothing on which to base a
charge against Mr M'Luckie ; nevertheless his own interests and those of the
congregation required that he should seek another field of labour. That day
his resignation was tendered and accepted, with the promise of ^100 for two
years as a parting allowance. The sad development has been given under
Old Meldrum.
Second Minister. — James Gardiner, M.A., from Cowdenbeath, a nephew
of the Rev. Dr Gardiner, Dean Street, Edinburgh. Ordained, ist October
1879. The stipend was ^300, with the manse, arid the membership at the'
end of that year was 342. Twenty years afterwards there were 466 names
on the communion roll, and the stipend had risen to ^350.
BAILLIESTON (United Presbyterian)
An attempt was made by the Secession Presbytery of Glasgow to form a
mission station at Baillieston so early as 1830. The population at that time
was inconsiderable, but they were poorly provided with gospel ordinances,
the nearest church, that of Old Monkland, being at least two miles off. The
work went on for some years without making much progress, and in 1832 a
Chapel of Ease was built. This brought additional discouragements, and in
the Mission Report for 1835 the Presbytery intimated that Baillieston had
been abandoned, the work there having been taken up by the Established
Church. In this state matters continued till 1862, when mission operations
were resumed. There was a population now of 1800, and a door seemed
opened for evangelistic work among the mining class, who formed a large
proportion of the indwellers. On 8th December 1863 a congregation was
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 135
organised in response to a petition with 70 names, and two elders were
ordained soon after. The church was opened on 14th February 1864 Ijy
Drs George Jeffrey and Wihiam Anderson, Glasgow, and Mr Stirling, Coat-
bridge. It had sittings for over 400, and the cost was about ^i 500. Towards
the close of the year a call was given to Mr Hugh M'Farlane signed by 66
members and 6 adherents ; but another followed a month after from Oban,
and was preferred.
First Minister. — John Macintyre, from Thread Street, Paisley. Or-
dained, 1st June 1865, the congregation promising ^140. Next year a manse
was built at a cost of ^1000, of which minister and people raised ^760, and
the Board contributed ^240. On 12th September 1871 Mr Macintyre's
demission was accepted, as he was about to leave for mission work in China.
At the recent Union he was still labouring there, his station being Haichung.
In the early part of 1872 the Rev. Archibald Alison of Leslie was called to
Baillieston, but declined. The congregation had improved much under Mr
Macintyre, as this call was signed by 158 members and 45 adherents. That
year upwards of ^600 was required for galleries, which raised the accom-
modation to 880.
Second Minister. — Alexander T. M'Lean, from the Original Secession
Church, Pollokshaws. Ordained, 14th August 1872. The stipend was to
be ^200, and the manse, so that the congregation was self-supporting. At
the close of 1879 Mr M'Lean had a congregation of 330 members. On
Sabbath, 2nd July 1882, he appeared in the pulpit for the last time, and
preached from the text : " If there be no resurrection from the dead then is
Christ not risen." Next forenoon he engaged in pastoral work, and on
Tuesday he was laid down with scarlet fever, an epidemic which was raging
in tlie village. In his case it did its work with startling rapidity, as he died
on Thursday, the 6th, in the fiftieth year of his age and tenth of his ministry.
The contents of a memorial volume published in the following year, with a
biographical sketch by his son, show Mr M'Lean to have been a man of
literary accomplishments, and some of his poems remind us of his early
friend, Alexander Smith.
Third Minister. — William Yule, from Dunfermline (Queen Anne
Street). Ordained, 6th March 1883, having previously declined a call to
Kirkcowan. The stipend was the same as before, and the call was signed
by 125 members and 39 adherents. On 29th May 1890 the Presbytery
accepted Mr Yule's resignation, which he had tendered, as he was about to
proceed to South Africa, where three of his sons had settled down. Soon
after arriving there he was inducted over a congregation in Beaconsfield,
near Kimberley, where he still labours. [Mr Yule died, 17th May 1901, in
the fifty-seventh year of his age and nineteenth of his ministry.]
Fourth Minister. — John Gray, M.A., from Ayr (Cathcart Street), a
nephew of the Rev. Robert Gray, Canongate, Edinburgh. Ordained, 3rd
I March 1891. Nearly ^700 was expended on halls in 1896, and the property
is now unburdened with debt, and has neither feu nor ground annual. The
membership at the close of 1899 was 295, and the stipend ^200, with the
manse.
SOUTHERN DIVISION
MEARNS (Antiburgher)
On i6th May 1738 a Praying Society in Mearns acceded to the Associate
Presbyteiy, and others followed from neighbouring parishes. On 24th
August Messrs Alexander Moncrieff and James Thomson preached at
136 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Mearns, on the 25th at Neilston, and on the 27th at Kilmalcolm. The
village of Newton-Mearns, seven miles south-west of Glasgow, ultimately
became the seat of the mother congregation for the Seceders scattered over
the territories all round. In October 1740 a petition came before the Presby-
tery to have preaching kept up by turns in that parish, in Neilston, and in
Eaglesham ; but in 1743 the church was built at Newton, with 400 sittings,
so that this place became their centre. In 1745 the congregation called Mr
William Mair, whom the Synod appointed to Muckart.
First Minister. — Andrew Thomson, a native of Makerston parish,
who acceded to the Associate Presbytery in October 1740, being at that
time a divinity student and schoolmaster or tutor at Haughhead, a place
linked in Covenanting times with the name of Henry Hall. When about to
receive licence Mr Thomson stated to the Presbytery that he had no know-
ledge of Hebrew, but instead of sisting procedure they simply recommended
him to use his endeavours to acquire the mastery of that language. Or-
dained, 25th March 1746, over the "Associate congregation of Mearns,
Eaglesham, and Neilston." In view of the eventful Synod in April 1747 a
petition was sent up from Mearns urging forbearance on the question of the
Burgess Oath, and when the rupture came Mr Thomson took the liberal
side, but, like two of his brethren, he went over to the Antiburghers within a
few months. This occasioned division, and led to a lawsuit. The Anti-
burgher Synod in 1753 put the case thus: "Appointed the Presbyteries to
raise a contribution for the relief of the congregation of Mearns, presently
lying under heavy oppression from the treachery of the party who had sided
with the separating brethren." The Court of Session, it is stated by Dr
M'Kelvie, decided in favour of the dissentients ; but a bargain was struck
between the two parties, those who kept by Mearns and those who joined
the Burgher congregation of Burntshields. Mr Thomson seems to have
experienced failing strength before his life was far advanced, so that a
colleague was required. He died, 28th September 1777, in the fifty-seventh
year of his age and thirty-second of his ministry.
Second Minister. — Andrew Thomson, son of the preceding minister.
After he had passed most of his trials for ordination at Mearns a competing
call came up to Mr Thomson from Perth (North), and the case lay over till
another Synod, when Mearns carried. Ordained as his father's colleague,
13th June 1775, and in little more than two years he became sole pastor.
Mr Thomson has been described as a stranger to "narrowness of mind and
party spirit." His zeal on behalf of New Light views led Professor Bruce to
put him down as " the son and successor of a worthy and zealous father,
whose very opposite sentiments on the matters in controversy were well
known, and into whose pulpit he could not have expected to find admission,
avowing these principles, and conducting himself as he now does." The
old man, according to the same authority, once declared if loose views on
national religion ever came to prevail among their ministers disaster would
follow. In 1816 Mr Thomson required constant supply for his pulpit, and
the people applied for a moderation.
Thi7-d Minister.— HVGH Stirling, from Strathaven (First). He was
appointed by the Presbytery to Mearns in preference to Newarthill in
December 1816. On ■i8th January 1817 Mr Thomson died, in the sixty-
fourth year of his age and forty-second of his ministry, leaving behind him
the reputation of a plain, practical, earnest preacher, with a very pleasant
delivery. Mr Stirling was ordained, 17th June 1817, and in the altered
circumstances the stipend was to be ^120, with manse and glebe, instead of
^100 in all. The congregation was still widely scattered ; but after the
Union of 1820 there was a considerable narrowing in, especially in the
i'
^^n
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 137
directions of Pollokshaws and Barrhead, and later on by new erections at
Busby and Thornliebank. Mr Stirling died on Thursday, 2nd October 1856,
in the sixty-third year of his age and fortieth of his ministry, having preached
as usual the Sabbath before. The lessons of his life were impressively
enforced from the pulpit of Mearns some weeks afterwards by the Rev.
James Stirling of Aberdeen, "a brother in the flesh, in spirit, and in ofifice,"
from the words : " He being dead, yet speaketh."
On proceeding to have the vacancy filled up the congregation became a
scene of complicated troubles. On the moderation day three candidates
were nominated — Mr James Craig, afterwards of Blyth ; Mr George Barclay,
now of Dunscore ; and Mr Thomas Russell, afterwards of Hawick. At the
first vote Mr Barclay carried by 60 to 55 over Mr Russell, who was thus put
out of the running. At the second vote Mr Barclay was preferred to Mr
Craig, a son of the congregation, by 68 to 19, and was accordingly declared
elected. The call was signed, or ultimately concurred in, by 141 members ;
but at an after meeting a memorial was given in from 12 of Mr Craig's
supporters, who had taken no part in the first vote, stating that, had they
known what the effect would be, they would have held up for Mr Russell,
and carried him over Mr Barclay.* The Presbytery in the circumstances
decided by a majority to proceed no further with the call, and against this
decision the friends of Mr Barclay, headed by the brother of Robert PoUok,
the poet, intimated a protest and appeal. Instead, however, of following up
their protest they allowed it to lapse, and then came forward, asking the
Presbytery to review and reverse their former sentence. This request being
refused the case was carried to the Synod in 1858, where the appeal was
dismissed, leaving much bitterness of feeling behind it. Wire-pulling at the
headquarters of the Presbytery was specially complained of Had the
congregation not been well compacted it could scarcely have weathered
the storm as it did.
Fourth Minister. — David Cameron, from Abbey Close, Paisley, brother
of the Rev. Robert Cameron, then of Perth (North). Ordained on a
unanimous call, 27th September 1859, after declining Thornhill. The
stipend arrangements were similar to those in Mr Stirling's time — ^120, with
manse, garden, sacramental expenses, and either the glebe or other ;^20, as
the minister might prefer. Under Mr Cameron's pacific ministry the traces
of former discord seem to have passed away. In 1866 a new manse was
built at a cost of ;^53o, exclusive of the price paid for the old building. Of
this sum ^400 was raised by the people, and ^130 granted by the Board.
In 1882 Mr Cameron's health compelled him to retire into the background.
Mr Alexander Kirkland was now called ; but he was already installed as
assistant to Dr Joseph Brown in Kent Road, Glasgow, where he remained
till he became colleague and successor.
Fifth Minister.— VJlhhw^l G. M'Conchie, M.A., from Kirkcudbright.
Ordained, 23rd January 1883. The junior minister was to have ^220, and
sacramental expenses, with the whole responsibility, and Mr Cameron was to
retain the occupancy of the manse, which he did till he died on ist May 1884,
in the fifty-fifth year of his age and twenty-fifth of his ministry. Mr
M'Conchie remained only other three months in Mearns, having required
This case was adduced in favour of a change in the mode of taking the vote
.t moderations. The question was under consideration for five'years, and in 1863
e more equitable rule was adopted, that the names be put successively in the order
which they have been proposed, that the name having least support be dropped,
nd so on till only one name remains. Some would have preferred the old Relief
method of making the first vote decisive, and declaring the candidate with the largest
number of independent supporters carried.
i
138 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
to seek a more equable climate, and his demission was accepted amidst
regrets on 12th August. He was inducted to Mudgee, near Sydney, in the
following year. He afterwards removed to Bowenfels, another congregation
in the Presbytery of Bathurst.
Sixth Minister. — Robert Law, B.D., from Broxburn. Ordained, 9th
June 1885, and loosed, 7th May 1891, on accepting a call to Princes Street,
Kilmarnock.
Seventh Minister. — Alfred W. Johnston, M.A., son of the Rev. John
C. Johnston, Dunoon. Ordained, 21st December 189 1. Mr Johnston, though
but a young man, was obliged from the state of his health to retire into the
emeritus position on 26th June 1900, and the congregation, sympathising with
him, arranged for a retiring allowance of ^100 for five years. The member-
ship at this time was about 270, and the stipend of the last two ministers had
been ^200, with the manse.
POLLOKSHAWS (Burgher)
On 1 8th May 1764 a paper of accession was given in to the Burgher Presby-
tery of Glasgow signed by 50 heads of families in the parishes of Eastwood
and Cathcart. The village of PoUokshaws, in the former parish, and
reckoned in those days two and a half miles south-west of Glasgow, was
fixed on as the place of meeting, and Mr Ro'jert C'ampbell, afterwards of
Stirling, was appointed to preach there on the third S;ibbath of July. A
better could not have been sent to inspirit a new cause, and at a meeting of
Presbytery on the following week a moderation was applied for with the
view of obtaining him for their minister. While the call was pending 109
members of the mother congregation in Glasgow, now Greyfriars, petitioned
their session for a disjunction, which was granted without demur. They
explained that, a number of people in and about PoUokshaws having joined
the Secession and called Mr Campbell unanimously, it was right that they
should coalesce with these. Parties also came forward from Mearns and the
east end of Paisley parish craving to be taken under the Presbytery's in-
spection and to be allowed to concur in the call to Mr Campbell. But the
call was now in conflict with another from Stirling, and though disfigured by
fierce contention the latter was preferred by the Synod. Mr Campbell, how-
ever, refused to implement the decision of his superiors by facing fiery
warfare, and this revived the hopes of PoUokshaws congregation that they
might obtain him after all. They accordingly presented a petition to the
Presbytery for transmission to the Synod, asking to have the former sentence
reviewed, but the Presbytery refused to send up the paper. The old church
at PoUokshaws, with sittings for 770, is believed to have been built the year
the congregation was organised.
First Minister. — David Walker, from Cambusnethan. Called also to
Dunblane, but appointed to PoUokshaws by the Presbytery. Ordained, 5th
May 1767, the stipend to be ^60, which the Presbytery wished supplemented
with a house. Mr Walker before his ministry was far on got deeply involved
in controversy on the question of Covenanting and Relief Terms of Com-
munion. Though his antagonist was the Rev. Patrick Hutchison of Paisley
Mr Walker maintained his ground with ability and skill, and in a way which
often provokes a' smile. But troubles of exceptional quality came in to
embitter his temper and cloud his closing years. On 2nd January 1798 the
Presbytery entered on some inquiries into the grounds of Vifama which had
gone abroad compromising Mr Walker's moral character. As the principal
accuser, who had been in his service at one time, was subject to fits of de-
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 139
rangement he could never forgive his brethren for attaching the slightest
weight to anything she said, and when matters were in this state the breach
in the Synod took place. He stood for a time at the parting of the ways,
and, though he never gave in a formal accession to the Original Burgher
Presbytery, he declined all connection with the Synod.
The congregation now divided into two unequal parts, the' great majority
taking the Old Light side. Litigation might have followed, but the dispute
was compromised by a payment of ^350 to the minority, who built a church
for themselves in 1814, with 638 sittings, at a cost in all of ^iioo. Mr
Walker, whose demission of his charge had been accepted on 22nd June
1800, died, 27th April 18 10, in the seventy-sixth year of his age and forty-
third of his ministry. His wife was a sister of the Rev. Dr Hall of Edinburgh,
one of three who were married to Burgher ministers, and a daughter of
theirs was the wife of the Rev. Dr M'Culloch, first of Stewarton, and then
of Nova Scotia. The equivocal position assumed by Mr Walker, in continuing
to preach after having formally resigned, told disastrously upon the fortunes of
the party adhering to the Synod, and before the vacancy of six years through
which they passed came to an end they are believed to have been not more
than one-fifth of what they had been before the rupture. Their old minister
indicated that in his opinion "the Synod and the New Presbytery were
much on a level, and it mattered little how one's choice went." For himself,
his mind was made up to have no ministerial fellowship with either party.
Second Mitiistcr. — James Pringle, from Dalkeith (now Buccleuch
Street). Ordained, 7th January 1806. The call was signed by 'j'] com-
municants, and 34 adhered, almost all of whom were members. The
stipend to be paid was ^80, a sum which they belie\ed they could easily meet
and would be able to augment as they grew in numbers. The session
had also got its broken ranks recruited, and altogether there was the
prospect of better days, even though a call brought out by the other con-
gregation two years earlier showed a rival membership of fully 400. Under
Mr Pringle, and in a growing place, there was steady progress for twenty-
seven years, during which the membership rose to about 300. But an incur-
able ailment now developed, and their minister died, 19th December 1833, in
the fifty-fourth year of his age and twenty-eighth of his ministry. In May
following the congregation called Mr Joseph Brown, who intimated in reply
that he was to accept Dalkeith.
Third Mi?iister. — James C. M'Laurin, son of the Rev. Robert M'Laurin
of Coldingham. Ordained, loth March 1835, the stipend to be ^130. In
1836 the communicants numbered 317, having increased 75 during the first
year of Mr M'Laurin's ministry. But about this time there was reduction
experienced through most of the families from Thornliebank being disjoined
when a congregation was formed in that village. The debt on the property
was returned at ^247, and it was probably much increased by the building
of a manse in 1840 at a cost of jUbjo. But new and imexpected demands
came upon the people in 1847. On Friday, nth December, a heating
apparatus was completed, and a fire was left in the sto. e or furnace to test
how the flues, which were placed under the floor, woi Id draw. They did
their work so well that between one and two in the morning the whole
building was in a blaze, and in the course of an hour all that remained was
a portion of the blackened walls. The church was insured to the extent of
^800, but that would hardly go half way to meet the requirements of the
substantial erection which rose without loss of time on the same site, and
still survives. Mr M'Laurin died, 29th April i860, in the fiftieth year of
his age and twenty-sixth of his ministry. Early in 1861 the congregation
galled the Rev. Matthew Crawford of Sanquhar (South), who declined.
140 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Fourth Minister. — William Sprott, who had been eleven years in
Alexandria. Inducted, 24th September 1861. There was a membership
now of 447, and the stipend was up to ^250, with manse and expenses.
There were indications ere long that this relationship was not to have
permanence. First came a call to Manchester (Brunswick Street). It was
followed by another from Cambridge Street, Glasgow, in 1863, and by a
third from College Street, Edinburgh, in 1866. These failed in succession ;
but a fourth from the newly-formed congregation in Queen's Park, Glasgow,
was accepted on 30th April 1867, and PoUokshaws was declared vacant.
Fifth Minister. — Robert Whyte, M.A., from Kelso, where he had
been colleague to the Rev. Henry Renton for four years. Inducted, 23rd
January 1868. There had been large increase under Mr Sprott's ministry,
and the stipend was now ;^4C)o, with a manse. On 13th January 1874 Mr
Whyte accepted a call to the collegiate charge of Lauriston Place,
Edinburgh.
Sixth Minister.— ] \U¥.?, M. Dunlop, M.A., from Dunbar, where he had
been ordained in 1865. Inducted, 9th September 1874. There was a
stipend now of ;^42o, and in 1879 the membership was returned at 587.
On 4th September 1888 Mr Dunlop's resignation of his charge by reason
of failing health was accepted, and he removed to Ferry Road, Edinburgh,
where he died, i ith July 1900, in his sixty-third year.
Seventh Miitister. — George K. Heughan, after being thirteen years
in the ministry, first in Irvine (Trinity), and then in Nairn. Inducted to
PoUokshaws, 4th June 1889. The membership at the beginning of that
year was 446, and the previous minister when he left had a stipend of
;^6oo, but it was now reduced to ^420. At the close of 1899 the member-
ship was put at exactly 500.
EAGLESHAM (Burgher)
The remote origin of this congregation was a violent settlement in 1767.
The presentee was Mr Thomas Clark and the patron the Earl of Eglinton.
At the moderation on 24th April 1766 the call was signed by only one
person, the head of a family, while the* one heritor present and the whole
session, nine in number, voted not to proceed. The case being appealed to
the General Assembly the Presbytery was ordered, in the face of a petition
from heritors, elders, deacons, and heads of families, to take the presentee
on trials with a view to ordination. After several months' delay the day
was fixed for the 30th of April 1767 ; but when Principal Leechman, the
only member of Presbytery present, appeared on the ground, and other
four ministers with him, they were surrounded by a furious mob, and
obliged to retire. Complaint was made to next Assembly, when the
Presbytery was censured for disobedience to orders, and command given
to meet on 25th June and ordain Mr Clark. When the appointed day
came, besides Dr Trail, the Moderator, and Principal Leechman, Mr Telfer
was there all the way from Kilsyth, a display of zeal in a bad cause which
led to the uprise of a Relief congregation in that place. It was the
Moderator, however, who conducted the service, and not Mr Telfer as has
been sometimes stated.
But in Eaglesham itself it was not till i6th June 1778 that application
for sermon was made to the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow. During the
eleven years which intervened the people who withdrew from the Establish-
ment had, we may presume, attended at other places of worship round
about ; but from the above date they got supply, though not regularly, and
I
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 141
for three or four seasons it ceased in winter almost entirely. In 1782 a
church was built, with 480 sittings, and towards the close of the following
year a session was organised. The first preacher they called was Mr Robert
Hall ; but he was self-willed enough to refuse their offer, and his name came
to be linked with the town of Kelso. In their second attempt, a year and
a half later, they were equally unfortunate, the preacher this time being
Mr Robert Shirra. The call was accepted, but instead of coming forward
with his trial discourses he afterwards wrote the Presbytery withdrawing. At
the Synod in September 1786, though he could not yet see his way clear,
he consented to go forward with his trials ; but while the matter was in
suspense a competing call came out from Yetholm, which the Synod at
their meeting in May allowed him to accept. The stipend promised at that
time was ^60 with a free house.
First Minister. — J AMES DiCKSON, from Stitchel. Ordained, 17th April
1788. Four years after this it was stated in the Old Statistical History that
about 60 of the members resided within the bounds of Eaglesham, and the
rest were from neighbouring parishes, while about 40 Antiburghers attended
at Mearns. Had this latter party gone into the nearer church they would
have done better service, but the wall of separation was too formidable to
be surmounted. At Eaglesham burdens pressed, and in 1809 aid had to be
obtained from the Synod. The communicants at this time numbered 126.
The collections and seat rents were scarcely ^62, and from this sum nearly
^10 had to be deducted for interest on debt, while the stipend promised was
^60, with ^5 for house rent. The people hoped by their own exertions to
reach the level of self-support, but from this time they required to draw ^10
from the Synod Fund year after year. In 1825 pulpit supply began to be
required every Sabbath owing to Mr Dickson's indisposition, and on ist
August 1826 his resignation was accepted, the congregation engaging to
allow him ^20 a year, which the Synod made up to ^40. He died, 26th'
January 1831, in the seventy-fourth year of his age and forty-third of his
official life, leaving behind him the character of "an amiable and devoted
minister."
Second Minister. — William Carswell, from the neighbouring congre-
gation of Mearns. Had been called to undertake the reviving of a dying
cause at Coupar- Angus in 1825, but declined to hazard the experiment.
Ordained at Eaglesham, 26th June 1827. The call was signed by 156
members and 83 adherents, and the stipend was to be ^100, with expenses.
In 1840 it was put at ^iio, and as Mr Carswell had private means it is not
likely it ever rose much higher in his time. The membership at that date
was drawn to a considerable extent from the parishes of Kilbride, Car-
munnock, and Fenwick. In 1867 a manse was built at the humble figure of
^700, the Board allowing ^200, and on 5th June 1868 a new church was
opened by Dr Eadie, with sittings for 350, and erected at a cost of ^1300.
The collection that Sabbath amounted to ^114. In this double undertaking
the congregation owed much to the liberality of their minister. It ought
also to be recorded that the patron of the parish, Allan Gilmour, Esq. of
Eaglesham, subscribed ^150 to the Church Uuilding Fund. Six years after
this Mr Carswell arranged to pass into the background on account of
advancing years, and the congregation called Mr James Aitchison, who pre-
ferred Falkirk (Erskine Church). The stipend promised was ^180, with
^20 for house rent, as Mr Carswell was to occupy the manse.
Third Minister. — William Steedman, son of the Rev. John Steedman
of Stirling. Having declined Auchterarder (North) Mr Steedman was or-
dained, 27th July 1875. Mr Carswell died, 24th January 1877, in the
seventy-seventh year of his age and fiftieth of his ministry. His end was
142 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
hastened by a fall he sustained of several feet when examining^ the heating
apparatus of the church, though his injuries did not at once prove fatal. He
left the impress of his long and devoted labours behind him. In 1879 Mr
Steedman's membership was 178, and the stipend was £217. He had the
opportunity of removing to Dumbarton (^High Street) in 1888, and to Edin-
burgh (Dean Street) in 1891, but kept by Eaglesham. The population of
the parish declined much within twenty-five years, and the congregation was
bound to suffer in consequence. Accordingly, at the close of 1899 the
membership was reduced to 137, and the stipend was ^190, with the manse
— a high standard in proportion to the numbers. The Free Church
station in the place gave a return at the same time of 49.
BARRHEAD (Burgher)
The parish of Neilston, to which Barrhead belongs, sent in accessions to
the Associate Presbytery so early as 1739, and afterwards gave its name to
a large division of Mearns congregation, but the town itself is not heard of
for other thirty years. It is situated more than two miles from the parish
church, and Burgher families therein had to travel on Sabbath to Paisley,
three and a half miles distant, or to Pollokshaws, which is somewhat more,
till the last decade of the century. It was on 5th March 1793 that the
Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow first granted sermon to that place on
petition from 347 persons in Barrhead and its neighbourhood. Supply was
kept up for two and a half years at the rate of two Sabbaths a month or
thereby, and then on 3rd November 1795 the Presbytery disjoined 31
members from Pollokshaws and formed them into the nucleus of a con-
gregation. Exactly three months later a session was constituted by the
induction of one elder and the ordination of another. In May 1796 the
Synod granted the managers a loan of ^100 at 5 per cent, to enable them to
proceed with the building of a church, " the bill being signed by ten persons
of credit." The entire cost is supposed to have been ^600. In August of
the following year the congregation called Mr John Burns, the members
who signed being 61 in number, the stipend to be ^80, or ^70 with a house.
There was now long delay, and after part of his trial discourses were delivered
Mr Burns announced his determination not to accept, but refused to assign
any reason. The case seemed in course of being submitted to the Synod ;
but the congregation interposed at next meeting and requested liberty to
withdraw their call, which was agreed to, and the way cleared for further
action.* This resulted in a unanimous call to the Rev. Hector Cameron of
Moffat signed by 71 members and 227 adherents ; but the Synod vetoed the
translation, much to the chagrin of Barrhead people, who complained angrily .
to the Presbytery that they had neither spoken nor voted on their behalf. But
feeling forthwith shaped itself into a renewed call to Mr Cameron, with a
slight increase of names, and an increase of ^10 to the stipend. The case
came up to the Synod in October 1799, but the vote went as before. A third
attempt would not unlikely have been successful, and had they removed Mr
Cameron to Barrhead he might have had happier fortunes than awaited him
at Moffat, as is recorded under the proper heading.
Ft'rs/ Mim's/er.—WlhhiAU NicoL, from the parent congregation of
Pollokshaws. At the meeting when the moderation was applied for, probably
* John Burns was from Fenwick. After declining Barrhead he itinerated five
years as a preacher, and was ordained in 1803 for America. He became pastor of
Stamford, in Canada West, and, according to Dr Scouller, died in 1822, in the
communion of the United Secession Church.
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 143
with Mr Cameron still in view, Mr Nicol got licence, and was also appointed
to preach two Sabbaths at Barrhead, and for him the call came out unani-
mously. The members signing on this occasion were 80, but the adherents
fell from 233 to 143. A competing call from Galston followed; but the
Synod now gave Barrhead the advantage, and Mr Nicol was ordained .there,
29th May 1800. According to the Christiati Magazine "the meeting-house
was much too small to contain the audience, and the service was, therefore,
conducted in an adjoining field." The place of worship also required soon
after to be furnished with galleries, but this did not prevent the pressure of
money difficulties. The Synod's Treasurer reported in 1 803 that the managers
of Barrhead were neither paying principal nor interest for the ^100 borrowed
from the Fund for Missionary and Benevolent Purposes, and it was agreed
that, on obtaining full security for the principal, they would cancel the arrears
but reserve the right to reclaim them should the building ever be turned
to any other purpose than that of a place of worship in connection with the
Synod. After this payment seems to have been regularly made.
Mr Nicol's ministry at Barrhead came to a close in 1820. Owing to
entangling himself in the concerns of a bankrupt estate reports unfavourable
to his integrity had gone abroad. He produced an attestation signed by
the trustee and several of the creditors bearing "that all transactions in
which Mr Nicol has been involved with that concern, appear (so far as they
have been able to discover) fair, honourable, and honest," and the Presbytery
were satisfied. Mr Nicol, however, found his position so uncomfortable that
on 22nd August he tabled his resignation, and at Edinburgh on 7th September,
the day before the Union of the Burgher and Antiburgher Synods, the con-
nection was dissolved. The congregation, besides paying stipend up to date,
gave his family a donation of ^200. There seems to have been no embitter-
ment of feeling between them and their minister, as Mr Nicol was appointed
to preach at Barrhead till other supply should be arranged for. Mr Nicol's
name was now entered on the probationer list, and in less than a year he
was inducted into Pathstruie. The congregation in 1821 went in, like four
others, for Mr David Young, promising ^150 of stipend, to which a house
was to be added as soon as practicable. The call was signed by 167
members and 124 adherents ; but the North Church, Perth, carried over all
competitors.
Second Minister.— ]\ws.^ Tait, from Duke Street, Glasgow. The Synod
having preferred Barrhead to Maybole Mr Tait was ordained there, 19th
March 1822. During that year the church was greatly enlarged at a cost of
^800, making the sittings 838. In 1838 the communicants were stated to be
about 450, and the stipend was ^^150. A debt of j[fioo was in course of
liquidation at the rate of ;^ioo a year. At least five-sixths of the congrega-
tion resided, it was believed, within Neilston parish. Mr Tait died, after a
very short illness, on 17th March 1841, in the forty-eighth year of his age and
nineteenth of his ministry.
Third Minister.— Gko^GK Low, from the parish of Cluny and the con-
gregation of Lethendy. Ordained, 29th March 1842, and died on New
Year's Day 1849, in the thirty-ninth year of his age and seventh of his
ministry. His widow, a daughter of Dr Young of Perth, was afterwards
j married to the Rev. John Clark of Abernethy. A very interesting notice of
I Mr Low, drawn up by one of his people, appeared in the U.P. Magazine
[sorne months after his death. A vacancy of nearly two years followed,
during which the congregation called (i)— Mr Andrew Morton, who promptly
jdeclined, and accepted Sir Michael Street, Greenock ; (2) Rev John Ker,
Alnwick— but the congregation,- believing the attempt to be hopeless, asked
leave at next meeting to withdraw the call ; (3) Mr George M. Middleton,
144 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
every individual member concurring in the election ; but other calls came up
in close succession, and that from Kinross (West) was preferred.
Fourth Minister. — William Clark, M.A., from Calton, Glasgow. The
stipend promised, as before, was ^i6o, with ^lo for expenses ; but there was
now a manse and garden in immediate prospect, the funds being already
provided. The call was signed by 281 members and 98 adherents, and
Mr Clark was ordained, 28th November 1850. Twenty-nine years after this
there was a membership of 418, and the stipend was ^250, with the manse.
At the close of 1899 the figures were 435 and ^265.
RUTHERGLEN (Relief)
In 1727 the patronage of this parish was disposed of by Campbell of Shaw-
field, the leading heritor, and the right of presentation vested in the magistrates
of the burgh, and the feuars residing therein, and all feuars or tenants on
the estate of Shawfield. They formed a large constituency, more than 400
voting on one occasion. This predominance of the popular element may
account for a statement in the Old Statistical History that at that time there
were not more than six or eight Seceder families in all Rutherglen. However,
in 1823 an attempt was made to form a Secession congregation in the place.
On 9th December of that year a petition for sermon was presented to
Glasgow Presbytery from 1 1 5 inhabitants. Supply being granted the station
was kept up for two years, but in the beginning of 1825 the funds were in
arrears "owing to the stoppage of the cotton mills." On 13th December
the people intimated to the Presbytery that they were to purchase an eligible
site, as there was no prospect of success without a regular place of worship,
but they were told that the Presbytery could give them no advice as to their
secular concerns. On 14th March 1826 they reported that for some time
they could not have the use of the Court Hall for evening services, but the
Presbytery declined to interfere. Whether the proximity of Rutherglen to
Glasgow had aught to do with this unkindly bearing we cannot tell. It is
certain that the cause did not long survive these discouragements.
Before that year closed there was the beginning of other developments
at Rutherglen. Mr Peter Brown, who had been parish teacher for five
years, was elected parish minister by a majority of votes. This led to litiga-
tion before the civil courts which lasted three or four years. Objections to
the presentee were then raised in the Church Courts, and these occupied
other three years. During this lengthened period the pulpit of the parish
church was without stated supply, and it was not till 25th September 1834
that Mr Brown was ordained. On 4th November thereafter a petition was
presented to the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow from a number of the in-
habitants to be taken under their inspection, and Mr Harvey of the Calton
Church, Glasgow, opened the station on the following Sabbath. At next
meeting it was reported that the Town Hall, in which the services were held,
was filled, and that the people were raising subscriptions with the view of
securing a site for a church. Operations went rapidly on, and the building
was opened on Sabbath, 30th August 1835. The cost was ^1400, and the
sittings were 960. In November it was intimated that the congregation had
been organised with a membership of 98.
First Minister.— yNihl.\\u C. Wardrop, from Head Street, Beith.
Ordained, 17th March 1836. The call was signed by 163 members and 108
adherents, and the stipend was to be ^140. Before the end of the year the
number of communicants was stated to be about 230, and of the sittings 420
were let. But the debt of /900 which rested on the property pressed hard
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 145
on the young congregation, and may have prepared Mr Wardrop for a
change. An opportunity came when he was invited in the course of four
years to become colleague to the minister of his youth, the Rev. James
Anderson of Beith, and he was loosed from Rutherglen on 3rd March 1840.
Second Minister. — William Beckett, from St Paul's, Aberdeen, where
he had been for two and a half years. Inducted, 13th August 1840, the
stipend to be as before. In 1846 the debt was much reduced by the aid
of ^200 from the Relief Liquidation Board, and better scope given for
unfettered activity. Mr Beckett possessed business habits which were
largely employed in the service of the denomination. He edited the Relief
Magazine for five years, and then the U.P. Magazine for thirteen years.
He was also a member of the Distribution Committee from 1847 to 1865,
and he was one of the Synod Clerks from 1861 to 1878. In 1869 Mr Beckett
asked to be relieved from the full duties of the pastorate.
Third Minister. — John M'Neill, from Glasgow (London Road). Or-
dained at South Shields (East Street), 30th November 1859, and loosed,
5th August 1863, on accepting a call to the newly-formed congregation of
Middlesborough, where he remained over six years. Being invited to
Rutherglen and Pendleton he preferred the former, and was inducted,
22nd February 1870. The arrangement was that Mr Beckett should receive
^50 a year, retain the rights of senior minister, and undertake such service
as might be agreed on between him and his colleague. Mr M'Neill's
stipend was to be meanwhile ^150. Mr Beckett died, 21st January 1890,
in the seventy-ninth year of his age and fifty-third of his ministry. The
membership of the con^^regation at the close of 1899 was 838, and Mr
M'Neill's stipend was ^360.
RUTHERGLEN, GREENHILL (United Presbyterian)
Owing to increase of population at Rutherglen it was resolved at a meeting
of Presbytery on 12th October 1897 to begin Extension services in the
Burgh Buildings, with the design of having another congregation formed
about half-a-mile south-east from the former church. A beginning was
made some weeks afterwards, the help needed being put at not over ^100,
and, to avoid collision with the other congregation as far as possible, the
site was to be fixed at a greater distance than that formerly intended. On
1st February 1898 the Rev. William Stirling, M.A., was loosed from Inveraray,
to undertake the charge of the Extension church at Rutherglen. On 27th
February a new iron church was opened, when the collections, along with
those on the following Sabbath, amounted to ^86. On 13th September a
congregation was formed with 50 members, of whom about the half were
certified from other denominations. On i8th May 1899 Mr Stirling was
inducted, the call having been signed by 11 5 members and 38 adherents.
The people were to give a stipend at first of ^i 10, and the Board promised
;^I20 for the first year, ^100 for the second, and ^80 for the third. In view
of proceeding with the erection of a hall, to accommodate 250 people, the
Board engaged for a grant of .^500, the half of the entire cost. At the close
of 1899 there was a membership of almost 150, and the total income for
the year was ;^448.
BUSBY (United Secession)
We commence here with a petition signed by 170 persons, and presented
I to the Secession Presbytery of Glasgow on loth February 1835. It explained
that a mission had been kept up in the village for years, and they wished
II. K
146 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
now to have steps taken towards the organising of a congregation. Till
recently some of the inhabitants had been members of either the Secession
church at Mearns or the Relief church at East Kilbride, but there was
no place of worship in Busby itself. The proprietors of the public works,
however, had since 1831 supported a missionary at their own expense, the
second who held that situation being Mr Robert Niven, a ReHef student,
whose name came to be well known in connection with Kaffraria and
Maryhill. The Presbytery in the first instance gave notice of this applica-
tion to the sessions of Eaglesham, Mearns, and Pollokshaws, and in April
93 persons, after being conversed with, were formed into a congregation.
This was followed by the ordination of four elders.
First Minister. — David T. Jamieson, from Maybole. It was his
acceptability as a student missionary that prompted the people, after he
obtamed licence, to lose no time in endeavouring to secure him for their
minister. The ordination took place, ist June 1836. The call was signed
by 98 members and 5 1 adherents, and the stipend promised was ;!^90. A
church of their own was opened about the same time, with sittings for 400,
and built at a cost of ^700. Aid was obtained from sister congregations,
and the last of the debt, amounting to ^130, was cleared off in 1845, the
Liquidating Board giving a grant of ^130. Most of the members, it is
stated, belonged originally to the Establishment, and came from the parish
churches of Carmunnock and Mearns. The work of consolidation went on
under Mr Jamieson for six years; but on nth October 1842 he accepted
a call to Kilmarnock to undertake the charge of a minority of Clerk's Lane
congregation, who had withdrawn from the ministry of the Rev. James
Morison.
Second Minister. — GEORGE Robertson, from Stirling (now Erskine
Church). Ordained, 1 2th September 1844. While under call Mr Robertson
acted for some time as locum tenens for his brother, the Rev. James
Robertson of Musselburgh, who was laid down by illness, so that the
vacancy at Busby was somewhat prolonged. The call was signed by 128
members and 61 adherents, and the stipend was now ^100. But this
ministry, bright with promise, had a sudden darkening down. On the
morning of Wednesday, 30th April 1845, ^r Robertson was found drowned
in a pond near his father's dwelling at Greenhill, Stirling. On the previous
day he had written to Busby intimating his intention to be home at the end
of the week ; but in the evening he went out, and, the night being dark, and
himself subject to fainting fits, his young life came to this sad end. He
was in the twenty-fifth year of his age and eighth month of his ministry.
Some time after this unexpected stroke the congregation called Mr
Alexander Wallace, but he preferred to open his ministry at Alexandria.
Third Mitiister. — James Dick, from Falkirk (now Erskine Church).
Ordained, 1st July 1846. For sixteen years this relationship lasted, but
by reason of "indiscretion" it came to an end, 13th January 1863. This
was preceded by a brief period of suspension from office, and then restora-
tion to full ministerial status. Mr Dick then emigrated to Australia, and
after supplying several stations in the Church of Victoria for a time, he was
inducted into Neil Street, Ballarat, on 24th October 1866. All we can add
is that he demitted his charge there in 1880.
Fourth Minister. — John Taylor, M.D., D.D. Dr Taylor, after dis-
charging the duties of Theological Professor to the U.P. Synod of Canada
for nine years, resigned his Chair and his charge in Toronto and returned to
this country in 1862. Though turned threescore his natural force was
scarce abated, and on 2nd April 1863 he was inducted to Busby. The
stipend at this time was ^135, with a manse. In addition to regular
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 147
minicterial work Dr Taylor made himself active in his new sphere of labour
by courses of week-evening lectures, in which he found himself much in his
clement. On 8th October 1872 a colleague and successor was arranged for,
the junior minister to have ^157, los., with the manse, the Doctor renouncing
all claims on the congregation.
Fifth Minister. — John Elder, from Eaglesham, a brother of the Rev.
[Andrew Elder, Paisley. The call was not quite harmonious, but Mr Elder
I was ordained, 24th December 1872, having been previously called to Douglas.
Dr Taylor after two years resigned connection altogether, and his demission
was accepted regretfully by the Presbytery on loth March 1874. He then
removed to Edinburgh, where he officiated as an elder in Morningside
Church, and acted as session clerk. On the completion of the fiftieth year
of his ministerial life Dr Taylor was presented with an Address and a gift of
silver plate by numerous friends and admirers. He died, 30th October 1880,
in the seventy-ninth year of his age. His widow was a daughter of the
Rev. John Richardson of Freuchie, and his family consisted of a son
by a former marriage, who is now Sir Thomas W. Taylor, Hamilton,
Canada.
On 9th May 1882 Mr Elder abruptly intimated to the Presbytery by
letter his withdrawal from a relationship which had not been all comfort for
some time. He had previously told his congregation that the U.P. Church
had deserted its traditions, and he was not prepared to follow in the
course now being pursued. He forthwith applied for admission to the
Established Church, and was received by the General Assembly on 3rd
June following. On 4th July he was declared out of connection with the
U.P. Church. In 1887 he was inducted to the quoad sacra church,
Cambuslang (West), from which he retired amidst embittered feeling in
1898. His name now appears on the list of Established Church Ministers
Unattached.
Sixth Minister. — JOHN M'Neil, from Scone, where he had been or-
dained eighteen years before. The stipend was ^260, with a manse, and
the church had no debt. Inducted, 20th February 1883, and died suddenly
on 30th October, in the fifty-third year of his age and twentieth of his ministry.
He preached at Rutherglen communion on the previous Sabbath, was
visiting the sick of his people on Monday evening, and passed away next
forenoon.
Seventh Minister. — William B. Melville, from Burray, his second
charge, where he had ministered for eight years. Inducted to Busby, nth
March 1884. At the close of 1899 the membership was within a few units of
300, and the stipend had been raised to ^300, with the manse.
THORNLIEBANK (United Secession)
|On 1 2th January 1836 a petition to have a preaching station opened at
JThornliebank was laid before (Glasgow Secession Presbytery from 62
[members and adherents of the denomination, most of them connected with
the church in Pollokshaws, about a mile and a half to the north-east.
Sermon was commenced with an attendance of about 120 during the day
and double that number in the evening. The place of meeting was an
upper floor, partially used as a schoolroom, and fitted up for Sabbath pur-
poses by Messrs Crum & Co. at a cost of ^450. It accommodated fully 400,
and was given at a nominal rent. On 12th July a congregation was formed,
md three elders were inducted soon after. Before the end of the year the
Eople called Mr H, M. MacGill, who preferred the collegiate charge of Duke
148 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Street, Glasgow. The members signing were 39, and the stipend was to be
^100, with a house.
First Minister. — ^ames R. Dalrymple, from Ayr (now Darlington
Place). Ordained, i8th April 1837, having declined a call to Urr. After
labouring at Thornliebank for eight years Mr Dalrymple felt that he ought
to devote himself to the Foreign Field, and with this view his resignation
was accepted, nth November 1845, amidst expressions of esteem and
regret. On 6th November 1847 he was inducted to Hamilton, Canada
West, but returned to Scotland three or four years after. He emigrated to
Australia in 1853, where he became minister of a congregation in Warnam-
bool, Victoria. He died at Melbourne on ist July 1858, in the forty-ninth
year of his age and twenty-second of his ministry. The cause of death was
a sunstroke he experienced two years before, which led to chronic softening
of the brain ; but he preached till ten days before the end.
Second Minister. — Andrew Wield, from Annan (Secession). Called
first to Stamfordham, in Northumberland, and afterwards to West Linton,
and Back Street, Dalkeith. Ordained at Thornliebank, 2nd May 1848,
which implied a vacancy of two and a half years. This was the beginning
of a quiet, uneventful ministry, which has lasted for over half-a-century.
Almost the only landmark we have to record is the reopening of the church
in November 1883 after it had undergone extensive repairs, when the
collection, along with ^145 subscribed privately for the organ, came up to
nearly ^300. On loth January 1899 Mr Wield was enrolled minister-
emeritus, and at the Union in October 1900 he was within a few months of
completing his eighty-first year, and was in the fifty-third of his ministry.
Third Mi?tisier. — Robert Wilson, B.D., from Uddingston. Ordained,
5th September 1899. The stipend is £110., including house rent, and the
membership at the end of the year was 257.
CATHCART (United Presbyterian)
On 1st March 1887 the Presbytery of Glasgow (South) received a petition
from 102 members of the U.P. Church, and other residenters in Cathcart, for
the commencement of a preaching station there. They stated that they had
secured for their meetings the Couper Institute, which was nearly a mile out
from Mount Florida, while the only church decidedly near was that of Old
Cathcart parish. But on the matter being remitted to sessions a representa-
tion of the injury this movement, if gone into, was calculated to do them
came up from Mount Florida, and two other sessions in the neighbourhood
considered the application premature. After inquiry a Committee of Pres-
bytery reported that, exclusive of Mount Florida, Cathcart had a population
of 2300, that 12 of the people had already subscribed over ^100 for the
support of the station the first year, and that three or four times more might
be calculated on. Accordingly, services were commenced in the Couper
Institute on the first Sabbath of September under encouraging auspices. In
December the persons worshipping there, to the number of 121, petitioned
to be congregated, of whom 80 belonged to the U.P. Church, 16 to the
Establishment, 9 to the Free Church, and 16 to other denominations, or not
tabulated. On the 22nd 75 of their number, who had certificates at readi-
ness, were declared to be formed into a congregation, and that number was
speedily made up to 90. A few months after this a call signed by 11 5 mem-
bers and 'J'] adherents was addressed to the Rev. John C. Lambert, the
stipend promised being ^320, but he did not see his way to leave Stewarton
as yet.
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 149
First Minister. — J AMES Gray, B.D., from Stonehouse, a younger brother
of the Rev. William Gray, Brechin, and the Rev. John Gray, Rothesay.
Ordained, 24th January 1889, but, like his brother's at Rothesay, his was
to be a brief ministry at Cathcart. In little more than a year he was under
the necessity of resigning owing to an entire breakdown in health, and on
6th May 1890 he was loosed from his charge, amidst the deep regrets of the
congregation and the Presbytery. After leaving Cathcart Mr Gray visited
our Mission Fields in South Africa, and then undertook the charge of Union
Church, Valparaiso. After labouring there with much success for six years
he resigned, and took to business, in which he has since been engaged, his
residence being at Quilpue.
Second Minister. — John C. Lambert, B.D., from Stewarton, where he
had been ordained nearly seven years before. Inducted, nth September
1890. There was a membership now of 237, and the stipend was to be ^400.
For other three and a half years the congregation worshipped in the Couper
Institute ; but the foundation stone of a new church was laid in April 1893, at
which time the membership was almost exactly 400. On Thursday, 3rd
May 1894, the place of worship, with 850 sittings, was opened by Dr Drum-
mond of Belhaven, Glasgow, when the collection reached ^420. The entire
cost amounted to not less than ^6000, of which only ^300 came from the
Extension Fund. At the close of 1898 there were over 600 communicants,
and the funds afforded a stipend of ^500. But in the course of next year
Mr Lambert's voice failed him entirely, and as there was no prospect of
recover)^, at least till after a lengthened period, he had, like his predecessor,
to resign, and on 12th September 1899 he was enrolled minister-emeritus.
The sympathy of the congregation found expression in a gift of ^500 and
a year's stipend besides.
Third Minister. — GEORGE JOHNSTON, frorn Victoria Road, Kirkcaldy,
where he had been for eight years. Inducted, ist March 1900. Through
Mr Lambert's breakdown the tide of prosperity had gone slightly back, but
there was still a membership of over 550, and a stipend of ^425.
GIFFNOCK (United Presbyterian)
This congregation was the youngest taken into the Union with the Free
Church, being scarcely a month old. The name appears in the records of
Glasgow Presbytery for the first time on 8th Februaiy 1898, when it is stated
that Sabbath services had been conducted for some time in Giffnock with an
attendance of 80, and that 21 householders, most of them U.P.s, had repre-
sented their case to the Extension Committee with a view to having a
preaching station opened. Regular supply was now 'kept up at the Golf
House, and before the end of the year a church was planned for, with 400
sittings. On 4th October 1900 a congregation was erected consisting of 45
members, all of whom had given in disjunction certificates. To aid with the
initial outlay the Board were to allow ^100, to be spread over three years
in such proportions as might be deemed best. Such was the position of the
infant cause at Giffnock when the recent Union was accomplished. The
village is in the parish of Eastwood, a mile and a half to the south of
Pollokshaws.
I50 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
NORTHERN DIVISION
KIRKINTILLOCH (Burgher)
On 5th August 1766 a petition from about 69 people in Kirkintilloch and its
neighbourhood was laid before the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow. They
expressed deep concern on account of the defections of the National Church
and the oppressive measures of her judicatories. They also complained of
the prevalence of legal doctrine in her pulpits through the thrusting in of a
corrupt and erroneous ministry, and they judged it their duty to apply to
the Presbytery for relief Sermon was begun on the fifth Sabbath of that
month, and afterwards it was regularly applied for, but they seldom
obtained more than a day each month. In December they pleaded for more
frequent supply, and they expected in due time to give a more favourable
account of their progress. Though the cause originated in withdrawals from
the Establishment another element by-and-by came in. On 17th November
1768 twenty-seven persons in Kirkintilloch and Cadder were disjoined
from the Burgher congregation of Glasgow. "They were to join some
others in forming a separate congregation, for which a place of worship
had been provided." These particulars place both the congregating and
the church building a year or two later than the date usually given.
First Minister. — John Thomson, from the town of Port-Glasgow and
the congregation of Cartsdyke, Greenock. Mr Thomson had been previously
minister at Newbliss, Ireland, where he was ordained, 24th August 1754,
and from which he was transferred to Donaghcloney, in the same country. In
granting a moderation to Kirkintilloch the Presbytery, owing to " clamours "
about underhand dealings, enacted that none of their congregations shall
tamper with any candidate in view of calling him for their minister. Mr
Thomson's mind was made up for a change, and instead of troubling the
Synod with a transporting call, his demission of Donaghcloney was given in to
the Presbytery of Down, and accepted. He was inducted to Kirkintilloch,
24th August 1769, when his stipend was to be ^50, and a house. During
his ministry there he showed much readiness for controversy, and abounded
in protests and appeals. He also published a pamphlet on "The Presby-
terian Covenants," and another on "The Lifter Controversy." On 29th
July 1790 he tabled his resignation on account of loss of voice, and it was
accepted by the Synod on 9th September, and he was granted an annuity
of ^30. It was when residing in Glasgow, after resigning his charge, that
he figured most in the arena of strife. When the Old and New Light
Controversy was waxing hot Mr Thomson withdrew from attendance at
Shuttle Street, as his conscience would not allow him to hear those ministers
who had rejected the principles of the Secession and their own ordination
engagements. It was proposed to stop his annuity ; but he hoped his
opponents would not manage to stop his mouth with a crust of bread, " nor
will he in his old age forsake the cause of that God who has graciously
provided for him and a numerous family through a long life." In 1796 he
published " An Epitome of Religion," and in 1 798 his '•' Apology for Seceders,"
both of which are full of the controverted subject, and he was one of the
most active all through in stirring up feeling on behalf of the Old Light
Cause. The date of his death is not recorded, but Dr George Brown gives
1806 as the year. In July 1791 Kirkintilloch congregation called Mr James
Henderson, whom the Synod appointed to Hawick, and then Mr Alexander
Easton, who was appointed to Miles Lane, London.
Second Minister.— ]h.MYJA Kyle, son of the Rev. John Kyle, first of
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 151
Kinross and then of Pitrodie. On the day of his father's induction to his
second charge Mr James Kyle was entered on trials for licence ; but the
Presbytery found him lacking in Bible knowledge, and they had difficulty
besides with his trial discourses. Worse still, reports unfavourable to his
character had to be inquired into. He professed sorrow and promised
amendment, and, satisfied with six weeks of circumspect behaviour, the
Presbytery decided to grant him licence. Then his father, who had vacated
the Chair while the case was under discussion, resumed his place, and as
Moderator became the mouth of the Presbytery in the weighty commission
given and the counsels which followed. After itinerating a short time
among the vacancies Mr Kyle received calls to Port-Glasgow and Kirkin-
tilloch, the latter of which was preferred by the Synod. The signatures
were much beyond what had gone before, amounting to 240 members and
118 adherents. The ordination followed on 21st March 1793. But within
little more than two years one of his people libelled Mr Kyle before the
Presbytery for intemperance and improprieties of conduct. The charges
were so far proven that he was rebuked, and the sentence, with the grounds
thereof, was to be intimated from the pulpit. Tliis was serious ; but Mr
Kidston dissented, as he considered the censure inadequate. For some
months matters dragged on ; but on 13th June 1797 Mr Kyle gave in his
demission, which was accepted on the 25th. Had Perth Presbytery been
more faithful at an earlier time the congregation of Kirkintilloch might have
been spared the damage it sustained through its second minister.
Passing on to the bitter end, we read in the Calcdoniafi Mercury of 22nd
September 1800: "The Rev. James Kyle of Glasgow has been chosen
pastor of the dissenting chapel at Carlisle, vacant by the death of the Rev.
Robert Milne." This was an old Presbyterian congregation not in connec-
tion with the Burgher Synod. Mr Kyle accepted the call, and officiated
there till 1809. In the beginning of that year minister and people applied to
the Burgher Presbytery of Selkirk for admission, and a committee of inquiry
was to meet with the parties on Monday, 19th June ; but the newspaper
referred to above tells how proceedings were arrested by a very melancholy
occurrence the day before : "About four or five in the morning the Rev.
James Kyle of Carlisle rose from his bed and went out of doors, it was sup-
posed for the purpose of bathing his feet, as was his custom. Not, however,
appearing at divine service considerable alarm ensued, and, a search being
made, his body was found in the Eden." At their meeting on the 26th of
the month the Presbytery entered in their Minutes: "As Providence had
removed Mr Kyle by death it was not necessary to take his case under
consideration." The congregation was received that day into connection with
the Secession Church, and is now represented by the English Presbyterian
Church, P'isher Street.
Kirkintilloch congregation was long in obtaining another minister. They
called three times without success : — first, Mr John Hamilton, who was
appointed by the Presbytery to Hamilton (Chapel Street) ; second, the Rev.
James Harrower, who was continued in Denny ; and third, the Rev. William
Smart, who was appointed by the Synod to Paisley (Abbey Close).
Third Minister. — Andrew Marshall, from Cadder parish and Kirkin-
tilloch congregation. Ordained, nth November 1802. In the sermon
preached when his father died Mr Marshall of Leith remarked that the
congregation at this time was very small, " amounting to not more that 60
or 70 in full communion." This is a mistake, however, as the members
signing his call numbered 106. The stipend being only ^80 the minister
conducted classes in his own house, so that a large portion of the day was
spent in teaching. In 1825 the church required to be enlarged by the
152 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
heightening of the walls and the erection of galleries, which was done at a
cost of ^644, making the sittings 620. In 1836 the stipend was ^137, but
there was no manse, and there was a debt of nearly ^400 on the property.
The communicants numbered 443, while those of the Original Secession
were 460. About one-fifth of the families were from other parishes, Campsie
in particular, and after that Cadder and Chryston, Kilsyth and Baldernock.
Seven years before this Mr Marshall had corne into prominence as a leader
in the Voluntary Controversy, his sermon preached in Greyfriars Church,
Glasgow, on the Fast evening, 9th April 1829, and entitled "Ecclesiastical
Establishments not Lawful," being looked on as the great gun which com-
menced the battle. It was followed up by "A Letter to the Rev. Andrew
Thomson, D.D., Edinburgh, on Church Establishments " and other publica-
tions in the same line. In recognition of his merits he received the degree
of D.D. from Jefferson College in 1841, and that of LL.D. from Washington
College m 1 842, both in the United States. But he was about to be entangled
in pamful matters of another kind, of which the details will have to be out-
lined with care and minuteness.
(i) At the Synod in 1841, when Mr James Morison's case was under
discussion, Dr Marshall spoke on the conservative side, but expressed
special interest in the accused, who had been recently married to a niece of
Mrs Marshall. (2) In the early part of 1842 he published a pamphlet,
entitled "The Death of Christ the Redemption of His People." It was
meant to stem the tide of error ; but in it he declared regarding the Saviour's
death : " In some sense it was an atonement for all " ; and again : " He died
in their nature ; He died in their stead" ; and yet again : " What opened the
door of mercy for anyone opened it for everyone." (3) A few months after
this Dr Balmer wrote a preface to Polhill on " The Extent of Christ's Death,"
in which, referring to Dr Marshall's pamphlet, he spoke of the term Uni-
versal Atonement as "already sanctioned by such high authority as will all
but secure its universal adoption." (4) This publication having caused quite
a commotion Drs Balmer and Brown were heard at full length on the
doctrinal points in dispute before the Synod in October 1843, and the Minute
bore that on explanation supposed diversity of sentiment in a great measure
disappeared, and " on the two aspects of the Atonement there was entire
harmony." (5) In 1844 Dr Marshall came forward with a pamphlet on
'The Catholic Doctrine of Redemption," and in an appendix he more than
insinuated that a flood of Pelagianism had been issuing from the Divinity
Hall and overspreading the churches. (6) At the Synod in May 1844 the
two Professors complained of this, and a committee of inquiry was appointed,
which reported, among other things, that Dr Marshall had " spontaneously
expressed his purpose to suppress the appendix altogether." From this
meeting Dr Balmer returned home to die.- (7) In February 1845 Dr
Marshall published " Remarks " on the published stateiments of the Pro-
fessors, and these Remarks culminated in the conclusion that the gospel
therein contained seemed " nothing better than a mockery and a delusion."
The case passed on to the Synod, where a vote of confidence was passed on
Dr Brown, and a vote of censure on Dr Marshall, who underwent rebuke
from the Moderator's Chair. This left a bitter element behind it, which
made the wound incurable.
Dr Marshall having avowed that he was perfectly able to substantiate
the charges he had brought against Dr Brown, the Synod met in July to
give him the opportunity of proceeding by libel. After much standing out
tor delay he tabled a carefully-drawn-out document, signed by himself and
Dr Hay of Kinross, who took no further share in the prosecution. The five
counts were taken up one by one, and after the papers were read and the
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 153
pleadings heard a large majority pronounced them either unfounded or dis-
proved. The hope was expressed at the close that the issue would be the
restoring of peace and confidence throughout the Church. Such was not
the effect with Dr Marshall. At the Synod in May 1846 his son in Leith
was pronounced censurable for a private matter detailed at the proper place,
who thereupon renounced connection, and was declared a fugitive from
discipline. His father was prepared to follow, and when the Synod in
October proceeded to discuss the Basis of Union with the Relief Church he
moved that, as a preliminary step, they should rescind a number of their
recent decisions, including "the vote of censure on Dr Marshall." His only
supporter was the elder from Kirkintilloch. He then read and tabled a
protest denouncing the Church's obstinate perseverance in error, and
declaring that he could no longer walk with her in the bonds of Christian
fellowship. He was thereupon declared out of connection with the United
Secession Church. Next Sabbath, when the Moderator of Synod appeared
at the church gate to intimate the sentence, he was denied access, the great
majority of the congregation adhering to their minister and retaining pos-
session of the property. The action raised to dislodge them comes up under
the next heading.
When the crisis was drawing near Dr Marshall issued a series of Tracts
on the Atonement, designed, it .would seem, to set the denomination on fire ;
but the controversy had exhausted itself, and they went out like sparks
among water. Though he now co-operated with the Calvinistic Secession
Presbytery during its brief existence he never acceded altogether, afraid,
perhaps, that the step would prejudice the case that was pending before the
law courts. At their meeting in April 1851 the Original Secession Synod
dealt with an application from Dr Marshall to be received into their com-
munion along with his congregation. This Church he declared years before
to be without a speck of heresy, and it did not signify, he said, that there
was a little difference between him and them as to the power of the civil
magistrate in matters of religion. But, being doubtful whether he had sunk his
Voluntaryism so far as to warrant admission, a majority voted for a friendly
conference with him in the first instance. In refusing to acquiesce in this
proposal he said, in an insulting mood, that he attached very little importance
to a place among them, and added : " Though a small, you are far from being
a united, body, and I greatly suspect that my comfort would not be very great
were I remaining in it."
On 4th November 1852 Dr Marshall's jubilee was celebrated, and at one of
the largest soirees ever held in Kirkintilloch he entered deeply into the "
yreat question which for years had dominated over mind and heart. But
the evening shadows were gathering now, and he died suddenly on 26th
November 1854, in the seventy-sixth year of his age and fifty-third
of his ministry. It was the morning of a communion Sabbath, and he
had been present at the Saturday service, and had given out tokens at the
^close in view of breaking bread with his people on the following day. Re-
"irring to the sad event the U.P. Mai^azim closed a kindly notice of the
leparted with the words : " He has now resumed his fellowship with the
learest friends of his youth and manhood in a world where the Atonement
not the subject of controversy but the burden of an everlasting song."
^lie congregation, left without a pastor, obtained admission to the Free
Phurch. The Rev. William Marshall of Leith became his father's successor
15th May 1856. In a few years he fell into bad health, and died in
^lasgow on his way to Egypt on 13th January i860, in the forty-seventh
^r of his age and twenty-first of his ministry, leaving a widow and six
lildren under the age of eighteen. One of his daughters became the wife
T54 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
of Professor Ramsay, Aberdeen. Those of Dr Marshall's family who re-
mained in Kirkintilloch went over to the Established Church after their
brother's death, offended because the U.P. minister was allowed to preach
in their father's pulpit. In January 1861 the Rev. James Cowe became
minister of Marshall Church, and was succeeded in 1867 by the Rev. A. M.
Brown, whose pastorate still continues. The membership in 1900 was
somewhat over 300, and the stipend was ^233, and a manse.
KIRKINTILLOCH (United Secession)
This congregation originated a few months before the United Secession
merged in the United Presbyterian Church. On 7th October 1846 Dr
Marshall gave in his declinature to the Synod, and left the Court. On the
following Tuesday Dr Newlands, the Moderator, intimated that he had gone
to Kirkintilloch as appointed by the Synod, but on appearing at the entrance
of Dr Marshall's church on Sabbath forenoon he was refused admission
and that in the afternoon he preached to an audience of from 90 to 100 in
a commodious meeting-place. He further stated that at the close of the
service he met with about 20 members of the congregation, who signified
their wish to have sermon from the Synod. Next day Glasgow Presbytery
met under Synodical authority, received a petition from Kirkintilloch for
supply, and appointed a minister to preach there on Sabbath first. At next
meeting of Presbytery, on loth November, sermon was again granted, and
a committee appointed to watch over the interests of the denomination in
the place. The Treasurer was also authorised to grant ^25 to meet present
expenses.
But decisive steps were taken without much delay, to have the question
of Church property tested in the Courts of Law. Accordingly, on the last day
of 1846 Dr Marshall received a letter from the law agents of the minority
requiring him to surrender the subjects to the party adhering to the Synod.
That happened to be the day on which the Doctor suffered a severe family
stroke by the death of his third son. But meanwhile we leave the law case
to gather up for a prominent place on the list of ecclesiastical decisions.
While it was pending, with the certainty of heavy liabilities even in the event
of success, the little company went on in the direction of organised existence.
On 1st September 1847 a session was formed, Mr Robert Craigie, who had
been their leading man from the first, being ordained to the eldership, while
another had held office before. It was intended to have four in all, l)ut with
serious uncertainties before them there might be hesitation to come to the
front. There was lengthened suspense now ; but in three years an adverse
award was given, and on loth December 1850 the little congregation of
Kirkintilloch gave in a memorial to the Presbytery, confessing that they
were no longer able to bear up against difficulties. The Presbytery, while
evading all responsibility, sympathised with them, and recommended their
case to the kind consideration of the churches generally.
The principle on which the decision turned was mainly this, that Dr
Marshall and his congregation were not bound to accompany the Secession
Synod into Union with the ReHef, and that their standing aloof did not
necessitate the loss of the property. Besides, the titles were so drawn up
that they did not bind the congregation to remain subject to the Courts of
the United Secession Church. It was clear at least, said Lord MoncriefT,
that the defenders had not changed their principles, whatever the Synod
might have done, and in them the property was vested. Such was also the
conclusion arrived at by the Lord Justice Clerk. The other judge, Lord
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 155
Cockburn, took a different view. He was of opinion that the expression in
the titles "presently in connection with the United Secession Church"
bound the property to a congregation in that connection. He held, besides,
that the mere fact of union with another denomination, accompanied by
change of name, did not of itself imply an abandonment of principle so
gross as to destroy the identity of the body. Nothing like this, he said, had
been proved, and, though it was possible for the defenders to be in the right
and everyone else in the wrong, the probability lay the other way. Dr
Struthers in the U.P. Magazine for that year entered fully and very ably
into the principles involved, and these Articles may still be consulted with
advantage.
But, though cradled in adversity, the congregation held on, and in June
1 85 1 they secured a location of Mr George M'Queen, probationer, which was
renewed at the end of six months. In March 1852 the Presbytery were
made aware that Mr Craigie and others had been served with a summons by
their law agents for payment of the heavy amount due as legal expenses, and
it was decided to bring their case before the several congregations. Effective
aid must have come in some way, as the question of law expenses appears
no more in the Presbytery records. But the membership as yet was not
larger than 50 or 60, and in applying for a moderation the utmost they could
name was ^100 a year, ^40 of this to be granted by the Mission Board.
A call was brought out in November 1853 to Mr William Fleming, pro-
bationer, who declined, and obtained Kirkcaldy (Union Church) some time
after. But want of a regular place of worship was severely felt, and was
even spoken of as requiring to be met before they could press for a settle-
ment.
First Minister. — John Mitchell, who had been seven and a half years
in Leven. Elected to face the contingencies of the situation, and inducted,
27th April 1854. The call was signed by 45 members and 24 adherents,
and was reported to have been unanimous. Next year the church was
finished at a cost of ^iioo, and opened by Drs Eadie and Anderson from
Glasgow, with sittings for 500. A gallery followed, with hall and vestry, at an
expense of ^400, and this debt, which was all that remained, was cleared off
in 1 86 1 under the stimulus of a grant from the Liquidating Board. In 1867
a manse was built which cost ^^1050, of which the Board contributed ^250.
After the death of Dr Marshall in November 1854, and the accession of his
congregation to the Free Church, the U.P. congregation in Kirkintilloch
would have well-marked territory of its own. The rate of increase we know
not, but at the close of 1879 it had a membership of 240, and could afford a
stipend of ^210. About ten years after this, when Mr Mitchell was requiring
regular assistance, differences arose over the question of a colleagueship,
and nearly 80 members, including six of the session, left the congregation.
In the hands of a Presbyterial Committee a second minister was arranged for.
The money adjustments come to were that Mr Mitchell should receive
^100, with the manse, and his colleague ^180 in all, with the aid of supple-
ment, the senior minister to be responsible for two diets of worship each
month and the occupancy of the pulpit at the holiday time. He was also to
preside at alternate communions and engage in pastoral work when
desired.
Second Minister. — Alexander Taylor, M.A., from I*ortol)ello (Windsor
Place). Ordained, 9th June 1892. He had been called six months before,
but had confronted the sustaining of the call with a telegram declining.
The second call was signed by 114 members and 38 adherents. On 16th
September 1895 Mr Mitchell's jubilee was celebrated at a social gathering,
when, along with addresses, he was presented with a purse containing ^155.
156 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
In May following he vacated the manse in favour of his colleague, and ac-
cepted ^300 to make up for further retiring allowance, and removed to
Shettleston, near Glasgow. At the close of 1899 there was a membership of
265, and the stipend was ^200, with the manse.
CAMPSIE (Relief)
This congregation sprang from the ordination of the Rev. James Lapslie as
minister of Campsie on 27th November 1783. He was a native of the
parish, and there was strong opposition to his settlement. The presentation
came from the Crown, and he owed it to the fact of having been tutor and
travelling companion to a titled gentleman in the vicinity. Resistance being
in vain, the session, some of the heritors, and a majority of the people pro-
ceeded to build a Chapel of Ease. Th^ir design was to keep connected
with the Establishment and to have for their minister a preacher who had
been assistant to the former incumbent. Having ascertained that the Pres-
bytery would never consent to this arrange;nent they applied on 6th October
1784 to be taken under the inspection of the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow,
assigning reasons for the step they had unanimously agreed to take. Such are
the particulars supplied by their own records. The church, with 593 sittings,
was completed at a cost of ^600, farmers and others assisting in various
ways. The building has been described as substantial, but of the plainest
description, with an earthen floor, and wooden forms with backs serving for
seats. Of Mr Lapslie it is but fair to state that he had rare gifts of oratory.
Lockhart has described an appearance he made in the General Assembly in
1 8 16 as follows : — " He tears his waistcoat open, he bares his breast, as if he
had scars to show ; he bellows, he sobs, he weeps, and sits down at the end
of his harangue trembling all to the finger ends like an exhausted Pythoness."
There may be exaggeration in the description, but it is quite in keeping with
what we read of Lapslie from other pens.
First Minister. — James Colquhoun, a licentiate of the Relief Presby-
tery of Glasgow, but brought up, as. he himself states, in the Established
Church. Ordained, 3rd May 1786, and at next meeting of Presbytery he
was directed to constitute the four elders who had held office in the
Established Church into a session. In the following year he was asked to
remove to Perth (East), but he remained in Campsie. There for ten years
his ministry was very successful, but disaster came in an unguarded hour.
On 5th October 1796 Mr Colquhoun gave in his demission, which was at
once accepted. He openly and candidly confessed what was publicly
known — that he had disgraced himself at Balloch Fair a short time before.
There a net had been spread for his feet, and after being ensnared he had
been made the talk of the whole community. In deep penitence he sub-
mitted himself to the judgment of his brethren, and was suspended till they
should see their way to restore him. But at next meeting he declined their
authority, and was declared out of connection with the Relief body. He
then removed to Perth, where he had been asked to go nine years before ;
but all we know of his further history is given under Lilliesleaf
This sad occurrence might have well-nigh ruined the Relief cause at
Campsie, but it happened that the parish minister had made himself more
obnoxious than ever to the bulk of his parishioners. Mr Lapslie is described
as a man of splendid physique, who cultivated an aristocratic manner, and
became a violent Tory. From the account he gives of the parish in the Old
Statistical History we find that Societies of the Friends of the People were
his mortal aversion, and, referring to the Relief people around him, he
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 157
suspected that "the spirit of innovation was encouraged by their public
teachers with a view to increase the adherents of their own tabernacle." He
feared the leaven of democracy even in missions to the heathen and in
Sabbath schools. When Thomas Muir, who had property in Campsie
parish, was about to be tried for sedition, which means for being a leader in
the cause of political reform, Lapslie was all activity in gathering up evidence
against him. While Muir was pronounced guilty, and banished, Lapslie's
services obtained double recognition. He was rewarded with a Government
pension, and one day, or night, when he and his wife were from home his
manse, with its belongings, was set fire to and burned.
During this vacancy the congregation brought up a call to the Rev. John
Watt of Blairlogie, who was in request for Glasgow soon after, but owing to
want of harmony the prosecution was dropped.
Second Minister. — J AMES Thomson, from Strathaven (East). Ordained,
22nd November 1798. Loosed, 29th November 1808, and translated to
Paisley (Thread Street), where he became Professor of Theology to the
Relief Synod. His ministry of ten years at Campsie must have come fitly
in to give standing to the Relief cause in that locality again. To fill his
place the people turned to the Rev. Archibald Murdoch of Kilmaronock, but
" the Presbytery found it was his wish to remain in his present charge for
some weighty reasons which he assigned."
Third Minister. — James Brown, from East Campbell Street, Glasgow.
Ordained, 15th May 1810. Of Mr Brown it is stated that, though he was not
considered an interesting preacher, " he became eloquent when speaking of
the love of Christ on a communion Sabbath." But towards the close of
1824 the Rev. James Lapslie died, and his successor was the Rev. Norman
M'Leod, afterwards Dr M'Leod of St Columba, Glasgow. To withstand
the new attraction it was proposed to have an assistant or colleague to Mr
Brown, but as he was little over fifty he refused to acquiesce. Some, it is
added, made this a pretext for leaving, and among others the father of the
late Dr Stevenson of Established St George's, Edinburgh. The state of the
congregation towards the close of 1836 we have from Mr Brown himself.
The communicants at this time were 350, and belonged, with the exception
of a very few families, to the parish. The stipend then was ^106, with a
manse and glebe. There was a debt on the property of £,122. As the
income from seat rents and collections began to decline the wish to have
the charge made collegiate may have been hastened, and with this view it
was agreed that the junior minister should have ^70, with manse and
grounds, and Mr Brown, who was to perform ministerial duties so far as
might be found convenient, was to have ^40.
Fourth Minister. — William Wood, from Roberton. Ordained as
colleague and successor, 25th March 1845. ^" '^49 Mr Wood was called
to Paisley (Canal Street), but declined. On ist March 1854 Mr Brown died,
in the eightieth year of his age and forty-fourth of his ministry, and in the
U.P. Magazine for that year Mr Wood, who had been associated with him
in the ministry for nine years, paid a graceful tribute to his memory and
worth. In 1874 Mr Wood, who had been on the Distribution Committee
for nine years, was chosen one of the Synod Clerks, an office which he held
till his death on 7th August 1883. The end came suddenly, though he had
been in failing health for some time. Spending his holidays at Carradale,
he went out in a small boat to fish, and became very unwell. In this state
he was assisted from the boat to the rocks, and shortly afterwards expired.
He was in the sixty-seventh year of his age and thirty-ninth of his ministry.
Fifth Minister. — W. B. Y. Davidson, M.A., a son of the Rev. Dr
Davidson of Eyre Place, Edinburgh, and named after his maternal uncle,
158 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
the Rev. William Barlas Young of Ceres. Called also to Linlithgow (East),
and ordained at Campsie, 29th April 1884. The membership at the close of
1899 was 280, and the stipend ^210, with the manse.
MILNGAVIE (Relief)
On 30th June 1788 a petition was presented to the Relief Presbytery of
Glasgow from New Kilpatrick, the parish in which Milngavie is situated,
setting forth the grievances under which they laboured owing to a recent
intrusion and the want of the gospel. Mr George Sym had been ordained
in the preceding December, and though the case was not litigated through
the Church Courts this paper reveals the estimate formed of him by "a
respectable body of the people." Mr Hutchison of Paisley was appointed to
preach to them on Sabbath week, and other members of Presbytery were
to follow. The ardour of the applicants, however, must have gradually
abated, and after the cause had been kept up in a languid way for six years
the Presbytery enjoined the commissioner from Milngavie to inform his con-
stituents that " unless they take steps to furnish themselves with a place of
worship they can receive no more supply of sermon." In June 1795 this
resolution was notified to them anew, and the congregation seemed on the
verge of extinction. But soon afterwards a number of families from Doune,
who had been under the ministry of the Burgher minister there, settled
down in Milngavie. This helped to prompt a renewed application for
sermon on 27th June 1796, which was obtained, and in 1799 a church, with 517
sittings, was finished at a cost of ;^5oo, most of it consisting, to appearance,
of borrowed money.
First Minister. — William M'Ilquham, a native either of New or Old
Kilpatrick. Ordained, 25th July 1799. In 1807 Mr M'Ilquham was called
simultaneously to the two forming congregations of Bridgeton and Tollcross,
both in the suburbs of Glasgow, and, having preferred the latter, he was
loosed from Milngavie on 8th May. After a pause of eight months the
vacant congregation brought up a call to the Rev. Edward Dobbie of Mains-
riddell, with the promise of ^100 a year, besides house, garden, and sacra-
mental expenses ; but Mr Dobbie, though the change would have bettered
his position, rejected the oflfer. Without delay another call was brought out
to Mr William Dun ; but he first wished two months for consideration,
and then declined, and after a time obtained Coupar-Angus.
Second Minister.-~A\.v.yi\-ii-D¥JR M'Naughton, from St Ninians. Or-
dained, 27th July 1809. Though Mr M'Naughton's deHver>' is said to have
been defective the quality of his discourses made large amends, and the
congregation prospered under his care. In 1837 it had a membership of
nearly 300, though by a reduction of the public works it had suffered con-
siderably in numbers not long before. Of the families in attendance about
a score were from the parishes of Strathblane and Baldernock. The
minister's professional income was the same as he had at first, and a debt
of j^435 still rested on the property. When Mr M'Naughton was drawing
on towards the age of threescore and ten it was found needful to have his
public work lightened, the arrangement being that he should receive ^50,
with the occupancy of the manse, while the junior colleague was to have
^100 in money, or ^80 with a house.
Third Minister. — George M'Queen, M.A., from Greenhead, Glasgow.
Ordained, 4th January 1855, having previously declined New Deer and
Leven. The call was signed by 109 members and 19 adherents, which
betokens a decline from former days. Mr M'Naughton's jubilee was cele-
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 159
brated on the last day of his fifty years' ministry, when the respect in which
he was held got substantial recognition. Besides performing faithfully and
with much ability the functions of the ministry he had long and consistently
upheld the Temperance cause in the place, and interested himself deeply
in the welfare of the community. He died, 6th August 1861, in the seventy-
fifth year of his age and fifty-third of his ministry. His son, the Rev.
Matthew M'Naughton, was ordained over Blackett Street Church, New-
castle, on 29th June 1853, and after labouring there with success for over
eight years, died, 20th February 1862, aged thirty-eight; and his daughter
was the wife of the Rev. James S. Taylor, Hutchesontown, Glasgow.
Under Mr M'Queen, Milngavie stipend gradually rose to ^230, with the
manse, and before his death the communion roll was nearly equal to the
best it had ever been. He had acquired distinction in Mathematics and
Natural Philosophy during his University course, and brought a great
amount of mental vigour to bear on his pulpit work, besides, like his pre-
decessor, interesting himself deeply in social questions. He died rather
suddenly on 1st September 1894, in the sixty-fourth year of his age and
fortieth of his ministry. There was a membership at this time of 283.
Fourth Minister. — David Calderwood, M.A., translated from Sanday
after a ministry of fully eighteen years. Inducted, nth April 1895, the
stipend to be i^2io, and a manse. Mr Calderwood's work in his former
charge had been much interrupted by broken health, and the change to
the South did not bring the advantage which was expected. In a few years
matters in the congregation were felt to be in an unsatisfactory state, and,
amidst expressions of sympathy from the Presbytery, Mr Calderwood's
demission was accepted on 27th June 1899. He died on 14th September
following, in the fifty-eighth year of his age and twenty-third of his ministry.
Fifth Minister. — Thomas B. Hogarth, translated from Clackmannan
after a brief ministry, and inducted to Milngavie, 17th April 1900. In the
beginning of that year the membership was 283, e.xactly the same as five
years before.
LENZIE (United Presbyterian)
On 9th September 1873 a petition from 56 persons in Church fellowship was
submitted to Glasgow Presbytery to be formed into a congregation, to be
called the Lenzie Union Church. Of the applicants 25 had already given
in disjunction certificates, 23 from U.P. and 2 from Free Church sessions,
and the congregation was intended to take in both denominations. The
village, situated at a junction of the North British Railway, and within
easy reach of Glasgow, promised to grow rapidly into a flourishing place,
and as a forecast of what was to be looked for " the minister who might
be called would receive a stipend of ^300." Lenzie is nearly two miles south
from Kirkintilloch, and at this time it had no regular church within nearer
distance, though Sabbath services had been conducted among them by
Mr Mitchell and other ministers with more or less regularity, first in the
[railway waiting-room and then in a public hall. A congregation was formed
Ion 23rd September, with 25 members, and on nth November a session
of seven elders was constituted, four of whom were inducted and three or-
dained. The movement for a minister swayed first in the direction of the
Free Church, the Rev. Robert R. Thom of Free St David's, Glasgow, being
[chosen. The stipend went beyond the sum named at first, being ^360 in
'all, but Mr Thom declined to move outward.
First Minister.— ^\\AAys\ MiLLER, from Erskine Church, Falkirk,
i6o HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
where he had been ordained thirteen years before. Inducted, 28th April 1874.
The new church was opened, 8th August 1875, and to keep up the union
idea the services were conducted by Professor Cairns of the U.P. Church
and Principal Douglas of the Free Church. The collections amounted to
^432, and the total cost of the building was ^3300, with sittings for 450.
Mr Miller's call was signed by only 47 members and 25 adherents ; but in
little more than five years he had a communion roll of 229, and the stipend
was advanced to ^400. In course of time he was also provided with a
manse, built without assistance from the Synod's Manse Building Fund.
Lenzie is now a quoad sacra parish of more than 3000 inhabitants, and in
the year of the Union Mr Miller's congregation showed a membership of
over 300, with the stipend as above.
NEW KILPATRICK (United Presbyterian)
This village is close to the railway station of Bearsden, the name by which the
congregation was known at first. It lies two and a half miles to the south-west
of Milngavie and five and a half north of Glasgow. On i ith August 1874 the
Presbytery of Glasgow received a petition from a number of persons in that
neighbourhood to be formed into a congregation, and on 3rd September this
was agreed to, the members being 36 in number, of whom 27 had certificates
from U.P. sessions, and 9 from the Established Church. It was explained in
the magazine that the population of this rising suburb of Glasgow had been
increasing rapidly for two or three years, and that to meet the wants of U.P.
and Free Church members a movement for a Union Church had been
begun about a year before. The leading man was Mr Robert T. Middleton
of Hillfoot, afterwards M.P., a brother of the Rev. George M. Middleton,
Glasgow, and one whose name was security alike for zeal and for liberality.
In view of what was coming the memorial stone of a new church had been
laid by James White, Esq., now Lord Overtoun, on 31st January 1874, six
months before Glasgow Presbytery was approached at all, and a few weeks
after the members \vere congregated. The building, with sittings for 400,
was opened by Professor Eadie. The collections at the three services that
Sabbath reached ;^2i5, and ^1400 had been previously subscribed.
First Minister. — Thomas W. Henderson, from Millport, where he had
been ordained eight years before. The stipend promised was £260, and the call
was signed by 47 members and 9 adherents. Inducted 21st September 1875,
and in little more than four years there was a total income of £900. This was
arrived at under a membership of 121, a sure evidence that the suburban
element was strong in this young congregation. At the close of 1899 the
communion roll was up to 374, and the stipend to ;^400, with a total income
of over ^1450, nearly the half of which went for missionary and benevolent
purposes.
BISHOPBRIGGS (United Presbyterian)
BiSHOPBRIGGS is a village in Cadder parish, inhabited largely by Irish
families of the poorer class. Evangelistic services had been conducted for
some time at Auchenairn and Bishopbriggs, villages fully half-a-mile from
each other, and on 8th August 1876 the hall at the latter village was recog-
nised as a mission station under the inspection of the Presbytery. The
population at this time might be 900, and within a radius of a mile there was
a similar number. The parish church was a mile and a half away, but there
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW i6t
was a Free Church in the place. On 13th July 1877 the station was con-
gregated with a membership of 36, received by certificate. By September
there were 51 names on the roll, and in June 1878 two elders were inducted,
the number at which the session continued for over eight years.
First Minister. — Charles Dick, from Burghead. Ordained, 30th
October 1879. The call was signed by 58 members and 19 adherents, and
the stipend, including house rent, was to be .1^220, of which the people under-
took to raise ^100. But, as the Presbytery acknowledged, the field was
limited and, we may also believe, hard to work, and not the most likely to
yield a large return. After ten years of organised labour the funds fell
behind, and, as naturally happens, a spirit of discontent supervened, in the
midst of which one of the two elders resigned, leaving the session without a
quorum. However, when the question was brought to the test the great
majority kept by the minister, and everything went on as before. But money
difficulties had still to be faced, and these could only be overcome by lower-
ing the congregation's proportion of the stipend, which stood in 1895 at ^70.
There was now a movement entered on for a new church, an object which
a Presbyterial Committee pronounced "e.xtremely desirable." The plans
and estimates were the reverse of ambitious. The building was to accom-
modate 375, and the cost was calculated at ;^i45o. Of this sum the congre-
gation out of their limited resources undertook to contribute ^300, and they
hoped to raise another j^ioo by a Sale of Work. A Committee of Presbytery
reported subscriptions to the amount of ^125, and they expected ^125 from
the Ferguson Bequest. There was also a legacy of ;^ 100 from one of the
founders of the congregation, who had been the representative elder and
a warm friend of the cause from the first. Thus ^750 seemed provided for,
and with a liberal grant from the Church Building Fund it was thought the
building might be opened free of debt. The Board, however, had not
information to enforce the conclusion that a new church was a necessity,
and in this state the matter still remains. At the close of 1899 the member-
ship of Bishopbriggs was 90, the stipend from the people ^70, and the total
income J^wj. Over against this, the Free Church congregation, which had
prior possession of the field, had a membership of 265 and a total income of
;^27i.
WEST HIGHLAND CHURCHES
OBAN (United Secession)
The first notice of Oban in the records of Glasgow Presbytery is on 13th
January 1835. Preaching had been kept up there in an irregular way for
years, but now the station received open sanction. The town gave promise
of rising to importance, the population numbering over 1600, and the only
place of worship it possessed was a Chapel of Ease, which had been con-
stituted a quoad sacra church the year before. In February 1835 ^^'^ preacher
officiating at Oban reported that he had conversed with 10 applicants for
admission to Church fellowship, and Mr Turner of Dunoon was appointed
to preach there and form them into a congregation. This little company
was fortunate now in being taken under the care of Greyfriars congregation,
Glasgow, and having support secured in this way an ordination was at once
proceeded with. The Synod had enacted the year before that preachers
located in mission stations for not less than a year were to be ordained to
qualify them for the dispensing of sealing ordinances, should the Presby-
tery of the bounds deem this desirable.
II. L
i62 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
First Minister. — Peter Hannay, from Wigtown. Ordained in Grey-
friars Church, 5th May 1835, on the above footing. Next jear a place of
worship, with 257 sittings, was built, nearly the whole sum of ^310 being
drawn from the funds of Greyfriars. The cause prospered under Mr Hannay ;
but he retired in February 1837, intending to go abroad. Being delayed in
this country for the time he was first stationed at Kirkcowan, and obtained
Creetown soon after.
Second Minister. — David M'Rae, M. A., translated from Lathones, where
he had been ordained eleven years before. Inducted to Oban, 25th April
1838. The call had the signatures of only 19 members and 35 adherents.
The stipend was to be ^90, with expenses, and the arrangement was that
the people were to send in their contributions to Greyfriars Church, which
was to make up whatever was wanting. In 1844 there was a membership of
51, and the people raised ^85 for support of ordinances. After laying a good
foundation Mr M'Rae on 12th October 1852 demitted his charge to under-
take mission work on a larger scale in the Gorbals of Glasgow. During the
vacancy of a year and a half which followed the congregation issued two
unsuccessful calls, the one to Mr John Milne, who obtained Greenlaw, and
the other to the Rev. Alexander Walker, previously of Newcastle, and after-
wards of Crail.
Third Minister. — ALEXANDER Brunton, from Nicolson Street, Edin-
burgh. Ordained, 24th May 1854. The members signing were about three
dozen, but though the people were few in number they had all along been
animated by a liberal spirit. We find, for example, that in 1847 they con-
tributed nearly ^70 to synodical funds, benevolent purposes, and incidental
expenses. Mr Brunton, after a ministry of ten years in Oban, was trans-
ferred, like his predecessor, to a Home Mission sphere in Glasgow on accept-
ing a call to Blackfriars Church, 4th October 1864.
Fourth Minister. — HUGH MacFarlane, from London Road, Glasgow.
Called also to Buckie and Baillieston, but ordained at Oban, i8th April 1865.
The stipend from the people was ^70, which the supplement raised to ^120.
A manse was built soon after at a cost of ^890, of which ^105 came from the
Manse Board. A new church, with sittings for 450, was opened on Sabbath,
19th July 1868, by Professor Eadie. The cost of the buildings amounted to
;^i8oo. On 8th August 1876 Mr MacFarlane demitted his charge owing to
his health being in a feeble state, and in the beginning of 1878 he was
certified for Australia, and inducted into Bacchus Marsh, 19th January 1879.
In 1890 he was minister of Seymour, Presbytery of Goulburn Valley, and
there we find him at the Union of 1900.
Fifth Minister. — William Proctor, from St James' Place, Edinburgh,
who had been ordained on 2nd March 1874 by the U.P. Presbytery of
Edinburgh as a Free Church missionary to Penang, China. Returned
to this country, and had his name placed on the probationer list in May 1876.
Inducted to Oban, 5th June 1877, after declining a call to Campbelltown,
Ardersier. The stipend from the people was to be ^120, an increase of ^30
on what it had been before, and Oban being looked on as a place of import-
ance there was to be a supplement of ;^85. In 1881 it was stated that the
membership under Mr Proctor had risen from 74 to 104, and the income
from ^150 to ^240. The new church had entailed a debt of ^900, which
fettered the congregation's energies. Steps were now taken to have this
encumbrance removed, and the end was gained with the aid of a grant of
^210 from the Debt Licjuidating Board. On 8th January 1884 Mr Proctor
accepted a call to Dublm, where he has done, and is still doing, important
work.
Sixth Minister, — William T. Walker, M.A., translated from Craigend,
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW
163
where he had been ordained five years before. Inducted to Oban, 2nd July
1884, and accepted a call to Bellgrove, Glasgow, on 22nd October 1891.
Seventh Minister. — James Hutchison, M.A., from Renfield Street,
Glasgow. Ordained, 26th January 1893. The number of communicants at
this time was 122, and at the recent Union it was approximating 200, with a
stipend from the people of ^160, with the manse.
LISMORE (United Secession)
The Rev. David M'Rae of Oban, after visiting the island of Lismore in
1840, described it as about twelve miles in length by from two to three in
breadth, with a population of at least 1600. It is conjoined with Appin parish
on the mainland, and was intended to have sermon every alternate Sabbath,
but owing to stormy weather and the intervening water it was often destitute
of gospel ordinances for weeks and months together. Through Mr M'Rae's
intervention Mr John Brown, a Gaelic probationer, preached some weeks in
Lismore during the harvest of 1840, and his labours were so well received
that he was sent back in December. The old Roman Catholic chapel was
rented for five years at ^8 a year, and, through the liberality of Christian
friends, put under repair. Mr Brown laboured on in this station till towards
the end of 1842, and at this point we lose all trace of him, and we only know
of his antecedents that he entered the Secession Hall from Regent Place,
Glasgow. His place was taken by one whose name was long and honour-
ably connected with mission work in this much neglected island. On 13th
April 1 84 1 a communion roll with 29 names was made up, and on iith
May the people were congregated, and soon after had elders ordained over
them.
First Minister. — William Wood, from Moyness. Interesting himself
deeply in the religious condition of the Highlands, when acting as a tutor in
one of the western isles, Mr Wood set himself to acquire the power of
preaching in Gaelic, and surmounted the difficulties in a rare degree. For
seventeen years after receiving licence he itinerated or filled locations in the
North Highlands ; but in 1842 he was transferred to Lismore, when he had
reached the age of fifty-three, and there what remained of his ministerial life
was to be spent. In 1845 a church, with 250 sittings, was built at a cost of
^200, on a more suitable site granted by the proprietor, who required the
old chapel. To meet the outlay the Debt Liquidating Board agreed to
grant ^70, and the people or their minister were to raise ^130. But, though
important work vvas going on year by year, the membership continued nearly
stationary, and the ordinary income for 1845 was only ^12. All this time
Mr Wood was labouring in season and out of season, and for ten or twelve
years he lodged in a small farmhouse, " where he occupied one end of the
dwelling, cattle the other, and the farmer and his family the apartment
between." After 7th June 1847 he was an ordained missionary among them,
but it was not till the evening shadows were gathering that the pastoral tie
was formed between him and his people in Lismore. The call was signed
by 22 members, and the induction took place, 30th September 1861. Soon
after this what proved his last illness came on, and he died in his brother's
house at Forres on 6th August 1862, in the seventy-fourth year of his age
and twentieth of his ministerial work at Lismore. The membership at this
date was much the same as it had been all along.
Second Minister. — Donald Ross, from Nigg, Ross-shire, with Gaelic for
his vernacular. Ordained, 8th November 1863. But the relationship in this
case was not to have permanence owing to the depressing outlook. At the end
i64 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
of 1865 there were only 23 members, though the attendance was put at four
times that number, and the sum contributed for stipend by the peopl? was
^20, with a manse, the supplement being ^80. On 24th July 1868 Mr Ross
was loosed from his charge, having accepted an appointment to New
Zealand under the Colonial Committee of the Free Church. He there
became minister of Queenstown, in the Presbytery of Southland, and all we
know further is that his resignation was reported to the Synod in October
1891.
Third Minister. — Alexander Ross, from Inverness (Queen Street).
Ordained, 2nd July 1873, the filling up of the vacancy having been held
back for five years. He was loosed from Lismore on 28th October 1874,
amidst expressions of unabated affection, and within two months he was
appointed to Duke Town, Old Calabar, where he was to be associated with
the Rev. William Anderson. But even in the Foreign Field the collegiate
relation requires kindly aptitudes, and in a few years the Mission Board
learned that all was not working well with the two ministers at Duke Town.
It was this that led to Messrs Williamson of Queensferry and Marshall of
East Calder being sent in 1881 into that deadly atmosphere to make in-
quiries and try to put matters right. After long and careful investigation they
found that, without exempting Mr Anderson from all share of the blame, the
interests of the Mission required the removal of Mr Ross to some other
field, and that meanwhile he should return home. But, instead of submitting
to this award, he declared he would remain in Calabar, and carry on his
work there independently of the Mission Board. The party adhering to him
numbered about 50, which was half the membership, most of them being
retainers of the chief who had been Mr Ross' main supporter against his
colleague. They undertook his maintenance ; but whatever this may have
amounted to it was not long required, as Mr Ross died, 6th May 1884, and
was buried, with the consent of his widow, beside many of the devoted agents
whose dust has hallowed the soil of Old Calabar.
During the long vacancy which followed Mr Ross' removal the ingenuity
of Glasgow Presbytery and the Home Mission Board was taxed, and well-
nigh baffled, to provide acceptable supply or secure a fixed ministry for
Lismore. First, a licentiate of the Free Church, a Mr Cumming, was
stationed there, and a permanent arrangement was looked for ; but the
people could not aid with his maintenance beyond ;!^I5 a year, and the
Board were unwilling to make up the salary to more than i^i20, with the
manse, and Mr Cumming refused to remain on the terms proposed. Supply
had now to be drawn from the preachers' list, subsidised so far by the Baptist
minister on the island, who after two years received ^35 in acknowledgment
of his services. The great desideratum was preaching in the Gaelic language,
and, as the best arrangement practicable, a catechist was brought from Ulla-
pool, who could at least address the people in their native tongue, and was
to receive a salary of ^100. Under him the cause was kept up for years,
with an attendance of about 30 in the forenoon and 60 in the evening, but
in 1887 it was deemed better to have him transferred to Portree. The
services of a Free Church student residing in the island were then secured
for the summer. We next read of another Free Churchman, the Rev. Evan
M'Ewan, occupying the post ; but for some reason one-half of the congrega-
tion ceased to wait on his ministry, and dismissal had to follow, with legal
notice to remove from the manse. The people prior to this had been plead-
ing to have a minister from the Free Church set over them, and the
Presbyterial Committee in charge would gladly have met their wishes had
this been in their power.
The question now came to the front : Might not the congregation of
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 165
Lisniure, buildings and all, be taken over by the Free Church ? — and negotia-
tions were entered on with that in view. The people, however, rather than
sever their connection with the U.P. Church, were willing to be served by an
English student till such time as a Gaelic minister could be found. At last
a union with the Free Church families in the island was arranged for, and
on 20th January 1890 the ceremonial was gone through with much solemnity.
The two sections were to amalgamate on equal terms — elders with elders,
managers with managers, trustees with trustees. The united congregation
was to remain under the U.P. Synod, and be supported from its funds, but a
Gaelic minister was to be obtained from the Free Church. On the appointed
day the two companies occupied different sides of the church, and on each
side the vote went solid for union ; the Basis was read by a representative
from our Glasgow Presbytery, and Mr Ross of Appin, to whose congregation
the Free Church party had belonged, acted as interpreter. The gain in
numbers from this day's proceedings raised the membership of Lismore
congregation from 22 to 38. \'ery soon after this Providence seemed to be
lifting the people out of their central difficulty by providing them with a
Gaelic pastor of the very stamp they needed.
Fourth Minister. — ANGUS M'Leod, a native of Harris, whose family had
removed to Canada in his youth. There he had obtained licence from the
Presbytery of Winnipeg in May 1888, and was ordained over a colony of
Highlanders in North Dakota in the following November. After two years
he returned to Scotland for the sake of his health, and was willing to
settle down in a Gaelic charge there. On the recommendation of Glasgow-
Presbytery the Synod m May 1891 admitted him to the status of a pro-
bationer, and he was inducted at Lismore on loth August thereafter. The
auspices were favourable, though the signatures to the call numbered only
15 members and 11 adherents. But Mr M'Leod died, after a brief illness,
on 22nd November 1892, in the forty-fourth year of his age and fifth of his
ministry. His death was deeply lamented in Lismore, and members of
Glasgow Presbytery appointed to watch over the interests of the congrega-
tion looked on his removal as an irreparable loss. They hoped to provide
the people with another Gaelic minister, but, as usual, there was failure.
Fifth Minister. — James Spittal, from Glasgow (Queen's Park). Or-
dained, 25th September 1893. At the ordination Mr Ross, the Free Church
minister of Appin, preached in Gaelic, and while this part of the service
went on the representatives of the Presbytery would be curtained off by the
requirements of an unknown tongue. The signatures at the call were much
as aforetime — 16 members and 20 adherents— and there was the normal stipend
from the people of ^^15, and the manse. Between this and the close of 1899
the increase gained by the Union nine years before had been largely sur-
rendered, the entire membership being 27, and the stipend paid from
congregational funds was ^18, 15s. for that year, with the manse. The
population had gradually decreased, till, instead of 1600 as in 1840, they
numbered only 560 in 1891, and of these all were Gaelic-speaking except 53.
PORTREE (United Secession)
The Rev. David M'Rae of Oban visited Portree in August 1840, and this
dates the opening of the station there. From that time preachers were sent
regularly to this remote place in the island of Skye, though for want of the
Gaelic language they were greatly fettered. The services were held in the
Court House with the approval of the Sheriff, who interested himself in the
movement. But owing to adverse influences the people were for a time
i66 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
deprived of this privilege, and when restored it was with the restriction that
there was to be no candle-hght used, which required them at certain seasons
to come together for their second service in the twiHght and go on into the
dark. But we pass from these side matters to the missionary on whom the
work of building up the cause at Portree devolved.
First Minister. — Alexander Adam, born in Forres, but brought up in
the congregation of Nigg. During the first six years after receiving licence
he acted as a Gaelic preacher in the North Highlands, but in March 1842
he began regular work at Portree. Ordained for mission service there on 20th
August 1855 in Erskine Church, Glasgow. A church of their own, with
250 sittings, was opened by the Rev. H. M. MacGill, Mission Secretary, on
Sabbath, loth June i860, when the collection out of the deep poverty of the
people amounted to ^8. The entire cost was .^780. On nth June 1861
a congregation of 10 members was formed, and on 24th September 1862 Mr
Adam was inducted. A deputation of Presbytery which visited Portree at
this time brought back word that they never witnessed outward wretchedness
such as they met with in Skye, and never saw such huts in any other part
of the world. Mr Adam being already beyond threescore his period of
further service behoved to be brief, even though assiduous labours amidst
ungenial surroundings had not gone to wear him out before his time. Early
in 1868 his strength failed, and in July Portree was destitute of Sabbath
services through their minister's illness and his removal from the place.
It was now arranged that he should be relieved of all official duty and have
his name placed on the Aged and Infirm Ministers' list, but in recognition
of his long and faithful labours his connection with the Presbytery was not
to be disturbed. He died at Uddingston on 25th December 1884, in the
eighty-fourth year of his age. His name, said the Record.^ will be long
remembered for eminent piety, earnest zeal, large-hearted charity, and public
usefulness.
How to get ordinances kept up at Portree owing to want of Gaelic
preachers was now felt to be a perplexing question. First, a probationer
was stationed there for two months, and then it was thought better to have
a student to supply nine months between sessions, ministers to take the
pulpit during July, August, and September. This system went on for
years, and then the wish became urgent to have a fixed ministry again.
With this view the people undertook a stipend of ^40, and the Board were
to meet this with ^^70, besides ^20 for house rent. On that basis they
called Mr Robert M'Master in 1878, who was soon after ordained at Bal-
beggie, and in 1879 Mr Adam Baillie, who accepted Errol. The offer was
liberal compared with the ^20 which was the utmost they could raise for
the support of ordinances in Mr Adam's time.
Second Minister. — Isaac K. M'Iytyre, son of the Rev. Dr M'Intyre,
Loanends, Ireland, and a brother of the Rev. J. B. K. M'Intyre, Largs.
Ordained, 7th July 1880. But Mr" M'Intyre was not prepared to find his
life-work at Portree, and, in response to an advertisement on the cover of
the Record for a minister to be sent to Tasmania, he offered his services,
and was accepted. After he had tabled his resignation a strong effort
was made, not only by his own people but by the inhabitants generally, to
retain him in Portree, a paper with earnest pleadings to that effect being
submitted to him. After taking time for reconsideration he adhered to his
purpose, and the resignation was accepted on 6th May 1886, with his
brethren's best wishes for his success on the other side of the world. At the
time of our own Union he was minister in Dunedin (North).
Third Minister. — Robert Davidson, from Renfield Street, Glasgow.
Ordained, i8th April 1888. Any considerable expansion of the congregation
PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW 167
is scarcely to be expected when we take into account the extent to which
the cause is " cabined, cribbed, confined," among people of another tongue
from ours. Hence we have to report that at the close of 1899 the member-
ship was only 33, and the stipend from the people still remained at ^40, and
the manse. However, as is common in the Highlands, the regular hearers
are sure greatly to outnumber those in full communion.
STORNOWAY (United Secession)
A PREACHING Station was opened in Stornoway, the chief town in Lewis,
towards the close of 1841. Services began with a six months' location of Mr
Robert Watt, afterwards of Aberlady, a preacher much employed in work
of this kind. His report bore that he had an attendance in the forenoon of
about 80, and in the evening between 200 and 300, and at no station had
he ever addressed more attentive audiences. The people were, moreover,
contributing at the rate of ^40 a year for the maintenance of divine ordin-
ances. After Mr Watt left other preachers followed, but in October 1842
there was a fixing down into something like permanence. The Rev. John
Paterson, after being two years in Hartlepool, had resigned his charge there
and returned to the preachers' list, and in a few months Stornoway was
assigned him, probably by the Mission Board. From this time we have
little information about the progress of the work beyond what the annual
returns contain. In these the attendance was given for some years at 250,
but in 1845 it was reduced to 150, and the Bible and Sabbath classes from
70 to 40. This decline may have been owing largely to the Free Church
having effective occupancy of the ground, and our Mission Board must have
deemed it advisable to withdraw. Accordingly, in the Treasurer's Accounts
for next year ^20 is entered as having been expended on Stornoway instead
of ^50 or ^60 as before. This implies that the station had been abandoned
ere the year was half out, and, as there were no belongings, and the adherents
had never been congregated, it was easy to lift the anchor and sail away.
There was now a break of twelve years, and then on 12th January 1858
some residenters in Stornoway petitioned Glasgow Presbytery to have the
station revived. It was explained that a U.P. preacher, Mr Robert Scott, of
whom more is given under Stonehaven, had conducted services there the
preceding summer, and preached to large audiences ; that during the
fishing season the influx of strangers to Stornoway was at least 6000 ; and
that in the P>ee and Established Churches Gaelic predominated. Next
month sermon was begun, and on the last Sabbath of August a congregation
was formed with a membership of 16. The mainspring of the movement
from first to last was a merchant who had come from Wellington Street,
Glasgow, and was one of two who were ordained to the eldership in February
i860. From him came the local designation, "Russell's Kirk."
First Minister. — GEORGE Graham, from Kirriemuir (Bank Street). Or-
dained, 29th May i86i. Though the membership at this time was no higher
than at the first the people promised ^70 from their own resources, and
expected ^50 of supplement. The new church, with sittings for 350, was
opened in July following. The cost was ^900, the greater part of which was
met by subscriptions from outside, and specially from friends in Glasgow.
Mr Graham, finding after a trial of two seasons that the cause was not
making headway, even under three services at the busy time, accepted an
appointment to Queensland, and was loosed from his charge, loth March
1863. In that colony he became colleague to Dr Lang of Sydney, but the
views of the two ministers not coinciding in doctrine he removed to Mel-
i68 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
bourne, and was received by the Presbytery there in March 1866, and was
inducted to Maryborough before the end of the year. He was translated to
Beechworth in 1869, and we find that another was ordained in his place in
1874. He now betook himself to sheep farming, and died towards the close
of 1894. Stornoway congregation in the beginning of 1865 called Mr N. F.
M'Dougall, who accepted Portsoy, and in the end of the year Mr David
Thomas, afterwards of Howgate. A debt of ^400 was liquidated about this
time by the aid of ^50 from the Mission Board, ^100 from various con-
gregations, and a grant from the Ferguson Becjuest.
Second Minister.— ]k^\YJA Holmes, from Paisley (Abbey Close). Or-
dained, 3rd August 1866. In March 1870 Mr Holmes tendered his resigna-
tion, assigning as his reasons weak health and the difficulty of building up a
congregation in Stornoway. The attendance at this time was put at 63
during the day and Ti in the evening, and of these only 23 were communicants.
The congregation, sympathising with Mr Holmes, acquiesced in his demission,
which was accepted on 12th April. His name was now placed on the pro-
bationer list, but he died at Paisley, 20th May 1872, in the thirty-sixth year
of his age and sixth of his ministerial life.
Third Minister.— QviK\<\.%'s> M'EwiNG, M.A.,from Campbeltown, Argyle-
shire. Declined Aberchirder some time before, but now accepted Stornoway,
where there was at least a vastly larger population, and was ordained, 13th
June 1872. The funds of the church were in arrears when the vacancy
occurred, but the Presbytery gave it as their opinion that there were pressing
reasons for efficiently sustaining the cause at Stornoway. Under their third
minister the congregation was stirred up to activity. A manse was built at
the formidable cost of .^^1550, of which ^400 came from the Central Fund,
and later on they incurred a debt of ^120 by erecting a gallery in the church,
which, it was explained, " if not required on ordinary Sabbaths, would be of
service when any of the great lights from Glasgow were through officiating."
On 14th November 1876 Mr M'Ewing accepted a call to the collegiate
charge of ToUcross, Glasgow. Even yet the membership was under 30, but
the attendance was returned at 120, and the stipend from the people was
^67, los. In March 1878 they called Mr Robert M'Master, who got
Balbeggie soon after.
Fourth Minister.— ]\u-E.S S. HUNTER, previously of Strathaven (West),
which he resigned in 1872. Since then he had resided in Glasgow, where
he was a member of John Street Church. At the Synod of 1878 his name
was placed on the probationer list, and he was inducted to Stornoway on
28th June 1879, vvhere he still ministers. At the recent Union he had a
membership of 30, and the stipend in all was ^186, with the manse, of
which ^70 came from the congregation.
PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK
GREENOCK, CARTSDYKE (Burgher)
On 1 2th April 1738 an accession was given in to the Associate Presbytery
^'■o?^ Greenock, Port-Glasgow, and Innerkip with a request for a Fast,
which does not seem to have been granted. There was sermon occasionally
at Kilmalcolm, eight miles distant, and thither the Seceders in Greenock
had to resort for Sabbath services. It was natural that they should fret
under this arrangement, and it appears from a curious letter written in 1740
PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK
169
that when Mr Fisher of Glasgow was to be supplying the Correspondence of
^Kilmalcolm for a day they insisted that Greenock should be the place of
leeting, and when their demand was not complied with they declared they
vould stand by themselves. That, however, was not to be practicable for
number of years, but when Mr John M'Ara was ordained at Burntshields
le was to preach at Greenock every third Sabbath. On 8th October 1746
[Mr M'Ara represented to the Presbytery that "that part of his community in
ind about Greenock, having built a place of worship, and being but small in
lumber and of no considerable strength, (they) craved a public collection to
je made in some congregations of most ability," which was agreed to. That
/ear, when the summer communion was observed at Burntshields, the three
shore parishes sent up 69 communicants. In July 1750 they applied for a
disjunction, which the Presbytery unanimously granted on 30th January
1751, finding them in ripeness for it, which means that they were likely to be
ible to support a minister. Mr M'Ara now gave his undivided services to
lurntshields, and within six weeks Greenock applied for a moderation.
First Minister. — Daniel Cock, entered in Dr James Robertson's
listory of Nova Scotia as a native of Clydesdale. Ordained, 25th March
[752. So early as 1745, when only a University student, he was chosen
^resbytery Clerk, and that office he held for twenty-six years. Before the
jnd Mr Cock got seriously involved in the disturbances about the settlement
)f Mr Campbell at Stirling, and found himself out of harmony with the
lajority of his brethren both in Presbytery and Synod. In the beginning of
!l77i he received a call to Truro, Nova Scotia, and on 5th March Transport
[carried in the Presbytery, the congregation being enjoined to pay up all
[arrears of stipend. He lingered in this country for some time, and there was
[■evidently no bad feeling between him and his people when they parted, as
jthe Presbytery recommended him to supply at Greenock as much as possible.
■ He died at Truro on 17th March 1805, in the eighty-eighth year of his age
jand fifty-third of his ministry. Dr M'Gregor of Pictou has described him as
"'a man of warm piety, kind manners, and primitive simplicity." But he had
this fault at least— that he kept a coloured girl in slavery — and that was one
reason why the doctor could not unite with the Burghers.
Second Minister.— \^\\A.\\^\ Richardson, of whose early history nothing
las been ascertained. Ordained, loth March 1773. The stipend promised
ras j^5o, but the Presbytery urged that it be made up to ;^6o. Mr Richardson
I'as in delicate health when a preacher, and he died, 31st March 1780, in the
[eighth year of his ministry.
Third Minister. — William Willis, from Linlithgow (West). The
stipend was now made ^70, with a free house, and payment to the Widows'
fFund. Ordained, i6th August 1780. Matters took a remarkable turn that
lay when the Presbytery met. A letter was read from Mr Brown of
[Haddington, the Clerk of Edinburgh Presbytery, informing them that com-
missioners were to be present to prosecute a call from London (Wells Street)
[to Mr Willis, but they decided to go on with the service. F"or this they were
found censurable by the Synod, but the ordination was pronounced valid.
|In the tenth year of Mr Willis' ministry the peace of the congregation was
[seriously disturbed, and in June 1790 the case came before the Presbytery.
("It appears that Mr John Buchanan, one of the town bailies, had presented
l^a petition to the session, signed by a number of members, craving a disjunc-
|,tion, and that Mr Willis ruled the applicant out of Court, declaring him to be
scandalous person — language for which he was afterwards severely repri-
Iffianded by the Synod. The bailie had been a leading man in the church
ifrom the beginning— he was also an elder and a trustee — but he had now
Ideserted his place in the session, and had attempted to raise a civil action
lyo HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
over the rights of the property. In these circumstances the design was
formed to have a second Burgher congregation in Greenock, for which there
was ample room owing to the recent growth of the town. The proposal,
however, was bitterly opposed by the minister and session of Cartsdyke.
The matter came before the Synod in September, when a compromise was
attempted, the petitioners being allowed a disjunction, but, to guard the
interests of Cartsdyke Church, Port-Glasgow, three miles distant, was made
the seat of the new congregation. Bailie Buchanan and the other tacksmen
were also required to renounce all interest in the Cartsdyke property without
compensation. On these terms all matters of dispute were to be buried. It
was also expressly entered that "said disjunction was granted, not because
the petitioners could not be edified by Mr Willis' ministrations, but because
the meeting-house at Crawfordsdyke could not contain the persons who are
desirous to hear the gospel in connection with the Secession."
Before a twelvemonth had passed the strife was renewed, but in an altered
form. A new church had been built in Greenock as well as in Port-Glasgow,
and in June J 791 a petition for sermon was given in to the Presbytery from
people in the town, "not of our communion," Mr Buchanan and his party
keeping out of sight for the time. The Synod next September was asked to
decide on this new feature of the case. A remonstrance from Crawfordsdyke
had prominence among the documents which came to be considered. They
complained, first of all, that by the buildings of a meeting-house in Greenock
the conditions on which the disjunction was granted had been broken, and
they alleged, moreover, that by their non-attendance on the ministry of
Mr Willis, when Port-Glasgow was without sermon, the parties disjoined gave
evidence that they had not allowed the matters in dispute to be buried, as
was agreed on. The Synod found that, in proceeding with the erection of a
place of worship, the parties infringed the terms of agreement, and that the
course they followed was " rash, premature, contrary to order, and disrespect-
ful to the Synod." As for the other article of charge, those present acknow-
ledged they had done wrong in avoiding occasional communion with their
former brethren in the public worship of God. Thus far all was favourable
to Mr Willis and his supporters ; but the affair had another side, of which
the outcome is given under the history of Trinity Church. Sermon was
granted, but those who took part in the new erection were required to give
security to the managers of Crawfordsdyke Church that they would in-
demnify them, if required, for the loss their funds might suffer through the
disjunction. This clumsy device was certain to cause dissatisfaction, and at
the Synod in September 1794 the bond was cancelled on payment of ^^75
by the representatives of the new congregation for behoof of Crawfordsdyke.
Two years after this the subject of the Magistrate's power in matters of
religion became a burning question in the Burgher Church Courts, and Mr
Willis, whom recent experiences had put out of touch with most of his
brethren, took a leading part among the minority. While the strife was
going on he was asked to remove from Crawfordsdyke to Burntshields, the
original seat of the congregation, but he decided to remain where he was.
When the rupture was approaching Mr Willis came out with a pamphlet,
entitled "A Smooth Stone from the Brook," the stone being aimed at the
forehead of Professor Lawson, who had published arguments in favour of
alterations in the Formula. About the same time he published a letter to
four of the leading advocates of change. So bitterly personal were these
productions that, as we find from some correspondence given in the Life
of Dr Lawson, the question was agitated whether the offence ought not
to be made matter of discipline, but instead of this the severance came. On
5th September 1799 Mr Willis moved in the Synod that the Preamble be
PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK
171
icancelled, and, this motion being lost by 84 votes to 28, or 3 to i, he, along
[with Mr Hyslop of Shotts, renounced connection, and went off, to set foot
[within the New Light Synod no more. On 2nd October a new Presbyterj'
[was formed, consisting at first of three ministers and three elders. The bulk
[of Crawfordsdyke congregation, having shared their minister's feelings on
[personal matters, kept by him at this crisis, though some broke away. But
[his sphere of labour was by-and-by to be changed.
In September 1801 Mr Willis was called to Stirling, where the Original
[Burghers had a strong following, and, on a second call brought up in April
|-i8o2, he was loosed from Greenock. Mr Willis had been appomted Pro-
ifessor of Divinity to the new Presbytery the year after its formation, but,
[after meeting with the students three sessions, he resigned that office, and
[devoted himself to the building up of Stirling congregation. All was not
comfort there any more than in Greenock, and in 182 1 it was arranged that
[he should retire from his charge on an allowance of ^50 a year ; but disputes
[followed, and the Synod in May 1822 dissolved the connection. Mr Willis
[died, 1st October 1827, in the seventy-ninth year of his age and forty-eighth
of his ministry. His contributions to the Old Light Controversy have been
I already specified. These he followed up after the severance with another
lof the same stamp, entitled "Little Naphthali." In a happier line was his
[last publication, consisting of several sermons, in 1822, on Mount Calvary.
Mr Willis' son, Dr Michael Willis of Renfield Church, Glasgow, was the
pleader of the Original Burgher Synod at the time of its union with the
'i Establishment.
Cartsdyke congregation after Mr Willis left obtained Mr George
Moscrip for their minister, whose call was signed by 201 members and
94 adherents, and the stipend was to be ^92. His colleague and successor,
ordained in January 1834, was the Rev. James Stark, who succeeded to the
whole charge at Mr Moscrip's death on 21st September 1838. The congre-
gation and its minister went with the majority of the Original Burgher
•Synod into the Established Church in 1839, and left at the Disruption to
1 form Wellpark Free Church, Greenock.
GREENOCK, GREEN BANK (Antiburgher)
lOR the origin of this congregation we have their own early records to draw
from. The first notice of sermon is on i6th October 1748, when Mr Goodlet,
[afterwards of Sanquhar, preached to them. The collection on that occasion
was 9s., and two days afterwards ^i, us. 6d. was subscribed by 10 men
[and 3 women, and out of these sums the first tent was paid for. But for
[years it was only on stray Sabbaths that this handful of people had pulpit
[supply ; at other times they met as Praying Societies in Greenock, Port-
I Glasgow, and Kilmalcolm. In 1753 a new tent, which served them for
'years, and was used at communion times, cost only ^2, 9s. In September
1756, when Mr James Alice was ordained at Paisley, it was arranged that
Greenock people should have his services every third Sabbath, and pay
one-third of his stipend. The same principle was rigidly adhered to when
the ordination expenses — ^11, 6s. lod. — came to be paid. For two and a
1 half years Mr Alice preached from the tent in a large gfreen ; but in the end
[of 1758 the first church was built, at a cost of considerably under ^200. On
1 8th October of the following year the united session transmitted with
lapproval a petition from Greenock to the Presbytery anent a disjunction,
'believing that it would tend to the success of the gospel in both corners, and
on the 30th of that month the two were declared separate congregations.
172 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
At this time the newly-formed session of Greenock consisted of two elders,
whose names are found among the original subscribers — John Muir and
Patrick M 'Arthur.
First Minister. — John BuiST, from Abernethy. Ordained, nth August
1761. After going on for nearly five years Mr Buist laid a paper of griev-
ances before the Presbytery. A party in the congregation had persisted in
obstructing the peaceable exercise of his ministry, alleging, among other
things, that his preaching was distasteful to the bulk of the people, and
he wished his brethren to meet at Greenock and probe the matter to
its depths, and, unless he was to get rid of these embarrassments, he hoped
they would at least declare him transportable. An investigation followed,
when, after the elders had been talked with one by one, the leader of the
faction, a mason from Port-Glasgow, gave in certain articles of charge
against his minister, the purport being that he did not testify as he ought
against the sins of the times ; that in laying baptismal vows on parents he
did not bind them to our National Covenant and Solemn League ; that in
his intercourse with his flock he shunned spiritual converse ; and that in the
session and otherwise he was arbitrary in his management. To these
accusations Mr Buist replied seriatim., and completely vindicated himself,
as the Presbytery considered, and the assembled congregation, on being
appealed to, disclaimed several of the charges alleged against him. As
the case went on, the greater part of the accuser's adherents withdrew their
antagonism to Mr Buist, and in the end John Simpson, the elder aforesaid,
and Patrick M'Arthur, one of the original session, were deposed from office,
and suspended from membership. After a time, as their own records bear,
the congregation prospered greatly, so that in 1769 galleries had to be put
up, a fact which accounts for a gift of ^5 having been sent them that year
from the North Church, Perth.
The complaints made against Mr Buist mark a spirit from which several
Antiburgher congregations suffered in early times. Unless the minister
gave prominence to corruptions in Church and State he was branded as "a
general preacher." It was a spirit which we might expect to reveal itself
among the rigid Antiburghers in Greenock who had separated from their
brethren at the Breach of 1747. Hence, too. Covenanting was kept up
among them, including engagements to "endeavour the reformation of
religion in England and Ireland." On an occasion of the kind in 1780 Mr
Buist was assisted by four of his co-Presbyters, when 42 subscribed the
bond. It is interesting to observe that of these half were men and half
women, and that, while the 21 men signed for themselves, 13 of
the women, having declared they could not write, took the pen in their
hand, and desired the minister to subscribe for them. Mr Buist died, 25th
November 1796, "in peace and much comfort," in the fifty-eighth year of his
age and thirty-sixth of his ministry. " By the death of this most excellent
man," said the Caledonian Mercury., " his relations have lost a most endear-
ing connection, society a most useful member, and the Church of the
Secession one of her greatest ornaments."
Second Minister. — John Dunn, from Dumfries (now Loreburn Street).
The stipend was to be ^80, and the call, though unanimous, was signed by
no more than 44 male members. Mr Dunn was ordained, 17th January
1798. In the early part of his theological course Dumfries Presbytery refused
to attest him to the Hall as he had frequently attended the theatre in
Dumfries, which they considered very unbecoming in a student of divinity
"who had a family and was come to his time of life." This caused him the
loss of a session, but having made acknowledgments and improved in his
deportment he was restored to his status, and got licence in due time.
PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK 173
They suspected levity of disposition, and it cannot be said that he ever
approved himself a devoted minister of the gospel. However, in 1803 the
congregation built a new church at a cost of ^1200, with sittings for 730.
This was in Innerkip Street, the name by which the church was long known.
I In July 1806 dissatisfaction with Mr Dunn came to a head. Complaint was
made to the Presbyter)' that he neglected regular visitation, that the sick
were not properly cared for, and that his heart did not seem to go with the
duties of his office. These matters were carefully gone into by the Presby-
tery at a meeting in Greenock, the proceedings occupying two days, and
anyone who felt dissatisfied with his minister's conduct having full freedom
to express himself. Many of the matters brought up came to little on
explanations being given, but enough was acknowledged to warrant
admonition and rebuke. It was alleged that the editorship of a Greenock
newspaper had come between Mr Dunn and his ministerial duties, but he
explained that this was work he would not have undertaken save for the
necessity of providing for the support of himself and his family. It came
out, however, that the congregation had raised his stipend to ^90 six years
before, and they were now giving him ^i 10 or ^120 a year, so that he had
ceased connection with the Greenock Advertiser.
At this point there is a break in the Minutes, and we only know from the
Presbytery's report to the Synod that Mr Dunn was loosed from his charge
in November of that year. In January 1808 he wrote the Presbytery
renouncing connection with the Secession, and had sentence of suspension
pronounced upon him. After this, according to a History of Greenock,
he became a teacher of languages and took charge of the public library.
The last notice we have of him runs thus: "Died at Glasgow, 17th May
1842, the Rev. John Dunn, formerly of Greenock."
77«y^il/««/.y/^r.— George Barclay, from Mid-Calder. Ordained, loth
August 1808. Though they promised ^100 of stipend the congregation must
have been at a low ebb, as the call was signed by only 22 (male) members
and 4 adherents. But when the church's affairs were in an unpromising
state signatures might be largely withheld from unwillingness to incur
responsibilities. The ministry now commencing was not to bring in
prosperity, and on 12th February 1828 Mr Barclay, who had for some time
ceased to officiate, tabled the demission of his charge. The congregation
being unanimous not to oppose, the resignation was accepted on nth March.
A few months afterwards the Presbytery appointed a committee to meet
with Mr Barclay and converse with him on certain matters of offence, but
he replied that his connection with the Secession Church was at an end,
and he knew of no right they had to interfere with his affairs. Persistently
failing to appear he was on 9th June 1829 pronounced a fugitive from
discipline, the sentence to be read from the pulpit of Innerkip Street
Church. At this second unhappy winding-up the membership was only
about 80. Of Mr Barclay, a relative of ours in Greenock remembered him
cultivating a farm in the neighbourhood, with every trace of the clerical
lost sight of, and his death is said to have occurred in 1841.
Fourth Minister. — Sutherland Sinclair, from Kirkwall. The call
Was signed by 68 members and 71 adherents, and, the Synod having pre-
ferred it to another from Tillicoultry, Mr Sinclair was ordained, ist September
1830. For all concerned there was now the entering on an upward path.
In 1835 the communicants numbered 433, and the stipend was ^180. In
1846 the third church was built, at a cost of ^3000, with 600 sittings. In the
beginning of that year it was stated that a debt of ^230 resting on the old
property had been previously paid off, that upwards of ^700 had been sub-
scribed for the new church, and that the sale of the old building had brought
174 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
;^520, and in the course of three years only about ^looo of debt remained.
Mr Sinclair was active in the training of the young and in fostering a*
missionary spirit among his people, and the congregation prospered from
year to year. In 1873 arrangements were made to have a colleague, the
stipend of the senior minister to remain at ^300. But he died suddenly
on 14th June 1874, in the seventy-second year of his age and forty-fourth
of his ministry, after a call had been accepted and the ordination day fixed.
Fifth Minister. — James B. Thomson, from Burnhead. Ordained, 23rd
June 1874. On the morning of Monday, ist November 1880, the public
prints told that, on the previous forenoon, George Square U.P. Church,
Greenock, was burnt to the ground. The flooring had caught fire through
the action of the heating apparatus, and at nine o'clock the alarm was given.
Attempts were made to check the flames, but they baffled all efforts to
extinguish them. When the fire brigade arrived the pews and the whole
woodwork were in a blaze, and in an hour nothing was left but the four walls.
The new church at Greenbank was opened on 8th October 1882 by Dr
Morton of Edinburgh, with sittings for 650. The cost, including the site,
was ^7300, but the old building was insured for ^4000. That year Mr
Thomson was called to the Free Church, Shandon, but he kept by Greenock
and his own denomination. At the close of 1899 Greenbank had a member-
ship of slightly over 300, and the stipend was ^315. Mr Thomson is the
author of an interesting Life of his brother, Mr Joseph Thomson, the African
traveller, published in 1896.
GREENOCK, TRINITY (Burgher)
At the Synod in September 1791 the Presbytery of Glasgow sent in a
petition for sermon, " subscribed by 360 persons about Greenock, not of our
communion," who had built a place of worship in the west end of the town.
The petition had been presented to the Presbytery on 14th June, but
fearing rough weather, as the minister and session of Cartsdyke were in a
fretted state, they devolved the responsibility over on the Supreme Court.
Greenock, within the last thirty-five years, had grown in population from
4000 to three or four times that number, but this did not keep back Carts-
dyke from opposing the setting up of a second congregation at the other
extremity of the town. The Synod appointed a committee to meet at
Greenock with the parties, and endeavour to have matters adjusted. Clumsy
expedients were suggested, one of them being to make the charge collegiate,
the congregation to meet in the new place of worship, and the petitioners to
unite with Cartsdyke congregation in calling the junior minister. This was
strongly urged by the the Rev. William Fletcher, Bridge of Teith, who had
befriended Mr Willis all along. Another motion was that the two congrega-
tion should have a common fund, out of which the two ministers should be
paid equal stipends. But no compromise could be arrived at, and on 8th
January 1793 the Presbytery wound up matters by erecting the petitioners
mto a distinct congregation. The church they had built is understood to
have cost ^1300, and it accommodated iioo people. Towards the end of
1793 they called the Rev. James M'Farlane from Dunfermline (Queen
Anne Street) ; but he was attached to his people, and perhaps to his
colleague, whose son-in-law he became, so that the Synod without a vote
decided against the translation.
First Minister.— Robert Jack, from Linlithgow, where he had been
ordained twelve years before. Inducted, 14th October 1794. The call was
signed by 37 members and 691 adherents, the former figure showing that
PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK 175
Cartsdyke communion roll had suffered little by the new formation. Among
those disjoined, however, was Bailie John Buchanan, who had been a pillar
in Cartsdyke for a long^ course of years, and there must have been at least
another elder, as the new congregation had a session constituted at the very
irst. Perhaps under the impression that Mr Jack was not finding himself
comfortable as he expected, he was invited back to Linlithgow within a
t\v months, but preferred not to go. For seven years he went on con-
>lidating the new cause in Greenock ; but in September 1801 the Synod
Imost unanimously appointed him to undertake similar work in Manchester,
id he was loosed from his second charge. The young congregation over
?hich he was inducted on ist October had previously called the Rev. James
lall of Edinljurgh, and the Synod may have been unwilling to disappoint
pthem a second time. In 1814 Mr Jack received the degree of D.D. from
Glasgow University. In 1827 he had Mr (afterwards Dr) William M'Kerrow
ordained as his colleague, and he died, nth November 1837, in the seventy-
eighth year of his age and fifty-fifth of his ministry. By all accounts Dr
Jack possessed remarkable pulpit gifts, and was sometimes spoken of as
"silver-tongued." His name was prolonged in the Church, and also his
merits as a preacher, by his son, the Rev. Dr Jack of Dunbar. The chief
productions of his pen are a volume of Lectures on Important Doctrines of
Scripture, published in 18 16, in opposition to Socinianism, and a volume of
Discourses on the Trinity in 1834.
Second Minister. — William Wilson, from Paisley (Abbey Close),
but a native of Dunfermline, where his mother was brought up under the
ministry of Ralph Erskine. The call was signed by 145 members, and
Mr Wilson was ordained, i6th November 1802. Within five years it ap-
peared as if Nicolson Street congregation might be thrown vacant a second
time to benefit Presbyterianism in England. At the Synod in April 1807
two calls to Mr Wilson were laid on the table, the one from Bolton and the
other from Leeds, but a vote being taken between Continue and Transport
the former carried by 44 to 35. In September 1808 a second call to Leeds
was similarly disposed of. We find that in 1810 the session consisted of
10 members, one of them being John Buchanan. Before the end of 1830
Mr Wilson was laid aside for three months by severe illness, and he died,
loth March 1831, in the fifty-fifth year of his age and twenty-ninth of his
ministry. Over his grave there is a monumental stone with a medallion
portrait, and the words engraved underneath: "This tablet is erected to
his memory by a few surviving friends as a token of respect for his public
and private worth."
Third Minister. — ROBERT WiLSON, M.A., from the parish of Kirk-
newton, but on joining the Secession, and in student days, a member of
Broughton Place, Edinburgh. Ordained at Kendal, 25th December 1828,
the Synod having preferred that call to another from St Andrews. In 1831
Mr Wilson preached in Nicolson Street Church when he came north to raise
money for behoof of his own congregation, and a large proportion of the
' sople at once favoured him for the vacant charge. Others demurred, but in
the end Mr Wilson carried, and when the call came up to the Synod it was
signed by 333 members and 92 adherents. Other candidates had been
Ispoken of, Mr James Robertson, afterwards of Portsburgh, Edinburgh, in
, particular, but the majority was decisive. The Secession had never found
[Congenial soil in Kendal, and Mr Wilson expressed his wish to be removed,
j-but the Synod decided otherwise. A year afterwards a second call, sub-
[scribed by 353 members, and protested against by 213, was otherwise dis-
[posed of, and Mr Wilson was inducted to Greenock on 19th June 1833.
[From this point dates the origin of Union Street Church, which we shall
176 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
take up by-and-by. Considering the strength of the congregation and the
extension of Greenock the severance was not to be regretted. But all was
not smoothness for Mr Wilson. In course of time he complained to the
Presbytery that matters had come to a deadlock in the session owing to
two elders having set themselves to oppose everything. This led to a meet-
ing in Greenock, when the defaulters were dealt with and suspended from
office, which was naturally followed by separation from the fellowship of the
Church. Mr Wilson was a man of impulsive temperament, and his
vehemence was a source of weakness as well as of strength. A pamphlet he
published during the Atonement Controversy, entitled " A Blow at the Root :
a Letter to Dr Balmer," is marked by very little of the calmly judicial. Still,
his talents and straightforward honesty were acknowledged on all hands,
and in 1854 the University of St Andrews conferred on him the degree of
D.D. He died, 23rd April 1858, in the sixty-fourth year of his age and
thirtieth of his ministry. Dr Wilson appeared oftener in print as a poet
than as a controversialist, the best known of his productions in this line
being " The Pleasures of Piety," in ten books. We also recall from among
early remembrances his " Battle of Drumclog," in which the events of that
memorable day are gone over in animated verse. Dr Wilson's wife was a
sister of the Rev. W. C. Brodie of Lasswade.
Fourth Minister.— h.-iiDK^Vf M'Farlane, D.D., from Falkirk (Erskine
Church), into which he had been inducted fifteen years before. Admitted
to Greenock, his third charge, i6th March 1859. The stipend was to be
^200, the same as it had been since the latter part of Mr Williart Wilson's
ministry, but with the addition of ^20 or thereby for sacramental and
travelling expenses. That the prosperity of Nicolson Street Church under
its fourth minister was rapid is evinced by the stipend being doubled in the
course of six years. On Sabbath, 8th January 1871, the new church, built
a considerable way to the west, was opened by Dr M'Farlane's brother from
London, the Rev. Dr John M'Farlane. The church is seated for 954, and
the cost amounted to nearly ^7800, which was all cleared off by the end of
1892. The old building, which, after serving its day, realised ^3000, still
stands, but has been turned to business purposes. Soon after the opening
of the new church Dr M'Farlane began to experience the effects of heart
disease, induced by rheumatic fever, and perhaps prepared for by unremitting
pastoral labours. He died, 24th March 1873, ^^ the fifty-seventh year of his
age and thirtieth of his ministry. The funeral sermon, preached by the Rev.
Charles Miller of Duns, was published, and is marked by the classic taste
and poetic unction which characterised the author.
Fifth Minister. — JOHN YoUNG, in the twelfth year of his ministry, half
of that time having been spent at Ford and the other half in Alloa (West).
Inducted, 4th March 1874. The call was signed by 300 members and 69
adherents, and the stipend was to be ^425 in all. The membership six
years after this was 650. By the change of centre the congregation had
probably suffered some reduction in numbers, and Dr M'Farlane complained
some time after that by their removal from the heart of the town the acces-
sions were fewer than they used to be. In 1889 two of Mr Young's family
departed for Manchuria — his son, Dr Thomas M. Young, as a medical
missionary, and a daughter as the wife of a medical missionary. The latter,
Mrs Greig, died in that distant land on 30th July 1900, deeply regretted.
On Sabbath, 8th January 1893, centenary services were conducted by Mr
Young in the forenoon ; by Dr Black of Wellington Church, Glasgow, in
the afternoon ; and by Dr M'Millan of the Free West Church in the evening.
In commemoration of that great occasion a Historical Sketch of the con-
gregation was published. To the author of that carefully-prepared little
PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK 177
volume, Mr James Frame, the writer begs to express his obligations. The
membership of Trinity Church at the close of 1899 was 480, and the stipend
^450-
GREENOCK, SIR MICHAEL STREET (Relief)
On 2nd September 1806 a petition for sermon was presented to the Relief
Presbytery of Glasgow, signed by the chairman of a well-attended meeting
of Greenock people, expressing warm attachment to the Relief body.
Mr Stewart of Anderston was accordingly appointed to preach to them on
Sabbath week. A church, of which the first minister put the sittings at 1498,
was built next year at a cost of ^2400. It is understood that, as was common
in Relief congregations, the system of proprietorship prevailed for a consider-
able time. Owing to the increase of population in Greenock there was need
for enlarged church accommodation, and under popular preaching outside
Secession restrictions this congregation grew rapidly, and became great.
First Minister. — William Auld, who had been ordained at Burnhead
nearly eight years before, and was inducted into Greenock, 17th November
1808. The stipend was fixed at ^200, and secured by a bond, as the rules
of the Relief Synod required. In 1838 the communicants numbered about
1 100, and the stipend was ^200, with a house and garden. Two years
before this a colleague had been required owing to Mr Auld's advancing
years and the onerousness of his charge. The junior minister had ^180 a
year.
Second Minister. — jAMES JEFFREY, translated from Musselburgh, Mill-
hill, where he had gone on for six and a half years, and gathered in an
overflowing congregation. Inducted, 26th October 1836, as colleague to
Mr Auld. For Mr Jeffrey there came a period of broken health, and he
died, 15th December 1845, '" the forty-first year of his age and sixteenth of
his ministry. A volume of his sermons was published in 1846, and these,
along with the accompanying Memoir by the Rev. George Brooks, Johnstone,
attest his gifts and excellences.
Third Minister. — James Caldwell, who had been nine years in Biggar
(South). Admitted to Sir Michael Street as junior minister, 9th June 1846,
and was loosed from his charge in unpleasant circumstances, 19th September
1848. On 1 8th December 1849 he was admitted to the pastorate of a small
congregation in Stockton-on-Tees ; but, a report unfavourable to his char-
acter having got abroad, he resigned, and threw up connection with the
U.P. Church. The Presbytery of Newcastle, on their part, dissolved the
pastoral relation, and suspended him from office and membership. He
afterwards went to the United States, where his name appears with D.D.
appended, and is then lost sight of
Fourth Minister. — ANDREW MORTON, from Greenhead, Glasgow. Mr
Morton when a preacher was exceptionally popular, being called not only to
Aberchirder, Alexandria, and Barrhead but also to Regent Place, Glasgow.
Greenock, however, became his choice, where he was ordained as colleague
.to Mr Auld, 9th October 1849. Within a few hours he became sole pastor,
'le venerable minister breathing his last that same evening, in the seventy-
ixth year of his age and forty-ninth of his ministry. At the Union of 1847
Ir Auld, as the oldest minister present on that side of the Church acted as
loderator of the Relief Synod. His son, of the same name with himself,
iras long minister of Tollcross, Glasgow. A new church on the old site was
bpened in 1854. The cost was ;^6ooo, and the sittings 1200. Mr Morton
published his "Family Circle" in 1862, delivered originally as a course of
ibbath evening lectures, and marked by that fulness and tenderness of
II. M
178 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
emotion for which he was distinguished. On 23rd September of that year he
accepted a call to St James' Place, Edinburgh, to be colleague to the Rev.
James Kirkwood, with responsibility for the whole work.
Fifth Minister. — William R. Thomson, after a ministry of seven years
in Bethelfield, Kirkcaldy, and another of a year and a half in Regent
Place, Glasgow. Inducted into Greenock, 3rd June 1863, and translated to
Belhaven, Glasgow, his fourth and last charge, on i8th April 1876.
Sixth Minister. — James Davidson, M.A., from Selkirk (West), where
he had been ordained eleven years before. Inducted, ist May 1877, and
disjoined with part of the congregation to form Finnart Church on 31st
July 1883. The great majority remained in the old building, and addressed
a call soon after to the Rev. John G. Train of Buckhaven, who declined.
Seventh Minister. — Charles Jerdan, LL.B, after a seventeen years'
ministry, first in Dennyloanhead and then in Tay Square, Dundee. In-
ducted, 1st April 1884, the call being signed by 469 members and 97 ad-
herents. In 1895 Mr Jerdan published a brochure with bearings on the
times, entitled "Are the Books of Moses Holy Scripture?" in which the
modern theory of the Pentateuch is pointedly withstood. The membership of
Sir Michael Street Church at the close of 1899 was 529, and the stipend ^500.
GREENOCK, UNION STREET (United Secession)
On 24th April 1833 it carried in the Synod to translate the Rev. Robert
Wilson from Kendal to Nicolson Street, Greenock. On the following
Tuesday the dissentient members to the number of 165, which rose shortly
to 178, petitioned Glasgow Presbytery to be disjoined and erected into a new
congregation. Nicolson Street session intimated that they would concur in
whatever decision the Presbytery came to, and on 14th May the application
was granted. On 2nd July a moderation was agreed to, a stipend of ^^200
being promised, with expenses. The call came out for the Rev. John Robson
of Lasswade, a young minister who had been for some years mathematical
master in the Academy, but as he had been only nine months ordained the
Synod, with his own approval, continued him in Lasswade. Next year the
present church was built, at a cost of over ^2400, with sittings for 923. In
the beginning of 1835 the congregation centred on Mr Robson a second
time ; but, conscious probably of their new burdens, they only named ^150
at first, though on bringing up the call they returned to the same figure as
before. The Synod had in the interim resigned the right of decision in all
such cases to the minister or preacher concerned, and the result was a
speedy declinature. An application was made for a hearing of three pro-
bationers—Messrs John Eadie, George Gilfillan, and Thomas Finlayson.
The first named was pre-engaged for Cambridge Street, Glasgow ; but the
other two were sent within the bounds, and it is presumed they appeared as
rivals in Union Street pulpit. But Gilfillan's powers as a preacher were not
yet developed, and the call was unanimous for Mr Finlayson.
First Minister. — Thomas Finlayson, from Bridge of Teith. Or-
dained, 4th November 1835. The stipend was fixed now at ^150, with
expenses. Ten years afterwards Mr Finlayson reported that when he was
ordained there was a debt of ;^200o on the property, but by subscriptions
and otherwise it was reduced ere long to half that sum, and his stipend
raised to ^180. At the close of 1845 the whole burden was cleared ofTby a
simultaneous effort, and as much more obtained as sufficed to clean and
paint the church. There was a membership now of 320, which was nearly
double what it had been ten years before. On loth August 1847 Mr Finlay-
PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK 179
son accepted a call to Rose Street, Edinburgh, to be colleague to the Rev.
John M'Gilchrist.
Second Minister. — John B. Smith, from Chapel Street, Hamilton.
Ordained, loth October 1848. The membership at this time was scarcely
lover 300, and the stipend was ^200, with expenses. Mr Smith at his semi-
[ jubilee had a membership of 544, besides 60 who enjoyed sealing ordinances
at the mission station, which had been long kept up at considerable expense
in a destitute part of the town. The congregation through the influence of
public-spirited laymen like Provost Morton came to display a large measure
of liberality all round, and in 1879 there was a membership of 500, and a
stipend of the same figure. At the Synod of 1887 Mr Smith was raised to
the Moderator's Chair, and a few years afterwards, under life's decline, he
began to be furnished with a succession of assistants. This merged in a
colleagueship, the senior minister to have ^140, and the junior ^250.
Third Minister. — JOHN Cullen, D.Sc, who, after being nine and a
half years in Leslie (West), was inducted to Darlington, 23rd March 1893.
Having accepted Union Street, Greenock, he was admitted as junior minister
on 2 1 St January 1896. It was intended to celebrate Mr Smith's jubilee by
holding a public meeting on loth October 1898, answering to his ordination
day fifty years before, but owing to his enfeebled state he and Mrs Smith
had to be waited on in their own dwelling with tokens of the congregation's
respect and affection. He died, i6th June 1899, in the eightieth year of his
age and the fifty-first of his ministry. In January following the membership
of Union Street Church was fully 500, and Dr CuUen's stipend ;!^405.
GREENOCK, ST ANDREW SQUARE (United Presbyterian)
A FEELING had long prevailed among United Presbyterians in Greenock
that the east quarter of the town was left very much to the care of other
denominations. The earliest Secession church had its seat in Cartsdyke, the
locality referred to, but it had ultimately passed into the Free Church.
Those that followed were all planted down more or less towards the other
extremity. To effect a better balance it was suggested in April 1865 that a
preaching station should be opened on the east side, and on i8th July it was
mtimated that 29 residenters there guaranteed the payment of the initial
expenses. Accordingly, with the consent of sessions services were com-
menced on the following Sabbath in Blackball Street. On 17th October
40 members with certificates were formed into a congregation, and in March
1866 four elders were inducted or ordained.
First Minister. — Andrew J. Gunion, translated from Strathaven
(West), in the twentieth year of his ministry. Inducted, i8th September
1866. At the moderation Mr George Robson, probationer, now Dr Robson
of Perth, had a goodly proportion of supporters. The membership was 75,
with an attendance of about 200, and there was a stipend promised of ^300,
without ways and means being carefully considered. On Sabbath, 3rcl
November 1867, the church, with iioo sittings, was opened by the Rev. Dr
MacEwcn, Glasgow, who preached in the forenoon. Next year Mr Gunion
received the degree of LL.D. from Tusculum, Tennessee. Thus far all looked
well, but gradually the laws of the commercial world asserted themselves,
and money embarrassments arose. In June 1870 the Presbytery found that
^6000 had been expended on the building and the site, and though one-
third of this sum had been raised the liabilities amounted at this time to
nearly ^^5000, and the expenditure that year went ^158 beyond the income.
Measures were in progress meanwhile among the people to meet the
i8o HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
conditional promise of ^looo from various quarters, and Dr Gunion was
willing to accept ^200 instead of ^300. At this crisis brother ministers gave
vigorous aid — Messrs J. B. Smith and W. R. Thomson alone raising nearly
^500 — and sums of ^300 came from the Ferguson Fund, the Debt Liquida-
tion Fund, and Provost Morton respectively. Still, in spite of liberality on
this large scale a debt of ^3300 remained. The congregation, however, saw
their way to make income and expenditure now balance, and Dr Gunion had
the prospect of getting in among smoother waters, but he died suddenly, 12th
February 1873, in the fifty-second year of his age and twenty-seventh of his
ministry. A biographical estimate of more than average length, and a
model of its kind, appeared soon after in the U.P. Magazine, written, it is
known, by the Rev. A. G. Fleming, Paisley. " He was," said George
Gilfillan, "a man of great talent, thorough honesty, and a warm heart." A
more expressive term than talent would not have been misapplied, and
though Dr Gunion had his struggles in Greenock the congregation during
the six and a half years he was there increased from 75 members to 300.
Second Minister. — John K. C.\mpbell, from St Vincent Street, Glasgow.
Called previously to Sandwick, in Orkney. Ordained, 23rd December 1873,
and a stipend of ^220 was promised, the income now reaching ^400 a year.
In March 1876 dispeace broke out in the session, whose action the Pres-
bytery disapproved of, and a protest was given in, but not prosecuted. On
29th January 1878 Mr Campbell's resignation, which had been tabled in
consequence of a quarrel with his elders, was accepted, and prior to this
about 60 members had withdrawn. At next Assembly he was admitted into
the Established Church, and in 1881 became minister of the quoad sacra
churchj Marykirk, Stirling. In 1882 the debt was given at ^450.
Third Minister. — Robert Edgar, translated from Cranstonhill, Glas-
gow, his second charge, and inducted, 9th July 1878. After labouring in
St Andrew Square for nearly eight years Mr Edgar demitted his charge,
with the view of proceeding, under medical advice, to one of the Australian
colonies, and on 8th June 1886 his resignation was accepted, the congrega-
tion testifying that the relation between him and them had been of the most
cordial and satisfactory kind, and his brethren expressing their sense of the
valuable work he had done in Greenock. In 1890 his name appears as
minister of Young, in New South Wales, and in 1900 he was minister of
Portland and Pitt Town, in the same colony.
Fourth Minister. — Robert Primrose, translated from Cumbernauld
after a ministry of five years. Inducted, 6th January 1887. The member-
ship now was 375, and the stipend ^^250. Mr Primrose accepted a call to
Partick (East) on loth December 1889. In April following St Andrew
Square called Mr David Christie, afterwards of North Shields, and Nicolson
Street, Edinburgh.
Fifth Minister. — James Adams, M.A., from Bo'ness. Ordained, 23rd
February 1891. At the recent Union the membership was 360 or thereby,
and the stipend ^270.
GREENOCK, MOUNT PLEASANT (United Presbyterian)
■In the end of 1876 the congregations of Sir Michael Street and Union
Street, Greenock, thought it desirable to unite the two groups of Church
members they had gathered into their respective mission stations and have
them congregated. On i6th January 1877 this was agreed to by the Presby-
tery, and a congregation was formed of 80 members. The Mission Board
next promised to grant the new cause ;^5o for five years, and the parent
PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK i8i
churches were to give ^loo each for the same period. Steps were then
taken to make the organisation complete, three elders from Sir Michael
Street and three from Union Street being appointed to form a provisional
session, and managers being similarly provided. On 4th September, when
a moderation was applied for, it was stated that the attendance averaged
from 60 to 100, and through the liberal aid already specified a stipend was
promised of ^275 in all.
First Minister. — Alexander Duncan, who had been in Muirkirk for
two and a half years, and may have ultimately regretted that he ever left.
Inducted to Greenock, i8th December 1877. Four years afterwards a
deputation from the Board brought out the initial drawbacks with which
the minister had to contend. The material laid to his hand, they said, did
not furnish a firm basis for a regular congregation, and his work had con-
sisted largely in purifying and consolidating. But formidable difficulties
had now to be faced. By another year the aid received from the two con-
gregations was to cease, and also the lease of the premises, which were the
property of Sir Michael Street Church. To meet this emergency the people
were to do their utmost, and the Presbytery undertook to give them all
encouragement. To assist with the erection of an iron church ^100 was
to be allowed by the Board, and the congregation was to be placed on the
Augmentation Fund for two years. Assistance having been drawn from
other quarters the cost of the new erection, amounting to ^535, was de-
frayed, and before the end of 1882 a considerable increa:c in the membership
was reported. But the maximum of 125 was reached in 1884. When the
question of continuing their support came before the Synod in 1893 the
Presbytery interposed, pleading that the struggle had been abnormal, that
the withdrawal of the grant would have unfortunate effects, and that both
minister and session were hopeful of improvement. It was thereupon decided
to persevere for other three years. But before that period ended Mr Duncan
tendered his demission, owing to the circumstances of the congregation and
the state of his health. The people sympathised with him, and expressed
deep regret for the loss of his services, but acquiesced, and on 12th May
1896 the connection was dissolved. He then withdrew to Glasgow, where
he still resides, and in October 1900 he had his name placed on the pro-
bationer list. The good wishes of Mount Pleasant congregation followed
him, and when his semi-jubilee came in April 1900 his successor and other
friends from Greenock waited on him, and presented him with a deposit
receipt for ^50 in token of grateful remembrances.
Second Minister. — James Buchanan, M. A., from Claremont, Glasgow.
Having been located in Mount Pleasant for some time he was ordained, ist
September 1897. The stipend from the people was to be ^70, and a grant
was promised from the Evangelistic Fund of ^90 for the first year, ^75 for
the second, and ^60 for the third, with due notice that unless reasonable
progress were made within that time it would not be continued. At the
close of the first two years the membership had increased to 125, and,
although the stipend from the congregational funds remained as before, the
minister had from all sources £20'^.
GREENOCK, FINNART (United Presbyterian)
This church was originated by 36 members of Sir Michael Street congrega-
tion, including four elders, who petitioned the Presbytery of Greenock on
I2th June 1883 to form them into a congregation, with Mr Davidson for
their minister. No opposition being offered, and good feeling towards the
i82 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
movement being expressed by Sir Michael Street congregation, the petition
was granted, and the petitioners were congregated on 31st July, the four
elders to form the session. As for a new election, the reading of an edict,
and induction services, these forms were never thought of. On Sabbath,
2nd September, the new church, with sittings for 700, and situated a good
way to the west, was opened by Principal Cairns. The entire cost, amount-
ing to ;i{^45oo, had been subscribed at the very outset, and Mr Davidson's
stipend was kept at ^600, as before. At the end of the year the membership
stood at 85, but though these were few compared with the 694 who re-
mained in the old church, it is clear that they must have had wealth among
them out of all proportion to their numbers. But a congregation formed as
this was wants the charm of novelty, and is usually slow in getting hold of
new ground. Hence Finnart Church, though large in resources, did not
grow in numbers, as may have been expected, and in i8g8 Mr Davidson,
finding that decline in vigour was not made up for by regular assistantship,
thought it well to retire from active duty. This was accordingly arranged
for on amicable terms, the congregation paying him a slump sum of fully
^625, which they calculated would be made up otherwise to ^850, and on
this footing he was put on the emeritus list, 26th July 1898, and he now
resides in Edinburgh.
Second Mmisfer.—CUA^l.K?, Allan, M.A., translated from East Bank,
Hawick, where he had laboured for seven years. Inducted, 25th May 1899.
The congregation had previously called the Rev. Ernest F. Scott of Prest-
wick, but he did not see his way to accept. The membership at the close
of that year was 159, with the promise of steady increase, and the stipend
was ;^5oo.
ROTHESAY (Antiburgher)
The name in the old Presbytery records is Bute instead of Rothesay. The
first notice is on 3rd October 1764, when the fulfilment of an appointment to
Bute was intimated to the Antiburgher Presbytery of Glasgow. Further
back than this we cannot go, as the earlier Minutes have disappeared, but
at another meeting on 4th December a petition subscribed by 10 persons in
that island was read craving frequent supply. From this time sermon was
kept up in an irregular way year after year, difficulty of access being a draw-
back, especially in winter. In March 1767 the desire was expressed by
Rothesay people to have a preacher located among them who had the Gaelic
language, as many of the islanders did not understand English, but nothing
definite followed. Meanwhile worship was kept up on an open green, or
"in a kiln" when the weather was unfavourable, and this continued till 1778.
On nth March of that year a site for a church was granted by the Town
Council of Rothesay, and on 9th October the feu charter was signed, by
which time the church was roofed in.
First Minister. — James Grahame, who entered the Divinity Hall from
Gask parish and Kinkell congregation. When a probationer Mr Grahame
was called to Dundee (now Bell Street), but the call had to be set aside
owing to want of unanimity. This was fortunate for Rothesay, where Mr
Grahame was now located, and had been for some time. On the second
Sabbath of March 1784 an ordination of elders took place — two for the town
of Rothesay, one for Nether Cowal, and one for the country part of Bute.
On the following Tuesday Mr Grahame was called, the call being sub-
scribed by 12 male members and 1 1 1 ordinary hearers, including one female.
Those in adherence explained that though they had not joined the Secession
they would give Mr Grahame due subsistence and encouragement if he were
PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK 183
settled among them. Ordained, nth August 1784, the stipend promised
being ^50. Seven years after this the church had to be enlarged by the
erection of a gallery, which made the sittings 434 in all. This required the
walls of the one-storey building to be heightened, and to meet the expenses
the people raised by subscription ^^150. Mr Grahame died of fever, after an
illness of ten days, on 25th April 1794, in the forty-eighth year of his age and
tenth of his ministry.
After a vacancy of a year the congregation called Mr Robert Smith, who
refused to accept, and afterwards obtained Kilwinning. This call was signed
by 28 male members and 166 ordinary hearers, the names on the communion
roll numbering 60. The parish minister of Rothesay, who was ordained in
1765, and held the incumbency for fifty-nine years, was one of the Moderate
school, which may have led numbers to attend the Antiburgher church who
had no favour for Secession principles. His neighbour in Kingarth was
like-minded, and is minutely described by Dr Jamieson of Edinburgh, who
supplied at Rothesay when a probationer. His undisguised denial of funda-
mental doctrines shocked the young preacher, who, nevertheless, retained
grateful remembrances of his abounding kindness. It is scarcely conceiv-
able, however, that the statement about never having more than four
sermons, which he went through every month, merely changing the texts,
can have been made in sober earnest. But these hints give insight into the
need which the island of Bute had for gospel ordinances outside the pale of
the Established Church.
Second Minister. — D.wiD HOG, entered the Hall from Glasgow (now
Cathedral Square). Ordained, 13th September 1797, with only two ministers
present, of whom the one, the Rev. John Mitchell of Glasgow, was
Moderator, and the other would have to act as Clerk. Mr Hog died very
suddenly on 6th December 1799, in the third year of his ministry. The
Christian Magazine has recorded that he had a slight cold but preached
on the forenoon of the preceding Sabbath, taking as his text the words :
"All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come." Next
day he went three miles to baptise a child. On Friday he grew suddenly
worse, and died at ten o'clock that night. Mr MacFarlane has recorded in
his Historical Sketch of Rothesay Congregation how the funeral was
delayed ten days to allow Mr Hog's brother James to get forward from Kelso,
and how he arrived in little more than time to be too late, and how he
preached a touching sermon on the following Sabbath from the words :
" Surely every man walketh in a vain show, surely they are disquieted in
vain."
Third Minister. — John Robertson, from Buchlyvie. Ordained, 25th
September 1800. The stipend, which had been ^70 in Mr Hog's time, with
^7 for house rent, was now to be ^80, and the call was signed by 26 male
members and 107 adherents. The falling off in the latter numbers may
have been partly owing to the opening of a Chapel of Ease for Gaelic
preaching three years before, but otherwise appearances were favourable.
The debt on the building was cleared off before Mr Hog's ordination, and
!the people were in earnest to increase their minister's income, and have him
provided with a manse ; but discouragements arose, which Mr Robertson
took unduly to heart, and on 7th November 1809 he laid his resignation on
[the Presbytery's table, mentioning the obstacles with which the Secession
had to contend in Bute. He also brought forward the difficulty he had in
getting brethren to assist at his communion, the chief reason which Mr
■ Smith assigned for refusing to be ordained at Rothesay fifteen years
before. The people could scarcely help blaming Mr Robertson for pro-
posing to leave a congregation in which he was much beloved, and they
i84 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
expressed their willingness to do what they could to promote his comfort,
but at next meeting on gth January 1810 they intimated that they would
throw no further barrier in his way, and the Presbytery loosed him from his
charge. Mr Robertson was inducted to Stranraer (Ivy Place) six months
afterwards.
In the early part of this vacancy the prospects of Rothesay congregation
were gloomy in the extreme. Preachers were few, and during three months
that summer, at the time communions were frequent, they were destitute of
supply. When blank Sabbaths prevailed there was reason to fear that
"ordinary hearers," on whom so much depended, would be lost hold of
altogether. The position this class occupied we can better understand from
the narrative of Neil Douglas. When in Rothesay, at the time Mr Hog
was ordained, he found some intelligent Christians, who owned that they
had acquired a relish for the truth from attending the ministry of Mr
Grahame, the first Antiburgher minister, " though few of them inclined to
form a close connection with that people." He adds: "They, however,
cordially wished them well, and considerably helped their temporal funds."
It was a state of things to be met with more or less in other parts of the
country. A worthy elder of mine spoke of his father walking in regularly
from Lasswade to Dalkeith to enjoy the ministry of Dr Thomas Brown, but
once a year, when the communion Sabbath came round, he found his way as
regularly to his own parish church to join in sacramental work. It may
have been experience of this kind that tempted Mr ilobertson to wish out
of Rothesay altogether. It must have been trying for him to feel on com-
munion occasions that between him and the greater part of his ordinary
audience there was no fellowship in sealing ordinances, and that they were
little more than hangers-on. Still, it was unfortunate that, perhaps under
irritated feeling, he thought of advising his people to remedy this state of
matters by going into the Establishment altogether. It was well that the
Presbytery intervened with a recommendation that a collection should be
made in their several congregations on behalf of the faithful remnant at
Rothesay.
After a pause of nearly two years the congregation brought out a call
to Mr John Miller, promising a stipend of ^80, with ;^io for house rent,
but at the Synod in May 18 13 he was appointed to Linlithgow. Another
year passed, and Mr James Blyth, afterwards of Urr, became their choice ;
but he refused to accept, and the Presbytery did not consider it their duty
to urge him further. Thus the vacancy was lengthened out beyond five
years.
Fourth Minister. — Samuel M'Nab, from Comrie, a name-child of the
Rev. Samuel Gilfillan. As Mr M'Nab was born in April 1791, the month
of Mr Gilfillan's ordination, he was probably the first whom his worthy
minister baptised. The call was subscribed by 16 male members, a serious
reduction compared with an earlier time, but to meet the Synod's minimum
requirements a stipend of j^ioo was offered. Ordained, 6th September 181 5.
Three years after this the members numbered 50, and the stipend was up
^10. Mr M'Nab had the Gaelic language, an advantage which none of his
predecessors possessed. In 1836 a new church was built, at a cost of ^1000,
with 647 sittings. The old building brought ^175, and the debt on the new
property was entirely cleared away by the end of 1849. In 1855, when Mr
M'Nab was about midway through his sixties, the people began to stir in
the direction of a colleague. Rothesay was a flourishing place now, and
the congregation had grown under his ministry to a membership of 200.
Fifth Minister. — Peter MacFarlane, B.A., who had retired in broken
health from Bloomgate, Lanark, two years before. At the request of the
PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK 185
people he agreed to assist Mr M'Nab for the time, and after fifteen months
he was called unanimously to be his colleague. His health having stood the
long test he believed himself warranted to undertake regular work anew,
and he was inducted on 2nd November 1858. Each minister was to have
^140, the sum which Mr M'Nab had been previously receiving, and the
communion roll had come up 50 during Mr MacFarlane's assistantship.
On 27th September 1864 Mr M'Nab's jubilee was celebrated, when he was
presented with ^500, a gift which made some amends for the scanty income
of earlier years. This was followed by the building of a manse in 1866, at a
cost of over ^1000, of which ^250 came from the Manse Fund. Mr M'Nab
died, 23rd May 1866, in the seventy-sixth year of his age and fifty-first of his
ministry. Soon after being left sole pastor Mr MacFarlane's stipend was
raised to ^250, and ^15 in name of expenses, besides the manse. His
ministry was continued with comfort to himself and advantage to his people
till 1886, when, under the pressure of years, he required to seek retirement.
On 27th July he was relieved from all responsibility for public work, and,
retaining his status as senior minister, with an allowance of ^90 a year
from the congregation, he removed to Edinburgh, where he died, i6th
.September 1890, in the seventieth year of his age and forty-sixth of his
ministry. Besides the valuable "Historical Sketch of the U.P. Church,
Rothesay," published in connection with the centenary of the congregation,
August 1884, the only production of Mr MacFarlane's pen I know of is a
Lecture on " The Crystal Palace viewed in some of its Moral and Religious
Aspects."
Sixth Minister.— ]0Y{^ Gray, M.A., from Stonehouse, the eldest of
three brothers who became U.P. ministers. Ordained, 7th September 1886,
stipend from the people ^175, with the manse. On 14th February 1888
Mr Gray demitted his charge, the state of his health, as a Committee of
Presbytery reported, rendering this step inevitable. Restoration being all
but hopeless he retired to Carluke, where he died, 2nd March 1895, in the
thirty-ninth year of his age and the ninth after his ordination.
Seventh Minister. — William Galbraith, from Cambridge Street,
Glasgow. Ordained as colleague to Mr MacFarlane, 23rd October 1888.
The stipend was to be ^200, with the manse, and ^10 for expenses, the
senior minister's allowance being now ^50. At the close of 1899 the
membership was 300, and the stipend as before.
CAMPBELTOWN (Relief)
This congregation consisted mainly of families whose ancestors had passed
over to Kintyre from Ayrshire, Renfrew, and Galloway in the time of the
Persecution or before it. Gaelic being the language used in the parish
church they had built a place of worship for themselves, and in 1757 the two
congregations were united into a collegiate charge. Eight years before this
the Lowlanders fretted under the law of Patronage, a presentee being thrust
upon them by the Duke of Argyle. In 1754 the Synod of the bounds
increased their grievances by enacting that services on the communion
Saturday and Monday "be discontinued for all time coming," and the
different Presbyteries were recommended a year afterwards to proceed
against such as proved refractory or followed divisive courses. In 1762 the
minister of the Lowland Church, Campbeltown, represented to the General
Assembly that for three successive years after the above Act was passed
his elders would not officiate at the communion, and not more than 17
persons came forward. He had compromised the matter by having sermon
i86 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
on the communion Saturday, a harmless measure which increased the
communicants to 700. The Assembly disapproved of the stringency with
which the Synod of Argyle sought to enforce the offensive enactment, and
thus the ground of complaint from Campbeltown was partly removed ; but
the death of their minister in Edinburgh six days after opened up the way
for wrongs of a more serious kind.
The reason the Synod of Argyle assigned for prohibiting sermon on the
sacramental Saturday and Monday was the evil of taking ministers so often
away from their own parishes during the summer season, and also the
difficulty of procuring the needed supply owing to intervening firths and
arms of the sea. But, whatever force there might be in these considerations,
they failed to warrant imperious action. In Campbeltown this high-handed
exercise of Church power prepared the way for the setting up of a strong
Relief congregation in the town. The Lowland Church being now vacant
the people petitioned the Duke of Argyle not to obtrude a minister upon
them, but it was only to find that Mr George Robertson, assistant to the
minister of the first charge, and head of the Grammar School, had got the
appointment. Prompted, perhaps, by aversion to Patronage more than to
the presentee they resolved to seek freedom outside the Courts of the Church,
and after three years' delay they set about building a church, and in a short
time the subscriptions amounted to ^1451. The barriers they had to sur-
mount at this stage are pointedly related in the memorial volume drawn up
by Dr Boyd in connection with the centenary services of the congregation
in 1867.
On 27th January 1766 a petition subscribed by 10 persons from Campbel-
town was laid before the Antiburgher Presbytery of Glasgow " setting forth
their lamentable circumstances through the want of the dispensation of
gospel ordinances in their purity." They earnestly craved the Presbytery to
appoint one or more of their number to observe a day of solemn fasting
among them. Accordingly, Mr Alice of Paisley and Mr Jamieson of Kil-
winning were sent over for the first and second Sabbaths of March, and at
a meeting on 26th May a man from Kintyre appeared, who stated that when
he came away there was a petition for sermon in course of being drawn up
and subscribed, but the commissioner had not yet got forward. This led
to an appointment for three Sabbaths. Next came a petition on 28th July,
subscribed by 28 persons, for frequent supply, and Mr Jamieson was sent
back for the month of September. Then arrangements were made for a
probationer going in October to Campbeltown, but the proviso came in " if
not advised to the contrary." The stream was now making another channel
for itself, and at this point Campbeltown disappears from the Antiburgher
records. On 17th March 1767 the Presbytery of Relief had a petition
before them from the Society in that town to be allowed to draw up and
subscribe a call to one to be their minister. Owing to distance the formality
of a moderation was dispensed with ; only, the signatures were to be duly
attested.
First Minister. — James Pinkerton, a licentiate of the Established
Church. The call was signed by 186 individuals, inhabitants of the town of
Campbeltown and its neighbourhood, and it was explained that they had
built a place of worship in order to vindicate their right to choose their own
pastor. Mr Pinkerton was ordained, 16th July 1767. The Relief Presby-
tery at this time consisted of seven ministers, and of these Messrs Baine of
Edinburgh, Cruden of Glasgow, and Scott of Auchtermuchty were present.
Mr Cruden (not Collier of Colinsburgh) preached and presided. At the close
Mr Pinkerton requested and obtained liberty to constitute two former
elders into a session. In 1794 one of the parish ministers gave the ecclesi-
PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK 187
astical state of Campbeltown as follows : — " Two-thirds of the people
belonged to the Highland charge, and of the others 1000 belonged to the
Lowland Established Church, and 2000, young and old, to the Relief,"
whose minister was much better paid than either of the two others, though
his stipend was never more than ^150, and no manse. Mr Pinkerton died,
22nd May 1804, in the sixty-second year of his age and thirty-seventh of his
ministry. His widow survived till 15th July 1840, and during that time she
had a small annuity from a Widows' Fund connected with the congregation.
Second Mittistcr. — David Fergus, from Auchterarder (South), where
he had laboured seventeen years. In view of a moderation the people
wished to know the mode they were to adopt in calling a minister, and they
were told that the election ought to be in the hands of communicants only,
but, if it contributed to the harmony of the congregation, the privilege
might be extended to all stated hearers of good moral character. Mr
Fergus was inducted, 17th May 1805, when Mr Laing of Southend preached,
the only other minister present being the Rev. John Fergus of Kilbride,
who presided. In 1815 a manse was bought for ^1050, the first which the
congregation possessed. Mr Fergus was spoken of long afterwards in Kin-
tyre as a minister greatly respected, " in doctrine solemn, grave, sincere " ;
but in 1822 he demitted his charge, stating that "he found his natural
strength and constitution had begun to decline, and he wished to spend the
remainder of his life in privacy and retirement." There was also an impression
in the locality that his comfort in Campbeltown was impaired by a number
of his people attending his forenoon lectures and then going to hear Norman
M'Leodofthe Established Church in the afternoon. The resignation was
accepted on 25th June 1822, and Mr Fergus emigrated to Cincinnati,
United States, where a married daughter and her husband had gone before
him. The last notice we have of him is on 2nd August 1825, when Mr
M'Dougall, his successor, applied at his request to Glasgow Relief Presby-
tery for a certificate of his ministerial standing. When he died, or at what
age, we have failed to ascertain.
Third Minister. — William M'Dougall, from East Campbell Street,
Glasgow. Ordained, 28th May 1823. The stipend was now ^200, with
manse and garden valued at ^40. Under Mr M'Dougall the congregation
reached its maximum of numerical prosperity. But the young minister's
gift of surpassing oratory opened the way for his removal to a position
nearer the centre, and on 5th August 1828 he accepted a call from King Street
congregation, Kilmarnock. No commissioner appeared from Campbel-
town and Mr Anderson of John .Street, Glasgow, was appointed to preach
there on the following .Sabbath and express to the session and managers the
Presbytery's regret that a meeting of the congregation was not called "to
give them an opportunity to express their mind on so important a business
as the translation of their minister."
Fourth Minister. — James Smith, from Calton, Glasgow, who had been
called shortly before to Musselburgh (Millhill). Ordained, 26th August
1 1829. Early in 1835 the question of union with the Secession came up by
[remit of Synod before Campbeltown session, when Mr Smith expressed
[from the chair his preference for the Established Church and his wish that
[they should seek union in that direction. A suspicion had prevailed for
[some time that he was planning to have the people alienated from the
[Relief and the property transferred to the Establishment. Under this
timpression communication was opened with their former minister, Mr
[M'Dougall, making him aware of threatened danger, and he brought the
[matter under the notice of Glasgow Presbytery. On 13th October 1835 a
[small representation of their number appeared at Campbeltown in their
i88 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Presbyterial capacity to make inquiries and, if practicable, put everything to
rights. Mr Smith, however, had no wish to come to terms, and the con-
ference, which went on in a crowded church, ended very much as it began.
Proceedings were resumed in Glasgow on 3rd November, and as Mr Smith
would give no security "to abide by the regulations and principles of the
Synod of Relief as at present constituted " he ought to be cut off from the con-
nection. A j2^r<? r^/M/a meeting of Synod held on 15th December dismissed his
appeal, and excluded him from the fellowship of the Relief Church. Then
he obtained an interdict against the preaching of the church vacant, and Mr
Harvey of Glasgow had to conduct public worship and announce the sentence
in the church lane the next Sabbath. Campbeltown Case now passed into
the law courts, where it assumed large dimensions. At an early stage it
was decreed that the church should meanwhile be occupied by the two con-
tending parties, the one in the forenoon and the other in the afternoon each
Sabbath. The great majority having adhered to the Synod it was desirable
to have them provided with a minister as soon as practicable.
Fifth Minister. — James Boyd, who had been ordained at Dumbarton
(Bridgend) nearly six years before. Inducted, 27th September 1837. In the
records of his former congregation Mr Boyd is stated to have been looked
on as a minister who possessed the qualifications needed to bring Campbel-
town congregation through its abounding difficulties. The case came on
for hearing before the Lord Ordinary in June 1838, Mr Smith and his friends
claiming the property on the ground that they adhered to the original
principles of the Relief Church, which the Synod had abandoned by denying
the lawfulness of Establishments. They also asked that the defenders should
be ordained to pay Mr Smith his stipend of ^180 as aforetime, besides
allowing them ^700 to meet law expenses. Another year passed, and on
6th June 1839 an interlocutor was pronounced in favour of the congregation
out and out. An appeal to the House of Lords was talked of, and money
largely subscribed by leading non-intrusionists to provide the sinews of
war, but on reflection the losing party concluded that it would be better not
to go on. On 13th July of that year Mr Smith and his adherents petitioned
the Presbytery of Argyle to be received into the Kirk, which was agreed to.
On 9th April 1840, says the Caledonian Mercury, he was entertained at a
farewell dinner, being about to leave for Glasgow. He officiated for a time
in Chalmers' Church there, and was presented to the parish of Borthwick on
19th November 1841. His accession to the Establishment, he told Camp-
beltown session, would give an additional vote to the Evangelicals in Church
Courts, but this came to less than was expected. In "The Chaff and the
Wheat" we read : " Up to the Assembly of 1841 he uniformly acted with the
Evangelical majority, and made a high profession of their principles, but
since his presentation to Borthwick he has voted as a confirmed Moderate."
After the Disruption he was promoted to be parish minister of Kelso, where
he died, 23rd October 1879, in the seventy-fifth year of his age and fifty-first
of his ministry.
Mr Smith on being severed from the Relief took with him 40 members
or thereby, and when he left Campbeltown they became part of the Lowland
Established congregation. A number of families had deserted his ministry
at an earlier time, so that the pressure for accommodation was much lessened.
Under Mr Boyd harmony prevailed, and everything went on prosperously.
The stipend at first was ^^150, with j^2o for house rent, but it was ultimately
raised to ^300. In 1855 Mr Boyd had the degree of D.D. from Glasgow
University, and in 1859 he was elected to the Moderator's chair. On 30th
July 1867 the centenary of the congregation was celebrated on a large scale,
and Dr Boyd was presented with a purse of 220 sovereigns and other gifts
PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK 189
by the congregation "as an acknowledgment of their appreciation of his
unwearied efforts throughout a ministry of thirty years to promote their
spiritual welfare." In 1871 he had an alarming illness, and, though partial
recovery followed he was never able for full work again. A colleague
being required, it was arranged that each minister should have ^300, and
allowances.
Sixth Minister. — JOHN THOMSON, translated from Edinburgh (North
Richmond Street) after having laboured there and in Stronsay for eleven
and a half years. Inducted, i6th October 1872. Dr Boyd, who took his
share of the work for years, died, 28th June 1877, in the seventy-second year
of his age and forty-sixth of his ministry. For Mr Thomson the end came
suddenly on 6th May 1896, when he seemed recovering from influenza. He
was in the sixty-sixth year of his age and thirty-sixth of his ministry. His
widow, a daughter of the Rev. Henry Hyslop of Montrose, and their family
now reside in Edinburgh. The only production of Mr Thomson's pen is a
well-rounded-off and sympathetic Memoir of Dr Boyd.
Seventh Minister. — JOHN A. Baird, M.A., from Tranent, who had
previously been assistant to Mr Thomson. Ordained, 29th September
1896. The membership at the close of 1899 was 696, and the stipend
^400, with a stately and substantial manse, built in the early part of
Mr Thomson's ministry.
CAMPBELTOWN (United Secession)
On 28th August 1832 a petition was presented to the Secession Presbytery
of Glasgow from 40 members in Campbeltown expressing gratitude for
past supply, and asking to be congregated, which was done on 13th
November. For a considerable time services had been kept up in the town
by the Glasgow Society for evangelising the destitute parts of the West
Highlands. This was the agency to which the congregation at Dunoon owed
its origin, but in originating a station at Campbeltown the funds of the
association were not judiciously applied. The Relief congregation had
possession of the ground, and the setting up of this new cause is believed to
have fretted Mr Smith, their minister, into hostility to union with the Seces-
sion, and to have furnished materials for the famous Campbeltown Case.
Meanwhile the movement progressed, and on 12th March 1833 it was in-
timated that five elders had been ordained. Then came a call to Mr James
M'Gavin signed by 44 members and 85 adherents, the stipend promised
being ^iio, but he declared for Tay Square, Dundee. On 6th October a
new church was opened, with 630 sittings. It cost £700, of which ^130 was
raised by subscription in the parish, and ;^5o came from other Secession
congregations. The next they called was Mr John Rankine ; but his ordina-
tion at Cupar was already fixed, and at his own request the services went on.
Another unsuccessful call was addressed to Mr John Lawson, afterwards of
Pitlessie.
First Minister. — GEORGE Thom.son, from Duns (West). Ordained, 2nd
July 1835, and introduced next Sabbath by the minister of his youth, the
Rev. John M'Gilchrist, Rose Street, Edinburgh. In October 1836 Mr
Thomson reported a membership of 73, which may be taken as about the
largest ever reached. Secession families that had come into the town
gathered round the new standard, but the congregation never struck its roots
into the heart of the community. No help came from the slight cleavage in
the Relief Church, as excitement only welded each of the parties more
closely together. Mr Thomson's stipend was now reduced to ^100, and
there was a debt of ^400 on the property. On 9th March 1841 he resigned
I90 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
his charge from conscientious difficulties as to Church government, and was
declared no longer in connection with the United Secession. Another door
speedily opened, and on loth June he was inducted to a Congregational
church in Dunfermline, whence he removed to Aberdeen in February 1847.
After a brief stay there he acted for a number of years as assistant to Ur
Burder in Hackney, London, and then passed to Colchester, his last charge
among the Independents. In March 1861 Mr Thomson applied to London
Presbytery for restoration to his first connection, " of whose scriptural con-
stitution as to Church order he had for a lengthened period been entirely
convinced." The Presbytery recommended his readmission, which the
Synod granted with perfect unanimity. After a location at Rigg-of-Gretna
had been extended to sixteen months the people wished him engaged
for another year, but he would not consent. He finally settled down as
superintendent of the Liverpool Town Mission, a situation which he held for
at least twenty years. He died there, 22nd September 1895, aged eighty-five.
Second Minister. — ARCHIBALD RITCHIE, from Regent Place, Glasgow.
Ordained, 2nd August 1842, and introduced on the following Sabbath by Dr
Marshall of Kirkintilloch. The stipend was ^80, and the call was signed
by 51 members and 34 adherents. A year sufficed to constrain Mr Ritchie
to resign, alleging the circumstances of the church and its pecuniary em-
barrassments. The congregation at a regular meeting acquiesced, and,
though a paper with 41 names was given in to the Presbytery urging his
continuance, he was loosed from his charge, 12th September 1843. He now
remained four and a half years on the preachers' list ; but failure in his pro-
fessional course may have induced loss of self-respect, and in April 1848 he
was placed under suspension by Arbroath Presbytery for gross improprieties
when supplying at Mill Street, Montrose. At next meeting a more serious
charge in the same line came up from Letham, and this led to his deposition
on 9th May. After this no distinct trace of Mr Ritchie has been found.
As union with the Relief was now drawing on, this struggling cause
might very well have been allowed to lapse, but it numbered several
families who were warmly attached to the Secession and ready to hope
against hope. Three abortive calls were issued within the next three years —
the first to Mr John Riddell, whose letter informing the Presbytery that he
preferred Moffat could surprise no one; the second to Mr Robert Reid,
who declined, though Firth was not yet in sight ; and the third to Mr James
Anderson, who was ordained at Norham.* A few weeks after the Union in
May 1847 the members were recommended to join Dr Boyd's church, but
the disparity between the parties was such that a marriage could not be
compassed upon equal terms. Hence supply was kept up for other two
years, and aid secured to the extent of ^50 a year. Even after the people
agreed to discontinue, the Presbytery spoke of making an effort to revive the
cause, and sent Mr M'Rae of Oban to occupy the pulpit four Sabbaths in
the end of 1848. There was a communion roll at this time of only 45, and
* Mr Anderson was from Union Church, Greenock. After a probationership of
ten years, a goodly proportion of which was spent in mission stations, he was
ordained at Norham, 23rd June 1847. That old congregation had been split in two,
and the membership in the beginning of that year was only 71. Mr George Kidd,
probationer, while under call to be colleague to the old minister, was suspended by
the Presbytery of Berwick, but a considerable party in the church befriended him,
and hence the origin of an English Presbyterian Church in Norham. Under Mr
Anderson the injured cause gathered up till the membership was more than
doubled. He died, 6th July 1868, in the fifty-fourth year of his age and twenty-
second of his ministry. The two congregations at Norham were reunited within
recent years.
PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK 191
on loth April 1849 the little company intimated to the Presbytery that it
would not be advisable for them to go on longer as a congregation. Most
of the families acceded to Dr Boyd's ministry, but some found their way into
the Free Church. The building was acquired by the Episcopalians, who
demolished it more than ten years ago to furnish a site for their present
chapel.
LARGS (Burgher)
The earliest attempt to have a Secession congregation formed in Largs was
on 4th September 1776, when the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow, having
received a petition from that place for sermon, appointed Mr Walker of
PoUokshaws to preach there on the fourth Sabbath of the month. Supply
was continued for four weeks, and then, as winter was coming on, applica-
tions and appointments alike ceased. There was a pause now till 13th
April 1779, when, in answer to a like petition, the station was opened anew,
and from this time Largs was treated as other vacancies till a fixed
ministry was obtained. The originators have been described as members
of Cartsdyke congregation, Greenock, but with a distance of fifteen miles
intervening the thread of connection must have been slight. In 1781 the
first church was built, and in the beginning of the following year three elders
were ordained.
First Minister. — William Watson, from the parish of Kincardine-on-
Forth, and the congregation of Bridge of Teith. Ordained, 15th January
1783. The stipend promised was ^50, and a free house. After being four
years in Largs Mr Watson was invited to Cumnock, where the emoluments
were £,\o better, but the Synod pronounced against the translation. On
nth February 1789 Glasgow Presbytery gave effect to a call from Craigs,
Old Kilpatrick, and loosed him from Largs. The congregation now fixed
upon Mr George Russell, and the Synod, in the competition with Dairy,
Ayrshire, gave Largs the preference, but Mr Russell's aversion to submit
cooled a number of the congregation towards him. Two members of
Presbytery having met with the people found that those who had not signed
the call would not promise to acquiesce in Mr Russell's ministry, and in the
end the Presbytery thought it best to proceed no further, leaving Dairy to
obtain their man.
Second Minister. — John Leech, from Ireland. The stipend was as
before, only the congregation were to furnish their minister with a horse
when required. Mr Leech had another call from Kingsmill, in his own
country, and the Presbytery of Glasgow applied to the Synod for instruction
how to act. The decision come to was that the matter ought to be left in
the hands of the Irish Synod. This was done, and somehow the verdict
was in favour of Largs, where Mr Leech was ordained, 7th December 1791.
Early in 1793 he was called to Monaghan, in Ulster, but at the Synod it
carried, without a contradictory voice, to continue him in Largs, from which
we may infer that this was in keeping with his own inclination. In 1803 the
Presbytery of Glasgow negatived his removal to Hamilton. But after a
ministry of nearly thirty years Mr Leech saw reason to resign office, and on
7th April 1821 he was loosed from his charge, having obtained a full and
final discharge from his creditors. He then removed to Glasgow, his minis
terial status intact, and there, besides delivering lectures on Biblical Criti-
cism, he became a teacher of Hebrew. He died suddenly on the evening of
lith November 1822, in the fifty-eighth year of his age and thirty-first of his
ministerial life. The congregation, it was stated, expressed their regard for
192 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
him by benefactions to his family at the period of his demission, and also
after his death.
During this vacancy Largs congregation had commissioners up at three
successive meetings of Synod with competing or translating calls. The first
was to Mr James Gilfillan, who was appointed to Stirling, and the second to
Mr John Newlands, who was appointed to Perth. The third was addressed
to an ordained minister, who had been too long engaged bearing up a
sinking cause, and this being matter of notoriety the translation was agreed
to without a vote.
Third Minister. — Daniel M'Lean, who had been ordained eight years
before over a Burgher Church at Coupar-Angus, where no such church
should ever have existed. The stipend was ^130, with manse and garden.
Unfortunately, the prospects of comfort in his new sphere of labour, to
which he was inducted, 22nd October 1823, were clouded in a few years
by Mr M'Lean's failure to guard the weak point, and on 29th November
1829 he was laid aside permanently from office. He continued, however, to
reside in Largs, where he occupied himself with educational work. It is
gratifying to add that he was much liked in the place, and that his visits
were specially welcomed at sick-beds and death-beds. He died, loth
September 1849, i" the sixty-second year of his age. The name reappeared
on the Synod Roll a number of years later in the person of his son, the
Rev. Daniel M'Lean, first of Hampden, Jamaica, and afterwards of Bloom-
gate, Lanark.
Fourth Minister. — William Steven, from Tarbolton. Ordained, 31st
August 1830. The manse had been rebuilt for Mr M'Lean the year after
his induction, and this was followed in 1826 by a new church, with 690
sittings, the total cost of both being ^^1330. In 1838 the remaining debt of
;^525 was in course of being reduced to less than half that sum. The
communicants at this time were 280, and the stipend was ^143, with manse
and garden. The congregation was also raising between ^50 and ^60
annually for missions. In 1864 a moderation was applied for with the view
of calling one to be colleague and successor to Mr Steven, whose eyesight
for a number of years had been much impaired, though total blindness was
averted. The junior minister was to have ^130 in name of stipend, with
^20 for a house and ^10 for sacramental expenses, while Mr Steven was to
have ^70, and the manse.
Fifth Minister. — J. B. K. M'Intyre, son of the Rev. Dr Hugh M'Intyre,
Loanends, Ireland. Ordained, 21st December 1864. Mr Steven died,
l8th October 1875, in the seventy-fifth year of his age and forty-sixth of
his ministry. In the year of his ordination he had married a daughter of
Dr Stark, Dennyloanhead, and the death of their only daughter at the age
of fifteen left them childless. Mr M'Intyre being now sole pastor his
stipend was raised to ^280, with the manse. On i6th June 1892 the new
church, with accommodation for 800, was opened. It had been built for the
congregation by John Clark, Esq. of Curling Hall, at a cost of ^30,000, and
it was fit that the opening services should be conducted by Dr Hutchison of
Bonnington, the brother-in-law of the princely donor. The membership of
the church in the year of the Union was fully 350, and the stipend ^313 in
all, with the manse.
LARGS (Relief)
This appears to have been a blunder from first to last. Services were com-
menced in May 1833, in a hall belonging to the innkeeper of the place, at the
request of some of the inhabitants. In the early part of 1835 the people
PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK 193
were receiving sermon only once a fortnight, but were to have regular supply
from June onwards. In March 1838 it was announced that they had erected
a church, with 460 sittings, into which it was expected they would gather a
zealous, though not a large, congregation. The cost was between ^400
and ^500, nearly the whole of it drawn from outside sources. A year later
they were engaged with the seating of the building, contributions coming in
from churches in Glasgow, Greenock, and Campbeltown. At last, on 21st
January 1841, the station was organised into a congregation, and it was
suggested at the Synod that, if they were to receive a grant of ^40 a year,
they would call a minister with every prospect of success. Their debt was
only ^250, and in their vacant state it required ^50 a year to keep them
going. The evil all along was that they never got out of leading strings,
and their normal income annually was never much over ^40.
First Minister. — David Drummond, from Leven, a younger brother of
the Rev. James Drummond, Irvine. Ordained, 22nd April 1845, the people
engaging for ^80 of stipend, and the Home Mission Committee were to give
^40 for the first year, ^30 for the second, and ^25 for the third. It was
calculated that, having obtained an efficient minister, the congregation at the
close of that period would be self-supporting. However, in little more than
a year the whole bearings were changed. At a meeting of Presbytery on
Monday, 6th July 1846, Mr Drummond announced the demission of his
charge. On the previous day he had stated from the pulpit that his mind
was made up to join the Church of Scotland. He now explained that it was
not his unpromising position at Largs that prompted him to take this step
but a sense of duty, and that, "though he had held the best church in
Glasgow, he would have done the same." In an indignant mood his
brethren not only accepted the resignation but suspended him from the
office of the ministry. As was to be expected, this sentence went for little,
and at next General Assembly he was admitted into the Established Church.
In 1848 he became minister of Houndwood parish, where he died, 25th
September 1879, in the sixtieth year of his age and thirty-fifth of his
ministry.
The congregation, after a faint attempt to keep up existence, disappeared.
Instead of granting them a moderation when it was applied for, the Presby-
tery referred their case to the Relief Synod at the meeting for union with the
Secession. Before this they ascertained that the membership was only 65,
that the seat rents and collections yielded little more than ^50 a year, and
that there was a debt of .^240 on the property. On 20th July 1847 the
Presbytery were certified that at a congregational meeting it had been deter-
mined by a majority to leave the denomination and decline any further
supply. The only question now related to the property, which was valued
at ^670 if sold for a church and ^420 if turned into dwelling-houses. The
trustees expressed their willingness to surrender their rights if they were
freed from all liabilities, but the Presbytery only recommended the managers
and trustees, on the ground of the large sums bestowed on the building of
the church, to pay over any surplus to the funds of the denomination. At
the Synod in 1848 a committee reported that, though the second congrega-
tion in Largs was not formally dissolved, the members had dispersed, and con-
nected themselves with various denominations. This was the winding-up.
PORT-GLASGOW, PRINCES STREET (Burgher)
The first mention of Port-Glasgow in the old Secession records is in
January 175 1, when Greenock (Cartsdyke) was disjoined from Burntshields.
II. N
194 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
The name at that time was Newport, or New Port of Glasgow, and the con-
gregation was described as the community of Greenock and Newport. The
distance between Port-Glasgow and Cartsdyke not being over three miles
the union continued undisturbed till 1790. Cartsdyke congregation was
then in a state of acute unrest, a considerable number of the members, in-
cluding several office-bearers, insisting on a disjunction. The case having
been referred to the Synod that Court decided in favour of a severance, but
with this limitation, that the place of worship should be at Port-Glasgow,
the design being to keep the new erection at a respectful distance from the
mother church. As the situation must have been inconvenient for the
majority of the petitioners the Greenock dissentients in a short time built a
church towards the west end of the town, and obtained a minister for
themselves.
At Port-Glasgow permanent possession was taken in 1791 by the erection
of a church, with 750 sittings. Prior to the organising of the congregation
the parish minister counted the number of Seceding families within his
borders at 50. When they came to the choice of a minister the people had
first one disappointment to face and then another. In May 1792 their call
to Mr Alexander Easton, latterly of Hamilton, was set aside in favour of
Miles Lane, London, and at next Synod in September Mr James Kyle was
appointed to Kirkintilloch in preference to Port-Glasgow.
First Minister. — Andrew Lothian, from the congregation of Lochgelly
and the parish of Beath. Called also to Lochwinnoch, but Glasgow Presby-
tery kept the decision in their own hands, and ordained Mr Lothian at Port-
Glasgow, 28th November 1 793. The call was signed by only 70 members,
but there was a paper of adherence with 358 names. The stipend promised
was ^80 in all. In July 1796 two calls to Mr Lothian were laid on the
Presbytery's table, the one from West Calder and the other from Portsburgh,
Edinburgh, and of these the latter prevailed at the September Synod. Be-
tween this date and that of the next ordination, four years after, a call was
given to Mr William Taylor, but Stonehouse was preferred by the Presbytery.
Seco?td Minister. — David Inglis, from Dunfermline (Queen Anne
Street). Ordained, 27th May 1800. The stipend was the same as before,
and the call had only 57 signatures, indicating that even under Mr Lothian's
ministry the building up had not been rapid. In 1838 Mr Inglis reported
the number of communicants as 302, which was an increase of one-third
within five years. Of the families eight or ten were from Kilmalcolm
parish, but all the others, except two or three from Greenock, resided in
the town or parish of Port-Glasgow. The stipend was now ^130, and the
debt on the property was ^200, which might be looked on as congregational
ballast. Two years after this a colleague vi^s needed, who was to have ^120
a year, with expenses, the senior minister's allowance to be ^100. The
congregation first called Mr Andrew Duncan, and the call was accepted,
but the settlement was retarded for reasons which deserve to be put upon
record. It was a time when the United Secession Church was in a feverish
state on certain doctrinal questions. The case of Mr James Morison had
been disposed of at the Synod in May 1841, and many of the older ministers
were apprehensive of students and preachers being tainted with heresy as to
the extent of the Atonement. One of Mr Duncan's trial texts was John x. 15 :
" I lay down my life for the sheep," and in his discourse on these words
there were two passages which the Presbytery disapproved of In conversa-
tion on the subject Mr Duncan expressed his conviction that he held no
views inconsistent with the standards of the Church, but admitted that some
of the expressions objected to were ill-chosen. He was thereupon enjoined
to give another discourse on the same text, and, having been more careful in
PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK 195
the language employed, he passed the new ordeal unharmed. Ill-health,
however, supervened, and the acceptance of Port-Glasyuw call was with-
drawn. A year afterwards he became colleague to his father at Mid-Calder.
This case is interesting as an illustration of the state of feeling which pre-
vailed in some Presbyteries of the Church at this time. Mr Duncan, if we
judge from his tastes and acquirements in after years, was probably more
widely read in theology than any other preacher of that period except James
Morison. He was also a man of thoughtful habits, not given to rash specula-
tion, yet because some things in a discourse bearing on the Saviour's death
were believed to savour of Morisonianism a temporary arrest was put on his
access to Port-Glasgow pulpit. It is like what James Skinner, in his Auto-
biography, tells of his experience at the hands of Perth Presbytery when a
student of theology. To test his orthodoxy he was assigned a text on the
imputation of Adam's sin, and, being dissatisfied with the Presbytery's stand
for orthodoxy, he resolved " to give them a bit of his mind." His own ac-
rcount is that he could not have got himself into greater trouble, and, though
Inot debarred from returning to the Hall, he was required to write a new essay
^n the same subject— an essay which his critics had not time to hear when it
k^as brought up, and they never mentioned the subject to him again. But
ve return to Port-Glasgow.
TAird Aftnts/er.—W 11.1.1 AM Lauder, son of the Rev. William Lauder
lof Earlston. Ordained, 23rd November 1842, as colleague to Mr Inglis,
who died, 4th February 1853, in the eighty-seventh year of his age and
fifty-third of his ministry. On Sabbath, nth March 1866, a new church was
[opened by Dr Eadie, with sittings for 648. The cost was ^2927, but a large
sum was afterwards expended on alterations and improvements. After Mr
Lauder had been forty years in the ministry at Port-Glasgow a colleague
ms felt to be needed, and with this in prospect it was arranged that he
should retain ^150 of stipend, the junior minister to have ^250. The con-
gregation must have suffered a slight reduction in numbers through the
lormation of Clune Park Church a few years before, besides having the
sources of accession divided, but the membership at this time was 318.
Fourth Minister.— ^WAAAM W. Beveridge, from Ayr(Cathcart Street),
Ibrother of the Rev. John Beveridge, Stow. Ordained, 7th August 1883.
•our years after obtaining a colleague Mr Lauder removed to Kilcreggan,
Jid on 1 2th May 1896 he was enrolled minister-emeritus, with a retiring
lllowance of ^85 a year. At the close of 1899 there were 403 names on the
communion roll, and the stipend of the acting minister was ^250.
PORT-GLASGOW, CLUNE PARK (United Presbyterian)
>N 4th December 1877 five persons resident in Port-Glasgow appeared before
Ireenock Presbytery with a petition to have a mission station, which had
)een opened in the east end of the town fifteen months before, formed into
I congregation. They also laid their disjunction certificates on the table,
Uong with a paper of concurrence from 17 persons. The leader in
the movement and the founder of the cause was Mr Henry Birkmyre, who
lied in May 1900. Port-Glasgow session having intimated that they offered
10 objections the congregation was formed on 15th January 1878 with a
nembership of 35, of whom 17 were from Princes Street congregation, 9
rom other churches, and 9 were admitted after examination. For the first
tight months they met in a public hall, but on Sabbath, 15th September,
they took possession of the building in which they still worship, the opening
^rvices being conducted by Dr Knox of Glasgow and the Rev. John Young
ig6 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
of Greenock. The entire cost, including. the site, was ;^i3oo, and it is years
since the burden was entirely cleared away. In 1878 they called the Rev.
James Stevenson from Dublin and the Rev. John G. Train from Buckhaven,
both of whom declined.
First Minister.— hxiGM'S, Ross Kennedy, M.D., from Canada, where he
received licence from the Toronto Presbytery of the U.P. Church in July
1877. He brought with him the diploma of M.D. from Coburg College,
Canada, and the degree of B.A. from Trinity College, Toronto, and he was
admitted to the status of a licentiate by our Synod in May 1878. Acting as
a probationer he received a call to Woodside, Aberdeen, which he declined,
and then another to Clune Park, Port-Glasgow, where he was ordained, 29th
April 1879. Though there was a membership of only 67 the stipend was
pitched at ^{^420, and the income for the past year was given at ^830. But
in August 1884 the Presbytery had to institute inquiries into certain rumours
injurious to Dr Kennedy's ministerial standing, and at next meeting, on 23rd
September, they found his indiscretion to have been such as to necessitate
severance from his charge. It is doubtful whether a protest to the Synod
ought not to have sisted procedure, but the Presbytery, on the ground that
delay would injure Clune Park congregation, went through with the sentence,
and declared the church vacant.
The Synod, without approving of the Presbytery's methods, upheld their
decision, and went beyond it. Besides loosing Dr Kennedy from Clune
Park the Presbytery had suspended him from ofifice for three months, but
the Synod substituted suspension sine die alike from office and membership.
From this deliverance there could be no appeal. But Dr Kennedy, having
gone through a full medical course, had a second string to his bow. He
accordingly fell back on his other profession, and is now in practice at
Coventry, in the county of Warwick. In its leading features the Clune Park
Case bore a close resemblance to the Skerret Case ten years later.
Second Minister. — Peter Smith, from South Ronaldshay, where he
was ordained three years before. Inducted to Clune Park, loth February
1885, while the appeal of their former minister was still pending. Having
experienced enough to abate their ardour the congregation now reduced
the stipend to ^315, a large sum, after all, when placed alongside of their
numbers. On 12th June 1888 Mr Smith accepted a call to London Road,
Glasgow. There was a total income for the preceding year of over ^500,
and a membership of 176 at the close.
Third Minister. — Charles Robson, M.A., from Hawick (East Bank), ■
Ordained, 22nd January 1889. The stipend was now to be ^262, los., a
sum less likely to keep down the number of accessions. But again there
was to be a transference to Glasgow after a brief ministry in Clune Park.
Mr Robson accepted a call to Pollok Street on 22nd May 1893. The
membership was now considerably over 200, and the stipend had been
raised to ^300, besides an allowance for expenses.
Fourth Minister. — David A Harrower, from Govanhill, Glasgow.
Ordained, nth September 1893. The stipend was again made ^262, los.
At the recent Union the congregation was still worshipping in the hall, but
with a membership approximating to 250 the erection of a church on the
unoccupied site can hardly be much longer delayed.
SOUTHEND (Relief)
Between the Relief congregations of Campbeltown and Southend there
existed from the first a closeness of connection such as has been met with,
PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK 197
we believe, in no other part of Scotland. Both were composed almost
entirely of families which came over from what they called the Low Country
to Kintyre in Covenanting times, and a common ancestry formed an
enduring bond between them. Hence, when the Synod of Argyle cut down
the week-day services at communions the elders of Southend combined with
those of the Lowland Church, Campbeltown, in strong resistance. Simi-
larly, the two ministers stood side by side at the bar of the General
Assembly to answer for having sermon on the Saturday before the com-
munion. This brings us down to a meeting of the Relief Presbytery of
Glasgow on 17th May 1797, when a petition for sermon was laid before
them from a number of the inhabitants of Southend, and in response a
native of the parish, the Rev. Daniel M'Naught of Dumbarton, was appointed
to preach there on the first and second Sabbaths of June. In July the Rev.
Neil Douglas of Dundee entered on a mission to the West Highlands, and
preached two Sabbaths to large congregations at Southend, numbers having
come, he states, from distances of ten, fourteen, and even twenty-four miles.
Prior to this the Duke of Argyle had allowed them a site for a church and
manse, with thirteen acres of land for a glebe. The parish minister at this
time was Mr Donald Campbell, father of Dr M'Leod Campbell, but, accord-
ing to Southend traditions, a man very unlike his spiritually-minded son.
Soon after the Relief congregation was organised Mr Campbell was trans-
ferred to Kilninver. In 1798, as attested by a stone on its front, the new
church, with 500 sittings, was opened, and, the proprietor system being
adopted, there was no burden of debt.
First Mitiister. — Alexander Laing, M.A., from Kilsyth, who had
obtained licence from the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow in July 1797. Mr
Laing was sent to supply at Southend during October of the following year,
and in November the congregation of " Machrimore, near Campbeltown,"
applied for a moderation. The stipend was to be ^60, with dwelling-house,
garden, and thirteen acres of land, the people also engaging to labour the
glebe, and drive what coals and turf the minister might require. Mr Laing
was ordained, 28th June 1799, there being three ministers present, of whom
Mr Pinkcrton, from Campbeltown, acted as Moderator and gave the
addresses. At the close of the service Mr Laing got liberty to constitute
a session, of which the four members had been elders in the Established
Church. The congregation wished originally to have a minister who could
preach also in Gaelic, but when this was found impracticable, the Highland
families, who had gone along with the movement thus far, withdrew, and
got back their subscriptions. Since then distinction of race has marked
more or less the difference between the two Southend churches, the one
being the Lowland and the other the Highland, though Gaelic is now a
vanishing quantity in the parish. At one period in Mr Laing's ministry
the communicants were nearly 200 in number, but towards its close the tide
of emigration towards Illinois set strongly in. It was a discouraging
time for those who remained as they marked the empty pews and reduced
communion roll. In 1843 it was found essential to provide a colleague for
Mr Laing, who had gone on with his pulpit work long after physical and
mental vigour l-^d alike decayed.
■■' Second Mitiister. — James Lambie, from Canal Street, Paisley. Or-
dained, 28th June 1843. The aged minister was to have the manse and
glebe and a yearly allowance of ^20, and the congregation were to give
Mr Lambie ^70, which the Synod augmented to 2^ioo. Mr Laing died,
1st March 1851, in the fifty-second year of his ministry and in or about the
seventy-eighth of his age. Though he laid no claim to the gift of oratory
■he had good material to work on, and the congregation greatly respected
198 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
him, and enjoyed stability under his care. Mr Lambie on becoming sole
pastor got possession of the glebe as well as the manse ; but his farming
operations brought him into money difficulties, and, owing to the state of
feeling in the congregation, he was loosed from his charge on 9th September
1862. On removing to Australia he was inducted to the oversight of three
congregations — Milton, Greenhills, and Sunbury. He was afterwards trans-
lated to Wyndham and Little River. He died on 3rd May 1884, in the
seventy-third year of his age and forty-first of his ministry.
Third Minister. — Robert Small, from Balgedie. Ordained, 29th
July 1863. At the moderation the first vote stood thus : for Mr Small, 51 ;
for Mr Andrew Ritchie, afterwards of Yetholm, 34 ; and for Mr James
Graham, afterwards of Broughty Ferry, 17 — being in the ratio of 3, 2, and i.
The stipend till the Augmentation system came in was ^120 in all, with the
manse, but the glebe, which was now rented up to its value, was never
henceforth to be farmed by the minister. In 1871 a new and comfortable
manse was built at a cost of ^820, the Board contributing ^^320. On such
occasions Southend was sure to be generously aided by the strong sister
church in Campbeltown, and thus, though few in numbers, they had the
building finished free of debt. After subscribing liberally themselves a few
of the leading men went up to "The Town," and without pressure or
difficulty the end was gained. On nth March 1873 Mr Small accepted a
call to Portsburgh, Edinburgh (now Gilmore Place).
Fourth Minister. — Andrew M'Laren Young, son of the Rev. David
Young, formerly of Kinclaven. Ordained, i6th April 1874, the stipend
promised being ^137, los., with the manse, and there was also a
supplement of ^20. The population was now declining, till it sunk from
over 2000 in 1831 to scarcely 850 in 1891. On 7th January 1890 a new
church, with sittings for 360, and built at a cost of ^1200, was opened by the
Rev. Dr Drummond of Glasgow, and on Sabbath, i6th May 1898, centenary
services were conducted by the Rev. Douglas K. Auchterlonie of Craigdam,
who preached in the forenoon from the text : " Mercy shall be built up for
ever." The membership at the close of 1899 was 1 16, and the stipend £130,
with the manse. A year before this Mr Young published a neat little
volume, entitled "Southern Kintyre in History," a memorial of the centenary
celebration, at which the faithful work done by himself and Mrs Young had
been suitably acknowledged.
DUNOON (United Secession)
This congregation commenced as a preaching station in 1825 under the
auspices of an association in Glasgow composed of ministers, office-bearers,
and members of the Secession Church. Three years before this Dunoon
consisted of the parish church and manse, with a few houses, four of them
slated, and the others only thatched. But now there was the promise of
growth, and the Glasgow Association, which made Argyleshire the special
field of its evangelistic operations, fixed on it as the centre of what was
called the Cowal Mission. On 8th March of that year they applied to have
the station at Dunoon congregated ; but the Presbytery believed delay to
be better, and in this state matters remained for five years. Then in April
1830 the Synod authorised the Presbytery to form the station at Dunoon
into a congregation, which was done on i6th June. The petition to
that effect was signed by 38 residenters. It was also stated that in 1828,
by the assistance of friends in Glasgow, a commodious church was erected,
with sittings for 280, the cost being ^^730, and that the attendance was
PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK 199
promising. In March 1831 an election of four elders was proceeded with.
The first the little congregation called was Mr Adam Thomson ; but accept-
ance was delayed month after month, and then he intimated that he felt it
his duty not to go to Dunoon, and he was afterwards settled in Hawick. The
next they called was Mr James M'Gavin ; but the congregation declined to
enter into competition with Tay Square, Dundee, and other places, at the
Synod, and the call was allowed to drop. The third call was addressed to
Mr John Inglis, who preferred Hamilton.
First Minister. — William Turner, from Pitcairn-Green. Ordained,
2nd September 1834. Though the call was signed by only 32 members and
23 adherents the stipend promised was ^100. Three years after this there
were 85 names on the communion roll, and the minister was receiving ^120.
Summer visitors were beginning to tell for good on the congregation to this
extent at least, that they generally paid sittings for a half year, though only
two months in attendance. The rates, it must be owned, were not burden-
some, varying from 2s. 6d. to 7s. 6d. a year. Up to 1839 a considerable
amount of debt rested on the property, but by a grant of ^98 from the
Liquidation Board this was reduced from ^280 to under ^100, and in 1843
their first manse was built. In 1865, when Mr Turner required to have his
work permanently lightened, the congregation agreed that his salary of ^i 50
should remain undiminished.
Second Minister. — John C. Johnston, from Alyth. Ordained as
colleague to Mr Turner, 30th May 1865. There was a membership at this
time of 162, and the stipend of the junior pastor was to be ^150 in all.
The two ministers now divided the work between them ; but in 1871
Mr Turner was seized with paralysis, and, being assured by medical
authority that he was permanently disabled, he offered to resign. The
congregation, however, were cordial to have the tie preserved unbroken, so
that he retained the status of senior minister, with an annual allowance of
^70, and the occupancy of the manse, till 14th September 1874, when he
died, in the sixty-ninth year of his age and forty-first of his ministry. In
the following year the manse, which the aged minister had occupied, was
superseded by another at an additional outlay of ^450, the congregation
raising ^300, and the Board allowing ^150. The present church was built
the same year at a cost of about ^5000, with sittings for 700, and the old
building was sold to the Free Gaelic congregation. To meet that large
expenditure the congregation subscribed ^500, and raised three times that
sum by Sales of Work ; while the minister, drawing largely on Glasgow
families who had connection with Dunoon, collected ^2000. In 1890
Mr Johnston stated that a lady member of the church had recently be-
queathed ^1000, and that the people were in course of clearing off the small
sum remaining. The stipend was raised to ^250 after Mr Turner's death,
and in other nine years to ^300, and there was now a membership of 260.
Between this and the Union the congregation had troubles to pass
through from which it must have sustained harm. A party in the church
brought a complaint before the Presbytery on 12th January 1897. They
wished to provide Mr Johnston with an assistant, but the session, though
a largely signed petition to that effect was laid before them, refused to call a
congregational meeting to consider the question. The complaint was dis-
n_, missed ; but persistency prevailed for the time, and a preacher was engaged
llljl to share the pulpit and pastoral work with Mr Johnston. This went on for
^■^ a year, and by that time the feeling was largely entertained, partly on
^^B grounds of economy, that regular assistance should be dispensed with. After
^^B some confusion the case came back to the Presbytery, and a committee by
^^B their appointment met with Dunoon congregation on the evening of Monday,
I
■ 200 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
31st October 1898. Business began with the reading of a petition from 106
members praying the Presbytery to confirm a recent resolution of the con-
gregation decHning to renew the appointment of an assistant. After long
conference with parties it was decided to bring the question to a vote. It
looks as if this had been the only course open, but the object was thwarted
by nearly the whole of those who favoured the assistantship rising and
walking to the door. The breach was now irreparable, and the next thing
was a public meeting, called by newspaper advertisement, at which about
50 people signified their wish to form a new cause in Dunoon on a Congrega-
tional basis. They met in the Burgh Hall until a little Episcopal church
came into the market, which they secured, and there, with not much appear-
ance of growth, they still convene for public worship. However, the
membership of the mother congregation after the tumult subsided was less
by only 25 than before it began. It may be remarked in closing that, rather
than submit to have a little matter decided by the vote of a majority, the
disruptionists at Dunoon betook themselves to a system of Church govern-
ment in which the will of a majority is all in all.
On 9th October 1900 the arrangements made by the congregation, with
Mr Johnston's concurrence, for the appointment of a colleague were sanc-
tioned by the Presbytery. The junior minister was to have a stipend of
;^2oo, with the manse, and the senior minister, who was to be virtually in the
emeritus position, was to receive ^100 per annum, and ^250 on his leaving
the manse. The membership at this time was 250. In 1887 Mr Johnston
published " The Treasury of the Scottish Covenant," a storehouse of valu-
able and far-gathered information.
INVERARAY (United Secession)
In narrating the early history of the Secession cause in this place we are de-
pendent on a few scattered hints for our guidance. The first notice is on 9th
February 1830, when the Elders' Association in Glasgow intimated to the
Presbytery that a number of persons in Inveraray had applied to them for
sermon. From this time preaching was kept up till the early part of 1834,
when it was discontinued, but in June 1835 it was revived under better
auspices. Dr Heugh had for some years spent his holidays at Inveraray, and,
whilst admiring the beauties of the situation, he believed that the spiritual
interests of the people were not attended to, and that they " needed to hear
something else than the law." The station was now taken under the wing
of Regent Place Church, and a place of worship', with 200 sittings, was
opened in December 1836, the cost being a little over ^500, the bulk of
which was supplied from their funds. In January next year 16 members
applied to be congregated, and, the Synod's sanction being obtained, this
was done on nth July. A further stage was reached on Sabbath, ist
October, when the Rev. Henry Renton of Kelso officiated at the ordination
of three elders. Prior to this Mr Robert Watt, afterwards of Aberlady,
acted at Inveraray as missionary for Regent Place Church, and, to fit him
better for the work, he received ordination as a preacher at large on 29th
September 1835, the services being conducted not at Inveraray but in
Dr Heugh's church, Glasgow.
First Minister. — James Hay, from Dennyloanhead. Ordained, 24th
April 1838, the call being signed by 20 members and 102 adherents. A
stipend of ^90, and expenses, was guaranteed by Regent Place congregation.
In those days the managers of Inveraray church let the seats at is. a
quarter, and regularly sent the balance to Glasgow, but it did not amount
PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK 201
to more than ^25 a year after meeting incidental expenses. Matters con-
tinued in this state till 13th June 1843, when Mr Hay accepted an invitation
to become the first minister of Govan, a congregation of which he had
laid the basis before going to Inveraray at all. After his removal the
people were bold enough to call Mr John Brown Johnston, though they
scarcely numbered three dozen, exclusive of adherents. It is doubtful,
indeed, whether in the altered circumstances it would not have been better
to counsel a dissolution of the congregation. Though the two Established
Church ministers remained in at the Disruption the Free Church had
entered the field, and was taking large possession. But through a vacancy
of six years the feeble cause, which was now transferred from Regent Place
Church to the Mission Board, continued to hold on.
Second Minister. — Gilbert Meikle, from Edinburgh (now Lauriston
Place). Ordained, loth July 1849. The stipend was to be ^40 from the
people, with sacramental expenses, and ^50 of supplement from the Board.
Only 19 members signed the call, and in 1866 the entire number was 23, the
encouraging feature in the case being the attendance, which was returned
at 90. But in a decaying town like Inveraray, with a U.P. family scarcely
ever coming in, marked progress was outside all reasonable calculation.
Enough that steady work was done, leaving effects for good upon young
and old. In the beginning of 1895 Mr Meikle saw cause to make way for
a colleague owing to illness and the advances of age. There was a member-
ship now of 52, and an attendance of about 100 at the Sabbath school, so
that the congregation was intent on still going on. They first called Mr*
T. G. Conochie, who declined the call, and was afterwards ordained as
colleague to the Rev. William Rose, Victoria Street, Dundee.
Third Minister. — William Stirling, M.A., from Renfield Street,
Glasgow, a grandson of the Rev. James Stirling, Kirriemuir. Ordained,
loth December 1895, ^s colleague to Mr Meikle, who made no claim on the
congregation, and had removed to Edinburgh. The stipend from the
people was to be ^45, but it was raised from other sources to ^171. On
1 2th January 1898 Mr .Stirling intimated to his session that he had accepted
an invitation to begin work in an Extension church at Rutherglen, and he
was loosed by the Presbytery on ist February. At a meeting of the congrega-
tion six days later it was agreed to have ordinances continued for the time,
but everything betokened the approach of a final winding-up. In April it
was ascertained that the Duke of Argyle was willing to give ^^50 to the
representatives of the congregation if they signed the renunciation of the
lease. Then it was decided to have no further supply, and the moderator
of session was to give disjunction certificates, in the hope that the members
generally would join the Free Church congregation, the minister of
which was Mr Meikle's son-in-law. The harmonium was gifted over to the
friend whose services they had enjoyed for a number of years. The ^50
received from the Duke of Argyle was paid into the funds of the denomina-
tion, and by his Grace's kindness the church bell was sent to New Guinea
on petition from the Rev. James Chalmers, the missionary, who had been
trained under the pastorate of Mr Meikle. The old communion cups, the
baptismal basin, and the collection plates have since followed.
GOUROCK (United Presbyterian)
On 4th April 1848 a number of United Presbyterians residing in Gourock
petitioned Paisley and Greenock Presbytery to be formed into a congregation.
This movement was partly suggested by the Union between the Secession and
202 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Relief Churches the year before. The Greenock sessions offering no objec-
tions the petitioners were disjoined from their respective congregations at next
meeting, on 8th May, and constituted into Gourock U.P. Church. In the
newly-formed society there were two who had been in office before, and at
the request of the congregation they were recognised as forming the session
without ceremony. This was on 6th June, and that month a place of
worship, with 700 sittings, was taken possession of. Next October a modera-
tion was applied for, the stipend promised being ^120, with travelling
expenses. The call was signed by 40 members and 39 adherents, but Mr
John C. Baxter, to whom it was addressed, accepted Wishart Church,
Dundee. In a few months they brought out a call to Mr John Logic,* but
he intimated that he preferred a foreign field of labour, and sailed for Canada
soon after.
First Minister. — DONALD M'Donald, from Gillespie Church, Glasgow.
Ordained, 3rd July 1849. The signatures had increased now to 67 and 60.
Mr M'Donald died, 15th August 1852, in the twenty-seventh year of his age
and fourth of his ministry. We only know further that his wife had sunk
into the grave seven weeks before him, and that he was a nephew of the
Rev. William Morton of Kilmaronock.
Second Minister. — GEORGE Sandie, son of the Rev. George Sandie
Gorebridge. Ordained, 17th May 1853, having declined calls to Berwick
(Bankhill) and Hull. In 1864 Mr Sandie, as the outcome of a tour to the
East, pulalished a volume, entitled " Horeb and Jerusalem," which was
» reviewed with much appreciation by Dr Eadie in the U.P. Magazine.
Prompted now by the vision of a higher sphere than Gourock he resigned
his charge, 6th December 1864, and went to try his fortunes in m.ighty
London. Though he was welcomed by the little U.P. Presbytery there it
was not till after prolonged inquiries and a year's waiting on that a field
of ministerial labour came in sight. He had now the prospect of securing
a suitable hall in the direction of St John's Wood for commencing gospel
operations, but nothing further emerged. He ultimately held an Inde-
pendent charge in the great city, and died at Upper Norwood, London, 9th
May 1879, in the fifty-third year of his age and twenty-sixth of his ministry.
Third Minister. — GEORGE MORISON, M.A., from London Road,
Glasgow. Ordained, 19th December 1865. The membership at this time
was 135, but there was an attendance in summer of about 500, and the
stipend promised was ^175, with a manse. After the first few years of
Mr Morison's ministry dispeace arose, and it grew worse as time passed.
The first complaint brought before the Presbytery was about a check that
had been administered from the pulpit to seeming irreverence. After that
came a memorial from one of the elders bearing on remarks made at two
particular services, and parties were exhorted to study the things that make
for peace. We hear no more for two years, and then Mr Morison brought
before the Presbytery the fact that four of bis five elders had resigned.
Next, certain proceedings at a congregational meeting were complained of
by a number of the members, and a meeting of Presbytery being held at
Gourock it was ascertained that dissatisfaction prevailed to some extent,
without grounds to justify itself, and that it was leading to non-attendance
upon ordinances. It was natural that this should prompt Mr Morison, who
Mr Logic was from Buckhaven. On 2nd December 1849 he was ordained
over the three congregations of Warrensville, Brucefield, and Bayfield, in the
Presbytery of London, Canada. He removed to North Carolina in 1875 fo"" his
health, and, having returned, he was inducted to Tilbury, Ontario, in 1879. He
died, 19th October 1887, in the sixty-sixth year of his age and thirty-eighth of
his ministry.
PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK 203
had recently been left a widower with no family and considerable means,
to tender his demission before long, which was accepted on 21st March
1 87 1. At a meeting of the congregation a wish had been expressed that
he should reconsider his resolution to leave, but he stated in reply that
his mind was fully made up. When a moderation was applied for towards
the end of the year the number of members was down to in, showing what
want of harmony had produced. What remained of Mr Morison's life is
given under Maisondieu, Brechin.
Fourth Minister. — David MacRae, son of the Rev. David MacRae,
Elgin Street, Glasgow. Mr MacRae had been known for ten years in the
literary world, and though he entered the U.P. Hall in 1859 he did not take
licence till 1871. Aware, no doubt, of his distinction in another line Gourock
congregation applied for a full trial of his gifts as a preacher, and he was
ordained there on 9th April 1872. The call was signed by 81 members and
41 adherents, and, though reduced in numbers, the people undertook a
stipend of ^210, los., with a valuable manse. Three years afterwards
Mr MacRae was called to the North Church, Perth, but he remained in
Gourock. There were to be troubled unfoldings by-and-by, and the emerg-
ing of a case which acquired notoriety, and must be gone into with some
minuteness. It took shape on i6th January 1877, when Mr MacRae, as a
member of Paisley and Greenock Presbytery, moved an Overture to the
Synod for a revision of the Westminster Standards. Others had been work-
ing in the same line ; but Mr MacRae went in for thoroughness, and proposed
to hmit the Church's Creed to such articles as every man must hold in
order to be a Christian. A policy of unfaithfulness to truth, he maintained,
had too long prevailed among the office-bearers of the denomination, and
he was bent on having this brought to an end. It carried in the Presbytery
to reject the Overture, and the merits of the speech delivered in support of
its transmission were to be taken up at next meeting. On 4th March the
Presbytery condemned the language in which Mr MacRae had charged
the ministers of the Church with dishonesty in professing adherence to the
doctrines of the Confession, as he himself had twice done within recent years,
and exhorted him to express himself on such matters with caution and
charity. At the meeting in April an Overture from Gourock session of
similar purport with his own, but brief and comparatively mild, was allowed
to go up to the Synod, where it was to be supported by Mr MacRae and
one of his elders.
At the ensuing Synod a committee was appointed to consider the whole
question of the Church's relation to the Confession, and the Overture from
Gourock was dismissed with a declaration of steadfast adherence to the
Standards as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scrip-
tures. There was quietness now in the Presbytery of Paisley and Greenock
till October, when Mr MacRae brought up questions bearing on the
Presbytery's decision in March. They had spoken in that decision of the
Standards continuing to bind all faithful office-bearers to the system of truth
they contained. He wished in particular to know whether this bound
faithful office-bearers to hold the doctrine of "everlasting torment" as the
doom of the non-elect. At the meeting in December the Presbytery by a
majority refused to admit Mr MacRae's right to question them in that
fashion, and he was admonished from the chair to give heed to the exhorta-
tions he had formerly received. In January 1878 he gave in reasons of
dissent from the decision come to, but they were such that the Presbytery
refused to engross them. Previous to this Mr MacRae had asked the
Presbytery to explain the Synod's decision on the Gourock Overture, a
thing which they declared to be beyond their competency ; but they pro-
k
204 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
posed to confer with him in private, that he might let them hear his diffi-
culties, an arrangement which he said would not serve his purpose. The
natural inference is that he invited the discussion for the sake of the
reverberation it would make.
At the Synod in May Mr MacRae again came forward in quest of
information. He wished an explanation of what was meant by steadfast
adherence to the system of doctrine contained in the Westminster Standards,
but again he was left to work out the problem for himself or leave it
unsolved. At this Synod it was agreed to send down the draft of a
Declaratory Act to Presbyteries to be reported on. When this document
came to be dealt with in the Presbytery of Paisley and Greenock Mr MacRae
proposed a series of resolutions, which his brethren refused to receive owing
to their offensive tone and language. The next expedient was to move the
Synod to declare that they required assent to nothing that belies, or is
supposed to belie, the character of a good, and just, and merciful God. At
their meeting in 1879 Mr MacRae spoke much as on other occasions, but was
complimented by Professor Calderwood on not having applied the word
"Jesuitical" to the attitude of his brethren, but this drew from him the reply
that "Jesuitical" was the only word capable of expressing what he intended.
Refusing to withdraw the term he was rebuked from the chair, and a com-
mittee was appointed to converse with him on the views propounded in his
motion and speech. The report they brought up was that the opinions Mr
MacRae entertained were inconsistent with any reasonable amount of
liberty that could be allowed to the ministers of this Church, and on their
recommendation a commission of 40 members was appointed to deal with
him, and ripen the case for judgment, with power to call a special mcpting
of Synod should an appeal be taken on either side.
Mr MacRae could now afford to be unbending alike before the Synod
and the Commission. The congregation of School Wynd, Dundee, had
given him a unanimous call to succeed their former minister, the Rev.
George Gilfillan. The Commission met on 22nd May, but the issue was as
most people expected. Mr MacRae adhered to his old ground without
yielding a hair's-breadth, and the sentence come to was suspension from
office. Against this decision he protested, and a meeting of Synod was called
for 22nd July to deal with the protest and wind up the case. A few days
before the meeting Dr John Ker wrote to a friend as follows : — "All, I am
sure, would be willing to let the question rest, and give all possible room on
so mysterious and difficult a subject, but he insists on dragging it up to a
hard and fast line on the side of either annihilation or universal restoration."
Principal Cairns, again, in his speech before the Court, said : " Mr MacRae
asks the Church to grant a liberty which would revolutionise its position on
a great and solemn question, entering into the substance of the faith, and I
for one cannot assent to his request." On a vote being taken the protest
was dismissed, and the finding of the Commission affirmed by a majority of
288 to 29. The sentence of suspension from all ministerial functions sine
die was now pronounced, and Mr MacRae declared no longer a minister of
this Church. Looking over the whole proceedings the Rev. James Ross in
his History of Congregationalism in Scotland thinks himself entitled to say :
" The Synod not only refused to sanction any change in the formula of sub-
scription but expelled Mr MacRae for demanding it."
Next Sabbath Mr Boyd of Skelmorlie appeared at Gourock by appoint-
ment of Synod to intimate the above decision and preach the church vacant,
but he found the gates locked, and a handbill up intimating that there was
to be no sermon. After reading the Minute of Synod to the onlooking
crowd he retired, and conducted services in the open air. The following
PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK 205
Sabbath the pulpit was occupied by a member of Greenock Presbytery,
who met with a cordial reception. On Sabbath, 17th August, Mr MacRae
took possession, and the Presbytery's representative, on being denied
access, read a protest, and withdrew to the Gamble Institute with the party
in the congregation who adhered to the Synod. At the close of the services
about 40 of their number signed a paper authorising legal steps to be taken
to secure possession of the church and manse. With Mr MacRae the
question of removal to Dundee was pressing, and meanwhile he had con-
ferences with his friends in School Wynd, but continued his ministrations at
Gourock when Sabbath came. At last, at a meeting of session on 17th
October, he stated plainly that he was about to leave the congregation, Ijut
whether he would accept Dundee would depend on the state of his health.
He added, however, that if they thought of bringing the Synod before the
Court of Session to test the legality of their procedure in his case he would
remain with them till the fight was over. As this was the utmost Mr
MacRae would engage for it was arranged that he should preach his farewell
sermon on the following Sabbath, and next Wednesday there was a parting
celebration. Difficulties in the way of accepting Dundee being now got rid
of, his induction followed nine days afterwards.
The office-bearers adhering to Mr MacRae had been already suspended
from office, but on 21st October the Presbytery were informed that five of
the managers had expressed regret for the irregularities of which they had
been guilty. Other seven, including two elders, either refused to yield or
delayed making any such acknowledgment. The party who sympathised
with Mr MacRae applied for sermon to the Independents, were formed into
a congregation, and obtained a minister in 1880, who remained with them
two years. Another succeeded in the following year, and when he left in
1889 the church became extinct, or, as the Rev. James Ross puts it, "ceased
to meet," and several returned to their old connection. In March 1880 the
party adhering to the Synod had a membership of 129, and they were pre-
pared to offer a stipend of ^310, with a manse.
Fifth Minister. — George Rae, M.A., from Dumfries (Loreburn Street),
where he had been ordained eight years before. Inducted, i8th May 1880.
Since then the congregation has renewed its strength, and though the stipend
remains the same the communion roll at the close of 1899 numbered 328.
KIRN (United Presbyterian)
On 20th July 1858 the Presbytery of Paisley and Greenock agreed to open
a preaching station at Kirn in response to a petition from members of the
U.P. Church and with the concurrence of Dunoon session. During the
ensuing winter no supplies were asked for, but in spring services were
resumed, with the understanding that they were henceforth to be kept up
throughout the year. In June 1859 the church was opened, with 480
sittings, and during the four busy months of summer the pulpit was to be
occupied by four outstanding ministers from Glasgow in succession. The
station was congregated on 17th January i860 with a membership of 37.
By this time the liberality of the people had been evinced by their collect-
ing over ^1000 for current expenses and toward the building of the church,
which cost about ^2000. On 17th April of that year three elders were
ordained, but it was long before a fixed ministry was arrived at, partly owing
to divided counsels both in session and congregation.
First Minister. — ROBERT W. THOMSON, from St James' Place, Edin-
burgh. Ordained, 22nd March 1864. The call was signed by 29 members
2o6 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
and 1 5 adherents, and the stipend was to be £200, with travelling expenses.
In 1867 the building was enlarged to furnish 650 sittings, and in 1868 Mr
Thomson was called to Thread Street, Paisley, but remained at Kirn. On
i8th January 1876 .he wrote the Presbytery resigning his charge, medical
authority certifying that he was unfit for ministerial work and required to
take a long voyage for his restoration. On the 25th a Committee of Inquiry
gave in a favourable report regarding his professional standing, and, the
congregation having agreed to a parting gift of ^100, the resignation was
accepted, with an admonition to walk circumspectly, "that the ministry be
not blamed." He then sailed for Australia, but it does not appear that he
ever again undertook regular ministerial functions. He died some time in
August 1 88 1, aged forty-six.
Second Minister. — Adam Gray, from Tarbolton, a brother of the Rev.
James Gray, missionary in Rajputana, and the Rev. Robert Gray, Canon-
gate, Edinburgh. Mr Gray had been ordained at Sutton, in Lancashire
Presbytery, 30th January 1873, and he was inducted to Kirn, 6th June 1876.
The stipend was now ^300, with a manse, the membership of loi bearing
but a slight proportion to the income of the congregation, which had all
along been largely derived from summer visitors. The stationary popula-
tion has doubled since then, but this has told on the communion roll far
more than on the funds. At the Union the membership was over 160, and
the stipend was ^253.
KILCREGGAN (United Presbyterian)
The preaching station at this watering-place owed its origin to the illness of
Dr King and his retirement from active service in Greyfriars Church,
Glasgow. To secure scope for his gifts in a quieter field a wooden church
was opened here on the first Sabbath of June 1858, and was speedily filled
to overflowing. Next summer the sittings were increased from 328 to 440,
with the same result, Dr King's location fixing the coast residence of not a
few. There was this drawback, however, that in winter the place was almost
deserted. On 4th December i860 Mr France reported to the Presbytery of
Paisley and Greenock that he had preached at Kilcreggan, when five certifi-
cates of membership were given in, and he had conversed with 14 applicants
for Church fellowship. These 19 were accordingly congregated, and on the
first Sabbath of May 1861 they had two elders inducted over them. In the
end of that year Dr King removed to London to lay the foundations of a
congregation at Westbourne Grove, where a new church, with sittings for
1000, and built at a cost of ^7700, was opened for him on 26th January 1862
by Dr Cairns of Berwick. There he laboured up to the measure of his
strength, and beyond it, till his translation to Morningside, Edinburgh, in
1869. It ought to have been entered at the proper time that Dr King had
his degree of LL.D. from Glasgow University in 1841.
First Minister. — Joseph Corbett, from Blackett Street, Newcastle.
Soon after declining a call to Burton-on-Trent he had to choose between
Alexandria and Kilcreggan, when he preferred the latter, though the call
was signed by only 20 members in contrast with 390. The stipend promised
was ^210, and the attendance in winter was entered at 50, whereas in summer
the church was filled. The ordination took place, 17th June 1862. On 20th
April 1869 Mr Corbett accepted a call to succeed Dr Scott as minister of
Coupland Street Church, Manchester, where he remained five years, and
theo removed to Camphill, Glasgow. When this vacancy occurred at
Kilcreggan the new church, with sittings for 800, was nearing completion,
PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK 207
and it was opened on Sabbath, 14th June, by Dr King and Mr Corbett. The
collections amounted to ^200, and the cost was about ^"2550.
Second Minister. — FORREST Frkw Young, a grandson of the Rev.
Forrest Frew, Relief minister, Perth, and son of James Young, Esq. of Yoker,
who was long a pillar in Renfield Street, Glasgow, and afterwards in Wel-
lington Church. The membership of Kilcreggan was now 72, with an attend-
ance of 100 in winter, and at least five times that number in summer. Mr
Young was ordained, 22nd September 1869. The stipend was as before,
but there was a manse built that year at ^1000, of which ^300 came from
the Manse Board. On 3rd June 1879 Mr Young's resignation of his charge
was accepted, the Presbytery expressing their high estimate of his character
and attainments. In 1879 his name was placed on the probationer list, and
in 1885 he was inducted to the E.P. Church, Wark, in Northumberland,
where he still labours. But Kilcreggan had now a vacancy of four years to
pass through, during which there was not likely to be progress. At last the
people intimated their wish to hear preachers with the view of having a
settled ministry again. There were only 60 members now, and the stipend
named was ^200, with the manse.
Third Minister. — Robert M'Lean, M.A., who had been ordained at
Millport, another watering - place, seven years before. Inducted, 28th
August 1883, and loosed, 17th December 1891, on accepting a call to Mount
Pleasant, Liverpool, where he has had to bear up against a retiring tide.
The mother church of the Secession in Liverpool has been long since over-
shadowed by her suburban daughters.
Fourth Minister. — Armstrong Black, from Palmerston Place, Edin-
burgh, to which, after a brief ministry at Waterbeck, he had been trans-
planted sixteen years before. Inducted to Kilcreggan, 17th May 1892. The
change would be welcomed as release from the tear and wear of a large
high-class congregation. The membership of Kilcreggan at this time was
76, and the stipend ^250, with the manse. But even into this quiet retreat
trouble came, and swelled into trying dimensions, and a case emerged which
forced its way to the Synod. Under the strain Mr Black's attachment to
I Kilcreggan was likely to yield, and on 2nd June 1896 he accepted an in-
I vitation to become colleague to the Rev. James Muir of Egremont. After
quietness was restored the congregation called him back, but he remained
in his new sphere of labour till 29th May 1899, when he accepted a call to
St Andrew's Church, Toronto. That same year he received the degree of
D.D. from Queen's University, Kingston.
Fifth Minister. — JAMES R. Cameron, M.A., from Craigs and Duntocher,
where he had been ordained three years before. The call was signed by 54
members and 26 adherents. Inducted, 7th June 1898. The membership at
the close of the following year was 104, and the stipend ;^262, los., with the
manse.
MILLPORT (United Presbyterian)
The Presbytery of Paisley and Greenock began Sabbath services here on
22nd June 1862. Though the population of the two Cumbrae islands, of
which this is the principal town, was only 1250 at that time, and in addition
tto the parish church it had now a Free church, Millport was becoming a
marked resort for summer visitors, and gave promise of steady increase.
During the summer months the collections were good, and it was intended
to go on with services once a month during winter, but when the time came
it was thought better to discontinue them altogether. On the first Sabbath
of July 1863 a wooden church was opened, with accommodation for 350
2o8 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
people, the cost being ^500. At this time ordained ministers were looked
to for supply, and in September Church members connected with the station
were placed under the session of Largs for the enjoyment of sealing ordin-
ances. On 1st March 1864 a congregation was formed with a communion
roll of 30, and steps were taken to have three elders ordained, the average
attendance being put down at 60.
First Minister. — Joseph Leckie, who had retired from Muirton in an
invalid state six years before, after ministering there nine years. The call
was signed by 31 members and 19 adherents, and Mr Leckie, after some
hesitancy about undertaking the work, was inducted, 20th December 1864.
On 17th April 1866 he accepted a call to the infant congregation of Ibrox,
Glasgow. Millport depended so much upon summer visitors that the in-
crease in membership could not be rapid, the number amounting as yet to
no more than 52, and though the attendance in summer reached from 400 to
500, in winter it was only 70.
Second Minister. — William T. Henderson, from Bethelfield, Kirk-
caldy. Ordained, 3rd June 1867. The stipend, including everything, was
to be ^160. On loth August 1875 Mr Henderson accepted a call to New
Kilpatrick, leaving a membership of 180, with less disparity between the
attendances in summer and winter than aforetime, there being 300 in the
one case and 150 in the other.
Third Minister. — ROBERT M'Lean, M.A., from Wellington Street,
Glasgow. Ordained, 9th May 1876. The funds now afforded a stipend
of ;^2 10, with ^40 in lieu of a manse. On 13th July 1879 the new church
was opened, with sittings for 650, the cost being about ^4500. But in the
pulpit there was not yet to be aught like permanence, as on 28th August
1883 Mr M'Lean accepted a call to Kilcreggan.
Fourth Minister. — James Frame, B.D., son of the Rev. James Frame,
Sydney Place, Glasgow. Ordained on 25th March 1884. The call was
subscribed by 120 members and 81 adherents, and the stipend promised was
^210, with a commodious manse, built in 1880. The cost had been calcu-
lated at ^iioo, but it went beyond ;^i4oo, of which the Board paid ^^250.
At the close of 1899 the stipend was unchanged, but there was a member-
ship of 233.
INNELLAN (United Presbyterian)
A PREACHING station was opened at this young watering-place, three or
four miles south of Dunoon, on the first Sabbath of June 1867 by Greenock
Presbytery at the request of a local committee. Next October Mr Daniel
Tennant, a preacher from Sir Michael Street, Greenock, was located at
Innellan for three months, and was retained until April. More might have
followed, but illness intervened, and Mr Tennant died on 4th August, aged
thirty-two. The station was supplied by ordained ministers during August
and September, and then preachers were sent in succession for a month
each, but the former system was renewed when summer came. This
season the new church, built at a cost of ^1000, was opened, with sittings
for 370. On nth May 1869 a congregation was formed with a membership
of 23, and after a few weeks two elders were ordained and one inducted.
First Minister. — James Faulds Henderson, son of the Rev. David
Henderson, formerly of Dairy, Ayrshire. Ordained, 2rst September 1869.
The call was signed by 20 members and 12 adherents, and the stipend
promised was ;^I55. There being little of a fixed population to draw from
the congregation kept few in number, and this may have turned Mr Hender-
son's mind in the direction of a change. On 4th June 1872 he accordingly
PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK 209
tabled his resignation to the Presbytery, intimating that he had accepted an
appointment to Strathalbyn, in South Austraha, and the congregation, having
regard to the leadings of Providence, offered no opposition. He ultimately
was transferred to Rockhampton, and in 1899 he waS' Moderator of the
Presbyterian Church of Queensland. (Mr Henderson died at Sydney,
13th August 1902, aged sixty-one.)
Second Mim's^er.^ROBERT Henderson, M.A., son of the Rev. Alex-
ander Henderson, East Church, Perth. The congregation showed no
eagerness to get out of the vacant state, and on applying for a moderation
they stated that the membership was 28 and the adherents about 20. Their
average attendance in winter was 50 and in summer 250. Depending largely,
no doubt, on the last-mentioned element they undertook a stipend of ^190.
They hoped also for better days, but Innellan did not grow like some of
the West Coast watering-places. Mr Henderson was ordained, 14th April
1874. At the close of 1879 Innellan showed a communion roll of about
50 and a total income of nearly ^270, but before another year ended
dispeace arose in the congregation, and the funds went back. Some mis-
understanding between the minister and one of his elders widened out into
dissatisfaction on the part of the office-bearers generally with the state of
affairs in the church. Happily, differences were got over by mutual acknow-
ledgments, in which the minister took the lead, and the Presbytery were
much gratified by the spirit manifested on both sides. To tide the emer-
gency over Mr Henderson expressed his willingness to forego ^50 of
stipend, and he would also dispense with holidays, or take them at his own
cost. It was an example which ministers on like occasions would do well to
imitate, and it had its reward. The congregation passed through the crisis
with its numbers scarcely reduced, if at all.
In 1885 the Synod granted the people liberty to elect a third of their
managers from among seat-holders residing in Innellan part of the year,
though not disjoined from their own congregations — a concession more
needed there than at either Wemyss Bay or Kilcreggan, where it had been
allowed for years. In 1895 something of the old spirit reappeared, and the
Presbytery had again to recommend the cultivation of forbearance and
charity along with temperance of language and attention to the Rules and
Forms of Procedure. In June 1900 the assessors, who had sat in the session
for five years, reported to the Presbytery that their services might now be
dispensed with, five elders having been elected and inducted at Innellan.
They also testified to the good feeling that had existed during their period
of office, and that the minister was held in high esteem both by the members
of the congregation and by the many families of summer visitors, as was
shown at his semi-jubilee a year before, when he was presented with gifts
amounting to ^239. But the population of the quoad sacra parish was
rather on the decline, and the return for 1899 gave only 34 members, the
stipend from the people being ^140, and a manse. This was made up to
^186 by supplement and surplus, and there was a total income of nearly
Z250.
WEMYSS BAY (United Presbyterian)
A preaching station was opened at this place, near the railway terminus,
on the first Sabbath of June 1869 by the Rev. John M'CoU of Partick. This
was the outcome of negotiations which had been going on for four years under
Paisley and Greenock Presbytery. Matters took an unwonted turn early in
1868 through a Free Church minister suggesting that the object might be
better gained by joint action with their Presbytery — a proposal which was
II. O
aio HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
heartily entertained. Public worship was now held in a wooden church
which had previously done service at Kilcreggan and was made over to
six trustees — three belonging to the Free and three to the U.P. Church.
It accommodated 250 persons, and the expenses of the erection, added to
the purchase price, were to reach ^300, of which sum ^135 had already
come from the U.P. side and ^104 from the Free. Meanwhile the pulpit
was to be supplied alternately by ministers or preachers from the two
denominations. When the busy season was closing the wish was expressed
to have sermon continued during the winter, and 100 persons having promised
to give regular attendance uninterrupted supply was arranged for. The
question by-and-by arose : To which of the Churches is the congregation to
adhere ? — and the answer turned on another question : From which of the
Churches is a minister to be chosen ? Two preachers came to be voted on
by the seat-holders — Mr Benjamin Bell of the Free Church, afterwards
ordained at Friockheim, and Mr John Boyd, U.P., when the latter had a
majority. The Free Church people with scarcely an exception acquiesced,
and application was made to the U.P. Presbytery of Paisley and Greenock
on 17th January 1871 to be congregated. Certificates were at the same
time given in by 7 members, and the petition being granted at once this
little group formed the nucleus of a communion roll.
First Minister. — John Boyd, M.A., from the neighbouring congregation
of Largs. Mr Boyd during seven months of probationer life had obtained
seven calls — viz. to Aberdeen (George Street) ; Kirriemuir (Bank Street) ;
Moniaive ; New Barnet, in England ; Hamilton (now Saffronhall) ; Dollar ;
and Wemyss Bay. Ordained, 30th May 1871, having preached two Sabbaths
as a candidate since the congregating. The call was signed by 22 members
and 42 adherents, and the stipend was to be ^170, with travelling expenses.
The attendance was reported at 100 in winter and 200 in summer. At this
time the population of Skelmorlie was little above 400, but it was more than
doubled in twenty years. In March 1872 a session of four members was
formed, and the Presbytery's Committee with sessional powers discharged.
In April 1874 the church was announced to have been " lately begun." It
was opened before the end of the season by Professor Eadie, with sittings
for 425 after the gallery was put in, the cost being ^3200. A manse had
been built the preceding year at a cost of ^1200, of which the people raised
^^850, and the Board allowed ^350. At the close of 1879, though the
membership was only 117, the stipend was ^310, a contrast which betokens
the predominance of the Glasgow element. The church was reconstructed
in 1897 at a further cost of about ^4000, and reopened in May of that year
by the Rev. WiUiam Leitch of West Free Church, Helensburgh. The
number of sittings is now 600. Altogether between ^8000 and ^9000 has
been expended on the buildings, and they are entirely free of debt. Mr
Boyd occupied his pulpit for the last time on the second Sabbath of March
1899. He had been in feeble health for several years, and on reaching the
manse that day he expressed the conviction that he would never preach
again. He died on 8th April, in the fifty-fifth year of his age and twenty-
eighth of his ministry.
Second Minister. — David W. Forrest, D.D., who had been in the
collegiate charge of Wellington Church, Glasgow, for five years, but con-
sented to accept a quieter sphere for the time. Inducted, i6th August 1899.
The stipend was to be ^350, with the manse, a modest sum compared with
what he had in Glasgow. The membership at the close of the year was
barely 200, attesting that Wemyss Bay had still the characteristics of a
West Coast watering-place — ample funds and a limited communion roll.
PRESBYTERY OF HAMILTON 211
CRAIGMORE (United Presbyterian)
Craigmore is a suburb of Rothesay, and on 20th October 1881 a petition
to have a preaching station commenced there was presented to the Presby-
tery of Paisley and Greenock from 33 residenters, and concurred in by 27
others, mostly heads of families. Rothesay session offering no opposition
the station was opened on the first Sabbath of November. On 24th
January 1882 a congregation was formed with a membership of 27, and
within a few weeks three elders were elected and ordained. The attendance
at this time was between 50 and 80, and a stipend of ^210 was to be
offered.
First Minister. — JOHN RUTHERFORD, B.D., a licentiate of the Free
Church Presbytery of Glasgow. Ordained, 6th September 1877, as a
missionary for Swatow, China, under the English Presbyterian Church.
On returning from the Foreign field his name was put on the probationer
list of that Church, and Craigmore congregation requested to have him
appointed to their pulpit for two Sabbaths. A call followed signed by
28 members and 19 adherents, and Mr Rutherford was inducted, 25th
April 1882. The new church, with 500 sittings, and built at a cost of ^3400,
was opened on Sabbath, 14th July 1889, by I3r Joseph Brown. After seven
years of a fixed ministry the resident congregation had a membership
of not quite 80, but with the aid of ^500 from the Extension Fund the debt
was gradually reduced till in 1893 it was entirely cleared away. Thus
Mr Rutherford's prospects brightened ; but on 27th February 1894 he
accepted a call to the E.P. Church, Lewes, in Sussex, a congregation of
not over 50 members, whereas Craigmore had double that number, but the
emoluments were quite as good.
Second Mitiister. — James Cameron, B.D., from Abbey Close, Paisley,
nephew of Dr Cameron of College Street, Edinburgh. Ordained, 22nd May
1894. At the close of 1899 the membership of Craigmore was 108, and the
stipend .2^215, with a manse, purchased that year for ^1025.
PRESBYTERY OF HAMILTON
HAMILTON, SAFFRONHALL (Antiburgher)
This was the mother Antiburgher Church for a wide midland region of
Scotland. Their own baptismal list begins in October 1747, a few months
after "the mournful rupture." Their first designation is "the community of
Cambusnethan, as they are in conjunction with Kilbride," and their first
meeting-place was at Hartwoodmiln, in the parish of Shotts, which must
have been a village of some consequence in those days judging from the
number of infants it furnished for baptism. In the treasurer's accounts the
Sabbath collections are entered as three or four shillings on an average ; and
the elders at this time were four in number, but five others were afterwards
added. Motherwell is the only familiar name which. we met with in the
records during those early years, keeping parishes out of view. These last
come gradually to make up a formidable list. Besides Cambusnethan,
Shotts, and Kilbride, there are Carluke, West Monkland, Dalziel, Glassford,
Blantyre, Dalserf, Bothwell, Avondale, Barony, and Lesmahagow. This
betokens the extent of territory from which the membership was drawn.
The first time Hamilton itself appears is on ist June 1760; but at an
L
212 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
election of elders in 1761 it takes the lead, requiring two out of the five who
were chosen. It was now becoming the stronghold of the congregation.
The way for the entrance of the Secession may have been partially prepared
by the Rev. Alexander Findlater, who shared the pulpit of the parish church
from 1695 to 1735. H^ owed his promotion to the Duke of Hamilton, with
whom his son, whose intrusion into West Linton produced a disruption
there, was also a favourite. But the father was characterised by Wodrow
as " that poor, imprudent, rough man," and with this description he couples
the lamentable state of the town parish. But we must now go back to the
time when the Antiburgher congregation became fully organised.
First Minister.—^ WAAKn Oliver, from Midholm. Ordained, i8th
November 1755, over "the Associate congregation of Shottenhill," which
was in the parish of East Kilbride. The session now met almost invariably
at Woodside, which seems to have been a part of Hamilton. The church is
attested to have been built in 1761, and the earliest set of tokens are dated
1756, the congregation being designated " Cambusnethan and Kilbride."
The minutes of session for a period of years about that time have been
preserved, and they reveal an eldership of ten or thereby, with accessions
to the Act and Testimony at nearly every meeting from the wide range of
parishes around. The cases of discipline are generally of a mild type,
though the swearing of the Mason Oath was dealt with, and the session
had trouble from members going to hear anti-Government preachers. The
fringes of the Sabbath were also strictly cared for, a man and a woman
being on one occasion rebuked for travelling on the Lord's Day to be ready
for harvest work on the morrow.
But the Antiburgher congregation of Cambusnethan and Kilbride was
too far-gathered to retain its oneness, and in August 1760, petitions from the
east and the west ends of that community came before the Synod craving
disjunctions, while those in the centre remonstrated, and wished Hamilton
to be the ordinary place of worship. The opposition carried their point ;
only Mr Oliver was recommended to give as much supply as possible to the
extremities of the congregation. At subsequent meetings the petitions for
disjunction continued to be pressed, till the Synod declared they would
receive no more papers of the kind unless it appeared that the applicants
were able to support the gospel for themselves. But persistency prevailed
in the end, and the boundaries of Hamilton congregation were circumscribed
on the north-east in 1763 by the formation of a congregation at Whitburn,
and on the south-east in 1765 by the formation of a congregation at
Strathaven, of which particulars are given under their respective headings.
Mr Oliver died, 9th July 1775, in the forty-sixth year of his age and twentieth
of his ministry. A daughter of his was the wife of the Rev. James Ramsay,
Antiburgher minister of Glasgow. After his death the congregation called
Mr Andrew Thomson, whom the Synod appointed to Sanquhar (South).
Second Minister. — James Punton, from Back Street, Dalkeith. Called
also to Kirriemuir, but the call from Hamilton, signed by 126 male members,
was preferred, and Mr Punton was ordained, ist July 1777. There appears to
have been eight elders at this time, but one of them was laid under suspen-
sion soon after for a trifling offence. When the call to Mr Punton was about
to be arranged for he had got a number of the people about Shotts to subscribe
a petition for sermon four times a year in that quarter, and he pushed the
matter offensively on the morning of the ordination day. The case widened
out, through his rebellious bearing, till it went to the Synod, and it figures
in the minutes of Glasgow Presbytery long afterwards. An election of
elders about this time gives us insight into the extent of the congregation.
The town of Hamilton was to nominate three, and those in the western
PRESBYTERY OF HAMILTON 213
part of the parish one ; Shotts and Bothwell were to nominate two each,
and Cambusnethan, Lesmahagow, and Dalserf one each. At a subsequent
election Monkland, Airdrie, and the parishes adjacent formed an additional
district, and Kilbride, Blantyre, and Cambuslang a second. In the last
decade of the century the Old Statistical History, said of the Antiburghers
compared with the Relievers : " They are more widely scattered, less affluent,
and the provision made for their minister is more scanty." When the Anti-
burgher Presbytery of Glasgow met on 26th May 1801 the elder from
Hamilton informed them that his minister on his way to Glasgow that
morning had died suddenly on the mail-coach. Impressed by this solemn
visitation they spent some time in prayer, the Moderator and two other
members conducting the devotions. Mr Punton was in the fifty-second year
of his age and twenty-fourth of his ministry. The Christian Magazine states
that he had endeared himself to his people, and that they showed it by their
attention to his widow and six children. Ten or a dozen years before Mr
Punton's death the place of worship was repaired and enlarged, making 582
sittings. At that time 250 adults in the parish of Hamilton were reported
as belonging to the Antiburgher congregation.
Now came two unsuccessful calls to Mr William Patrick. The former
of these was not quite harmonious, though signed by 122 (male) members,
and the Synod appointed Mr Patrick to Lockerbie. But Hamilton con-
gregation, believing that the preacher's leanings were in their direction,
hurried forward with a second call, the design of which was defeated by his
settlement at Lockerbie, as already appointed. But at this very time,
and as if to inspirit them anew, they had property left them in land and
houses, amounting in value to ^40 a year. Their connection with this
property may explain why, at the Union of 1820, minister and congregation
had it entered in the Synod minutes that they were to be known by the
name of Antiburgher Seceders in all time coming.
Third Minister. — John Moncrieff, from Duke Street, Glasgow. The
Synod having preferred Hamilton to Buchlyvie Mr Moncrieff was ordained,
1 8th January 1804. The stipend promised, even with the recent addition to
their resources, was only ^80, with house and garden. But twenty years
before this the Antiburgher church at Hamilton came so far short in liberality
that the managers brought the bad situation of affairs under the notice of
the session. They complained that too many members, of whose ability
they had not the least doubt, contributed nothing for the support of the
gospel. The decision come to was that those unable to pay had only to
make their case known and seats would be cheerfully provided for them,
and that others were to be denied Church privileges unless they did their
part in this respect to God and to their brethren. In 1818 the stipend was
;^I30, of which ^40 came from the above-mentioned bequest. In the early
months of 1831 Mr Moncrieff required supply for his pulpit, but, though his
health improved, the people with remarkaljle unanimity expressed their wish
for a change. They had lost largely already, they said, and some of their
best members were merely "waiting on." In July the Presbytery met with
them, and suggested a colleague, but while some approved others would
prefer resignation, though they had no fault to find with Mr Moncrieffs
doctrine or life. In a few weeks the congregation pronounced unanimously
for a severance of the pastoral tie as essential to their existence, and on
6th December his demission was accepted in the interests not only of the
congregation but of his own health and comfort, the retiring allowance to
be ^30 a year.
Mr Moncrieff now removed to Glasgow, where he was appointed Pro-
fessor of Hebrew in the Andersonian College, and in 1833 he was recom-
214 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
mended by the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow as a teacher of that language
to the students under their inspection. Shortly before this he published an
essay on "The Antiquity and Utility of the Hebrew Vowel Points." The
book was a proof of the author's attainments in Oriental scholarship, but
his attempts to identify the Hebrew vowel points with the earliest traces of
the written language were futile. Mr Moncrieff died, 29th January 1839,
leaving a son newly licensed, whose name figures in the history of Bridge
Street Church, Musselburgh.
The congregation now called Mr Alexander Davidson, but they were in
a divided state, and the Synod appointed him to School Wynd, Dundee.
The second call was addressed to Mr Andrew Broom, but he explicitly
declared to the Presbytery that, owing to the want of unanimity among the
people, he would not accept. He was ordained at North Sunderland a year
afterwards, but further particulars regarding him are given under Alex-
andria, Dumbartonshire.
Fourth Mitiister. — John Inglis, from Cambusnethan. Called also to
Sandwick and Eday, in Orkney, and then to Carnwath, but the choice
ultimately lay between Dunoon and Hamilton. Having preferred the latter
he was ordained there, 20th May 1834. In the third year of his ministry
Mr Inglis computed the communicants at 320, of whom more than a fourth
were from the parishes of Dalziel, Dalserf, and Blantyre, with a few from
Bothwell. The stipend was .^100, with manse and garden, and Mr
Moncrieff had his ^^30. There was a debt of ^784 upon the property, and
52 families came from more than two miles. In a few years the congrega-
tion was relieved of the annuity payable to the retired minister, but the
managers' books show that the debt tended to increase year by year, till in
1863 it got so oppressive that the Presbytery had to appeal for aid to sister
congregations, and to the Church at large. On 9th February 1870 Mr
Inglis retired from active service, the arrangement being that he should
have ^50 a year, with the manse, and the colleague .^130. Two unsuccess-
ful calls followed — the first to Mr A. F. Knox, who accepted Stirling
(Viewfield), and the other to Mr John Boyd, who preferred Wemyss Bay.
Fifth Minister. — Thom.\s R. Anderson, M.A., from Kirriemuir. Called
also to Warkworth, in Northumberland, and to Glengarnock. Ordained as
colleague to Mr Inglis, 7th March 1871. There was now to be a speedy
turn of affairs for the better. Blackswell Church had served its day, and
negotiations were opened with the Rev. John M'Farlane's congregation for
the purchase of their place of worship. The bargain was struck^ and
Saffronhall was taken possession of after being renovated at an outlay of
^500. Mr M'Farlane being out of ecclesiastical connection formal union
between the congregations was impracticable, but the bulk of his people,
about 200 in number, remained in the old pews. In the circumstances they
had to be admitted to membership one by one, and two who had been elders
were afterwards elected to office, which they accepted. The old minister also
ended his days in the fellowship of Safifronhall Church. In 1880 Mr
Anderson declined a call to Bristol, but on 14th April 1881 he accepted
Greenfield, Govan. The membership, which was reckoned 180 at his
ordination, was now almost double that number, and the stipend was ^200,
exclusive of ^50 to Mr Inglis. A house for the junior minister had also
been bought a year or two Wore at ^i 100, the Board granting ^100. This
used up the ;^4o of feu rates which had done so much for the old congrega-
tion in its time of weakness, but it left the manse free of debt.
Sixth Minister. — David W. Forrest, M.A., son of the Rev. David
Forrest, St Rollox, Glasgow. Ordained, 22nd June 1882, having previously
declined Mount Pleasant, Liverpool ; and Elgin Street, Glasgow. Accepted
PRESBYTERY OF HAMILTON 215
a call to Moffat, 29th March 1887. There was a membership of 373 at the
end of this year.
Seventh Minister. — Andrew M. Smith, M.A., from Cumnock. Or-
dained, 2 1 St February 1888. The stipend was .^250, with the manse, and
there was also the ^50 to the senior minister, who also retained the old
manse. On 23rd September 1891 Mr Smith accepted a call to Trinity
Church, Sunderland, to succeed the Rev. James S. Rae, who had removed
to Newington, Edinburgh. He remained there till 1895, when he was in-
ducted into Darhngton Place, Ayr.
Eighth Minister.— ^o^ys.K^ Fraser, B.D., son of the Rev. Henry
Erskine Fraser, Langside, Glasgow. Ordained, 7th April 1892. On 20th
May 1894 Mr Inglis completed the sixtieth year of his ministry, and on 26th
June his co-presbyters met with him in the manse, which had been his abode
so long, and presented him with an embellished address befitting the
occasion. He was now in his ninety-fifth year, and the father of the
denomination. He died on 4th July, having survived the presentation only
eight days. At the close of 1899 the membership of Saffronhall was 408,
and the stipend ^280, with the manse.
HAMILTON, AUCHINGRAMONT (Relief)
This congregation sprang from the appointment of a minister by what the
Rev. James Ramsay, Antiburgher minister in Glasgow, styled " a political
(politic) manoeuvre." The minister of the First charge was believed to have
circumvented the patron, and secured the presentation for a Mr Hutchison,
whom he calculated on having for his son-in-law. This stirred indignation
throughout the parish, but Mr Hutchison was ordained, 14th November
1776, and married his colleague's daughter nine months after. The people,
however, knowing what the end would be, had taken time by the forelock,
and on ist July presented a petition to the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow to
be received under their inspection. This step was resolved on as " the anti-
Christian yoke of patronage is become so universal and intolerable." Mr Kerr
of Bellshill was thereupon appointed to preach at Hamilton on Sabbath first,
and sermon appears to have been continued regularly on alternate Sabbaths..
A church, with i loo sittings, was also built without delay.
First Minister. — JOHN Ramsay, a licentiate of the Established Church,
who appeared before Glasgow Relief Presbytery on 4th February 1777, and,
after his pulpit gifts were put to the test, was received by them as a proba-
tioner. This was in the line of arrangements between him and the people
of Hamilton. Ramsay of Glasgow brings up that he had been previously
employed as an assistant in the neighbouring parish of Shotts with the
design of reconciling the people to the ministry of an intruder. For a similar
purpose he was then brought to Hamilton, where he was to occupy the
pulpit, Ramsay thought, once a fortnight, and, apparently possessing popular
gifts, he became a favourite with a large body of the parishioners, and, to
have the bond formed between them, they agreed to go over jointly to the
Relief Mr Hutchison of St Ninians came forward, and convicted Ramsay
of sundry inaccuracies, but he left his version of the story substantially un-
touched. Mr John Ramsay was ordained, ist May 1777, and after the
service closed he intimated to the Presbytery that two men, who had been
elders in the Establishment, were willing to act along with him, and he was
authorised to constitute them into a session. Under Mr Ramsay the con-
gregation flourished, but he died on 2nd March 1786, in the ninth year of
his ministry. After a vacancy of a year and a half the congregation called
2i6 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
the Rev. Alexander Simpson, formerly of Bellshill, and then of Alnwick,
but the call was withdrawn. They next came into competition with the
forming congregation of Kilbarchan for the services of Mr John M'Laren,
but were unsuccessful.
Second Minister. — William Carrick, from Strathaven. Ordained,
28th May 1789. A few years after this it was stated in the Old Statistical
History that the Relief congregation had 874 parishioners, old and young,
in connection with it, that they paid their minister about ^100 a year,
and that they were the most numerous body of dissenters in the place.
Mr Carrick's labours extended over forty years, and they were described as
"faithful and successful." He died, i8th December 1829, having suffered
much from asthma in the latter years of his life. The week before his death
he suggested the appointment of an assistant and successor, and conducted
both services next Sabbath, intending to make that the close of his ministry.
On Monday and Tuesday he went out as usual, and on Friday he expired,
" leaving a blank not to be easily filled up." He was in the sixty-ninth year
of his age.
Third Minister. — John M'Farlane, who had been fully eight years in
Dumbarton (Bridgend). Inducted, 17th February 1831. Not acquiescing
in this call a large minority broke off, and formed Brandon Street Church ;
but in 1836 Mr M'Farlane put the communicants at upwards of iioo, which
was 100 more than before the separation. His stipend was ;^i8o, and a
manse had been built for him in 1832 at a cost of Z700. The debt on the
property amounted in all to ^835. About 200 of the membership were
from the parishes of Cambuslang and Blantyre. On 21st August 1837 the
Presbytery received a requisition from ten elders bearing that the church
was in a state of distraction, and would require to be visited Presbyterially.
A deputation was sent to ascertain whether Mr M'Farlane would be able to
hold converse with his brethren, as he was understood to be in a nervous
state, which sometimes unfitted him for the discharge of his ministerial
duties. They found him correct in mind though weak in body, and they had
a friendly interview with him in his bedroom. But the commissioners
alleged a fama of intemperance in the house of a female member of the
congregation, whose name was afterwards mixed up with the case, but
without any imputation of criminality. Mr M'Farlane explained that owing
to illness he was obliged on one occasion to remain in that lady's house all
night. Witnesses having been examined the matter was allowed to lie over
till 26th September. At that meeting a motion that there was ground for
charging Mr M'Farlane with conduct unworthy of a Christian minister
carried by 10 to 4 over another motion that there was no ground for a libel.
He was then placed under suspension till the case should be formally gone
into, the result being that on 30th March 1838 the Presbytery dissolved the
connection between him and his congregation. Against this sentence a
protest and appeal were taken to the Synod.
At the Synod commissioners from Hamilton appeared along with the
parties, and presented a petition in Mr M'Farlane's favour subscribed by
upwards of 500 members of the congregation. After the case had occu-
pied one entire day and part of another the Presbytery were instructed
to proceed immediately to investigate the matter de ttovo. In May next
year the case came up in ripened form, with medical certificates bearing on
the mental condition of the accused, and also a petition signed by 409
members of the congregation praying to have the sentence of suspension
removed, and Mr M'Farlane's name placed on the roll of probationers, with
the view, no doubt, of having him set over them anew as their minister. On
the other side two commissioners appeared for the session and three for the
PRESBYTERY OF HAMILTON
217
managers. After parties had been fully heard a motion that the prayer of
the petitioners be refused was carried by a majority of 23 to 15. The other
motion was brought forward by Mr William Anderson of John Street, who
sympathised strongly with Mr M'Farlane, though he did not free him entirely
from blame. It seems to have been understood on both sides that during
the year 1836 Mr M'Farlane was in a state of mental aberration, and that
for two months in the beginning of 1837 "he fulfilled his ministry with his
previous acceptability," but that subsequently, when he appeared in the
pulpit, he was in a state of high nervous excitement. The Presbytery found
It proven that on several occasions these abnormal appearances were owing
in some measure to the influence of stimulants, and the majority of the
Synod so far agreed with this that they pronounced for suspension sine die.
This ended the case so far as Church Courts were concerned.
Mr M'Farlane's friends now built a place of worship for him at a cost of
^1500, with sittings for 550. On 26th May 1839 he opened the church with
sermon, which was afterwards published, from the text : " Necessity is laid
upon me, yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel." On the previous
day a petition from 441 members of his former congregation had been put
into his hands, expressive of their earnest desire that he should continue to
be their minister, and here was the answer. The church was built in the
hope that he would be restored to his status by the Synod, with renewal of the
pastoral bond between him and them, but their petition to that effect having
been refused Mr M'Farlane began his labours among them without
ecclesiastical recognition of any kind. On this footing he continued his
ministry, preserving an unblemished reputation while standing alone, and
at his jubilee on 2nd December 1870 he received a presentation of 100
sovereigns. When he was no longer able to hold on by reason of age's
infirmities the church was disposed of to Blackswell congregation for ^800,
of which the sum of ^750, which remained after certain deductions were
made, was handed over to their worn-out minister. He died, 14th November
1873, in the seventy-fifth year of his age. His tombstone in Blantyre
burying-place bears the inscription : "Erected by a few friends in memory
of the Rev. John M'Farlane, for fifty-one years minister of the gospel, being
thirty-one pastor of Safifronhall Church, Hamilton."
Fourth Minister. — Matthew R. Battersby, from Campsie. Ordained,
I2th September 1839, having previously declined calls to Dumfries (Town-
head), Newton-Stewart, and Annan (Relief). Though much encroached on
by two disruptions within nine years Muir Street still kept strong and
vigorous. On 12th January 1864 Mr Battersby's demission of his charge,
tendered on account of money difficulties, was accepted, the people regretting
the circumstances which rendered severance desirable. In December 1865 it
was reported at the Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, Victoria, that Mr
Battersby had been inducted to Maryborough, in the Presbytery of Castle-
maine, and in November a year later the acceptance of his demission was
announced. He returned to Scotland in full ministerial status, and resided
at Barrhead, where he attended the ministry of Mr Clark. He died there,
3rd December 1870, in the fifty-fifth year of his age and thirty-second of his
ministry. A tombstone was erected to his memory by the Rev. William
Beckett of Rutherglen and other early friends.
Fifth Minister.— Petek C. Duncan.son, translated from West Calder,
where he had been ordained five years before. Inducted, nth October
1864. The stipend was to be ^200. A new church, with sittings for between
800 and 900, was opened on Sabbath, 24th November 1867. The officiating
ministers were Dr Johnston of Limekilns, Mr Duncanson, and Professor
Eadie. The collections amounted to slightly over ^200, and the church
2i8 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
cost upwards of ^5000. A manse was arranged for about the same time at
an estimated cost of ^i 100, which swelled out to ^1600, while the allowance
from the Board remained at ^200. At the close of 1899 Auchingramont
still kept the lead among the five U.P. churches in Hamilton, though others
were pressing forward both in numbers and in stipend, and Saffronhall was
only a step behind. The membership was 412, and the stipend ^300, with
the manse.
HAMILTON, AVON STREET (Burgher)
On I2th June 1798 the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow granted supply of
sermon to Hamilton in answer to a petition from that place. Appearances
turning out favourably, arrangements were made to have a congregation
organised, and in August of the following year an election of six elders was
proceeded with. A church was in due time erected, with sittings for 656,
but the cost cannot now be ascertained. In Hamilton there had been an
Antiburgher congregation for nearly fifty years, but the impression would be
that there was room for the more liberal section of the Secession in this
growing town. An attempt of the same kind had been made in 1775, but
after services had gone on in an irregular way for a twelvemonth they were
discontinued for want of encouragement.
First Minister. — John Hamilton, from Craigs, Old Kilpatrick. The
stipend promised was ^80, with ^10 for a house, and the call was signed by
64 members and 92 adherents. Called also to Kirkintilloch, but the Presby-
tery decided in favour of Hamilton, and Mr Hamilton was ordained there,
23rd September 1800. His term of active service was little more than
begun when it came to an end. In September 1801 the congregation repre-
sented to the Synod that their minister had been in distress for eight or
nine months, and unable to discharge the duties of his office. His resigna-
tion was accepted on 6th October. A voyage to Quebec in 1803 was of no
avail, and he died on 27th April 1805, aged thirty-two. It was an unfavour-
able beginning for the congregation, but nothing as compared with what
was to follow.
During the vacancy occasioned by Mr Hamilton's resignation Mr John
Brown, a probationer from Glasgow (now Greyfriars), was called, but dis-
satisfaction arose, and harmony was disturbed. At a meeting of the con-
gregation it was found that 59 wished the call prosecuted and 10 wished it
dropped. Mr Brown, in the circumstances, refused to go on with his trials,
and after some delay he renounced connection with the Burgher Synod.
On 8th June 1803 he got licence anew from the Established Presbytery of
Glasgow, and was ordained to Gartmore Chapel in 1805. He was trans-
ferred to the parish of Langton, Berwickshire, in 1810, and came out at the
Disruption in 1843. In the year of his ordination he published A
Vindication of the Presbyterian Form of Church Government, a treatise
which brought him into repute, and in 18 15 he received the degree of D.D.
from Glasgow University. Besides being the author of a book on Arian
and Socinian Errors he wrote several pamphlets during the Non-Intrusion
Controversy. He died, 25th June 1848, in the seventy-first year of his age
and forty-fourth of his ministry. He was the father of the Rev. Thomas
Brown, D.D., of the Dean Free Church, Edinburgh.
Second Minister. — ALEXANDER Easton, from Kirkintilloch. When a
preacher Mr Easton was aboundingly popular, being called to Kirkintilloch,
Lochwinnoch, Port-Glasgow, and Miles Lane, London. Appointed by the
Synod to Miles Lane, or rather to Redcross Street, where he was ordained,
PRESBYTERY OF HAMILTON 219
27th September 1792. In 1801 the congregation represented to Coldstream
I'resbytery, under whose inspection they were, that their minister was
labouring under indisposition, and required supply for his pulpit. This was
followed by papers of complaint against him and a request to have the
relation dissolved. The Synod in September arranged that Mr Easton
should meanwhile remain in Scotland, and in April 1802 they accepted his
demission, the congregation to pay him ^30 a year so long as his circum-
stances required it. Being restored to the preachers' list he was called to
North Berwick and Hamilton. The latter call being preferred by the Synod
his induction followed on 17th July 1804. But the root evil remained, and
the connection was dissolved on 28th May 1806, and, owing to intemperate
habits, he was suspended sine die. He thereupon renounced connection,
and, having preached on to those of his people who adhered to him, he was
deposed by order of Synod on 23rd December of that year. He now joined
the Established Church, and died, near Govan, 9th September 1842, in his
seventy-fifth year. In the newspaper announcement he was entered as
" lately classical teacher in Glasgow."
Third Minisfer.—Ko^VMT Fletcher, son of the Rev. William Fletcher,
Bridge of Teith. Entered the Burgher Hall along with his brother, after-
wards Dr Alexander Fletcher, Finsbury Church, London. Ordained, 9th
February 1808, his brother commencing the services, and his brother-in-law,
the Rev. John Brown of Whitburn, giving the concluding discourse. The
membership, which had been 112 before Mr Easton was inducted, was now
129, of whom loi signed the call. There must have been an inflow of pros-
perity under Mr Fletcher, as we find that when the next crisis came the
number was exactly double. Misfortune supervened in the same form as
before, and Mr Fletcher, after being dealt with and put upon trial again
and again, had to be removed from his charge on 15th May 18 17 and
placed under suspension. We meet with him afterwards in London, where
he conducted an educational establishment for some time with as many as
forty pupils, some of them paying 2 guineas a quarter. But there was
failure in London as well as in Hamilton. He died, it is understood, in
1825.
The congregation now called the Rev. George Lawson of Bolton, but,
strong as their claims were, those of Kilmarnock (now Portland Road) were
stronger still, and the Synod decided accordingly. They next called Mr
Alexander Waugh, the call being signed by 196 members and 209 adherents
— large numbers looked at in the light of adverse experiences. The stipend
promised was ^150, with expenses, and, so eager were they to gain their
object, they afterwards came forward offering other ^30. But Miles Lane,
London, carried all before it.
Fourth Minister. — Thom.\s Struthers, from Maybole, where he had
laboured for six years. Inducted, i6th November 1819, and it was perhaps
appropriate that a Fast should be observed till the services were over. Of
the congregation's history there is nothing to record till 1836, when the
communicants numbered 320, of whom about one-fifth were from the
parishes of Blantyre, Bothwell, and Dalziel. The stipend was ^130, in-
cluding everything, and there was a debt of ^600 on the property — ^^200 less
than it had been nine years before. In 1845 this burden was entirely
removed by a special effort, with the aid of ;^i5o from the Debt Liquidation
Fund. Mr Struthers' jubilee was celebrated on 2nd December 1862, when,
along with other gifts, he was presented with ^400. Arrangements had
previously been made for securing his partial release from ministerial work,
the colleague to receive ^120 a year, and the aged minister ^75.
Fifth Minister. — ROBERT BLACK, M.A., from Glasgow (Renfield Street).
220 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Ordained as colleague to Mr Struthers, 12th March 1863. The bond
between them lasted exactly a year, as Mr Struthers died, 13th March 1864,
in the seventy-fifth year of his age and fifty-second of his ministry. He had
been seized with paralysis eight days before, and from that moment lost all
power of speech and motion. The only publication he left behind him was
a sermon, entitled " The Church of God," which he preached, as Moderator
of Synod, in May 1844. Mr Black was now sole pastor till loth February
1874, when he accepted a call to Princes Road, Liverpool. He was inducted
to his second charge on 5th March thereafter, and resigned, 26th August
1878, on being appointed Organising Secretary of the British and Foreign
Bible Society. In 1886 he took orders in the Episcopal Church, and was
curate of Christ's Church, Cambridge, from that date till 1891. He is
now vicar of Ramsey, Huntingdonshire, with an official income of ^310
a year.
Sixth Minister. — Thomas S. Trench, from Linlithgow (East). Or-
dained at Willington Quay, Newcastle Presbytery, 19th November 1867,
and inducted into Hamilton, 3rd June 1875. O" Thursday, 30th May 1895,
the new church in Avon Street, with sittings for 500, and built at a cost of
over ^3600, was opened by the Rev. Dr Oliver, ex-Moderator of Synod.
The sale of the old church in Chapel Street brought ^750, and beyond ^500
received from the Loan Fund, to be paid by half-yearly instalments, there
was no debt remaining. In January 1900 the membership was 274, and the
stipend ^250.
HAMILTON, BRANDON STREET (Relief)
When the Relief congregation of Hamilton applied for a moderation in
September 1830 a protest against the application led to a delay of three
months, but it was granted in December. On 4th January 1831, when the
call to Mr M'Farlane was brought up, objections on the part of a minority
were tabled, but as no dissent had been taken at the time they were dis-
missed, besides being pronounced frivolous and vexatious. A petition on
1 2th April to be formed into a separate congregation fared better, and a
member of Presbytery was appointed to preach to the petitioners on Sabbath
first. On 3rd May he reported that the attendance was numerous, that
managers had been elected, and a considerable sum of money raised for
ulterior purposes. On 9th June six elders, who had taken part in the move-
ment, were appointed to be formed into a session. Services were meanwhile
conducted in a hall, but a new church, with 945 sittings, was opened on 15th
December 1831.
First Minister. — GEORGE Boag, son of the Rev. William Boag of
Dunning. Ordained, 27th March 1832. The stipend was to be ^100 in all.
This proved an unfortunate settlement, arising partly at least, as is clearly
established, from stimulants used to excess. On 14th May 1833 it is entered
in the Preslsytery minutes that " Mr Boag continues infirm both in body and
mind, and unable to officiate," and at next meeting, on 4th June, a committee
sent to converse with him found him unwilling to take any step till the
wishes of the congregation were known. On 9th September the Presbytery
met in Brandon Street vestry, but Mr Boag neither put in an appearance
nor sent an excuse for absence. A deputation appointed to wait on him had
great difficulty in obtaining access to his presence. They found him in bed,
apparently in health of body and in possession of his mental faculties, but
he refused to attend, pleading inability. This report being brought back he
was to be summoned to next meeting, which was to be held in Glasgow.
PRESBYTERY OF HAMILTON 221
Again he failed to appear, and the summons was to be renewed with cer-
tification. On 1st October the connection between him and Brandon Street
congregation was dissolved on the ground of contumacy and because it was
evident his usefulness was at an end, and he was suspended from preaching.
He died next day, in the thirty-third year of his age.
Second Minister. — William Barr, from East Kilbride. Ordained, 24th
April 1834. Two years after this the communicants were considerably over
600, and the stipend was ^120. The congregation was said to be largely
composed of hand-loom weavers. There was a debt on the property of
^800, and 81 families came from beyond two miles. That same year a dis-
course by Mr Barr on The Perpetuity of the Gospel appeared in the "Relief
Preacher," a collection of sermons by ministers of the Relief Synod. The
volume was slashingly reviewed in the Christian Jourrtal., the preachers in
some cases being treated with little respect. Mr Barr's sermon was pro-
nounced fresh and vigorous, but disfigured by a swollen, inflated style.
" He has obviously taken for his model the author of 'The Natural History
of Enthusiasm,' and studied his work by night and by day, and, as a natural
consequence, he has imitated the stilted extravagance, which is the defect,
not the excellence, of that distinguished author." But these youthful
blemishes would wear off as years passed, and Mr Barr's merits secured his
removal to a larger sphere. On 5th January 1841 he accepted a call to the
historical congregation of Jedburgh (now Boston Church). Brandon Street
called Mr James Bonnar soon after, but he preferred East Kilbride.
Third Minister. — John T. M'Farlane, from College Street, Edin-
burgh. Ordained, 15th February 1842, the call being unanimous, and the
stipend promised {^\ 10. At this time the debt on the property amounted to
j^i8oo; but in 1854 this burden was entirely removed, nearly ^700 being
raised that year, other ^470 having been contributed previously by the
congregation, and ^650 being received from the Debt Liquidating Board
and Christian friends. On 26th August 1879 Mr M'Farlane retired from
office after requiring sick-supply for a lengthened period, but was to retain
his status as senior minister. The Presbytery recorded "that he had
laboured with much fidelity, gentleness, and acceptance." He was to
receive an allowance of ^75 a year, and the junior minister was to have
;^i8o. The collegiate state was never reached, as Mr M'Farlane died,
23rd January 1880, in the sixty-ninth year of his age and thirty-eighth of his
ministry.
Fourth Minister. — Robert D. Shaw, B.D., from Bridge of Allan.
Ordained, 14th October 1880. The stipend arranged for now was ^220,
with the expectation of ^30 from the Ferguson Bequest. The membership
at this time was 256. In May 1889 Mr Shaw declined Argyle Place, Edin-
burgh, where the Rev. William Logan of Lanark had received considerable
support. On 26th July 1892 he accepted Hope Park, in the same part of
the city. During his ministry the membership of Brandon Street had risen
to 337-
Fifth Minister. — Thomas B. Nicholson, M.A., from Leven, a younger
brother of the Rev. James B. Nicholson, Hutchesontown, Glasgow. Or-
.dained, 28th March 1893, and loosed, ist November 1898, on accepting a
[call from the E.P. congregation of Cricklewood, London.
Sixth Minister.— ]\yi¥& Ferguson, B.D., son of the Rev. Dr Ferguson,
[Queen's Park, Glasgow. Ordained, nth April 1899. The membership
rat the close of that year was 364, and the stipend .^{^250.
222 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
BURNBANK (United Presbyterian)
In its beginnings the history of this congregation ran parallel for a time with
that of Blantyre. The station was opened on Sabbath, 1 7th June 1 877, services
being conducted morning and evening, and for want of better accommodation
a shop was rented for three or four months. In November the cause was
taken in charge by the congregation of Saffronhall, Hamilton, and under
their missionary the station, which had hitherto been little better than a
failure, began to promise well. In a few months there were 50 applications
for rnembership, and liberty to dispense sealing ordinances among them was
obtained. On Sabbath, 1 6th Tune 1878, a wooden church was opened, when
there was a collection of /12. On 29th July 1879 a petition from 141
members and 38 adherents to be formed into a congregation was granted,
and on 13th November they had three elders inducted over them and two
ordained.
First Minister.— ]o\\-^ Cilmour, who had been in Gardenstown sixteen
years. Inducted, 13th May 1880. There was a membership now of 120,
and the people were, to raise ^70 of stipend, which they hoped would be
made up from other sources to ^220. The new church was opened by Dr
Scott, Home Mission Secretary, loth August 1884, with 562 sittings.
Building operations were commenced two years prior to this, but delay
was occasioned and fieavy additional expense incurred by the subsidence
of the ground. The total expenditure amounted to ^3900, towards which
the Mission Board granted £400, and the Ferguson Bequest ^250, while
two Bazaars yielded ^930, and ^500 came from contributions. This left
;^i82o, the last of which was successfully overcome before the Union
with the aid of ^500 from the Debt Liquidation Board. At the close
of 1899 the membership of Burnbank was 323, and the stipend from the
people ^100.
BELLSHILL (Relief)
This congregation originated in the induction of the Rev. James Baillie into
the parish of Bothwell on 2nd September 1763. He had been ordained at
Shotts eight years before, and must have been well known to the people of
his new charge, of whom only 8 signed his call. Beyond the fact that Mr
Baillie swayed to the Moderate side of the Church there is little known
regarding him ; but he seems to have been a man of more than average
attainments, as, after being transferred to Hamilton, he was appointed to
a Divinity Chair in Glasgow University in 1775. His name is linked with
that of his daughter, Joanna Baillie the poetess. But, rather than submit
to the enforcement of Patronage, a large proportion of Bothwell parish threw
themselves into the arms of the recently constituted Presbytery of Relief,
as Blairlogie and Auchtermuchty had done shordy before. Accordingly they
got Mr Gillespie through from Dunfermline to preach to them on 9th
December 1762, and baptise children, and we find from one of his note-books
that the service was repeated in April following. The church was finished
in August 1763, and as there was a gathering in of sympathisers from
surrounding parishes accommodation was provided for between 600 and
700. Even this was found insufficient, and an enlargement had to follow,
raising the number to 812.
First Miftister.—Al.¥^y.\^T>KK SiMPSON, from Paisley, a licentiate of
the Church of Scotland. Ordained, 27th October 1763. He had written
the Presbytery of Paisley in August preceding intimating that he had made
up his mind to accept a call to Bothwell, as the people tl)ere could not
PRESBYTERY OF HAMILTON 223
reconcile themselves to a minister put in by Patronage. The Presbytery
framed a libel against him which ran thus : "That he had submitted to be
ordained by Mr Thomas Gillespie, who was under sentence of deposition,
and by other ministers calling themselves the Presbytery of Relief ; that he
was exercising his ministry at Bothvvell without consent of the incumbent ;
and that, treating his ordination as valid, he had administered baptism and
the Lord's Supper in certain Established churches." He appeared in answer
to the summons, and pleaded that he was only affording temporary relief to
a party in Bothwell parish who wished to keep by the Established Church ;
that neither he nor the Relief Presbytery taught separating principles ; that
he very much desired to continue in the Establishment, and he did not
think he had done anything to prevent it. The case came before the
Commission of Assembly in June 1764, and it ended with declaring "the
said Alexander Simpson incapable of receiving a presentation or call to any
parish in the ChurOh."
As a member of the Relief Presbytery Mr Simpson did much to help
on the rupture which took place between the two parties in that Court, as is
shown in an Appendix to Vol. L He had also a sharp correspondence with
Cruden of Glasgow, which brought their friendship to an end. Thus irritation
wrought on till the Relief ministers formed themselves into two Presbyteries,
with a chasm of personal estrangement between. But the vehemence with
which Mr Simpson championed the cause of Alexander Pirie, as comes out
under Blairlogie, may have caused him discomfort among his own people.
It is certain that he left Bellshill not long after, though he did not simply
throw up his charge, as Dr Struthers supposed, and go forth not knowing
whither he went. In the Life of Dr Bogue of-Gosport there is a letter, of
date 17th April 1771, in which the writer informs his friend that Simpson
of Bothwell is determined for Duns, and on 26th June he adds : " At the
Presbytery of Relief Simpson accepted the call to Duns." What pertains
to his after history is given under the headings of Duns (South) and
Pittenweem.
After his removal Bellshill was supplied by the Rev. Archibald Simpson,
who had been minister of a Presbyterian congregation in South Carolina,
and is understood to have been an American by birth. But his engagement
was temporary, as he declined to cast in his lot with the Relief. From a
newspaper notice we find that on 24th August 1774 a Chapel of Ease was
opened at Port-Glasgow by the Rev. Archibald Simpson. He was inducted
on 13th September, and there the remainder of his ministry was spent. His
resignation was accepted, 27th October 1784, and he died, 9th April 1795.
Second Minister. — John Kerr, from the Antiburgher church, Duke
Street, Glasgow, but acceded to the Relief at the close of his theological
course. His old minister, James Ramsay, referred with characteristic bitter-
ness to the change he made : " Having contracted a vehement itch for the
pulpit, and some students of the same standing being appointed on trial
before him, the slight is intolerable. Then Secession principles are thrown
to the winds, and he seeks a settlement in a connection where stipends are
not so small and the number of probationers not so great." Having got
ilicence from the Relief Presbytery of Edinburgh in June 1774 he was ordained
I at Bellshill on nth January of the following year. In the length of his
: services Mr Kerr seems to have carried his early experiences with him, as
his sermons are said to have often exceeded an hour and a half. He died
suddenly on Saturday, 30th June 1792, at Irvine, whither he had gone to
assist at the communion. He was in the eighteenth year of his ministry.
An impression prevailed that he had over-exerted himself on the preceding
Sabbath, when preaching at Anderston in the open air.
224 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Third Minister. — Archibald Robertson, from the Reformed Presby-
terian Church, Calton, Glasgow, and a brother of the Rev. Peter Robertson,
Irvine. Introduced for licence to the Relief Presbytery by Mr Stewart of
Anderston, and ordained at Bellshill, 8th January 1793. The stipend was
to be ^86, with the manse and a glebe of nine acres. Within a few years
Mr Robertson and his people got into strained relations, which resulted in
the acceptance of his resignation on 15th January 1799. Imprudences were
alleged against him, and want of circumspection, which brought his minis-
terial standing into question after he left. In March 1807 he intimated to
the Presbytery his acceptance of an invitation to take the pastoral oversight
of some people in Kirkcudbright. To preach to parties outside the de-
nomination was opposed to the rules of the Relief Synod, and Mr Robertson
was, therefore, declared cut off from the connection. But Kirkcudbright
failed him after a time, and in 18 14 the Synod, on the recommendation of
Dumfries Presbytery, readmitted him to the status of a probationer. He
died suddenly in Glasgow about the middle of the forties.
Fourth Minister. — John Jamieson,- who had been ordained at Colins-
burgh two years before. When a preacher he attracted the attention of the
vacant congregation at Bellshill, and before he had time to take his
bearings at Colinsburgh a majority set about having him translated thither.
In March 1801 a moderation was applied for, and, in the face of an opposi-
tion paper signed by 140 members, it was granted. Mr William Auld of
Burnhead, and afterwards of Greenock, was the other candidate. Mr
Jamieson being chosen the case went to the Synod, who instructed the
Presbytery to sustain and concur in the call. Mr Jamieson, however,
refused to accept ; but, a s.econd call having passed through a similar
ordeal, he decided to face all contingencies, and was inducted, 29th July
1802. The settlement gave rise to some fierce writing, and, as the opposi-
tion included about one-third of the membership, the congregation must
have suffered seriously at this time. On Sabbath, 19th February 1832, Mr
Jamieson, towards the close of his lecture, took up the Psalm-book, and was
requesting the congregation to sing a few verses, when utterance failed him,
and he fell backwards in a state of insensibility. He was borne from the
pulpit, and in the space of an hour he died. Such was the account given in
the newspapers at the time. He was in the fifty-sixth year of his age and
thirty-second of his ministry. His father-in-law, the Rev. John Brown of
Falkirk, expired with like suddenness at Bellshill on a communion Sabbath
eleven years before. A daughter of Mr Jamieson's became the wife of the
Rev. William Lindsay, East Church, Perth.
Fifth Minister.— ]oni^ Wilson, from Old Kilpatrick, but born in
Gorbals, Glasgow. Ordained, 17th October 1833. Four years after this
there were about 600 communicants, and the stipend was;^i2o, with a manse
and glebe worth other ^30. Some 20 families were from Dalziel parish,
and Old Monkland and Cambuslang furnished about half-a-dozen each.
Thirty-six families came from upwards of four miles. On Sabbath, 13th
December 1846, the present church, built on the old site, was opened by Dr
Struthers of Glasgow, when the collections amounted to ^{^158. It is seated
for 900, and cost over j^i6oo, exclusive of bell and clock. On 13th Nov-
ember 1882, at the celebration of his Jubilee, Mr Wilson was presented with
his portrait and a cheque for ^400. His stipend had gradually risen till it
reached ^250.
Sixth Minister. — JOHN R. Fleming, B.D., son of the Rev. William
Fleming, Lothian Road, Edinburgh. Ordained as colleague to Mr Wilson,
15th July 1884. The names on the communion roll at this time were 416.
The senior minister was to have ^100 a year from the congregation, with
PRESBYTERY OF HAMILTON 225
the manse, and he occupied the pulpit occasionally till near the close, and
regularly took part in communion work. He died, 3rd October 1893, in the
eighty-seventh year of his age and sixtieth of his ministry, leaving a son-in-
law, the Rev. W. R. Inglis of Kelso, a member of Synod. His son, Mr
William B. Wilson, got licence in the end of 1863, but the Distribution
Committee reported in 1870 that he had left the denomination to join the
Church of England. In that connection he officiated for a short time as
curate at Maryport, but his mind became much affected, to the clouding of
his father's declining years. He still survives, but hopes of restoration to
usefulness have long since expired.
On becoming sole pastor Mr Fleming's stipend was raised from ^200 to
^300, with the manse. In 1889 the church had been renovated at a cost of
^1000, but on Thursday, 5th December 1895, it was announced as follows : —
" During a thunder-storm about midnight on Tuesday the spire of the U.P.
Church, Bellshill, was struck by lightning, and seriously damaged, about a
couple of tons of masonry being displaced." This brought the congregation
face to face with extensive outlay, but before the jubilee of the church
opening, in December 1896, the spire was rebuilt and heightened, and a new
bell put in. At the Union the membership was within a few units of 500,
with the stipend as given above.
STRATHAVEN, FIRST (Antiburgher)
On 14th December 1738 an accession was given in from Avondale parish to
the Associate Presbytery, and on 17th September of the following year Ralph
Erskine of Dunfermline and James Thomson of Burntisland conducted
week-day services somewhere in that locality. The Antiburgher families
about Strathaven after the Breach of 1747 formed part of Hamilton con-
gregation (now Saffronhall), but on the ground of distance they were erected
into a separate congregation on loth June 1765. Occasional supply had
been granted them before this, and their first church was built the previous
year.
First Minister. — David Sommerville, from Nicolson Street, Edin-
burgh. Ordained, loth September 1766, on a call signed by 39 (male)
members "and 3 adherents. After ministering at Strathaven for nearly
twenty-four years Mr Sommerville resolved on emigrating to America, and
was loosed from his charge on 23rd August 1790. Dr Scouller states that
this step was forced upon him because of inability for regular work, strength
having failed through a severe bleeding from the nose. He died in June
1793, ii^ Rockbridge County, Virginia. Though Dr Scouller says that he
only preached in vacancies, as his health allowed him, he seems to have held
a fixed charge, since at his death he was a member of the Presbytery of
Pennsylvania. His widow died near Lexington, 6th January 1800.
Second Minister. — Thomas Stewart, from Kinclaven. In the early
part of the vacancy the congregation called Mr Thomas Blair, the call being
signed by 68 (male) members and 18 adherents, but the Synod appointed
him to Cairneyhill. Mr Stewart next became the object of their choice, but
on both occasions there was a small minority in favour of Mr Thomas Smith,
of whom more is given under Auchinleck. Mr Stewart was ordained, 24th
July 1792. The stipend arranged for was ^55, with house and garden. The
Presbytery had been wishful to secure for the minister the use of a horse
when required for pastoral work or attendance on Church Courts, and also
the promise that the farmers would drive his coals, but the congregation
II. P
226 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
instead of binding themselves to these conditions came up ^5. Mr Stewart
is said to have been a man distinguished for " much warmth of heart, grace
of character, and genuine excellence." He died on Monday, 8th March
1 8 19, having taken ill on his way home from the Presbytery on the previous
Thursday. He was in the sixty-first year of his age and twenty-seventh of
his ministry. The Secession cause in Strathaven during his ministry drew
its membership from a wide circumference.
Third Minister. — James M'E wan, from Perth (North). Ordained, 19th
October 18 19. In the following year the second church was built, at a cost
of ;^85o, with sittings for 630. In 1836 the communicants numbered 320,
and the stipend was ^^130, with manse and garden. Of the families in
attendance 15 came from over four miles, and more than one-third were
from the parishes of Glassford, Kilbride, Stonehouse, and Hamilton, by far
the largest number from Glassford. The debt on the property was ^^300.
Mr M'Ewan, owing to long-continued affliction, had his resignation accepted
on 31st December 1850, the congregation testifying to the kindly feeling
which had subsisted between him and them during the whole course of his
ministry, and to the diligence and faithfulness with which he had discharged
his official duties. They were to pay him an annuity of ^40. He died in
Edinburgh, 13th November 1859, in the seventy-third year of his age and
forty-first of his ministry, leaving two sons ministers in that city — David in
College Street and Thomas in the Potterrow (now Hope Park).
Fourth Minister. — Peter Leys, from Nicolson Street, Edinburgh.
Ordained, 17th December 1851. The congregation had previously called
Mr David M'Ewan, their former minister's son, but he preferred Cathcart
Street, Ayr. The stipend, besides the annuity to Mr M'Ewan, was to be
^90, with the manse, to be afterwards raised to ^i 10, and the call was
signed by 141 members and 40 adherents. In 1861 Mr Leys published a
valuable Memoir of his friend, the Rev. John M'Laren of City Road Church,
Glasgow, with discourses appended. In the previous year he was nearly
called to be Mr M'Laren's successor. Five years later a sphere of labour
opened for him at Aldershot, but he decided to remain in Strathaven.
On 25th February 1881 Mr Leys' resignation was accepted by Hamilton
Presbytery, medical certificates bearing that he required immediate relief
from all active duty. The congregation agreed unanimously to give him
;^40 a year, an arrangement in which he cordially acquiesced. Mr Leys
removed soon after to Glasgow for the sake of his family, though he took
part ever and again in communion work among his old people. In 1886
the current of his life was disturbed by family troubles, which led to im-
prisonment without moral blame on his part. Two grandchildren were
under his care, but their father, Mr Leys' eldest son, had now embraced
Popery, and, with the view of sending them to be trained in a Jesuit estab-
lishment at Sheffield, he claimed possession of the boys, the burden of
whose maintenance he had been obliged to throw over on his father six
years before. The case was carried into the Court of Session, where, as a
matter of course, paternal rights prevailed, and the decree was issued that
the children must be surrendered. But Mr Leys, while recognising the
legality of the decision, felt that there were interests involved which forbade
obedience, and the boys were removed under their aunt's care to some
place of concealment. Their grandfather, refusing to reveal the secret, was
sent to the Calton Jail, amidst widespread sympathy, though it was clear
the judges had no alternative. After a time relief came through the son
relenting, with the request to press the matter no further, and thus the
prison doors were opened. Mr Leys died at Edinburgh, 6th July 1892, in
the seventy-first year of his age and forty-first of his ministry. A younger
PRESBYTERY OF HAMILTON 227
son of his, George Meston, went through his course as a probationer, and
then turned to law.
Fifth Minister. — GEORGE F. Dewar, from Musselburgh (Bridge Street),
where he had been for five years. Inducted, 25th October 1881. The
rnembership was 284, and the stipend, exclusive of Mr Leys' annuity, was
^"120, with a manse, but with the expectation that it would be augmented
from the Ferguson Fund and other sources to not less than ;^i8o. At the
beginning of the Union year the membership of Strathaven, First, was 230,
and the stipend ^155, with the manse.
STRATHAVEN, EAST (Relief)
The parish church of Avondale was built or rebuilt in the town of Strathaven
in 1772, and the 800 sittings it ultimately contained were all allocated to
the heritors except 85 "communion seats," and the common people are
said to have considered themselves deprived of their fit proportion. But
the minister of Avondale told the Commissioners on Religious Instruction
in 1836 that for three dozen years there were no "seats" in the church at all.
This defective arrangement, as much as the grievance of Patronage, might
try the endurance of many, and lessen their attachment to the building.
There was some talk of erecting a Chapel of Ease, but enforced settlements
at Eaglesham and Shotts had prepared large numbers for enlisting under
the banner of the Relief. The scheme was brought into active shape by the
conduct of their minister, the Rev. Robert Bell, in furthering an intrusion
into the parish of Hamilton. This was on nth November 1776, and on
20th January following a number of people in Strathaven petitioned the
Relief Presbytery of Glasgow for supply of sermon. Services were begun
on Sabbath, 6th February, and an entry from the Journal of an Established
Church Elder gives the particulars. " Mr Kerr, minister of the Relief
Church, Bellshill, preached here in the churchyard, being invited by the
inhabitants who were displeased with Mr Bell." A church was built without
delay, with 1087 sittings.
First Minister. — William Heriot, from the Burgher congregation of
Dunblane. Ordained, 17th September 1777. It proved an unfortunate
choice in the end, though we read of Mr Heriot having charmed the people
by his eloquence at first. In August 1784 serious charges were brought
against him by his eight elders and twelve of the managers. Untruthfulness
and the use of improper language were proved against him, and for guilt
in other ways there was declared to be strong presumption. Hence he was
loosed from his charge on 5th January 1785. What we know of his after
history is given under Head Street, Beith. This discouraging affair must
have gone to discredit the Relief cause in Strathaven, and it was long
before the ground it lost at this time was regained. A call to Mr John
Reston was sustained and concurred in six months thereafter, of which
there is no further mention, and he became minister of Biggar (South).
Second Minister. — John Kirkwood, a native of Airdrie. Came over
from the Establishment when a divinity student, and was ordained at
Strathaven, 17th October 1786. Called to Dumfries (now Townhead) two
years after, but declined to remove. Under Mr Kirkwood the congregation
recovered tone, and experienced a gradual building up. He died, 9th
January 1818, in the sixty-third year of his age and thirty-second of his
ministry. He was the father of the Rev. James Kirkwood of St James'
Place, Edinburgh. In December 1818 the congregation called the Rev.
William Muir of Mainsriddell, but after a time he announced that he had
228 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
made up his mind to decline the call. The terms laid down were that his
stipend of ^150 was to be reduced to ^100 if he were unable for duty, the
congregation to keep his garden and pertinents in repair, but the Presbytery
suggested to strike out the latter item and put an allowance for expenses
in its place.
Third Minister. — JOHN FRENCH, from Tollcross. Ordained, 4th May
1820, and under his abounding popularity the building was filled to excess.
The stipend began at ^156 in all, with manse and garden. Mr French was
called in 1832 to Dovehill, Glasgow (now Kelvingrove), but he remained in
Strathaven till a wide door of usefulness opened in College Street, Edinburgh,
and he was loosed on 3rd September 1833. Within a few months Mr James
Banks was called by a great majority to be Mr French's successor, but he
declined, and accepted Canal Street, Paisley, instead.
Fourth Minister. — Walter M'Lay, from Milngavie. The church at
this time was overcrowded, having a membership of not less than 1500, and
the disruption which followed a divided call brought welcome relief Or-
dained, 25th May 1835. Fifteen months after this Mr M'Lay reported that he
had 1280 names on his communion roll, and that fully one-fourth of these
were from other parishes, most of them from Glassford, and a goodly number
from Stonehouse and Kilbride, with a few from Hamilton and Lesmahagow.
The stipend was ^160, with a manse and glebe which had been provided for
Mr French a few years before he left, at a cost of ^^700, of which ^250
remained as debt on the property. In 1844 a sum of ^500 was expended on
a spire with bell and clock, but any burden this entailed was met in 1847
by the liberality of the people. During Mr M'Lay's ministry of thirty-four
years the congregation kept well up, but on 28th December 1869 his resigna-
tion, tendered on the ground of money difficulties, and acquiesced in by the
people, was accepted. He then removed to London. Returning to Scotland
he proposed to have his name placed on the probationer list, but the matter
was allowed to drop. In 1880 Mr M'Lay was admitted to the benefits of
the Aged and Infirm Ministers' Fund, and he died in Glasgow, 14th May
1885, aged seventy-three.
Fifth Minister.~hl.^^hiiv>-E.^ W. Donaldson, B.A., from Moniaive,
where he was ordained six years before. Admitted to Strathaven, 5th July
1870. Seven years after this the church was renovated, or rather rebuilt, at
a cost of ^3000, and entered free of debt. The sittings were reduced to
800, but the congregation, though much smaller than it was in its overgrown
state, had still a membership of 585 at the close of 1889, and the stipend was
^310, with a manse.
STRATHAVEN WEST (Relief)
At the moderation in the Relief Church, Strathaven, on i6th February 1835
three probationers, who had got licence together some months before, were
nominated, and the vote stood thus : for Mr Walter M'Lay, 426 ; for Mr
George O. Campbell, 356 ; and for Mr Neil M'Michael, 36. Along with the
call which was brought up to the Presbytery on 3rd March a petition to be
formed into a second congregation was presented from the minority with
nearly 400 signatures. They represented the church as overcrowded, and,
the commissioners on the other side offering no opposition, the Presbytery
at once granted the disjunction craved. When the communion roll was
made up the names numbered 265. The church, with 976 sittings, was
built at a cost of nearly ^1400, and the work had to be gone on with at
once, as the hall in which the congregation met accommodated only 330.
PRESBYTERY OF HAMILTON 229
First Minister. — George O. Campbelt>, son of the Rev. George Campbell,
Roberton. Ordained, 17th November 1835. Nine months afterwards Mr
Campbell reported the membership at 377, and the stipend at ^120, with a
house and garden. The debt was ^950. In a public discussion on the
Establishment question between him and the parish minister of Wiston
and Roberton, which took place at Strathaven on 19th March 1839, and
lasted from 6 o'clock in the evening till 3.40 next morning, Mr Campbell
was twitted with the heavy burden of debt on his church, and also with the
smallness of his stipend, as disproving the efficiency of Voluntaryism. In
the end of 1842 Mr Campbell declined a call to Arthur Street, Edinburgh,
but the offer being renewed he accepted, and was loosed from Strathaven,
2 1 St March 1843.
Second Minister. — Alexander M'Leod, from Calton, Glasgow, but a
native of Nairn. Having preferred Strathaven to Irvine he was ordained,
20th February 1844. Before the end of the year he published a lecture,
entitled " Mountain Worship," the motto being : " Our fathers worshipped in
this mountain." This slight publication, and acquaintance with his gifts
generally, led George Gilfillan to speak of him as "a genuine prose-poet."
In Strathaven he also contributed to Hogg's Instructor several articles, the
substance of which afterwards appeared in his volume on " European Life."
Well known now throughout the churches, he was invited to become
colleague to Dr William Anderson of John Street, Glasgow, and accepted,
28th August 1855.
Third Minister. — Andrew J. Gunion, translated from Hawick (Allars),
where he had laboured ten years, and admitted to Strathaven, 28th April 1857.
The stipend promised was ^140, with manse and garden. The congregation
had previously called Mr George Wade, who preferred Falkirk (West).
After nine years of ministerial life in Strathaven Mr Gunion was loosed on
15th August 1866 on accepting St Andrew Square, Greenock.
Fourth Minister. — James H. S. Hunter, son of the Rev. John Hunter,
Savoch-of-Ueer. Ordained, loth April 1867. After being laid aside for
some time through ill-health Mr Hunter resigned his charge, and, though the
Presbytery suggested a longer period of relief, the congregation, while
testifying that they would part with their minister on friendly terms, con-
sidered that the dissolving of the pastoral tie would be better for Mr Hunter
as well as for themselves, and the resignation was accepted, 30th April 1872.
In May 1878 Mr Hunter's name was put on the probationer list, and he was
inducted to Stornoway in June of the following year.
Fifth Minister. — Peter Morton, from Glasgow (now Woodlands Road).
Ordained, 4th March 1873. The membership at this time was slightly over
400, and the stipend was ^175, with a manse. Mr Morton died, 3rd July
1882, in the forty-sixth year of his age and tenth of his ministry. The
Presbytery on removing his name from the roll expressed gratitude to the
Head of the Church "for the qualities which marked his character, for his
ability and faithfulness and gentleness of life." The congregation some
time after called Mr Andrew M. Porteous, who preferred to undertake the
building up of a new congregation at Cullen.
Sixth Minister.— ] AUK'?, M'RORIE, from Crieff. Though the member-
ship had now fallen to 316 the stipend was raised to ^200, besides the manse.
Mr M'Rorie was ordained, 4th December 1883. At the close of 1899 there
were 387 names on the communion roll, and the stipend was as formerly.
230 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
SHOTTS (Burgher)
In 1739 the Secession cause in Cambusnethan got a considerable increase
to its strength from the neighbouring parish of Shotts. In May of that
year two elders and a considerable number of private Christians from that
parish acceded to the Associate Presbytery. This was owing to an intrusion
into the Established Church, but the infliction was mild compared with
what the people had to endure thirty years after. The presentee in the
latter case was Mr Laurence Wells, who had been a licentiate ten years, and
he owed his promotion to the tutors of the young Duke of Hamilton. In
June 1763 a moderation took place, but elders, heads of families, and all the
resident heritors except one, refused to sign the call. The Presbytery saw
insuperable difficulties in the way of going on, and they sought to induce
the Duke's representatives to drop Mr Wells, but they were met with a
curt refusal. Pleading that the opposition came from all ranks and orders
of men in the parish they referred the case to the Synod, from whom it was
sent on to the General Assembly, who sustained both the presentation and
the call. The Presbytery had now to take the presentee on trials, and after
lengthening out the process till the verge of another Assembly they found
that his knowledge of divinity was " very low and mean," that he had httle
acquaintance with the rules of composition, that he wanted aptness to
teach, and that he was not qualified for the parish of Shotts.
In 1765 the case came back to the Assembly. The Presbytery were now
ordej-ed to proceed with Mr Wells' trials anew, and in his oral examination
to take down the questions and answers in writing, and in case of another
appeal to transmit them together with his trial discourses to the Supreme
Courts. After going over the work a second time the Presbytery adhered
to their former decision, and the case was remitted to the Commission in
June 1766. There the two discourses which the Presbytery deemed least
satisfactory were read and approved of, and as for the presentee's answers
taken down at the time, they were pronounced by some of the members
to be specially satisfactory. Still, on various pretences the ordination was
delayed till another Assembly, when strict orders were given to go through
with the work at once and on a fixed day, all the members to attend. The
Presbytery met at Shotts at the time appointed, but the edict had not been
served, and they were at a stand. This was reported to the Assembly,
which was still in session, and arrangements were made anew, the Lord
Advocate giving assurance that the ministers engaged would have the civil
power to protect them. When the day came the military, through some
misunderstanding, were not forward, and a mob had gathered, by whom the
presentee was roughly handled, besides being compelled to sign a paper
engaging never again to trouble that parish. At last, on 17th August 1768,
Mr Wells was quietly ordained at Hamilton. The minister who was to
preach sent a letter apologising for absence on the ground of indisposition.
The sermon was, therefore, dispensed with, but the ordination proceeded,
and the presentee's name was added to the roll. The case, after lasting six
years, had its sequel in the Justiciary Court, when a man and woman from
Shotts were found guilty of riot and tumult to obstruct the settlement of the
Rev. Laurence Wells. The man was fined 300 merks, and sentenced to two
months' imprisonment. The woman, who must have been deeper in the
transgression, was condemned to be taken through the town of Glasgow,
with her hands tied behind her back, and followed by the common hangman,
and then to be confined to hard labour in the house of correction for two
months.
It has been stated that these proceedings were followed by a petition for
PRESBYTERY OF HAMILTON 231
sermon from Shotts presented to the Burgher Presbytery of Edinburgh at
its next meeting. But it was to the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow that the
appHcation was made, and that not till 21st May 1770. Services were
begun on the fourth Sabbath of June, but appointments for a time were far
between, as Cambusnethan would be reckoned quite accessible. On 6th
November 1770 a formal accession was given in from Shotts, and Mr Moir
of Cumbernauld was appointed to preach there and constitute two elders
into a session. Next year the church which they long occupied was built.
First Minister. — JOHN ScOTT, from West Linton. Ordained, 13th April
1774. The. congregation engaged to give "for his annual sustenance" ^50
and a house, with either an additional ^5, or as much land as keep a horse and
a cow summer and winter. Mr Scott was at the Synod in September 1776,
but though Moderator he was absent from the meeting of Presbytery on
1st October. He died on the 13th of that month, leaving a widow, a sister-in-
law of the Rev. Robert Jafifray of Kilmarnock, who survived him forty
years. Shotts congregation ten months afterwards called Mr John Kyle,
but the Synod kept by their former decision, appointing him to Kinross.
Second Minister. — Ebenezer Hyslop, from West Linton. Ordained,
1st May 1780. During the vacancy the congregation got advantage from
the accession of some malcontents from Cambusnethan, and they now
undertook ^60 of stipend, with a house, and payment of half the Widows'
Rate. Mr Hyslop was one of the first two who announced their separation
from the Burgher Synod in 1799, though the Old Light party in Bathgate,
who blamed him for drawing their minister to the same side, alleged that
he once spoke of the Preamble from their pulpit as a " harmless thing, and
that it was like the priest's holy water — if it did no good it would do no ill."
They also inveighed against him that his connection with meetings for
Reform had brought him several times before the Sheriff of the county for
examination, and hence they designated him " That Reverend Democrat."
But Mr Hyslop's congregation seems to have gone along with him unitedly
at this crisis, besides getting large accessions from Cambusnethan
Church. However, ten years later matters were in such a state at Shotts,
partly owing to disputes about stipend, that their minister had to resign.
His admirers about Bathgate put it in this form : " The Providence of God
has so shaken his own congregation that he has tumbled out of it, none
wishing him to be stayed." But a fortnight after his demission was accepted
Mr Hyslop was called to Dalkeith, where he was inducted, 28th November
1 8 10. Here the Old Light cause, a feeble break-off from the Rev. Thomas
Brown's church, made no headway, and the stipend of ^^70 which his people
promised, with house and garden, proved too much for them. Mr Hyslop
retired in 1830, and died at Doune, where his son was Original Burgher
minister, 22nd June 1831, in the eighty-sixth year of his age and fifty-second
of his ministry. Dr Taylor of Flisk has given us a pleasant view of the old
man, with his Geneva cloak and light brown wig, as "he poured out his
soul in a flow of prayer which knew no halting."
Shortly after Mr Hyslop left, Shotts congregation issued a call signed
by 415 members, but it probably suffered afterwards by being vacant seven
years. On loth December 1817 Mr George Hill, son of the Rev. George
Hill, Cumbernauld, was ordained at Shottsburn. In 1839 minister and
people went with the minority of the Original Burghers, who kept aloof from
union with the Establishment, and in 1842 they helped to form the Synod of
United Original Seceders. In 1852, when that Synod by 32 votes to 31
declared for Union with the Free Church, Mr Hill was absent, but he after-
wards intimated his adherence to the majority. Knowing his congregation
to be otherwise minded, and finding himself too infirm for further service, he
232 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
bade them farewell. Mr Hill died, 31st January 1856, in the sixty-third year
of his age and thirty-ninth of his ministry. He had been succeeded at Shotts-
burn the year before by Mr John Ritchie, a son of the Rev. Ebenezer Ritchie,
first of Kirkwall and then of Colmonell. In 1884, though the congregation
was not more than a third of what it had been in its best days, the stipend
was much larger. Mr Ritchie resigned in May 1891, after a long illness, life
trembling in the balance. He died, 27th January 1892, in the sixtieth year
of his age. His son, the Rev. Ebenezer Ritchie, was ordained over the
Original Secession congregation. Paisley, in 1886, and in 1893 he became
Dr Grosart's successor in Blackburn. In 1900 the minister of Shottsburn
was the Rev. R. R. Hobart, M.A., son of the Rev Thomas Hobart, Carluke.
WHITBURN (Antiburgher)
On 31st October 1763 the Antiburgher Synod made Whitburn the seat of a
new congregation. West Calder was originally fixed on, but Whitburn was
more central for the wide region around, where the nearest Antiburgher
churches were Mid-Calder, eight miles to the east ; Craigmailen, seven miles
to the north ; and Hamilton, fifteen miles to the south-west. The member-
ship was mainly composed of families from the eastern bounds of Hamilton,
the southern bounds of Craigmailen, and the western or south-western
bounds of Mid-Calder. A church was built in or about 1766. There was no
local grievance, such as the people being refused a vote in the election of a
minister, to account for the origin of Whitburn congregation, as Dr M'Kelvie
and Dr Scott have stated. Between 1760 and 1770 there was no vacancy
in the parish church.
First il//«/j/^r.— Archibald Bruce, from Dennyloanhead. Ordained,
24th August 1768. The call was signed by ^^i (male) members or heads of
families and by 30 adherents. Mr Bruce has stated that a discourse of his
for Hcence secured the approval of Mr Gib, who spoke highly of him to some
of the Whitburn people. The subject was National Covenanting, and it was
delivered in Dennyloanhead manse on a communion Monday before six or
seven ministers, in a room where Mr Gib was laid down in bed after
preaching. The views of these two brethren on that subject diverged a good
way ere all was done. In 1780 Mr Bruce published " Free Thoughts on the
Toleration of Popery," by which his reputation for learning and ability was
heightened, and in 1786 he was elected Professor of Theology. Mr Gib was
so far dissatisfied with Mr Bruce's views on some points by this time that he
tabled a protest against the nomination, though it was afterwards withdrawn.
He accused hirn of having advanced principles "meaning to subject the con-
sciences of Christians to the lordship of civil powers, and transferring to these
powers the special privileges and business of the Church." It was a subject
on which Mr Gib sometimes propounded dogmas that would lead to a com-
plete separation between Church and State, and at other times he treated
"scruples" with regard to the National Covenant as necessitating exclusion
from Antiburgher fellowship. With an intellect of marvellous acuteness he
wanted corresponding breadth, and his opinions on the relation of magistracy
to the Christian Church were never rounded off into a consistent whole.
With Mr Bruce it was different. His opinions on that question, like those
of his coadjutor, Dr Thomas M'Crie, had at least the merit of being
thoroughly reasoned out. His model was the Reformed Church of Scotland
in its purest times. Hence, when the Antiburgher Synod in 1796 set about
the refashioning of the Testimony he became the head of a little compact
group, who were prepared to resist all such innovations. They were six in
PRESBYTERY OF HAMILTON 233
number — Professor Bruce of Whitburn, and the Revs. James Aitken, Kirrie-
muir; Thomas M'Crie, Edinburgh; Robert Chalmers, Haddington; George
Whytock, Dalkeith ; and James Hog, Kelso. They stood out so distinct
from their brethren that in all the contendings of those eight years they only
on two occasions drew in a wandering vote. Their position we may best
describe as Anti-Voluntary from centre to circumference, and equally Anti-
Erastian, but, unable to bear back the tide, they intimated that severance
was their only resource, and Whitburn became the cradle of the Constitu-
tional Presbytery.
On 28th August 1806 — four of their number having met in the humble
manse there — the scene at Gairney Bridge was re-enacted. Professor Bruce
being Moderator. Mr Whytock was now dead, and Mr Chalmers, who hesi-
tated about taking the final step, was absent. Their proceedings having
been reported to the Synod, which was sitting in Glasgow, Mr Bruce was set
aside from the Professorship, and his case remitted to Edinburgh Presbytery.
On Tuesday, 7th October, having failed to appear, he was deposed from the
ministry. After this, besides preaching as before, he taught the little group
of divinity students connected with the Constitutional Presbytery, seldom or
never amounting to more than half-a-dozen. He died suddenly on Sabbath,
i8th P'ebruary 1816, in the seventieth year of his age and forty-eighth of his
ministry. He had conducted public services as usual, but in the evening, as
he was reading, his head dropped upon the book, and he passed away. Of
Professor Bruce's numerous and remarkable publications we can only specify
at this point his " Review of the Proceedings of the General Associate
Synod," published in 1808, and " Memoir of James Hog of Carnock," which
he edited. He also wrote as an exposure of Patronage, a parody of the
Shorter Catechism. The opening question and answer may be given as a
specimen. "What is the chief end of a modern clergyman? To obtain a
presentation and enjoy the benefice and the favour of the patron all the days
of his life." It is cleverly done, but it sometimes comes very near profanity.
Professor Bruce was succeeded by Mr Robert Shaw, who was ordained,
14th May 1817. The congregation, though far-gathered, had never been
large, and the stipend offered was ^60, with the manse and a glebe of
considerable value. Mr Shaw published an Exposition of the Westminster
Confession in 1845, and he received the degree of D.D. from New Jersey in
1851. He died, loth January 1863, in the sixty-seventh year of his age and
forty-sixth of his ministry. He was succeeded by the present minister,
the Rev. John M'Knight. The membership at the Union was about 160.
STONEHOUSE (Burgher)
In the year 1792, while 22 families in the parish of Stonehouse belonged
to the Relief, the two branches of the Secession had only 5 families each.
The Burghers, however, had a preaching station within the bounds nine
; years before. Sermon was begun in December 1783 by petition from some
people in the place, and it was continued at least once a month till the close
[of 1785. It was then transferred to the village of West-Quarter, in the parish
I of Glassford, five miles to the north-west, where it was continued for
another year. But it was not till June 1793 that preachers began to be
sent continuously to Stonehouse. In 1796 the people obtained a loan of
y£y> from the Synod Fund to aid them in building a place of worship, with
{360 sittings. Of that sum ^20 was turned into a donation at next meeting.
First Minister. — William Taylor, from Falkirk (now Erskine Church).
[The call was signed by 72 members and 32 adherents, and the stipend was
234 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
to be ;^6o, with a house and garden. A competing call came out from Port-
Glasgow soon after, with the promise of slightly better emoluments, but the
Synod preferred Stonehouse, and Mr Taylor was ordained, 4th December
1798. Owing to the largeness of the multitude the service was conducted
in the open air, though the frost was intense. But even under a fixed
ministry the cause made little progress, and year by year it required to
draw more or less from the Synod Fund. In 1809 the membership was
given at 130. The entire income was not quite up to ^60, the stipend
originally promised, and from this there had to be deducted the interest on
^90 of debt. On 28th January 1817 Mr Taylor's resignation of his charge,
owing to the stipend being inadequate to support his large family, was
accepted. In view of what was coming the Synod in May 18 16 had
promised ^70 to meet his outfit for America. There he became minister
of Osnaburgh and Gwilliamsburgh, in Upper Canada, where he suffered
much discomfort, he and his family being "cooped up in a log-hut of one
apartment." In two years he left, and was settled in the state of New York,
and about 1823 he became minister of Madrid Church, in the Associate
Reformed Presbytery of Washington. In September 1837 he retired, and
died not long after. Next year the congregation was received into the
United Secession Church of Canada.
Second Minister. — William Fraser, from Dunning. But before this
they aimed at something higher, and called Mr James Harper, ultimately
Principal Harper, whom the Synod appointed to North Leith. Mr Fraser's
call was signed by 125 members and 64 adherents, and a stipend was
promised of ^100, with manse and garden. The Synod having preferred
Stonehouse to Girvan he was ordained, 29th March 1820. Four years after-
wards it was reported that the membership was 180, but many of them being
in indigent circumstances the funds required aid, as ^150 had recently been
expended in repairing the church and manse. In May 1828 the elders of
Stonehouse brought a serious charge against their minister, and on 3rd June
he sought to meet it by producing a paper to evidence private marriage with
his servant, dated six months back. The Presbytery, without questioning
the genuineness of the document, pronounced for deposition, and Mr Fraser
protested and appealed to the Synod. The case came up in September,
when the above sentence was confirmed, and Mr Fraser's name dropped
from the roll. In May 1831 the Presbytery of Lanark asked the Synod's
permission to restore Mr Fraser to office, but the matter was delayed.
This did not prevent the Presbytery from uplifting the sentence on the
24th of that month, the case being urgent, as he was on the eve of emigrat-
ing to America, a step which subjected them to the frown of their superiors.
At this point we lose sight of Mr Fraser, who is sometimes confounded with
another of the same name who was minister of Gwilliamsburgh, in Upper
Canada.
While the case of discipline was pending Mr Fraser put in a big money
claim for repairs he had made on the manse at Stonehouse, and the Presby-
tery upheld his claim to 100 guineas. This crippled the congregation's
finances, and on applying for a moderation they showed from their seat rents
and collections that they could not promise more than ^80, with the marise.
Third Minister. — Matthew M'Gavin, M. A., from Irvine (now Trinity).
Ordained, 15th June 1831. As the call was signed by only 94 members and
66 adherents we may infer that the congregation had suffered numerically
during the recent confusion. For nearly ten years Mr M'Gavin remained
at Stonehouse, but on 2nd February 1841 he accepted a call to Wellwynd,
Airdrie. In his time a good many members came from Glassford, Dalserf,
and Lesmahagow,
PRESBYTERY OF HAMILTON 235
Fourth Minisier.—HK^KW ANGUS Paterson, M.A., son of the Rev.
James Paterson, Midmar, and cousin of the Rev. Alexander Paterson, after-
wards of Dairy, Galloway. Ordained, i8th August 1842. Though the
membership which signed this call was up to 159 the stipend was ^10 lower
than before. In 1845 the congregation got rid of ^270 of debt with the
aid of ^120 from the Liquidation Board. Mr Paterson when a student
was rigorously dealt with in Aberdeen Presbytery for views on the Atone-
ment supposed to come near those afterwards propounded by the Rev.
James Morison, and an essay of his was one of three submitted to the
Synod in June 1840. The committee who examined them reported that
" these essays, viewed as a whole, do not seem chargeable with any sys-
tematic departure from the doctrines of our Church." Still, this deliverance
did not prevent Mr Paterson's licence being opposed by two of the six
members of Presbytery who voted on the occasion. In January 1848 he
tendered the demission of his charge with the view of removing to Nova
Scotia, but he was induced to withdraw it. In 1879 the old church, which
had been twice enlarged, was replaced by another built at a cost of well-
nigh ^4000, which large sum was all cleared off in a few years without
having recourse to any "new-fangled means of raising money." The
membership at this time was 272, and the stipend ^140, with the manse.
On Wednesday, 23rd September 1891, Mr Paterson's jubilee was celebrated,
when he received a cheque for ^^400. This, he stated very characteristically,
he would receive as his retiring allowance, so that nothing more would need
to be thought of, should he require before long to desist from active service.
At the close of 1899 the membership of Stonehouse was 315, and the stipend
^175, with the manse that had served so long.
EAST KILBRIDE (Relief)
East Kilbride, in conjunction with Cambusnethan, gave its name for a
time to the Antiburgher congregation which found its fixed centre in
Hamilton about the year 1760. From this time till 1791 there was no
dissenting church in the parish, but on 2nd March of that year a petition
was presented to the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow " by a very large body
of heritors, elders, and heads of families in the parish of East Kilbride com-
plaining that they were aggrieved by the law of Patronage, and begging to
be received as a forming congregation." The Crown had presented the
Rev. James French of Carmunnock, a neighbouring minister, to the vacant
charge, whereas the people had been bent on securing a Mr Ure, who had
been assistant to the former minister. Their petition being granted the
station was opened on the second Sabbath of March, and before the end of
the year a church, with 913 sittings, was built at a cost of ^^900.
First Minister. — James SMITH, from East Campbell Street, Glasgow.
Ordained, 12th June 1792. The stipend was to be ^70, with ^5 for a house
and ^5 for expenses. Mr Smith appears from his subsequent history to
have been popular, but early in 1795 the ciders and managers petitioned the
Presbytery regarding a. faina affecting their minister's character. A paper
was submitted to their inspection written by Mr Smith as a marriage line,
said to have been given to a young woman who had since died. The Presby-
Itery were unanimously of opinion that it proved an irregular marriage, and
pthey agreed that he be solemnly rebuked, the rebuke to be intimated to the
[congregation. At next meeting several members of Court dissented from
'this decision, which they considered inadequate to the offence, and on 7th
May the Presbytery dissolved the pastoral tie, and suspended Mr Smith from
236 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
office till such time as they should see fit to restore him. On 27th July he
petitioned to have the sentence uplifted, which was unanimously agreed to
on 7th October, and within seven months he was admitted to Old Kilpatrick,
and College Street, Edinburgh, was to follow.
Second Minister.— ]0\{:n FERGUS, from Kilsyth, a brother of the Rev.
Henry Fergus, Dunfermline. Ordained, 14th July 1796. The stipend was
^80, with the manse they had built, and, as was frequent in the Relief, the
promise of ^5 for every ^100 of debt paid off. Mr Fergus died, 22nd
April 1816, in the forty-seventh year of his age and twentieth of his ministry.
Third Mittisfer. — Robert Cameron, translated from Castle-Douglas,
where he had laboured six years. Inducted, 17th July 1817. The call was
signed by 338 members and opposed by 273 members and adherents.
When sustained and concurred in, an appeal was taken to the Synod, but
nothing followed. In 1836 the number of communicants was placed at
782, of whom more than one-fifth were from other parishes, specially from
Glassford, Cambuslang, Blantyre, and Mearns, with a few from Hamilton,
Eaglesham, and Rutherglen. Twenty families came from over four miles.
The stipend was ^120, with the manse, and the debt on the property was
^300. Shortly after this some hidden evil began to work towards a sepa-
ration, and the people set about getting quit of their minister by a money
agreement, the terms of which were laid before the Presbytery in December
1840. A meeting followed at East Kilbride on 26th January 1841, when the
pastoral relationship was dissolved, Mr Cameron receiving and accepting
the sum of ^200. But certain charges were still to be dealt with, which he
had previously met with a denial. The Presbytery minutes are not explicit
on the subject, but a stray document makes it clear that there were acts of
intoxication involved. On i6th March certain papers were submitted, and
a letter from Mr Cameron was read, in which he charged the Presbytery
with treating him illegally and "cruelly," their intention being "to crush
him." He closed by declaring himself "in every shape and form uncon-
nected with the Relief Synod." The Presbytery on their part pronounced
the Rev. Robert Cameron to be a fugitive from discipline, suspended him
sine die, and expelled him from the communion of the Relief Church. He
was now in the thirtieth year of his ministry, so that with him the day was
far spent, but with this the curtain drops, only Dr M'Kelvie adds that he
emigrated to America.
Fourth Minister. — James Bonnar, from Dunfermline (now Gillespie
Church). Ordained, 28th September 1841, having preferred East Kilbride
to Hamilton (Brandon Street) and Partick. In 1868 the church was
entirely remodelled at a cost of j^8oo, all of which was contributed at the
time. This was followed in 1879 by the building of a new manse at a cost
of nearly ^2000, including the price obtained for the former. In 1871 Mr
Bonnar published "The Great Interregnum," a work on which he had
bestowed much attention and study, being an exposition of Daniel and the
Apocalypse. In 1885 he received the degree of D.D. from St Andrews
University, of which he had been a distinguished student. In April 1898
Dr Bonnar requested to be relieved of the full pastorate, and the congrega-
tion arranged to give him j^6o a year with the manse, the colleague, with
the entire charge, to have ^180, which it was expected would be made up to
;^200 from the Ferguson Bequest.
Fifth Minister.— Campbeli. Macleroy, B.D., from Regent Place,
Glasgow. At the first moderation Mr Deas Logie had 61 votes and Mr
Macleroy 60, when it was decided by 68 to 46 to proceed no further, and the
election was declared null and void. A request was then made for a re-
hearing of the two candidates. At the second moderation, after it had been
PRESBYTERY OF HAMILTON 237
unanimously agreed to go on, Messrs Logic and Macleroy were again pro-
posed, when the former had no votes and the latter 118, and it was then
decided by a large majority to proceed with the call, which secured the
signatures of 162 members and 57 adherents. A petition against sustaining
was afterwards presented from 133 members, and dismissed as ill-founded.
After the two parties had agreed unanimously on measuring strength
against each other it was too late for the minority to attempt to veto further
procedure. Mr Macleroy was ordained, 13th December 1898. Dr Bonnar
died, 20th August 1899, in the eighty-second year of his age and fifty-eighth
of his ministry. At the close of that year the membership, which had been
little affected by recent commotions, was returned at 293, and the stipend
was ^200, with the manse.
NEWARTHILL (Antiburgher)
This congregation was formed on 2nd March 1802 by the Antiburgher
Presbytery of Glasgow in answer to a petition from 27 persons, mostly
heads of families, members of Blackswell Church, Hamilton, which was
vacant at the time. The parties described themselves as residing in the
parish of Shotts, at a great distance from their own place of worship. Being
joined by Seceders in the parishes of Bothwell and New Monkland they
explained that, instead of making Cennoblehill, where services had hitherto
been conducted, their centre, they intended to erect their place of worship at
Newarthill, which was about five miles from Hamilton, four from Airdrie,
and seven from Cumbernauld. Hamilton session having offered no objec-
tions the application was granted. An election of elders was next applied
for, as among those who were disjoined there was only one who had been
a member of Hamilton session, and he was old and infirm. This was
followed in due time by the ordination of seven to that office. (The seven
elders were — Thomas Nisbet, senior, Thomas Nisbet, junior, Thomas Smellie,
Ebenezer Paterson, William Cleland, Thomas Paterson, and Robert More.)
The church, with 600 sittings, and built at a cost of ^400, seems to have
been opened at the close of 1802, as it was then that appointments were
transferred from Cennoble to Newarthill. This village, though in Bothwell
parish, is seven or eight miles from the Established church.
First Minister. — William Brown, from Castle Street, Jedburgh. The
stipend was to be ^60, with a house and garden, a sum which the Presby-
tery looked on as inadequate, but large considering the smallness of the
congregation. Mr Brown's call was signed by 30 male members and 34
adherents, and he was ordained, 29th June 1803. The congregation had
much to contend with, and in 1809 they complained to the Presbytery that
their debt was oppressive, and that they could scarcely make greater exer-
tions than they were doing. It was readily agreed to represent their case to
the Synod, and this brought them a slight grant in aid. By this time they
were endeavouring to give their minister ^10 more than was originally
{)romised. On 30th April 18 16 Mr Brown tendered his resignation, and was
oosed from his charge. The Presbytery commended the Christian spirit
which pervaded the paper of demission. The step he had taken, they said,
was not prompted mainly by deficiency of stipend but apparently from the
fear that his labours at Newarthill were not successful. There is also
reference made to discomfort experienced from alienation of feeling on the
part of some both in the session and in the congregation. There is no trace
of Mr Brown having returned to the preachers' list. He afterwards removed
to Perth, and on 24th July 1827, which was immediately after the Union
238 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
between the Constitutionalists and the Protestors, he acceded to the Original
Secession Church. He died "at his house, Marshall Place, Perth, after a
protracted illness," on 17th June 1829, aged fifty-five.
A few months after Newarthill fell vacant the people called Mr Hugh
Stirling, and matters bore a very promising look. It was stated that all the
male members, 55 in number, had subscribed except one, who had no
opportunity. There were also the names of 47 adherents appended,
" respectable persons belonging to other communions," and they could
easily have doubled the number. It was added that the inhabitants of the
district generally were anxious for the settlement of Mr Stirling. It
happened, however, that he was also under call to Mearns, and, when
Glasgow Presbytery came to decide between the two places, Newarthill
lost by the Moderator's casting vote. In the circumstances we could wish
the balance had turned the other way.
Second Minister. — Andrew Ferrier, son of the Rev. Dr Ferrier,
Paisley. Ordained, 23rd April 1818. The stipend promised at first was
^80, with house, garden, and glebe, but the Presbytery were of opinion
that the funds could aftord ^100, and this sum the people agreed to pay.
In 1830 Mr Ferrier published the Life of his great-grandfather, the Rev.
William Wilson of Perth, one of the Four Brethren; and thereby did valuable
service to the United Secession Church. His mother was a daughter of
the Rev. John Muckersie of Kinkell, and his maternal grandmother was a
daughter of Mr Wilson. Besides this, Mr Ferrier had married his cousin,
the only daughter of the Rev. James Muckersie, Alloa, so that he had a
double connection with the subject of the Memoir. But for a man of his
gifts Newarthill was a narrow field to labour in year after year, and on
I2th March 1833 he removed, with 75 of his members, to Airdrie, six miles
distant, where he reappears as the first minister of Bridge Street con-
gregation. The severance was keenly opposed by those who remained at
Newarthill, knowing as they did that a loss so serious would reduce them to
the verge of extinction, and after the Presbytery yielded the congregation
prepared to renounce their authority. Next Sabbath a meeting was sum-
moned of those who were desirous to have a preached gospel kept up in
the place. It was explained from the chair that they were left destitute
through Mr Ferrier leaving them, and that they ought now to form them-
selves into a Christian society, and petition some Presbyterian body for
sermon. In keeping with what seemed the unanimous voice of those
present a petition was laid before the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow on
9th April to be taken under their inspection. The application was favour-
ably received, and the Rev. John French, then of Strathaven, was appointed
to open the station in this connection, but there were tokens already that the
transition was to be resisted. That same day two members of Newarthill
congregation complained to the Secession Presbytery that the resolution
passed at a congregational meeting to have the property transferred to the
Relief was opposed to the plain terms of the title-deeds. Double supply
followed, though it is to be surmised that the party adhering to the Secession
occupied the church, having law on their side. To keep the lamp from
expiring the Secession Synod granted Newarthill ^20 at their next meeting,
and in July 1834 the Relief party agreed to ask for no more sermon "owing
to untoward circumstances and the opposition they had met with." In
parting with them the Presbytery expressed the hope that the members
would connect themselves with Christian societies of the same order in the
immediate neighbourhood.
Third Minister. — John Duff, from Kennoway. Ordained, loth August
1836. When the first year of Mr Duff's ministry closed the communicants
PRESBYTERY OF HAMILTON 239
were about 100, and the stipend ^70, with a house and glebe valued together
at ^14 a year. The families from Shotts parish were now reduced to 8
or 9, and with these exceptions, and a very few from Dalziel, the congregation
was confined to the parish of Bothwell. But the neighbourhood having
become more populous the communion roll in a few years was doubled. In
1840 the debt of over ^400 was reduced, the Liquidation Board agreeing to
grant ^^60 over against the congregation's ^100. But Mr Duff, whose active
labours the Board highly commended, was loosed from Newarthill on 13th
June 1843, having accepted a call to Dairy, Ayrshire.
Fourth Minister. — David Laughland, from Stewarton. Ordained,
1 6th July 1844, after declining Busby. The stipend was to be ^80, with
manse, garden, glebe, and sacramental expenses, and the call was signed by
125 members and 21 adherents. Mr Laughland" had acquired medical skill
in his student days, intending to become a medical missionary, and after the
cholera in 1849 he was presented with a watch by the community in acknow-
ledgment of his self-denying services at that trying time. In 1867 the manse
was renovated at a cost of ;^4oo, the Board allowing £170, and in 1874 the
church was almost rebuilt and opened free of debt. To meet the outlay the
people contributed ^400 ; the minister, aided by a liberal grant from the
Ferguson Fund, raised ^500 ; and the last ^100 was collected at the opening
services. At the summer communion in 1883 Mr Laughland appeared in the
pulpit for the last time, when he preached from the text : "Them that sleep
in Jesus will God bring with Him." A long illness followed, and he died on
19th December, in the sixty-eighth year of his age and fortieth of his
ministry. The Presbytery testified in their minutes to "his gentle and
kindly disposition, his unobtrusive manner, his prudence, his fidelity to
duty, and his exemplary Christian character."
Fifth Minister. — ^Archibald M. Marshall, from Tillicoultry. Called
also to Burray, in Orkney, and to Wick. Ordained, 2nd July 1884. The
membership at the close of the preceding year was 168, and the stipend
from all sources ^177, with manse, garden, and glebe. Mr Marshall accepted
a call to the E.P. Church, Jarrow, on 27th January 1891. We meet him
again under Callander.
Sixth Minister. — GEORGE Goodfellow, from East Bank, Hawick.
Ordained, 22nd July 1891. The membership at the beginning of 1900 was
237, and the stipend from the people ^140, with additions as before.
WISHAW (Relief)
On 6th August 1822 certain heads of families and others in Wishaw town
intimated to the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow that they intended to have a
place of worship built in that growing village, and they craved the Presby-
tery's advice. The Rev. John French, then in Strathaven, was appointed to
preach there on Sabbath week, converse with the applicants, and report.
The services were conducted in the open air, and an earnest desire being
expressed for connection with the Relief, that they might maintain their
Christian liberty, the petitioners were recognised as a forming congregation.
The building was proceeded with soon after, and the church, with 740 sittings,
was opened on 3rd August 1823. In April 1825 a moderation was applied
for, and also a fourth hearing of a certain preacher, that he might be
eligible for election.
First Minister. — John M'lNTVRE,from Dovehill, Glasgow, a brother of the
Rev. Archibald M'Intyre of Newlands. Ordained, 20th October 1825. Died,
3rd March 1830, in the thirty-third year of his age and fifth of his ministry.
240 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
His merits were expressed thus in an obituary notice of the day: "His
short but splendid career and great promise of future usefulness will long be
remembered with mingled feelings of pleasure and regret."
Second Minister. — Peter Brown, translated from Hawick (AUars),
where he had been ordained six years before. Mr Brown was the original
choice of Wishaw congregation, but proceedings were arrested by a call from
Hawick, which he had intimated his intention to accept. When this vacancy
occurred the majority turned in thought to Mr Brown again, and though
there were other four candidates proposed at the election, one of them
Mr James Boyd, ultimately Dr Boyd of Campbeltown, Mr Brown had more
supporters than all the others put together. Inducted, 22nd December 1831.
In 1836 the communicants were over 550, and the stipend was ^iio, with a
manse and small glebe. At least 30 families were from the parish of Dalziel,
20 from Both well, and 7 or 8 from Shotts. The cost of the church and
manse had not been ascertained, but the debt on the property was about
£700. Mr Brown was loosed from his charge, 17th Novemloer 1863, having
accepted an invitation to occupy an important position in the Church of
Victoria. He was inducted minister of Hawthorn on 17th January 1865.
He also filled the Chair of Exegetical Theology for five years without re-
muneration, and then failing health compelled his retirement. He died in
the forty-seventh year of his ministry. The date is not given, but Mr Brown's
funeral sermon was preached by Dr Cairns of Melbourne on 17th September
1871. "His physical powers gradually sank in decay, till the voice of his
Master called him home." He was the author of a little volume, entitled
"Historical Sketches of the Parish of Cambusnethan."
Third Minister. — ROBERT S. Bruce, from Glasgow (St Vincent Street).
Called also to South Shields (East Street), and to Aberdeen (Belmont Street),
and ordained at Wishaw, 12th October 1864. The population of the town
had been tripled within twenty-four years. On Sabbath, 22nd October 1876,
a new church was opened, with sittings for 920, and built at a cost of ^5000.
The collections amounted to ^294, and there remained a debt of only ^1000.
Three years after this there was a communion roll of 556, and a stipend of
^250, with a manse. In the beginning of 1898 Mr Bruce, who had been laid
aside from duty by severe and protracted illness, was received as an
annuitant on the Aged and Infirm Ministers' Fund. He was to rank as
senior colleague, and have ^100 of yearly allowance.
Fourth Minister. — John L. M'Gregor, M.A., from Alyth. Ordained at
Bankhill, Berwick, in 1889, and inducted into Wishaw, 28th April 1898. His
stipend as junior colleague was to be ^^175, with the manse. At the close of
next year the membership was 606, and the stipend was ^25 higher than
that named.
LARKHALL (Relief)
The parish of Dalserf, to which Larkhall belongs, is linked with the name
of James Hog, afterwards of Carnock, a prominent Marrow man, who
ministered there from 1791 to 1797. Though there was no dissenting con-
gregation in the parish till last century was well advanced a number of
families were connected from the first with the Antiburghcr church in
Hamilton, distant four miles to the north-west. In the autumn of 1833
services were commenced in a large room in the village by Secession
preachers, and on 25th March 1834 a petition for sermon was presented to
the United Presbytery of Lanark by 44 persons in connection with other
denominations. To the granting of this request Crossford assented, and
Stonehouse cordially agreed, though it would affect them considerably.
PRESBYTERY OF HAMILTON 241
The elders of Blackswell, Hamilton, also wrote that they offered no objec-
tions, but on the plea that that congregation belonged to Glasgow Presbytery
regular supply was delayed from time to time. The result was that on 4th
November of that year the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow availed themselves
of the opening, and appointed preachers to Larkhall. On ist May 1836 the
new church was opened, with 300 sittings, and built at a cost of not quite
^450, half of which remained as debt on the building. In June two of the
ministers were commissioned to visit the place and get the minds of the
managers as to the propriety of having a regular congregation organised.
This was done on 30th August, when 47 persons were received into Church
fellowship, and their number was increased in two months to about 100.
Larkhall was at this time a village of 2000 inhabitants. The parish church
was three miles distant, but in 1835 it had become the seat of a Chapel of
Ease, and was formed soon after into a quoad sacra parish.
First Minister. — Andrew M'Dowall, from Bridge Street, Stranraer.
Ordained, 23rd May 1837, the call being signed by 131 members and 54
adherents. The stipend was to be ^90. Mr M'Dowall had been brought
up in the Established Church, and studied divinity two sessions in Edinburgh
under Dr Chalmers. Through exposure to a drenching rain and continuing
in wet clothes he contracted a severe cold, which brought on consumption, and
he died, 21st April 1839, in the thirty-third year of his age and second of
his ministry. He was buried in the Churchyard of Kirkcolm, his native
parish.
Second Minister. — JOHN Shearer, from Campsie. Ordained, i8th
February 1840, the stipend to be as before. In 1845 the church had to be
enlarged by the addition of galleries, which gave 480 sittings in all, and the
debt was reduced about that time under the stimulus of a grant of ^^50 from
the Relief Liquidation Fund. During the forty years of Mr Shearers
ministerial course the population of Larkhall grew from 2200 to over 7000,
and at the close he had a membership of 420, and a stipend of £170. On
Tuesday, 28th September 1880, a deputation from Larkhall presented a
request to the Presbytery for sick-supply in consequence of the sudden and
serious illness of their minister. This was granted, but he died on the
following Saturday, in the sixty-sixth year of his age and forty-first of his
ministry.
Third Minister. — Alexander Borland, translated from Cumbernauld
towards the close of his third year's ministry. Inducted, 14th June 1881.
The stipend promised was ^200, with ^25 for house rent. The people now
set about purchasing a manse, the first they possessed. The price must
have been considerable, including the acre of ground in which the house
stands, but the debt of ^460 which remained was cleared off in the
following year with the aid of ^^165 from the Liquidation Board. At the
close of 1899 the membership of Larkhall was 504, and the stipend ^250
with the manse. At the Union a new church of grander proportions and on
a much more prominent site was in course of erection. It was to be seated
for 760, and the cost, including halls and other equipments, was put at
^7500-
BLANTYRE (United Presbyterian)
We have here what is appropriately known as the Livingstone Memorial
Church. It originated in mission work at Stonefield, a place which in 1871
had under 400 inhabitants, but was to grow in ten years into a town with
a population of eleven times that number, consisting principally of miners
and their families. It abuts on Upper Blantyre, and the congregation of
n. Q
242 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Bothwell was expected to provide in some measure for the spiritual wants
of the people, but on 27th March 1877 they intimated that they preferred
to leave this field to the care of the Presbytery and the Mission Board.
A student was engaged soon after to conduct mission operations there ;
but for a place of meeting a shop had to be rented at first, and, in view
of what was needed, the Board stepped in with the promise of ^300 to
aid in providing a hall. After going on for six months the people expressed
a wish to have an evangelist located among them, and to be placed under
the wing of some neighbouring congregation. At this point the minister
and session of Cambuslang engaged to render the service needed, so that
sealing ordinances might be enjoyed by those in Church membership, and
a general superintendence exercised. The Home Board now recommended
that an offer of ^150 should be made to the Glasgow Church Planting Com-
mittee for a wooden erection, which was standing unoccupied at Parkhead.
This arrangement appears to have been carried through, and the place of
worship was opened on the first Sabbath of June 1878, with sittings for 250.
The audiences subsequent to this averaged 140 and 180. On 23rd February
1879 the station was congregated, and on 4th May three elders were
appointed.
First Minister. — Robert Mackenzie, M.A., from Scone. Ordained,
1 2th February 1880, having previously declined a call to Errol. There was
a membership now of 134, and the stipend was to be made up in all to
^220. The new church was opened on Sabbath, 17th September 1882,
Professor Blaikie, author of " The Personal Life of Livingstone," being
appropriately chosen to conduct the services, when the collections amounted
to ;^I34. The cost of the building was about ^3500, and the sittings are
fully 500. To aid in the erection a grant of ^300 was obtained from the
Extension Fund, besides ^500 from the Loan Fund, and ^200 from the
Ferguson Bequest. On 22nd May 1888 Mr Mackenzie accepted a call to
Alloa (West), leaving a membership of over 250 at Blantyre, which, however,
suffered considerable diminution during the vacancy. Before the end of the
year the congregation called Mr John Addie, who declined, and obtained
Wilson Church, Perth, some time afterwards.
Second Minister.— Thomas A. Hugh, M.A., from Queen's Park,
Glasgow. Ordained, 19th March 1889. Eight years before this ^1000
had been realised by means of a Bazaar, and now, in 1890, a like sum was
raised in the same way, which cleared the property of debt and left ^400
towards the erection of a hall. At the close of 1899 the membership was
on the right side of 300, and the stipend from the people ^155, which was
made up in all to .^203.
MOTHERWELL, FIRST (United Presbyterian)
Motherwell, though a place of little account a century and a half ago,
early received the impress of the Secession cause. The records of the
Antiburgher congregation of Hamilton show that the session of that wide-
spread community met at Motherwell occasionally. Later on, when
Hamilton became the seat of the congregation, a three miles' walk to
the place of worship would not be deemed oppressive for a Sabbath day's
journey. But in course of time Motherwell grew into importance, with the
promise of greater things, and in the beginning of 1865 it was felt to be
more than time that the U.P. Church should make for itself a habitation
there instead of depending on Bellshill, Wishaw, and Hamilton for sacred
ordinances. A preaching station was accordingly opened on the last
PRESBYTERY OF HAMILTON 243
Sabbath of February by the Rev. H. M. MacGill, Home Mission Secretary.
On 4th August 60 Church members were organised into a congregation, and
on 22nd October two elders were inducted and one ordained.
First Minister. — James Uunlop, M.A, translated from Biggar (South),
where he had laboured nineteen years. Inducted, loth July 1866. The
stipend was to be ^225 in all, and the call was signed by 83 members and
23 adherents. On 26th August the new church, with 770 sittings, was
opened, the entire cost being ^2600. Next year a manse was added at
an additional outlay of ^900. In 1877, when a rival congregation was
about to be formed in Motherwell, the minister and session of this church
gave a sombre account of their state and prospects. Their debt, they said,
amounted to ^^650, and only about two-thirds of the sittings were let.
Owing to dulness of trade their numbers had been considerably reduced
within the last two years, and they now stood at 430. They had recently
lost 52, many of whom, it is believed, had been both active and liberal in
the church. This big reduction is accounted for under next heading. In
November 1882 Mr Dunlop's health failed him, and he obtained a pro-
tracted leave of absence, but in less than a month the darkening down
was such that he resigned, though he looked on his sun as not much past
its noon. Presbytery and congregation had alike to acquiesce, only Mr
Dunlop was to retain his status as senior minister, with an allowance of
^100 the first year, and after that ^60. But he died, 25th January 1883, in
the sixtieth year of his age and thirty-sixth of his ministry.
Second Minister. — Andrew W. Carmichael, called from Oxendon
Chapel, London, to which he had been inducted, 2nd January 1873, on
removing from Linlithgow (East). The old time-honoured building at
Oxendon having been sold at ^6500 in 1876, a new church was built at
Haverstock Hill with the proceeds, and opened on Friday, 7th April 1878,
by Dr Oswald Dykes. But there were grounds for the surmise that Mr
Carmichael, after ten years' experience of London life, might look with favour
on a welcome back to Scotland. The older church at Motherwell came
forward with a stipend of ^250, and a manse, the call was accepted, and
Mr Carmichael was inducted, 2nd October 1883. Before a year had passed
the debt of ^524 was extinguished by the aid of ^155 from the Liquidation
Board. In the year of the Union the membership was 660, and the stipend
as above.
MOTHERWELL, DALZIEL (United Presbyterian)
P.\RTICUL.\RS as to the origin of this church claim minute description, as
they illustrate the turns which disputes about communion wine were apt to
take in sessions, congregations, presbyteries, and synods thirty years ago.
On 25th September 1877 a paper was brought up to Hamilton Presbytery
from Motherwell, signed by two elders and 303 members, complaining of
the session's action in introducing unfermented wine at a recent communion
without consulting the wishes of the people. It bore that intimation of the
proposed change was not made till the preceding Sabbath, and that, though
some 36 availed themselves of the brief opportunity allowed for giving in
objections, these objections were disregarded. The result was that the
session was asked by 103 of the members to call a meeting of the congrega-
tion, but they preferred to meet the difficulty by arranging to have two
tables, a proposal which increased the general dissatisfaction. A committee
on going to Motherwell suggested a return to use and wont, but this
suggestion the session refused to entertain. They offered instead to provide
unfermented wine at each half-yearly communion and fermented wine at
244 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
each quarterly, but when this adjustment was laid before the memorialists
not one of them was willing to acquiesce. The movement now assumed a
phase more in keeping with former Synodical enactments. At a meeting of
session on 13th November a petition came before them from 60 members
asking to be provided with unfermented wine, and on iith December they
agreed by a majority to grant the request. At a meeting of the congregation
six days later the Moderator intimated a protest to the Presbytery against
this decision, ruled that this arrested procedure, and closed the meeting.
Against his ruling another protest was tabled, but the Presbytery waived
the question involved, and arranged to meet at Motherwell on 12th February.
A vote was then taken to test the strength of the two parties, when 117 voted
for use and wont and 48 for a change. The question was then put : Would
the majority be agreeable to let the minority have unfermented wine if they
wished it 1 but only two of their number responded. A recom.mendation to
return to use and wont was then issued, and this was turned into an
injunction at next meeting. The case was now appealed to the Synod by
the representative elder, and he was supported by five of his brethren,
making a majority in the session of six to two, so far as we can judge. At
this point Mr John Colville, one of their number, who was afterwards M.P.
for East Lanarkshire, comes prominently into view. Mr Colville was a
cousin of the devoted and successful evangelist of the same name from
Campbeltown, and a foremost man in the congregation for every good work.
In his name the case came before the Synod, but the committee who
entered into the merits granted no redress, and though the Synod by the
intervention of Mr Colville's father-in-law, Dr Joseph Brown, gave the
language a more favourable turn the cause of use and wont prevailed. The
two parties in Motherwell Church were now at the parting of the ways.
On 29th October 1878, and after a pause of some months, a petition
from 70 certified members of Presbyterian churches, praying to be formed
into a second U.P. congregation in Motherwell, was presented to Hamilton
Presbytery, and Mr Bruce of Wishaw was appointed to preach to them on
Sabbath first, confer with them, and report at next meeting. All went on
successfully now, though the session of the other congregation stood in the
way. It was ascertained that the parish had a population of about 12,000,
that it had increased about 2000 within eight years, and that there was church
accommodation for considerably less than one-third. The petitioners were
thereupon congregated, the members being 83. This was followed by the
induction of five of the former elders into office on 5th January 1879. All
that they now needed was a fixed ministry, and with this in view a stipend
of ;^200 was decided on.
First Minister. — THOMAS F. Whillas, B.D., who had been ordained
at New Leeds about six years before. Inducted, 15th April 1879. At the
end of that year there were 166 names on the communion roll. The church,
with 600 sittings, was opened on Thursday, 2nd June 1881, by Principal
Cairns. It cost ^3750, of which j{^ 1400 remained as debt on the building,
but it gradually, though not rapidly, melted away. The manse was com-
pleted in 1889 at a cost of £ioyo, of which ^300 came from the Manse
Board. At the Union there was a membership of 570, and a stipend of
;^25o, with the manse.
KIRKMUIRHILL (United Presbyterian)
This was Church Extension as a native growth. On 21st December 1867
commissioners appeared before the Presbytery of Hamilton from Kirkmuir-
hill and certain adjacent villages requesting to have a preaching station
I
PRESBYTERY OF HAMILTON 245
opened, and promising the use of a suitable meeting-place and the pay-
ment of all expenses. This was the outcome of a public meeting held at
Kirkmuirhill to consider how the spiritual wants of the people could be best
met. It was explained that there was a population of 2500, and no place of
worship nearer than three or four miles ; that not fewer than 500 Church
members of various denominations in the district were favourable to the
cause ; and that subscriptions for building a place of worship already
amounted to ^600. The three U.P. congregations whose interests might be
affected by the new formation were Lesmahagow, Crossford, and Stone-
house, and as the first two were in Lanark Presbytery there was hesitancy
about how to proceed. But the merits of the case being so clear it was
decided that Mr Leys of Strathaven should preach at Kirkmuirhill on the
second Sabbath of January 1868, and that the ministers of Crossford and
Lesmahagow should be conferred with, and their concurrence, if possible,
secured. At next meeting crowded halls were reported, and though the
movement might not be looked on with entire cordiality from the Lesma-
hagow side, where the disjunctions were likely to be most numerous, there
was nothing to interfere with continued operations. For some time the
services were conducted by members of Presbytery, and on 26th May 55
Church members were constituted into a congregation. This was followed
up on Sabbath, 30th August, by the ordination of three elders and the
induction of a fourth. A moderation was now apphed for, the stipend
promised being ^150, besides a manse and garden ground. On Sabbath,
20th December, a church, with 675 sittings, was opened by Dr Scott, the
Home Mission Secretary, when the collection reached ^50. It was built at
a cost of ^1500, and a manse was completed soon after at ;^85o, of which
;^3oo was obtained from the Manse Board.
First Minister. — William Thomson, from Burton-on-Trent, his second
charge, which he had occupied six years. The call was signed by 90
members and 63 adherents, and Mr Thomson was inducted, 12th January
1869. Within six months the membership was over 200, and steady
increase continued, but on 2nd September 1873 ^r Thomson accepted a
call to Plantation, Glasgow, which proved his last, and his weightiest,
charge.
Second Minister.— ]OWii Mkiklejohn, M.A., from Glasgow (now
Cathedral Square). Ordained, 14th April 1874, having previously declined
Aldershot, Wick, and South Ronaldshay. Owing to failure of health,
which necessitated his removal to a more genial climate, the Presbytery
on 2nd October i888 accepted Mr Meiklejohn's demission of his charge,
and expressed their hope that his removal to Melbourne would be the
means of restoring him to health, " so that he may continue to employ his
high talen;;s and scholarly attainments, and other ministerial qualifications,
in the service of the Great Master." Since then he has done important
work, and held a prominent place in the Presbyterian Church of Victoria,
and is now minister of a large congregation in Dorcas Street, South
Melbourne, with the degree of D.D.
Third Minister.— KoviKV.T Kerr, M.A., from Mitchell Street, Beith.
Ordained, 23rd April 1889. The membership of Kirkmuirhill at the close
of 1899 was 295, and the stipend from the people £170, with the manse.
HALLSIDE (United Presbyterian)
Hallside is a village two miles to the east of Cambuslang. It owed its
uprise to some large steel works, and a preaching station was opened there
246 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
on Sabbath, 27th September 1874. The meeting-place was a cooking depot
at Newton, some distance off, and after a time one service was conducted
at Hallside and another at Cambuslang, by members of Hamilton Presbytery,
on successive Sabbaths. In September 1875 Mr Thomas Watt, student,
was engaged to carry on the work, but after a year of remarkable success
he had to remove to a warmer climate. Next month 57 persons sat down
together at the communion table. On 17th December 1876 the church was
opened, with accommodation for 219, when the collection amounted to ^30.
This sum, with an overplus of ^44 from the income of the former year, raised
the building fund to ^400. A grant from the Board, along with £,20 from
the Ferguson Bequest, yielded other ^200, and thus the entire cost was more
than met. On 13th February 1877 a congregation was formed with a
membership of 60, and on 8th March three elders were ordained and one
inducted. Then an unsuccessful call was addressed to Mr Robert S.
Wilson, now of Castle-Douglas.
First Minister. — Robert J. Robson Cowan, son of the Rev. William
Cowan, Blackfriars Church, Glasgow. Ordained, 6th November 1877. The
call was signed by 68 members and 39 adherents, and the stipend was to be
made up to ^200. Two years later the people gave ^^70, and ^125 came
from Supplement and Surplus. But after a time the sources of increase were
much reduced by the Established Church opening two preaching stations,
the one at Newton and the other at Hallside, so that in numbers there was
retrogression rather than progress. But in 1894 the situation was improved
by the erection of a manse, chiefly through the minister's efforts, the
Board aiding to the extent of ^250. A Bazaar held in Cambuslang was well
patronised, and subscriptions from friends made up the rest. At the close
of 1899 the membership of Hallside was 133, and the stipend from the
people ^80, as it had been for at least a dozen years.
PRESBYTERY OF KELSO
MOREBATTLE (Antiburgher)
On 1 2th July 1737 certain Praying Societies in Morebattle and the adjacent
parishes gave in an accession to the Associate Presbytery. This was followed
by Messrs Moncriefif and Fisher observing a Fast among them on the last
Wednesday of September and constituting two elders into a session. On
1 2th October there were accessions from Northumberland, and this process
went on from a wide stretch of country on every side. It was arranged on
5th March 1739 that the boundaries of the congregation should extend eight
miles to the south of Gateshaw and seven miles north and east of Stitchel.
These were to be the two centres. Thus did the mother church of the
Border counties take shape, though, the Presbytery having no probationer at
command, supply was obtained only at wide intervals.
In their paper of accession the petitioners from Morebattle " begged
relief in their lamentable circumstances." This related to the enforced
settlement of the Rev. James Christie over the parish of Morebattle twelve
years before. The patron and his nominee had the heritors on their side,
but the elders, with one exception, and a great majority of the heads of
families were dead against them. Nevertheless, the Presbytery of the
bounds met at Morebattle on 4th March 1725 for Mr Christie's induction,
but, as is recorded in their minutes, "a rabble of profane and furious people
i
PRESBYTERY OF KELSO 247
from several corners of the country violently kept the Presbytery and con-
gregation from meeting in the church." Services were attempted in the
churchyard, but the ministers had to withdraw, "' not without blows as well
as opprobrious language." They thereupon adjourned to Linton parish, a
few miles off, and there Mr Christie was inducted as minister of More-
battle. It might have conduced to his own comfort had he remained in his
former charge at Simprin. There was now a driving forth of the congrega-
tion into a state of dispersion. Happily, the minister of Eckford, a parish
immediately to the west, was a pronounced non-intrusionist, and the people
got partial relief by waiting upon his ministry. This continued till they
found a more effectual remedy by placing themselves under the care of the
Associate Presbytery.
First Minister. — John Hunter, a native of Roxburghshire. Licensed,
6th June 1738. Mr Hunter being the only probationer as yet, there was
wide demand for his services and eagerness to have him for their minister,
but the remote situation of Morebattle and the people's long endurance of
oppression secured them what proved a short-lived privilege. On the
moderation day it was proposed that all those should be excluded from
taking part who had not withdrawn entirely from connection with the
Established Church, but this was not agreed to by the Presbytery's Com-
mittee. Societies in Chirnside, Norham, and Ashkirk were allowed to sub-
scribe his call, "but with this provision, that they attend for examination
and other Church privileges at Stitchel." Ordained, 17th October 1739,
and died, 7th January 1740, before completing the twelfth week of his
ministry. Ralph Erskine in a postscript to the sermon he preached at Mr
Hunter^s ordination described him as " a burning and a shining light that
burnt so fast and shone so bright that it is less to be wondered that he did
not burn and shine long."
Mr Hunter was not a mere youth at his death. He left behind him a
w;dow and family. His son Josiah, of Falkirk, who became very unfavour-
ably known in the Antiburgher Synod, cannot have been under eleven when
his father died. Mr Hunter himself had been a teacher at Linton, in
Roxburghshire, and passed through his theological course in the Established
Church. Ebenezer Erskine, in writing to the Rev. Gabriel Wilson of
Maxton, refers to a letter of his as having prepared the Associate Presbytery
to welcome Mr Hunter and take him on trials for licence. His brother
Ralph remarks further, in his Appendix to the ordination sermon : " It
was no doubt a great loss to the generation that such a gracious person,
endowed with such great and blissful gifts, should have lived so long in such
a retired and obscure way, mostly owing to the corruptions of the times,
with which his zealous soul could never reconcile itself" Four of his dis-
courses, entitled "The Bush Burning yet not Consumed," were published
in 1743.
A few months after the vacancy occurred Morebattle and Stitchel were
formed into distinct congregations. It was a desirable arrangement, as the
places are ten miles apart. In a few years a wider severance was made,
Stitchel at the Breach taking the Burgher, and Morebattle the Anti-
burgher, side.
Secottd Minister. — James Scot, from Ancrum parish, where his father
was proprietor of Ashieburn, a small estate, to which the son was served heir
in 1733. Ordained, 13th May 1742. When a student Mr Scot attended
the ministry of Gabriel Wilson of Maxton, a prominent Marrowman. It
was not till 1749 that the church at Gateshavv was built, so that for seven
years Sabbath services must have been conducted mostly in the open air.
Mr Scot some time after his ordination married a daughter of Ebenezer
248 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Erskine, a relationship which did not prevent him parting company with his
wife's kindred when the Burgess Oath Controversy reached its consumma-
tion. He seems to have kept consistently by the strict Antiburgher party
from first to last, and even published a pamphlet on the subject. In con-
nection with this question, as is well known, Mrs Scot renounced attendance
on her husband's ministry, though the story has been given by Mr Tait with
some embellishments.* It cannot be that the lady had her indignation
stirred by her husband telling her on his return from the scene of the
"mournful rupture" that they had excommunicated her father and her
uncle, as the higher censures did not emerge till years after. It is certain,
however, that when the worst came Mrs Scot turned her back on Morebattle
Church and joined the Burgher congregation of Jedburgh. Her father, as
we find from a letter he sent her three years afterwards, had many an
anxious thought about her difficult situation. He would be glad to see her
with them at the approaching communion, but he added : " I am sorry I
cannot invite your husband to come along with you." By this time sentence
of excommunication had been pronounced on Mr Erskine and his brethren
by the party to which Mr Scot adhered.
Morebattle stipend has not been ascertained, but the rental of Mr Scot's
property at Ashieburn was ^106 a year, a large sum in those days, and more
than double what his successor had at first from the congregation. He died,
6th February 1773, in the fifty-sixth year of his age and thirty-first of his
ministry. His widow removed to Edinburgh, where she joined Bristo
Church, a stronghold of the Burgher cause. She died, 13th January 1814,
in the ninety-fifth year of her age.
Third Minister. — David Morrison, from Milnathort, a younger brother
of the Rev. James Morrison of Norham.t Ordained, i6th March 1775.
The congregation passed through a period of confusion before a settlement
was arrived at. Six months after Mr Scot's death there was to be a
moderation, but the minister appointed to preside found the people "jn
a very great ferment," and forbore to proceed. In the beginning of next
year a petition, signed by 104 members, asked for a moderation, and another
pleaded for a hearing of more probationers, and the Presbytery sought advice
from the Synod. But about this time Mr Morrison preached three days
at Gateshaw, and other three days later on. This was followed up by a
call with the signatures of 68 male members and an adherence by 48 others,
so that matters righted themselves. Four years afterwards the congrega-
tion consisted of 650 examinable persons, from which we may calculate the
communicants at 350 or 400. The stipend at this time was only ^45 a year,
with ^3 at each communion, and a glebe of six acres. In March 1780 Mr
Morrison asked the sanction of the Presbytery to remove their place of
worship to the village of Morebattle, a mile to the east. The new church,
* James Tait was from Jedburgh (Blackfriars). Having obtained licence from
Melrose Presbytery he was called to Walker, near Newcastle, in August 1858, but
declined. He afterwards withdrew from the probationer list, but wished the door
kept open for his return. He was then engaged for many years as editor of the Keho
Chronicle. He latterly resided at St Boswells, where he published two very interest-
ing volumes on " Border Church Life," and also acted as an elder in Newtown con-
gregation. He died, 12th December 1S91, in the sixty-fourth year of his age.
t James Morrison's birthplace was Turfhills, in the vicinity of Kinross, but
Thomas Mair of Orwell was his minister. Like many of the Antiburgher students
of his time he never attended a University, but passed from the Philosophical Class
at Abernethy to the study of Theology. Ordained at Norham, 23rd June 1756, and
died, 14th February 1824, in the ninety-second year of his age and sixty-eighth of
his ministry.
PRESBYTERY OF KELSO 249
seated for 400, was opened in the autumn of that year by the Rev. Alexander
Pringle of Perth, a son of the congregation. In 1798 a stipend of ^58 was
reported, and in 18 10 it was up to ^80, with a house, offices, and three-
fourths of an acre of ground. The Presbytery were of opinion that, con-
sidering their numbers and their circumstances, the people came far short
of their duty, and wrote them to that effect, but the answer was that, owing
to the declining state of the congregation, they could do nothing more.
In the beginning of 1814 steps were taken to provide Mr Morrison with
a colleague, but a year passed before the object was gained. He died, 9th
May 1819, in the eighty-second year of his age and forty-fifth of his ministry.
His wife was a sister of the Rev. William Inglis of Dumfries, and she is
credited with having done much for the industry of Morebattle by the
introduction of the two-handed spinning-wheel. A daughter of theirs was
married to the Rev. Dr Duncan of Mid-Calder. Their son Walter went over
to the Established Church when a student, and became parish minister of
Gordon in 1807. This benefice he exchanged for that of Morebattle in 18 14,
so that he and his father for some years occupied churches distant from each
other by a stone's cast. Carrying perhaps something of his early training
along with him, he was during the ten years' conflict, says the Chaff and
the Wheats a decided advocate of Non-Intrusion and spiritual independence,
but at the Disruption he remained in the Establishment. He died, 29th
January 1844, in the sixty-fifth year of his age and thirty-seventh of his
ministry. A grandson of his. Sir William Atherton, was Attorney-General
of England, 1861-63.
Fourth Minister. — ROBERT CRANSTON, from Howgate. At the Synod
in May 1814, when competing calls from Morebattle and Selkirk to Mr
Cranston came to be disposed of, he was permitted to express his views,
an innovation against which dissents were entered. Mr Cranston's mind
i swayed in the direction of Selkirk, though the Antiburgher congregation
[there was weak and never came to anything. There was at least aversion
[to Morebattle, where, after considerable delay, he was ordained as colleague
[to Mr Morrison, 24th January 181 5. The feeling may have been that the
I money arrangements were still on a contracted scale, as the stipend of the
junior minister was only to be ^90, with an advance of £,20 should he
ibecome sole pastor. They were also to give him a free house, and it was
expected that he would have his coals driven. Under Mr Cranston all
[went smoothly on. In January 1864 he obtained a colleague, and before
the end of the year his jubilee was celebrated, when he received a presenta-
tion of 130 sovereigns. He died, 17th August 1871, in the eighty-fifth year
[ofhisageand fifty-seventh of his ministry. Mrs Cranston was a sister of
[the Rev. John Clark of Abernethy, and two of their daughters were married
[to United Presbyterian ministers— the eldest to Mr Kiddy of Lilliesleaf, and
mother to the Rev. Robert Dick of Colinsburgh.
Fifth Minister. — MuNGO Giffen, from Strathaven (West), a brother of
le Rev. John vS. Giffen of Earlston. Ordained as colleague to Mr Cranston,
20th January 1864. The congregation was reduced in numbers now, and
owing to shiftings of population the process was sure to go on. The senior
minister was to have ^50, with the occupancy of the manse, and Mr Giffen's
stipend was to be ^120, to which a grant of ^20 was added from the Home
Board. On loth July 1866 the present church, with sittings for fully 400, was
opened by Dr Cairns of Berwick. It stands close by the site of the old
building, and the cost, which was over ^1000, the congregation defrayed
from their own resources. In 1868 Mr Giffen was invited to Wolver-
hampton, but though he must have seen discouragements before him at
Morebattle he declined the call. On 8th May 1889 he was relieved from
250 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
active duty, partly owing to failing eyesight, but be was to retain the status
of senior pastor, with a retiring allowance of ^40 a year. He is now in
reality minister emeritus^ and resides in Edinburgh.
Sixth Minister. — COLiN M. Gibb, M.A., from Eyre Place, Edinburgh.
Ordained, 27th March 1890, the membership being 150, and the stipend
from the people ^85, with the manse. On 24th January 1899 Mr Gibb
accepted a call to Larbert. Amalgamation with the Free Church was felt
to be most desirable at this stage, but though negotiations were gone into by
the two Presbyteries they ended in failure.
Seventh Minister. — THOMAS PuLLAR, B.D., from Perth (East). Or-
dained, 15th February 1900. The membership was then under 100, and
that of the sister congregation was about 150.
STITCHEL (Burgher)
This congregation, though in a state of coalescence with Morebattle for a
time, had a history of its own from the beginning. On 31st August 1737 the
Associate Presbytery received an accession from the parish of Stitchel, with
a request that they would send some to preach Christ to them that they might
have a trial of their gifts, but the Presbytery had no licentiates at their com-
mand as yet. All they could do for the petitioners, meanwhile, was to
arrange for holding a day of humiliation among them. This was done on
Thursday, 29th September, by Messrs Moncrieff and Fisher, who came
through from Morebattle, where they had been engaged in similar work the
day before. They, at the same time, constituted five elders of the parish
into a session. In the beginning of May 1738 Stitchel had Sabbath services
for the first time, Messrs Alexander Moncrieff and Thomas Mair being the
preachers. But now better prospects of supply opened through Mr John
Hunter, a student belonging to the locality, receiving licence a few weeks
afterwards from the Associate Presbytery^, of whom Ebenezer Erskine in his
letter to Gabriel Wilson of Maxton wrote : " Your character and commenda-
tion of him recommended much to me." It was next arranged, in view of
securing Mr Hunter for their minister, that Morebattle and Stitchel should
form one congregation, and that Stitchel should have a third part of his
labours.
The mainspring of the Secession movement at Stitchel was Sir Robert
Pringle, the principal heritor of the parish. The pulpit having fallen vacant
in the end of 1732, he applied in his own name and in name of the other
elders for a hearing of certain probationers, but his plans were thwarted by
the issuing of a Crown presentation in favour of Mr Alexander Home. Sir
Robert stood strongly out for the rights of the parishioners and when the
Presbytery met at Stitchel for a moderation 10 of the heritors out of 17
voted for the presentee, and of the session 8 out of 1 5 went to the same side.
Sir Robert and six other elders protested on the ground that the Presbytery
had taken no steps towards trying the inclinations of the people, but the
Presbytery took the votes of heritors, chiefly non-resident, and elders as
decisive, and Mr Home was ordained on the ist of January I734- Sir
Robert Pringle intimated his accession to the Associate Presbytery on 1st
November 1737, and was one of the five elders who formed the original
session at Stitchel.
Mr Hunter died in the beginning of 1740, and on 15th May thereafter
Morebattle and Stitchel petitioned to be disjoined, which was agreed to
without compunction. But before obtaining a minister of their own the
people of Stitchel had to pass through eleven years of hope deferred. They
PRESBYTERY OF KELSO 251
first called Mr Adam Gib, but their claims were outweighed by those of
Edinburgh, though, according to the Caledonian Mercury^ it was urged on
their behalf that the sending of Mr Gib to Stitchel " would give an oppor-
tunity to reform Old England." Next they came into competition with
Haddington for Mr Walter Loch, but he was "in adorable providence
removed by death." They now turned to one of their own number, a native
of the village of Hume. On 7th April 1742 Mr John Swanston, student of
divinity, was attested to the Associate Presbytery by the Correspondence of
Stitchel, and some members who had conversed with him being pleased with
his appearances he was taken under their inspection. In March 1745 calls
in his favour were laid before the Synod from Urr and Stitchel, besides
another from Dundee and Montrose, which was not sustained. Urr was
preferred, but the preacher absolutely refused submission, and adhered
unbendingly to his purpose. After a year Stitchel congregation petitioned
the Synod to revive their call to Mr Swanston, but the Synod declared that,
as his reasons for refusing Urr had no relevancy, so their arguments had no
weight to reverse the decision, and the preacher was peremptorily enjoined
to submit to ordination at Urr, with certification that, "if he fail, the Synod
shall be obliged to censure him, conform to the merits of the offence." At
this point the connection between Mr Swanston and Stitchel congregation
ends. What followed will come under Kinross (West), where he was ulti-
mately ordained.
First Minister. — JOHN POTTS, who joined the Secession as a student of
divinity in the end of 1742, and before receiving licence acted as Clerk to
the Associate Presbytery. Mr Tait makes him a native of Kelso, but in a
certain pamphlet Mr Potts alludes to England as his own country. Soon
after obtaining licence he received calls to Dalkeith and Stitchel, the latter
of which was issued in December 1746, and had 157 signatures. At the
ensuing Synod there was great confusion, ending in the Breach, and which of
the places was to be assigned to Mr Potts remained undetermined. But,
meanwhile, he had been sent to London, and could look at the scene from
afar. When stationed there, as he himself relates, he frequently went to
hear dissenting ministers of other denominations, for which offence a hue
and cry was raised against him, and, believing that the Antiburghers under
Adam Gib would deal sharply with him, he resolved to keep by the other
party. The Burgher Synod now ordered him again and again to return to
Scotland, that he might be ordained either at Dalkeith or Stitchel, but he
persisted in giving no heed to their commands. Dalkeith people, tired of
the long delay, asked liberty to withdraw their call, and Stitchel alone
remained. He appeared before the Synod in October 1750, made humbler
acknowledgments than he admits in his pamphlet, and submitted to rebuke,
and a "patched-up peace," as he calls it, was arrived at. His ordination at
Stitchel, with which Kelso was now conjoined, took place, 15th August 1751,
nearly five years after their call came out. It was a long while to wait, and
what they gained was of little service to them in the end. In the course of
a year and a half Mr Potts made Kelso his headquarters, and we leave him
there for the present.
It has been stated that the first church at Stitchel was built in 1740, but
that must be a mistake. It is clear that they had no regular place of worship
in Mr Potts' time. In the pamphlet referred to above he explains as his
reason for leaving Stitchel and going into Kelso that he was like a soldier
who does not encamp on the same spot of ground summer and winter, and
thus, he says, instead of " remaining with my tent at a hillside, I have
removed to a house for winter quarters." We quote in this connection a state-
ment in the Statistical History bearing on the parish of Westruther : "In
252 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
1752 the bodily infirmities of the minister, with the breaking out of the
Secession and the appointment of one of that body to a place at Stitchel,
who to his other popular attractions added the charm of preaching in the
open air, had so reduced the congregation that it was agreed upon for the
comfort of the small number that frequented it to reduce the church to one-
third of its size." This confirms the belief that Stitchel congregation had
no meeting-house as yet, and it shows the effect which the Secession
standard had on a parish ten miles distant.
Second Minister. — George Coventry, from Kinross (West). We find
that Mr Coventry acted as session clerk at West Linton when a divinity
student, being probably in charge of a side school within the bounds of that
congregation. Ordained, i8th June 1755. Stitchel community was now
to be at peace under a new ministry, and was to be highly privileged for
a long course of years. Mr Coventry was called in 1766 to Stirling (now
Erskine Church), and the call was repeated in 1767, but everything was in
confusion there, and the Synod on both occasions continued him in his
rural retreat at Stitchel. In January 1791 he tendered the demission of
his charge to the Presbytery, assigning as his reason that he felt himself
unable to overtake the amount of pastoral labour Stitchel required, and also
that he was unfit for continuous study, being much enfeebled by a nervous
disorder. The congregation wished him to go on among them as strength
permitted, and in this state matters continued till 15th April 1794, when his
resignation had to be accepted, and he died in Edinburgh, 30th June 1795,
in the sixty-fourth year of his age and forty-first of his ministry. Dr Waugh
of London wrote of the minister of his youth as follows : — " Old Mr Coventry
gave us as much sound divinity in one sermon as is now found in ten
volumes. Such sermons and such prayers I — none such to be found nowa-
days." One of Mr Coventry's daughters was the wife of Dr Dick of Grey-
friars Church, Glasgow, and another, who died early, was married to the
Rev. James Peddie of Bristo Church, Edinburgh. His son, Dr Andrew
Coventry, was long Professor of Agriculture in the University of Edinburgh,
and his grandson, the Rev. George Coventry, who succeeded his father as
proprietor of Shanwell, Kinross-shire, was an Episcopal clergyman. The
only daughter of Professor Coventry became the wife of Maitland Makgill
Crichton, Esq., of Rankeillor, the renowned Non-Intrusion champion of Fife.
In their vacant state the congregation called Mr George Campbell, but
the fact of their former minister having private means had probably lowered
their standard of liberality, and the stipend they promised was only ^65.
When their call came before the Synod, along with another from Old
Cambus or Stockbridge, the commissioners announced ^70, but Old
Cambus carried.
Third Minister. — Robert Greig, from Milnathort (now Free Church).
Ordained, 14th July 1796, and died, 5th September 1802, after a lingering
illness, in the twenty-ninth year of his age and seventh of his ministry.
Within a few months Stitchel called Mr John Campbell, but he had calls
from other three places, and Tarbolton was preferred by the Synod. In the
number of signatures Stitchel headed the list, having within a few units of
300 members.
Fourth Minister. — William M'Lav, from Craigs, Kilpatrick. Ordained,
22nd August 1804. During the previous vacancy a new church was com-
pleted on the site of the former, with 400 sittings, and a stone in a prominent
part of the wall bore the date 1802. After a quiet ministry of forty years
Mr M'Lay died, 3rd July 1844, in the seventy-first year of his age.
Fifth Minister. — Hugh Darling, from Dalkeith (now Buccleuch
Street). Preferred Stitchel to Bathgate (Livery Street) and Girvan, and
PRESBYTERY OF KELSO
253
I
was ordained there, 3rd June 1845. The call was signed by 154 members,
and the stipend was to be ^90, with the manse. On 7th December 1854
Mr Darling was loosed from his charge, having resolved on emigrating to
Australia. The congregation, with the view of retaining him, had agreed
to raise his stipend ^20, and Mr Darling stated that the membership had
increased by one-third during the nine and a half years of his ministry. He
also spoke of the promised rise in the stipend as giving Stitchel the foremost
place in the Presbytery for liberality in proportion to their numbers. Never-
theless, he adhered to his purpose, and the pastoral relation was dissolved.
On the other side of the world he laboured at first in Sydney, and in 1861
was translated to Emerald Hill, Victoria. In 1874, owing to a stroke of
paralysis, he resigned, under satisfactory arrangements, and died at Kew,
2nd December 1877, in the sixty-second year of his age and thirty-third of
his ministry.
Sixth Minister. — David Cairns, from Stockbridge, Cockburnspath,
like his brother. Principal Cairns. Ordained, 5th September 1855, having
previously declined Kinross (East). Mr Cairns is the author of a Memoir
of his father-in-law, the Rev. Dr Smith of Biggar, prefixed to a volume of
Dr Smith's sermons published in 1868. In 1872 Stitchel manse was re-
paired at a cost of ^400, of which the Board furnished ^^125. In March
1900 Mr Cairns retired from active service owing to failing strength,
and now resides in Edinburgh. His three sons are all United Presbyterian
ministers — John, in Dumfries (Buccleuch Street) ; David Smith, in Aytoun ;
and William, in Abernethy.
Seventh Minister. — G. M. Napier, from Renfrew. Ordained, 2nd
August 1900, as colleague and successor to Mr Cairns. The congregation .
was much reduced from what it used to be owing to the hemming in all
round, but though the membership was now not over 100 the stipend from
the congregation was ^160, with the manse.
JEDBURGH, BLACKFRIARS (Burgher)
The Secession in Jedburgh is traced back to 1737, when the parish minister
offended many of his people by the reading of the Porteous Act, but the
name occurs in the minutes of the Associate Presbytery for the first time on
16th October 1739, the day before Mr Hunter's ordination at Morebattle.
Among other accessions in view of that great event there was one given in
by James Mather, elder in the parish of Jedburgh, and on 17th February
1 74 1 there was another, apparently from a private member. Though this is
all the Presbytery records have to tell there must have been many besides
who became members of Gateshaw congregation. On 12th May 1741 the
Seceders in and around Jedburgh were, at their own request, disjoined from
Morebattle, which is nine miles distant, and erected into a distinct congrega-
tion. In 1742 they called the Rev. James Thomson of Burntisland, but the
Presbytery set the call aside "owing to the present circumstances of Burnt-
island congregation." Three years later Mr William Mair became their
choice, but, from among five congregations which claimed his services,
Muckart was preferred.
First Minister. — JOHN Smith, from Stitchel. Ordained, 24th September
1746. A session of eight members had been formed only ten or twelve days
before. The Presbytery's order was to have them elected " out of the
properest corners" of the community and ordained with all convenient
speed. At the Breach of 1747 there was the loss of an elder and 18 members.
254
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
the great body of the people adhering to the minister and the Burgher party.
This slender loss would be balanced in importance by the accession of
the minister's wife from Gateshaw, and there may have been others who
bore her company. After being nearly fourteen years in Jedburgh Mr Smith
was translated in April 1760 to Dunfermline to succeed Ralph Erskine.
There had been three earlier calls, not six, as has been sometimes alleged,
the first of these being seven years before. On the present occasion Jedburgh
prepared no answers to the reasons of translation, affirming that these were
the same in order, matter, and almost in words as they had answered already.
The transportation carried at last but only by one vote.
Second Mi7iister. — Alex.\nder Shanks, from the parish of Stobo and
the congregation of West Linton. In the records of that church there is a
curious entry on 20th November 1749: "To Alexander Shanks, a boy, to
buy books, 4s." He was about seventeen at this time. Ordained, 15th
October 1760. Under these two successive ministries the Burgher Church
in Jedburgh was highly privileged, and grew to a membership of more than
800. In March 1793 Mr Shanks represented to the Presbytery that he
felt himself unable for the duties required in his widespread congregation,
drawn as they were from seven or eight country parishes, with only 180 in
Jedburgh itself He was also satisfied that probationers could not go
through the needed visitation work, and he had intimated to the session and
managers that he had resolved to demit his charge before the end of the
year. The congregation, however, wished him to spend the remainder of
his life among them, and preach occasionally as he found himself in ability.
The Presbytery looked on this proposal with favour, and made Jedburgh
collegiate, declaring that the reasons of demission were now fully obviated.
On this footing Mr Hector Cameron was called in May 1794, and the call,
signed by 524 members, was accepted, but competing calls came in, and the
Synod in August appointed him to Moffat. The arrangements at Jedburgh
were now upset, and the Presbytery were asked to reverse their former deed
making the charge collegiate. The plan, it was stated, would not answer the
necessities of the congregation nor give that ease to Mr Shanks which was
needed. What they wished was a minister who would take the whole work
and the whole responsibility.
Mr Shanks now interposed anew with his demission. The real difficulty
in obtaining a colleague, he believed, lay in the unwillingness or inability of
the people to provide adequate maintenance for two ministers. "It is un-
seemly," he said, "to hear the Presbytery and the commissioners haggling
with each other about temporalities like two tradesmen in a bargain." Let
the Presbytery simply set him free, and take care to treat the people gently
and kindly during the vacancy. At next meeting the congregation ex-
pressed lively concern at the thought of losing Mr Shanks, and would
willingly afford him every relief in their power. They knew of no bar to a
moderation, they said, but want of money, and to put this out of the way
they proposed to give ^130 to a colleague. They also hoped that when the
poverty of eleven-twelfths of the congregation was taken into account the
Presbytery and the outside world would not think they were dealing harshly
with their venerable pastor, to whom they had previously arranged to give
^90, and a house, though this was afterwards fallen from. The case went
to the Synod, and by their advice the Presbytery met at Jedburgh in June
1795 to ascertain if anything more could be done in the way of obtaining a
colleague, but without any real progress being made. Meanwhile Mr
Shanks was pressing persistently for the acceptance of his demission, and he
appeared before the Presbytery on 28th July 1795 and urged them to be
done with it immediately. Three motions were made — Accept the resigna-
PRESBYTERY OF KELSO 255
tion, Refuse to accept, and Refer to the Synod — when the first carried, and the
pastoral tie was dissolved.
Notwithstanding the turn things had taken friendly relations between
Mr Shanks and his old congregation continued. He supplied the pulpit by
appointment of Presbytery for a time with few interruptions, and was to
preside in the session when required. The Synod, however, were dissatisfied,
and at their meeting in September of that year they instructed the Presby-
tery of Kelso not to grant Jedburgh a moderation till they had made pro-
vision for Mr Shanks to the extent of not less than ^40 a year. Mr Shanks
died, 5th October 1799, '" t^he sixty-eighth year of his age and thirty-ninth
of his ministry. Two volumes of his sermons were published, the one by
himself in 1787, and the other, with a Memoir, by his successor, in 1806.
Mr Shanks appears to have been much impressed with the duty of loyalty to
the powers that be, a sermon of his being entitled " Peace and Order recom-
mended to Society," and another was on the text : " Curse not the King."
After the obstacle to the granting of a moderation had been removed the
congregation called Mr George Wigton, a preacher who had started diffi-
culties about the questions of the Formula when about to receive licence.
His scruples revived in view of ordination, and the call was allowed to drop,
but he soon after entered on the work of the ministry at Liff, near Dundee,
having overcome the straitness of the gate.
Third Minister. — Peter Young, from Kelso. Ordained, 1 5th August
1798. At Mr Young's first communion, as Mr Tait has stated, there were
59 young persons admitted. In 1801 a new church was erected, and in 18 18
this was superseded by another, with accommodation for 1200. The outlay
on building and repairs, manse included, between 1790 and 1836, was put
down at over ^4000. Their experiences at the close of Mr vShanks' ministry
may have gone to raise the standard of liberality in the church. In 1803
Mr Young was called to Miles Lane, London, a problematic situation, but
the Synod, without a vote, continued him in Jedburgh. He died, i8th
October 1824, in the fiftieth year of his age and twenty-seventh of his
ministry.
Fourth Minister. — WiLLIAM NiCOL, M.A., from Dr Lawson's Church,
Selkirk. The call was signed by 816 members, and the stipend promised
was ^160, with manse and garden. Jedburgh had to compete before the
Synod with other five congregations, but Mr Nicol expressed himself in
.favour of Jedburgh, which was carried by an absolute majority. The votes
were : Jedburgh, 31 ; Portobello, 22 ; and Glasgow (now St Vincent Street),
6 ; the other three — Kirkcaldy (Union Church), Kilpatrick, and Dunfermline
(Queen Anne Street) — being left outside. Ordained, 17th August 1825. In
1836 the communicants were returned at over 1300, and it was intimated
that they had decreased from 100 to 150 during the preceding five years.
It was explained, however, that they were as strong as they had been ten
years before, so that they cannot have numbered 1620, as has been stated,
at the time of Mr Nicol's ordination. The membership was drawn from
fourteen parishes, but in four of these the numbers, young and old, did not
amount to 10. In Oxnam there were, of all ages, 197 ; in Southdean, 173 ;
in Crailing, 172 ; and in Ancrum, 146. Then the order was Eckford,
Cavers, Bedrule, Roxburgh, Hobkirk, and Minto. Seventy-four families
were from more than six miles. The minister's stipend was now ^190.
The weak point in the finance was the ordinary collections, which were
only about ^i each Sabbath, though the average attendance was between
1000 and HOG. The debt on the property was close on ^1400. Mr Nicol
received the degree of D.D. from Glasgow University in 1853. In 1856 he
found himself unable to go on much longer single-handed, and a colleague
256 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
was arranged for, the junior minister to have ^200, and the senior minister
^100, with the manse, and to be reUeved of all responsibihty. The com-
munion roll was now much reduced, there having been a great thinning out
from the extremities, as was inevitable after 1843.
Fifth Minister. — John Polson, from Paisley (Thread Street). Ordained
as colleague and successor to Dr Nicol, 12th November 1856. The call
was signed by 476 members, which contrasted with the days when there was
a muster of over 900. Dr Nicol died, 28th December 1858, in the sixty-
third year of his age and thirty-fourth of his ministry. Though several stray
sermons of his were published during his lifetime there is not, so far as we
know, any Memoir of Dr Nicol in existence. Mr Poison continued sole
pastor of Blackfriars Church till the beginning of 1891, when the charge
again became collegiate.
Sixth Minister. — James T. Dempster, from Coatbridge (Dunbeth).
Ordained, 22nd January 1891. The stipend arrangements were the same as
thirty-five years before — ^100, with the manse, to the senior minister, and
;^2oo to the junior. But in the beginning of 1894 Mr Poison stated to the
Presbytery that, having been placed in circumstances which made further
payment of stipend to him unnecessary, he had resigned the same, and his
colleague was now to receive ^250. That was the stipend at the close of
1899, with the manse additional, and the membership was 398.
JEDBURGH, CASTLE STREET (Antiburgher)
On 14th June 1748 a petition was presented to the Antiburgher Presbytery
of Edinburgh from parties in Jedburgh who wished to be taken under their
inspection, "according to the present situation of the Testimony." The
meaning was that they declined to be longer in fellowship with their
brethren, who, along with their minister, Mr Smith, had taken the Burgher
side. The party were few in number, consisting only of 18 members, with a
single elder at their head. They did not mean to be recognised forthwith
as a congregation, but only asked that the two nearest ministers of the
Presbytery should preach and baptise within their bounds at such times as
might be arranged. The little remnant would have for the most part to
attend ordinances at Gateshaw, nine miles off, or at Midholm, if that were
nearer for any of them. In this state matters continued year after year. In
June 1752 they petitioned the Presbytery to allow no encroachment on
their bounds, and to have ministers sent to them once a quarter besides the
ordinary supply of preachers. They were " in a broken condition " at this
time, few in number, and with no church of their own to meet in. In
September 1762 they came into unsuccessful competition before the Synod
with the congregation of Craigmailen for the services of Mr Alexander
Oliver.
First Minister.— John ROBERTSON, from Milnathort. Ordained, 28th
August 1765. The meeting-house, with 400 sittings, was built about that
time, if not in that year. The stipend in 1 780 was ^40, but the Presbytery
were informed by the people that they provided their minister with a house
in addition, and for some time past they had allowed him between £2 and
£2 for expenses at each communion, and as he had no glebe some of the
farmers furnished him with a horse for pastoral visitation, and sometimes
when he went to the Synod. He would also, like many of his brethren in
rural districts, have the slenderness of his income much augmented by
private benefactions. The examinable persons under his care at this time
were numbered at 264. Both Mr Robertson and his people must have had
PRESBYTERY OF KELSO 257
a struggle sometimes, only he may not have been entirely dependent upon
his stipend. We know at least that his father was a proprietor of a small
estate in the parish of Orwell. But with a membership a good way under
200 there could be little margin left for periods of adversity, and accordingly,
in 1785, assistance was required from the Synod, "through the failure of
several members, and the hardships of the times." On the i8th of April
1806 Mr Robertson was seized with apoplexy, and he died on the 24th, in
the sixty-eighth year of his age and the forty-first of his ministry. During
this vacancy the congregation called Mr Andrew Rodgie, whom the Synod
appointed to Hawick.
Seco7id Minister. — James Cl.\rke, from Kilmarnock (Clerk's Lane). Or-
dained, 19th August 1807. The call was signed by 59 (male) members and
adhered to by 9 persons. The minister's position was trying at the best,
and it must have become more so after the Union of 1820, through being
overshadowed by a large congregation with no denominational laarrier between.
Still, the return in 1836 compares favourably with what had been in 1780.
The communicants were 290, and the stipend was ^92, with manse and
garden, and the debt on the property was only ^100. Of the sittings, 360
out of 400 were let. But the pressure on the congregation's resources
became greater as years passed, and in April 1842 Mr Clarke brought a
rather delicate money matter before the Presbytery for solution. He
stated that it was intimated to him a year and a half before that it would
be impossible to continue his stipend at the old figure ; that he replied he
would make a trial of what they could give him, and, if it proved insufficient,
he would clear all difficulties by resigning his charge ; that he heard nothing
more of the matter till recently, when he found he was only to receive ^70
a year. This led to disagreement, the congregation resolving that no
more should be paid, counting from the time when he arranged to take what
the funds could afford. Mr Clarke then told them that he would have no
more discussion on the subject, but would carry the case to the Presbytery.
This brought matters to a bearing, as the Presbytery found that, while
Mr Clarke was entitled to due support from the congregation in which he
had laboured long and faithfully, he was not entitled to claim full stipend
later than the time when he agreed to take what the people were able to
give him. There was a pause now till the evening sederunt, and then he
tendered his demission. On 23rd May he intimated that he adhered to
his purpose, as he believed his comfort and usefulness at Jedburgh were
quite gone, and the commissioners from the congregation stated that it
was considered vain to oppose the acceptance. The connection was
accordingly declared at an end. Mr Clarke spent the evening of his days
in Dunoon, where he had a small property, and where he died, 9th May
1849, in the seventy-fourth year of his age and forty-second of his ministry.
A humble tombstone in Dunoon Churchyard marks his place of burial.
He interested himself much in the young of his congregation, for whose
special benefit he published a little volume in 1826, entitled " Motives to
early Piety," and another in 1839, entitled "Motives to Prayer." He also
stated in 1836 that he had superintended his own Sabbath school for twenty
years. One could have wished that a ministry like his had not closed before
its time and amidst feelings of estrangement.
Third Minister. — John B.mrd, M.A., from Milngavie. Ordained, i8th
January 1843. The call was signed by 135 members, and, though unable
to keep the stipend of the former minister above ^70, the congregation now
named ;{^8o, with house, garden, and communion expenses. The Presbytery
sanctioned the arrangement, believing, no doubt, that the people were under-
taking up to their utmost ability. A vain struggle followed of other ten
II. R
258 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
years, and then minister and cortgregation had alike to surrender. By the
Union of 1847 the impropriety of maintaining a feeble cause in a town where
there were now two strong churches of the same denomination became
increasingly evident, and on 12th April 1853 Mr Baird gave in his resigna-
tion to the Presbytery. The congregation intimated that, though regretting
the thought of losing their minister, they were constrained to acquiesce in
the step he had taken, and the Presbytery in a like spirit accepted the
demission. Sermon was not all at once discontinued, but it seems to have
been universally understood that there was to be no fourth ordination in the
old building, and on 15th November 1853 the congregation was formally
dissolved. The remaining members, almost in a body, connected themselves
with Blackfriars Church, from which their fathers had seceded at the
Breach 106 years before, and we are assured that the little company
brought with them an accession of energy far beyond their numerical
Strength, and in the effort which followed to clear off the burden of debt
the large congregation got the benefit. The deserted place of worship was
turned into a wool store, and the old site is now occupied by dwelling-
houses.
Mr Baird after leaving Jedburgh was three years on the probationer list.
He then emigrated to Canada, where he became minister of Pickering.
He died suddenly at Port Stanley, Ontario, on Sabbath, 27th September
1874, in the sixty-sixth year of his age and thirty-second of his ministry. He
preached in the forenoon, and died in the afternoon.
JEDBURGH, HIGH STREET (Relief)
The history of this congregation begins back beyond the formation of the
Relief Presbytery in 1761. The particulars have been so fully given again
and again that little remains for us to do beyond noting down the leading
facts in consecutive order. These commenced with the death of the Rev.
James Winchester on i8th September 1755 — the minister who by his per-
sistent reading of the Porteous Act furnished a strong foothold for the
Secession cause in Jedburgh. In the early part of the vacancy there was
firm ground taken by the elders, seventeen in number, to oppose the
exercise of Patronage in every form. They entered into a written agreement
that they would stand or fall together in the election of a minister, and that
they would keep by the man whom the majority of the parish might decide
for. This was followed by a paper largely subscribed in favour of Thomas
Boston, minister at Oxnam, a parish bordering on Jedburgh. But after
three months' delay the Crown, disregarding the wishes of the people, pre-
sented Mr John Bonar. minister at Cockpen, to the benefice. According to
Dr Thomas Somerville this was due to the Marquis of Lothian, to whom
Boston was personally offensive, and, being parish minister, and on the
ground, Somerville would be familiar with the facts. No fitter instrument
than Bonar of Cockpen could have been selected to buy up opposition and
blunt the edge of Patronage. He was the grandson of Bonar of Torphichen,
one of the twelve Marrowmen, and he was out and out evangelical, as the
family has been down to our own time. Even Carlyle of Inveresk has testi-
fied that "John Bonar of Cockpen, though of the High party, was a man of
sense— an excellent preacher." His merits were so far recognised at Jed-
burgh that a moderation in his favour was applied for, " in name of all the
heritors, except two small ones, the Provost, three of the four Bailies, the
Dean of Guild, five Councillors, and sundry heads of families," but the
elders, with their large following, stood unbendingly out for the rights of
PRESBYTERY OF KELSO 259
the people. While matters were in this state information came that Mr
Bonar was determined to let the matter go no further, and then came a
peaceful opening for him at Perth, whither he was in due time transferred.
Patronage was now to throw off its better dress and present itself in its
own features. The Rev. John Douglas of Kenmore, in Perthshire, had done
the State some service by dissuading his parishioners from joining the
Pretender in 1745, and now he was rewarded by a Crown presentation to
the living at Jedburgh. Nothing could have been devised better fitted to
compact the ranks of opposition. Unlike Mr Bonar, the new presentee was
of the Moderate school ; but resistance was hopeless, and on 28th July 1758
Mr Douglas was inducted to Jedburgh, his call having only five signatures
appended. "A Scottish Borderer" states that "he was placed without
tumult, and soon sank into an object of complete indifference." For ten
years he held on, preaching to all but deserted pews, and he is chiefly
remembered as the father of Dr Douglas, parish minister of Galashiels, a
man much respected and of strong literary bent.
Not inclining to prolong the struggle the people of Jedburgh, more than a
year before the close of the vacancy, resolved on taking matters into their
own hands.. They would erect a meeting-house, and bring in Mr Boston to
be their minister, leaving the judicatories of the Church to take their own
way. The building went rapidly on, and in five months it was completed.
By this time everything was arranged between them and the object of their
choice, who was to have a yearly stipend of ^120 secured him. The bond to
that effect was subscribed by 23 of the leading men, town councillors and
others, and the call, of which a copy has been preserved, has over 300
signatures.
First Minister. — Thomas Boston, youngest son of Thomas Boston of
Ettrick. We find from his father's Memoirs that he was born, 3rd April
1 7 13, and we next meet with him as a little boy "going in seven" confessing
to his mother the corruption stirring in his heart. Then, on being con-
versed with by his father, he complained of being troubled with evil thoughts,
" wondered why God made the devil," and was afraid his prayers were not
heard, because he sometimes forgot them when he went to bed at night. It
was all like the soul exercises of a child brought up in the manse at Ettrick.
He got Hcence in August 1732, when he had little more than completed his
nineteenth year. His father had died ten weeks before, and the preparatory
process may have been hastened that he might become his father's successor.
Accordingly, he was presented to the parish of Ettrick in a few months, and
ordained, 4th April 1733, having completed his twentieth year the previous
day. In 1749 he was promoted to the parish of Oxnam, but now a much
more important sphere opened for him at Jedburgh. On Wednesday, 7th
December 1757, Mr Boston appeared before the Established Presbytery in
the old church there, and, with a crowded audience looking on, demitted his
charge of Oxnam parish, and on Friday, the 9th, he was inducted minister
of the church newly built for him. The service was conducted by the Rev.
Roderick M'Kenzie, whom we met under the history of Nigg congregation.
It has been brought up against Boston, in a pamphlet by James Ramsay,
Antiburgher minister in Glasgow, that the removal from Oxnam to Jedburgh
was the reverse of a sacrifice, and that before agreeing to shift his tent he
had to get legal security for a larger stipend. But it can hardly be said
that the ^120 did more than compensate for the ^90, with glebe and manse,
which he was surrendering, and there was much heavier work to face, and
sundry contingencies besides. But Mr Boston's period of service drew
I prematurely to a close. While the evening shadows were gathering there
jwas an attempt made to have him translated to Glasgow, but a transition
26o HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
came of another kind. He died, 13th February 1767, in the fifty-fourth year
of his age and thirty-fourth of his ministry. His son Michael was the first
Rehef minister of Falkirk, and three of his daughters were the wives of
Relief ministers — Margaret, married to the Rev. William Campbell, Dysart ;
Jean, to the Rev. Robert Paterson of Largo, afterwards of Biggar ; and
Catherine, to the Rev. Alexander Simpson of Bellshill, Duns, and Pittenweem.
A volume of Mr Boston's sermons was published in 1768, and a volume
of " Essays on Theological Subjects" followed in 1773. Specimens of his
pulpit discourses are given in the " United Presbyterian Fathers," under the
title of Boston and Baine. One sermon by his father on " The Evil and
Danger of Schism" he published in 1753, with special bearings, and a
preface adapting it to his own times. It has been sometimes said that,
had the elder Boston lived, "he would have been bound by honour and
consistency to secede and identify himself with the Four Brethren." But
this is to mistake Boston of Ettrick's ecclesiastical position altogether.
Separation from the Church of Scotland he looked on with rooted aversion,
and all the more so that the followers of John M'Millan added much to
the discomforts of his ministry at Ettrick. The ground he occupied was
like that taken up afterwards by Currie of Kinglassie, Williamson of
Inveresk, and, in a milder form, by Willison of Dundee. Judging from his
line of argument and theirs one finds it hard to say what amount of corrup-
tion in a church would in their opinion justify secession from her judicatories.
The sermon on " The Evil and Danger of Schism " brings out the fathers
rounded-off views on the whole question. But the younger Boston, though
he had little sympathy with the Seceders, was drawn on to occupy airier
ground than his father thought of. His name now stands next to that of
Thomas Gillespie, whom he greatly surpassed both in mental grasp and
pulpit gifts, as the founder of the Relief denomination.
Jedburgh congregation, in looking out for a successor to their first
minister, turned in the direction of his son Michael, who had been ordained
over a Presbyterian congregation in Alnwick, but when the call was brought
up in August 1767 the Presbytery refused to receive it. A newspaper of the
day assigns as the reason that young Boston had expressed a disinclination
to become a member of the Relief Presbytery when Duns congregation
called him shortly before.
Second Minister. — Thomas Bell, from Moffat, who acceded to the
Relief when a student of theology. Ordained at Jedburgh, 19th April 1768.
He was brought up in the Established Church, but, by his own account, " he
embraced the Dissenting interest from a full conviction that it was most
favourable to the religious rights of man, and most agreeable to the constitu-
tion of the primitive Church." In the year after this ordination Mr Douglas,
the parish minister, died, and was succeeded by Mr Macknight, afterwards
Dr Macknight of Edinburgh, a man of much repute and acceptable as a
preacher. In Dr Somerville's Autobiography it is stated that under him
there was a drawing away of several families from the New Church, and a
building up of the old congregation, but that through his own induction
in 1773 there was another thinning out. Still, "the situation was healthy
and pleasant, the stipend the largest in the Presbytery, and though the
parish was extensive and populous, yet from the number of dissenters the
duties were not at that time more burdensome than in most of the country
parishes in the vicinity," so that he considered himself a fortunate man.
But Mr Bell was not to be a fixture in Jedburgh. Glasgow opened up for
him in 1776, and he was bent on going. The Synod, however, on two succes-
sive years, refused to translate, though a minority pronounced such conduct
tyrannical. Mr Bell, for his part, disregarded the decision, and went to
PRESBYTERY OF KELSO 261
Glasgow in the face of Church authority, where he became minister of
Dovehill, in circumstances which are fully narrated under Kelvingrove. No
Court of the Relief ever attempted to overrule the choice of the party in such
a case again, till we come to Auchtergaven in 1835.
Third Minister. — Andrew Dun, who got licence from the Relief
Presbytery of Glasgow on 14th April 1779. On 25th May he was appointed
to preach two Sabbaths at Jedburgh by request, and on 4th August he was
furnished with an extract of his licence in order to his approaching ordina-
tion. His ministerial course was brief, though we cannot tell with exactness
when it began or when it ended. He was present at the Synod in May
1782, though March of that year has generally been given as the date of
his death. Then a preacher was to supply the last four Sabbaths of June,
"provided the minister and managers satisfy the Presbytery anent his
expenses." This bespoke Mr Dun's last illness, and he must have died
soon after. From Mr Tait's "Border Church Life" we learn that the
membership in 1781 was 745, of whom nearly one-half were from the
country, and the stipend was ^105.
Fourth Minister. — James Scott, a native of Wilton parish. After being
for several years an Established Church probationer he was ordained over the
Presbyterian congregation of Brampton, Northumberland, in 1774. Jedburgh
people first thought of calling Mr Thomson of Earlston, afterwards of
St James' Place, Edinburgh, but, not finding reason to go forward, they
fixed on Mr Scott, who was inducted in September 1783. He was a younger
brother of Thomas Scott, the first Relief minister of Auchtermuchty. In
Jedburgh the Relief still held the foremost place by much. Dr Somerville
in the Statistical History in 1791 testified that "nearly the half of all the
families in the parish, and a great proportion of the families in all the
neighbouring parishes, belonged to this congregation." Of examinable
parishioners, he calculated that the Relief had 1200, the Established Church
850, the Burgher 600, and the Antiburgher 150. In 181 5 Mr Scott was
provided with a colleague, the arrangem.ent as to stipend being that he
should receive ^80, and the junior minister ^120.
Fifth Minister. — Ja.MES Porteous, from the parish of Johnstone,
Dumfriesshire, and the congregation of Wamphray. Ordained, 13th July
1815. Mr Scott died, 12th August 1823, in the eighty-fifth year of his age
and fortieth of his ministry at Jedburgh. He was the father of the Rev.
James Scott, Relief minister, first in Dalkeith, and then in Cowgate and
Bread Street, Edinburgh. In 1836 the congregation was still very large,
though Blackfriars Secession Church had now got a good way ahead. The
communicants were between 1050 and iioo, of whom fully two-fifths were
from the parishes of Southdean and Hobkirk, Ancrum and Oxnam, Crailing,
Eckford, and Cavers, in the order of their names. The church had been
rebuilt in 1818, with sittings for 1 100. It cost at least ^2700, of which
£1700 remained as a burden on the building. The stipend was ^190, but
there was no manse. On 24th December 1839 Mr Porteous accepted a call
to Coldstream. It is believed that the debt on the church and the little done
for its extinction prompted his removal to a narrower field of labour.
.Sixth Minister. — William Barr, who had been in Hamilton (Brandon
Street) for seven years. Inducted to Jedburgh, 20th January 1841, where
he laboured thirty-four years, during which time the congregation was greatly
reduced in numbers, very much through the uprise of Free churches all
around. On i6th June 1874 Mr Barr intimated to the Presbytery that he
thought it right to anticipate by a few years what might then become
matter of necessity. His wish was to enjoy a period of release from the
responsibilities of ministerial work before the inevitable change, and
262 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
through the kindness of Providence he was in circumstances to lay down
the emoluments of office along with the work. The congregation, however,
was unanimous that he should retain the status of senior minister and
occupy the manse, which was agreed to.
Seventh Minister. — John W. Pringle, M.A , from Cupar (Bonnygate),
a grandson of the Rev. James Pringle, Kinclaven. Called in December
1873 to Auchterarder (North) and to Ceres (West), and in January 1875 to
Hamilton (Chapel Street), but he put these calls aside. Then came Jedburgh,
and his ordination followed, 5th May 1875. The call was signed by only
205 members, and the stipend was to be .;^200, with ^30 for house rent. On
24th April 1883, answering exactly to the day of his ordination at Hamilton
forty-nine years before, Mr Barr's jubilee was celebrated. Had it been
deferred for a little it would have been too late, as the evening rapidly
gathered in, and he died on 7th June, in the seventy-seventh year of his age.
Mr Pringle was loosed from his charge on 8th February 1898, having re-
solved to devote himself to the work of Church Extension, for which he has
peculiar aptitudes, and to the fostering or building up of new congregations,
particularly about the outskirts of our cities or large towns, as opportunity
might offer.
Eighth Miftister. — John Forsyth, from Kilwinning, where he had been
ordained eight years before. Inducted, 8th September 1898. The member-
ship at the close of the following year was 339, and the stipend ^225.
KELSO (Burgher)
The origin of this congregation links itself indirectly with the name of the
Rev. James Ramsay, who was parish minister of Kelso from 1707 to 1749.
To him Thomas Boston makes kindly reference again and again in his
Autobiography, and though they were on opposite sides in the Marrow
Controversy he states that at an earlier period they seldom differed in
" Presbyterial management of matters of greatest weight." But in 1739,
when the case of the eight seceding brethren was before the Assembly,
Mr Ramsay took the lead in urging strong measures, and expressed himself
in terms fitted to offend those of his people who sympathised with the
oppressed in neighbouring parishes. Soon after this one of his elders,
Alexander Mein, gave in an accession to the Associate Presbytery. But
Mr Ramsay died, at an advanced age, on 3rd July 1749, and in two months
the Duke of Roxburgh came forward with a presentation, when division set
in, heritors, elders, and heads of families ranging themselves for and against
the presentee. The call was signed by about 80 persons, of whom a large
proportion were the Duke's dependents, or were acting under his influence.
On the ordination day, 4th July 1750, a paper of protest was given in to the
Presbytery signed by seven elders and 214 members, and this was followed up
on 3rd October by a petition to the Burgher Presbytery of Edinburgh for
sermon from 112 persons. Supply was granted, and a building called the
Riding School fitted up as a place of worship. Thus Mr Ramsay's boast
was at an end — that " there was less division in his parish than in any other
within the bounds."
First Minister.— ]o\i^ Potts, about whose relation to Stitchel and
Kelso conjointly it is impossible to reach certainty, owing to a large blank
in the Presbytery records. The call on which he was ordained was
originally from Stitchel alone, but Kelso followed with a formal adherence,
so that Mr Potts was ordained minister over both places on 15th August
PRESBYTERY OF KELSO 263
1 75 1. Whatever were the circumstances, the minister seems to have made
Kelso his sole centre early in 1753, but before this matters had come very
near a rupture between him and his brethren of Edinburgh Presbytery. In
June of the previous summer he was engaged to take part in communion
work at Jedburgh, but before the time for setting out he received a paper
from five of the elders, along with the signatures of their own minister and
Mr Brown of Haddington. They complained that, according to information
received from some of his own hearers, he had been declaring in favour of
mixed admission to the Lord's Table, and striking out against the Secession
terms of communion, and they wished to hear his explanation before pro-
ceeding further. No satisfaction was obtained, and we know that when the
Synod met in May 1753 the Presbytery reported that Mr Potts was under
sentence of suspension. He had his fill of Church censures at this time, the
Antiburgher Synod having deposed him a few weeks before for deserting
them and proving faithless to the Act and Testimony. He was done now
with both sections of the Secession, and made for London, to which he had
clung so tenaciously in his preacher days.
That year he published a pamphlet, entitled " Seceding Presbyterianism
Delineated," in which he found an outlet for embittered feeling. He
apologises in it for having associated himself with Seceders by saying :
" It was at an age so immature that he could not be esteemed a judge either
of men or things." Whether it was so or not he had been kindly treated by
the Associate Presbytery, as they forthwith granted him 30s. from the Fund
for Students, and paid him at a very high rate for his services as their Clerk.
But now he descended to sheer abuse, of which one specimen may be borne
with. Mr Brown of Haddington, the Presbytery Clerk, having incurred his
displeasure, the Rev. John Potts taunted his peace-loving brother with the
struggles of his early days, when he employed himself " vending thimbles,
needles, and pins, and such like." In London Mr Potts became minister of
the Congregational Church, Crispin Street, Spitalfields. It has been stated
that he died early, but in 1760 a London periodical had a paragraph about
a boy of nine or ten years, a son of Mr Potts, a Dissenting minister, having
been killed by the sudden fall of two houses in a particular street, and also
states that the father was quite near him when the disaster happened. In
the " Bunhill Memorials" we also find that Mr John Potts of Crispin Street,
Spitalfields, preached at the ordination of a Baptist minister in Essex in 1764,
so that he must have survived his brief stay at Kelso at least eleven years.
In a controversial pamphlet on similar lines with his own, Mr Potts is
credited with a genteel and elegant way of preaching, a quality which rpight
be partly owing to his English origin. Specimens of his pulpits gifts are
contained in two volumes of discourses, the one, published in 1757, with
eighteen sermons on the words : "Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city,
and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee" — a text which might befit
his beginnings in the great modern Babylon.
Second Minister. — ROBERT NicOL, from what became his own congrega-
tion. Called first to London, but the Synod appointed him to Kelso, where
he was ordained, 23rd September 1761. As it was found that only two of
the elders were of Presbyterian ordination " the others were required to lie
by from the exercise of their office till a new election should take place."
The last mentioned must have been set apart to office after Mr Potts re-
nounced the authority of the Presbyteiy and became an Independent. The
Secession cause seems to have been in a state of suspended animation after
their minister left, and there had to be a fresh beginning made. A preacher
named James Wright, who lived in Kelso, and had turned aside like Mr
Potts into divisive courses, sometimes conducted Sabbath services among
264 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
them, but on 4th February 1755 some of Kelso people petitiohed the Presby-
tery for sermon, and two of the members were sent to converse with them
and clear the Presbytery's way to recognise them anew. Other six years
passed before the damage done by Mr Potts was repaired, and the congrega-
tion enjoyed a stated ministry again. Under Mr Nicol prosperity must have
been attained, though of his personal history there is almost nothing to
record. We find that he presided at a meeting of Presbytery on 3rd
February 1784, and when they met again, on 6th April, the minute bears
that "the Rev. Robert Nicol, the Presbytery's late Moderator, being
removed by death, the Presbytery proceeded to choose another." He died
on the 2nd of that month, so that this was not unlikely the funeral day. He
was in the twenty-third year of his ministry.
The strength to which the congregation had now grown may be judged
of from the names appended to the first call which followed. It was signed
or concurred in by 606 members and 210 occasional hearers. The preacher
on whom they harmonised so well was Mr James Forrester, whom the
Synod at their former meeting had appointed to be ordained at Bathgate
(Livery Street). The Presbytery of Kelso were of opinion that proceedings
ought to be sisted, in deference to the importance of Kelso congregation,
till next meeting of Synod, but it was enough for Edinburgh Presbytery
that they had instructions to go on with Mr Forrester's ordination.
Accordingly, they went straight forward, heedless of communications from
the sister Presbytery, and Kelso congregation was baffied.
Third Minister. — Robert Hall, M.A., from Glasgow (now Greyfriars),
but a native of Cathcart parish, and a brother of Dr James Hall of Rose
Street and Broughton Place, Edinburgh. The Presbytery of Glasgow had
manifold dealings with Mr Hall, who had calls to Eaglesham, Renton, and
Fen wick. In the competition Renton was preferred, but Mr Hall, who had
a will of his own from first to last, refused to be settled there, and the call
was withdrawn. He was ordained at Kelso, 31st May 1786, and the settle-
ment, though it turned out well in the end, was far from harmonious. The
opposing candidate was John Dick of Slateford and Greyfriars, Glasgow.
The minority, or many of them, withdrew, though not till some years had
passed, during which Mr Hall had a good deal to endure, and they helped in
the end to form the Relief congregation of Kelso. A new church was opened
in 1788, with 955 sittings. Mr Hall's eccentricities, of which several amusing
and seemingly well-authenticated specimens are given in the Life of his co-
Presbyter, Dr Adam Thomson, detracted little from his power as an able and
faithful minister. He died on 7th July 1831, in the seventy-fourth year of his
age and forty-sixth of his ministry.
Fourth Minister. — Henry Renton, M.A., from Edinburgh (Broughton
Place). Ordained, 6th January 1830, as colleague and successor to Mr Hall.
In the sixth year of Mr Renton's ministry the communicants were within a
little of 1000, of whom about five-eighths belonged to Kelso parish. Of the
others, more than one-half were from the parishes of Sprouston and Roxburgh,
'with a considerable number from Ednam, Makerstoun, Eckford, and Eccles.
Fifty-one families were from beyond four miles. The stipend was ^200, with
manse and garden. In 1852 Mr Renton went as commissioner from the
U.P. Church to Kaflfraria, where disturbance prevailed and the natives were
in arrns against the colonists. For strength of principle and statesmanlike
qualities no fitter man could have been chosen, and to mark their apprecia-
tion of the work he did, the Synod at its first meeting after his return, and in
his absence, elected him to the Moderator's chair. As a leader in the
Supreme Court of the Church Mr Renton's bearing all through was marked
by thorough straightforwardness and integrity of purpose. In 1863 steps
PRESBYTERY OF KELSO 265
were taken to lighten his labours by providing him with a colleague. The
two ministers were to have ^200 each, and the manse was to remain in the
occupancy of Mr Renton.
Fifth Minister. — Robert Whyte, M.A., from Milnathort. Ordained,
6th January 1864. Called to College Street, Edinburgh, in 1866, but kept
by Kelso till 3rd December 1867, when he accepted Pollokshaws.
Sixth Minister. — James Rogers, from Kinclaven. Having rejected
Houghton-le-Spring he was ordained colleague to Mr Renton, 6th October
1868. In 1875 ^ question of more than local interest disturbed this congre-
gation, and was carried into the higher Church Courts. On one matter
Mr Renton was peculiarly conservative. Members of other denominations
before being admitted by him to Church fellowship had to appear before the
session, answer the questions of the Formula, and be admitted] like young
communicants. This was felt by some of the office-bearers and a large pro-
portion of the people to have an unkindly look towards members of the Free
Church, and in 1875 a petition was laid before the session, signed by 330
members, to have the arrangement thus far dispensed with. It led to dis-
cussion both at Presbytery and Synod, and, though it was held that in keeping
on the old lines minister and session were within their rights, the general
feeling was that in the circumstances use and wont might very well be
departed from and the wished-for concession made. It is likely, however,
that the old system was kept up during what remained of Mr Renton's days.
He died, 4th January 1877, in the seventy-third year of his age and forty-
seventh of his ministry. Besides the impress which he left on Kelso and on
the denomination all that remains of Mr Renton is his Synod discourse on :
" Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." One of
Mr Renton's sisters was married to Dr Robson of Wellington Street,
Glasgow, and another was the mother of Duncan M'Laren, Esq., whose
name has been long prominent on our Foreign Mission Board.*
On 19th November 1878 Mr Rogers, who had been struggling for a time
with broken health, and had taken a voyage to Jamaica without solid benefit,
was loosed from his charge with the view of proceeding to New Zealand.
The congregation granted him a yearly allowance of ;^i25, and he was also
to receive an annuity for the time from the Aged and Infirm Ministers' Fund.
He reached the other side, but died at Dunedin on 28th April 1879, in the
thirty-seventh year of his age and eleventh of his ministry, leaving a widow
and three children.
Seventh Minister. — T. C. KiRKWOOD, translated from Stromness, where
he had ministered for four years. Inducted, 30th June 1880. The call was
(signed by 462 members and 89 adherents. The old church was pow ripe
[for being supplanted, having done service for nearly a century, and in July
1 1885 the memorial stone of the present stately edifice was laid. In this work
IMrs Renton Mein, daughter of their late minister, and the mother of the Rev.
|B. R. Mein, Thropton, Northumberland, took the lead with a contribution
[of ^1000 to the building fund. The church was opened by Principal Cairns,
t29th October 1886, with 800 sittings, and built at a cost of about ^7000, of
|"which little more than one-fourth rested as debt on the property three years
* Mr Renton's brother, the Rev. Alexander Renton, was ordained at Hull, 26th
March 1847, and resigned, 4th February 1851. Before the end of the year he sailed
for Jamaica, where he became Theological Tutor in Montego Bay Academy. He died
at Kelso, 25th October 1863, in the forty-third year of his age and seventeenth of his
ministry. A stately tombstone in Grange Cemetery marks where he is buried. Dr
William Robertson characterised Mr Renton as "a man of gentlest manners, princely
bearing, rich gifts, and rare accomplishments."
^
266 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
afterwards. The membership at the close of 1899 was 528, and the stipend
^350, with the manse.
KELSO (Antiburgher)
Though the congregation of Stitchel as a whole kept by the Burgher side
at the Breach of 1747 there must have been a considerable sprinkling of
Antiburgher families residing within the wide circuit it embraced. By-and-
by those in the western bounds formed the Antiburgher congregation of
Earlston, and with them we part company for the time. Those in the
eastern division now made the village of Hume their centre, and on 28th
February 1749 the Presbytery arranged that they should have sermon
alternately with their brethren at Earlston. But though Hume came to
rank as a separate congregation, and had a regular place of worship, the
people were never in a position to have a minister of their own. In 1753
they had an election of elders, and in 1754 they applied for a moderation,
but the Presbytery held them back in their weak state, and no such attempt,
so far as appears, was ever made again. In 1768 Kelso, five and a half miles
to the south, was recognised by the Antiburgher Synod as the seat of a
congregation, and the people connected with Hume, reduced in numbers
by this encroachment, had to merge themselves in Kelso or Earlston, as
they might find most convenient. In 1769 the members of Gateshaw resid-
ing within easier reach of Kelso, 24 in number, were annexed to the new
formation. The church, with over 600 sittings, is said, in the report given
in to the Commissioners on Rehgious Instruction, to have been built about
1772, and the materials of the place of worship at Hume are believed ta
have been employed in the construction.
First Minister. — John Muirhead, from Dennyloanhead. Ordained,
2nd September 1772. Though Mr Muirhead is seen from his writings to-
have been a man of talent his was not a successful ministry. It is stated,
indeed, in the Presbytery minutes of 1781 that the congregation numbered
400 examinable persons, but the stipend was only ^40, with ^5 for house
rent, and ^2, 5s. for each communion, ^3 for a Ijorse, and ^2 for coals. It
was a homely affair, like the church they met in. But evil days were draw-
ing on. In consequence of complaints by elders and others the Presbytery
met at Kelso on 26th August 1783 to investigate certain charges against
Mr Muirhead. Neglect of pastoral duty was alleged, failure in keeping his
word, and even want of punctuality in observing the hours of public worship.
The case ended with a rebuke to the minister and an admonition to all
parties to bury their animosities. But before the year ended things were J
worse than ever, and a considerable number of office-bearers and members
would be satisfied with nothing short of Mr Muirhead's removal. His home^*]
they said, was in a deplorable state, as " drunkenness, broils, and contention
have been too frequent in his family, and he has not used due influence to- j
prevent them." With regard to pecuniary embarrassments, " he acknow-
ledged want of economy, his income having been about ^^70." On 8th
March 1785 Mr Muirhead offered his demission, assigning as the reason
that a congregational meeting had desired it, and that the greater part of j
the elders were refusing to officiate. The Presbyterj'^ meeting was pro-j
tracted, and next day the resignation was accepted. To all appearance it |
was more than time.
Mr Muirhead itinerated as a preacher for a dozen years, but we cannot j
say he kept himself above reproach. Two years after leaving Kelso he had .
to be dealt with by Glasgow Presbytery for Ijreaches of sobriety. Wej
PRESBYTERY OF KELSO 267
sympathise with the poor man as he pleaded '"affliction on his body and vexa-
tion on his mind, arising from the state of his family." The last notice we
have of him is at the Synod in September 1797, when ^5 was given Mr
Walker of Dennyloanhead to be laid out by him for Mr Muirhead's behoof.
According to a list drawn up by Adam Gib, and continued after his death,
he died before the end of the year. He left several productions of his pen
behind him, in one of which he reasoned very pointedly in support of
the Church confining herself to the Psalms of David in the article of
praise. This was published as a sermon after he had returned to preacher
life. Some years later he joined issue with Dr Young of Hawick, whose
"Essays on Government" he considered more favourable to the order of
things in Church and State than the Secession Testimony allowed. But
his most important work is that entitled " Dissertation on the Federal
Transactions between God and His Church," published in I7'84.
Second Minister.— ] Kyi'ES HOG, from Milnathort. Ordained, ist August
1786. The congregation, besides the harm done by the former minister,
had suffered reduction in another way. Greenlaw having now obtained a
minister the people from about Stitchel and Hume petitioned to be transferred
thither, pleading that they were nearer Greenlaw than Kelso, Hume being
only three miles from the former and five and a half from the latter place.
The session urged that, if the petition were agreed to, they would be put out
of capacity to support the gospel, but the Presbytery granted the disjunction.
So Mr Hog's call was signed by only 57 (male) members. The stipend was
to be ^50, and a garden, or ^2, los. instead, but there is no mention of a
house. So early as 1799 there were elements at work in the congregation
which brought disruption seven years afterwards. In July of that year Mr
Hog wished to know from the Presbytery whether he ought to dispense the
communion among his people that season. Some of them were chargeable
with "promiscuous hearing," and he thought they should be required to give
satisfaction for the offence. The Presbytery took a similar view, and advised
him to allow no elder to officiate and no member to communicate who had
l)een guilty of such conduct, until the scandal was removed.
Money matters also came in to give trouble. The stipend was inadequate
in the judgment of the Presbytery, and the congregation, when closely dealt
with, promised ^66 a year, with manse and garden. But Mr Hog now
opened out his grievances more fully to his brethren at their desire. The
stipend, he e.xplained, still came short of his requirements in a place where
fuel was so dear and where the hiring of a horse had to be provided for
when duty obliged him to travel. He was much discouraged, besides, by a
spirit of insubordination among his people and the bad management of
their temporal affairs. His hands were specially weakened by the loose
principles of elders and others, who stood up for and practised promiscuous
communion, on which account sacramental work had not been proceeded
with that summer. He had offered his demission some years before, and he
now insisted on its acceptance, unless he were to be supported in the exercise
of his functions. The Presbytery submitted the case to the Synod, which
was in session at the time, whose advice to Mr Hog was not to press his
resignation. They also instructed the Presbyter)' to check the disorders
which had arisen at Kelso, believing that if this were done the people would
have no difficulty in giving their minister a creditable support.
Mr Hog was one of the four ministers who formed themselves into the
Constitutional Presbytery on 28th August 1806. In his earlier days he had
been liberally inclined, but his strongly conservative tendencies, as we have
seen, had already showed themselves in his dealings with an opposing party
in his congregation. But though the Synod instructed the Presbytery of
268 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Kelso to proceed against Mr Hog his infirm health prevented the carrying
through of extreme measures. Sentence of deposition was put off from
time to time, and was never pronounced. He died on 9th January 1808,
when he was in the fifty-third year of his age and twenty-second of his
ministry. The younger Dr M'Crie, in his father's Life, characterises Mr
Hog as " a classical scholar, an accurate divine, and a man of determined
resolution, pious, humble, and inoffensive in his walk."
The congregation now broke into two, but the party adhering to the
minister kept the property. After a vacancy of five years a call, subscribed
by 22 (male) members, was reluctantly accepted by Mr Patrick Mackenzie,
a probationer from Inverness, and he was ordained, 12th May 1813. In
1820 the congregation represented to the Presbytery that, owing to removals
by death and otherwise, they were unable to support their minister. Still
they held on. In 1836 the communicants were about 50, and there were
only two families with children in the whole congregation. The attendance
in winter was between 30 and 40, but in summer it rose towards 100. The
minister received for stipend what the funds could yield him, and their
average income was less than ^50 a year. Yet to his handful of people Mr
Mackenzie was preaching three times each Sabbath, and this continued till
27th June 1837, when the pastoral tie was dissolved. He then went as a
missionary to the Hebrides, and died in 1839. The congregation still got
sermon occasionally, but in 1843 the property was sold, and the proceeds
handed over to the funds of the Original Secession Synod. The church was
turned into a printing office.
It is somewhere mentioned in connection with this congregation's deep-
sunk state that a good many of the members had found their way into
Mr Hall's church. This was in keeping with the spirit of a petition which
the elders and other members laid before the Constitutional Presbytery
in 1 8 19, when the movement for union between the two large sections of
the Secession was taking shape. They prayed the Presbytery to take this
matter into their serious consideration, and to correspond with their respective
Synods in order to a broad reunion. By this bold step Kelso only drew
from the Presbytery a warning against being moved from a steadfast
adherence to their religious profession by vague general schemes of
coalescence.
The party which adhered to the Antiburgher Synod when Mr Hog with-
drew in 1806 got preachers for a term of years. In June 1807 the Presbytery
of Kelso, by instructions of Synod, conversed with a minority of the con-
gregation, and were to give them supply as soon as they had a proper place of
meeting. Sermon was begun on the second Sabbath of September, and went
on, but not regularly. In 1812 the ordination of three elders was appointed,
but it does not appear that a fixed ministry was ever thought of, and in the
beginning of 181 7 they reported that they were not able to maintain constant
supply. In August the difficulty was smoothed down by three of the members
agreeing to board the preachers free of expense. But when the Union came
in 1820 there was no need for burdening themselves and other people any
longer, there being a prosperous church of the same denomination in Kelso.
At this time the name drops from the roll of Secession congregations.
KELSO, EAST (Relief)
On 6th September 1791 a number of people in and about Kelso petitioned
the Relief Presbytery of Edinburgh to be taken under their inspection. They
also stated at large certain reasons for making this application, and these the
PRESBYTERY OF KELSO 269
Presbytery pronounced well founded. This is where the records of the
Presbytery begin, but the station was opened two months before. The
movement did not originate in any special grievance, such, as a violent
intrusion. Indeed, the parish church had been highly favoured with accept-
able ministers for two generations. In the New Statistical History the
Relief congregation is characterised as an offshoot from the Secession, and
with that testimony other authorities agreed. As mentioned under a former
heading, the settlement of Mr Hall in the Burgher Church five years before
was not harmonious, and the angularities of the young minister may have
kept dissatisfaction alive. Hence, perhaps, the attempt to form a Relief
cause in Kelso, though numbers from the general community must have
made common cause with the malcontents from the Burgher Church.
First Minister. — John Pitcairn, from Hamilton. Ordained, 25th
October 1792. The church, with sittings for 550, was already built, and,
though not quite finished, was fit for occupancy. The stipend was ^90
with an additional ^5 for each communion. Mr Pitcairn was reckoned as
almost on a level with Struthers of College Street, Edinburgh, in the graces
of pulpit delivery, and hence over against his name there stands a formidable
list of calls. When a preacher he had Newton-Stewart, Dysart, and Kelso
to choose from. In 1796 he was invited to Haddington, a position which
had few attractions. In 1799 John Street, Glasgow, which had been formed
by a minority who voted in his favour in Dovehill Church, called him to be
their minister, but he could give them no encouragement, and the call was
withdrawn. In 1804 Crown Court, London, attempted to draw him away
from the Relief Synod to the Church of Scotland, and from Kelso to the
British metropolis, but they were unsuccessful. Last of all, in 1820, when he
was over fifty, he was invited to College Street, Edinburgh, but he decided
to be a fixture in his first charge. He died, 13th February 1829, in the
sixty-first year of his age and thirty-seventh of his ministrj'. A volume of
his sermons, published after his death, gives only a dim view of his powers
as a preacher. But though his discourses might be inferior in solidity to
those of Mr Hall, as heard from his lips they would be far more attractive
for a general audience to listen to.
Seco7id Mifiister. — William M'Chevne, from the parish of Glencairn
and the congregation of Burnhead. Called to be colleague to Mr Pitcairn,
who died in the interval. Ordained, i6th March 1829, and died, 19th July
1836, in the thirty-sixth year of his age and eighth of his ministry. In this
connection there is the following entry in the Journal of Robert Murray
M'Cheyne : — "Died this day, W. M'Cheyne, my cousin-german. Relief
minister, Kelso. Oh, how I repent of our vain controversies on Establishments
when we last met."
We find from their own returns that at the date of this vacancy the com-
municants numbered 888. It was stated about this time in the New
Statistical History that "the Secfession and Relief number among them
many persons of great respectability in point of wealth as well as of character."
As in the Burgher congregation, the membership was drawn from the whole
circle of surrounding parishes, Sprouston and Roxburgh furnishing by much
the largest proportion. The stipend was fixed at ^i6o, and there was a
manse and garden, much above the average value, but burdened considerably
with debt.
Third Mitiister. — JAMES Jarvie, translated from Carluke, where he had
been two and a half years, and inducted, i8th April 1837. After this there
was a gradual narrowing in, until the membership came much beneath what it
had been in former days. In November 1873 Mr R. C. Inglis, now of
Chapel Street, Berwick, was called to be Mr Jarvie's colleague, but he
270 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
declined. Ten months later it was the same with Mr William Muirhead,
now of Stranraer, the call on this occasion being signed by 171 members
and 29 adherents.
Fourth Almister. — W. R. Inglis, who had been little more than a year
in Holm, Kilmarnock. Inducted, loth March 1875. The stipend arrange-
ments were that the colleague should have ^132, los. from the congregation,
which the Board was to supplement up to ^167, los., and the senior minister
a yearly allowance of ^50, besides the manse, and the annuity from the
Aged and Infirm Ministers' Fund. Mr Jarvie died, 19th May 1883, in the
seventy-seventh year of his age and forty-ninth of his ministry. In 1852 he
published a volume, entitled " Discourses and Miscellaneous Writings," which
possesses very considerable literary merit. The membership of the con-
gregation at the close of 1899, and for a number of years before, was over
200, and the stipend from the people £i?>6, with the manse.
COLDSTREAM, WEST (Burgher)
On 17th December 1767 the Burgher Presbytery of Edinburgh disjoined
certain members from the congregations of Stitchel and Kelso and formed
them into a congregation at Coldstream. The severance could scarcely be
objected to, the distance of the applicants from either church being about
ten miles. On the first Sabbath of February 1768 two elders were ordained,
and one inducted who had been formerly an elder in the Established
Church. That year the first church was built, but particulars cannot be
ascertained.
First Minister. — John Riddoch, from Stirling (now Erskine Church).
Ordained, 24th November 1768. Of Mr Riddoch we know little beyond
what we have from his successor. " He was not a popular man, but he was
a good preacher, well read in the Bible and in the doctrines of divinity."
After ministering to his people thirty-five years Mr Riddoch's health entirely
gave way, and on loth April 1804 he resigned. It was agreed to pay him
^30 annually, but he claimed ^99 as expenses due to him in connection
with the dispensing of the communion thirty-three successive summers,
engaging that if this sum were paid he would let all else go. But the people
kept by their offer of ^30, and on these terms the demission was accepted,
29th May 1804. Mr Riddoch then removed to St Ninians, where he died,
nth March 1805, in the thirty-seventh year of his ministry.
Second Minister. — Adam Thomson, M.A., from Coldstream. Appointed
by the Synod in May 1804 to Horndean in preference to Leslie (Trinity), as
related under the proper heading. But Mr Thomson was bent against
compliance, and even seemed in the mood for throwing off subjection to
ecclesiastical authority altogether ; at least the Presbytery had to admonish
him for the non-fulfilment of appointments for five Sabbaths, and for not
having even sent notice to the Clerk, that other supply might have been
provided. But while his trials for ordination at Horndean were dragging
slowly on Coldstream congregation petitioned for a moderation. The Pres-
bytery, aware of what was intended, delayed the matter, to give time for the
settlement at Horndean, but on 12th April 1805, when they were about to
fix the ordination day, Mr Thomson arrested procedure by a protest and
appeal to the Synod. A second time Coldstream people applied for a
moderation, and a second time there was delay. At the Synod the call
from Horndean was set aside, and when the censure to be inflicted on Mr
Thomson came to be decided on Rebuke carried over Admonish.
The way was open now for Coldstream congregation obtaining the object
PRESBYTERY OF KELSO 271
of their choice, a rival call from Alnwick being speedily disposed of. Al-
though his brother counselled him not to go to Coldstream, as "a prophet
is not without honour save in his own country," Mr Thomson was otherwise
minded, and, he seems never to have had reason to repent of his choice.
His ordination followed on 12th March 1806. Less than a month before
this his brother, the Rev. Peter Thomson of Leeds, died, and in the follow-
ing year he was called to be his successor. But instead of taking his
brother's place he published a Memoir of his brother's life, along with two
sermons preached to the bereaved congregation at the time. With Cold-
stream under Mr Thomson there was steady increase, the accessions
averaging for a lengthened period 50 a year, independently of those received
by certificate, and of the summer communion in 1818 he entered that 710
communicated. In 1834 the stipend was ^150, with a manse, and while
the Secession had 155 families in the town the Relief had only 55. The
greater part of both congregations must have been drawn from the country.
In 1838 Mr Thomson had the degree of D.D. conferred upon him by the
College of Miami, Oxford, Ohio. About this time Dr Thomson entered on
the enterprise with which his name is largely identified — the breaking down
of the Bible Monopoly, and opening of the way for the cheap circulation of
the Word of God. The end was gained, but at a ruinous cost to himself and
his family, and even the zealous efforts of sympathisers came far short of
making up for the heavy pecuniary loss it involved.
Third Minister. — Peter M earns, from Glasgow (now Woodlands
Road). In asking to be provided with a colleague Dr Thomson might be
thought to have taken time by the forelock, as he was still several years
short of seventy, and his eye was not dim nor his natural force abated.
But his energies were largely taxed, and it was well to relieve the strain in
time. Mr Mearns was ordained, 30th September 1846. The two ministers
were to have ^100 each, Dr Thomson retaining the manse. The call was
signed by 384 members, but there was a heavy debt on the property,
which must have done much to cramp their energies. For over four years
Dr Thomson took his full share of ministerial work, but after retiring to rest
in his usual health on New Year's evening 1851 he was struck with paralysis
which incapacitated him for regular work ever after. But he survived fully
ten years, with mental powers not seriously impaired, and died, 23rd
February 1861, in the eighty-second year of his age and fifty-fifth of his
ministry. His son, of the same name with himself, left East Bank, Hawick, and
set sail for Sydney a few months before, and the narrative of Dr Thomson's
I life and ministry, ably written by his son-in-law, the Rev. Peter Landreth, was
published in 1869. Of Mr Mearns' literary work we can only mention in
particular his carefully prepared volume on " Muirkirk and its Neighbour-
hood," the scene of his own early days, and the service he has done the
memory of James Hyslop, the author of " The Cameronian's Dream," by
editing and annotating his poems, besides furnishing a sketch of his life.
He has also advocated at various times, and in a temperate spirit, the claims
of Michael Bruce to the authorship of "The Ode to the Cuckoo" and certain
of the Paraphrases.
Fourth Minister. — ARCHIBALD Macaulay Caldwell, from Dumbarton
(High Street). Ordained as colleague to Mr Mearns, 6th December 1892.
Long before this the debt on the property, which amounted to ^2000 shortly
before Mr Mearns' ministry began, was entirely cleared away. The senior
minister was to receive ^40 a year, and the manse, while the junior pastor
was to have ^180, with ^20 for a house. While matters were in a transition
state the Presbytery enrolled Mr Mearns minister-emeritus in opposition to
his own expressed wishes. They maintained that he was retiring from all
272 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
responsibility, and that the rule enacted at last Synod laid down this as the
course to be followed in such a case, but he replied that he had not entirely
withdrawn from the duties of the pastorate, and w ished to be still regarded
as senior minister. The Synod at next meeting sustained his appeal, and
instructed the Presbytery to rescind their former resolution, and reserve to
Mr Mearns his full standing. On 22nd March 1898 Mr Caldwell accepted
a call to Gilmore Place, Edinburgh. During his ministry the membership
had risen from 258 to 368.
Fifth Minister.— ]OVi^ A. CLARK, B.D., from Perth (York Place). Or-
dained, loth November 1898. The membership at the close of the following-
year was 359, and the stipend ^200, the senior colleague retaining the
occupancy of the manse. Mr Mearns' son James, after nearly running his
course as a U.P. probationer, joined the Episcopal Church, and was admitted
to Holy Orders in 1885. Some years afterwards he found scope for his
literary tastes in connection with the sub-editorship of Julian's Dictionary of
Hymnology. Since 1896 he has been vicar of Ashby, Lincolnshire.
COLDSTREAM, EAST (Relief)
On 3rd July 1826 the Relief Presbytery of Kelso received a petition for
sermon from upwards of 50 persons, chiefly heads of families, in or about
Coldstream. At this time there were only two Presbyterian churches in the
town — the Established and the Secession. The Rev. Robert Scott had
occupied the parish pulpit for over thirty years, of whom we have some
notices in the Journal of Dr Adam Thomson. An auxiliary branch of the
Bible Society was about to be formed in Coldstream, and Mr Scott was
asked to allow the meeting to be held in his place of worship. " He, how-
ever," says Dr Thomson, " not only refused the church for us to meet in, but
expressed his firm determination to discountenance the Bible Society by
every means in his power." Next day he found him completely enraged
about the entire proposal, and " he went on to abuse the Bible Society and
its supporters, alleging that we were throwing away money that should have
been given to the poor ; that we were sending Bibles to those who could not
read them ; that many were much better men in heathen countries than
those possessing the Bible." The Doctor added : "How deplorable that a
large parish should be under the care of a man holding, and acting but too
consistently with, such views." It is to be hoped that a goodly proportion of
the applicants to the Relief Presbytery for sermon were persons seeking
away from under the teaching of Mr Scott. Supply was at once granted,
and Dr Crawford, then of Earlston, told, more than forty years afterwards,
how on his first visit he went down and preached by the river- side. But a
church, with 800 sittings, was opened on 2nd September 1827.
First Minister. — James S. Taylor, born at Southend, Arran
(not Kintyre), but brought up in Dumfries. Ordained at Coldstream, 17th
January 1828. He was chosen by a very small majority — Dr Crawford
thought of not more than 4 or 5 ; but he, as the presiding minister, sug-
gested that the minority should fall in, and when the question was put the
members rose in a body, so that the election was declared unanimous. The
stipend was to be ^80, with ^5 for each communion, but by 1834 it had
risen to ^115. Under the ministry of Mr Taylor, with his varied accom-
plishments, the congregation made a good beginning, but on 15th October
1839 he accepted Hutchesontown, Glasgow.
Second Minister. — James Porteous, who had been twenty-five years
minister of Jedburgh (Boston Church). Inducted, 8th January 1840. It
I
PRESBYTERY OF KELSO 273
was understood that Mr Porteous might look with fa\'our on the proposal
to remove, and though beyond middle life he had still nearly thirty years
of active service before him. At the celebration of his jubilee in July 1864
he was presented with a purse containing 145 sovereigns, and for other five
years he continued to do full work. The end came suddenly. On Sabbath,
22nd August 1869, he and his son, our minister at Spittal, exchanged pulpits,
but severe illness set in during the afternoon service, and he died about
noon next day, before his son arrived. He was in the eighty-first year of his
age and fifty-fifth of his ministry.
Third Minister.— G¥.O^G^ F. Ross, from Nicolson Street, Edinburgh.
Ordained, 20th September 1870, having declined Hull. There was a want
of unanimity when the election took place, and the feeling may never have
been got completely over. It is certain that discomfort arose, and Mr Ross
having resigned his charge it was accepted on 14th September 1880. He
then removed to Edinburgh, and died there, 23rd July 1885, in the forty-
first year of his age and fifteenth of his ministry. There is pathos in recall-
ing a little incident which occurred in the last stages of his illness. One
of his boys had gained a Foundation at George Watson's College, and came
home with the certificate which attested his success. The father took it
into his hand, glanced languidly over it, and gave it back without uttering
a single word. By this time he was done with time and with time's
concerns.
Fourth Minister. — JOHN L. Elder, M.A., from Wellington Street,
Glasgow. Ordained, i8th January' 1881. The stipend was to be ^170
from the funds of the congregation. A manse was built in 1884 for ^1300,
the Board having promised a third of the cost up to ;^iooo. The member-
ship being much reduced from what it had been under Mr Porteous, it
was thought that when Mr Mearns was about to require a colleague a union
with the West congregation would be worth attempting, but though both
congregations were of opinion that the object was desirable there was no
way of coming to terms. The West congregation decided that the colleague
would have to be chosen by the united membership, and the East congrega-
tion intimated that they were not to part with their minister even for the
sake of union. Hence it was deemed advisable to let the proposal drop.
On Sabbath, 2nd January 1898, the church was reopened, after being im-
proved at a cost of over ^400. The collections amounted to a fourth of
that sum, and church and manse are practically free of debt, ^100 having
Ijeen granted by the Debt Liquidation Board. The membership at the close
of 1899 was 200, and the stipend ^170, with the manse.
YETHOLM (BUROHER)
On 4th April 1786 some people in and about Yetholm petitioned the Burgher
Presbytery of Kelso to be taken under their inspection, and on i6th May
a preacher was appointed to Yetholm for two Sabbaths. In close alliance
with these proceedings, though on transverse lines, Mr Andrew Blackie was
ordained as parish minister on the 4th of that month. Instead of contesting
the powers of a presentation, relief from the yoke of Patronage was sought
and found in a simpler way. The building of a church to accommodate
600 was proceeded with and finished without delay. On 4th April 1787,
I exactly a year after the first petition was tabled, a moderation was applied
for, with the promise of ^60 for stipend, and a house.
First Minister. — Robert Shirra, from Stirling (now Erskin'e Church),
and a nephew of the Kirkcaldy minister of the same name. Had been called
II. s
274 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
a considerable time before to Fenwick and Eaglesham, and the Presbytery]
of Glasgow appointed him to Eaglesham, but he refused to be settled there.
At next meeting of Synod Yetholm was placed over against Eaglesham,
and carried by a majority. The call was signed by 234 members and]
54 adherents, and he was ordained, ist August 1787. That Mr Shirra was
a man of vigorous mind seems unquestionable ; that he studied the things
that make for peace is not so clear. It is generally stated, and correctly
enough, that, along with his congregation, he acceded to the Original
Burgher Presbytery on 12th November 1799, but it does not seem to have
been known that he and they were out of all ecclesiastical connection for
years before this. He wrote the Synod in April 1796 stating that he could
not intimate the collection for their fund as required, and there was also a
minute of session forwarded chiming in with the letter. At the meeting
in September there was long reasoning with him, and a committee was
appointed to meet at Yetholm, but the visit was declined. In April 1797
two neighbouring ministers were instructed to converse with the session,
but the business terminated abruptly. On 20th June Mr Shirra appeared
before Kelso Presbytery according to request, accompanied by Mr George
Moscrip, a divinity student. The student was in course of being dealt with
for a letter he had written to a fellow-student, in which he denounced the
judicatories of the Church as " synagogues of Satan," but while inquiry was
going on Mr Shirra read his declinature, threw it on the table, and left the
Court. Going over these particulars, one is tempted to wonder what it was
all about, and the only explanation is that this had something to do with the
proposal to alter the questions of the Formula. Mr Shirra was now cut off
from connection with the Synod. In a manuscript, from which extracts were
made by Mr Tait, it is stated that he " stood alone for about the space of
three years, till some of his brethren saw necessity to bear testimony to the
truth also." This means that he anticipated the " Old Light " rupture, and
remained solitary till that Presbytery was formed.
Here we might close our notice of Mr Shirra and his congregation, but
there is interest in outlining their subsequent history. In 181 5 there was a
disruption in the church by which it was shorn of half its strength, as will be
narrated under the next heading. In 1834 Mr Shirra was provided with a
colleague, whose call was signed by only 100 members and 9 adherents, a
contrast with what had been in his own case. He died, i6th November
1840, in the eighty-second year of his age and fifty-fourth of his ministry.
His successor, the Rev. John Hastie, united with the Free Church in 1852,
and thus supplied a blank in Yetholm parish, there having been no Free
Church congregation formed there at the Disruption, when only a few indi-
viduals left the parish church. Mr Hastie died, 4th July 1863, and since
then they have had four ministers.
YETHOLM (Burgher— New Light)
Peace was not the heritage of Mr Shirra and his congregation after they
became one with the Original Burghers. Strife got in between the minister
and a large section of his people. Some question about stipend came before
their own Presbytery in 18 10, and disputes on other matters reached a state
of intensity in 1814. It would seem that Mr Shirra and part of his session
accused certain members of unfaithfulness to the principles of the Church,
probably with regard to the claims of a Covenanted Reformation. The
consequence was that on 25th February 181 5 a petition from Yetholm was
laid before the Burgher Presbytery of Kelso, signed by 114 persons, asking
PRESBYTERY OF KELSO 275
to be taken under their inspection, which was g^ranted at once. In July
18 16 they called Mr Andrew Lawson, son of Professor Lawson of Selkirk,
but hearing that he was also called to Ecclefechan they wished to proceed
no further. The Presbytery, however, objected, and one of their own number
was to act as their commissioner before the Synod. It was all in vain, how-
ever, Ecclefechan being preferred without a vote. The stipend promised at
this time was ^100, with a house, and, under pressure, they engaged to pay
the minister's taxes and allow him ^4 at each communion. They next
called Mr Patrick Bradley, but there was a marked shortcoming in signa-
tures, and the Presbytery of Kelso appointed him to Lilliesleaf.
First Minister. — Walter Hume, from Jedburgh (Blackfriars). Or-
dained, 1st April 1 8 18. The church, with nearly 500 sittings, was built that
year, but it was not ready for this great occasion. We read, at least, in Dr
Adam Thomson's Journal that, public worship being without, and the day
cold, it was deemed expedient to dispense with Mr Lee's discourse, which
should have closed the services of the day. To make amends the ordination
sermon was an hour and ten minutes in length, and the charge to minister
and people occupied three-quarters. The call was signed by 213 members,
from which we can infer the extent of the inroad which had been made on
the parent congregation. The rival places of worship have stood since then
with little more than the breadth of the street between. As for the ministers,
if Mr Hume was less distinguished for pulpit gifts than Mr Shirra the
disadvantage might be more than made up for by his pacific disposition
and kindly, unassuming ways. After forty-two years of service Mr Hume,
who was considerably over the average age when ordained, had to give place
to another.
Second Minister. — Ebenezer Erskine Whyte, from Bridge of Teith.
Mr Whyte was called to Johnshaven in the third year of his preacher life,
but the place was uninviting, and he declined. It seemed after this as if
he was never to have another offer, but in the quarter of grace allowed at
the finish of his six years' probationership Yetholm came in, and, no doubt,
was gladly welcomed. He was ordained, 14th August 1861. The aged
minister was now confined to the sick-chamber, and he died on 21st Decem-
ber, in the seventy-eighth year of his age and forty-fourth of his ministry.
His elder daughter, the wife of the Rev. Daniel Kerr of Duns, preceded him
by a few months, and his colleague was soon to follow. Mr Whyte's health
gave way in the spring of 1863, and he sought back to the humble dwelling
at Bridge of Teith, where he died on 5th July following, in the thirty-third
year of his age and second of his ministry.
Third Minister. — Andrew Ritchie, from Milngavie. Ordained, 5th
October 1864, and loosed, 4th July 1882, on accepting a call to be colleague
to the Rev. John Steedman, Erskine Church, Stirling. The manse, which
had long done its part, was improved in 1875 at a cost of ^540, of which
^415 was raised by the people, and ^125 came from the central fund.
Fourth J//««/'^r.— Archib.'VLD Torrance, B.D., from Momingside,
Edinburgh. Ordained, loth April 1883. Died, 21st March 1897, after a
short but painful illness, in the forty-first year of his age and fourteenth of
his ministry.
Fifth Minister.— \lA..\n SHIELDS, from Strathaven (First). Ordained,
nth November 1897. The membership, though a good way lower than it
was a dozen years ago, has suffered less than the average of country con-
gregations, standing at the close of 1899 at very little under 200. The
people paid from their own resources ;^i5o, which with supplement and
surplus was made up to ^186.
276 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
LEITHOLM (Relief)
On 24th September 1833 certain inhabitants of the village of Leitholm, in
the parish of Eccles, applied to the Relief Presbytery of Kelso to be recog-
nised as a forming congregation. Up till then dissenting families within
the bounds attended Secession or Relief churches in Coldstream or Green-
law — places at least five miles distant. In 1793 ^ petition for sermon,
signed by 206 persons in that locality, had been addressed to the Relief
Presbytery of Edinburgh, and documents were produced to show that the
applicants were able to build a church and support a minister, but for some
inexplicable reason it carried not to receive them, and for forty years we
hear no more of it. Now footing was obtained, and a place of worship built,
with 350 sittings, and on i8th April 1835 a congregation was organised.
First Minister. — William Brown, from Strathaven (East). Ordained,
15th July 1835. The cause not making much headway, and the stipend
being ^60 in arrears, Mr Brown resolved to return to the preachers' list,
and his resignation was accepted, ist April 1840, and within two years he
was admitted to Clackmannan. The congregation now called Mr Thomas
Stevenson, who preferred Bread Street, Edinburgh, and then Mr James
Martin, who afterwards obtained Head Street, Beith.
Second Miftister. — Peter Glassford, originally from Calton, Glasgow.
Ordained at Alnwick (Lisburn Street), loth October 1838, and inducted to
Leitholm, 31st August 1842. The stipend was to be ^100. On 2nd October
1849 Mr Glassford intimated to the Presbytery that he intended to seek a
ministerial charge in another country, and on the 23rd of that month the
connection was se\ered. The membership at this time was about 130, and
the stipend ^65, which supplement raised to ^90. He wished his name put
on the probationer list meanwhile. There it remained for four years, and
during a brief part of that period he was under suspension for not walking
circumspectly. After removing to Canada in 1854 he was inducted to the
charge of Albion and Vaughan, where he remained till 1873. He died in
August of that year, in the thirty-fifth year of his ministry.
Third Minister. — David Barclay, from Saltcoats (now Trinity). Or-
dained, 31st July 1850. This ministiy was also to be brief, as Mr Barclay
gave in his resignation, 19th October 1858, which was accepted with some
demur, as he assigned no valid reason for the step he was taking. He then
removed to Berwick, where he lived in retirement. The Wallace Green
records bear that he died at Kirn, 2nd May 1876, after a week's illness, in
the fifty-eighth year of his age.
Fourth Minister. — Alexander Hay, M.A., from Perth (Wilson Church).
Ordained, 13th July 1859, the stipend to be ;^8o, and ^30 was expected from
the Mission Board. On 8th August 1866 he accepted a call to Boston Church,
Cupar. About this time the manse was built, at a cost of £770, the Board
granting £270.
Fifth Minister. — David K. Miller, M.A., from Blairgowrie. Ordained,
8th May 1867, the congregation to contribute ^^90 of the stipend. They had
not got justice hitherto by reason of these rapid changes, but in this case
there was to be a period of eleven years allowed them. Mr Miller remained
in Leitholm till 8th October 1878, when he accepted Elgin Street, Glasgow,
leaving a membership of 246. The congregation in a few weeks set about
calling Mr John Howatson, but he gave Horndean the preference.
Sixth Minister.— JOHN M. Watson, from Douglas, brother of the
Rev. William Watson, Kirkcudbright Ordained, 9th July 1879. The
membership at the Union was 255, and the congregation gave ^170, with
the manse.
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 277
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR
KILMAURS (Antiburgher)
On 15th March 1739 the Associate Presbytery held a meeting at Kinross, of
which the Caledonian Mercury gives the following account : — " Not a few of
their adherents from all corners attended. The principal inhabitants, with
all the elders except one, 50 heritors, and the body of the people in the town
and parish of Kilmaurs made a secession to them, desiring they might place
a minister over them." The people of Kilmaurs were to have a minister of
the patron's choosing placed over them on 3rd May by orders of the General
Assembly. The Presbytery had upheld their cause before that Court, urging
that there were only 22 heads of families in favour of Mr William Coates,
the presentee, while 173 declared for another ; that of the heritors he had yj
on his side, of whom 25 were non-resident, while against him there were 65,
most of whom belonged to the parish, and of the elders all except one were
in opposition. They also warned the Assembly that the bulk of Kilmaurs
parish was threatening a total separation from the Church, and that certain
Seceding preachers had of late been visiting the bounds. This latter state-
ment related to a Fast which Messrs James Thomson and Thomas Mair had
observed at Mearns on i8th July of the preceding year, when numbers from
the disaffected parish attended. The accession being received, Kilmaurs
became the great gathering-point for the Seceders in Ayrshire.
First Minister. — Uavid Smyton, of whose antecedents we only know
that he studied theology under Mr Wilson of Perth, and got licence on 28th
December 1739. He was called first to Balfron, but Kilmaurs pressed
forward, and was preferred by the Presbytery. Ordained, 13th November
1740. It was arranged that Mr Smyton should preach four Sabbaths in the
year at Fenwick, six at Dairy, and two at Kilwinning. In August 1742 the
minister and session of Kilmaurs obtained the Presbytery's sanction to apply
a legacy of 1000 merks to the building of a place of worship, as " a very pious
use," such as the testator intended. The church was built in the following
year, with sittings for 1000 peopfc. Mr Smyton was married in 1743 to a
daughter of the Rev. Hugh Thomson, a former minister of Kilmaurs parish.
For some reason not very well defined Mr Thomson demitted his charge in
17 1 2, and preached after that to those of his people who chose to hear him.
He died, 13th February 1731, in his sixty-seventh year, and Mr Smyton by
his marriage became proprietor of a very good farm near by.
.\t the lireach in 1747 Mr Smyton sided with the Burgher party, being
opposed to pushing the question to a rupture, but on 2ncl June he appeared
before the Antiburgher Presbytery of Edinburgh with confession of his sinful
steps and compliances, and was received into the stricter connection. How-
ever, a little of the tolerant spirit remained, and Mr Smyton was one of two
who demurred about proceeding against "the separating brethren" in the
way of the higher censures. The state of feeling among his people may have
influenced him in the transition he made ; we find, at least, that at a meeting
of session on 21st May 1747, when twenty-six elders were present, they were
unanimous in condemning the swearing of the Burgess Oath. As time
passed there was a branching off from Kilmaurs by the formation of young
congregations all around, but in 1759 elders were still needed for the town of
Kilmarnock and the parishes of F"enwick, Stewarton, Loudon, Galston, and
Dunlop. In January 1781 the congregation called Mr Alexander Allan to
be colleague to Mr Smyton, but when the call, signed by log male members
278 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
and 41 adherents, came before the Synod Coupar- Angus was preferred.
They were to give the colleague ^40 and a house, and enlarge the stipend
at the old minister's death. They next called Mr Walter Galbraith, a
preacher from Holm of Balfron, but the Synod appointed him to London-
derry, where he was ordained on 17th December 1782, and where he re-
mained till his death, which was reported in May 181 1. But matters of
serious moment now arrested progress in the direction of a second minister.
This brings us to the "Lifter Controversy," which had its headquarters at
Kilmaurs. A number of Antiburgher ministers had abandoned the practice
of lifting the communion elements before the consecration prayer. Professor
Bruce in his " Review " states that Mr Gib was looked on as the first who
introduced this innovation, and he certainly became its advocate out and out.
But it was a system for which Mr Smyton had no tolerance, and he hung on
the flank of Presbytery and Synod, insisting that conformity to the Saviour's
example when He "took bread" before blessing it, ought to be enforced.
Instead of this forbearance was enjoined by the Supreme Court in September
1782. Mr Smyton, however, the repeal of this deed being refused, declined
the Synod's authority at their next meeting, and the majority of his congre-
gation sided with him, declaring that the question was : " Whether the
example of the Great Head of the Church is to be the rule of administration
or not."' Dr Jamieson of Edinburgh, eighteen years afterwards, commented
on this case in the following terms : — " One worthy minister, whose body and
mind were both labouring under the infirmities of age, and who, it was
believed, was spurred on by some contentious persons in his own congrega-
tion, gave in a declinature, and left the Synod."
But a compact minority of Kilmaurs congregation, including two elders,
instead of going along with their minister, kept by the Synod. They were
few in number, and their money difficulties were aggravated by an un-
successful attempt to deprive the other party of the church and manse.
The records of that period bear witness to the heavy demands the action
before the Lords of Session made on their limited resources. An Inter-
locutor was passed in Mr Smyton's favour in July 1785, and it was found
that ^80 was worse than thrown away. The comparative strength of the
two parties within Kilmaurs parish the Old Statistical History some
years later put thus: Lifters, including young and old, 151 ; Non-Lifters,
114. But the cause which Mr Smyton organised was doomed to speedy
extinction at its fountain-head. One paper, of date 20th June 1787, throws
some light on the state of affairs among the Lifters at Kilmaurs. The need
for a colleague to their aged minister must have been growingly felt, and
here was a complaint laid before the Session by a number of the members.
Mr William Robertson had preached to them, to the great satisfaction of his
hearers generally, but one of the elders had slandered him by spreading a
report against his doctrine. " Let the session," they said, " take this affair
into their serious consideration." What form the affair took we cannot tell,
but Mr Robertson was ordained by the Lifter Presbytery to be Mr Smyton's
colleague before the end of the year. The old minister died, i6th March
1789, in the seventy-eighth year of his age and forty-ninth of his ministry.
Of Mr Robertson we have no trace, either of whence he came or whither he
went ; but it is certified that he left ten months after Mr Smyton's death,
and had no successor. Of the people, a considerable number may have
made common cause with the Lifters at Dairy, eight miles distant, where a
congregation had been formed, and a minister ordained. Others may have
amalgamated with their former brethren, and the remainder would be
dispersed.
The after fortunes of the denomination which Mr Smvton founded are
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 279
dealt with under the headings of Dahy and Falkirk (South). The con-
gregation in connection with the Synod set about building a place of worship
for themselves, with 450 sittings, in 1788, and called Mr William M'Caul, whom
the Synod appointed to Aberdeen (Belmont Street). After this disappoint-
ment there were some who hesitated about going on with the building, as
the subscriptions amounted only to ^50, and of this sum ^20 was needed
to meet a debt incurred by the law process. Unless the members from
Stewarton would raise ^40 they did not see how they could proceed, and ^20
was all they would undertake.
Second Minister. — GEORGE Paxton, from Morebattle. Called also to
Craigend and Greenlaw, but the claims of Kilmaurs prevailed. In view of
a fixed ministry the building went on with vigour, and Mr Paxton was
ordained, 12th August 1789, the arrangement being that he should preach
every alternate Sabbath at Stewarton. The meeting-house seems to have
been taken possession of in the beginning of winter, and the schoolroom
which they had occupied till then was abandoned. A congregational
minute of 9th January 1797 records the reading of a paper in which the
minister stated that, unless the people in Stewarton were to attend regularly
at Kilmaurs, he would apply to the Presbytery to have the bond between him
and the congregation severed. It brought up the question whether Kilmaurs
people were able of themselves to furnish him with his full stipend, and
members were to put down what each was willing to give additional. The
result appears to have been favourable, and Stewarton was disjoined, as
will be seen at the proper place.
At the Synod in May 1807 Mr Paxton was elected Professor of Theology.
For two years he had been largely laid aside from ministerial work by illness,
and it was now decided that he should be loosed from his charge, and devote
himself entirely to the duties of the Chair, receiving a salary of ^150. After
this he resided in Edinburgh, where, besides conducting the Divinity class, he
superintended the training of students during their University course. To his
own studies as Professor we owe his " Illustrations of Scripture," published
in three volumes about the year 18 19. But there was one subject on which
Mr Paxton took up strong ground, that of Religious Covenanting, and so
early as 1801 he published a pamphlet on the subject. This, along with
unconquerable aversion to the semblance of forbearance with the swearing
of the Burgess Oath, occasioned his refusal to go into the Union with the
Burgher Synod in 1820. There was the earnest wish to overcome his
scruples, and, if practicable, to retain him as one of the Professors ; but all
efforts to that effect were vain, and at the Synod in April 1821 his resignation
was accepted. He then began to preach in the old Gaelic Chapel in Castle
Wynd, where a goodly number of Anti-Unionists from Nicolson Street and
the Potterrow gathered round him, and were constituted into a Protestor
congregation under his pastoral care, but without any induction ceremony.
In 1822 they removed to the church they had built in Infirmary Street,
with nearly 1000 sittings, and there Professor Paxton's popularity availed to
gather large audiences. On Sabbath, ist April 1832, he was seized with
paralysis in the pulpit when giving out a Psalm, and though he partially
recovered he was never able for regular work again. On 2nd October 1834
the Rev. James Wright, translated from Coupar-Angus, was inducted as
his colleague, and under him the congregation was broken in two. In
1834 Professor Paxton received the degree of D.D. from the University of
St Andrews. He died, 9th April 1837, in the seventy-fifth year of his age
and forty-eighth of his ministry, leaving two sons-in-law ministers of the
United .Secession Church — the Rev. John More, Cairneyhill, and the Rev.
William Young, Berwick-on-Tweed.
28o HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Third Minister.— Tixvw) Robertson, from Kinross (East). Ordained,
2ist June 1810. The membership had grown under Mr Paxton, and it was
now about 200. The stipend at first was ^90, with allowances for com-
munion and Synodical expenses, and in a few years it was raised to ^100.
The congregation about this time revived the process before the Court of
Session for possession of the old property, which Mr Smyton and his people
had retained. In November 1818 an outlay of ^i, 4s. 4d. is entered in the
managers' books "for postages for the law plea since 181 5." The action, as
appears from a paper written by Mr Robertson, cost the litigants on both
sides ^1300, and the property when sold yielded ^300. The congregation
reached its maximum about the year 1824, when it had a membership of
250. It kept not much under this figure till the Morisonian Controversy
arose. Mr Robertson was rigidly Calvinistic, and influences from Kil-
marnock captivated a number of his people, and led them away from under
his ministry. This explains the reduction in the communion roll from 240 to
199 during 1842. x'\fter this he had several attacks oi angina pectoris., and on
1 6th June 1846 a brief illness of half-an-hour brought the end, when he
was in the sixty-first year of his age and thirty-sixth of his ministry. In
1833 Mr Robertson published "Discourses on the Apocalypse," in three
volumes.
Fourth Minister. — Francis Christie, from Edenshead. Ordained,
26th October 1847. The stipend was to be ^100, with manse and garden,
and the call was signed by 170 members and 28 adherents. In December
Mr Christie was married to his predecessor's daughter, the ceremony being
performed by his sister's husband, the Rev. John Eckford of Newbigging.
A ministry of less than four years followed, Mr Christie having died on
30th August 185 1, in the thirty-second year of his age. The congregation
then called the Rev. Dr Jeffrey, who had meanwhile succeeded to the sole
pastorate at Denny, but he declined.
Fifth Minister. — William M. Taylor, M.A., from Kilmarnock (Princes
Street). Mr George Barlas was also put up at the moderation, and had a very
considerable following ; but though the call was only signed by 116 members,
and the stipend was smaller, Mr Taylor gave Kilmaurs the preference over
Sanquhar (South), assigning as his reason the better spirit that congregation
had displayed in devising liberal things. He was ordained, 28th June 1853,
and loosed, 4th September 1855, on accepting a call to Bootle, Liverpool,
where he speedily made his power felt as a preacher. In 1863 he declined
Regent Place, Glasgow, and in 1869 Westbourne Grove, London, but on
8th January 1872 he accepted Broadway Tabernacle, New York, where he
was installed on 9th April. He now received the degree of D.D. from Yale
and Amherst College, United States, and this was followed in 1883 by that
of LL.D. from Princeton University. In March 1892 he had a slight stroke
of paralysis, which was looked on as the evening summons, and he died at
New York, 8th February 1895, in the sixty-sixth year of his age and forty-
second of his ministry. Dr Taylor's published works are too numerous
to be gone over, and most of them are so well known that this is not
required.
Sixth Minister. — Andrew Gr.\y, from Glasgow (Renfield Street), but a
native of Blackford, near Auchterarder. Ordained, 29th April 1857. The
stipend was ^120, with manse and garden. A new church was opened,
26th March 1865, with 472 sittings, and built at a cost of ^1400. A curious
phenomenon, which illustrates the workings of human nature on its ecclesi-
astical side, occurred on that occasion. The pew set apart by the managers
for the minister and his family was taken possession of by one of the
members, who refused to let it go, pleading that it corresponded to the seat
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 281
he had occupied in the old church. The case had even to be referred to the
Presbytery, who upheld the rights of the managers, and the aggressor
indicated that he would vacate the pew, but might seek redress by going
elsewhere. On loth December 1889 ^^r Gray, owing to advancing in-
firmities, was relieved from the active duties of the pastorate.
Sen>enth Minister. — William H. Kellock, M.A., from Hope Park,
Edinburgh, but originally from Thornhill, Dumfriesshire. Ordained, i6th
October 1890. The money arrangements were that Mr Gray should have
^40 a year, and the junior minister ;^ioo from the congregation, with the
manse. On 3rd November 1896 Mr Kellock accepted a call to Whitevale,
Glasgow.
Eighth Minister.—] OHH C. Chalmers, B.D., from Dennyloanhead.
Ordained, 20th April 1897. The stipend from the cong^regation was to be
^100 at first, and they had a new manse nearly ready, which had been
gifted to them by the senior minister, who, though residing in the suburbs of
Glasgow, had their interests close at heart. Mr Gray died at Kilmaurs on
14th February 1899, in the seventy-second year of his age and forty-second
of his ministry. .4t the close of that year the membership was 172, and the
stipend from the people was ^135, and the manse.
KILWINNING (Antiburgher)
Mr Smyton of Kilmaurs had a branch of his congregation in Kilwinning,
nine miles off, and the original arrangement was that he should preach there
two Sabbaths every year. The number of families cannot have been great,
as in the baptismal register of Kilmaurs there are only three entries from
Kilwinning for the two years 1753-4. But on 9th June 1758 a member of
the church residing in Kilwinning presented a petition to the session, which
it was agreed to send up to the Presbytery. Though the purport is not
given it must have been a disjunction that was sought for and obtained.
In 1759, about the time the church was built, the minister of the parish read
a warning from his pulpit against "the schismatic teachers," who were
making frequent intrusions into that corner. This churchman was the
Rev. Alexander Ferguson, one of the first to advocate relinquishing those
doctrines to which he had subscribed at his ordination. It is explained
that he was tainted, like his co-Presbyters in Stevenston and West
Kilbride, with Socinian views, and hence he pleaded that in signing the
Confession of Faith he only took that composition of fallible men in so far
as it was in his judgment agreeable to the Scriptures. These things be-
tokened the need there was in that locality for preachers of another stamp.
In Mr Ferguson's opinion the sermons, Acts, and Testimonies of the Seceders
were all of the Antinomian stamp, "which has a direct tendency to destroy
all the obligations of morality and good works."
First Minister. — William Jameson, from Alloa (now Townhead). In
April 1762 Mr Jameson was missioned for North America, but at the meeting
of Synod in August he gave reasons for non-compliance, which were accepted.
Ordained, 6th April 1763, the members numbering about 112. Two years
before this the congregation had called Mr Thomas Herbertson, whom the
Synod appointed to Dumfries. P>om an unpublished volume of reminis-
cences by Dr Mitchell of Glasgow we have, through Dr Scott's Annals, the
following description of Mr Jameson : — " He had a patriarchal appearance.
His voice was soft and sweet, and unaffectedly musical in its tones. His
I manner was grave and affectionately kind." He died, 23rd November 1792,
the fifty-seventh year of his age and thirtieth of his ministry. His tomb-
282 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
stone bears that he was a man whose mind, manners, and ministrations were
characterised by a simplicity, sweetness and sagacity, and savour of piety
seldom so happily united. Mr Jameson married the younger daughter of
the Rev. William Wilson of Perth, and their son was the Rev. John Jameson
of Methven. The manner of his death was striking. At evening worship in
the family his son, a youth of fifteen, at the father's request, took the prayer,
but when the other suppliants rose the father remained on his knees. Laid
down in bed, "he smiled adieu to his wife and children, and in a few minutes
fell asleep."
Second Minister. — Robert Smith, son of the Rev. Robert Smith of
Auchinleck. Ordained, 15th June 1796. The congregation had been
weakened during this vacancy by the formation of the families in and about
Saltcoats into a distinct congregation. The call they issued soon after to-
Mr John Thomson, whom the Synod appointed to Duns, was signed by 56
male members, and the number of Antiburghers in Kilwinning parish about
this time was put at 222, young and old, and there might be one-half more
from other parishes. Another call, given to Mr David Hog, afterwards of
Rothesay, the Presbytery preferred to one from Ayr, but Mr Hog refused to
accept. The case having been referred to the Synod he underwent rebuke,
and the call was set aside. Mr Smith, who had been brought up in a rigidly
Antiburgher atmosphere, refused to enter into Union with the Burghers in
1820, and took the majority of his congregation with him into the Protestor
Synod. He died, 22nd June 1835, in the sixty-sixth year of his age and
fortieth of his ministry.
Since then the congregation has had four ministers — (i) George Steven-
son, son of the Rev. Dr Stevenson of Ayr, who died on ist June 1859, in the
forty-eighth year of his age and twenty-third of his ministry' ; (2) Andrew
Anderson, translated from Dromore, Ireland, and inducted, 24th July i860.
Demitted his charge, 13th May 1863, and removed to New Zealand. Was
ultimately minister of the Free Church, Cowdenbeath ; (3) Thomas Robert-
son, son of the Rev. John Robertson of Ayr. Ordained, 12th July 1866.
Mr Robertson was the only minister of the Original Secession Synod who-
signed the Anti-Establishment Manifesto in 1885. Having resigned in 1888
he removed to Australia, where he is now minister of Maldon, Victoria.
Four years before this the membership was 90, and the stipend ^135, with a
manse ; (4) Thomas Matthew, formerly of Midholm, was inducted, 1889.
KILWINNING (United Secession)
Mr vSmith of Kilwinning experienced a breach in his congregation through
refusing to go into the Union of 1820. It has been stated, on the authority
of Mr Ronald of Saltcoats, that Mr Smith himself inclined to accede, but the
influence of a bachelor brother who lived with him went the other way, and
prevailed. Accordingly, along with two of his co- Presbyters, Messrs
Stevenson of Ayr and M'Derment of Auchinleck, he took part in the
formation of the Protestor Synod on 29th May 1821. Notwithstanding
this, the Presbytery of Kilmarnock proposed a conference with the three
brethren, which was held on 7th October. The Christian Recorder bears
that they stated their objections to the Union with great candour and
moderation, and were replied to in the same spirit, and that after the meet-
ing had gone on for four hours they all dined together in Christian brother-
hood. The conference was renewed on 5th February 1822, but next day it
was found needful to drop their names from the roll. Dr Bruce of Newmilns
has given the gist of the proceedings. In the Basis of Union religious
covenanting was recognised as a duty in certain circumstances, but Messrs.
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 283
Smith, Stevenson, and M'Derment pleaded that it ought to be made a term
of communion, maintaining "that we are bound by the solemn deeds of our
forefathers, both as members of the same community with them, and as
their lineal descendants." To this it was asked in reply whether Scotsmen
who leave the country are thereby freed from obligation to these solemn
deeds, and whether the Covenants are binding on the whole community,
including Roman Catholics as well as Protestants. The chasm between the
parties was too great to be bridged over by a friendly spirit and the earnest
w ish to see e)'e to eye.
The Union party in Kilwinning congregation, consisting of 40 members
and 30 adherents, now procured sermon from the United Presbytery. This
was on 2nd April 1822, the station being opened on the following Sabbath
by the Rev. George Lawson of Kilmarnock, and in 1824 they built a church,
with 250 sittings, at the modest cost of ^300. The ground flat was let as a
dwelling-house, the rent of which met the interest of ^180 which remained
as debt on the building. The new cause, which was strengthened by several
Burgher families who were disjoined from Saltcoats and Irvine, was not
organised till 15th March 1825. Their first call was addressed to Mr Robert
Allan, the stipend promised being ^80, with a dwelling-house, but Mr Allan
was appointed to Tillicoultry. When they next applied for a moderation
Mr Walker of Mauchline dissented from allowing them to go on, as he
Ijelieved ^80 to be more than 55 persons in the common walks of life could
afford to pay.
First Minister. — James GOWANS, from Perth (North). Ordained, 4th
July 1827. Though Mr Gowans was a man of unblemished character and an
able theologian the choice proved unfortunate. In a well drawn-up historical
sketch of Kilwinning Church the nervous breakdown which he e.xperienced
within a few years is ascribed to the undue strain he gave himself in pre-
paring and mandating two elaborate discourses each Sabbath. Sad de-
lusions took possession, and refused to be dislodged. Being prevailed on to
resign he was loosed from his charge, 9th October 1832. His name was
long on the probationer list, but he ultimately settled down in family life at
Brechin, where he died, 2nd May 1874, in the eighty-third year of his age.
At this stage the congregation called, first, Mr Anthony L. Christie, after-
wards of Otterburn ;* and, second, Mr John M. Thomson, whom the Presby-
tery appointed to Maybole.
' Second Minister.— A.h¥.y..\-^nKK M'Gregor, from Comrie. A number of
the members voted for Mr William Jameson ; but, though he had carried,
Jamaica would have got the preference. Mr M'Gregor was ordained, 22nd
March 1836, the membership being now 73. In the end of that year he
returned 100 as the number, and the stipend was not to go below ^80, but
there was no manse. The mother congregation at this time had 164 com-
municants, and the stipend some years later was ;^ioo. In 1838 Mr
M'(Jregor's people built a new church on a different site at a cost of ^800.
It was opened in November of that year, the collection, which would be con-
sidered large for their numbers and ability, amounting to nearly ^20. In
the Debt Liquidation Report for 1841 there is a notice of the means taken
to get rid of the burden incurred. It amounted to ^520, and the members
* Mr Christie was from Kinghorn. In the early part of 1834 Kilwinning call was
set aside owing to his refusal to accept, and on 22nd January 1835 Mr Christie was
ordained over the recently-formed congregation of Otterburn, in Northumberland,
with a membership of 26. In 1849 there was a communion roll of 190. After a
period of severe distress Mr Christie died, 19th May 1862, in the sixty-second year of
his age and twenty-eighth of his ministry. His son, now the Rev. James
Christie, B. A., of Carlisle, was shortly afterwards ordained as his successor.
284 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
numbered 130, but consisted almost entirely of working people. The original
proposal was to pay off the half of that sum, the Board to grant ^100 if the
people raised ^160. After some delay the object aimed at was reached, and
in 1845 the remaining half was also cleared away, the Board allowing ^125.
In 1867 their first manse was built, at a cost of ^850, of which ^580 was
raised by the people, and ^270 came from the Board. Mr M'Gregor died,
1st March 1875, in the seventy-third year of his age and thirty-ninth of his
ministry.
Third Minister. — Jame.s D. Taylor, from Newington, Edinburgh.
Ordained, 31st August 1875. Mr Taylor possessed much of the evangelistic
spirit of his minister, the Rev. James Robertson of Newington, and under
him the congregation prospered every way. For fourteen years he laboured
in Kilwinning, but on 2nd July 1889 he accepted a call to the neighbouring-
congregation of Saltcoats (Trinity Church). The membership had now risen
to 170, and the stipend from the people to ;^I35.
Fourth Ministcr.^OYi^ FORSYTH, from St Ninians. Ordained, 22nd
April 1890. Declined a call to Cathedral Square, Glasgow, in the beginning
of 1895, but accepted Jedburgh (Boston Church) on 25th July 1898.
Fifth Minister. — GEORGE Stirling, from Bonhill, a brother of the Rev.
T. W. Stirling, Henderson Memorial Church, Glasgow, and the Rev.
J. W. Stirling of Buchanan Station, Kaffraria. Ordained, 2nd May 1899.
The congregation was now self-supporting, and the close of that year gave
a membership of 184, the stipend being ^180, with a manse.
KILMARNOCK, PORTLAND ROAD (Burgher)
This congregation had its remote origin in the settlement of Mr William
Lindsay as minister of the second charge of Kilmarnock parish on 12th July
1764. The call was signed by only three heads of families, and the Presby-
tery refused to transport the presentee from Cumbrae, but the General
Assembly in 1763 ordered them to go on with his induction, and this sen-
tence was confirmed at their meeting in 1764. A newspaper of the day
reported the proceedings as follows : — " We hear from Kilmarnock that on
Thursday last a great disturbance happened there at a meeting of the Pres-
bytery appointed to admit a minister to that parish. The Presbytery was
deforced not only from the church but even from the town, and were obliged
to receive the minister in a public-house in the suburbs." At Ayr Circuit
Court in October ten men were tried for riotous conduct, of whom three were
sentenced to a month's imprisonment, and then to be whipped through the
streets of Ayr. On 27th August a considerable body of parishioners brought
their grievances before the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow, who appointed
one of their number to preach to them the next Sabbath. On 6th November
an adherence to this paper was given in with a petition setting forth their
melancholy situation through being robbed of their Christian privileges.
After this there was a break, but on 26th August 1765 the petitioners repre-
sented that "a considerable number have favourable thoughts of joining the
Secession if they had ordinances dispensed among them in a fixed way."
Supplies, however, continued slight owing to the dearth of preachers, and
discouragements arose from young men not fulfilling their appointments.
As time passed petitions for frequent supply became more urgent, and it was
stated that when they were favoured with preaching the congregation was
numerous. Yet for years the Burgher cause in Kilmarnock was abandoned,
but reviving came.
The new movement dates from i6th June 1772, when supply of sermon
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 285
was again applied for, and kept up with more regularity than before. In
September, there being the hope of permanence, the Presbytery recom-
mended very warmly the different sessions to aid them by collections in the
Imilding of a place of worship. On 9th August 1773 they were congregated,
but other three years passed before there was ripeness for a moderation.
The church was now finished, with sittings for 725, and the stipend was to
be ^50 while the minister remained unmarried, and after that ^60, and a
free house.
First Minister. — Robert Jaffray, from Stirling (now Erskine Church).
Ordained, 23rd August 1775. In the Christian Repository for 1817 it is
stated that " the prosperity of the Secession Church in the west country, and
especially in the neighbourhood of Kilmarnock, was in a great measure
owing to the character, talents, and labours of this eminent servant of
Christ." In the Old Statistical History the number of' Burghers in the
parish, young and old, is given at 540, but there were also larg^e numbers
from the parishes around, such as Fenwick and Galston. About three years
Ijefore his death Mr Jaffray was laid aside from public work by a paralytic
stroke, and, after receiving partial supply from the Presbytery month after
month, the congregation found it needful to arrange for a colleague— Mr
Jaffray to receive ^80, and the young minister ^130, to be raised to ^160
should he become sole pastor. The first call was addressed to Mr John
Law, whom the Synod appointed to Newcastleton. A new election occa-
sioned serious dissension, about seven-eighths voting for Mr Andrew Young,
the minority, however, being strongly opposed. To obviate one of their
objections Mr Young was sent to preach other two Sabbaths ; but matters
remained much as before, and the Synod, owing to want of harmony at
Kilmarnock, appointed him to Lochmaben by a small majority. This de-
cision stirred the spirit of rebellion in the congregation, which was shown by
refusing to ask sermon from the Presbytery, and by petitioning to have the
relation between them and their aged minister dissolved. Happily, the
latter part was fallen from, and on 4th April 18 14 Mr Jaffray died, in the
sixty-seventh year of his age and thirty-ninth of his ministry. The inscription
on his tombstone has a simple but e.xpressive close : " Now with his (iod."
The only production of his pen which we have seen is "An Essay on the
Reasons of Secession from the National Church,"' published in 1805.
In September 1814 a second call, signed by 496 members with 156
adherents, to the Rev. Andrew Young of Lochmaben was brought up to the
Synod ; but the translation was refused, and the Presbytery recommended
."to pay particular attention to the congregation under their present disap-
pointment." But the congregation, instead of waiting to be consoled, held an
Indignation meeting in the following week, when by a vote of 234 to 9 they
resolved to go over to the Old Light Burghers. The members who adhered
to their former connection were only "]"] in number, and between the two
parties an expensive lawsuit was engaged in for possession of the property,
compromise was effected in the end, the majority agreeing to surrender
leir claims on receiving payment of ^265. This was the origin of what is
How Henderson Free Church. Their place of worship was built in 1818 at
'an expense of over ^1000, and the first call they issued was signed by 376
members and 94 adherents. The congregation united with the Church of
Scotland in 1839, and left at the Disruption of 1843.
Second Minister. — George Lawson, who after a struggle of nine years
at Bolton, in Lancashire, was recognised as "transportable." This being
understood three congregations, Kilmarnock, Annan, and Hamilton (now
Avon Street), came up to the Synod contending for his services, but
Kilmarnock, owing to their trying experiences, got the preference. They
286 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
had previously called Mr George Donaldson, a preacher of highly popular
gifts, but he was sent to build up School Wynd, Dundee. Of these Kil-
marnock calls, the earlier was signed by only 84 members, and the other by
130. Mr Lawson was inducted, 14th October 1818, and under his effective
ministry the process of growth went on. In 1821 he was called to succeed
his father at Selkirk, but after stating his sentiments in a pathetic and
powerful speech he was continued at Kilmarnock by the Synod without a
vote. A second attempt followed a year later, but the translation was vetoed
by a great majority, and a third call from Selkirk was withdrawn, there being
no hope of success. In 1836 Mr Lawson reported a membership of 548, of
whom not more than one-tenth were from other parishes, most of these from
Riccarton. Instead of ^120, the sum promised him at first, the stipend was
now ^147, with a dwelling-house, and the debt of ^780, which had been
chiefly incurred by the above-mentioned lawsuit and the erection of a manse,
was in course of gradual liquidation. But now the claims of his father's
and brother's congregation were to outweigh those of Kilmarnock, and on
2nd May 1837 he accepted a call to Selkirk.
Third Minister. — Ja.mes Lind.say, from Coupar-Angus. The particulars
of the moderation are noteworthy. The first vote gave for Mr Lindsay 163, for
Mr William Bruce 1 17, and for Mr David Croorn 72. The second vote gave
for Mr Lindsay 190, and for Mr Bruce 159. Looked at in the light of after
events, Mr Croom might have been expected to have the foremost place.
The call was accepted, and Mr Lindsay was ordained, 17th April 1838. It
was difficult to succeed George Lawson, and the positions to which the un-
successful candidates afterwards attained may also have induced unpleasant
reflections. But, whatever may have been the predisposing cause, dissensions
arose in a year or two. Stung by something said against his efficiency at a
meeting of session Mr Lindsay read a paper from the pulpit on the following
Sabbath intimating that he would remain with those who were satisfied with
him, however few. The Presbytery found there had been imprudences on
both sides, and counselled the cultivation of a Christian spirit, but that did not
prevent 168 members, with seven elders at their head, from applying for their
disjunctions. The wound was too deep to be healed, and on 8th August 1854
Mr Lindsay's resignation was accepted. He took this step, he said, for want
of moral encouragement, and because there were no reasonable prospects of
success. When a congregation was being organised at Springburn
Mr Lindsay's services were secured for a time, but nothing permanent
followed. He died at Rothesay on 15th November 1877, aged seventy-five.
Fourth Minister. — Alexander Hamilton, M.A., from Glasgow (now
Woodlands Road). Having declined Queensferry he was ordained at
Kilmarnock, 6th March 1855. In December 1859 the church in Portland
Road was opened, with sittings for 700, the cost laeing ^2000, and in 1866
the former manse was replaced at a cost of ^800, of which the Board paid
^200. Mr Hamilton was loosed on ist November 1870 on accepting an
invitation to Brighton, where a preaching station had been opened in the
beginning of the year. The congregation was not organised till 13th
February 1871, and on the 21st Mr Hamilton was inducted, the member-
ship being 52. Next year he had the degree of D.D. from Glasgow
University. A church had been bought previously for ^3000, with 450
sittings. But the U.P. cause never took kindly to the soil of Brighton, and
in 1890, though the income for the preceding year was nearly ^800, there
were only 120 communicants. Owing to infirm health Dr Hamilton retired
on 7th April 1896, and, as there was another English Presbyterian Church
in Brighton, the congregation was dissolved.
Fifth Minister. — GEORGE F.. James, from Glasgow (Erskine Church).
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 287
Ordained as colleague to Dr M'Kerrow of Manchester, 12th September 1867,
having declined South Shields (Mile End). Inducted, 9th January 1872.
The congregation had previously called Mr George L. Carstairs, probationer,
but he accepted Berkeley Street, Glasgow. At the present election 78 voted
for Mr James and 68 for Mr George Rae, now of Gourock ; but the call was
accepted, and prosperity followed. The stipend at first was only ^170, with
the manse and whatever might come from the Ferguson Bequest Fund, but
within three years an addition of ^50 was made. In April 1876 when
Mr James was called to Bristo Church, Edinburgh, this stipend had been
raised to ^270 — perhaps to checkmate these overtures. This call was
declined, but a second was accepted on 12th December 1876. The property
was now free of debt, a burden of ^800 having been cleared off three years
before with the aid of ^250 from the Liquidation Board.
Sixth Minister. — JOHN Forrest, from Glasgow (Caledonia Road), who
had been ordained at Hull on nth April 1871. Inducted to Portland Road,
4th July 1877, the stipend to be ^300, with the manse. Mr Forrest had
painful experience of family life on the shadowed side, being three times left a
widower. His second wife, a daughter of the Rev. John S. Hyslop of Leven,
died leaving an infant a fortnight old, which followed its mother to the
grave a fortnight later. His third wife came through to Edinburgh to
attend her sister, Mrs Ritchie Key, in a serious illness, but caught the malady
herself, and became its victim. Trials like these told on Mr Forrest's
health, and after two years of impaired vigour he died, 2nd July 1900, in the
fifty-seventh year of his age and thirtieth of his ministry, leaving three
orphan children. He was the brother of the Rev. A. F. Forrest of Renfield
Street, Glasgow. The membership of Portland Road at this time was about
470, and when the Union came on the church was vacant.
KILMARNOCK, CLERK'S LANE (Antiburgher)
Owing to a wide blank in the Presbytery minutes the date of this congrega-
tion's origin cannot be determined with exactness. We find that the Anti-
burgher Presbytery of Glasgow appointed stray supply to Kilmarnock on
the second Sabbath of 177 1, but up till then, and much later, Kilmaurs, two
and a quarter miles to the north, was the regular place of worship. That
congregation must have drawn a great part of its strength from the neigh-
bouring town, since in 1754 and the two preceding years the list of baptisms
shows 29 in Kilmaurs parish and 27 in Kilmarnock. But the wish would be
to have ordinances for themselves in the market town, and, accordingly, the
first church was built in 1775, though regular supply must have been granted
three years before, as appears from the session of the North Church, Perth,
having given £\ in the earlier part of 1772, though it was not till 1776 that
they were regularly organised. This appears from a protest and appeal which
came before the Synod in May of that year against a deed of Glasgow Pres-
bytery disjoining certain persons in and about Kilmarnock from Kilmaurs
and erecting them into a congregation. In September a committee, which
had met with the parties, reported that, though Kilmarnock were disjoined,
the congregation of Kilmaurs would be numerous enough to support a
minister, and it would not be for the comfort of either side to reverse the
Presbytery's decision. The Synod adopted the report, but expressed dis-
approval of the rashness and bitterness with which the people of Kilmarnock
had pushed the disjunction.
First Minister. — J.^MES ROBERTSON, M.A., from Whitburn. Ordained,
9th September 1777, on a stipend of £^0 or ^50. Three years after this
288 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Kilmarnock had a complaint against Kilmaurs. The mother congregation
was about to have a colleague for their aged minister, and it was alleged
that upwards of 30 persons to the south and east of Kilmarnock, most of
them in full communion, and two of them elders, still kept up their connection
with Kilmaurs. It was thought unseemly that these parties should be
passing another church of the same communion on their way to their own
place of worship, and, whatever might be said in favour of continuing while
Mr Smyton lived, the Presbytery advised the session not to allow them to
subscribe a call to a successor. Mr Robertson's ministry was very success-
ful, and in 1792 the number under his pastoral care within Kilmarnock
bounds alone was put at 480. In 1807 the second church was built, with
sittings for 750, but on 3rd November 181 1 Mr Robertson died, after a
lingering and painful illness, in the sixty-second year of his age and thirty-
fifth of his ministry. In the Courts of the Antiburgher Church he had long
taken a leading part, and was never accustomed to express himself tamely
on any subject that came before them, though in the pulpit his language is
said to have been plain and his similes homely. As a preacher, he is credited
with having rivalled the Rev. James M'Kinlay of the Laigh Kirk, a minister
whose fame lives in the poems of Robert Burns. His large and valuable
library of 3000 volumes, comprising books in many languages, was pur-
chased after his death for ^800, and now forms part of the Hall library of the
U.P. Church.
Second Minister. — JOHN Ritchie, from Ayr (First). Ordained, 23rd
March 181 3, and remained there twelve years. Like his predecessor, Mr
Ritchie took up strong positions, and in contending for what he believed to
be the right he could use vehement language. These qualities, however, may
have prepared him to welcome a change, and hence, at the Synod in Sep-
tember 1825, when two calls he had received came up for disposal, the one
from Queen Anne Street, Dunfermline, the other from Potterrow, Edinburgh,
he expressed the wish to be removed, assigning reasons partly theological
and partly political. Potterrow was preferred, only three votes being given
to continue him in Kilmarnock, and, accordingly, he was transferred to a
sphere where his name came to be known far and wide.
Third Minister. — David Wilson, who had resigned Balbeggie five years
before, and returned to the preachers' list. Inducted to Kilmarnock, 21st
March 1826. A few weeks previously it was announced in the public prints
that Mr Wilson's wife, a daughter of the Rev. Alexander Moncrieff of
Muckart, had died at Newcastle. In this larger congregation Mr Wilson is
spoken of as having faithfully discharged his official duties, but in 1839
misunderstandings arose between him and his people over the proposal to
call a colleague, and 136 members applied for a disjunction. The Synod
hoped differences might be adjusted, as "the appearance of the parties was
calm, prudent, and conciliatory." W^ith this view a committee met at Kil-
marnock along with the Presbyter)'- ; but the end was not gained, and the
connection was severed on 3rd July 1839, the congregation having agreed to
pay Mr Wilson ^100 at once, and grant him a retiring allowance of ^30 a
year. In giving in their report at next Synod the committee expressed
"unfeigned sympathy with Mr Wilson, and deep regret to receive the
demission of a brother with such excellent gifts for the ministry." He now
removed to Edinburgh, where he became a teacher of Hebrew.
Fourth Minister. — James Morison, son of the Rev. Robert Morison of
Bathgate, but best known as the founder of the Evangelical Union Church.
Mr Morison when a preacher had thrown himself heart and soul into
Revival work, as is related in connection with the history of Cabrach con-
gregation and several others in the north. The call from Kilmarnock was
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 289
not harmonious, and the stipend was to be only ^120, with a very plain
manse, but these latter considerations would not go for much with Mr
Morison. On 29th September 1840 the Presbytery met for the ordination,
but the audience was kept waiting for fully an hour. A tract of his on the
question : " What must I do to be saved ? " had been seen by two of the
ministers, and they found statements in it which they feared were incon-
sistent with sound doctrine. Mr Morison, according to the minutes, signified
his regret that some of the expressions used by him had conveyed erroneous
ideas. He also undertook to suppress the further circulation of the tract,
and engaged in future " to seek modes of expressing his sentiments less
liable to be misunderstood." The difficulty was thus got over, and the
service went on. But, says Dr Adamson in his Life of Principal Morison,
" The solemn act of ordination was performed without that deep spiritual
feeling which alone renders it of any value." It is something to possess the
gift of discerning spirits and searching the bosoms of other people, especi-
ally across a distance of well-nigh sixty years.
At a meeting of Presbytery five weeks afterwards one of the members com-
plained that the tract which was to be suppressed had got into full circulation,
and after some committee workings the whole business was taken up in open
Court on 2nd March 1841. The paper brought in contained charges of doc-
trinal error, eight in number, and there was also disingenuous conduct set
forth in three branches. We can well believe there was enough of the old
Athenian spirit in Kilmarnock to crowd the building twice over. The pro-
ceedings, broken by an interval, went on till after midnight, and then it was
decided by a vote of 20 to 5 that Mr Morison be suspended from the office
of the ministry and the fellowship of the Church. The other motion was to
meet next day for a free and friendly conference with the accused before
issuing the case, a proposal the adoption of which it is all but certain would
have done no good. Mr Morison now intimated an appeal to the Synod,
and, of course, continued preaching on the same as before, and to crowded
audiences. The discussions in the Synod were of a like complexion with
those in the Presbytery, and in the end all other motions were withdrawn in
favour of one proposed by Dr Heugh — to dismiss the appeal, continue the sus-
pension, and appoint a committee to deal with Mr Morison and report. On
the following morning Mr Morison met with the committee, but they had to
report that, after a protracted and friendly conversation with him of nearly
three hours, they did not succeed in producing any change in his sentiments.
This was on Saturday, and at the adjourned meeting on Monday he did not
compear, but on Wednesday they had a reply from him to a letter of theirs,
in which he intimated that he adhered unswervingly to his former opinions,
and had on the intervening Sabbath disregarded the sentence of suspension.
It ended with the Synod declaring Mr Morison no longer connected with the
United Secession Church. The second week was chiefly occupied with the
case of Mr Walker of Comrie, which covered similar ground, but had a
happier ending. It is curious to read now in Dr Heugh's Correspondence
of that date the following extract :— "Our chief work has been with (Mori-
son) and (Walker), two good but dogmatic and erring young men, the former
further wrong than the latter, and less willing to be put right."
The severance being now complete, and the majority retaining the
property, Mr Morison occupied without disturbance the pulpit of Clerk's
Lane. In the vestry of that church the Evangelical Union was formed on
18th May 1843, and it was agreed to open without delay a Theological
Academy at Kilmarnock under Mr Morison's superintendence. In 1851 he
accepted an invitation to succeed his friend and former fellow-student, the
Rev. John Guthrie, in the pastorate of Dundas Street Church, Glasgow.
II. T
290 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
There his influence grew and spread, alike as a preacher, an author, and the
acknowledged head of an ecclesiastical denomination. His list of books is
too long to go over, but we may say that in his Exposition of Romans ix. he
attempts with great skill and enormous labour "to storm the supposed
Biblical stronghold of Calvinism." His Commentaries, however, on
Matthew (1870) and Mark (1873) ^^^ the property of the Church universal.
In 1862 Mr Morison received the degree of D.D. from Michigan College,
United States, and this was crowned in 1882 by a like honour from Glasgow
University. He died, 13th November 1893, in the seventy-seventh year of
his age and fifty-fourth of his ministry. His Life, by Dr William Adamson,
published in 1898, is eminently companionable, though at the controversial
period the author gives us rather much of moral heroism in conflict with
meaner elements at every turn and on every side.
In their altered position Clerk's Lane congregation twice sent the half-
year's retiring allowance to Mr Wilson, their former minister, and then pay-
ment ceased. The Presbytery, they said, by cutting off the congregation
from their connection, " have broken every claim which they or Mr Wilson
could have upon them," though Mr Wilson had nothing to do with the pro-
ceedings complained of The Synod had to make amends to the injured
party so far by granting him ^20 a year, and this continued to the end. He
died at Glasgow, i6th November 1853, in the seventy-second year of his age
and forty-ninth of his ministerial life. Mr Morison was succeeded in Clerk's
Lane by the Rev. William Bathgate, who removed along with the bulk of
his people to a new church in 1878. A minority of more than 100, who kept
by the old walls, obtained the Rev. Robert Hislop for their minister, and his
place was taken in 1880 by the Rev. James Forrest. But Mr Forrest got
restless even in the atmosphere of the Evangelical Union, and the process
of development went on till in 1 887 he took most of the congregation with
him into the ranks of Unitariai;iism. Clerk's Lane now began to be known
as a " Free Christian Church."
In biographical notices of Dr Morison he is generally represented as
having been deposed by the Secession Synod for heresy, and Dr Adamson
is of opinion that this is what exclusion from their ecclesiastical connection
was meant for. It would be worth while to know what form the sentence in
Dr Adamson's opinion ought to have taken, if there was to be a sentence at
all. The parting of the ways had been reached, differences on important
doctrinal points had emerged, further attempts to understand each other Mr
Morison believed to be futile, and the case was wound up by declaring Mr
Morison to be no longer connected with the United Secession Church.
Through the report of a jubilee presentation to an elder of Camphill U.P.
Church, Glasgow, in 1892 some statements about Mr Morison's case have
got currency which require correction. The Synod's decision, for example,
is said to have been arrived at " after a trial which lasted eleven days." The
facts are these : — Mr Morison's appeal was taken up after Tuesday was so far
advanced. The reading of long papers and the hearing of parties occupied
that day, the first sederunt on Wednesday, and all Thursday. His own
speech occupied six hours in the delivery. On Friday members of Court
spoke their opinions, and the decision was arrived at that evening, the case
having continued nearly three and a half days in all. " I saw him," said the
narrator, " deposed from the ofiice of the ministry at 3 A.M., in a scene of the
greatest solemnity." The motion agreed to, as we have stated, was simply to
dismiss the appeal, confirm the sentence of the Presbytery, and appoint a
committee to deal with Mr Morison and report. There was nothing
analogous in this to the judge putting on the black cap and pronouncing for
doom, and the newspaper report bears that the business closed at twelve
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 291
o'clock. As for the words said to have been spoken by Mr Morison with a
tremulous voice in reply to the Moderator's announccaunt of the Synod's
verdict, there is no trace of them in the brief speech as given by the re-
porters. It illustrates the e.\tent to which memory will distort plain facts
when it works after an interval of fifty years, and how little reliance can
sometimes be placed even on testimony at first hand.
KILMARNOCK, KING STREET (Relief)
On 19th September 1799 Mr John Moodie, son of the former minister, was
ordained to the charge of Riccarton parish, greatly to the dissatisfaction ot
the people generally. He was reckoned a good man, but with none of his
father's gifts as a preacher. Accordingly, on 6th November following, a
petition for sermon came up from Riccarton to the Relief Presbytery of
Glasgow, and Mr M'Laren of Kilbarchan was appointed to preach there on
Sabbath week. For some time services were kept up in a sparse way, a
barnyard being the meeting-place, and probably, at least in winter, the barn
itself. A church was built on a cheap scale, most of the woodwork, including
the pulpit, being obtained from the Laigh parish church, which was taken
down that year to make way for another.
First Minister. — Daniel M'Naught, translated from Dumbarton (now
Bridgend), where he had laboured seven years. Inducted at Riccarton, i8th
March 1802, but: though it is recorded that he had a bond for his stipend
the amount is not given. With the Presbytery's permission he at once set
about an election of elders, of whom seven were ordained on 3rd July. On
1st November 1808 Mr M'Naught accepted a call to Biggar. He is de-
scribed as a man of ability, btit in his first two charges he had much to
struggle with. When he left Riccarton the cause was in a depressed state,
and after a vacancy of a year the people petitioned to have the Rev. John
Lawson, formerly of Dumfries, located among them for six months. This
was agreed to, and after that period had expired he continued to preach
occasionally at Riccarton for some months longer. After he left steps were
taken to provide funds for the securing of a fixed ministry, the ordinary
revenue not being sufficient for that purpose. A society designed to include
the whole congregation was formed, the male members to contribute two-
pence, and the females one penny per Week. They numbered 170, and the
sum raised should have amounted at least to £,^T. The way was now clear
for a moderation.
Second Minister. — James Kirkwood, M.A., son of the Rev. John Kirk-
wood, Strathaven. Ordained, 25th July 1811, the stipend to be ;^ioo, with
house, garden, and ^10 for sacramental expenses. Under Mr Kirkwood
there could not fail to be rapid progress, and in 181 5 the congregation
removed to the town of Kilmarnock, on the other side of the river, the
materials of the old church being utilised for the erection of the new build-
ing. It cost ^800, and the outlay was partly provided for on the proprietor
system. Those who subscribed £,\ and upwards were 96 in number,
and as ^400 was required before commencing operations their contribu-
tions must have averaged at least £,\ each. These parties had their choice
of sittings, coming down the list in order, and to them afterwards belonged
the fixing of the minister's stipend, and the seat rents. In 1818 Mr Kirk-
wood declined an invitation to succeed his father at Strathaven, but on 2nd
December of that year he accepted St James' Place, Edinburgh.
Third Minister. — William Limont, from Hutchesontown, Glasgow.
Ordained, 3rd May 1820. The stipend was to be ^160, but the congrega-
292 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
tion empowered the managers to pay other ;^io. On 3rd July 1821 Mr
Limont accepted a call to College Street, Edinburgh. An increase of
stipend to ^200 had been promised, but that did not detain him in Kil-
marnock.
Fourth Minister. — Alexander Harvey, from Lanark. Ordained,
22nd August 1822, after declining a call to Dundee (now Dudhope Road).
The stipend was ^160 in all, which gradually rose to ^220. On New
Year's Day 1828 Mr Harvey accepted a call to Calton, Glasgow, a
congregation which needed building up, and in which he made himself
a name.
Fifth Minister. — WiLLlAM M'DoUGALL, from Campbeltown, where he
had been five years. Inducted, 26th August 1828. The stipend was ^210,
with house rent. Mr M'Dougall's powers of pulpit oratory were then at
their best, and on 14th April a new church on the same site was opened,
with 1493 sittings, all of which were already let. The cost was ^4000, and
the building was described as the first dissenting church in Scotland which
had a bell, and the second which had a steeple. In 1836 the communicants
were put at 980, of whom 62 were from Riccarton, and an equal number in
all from Craigie, Symington, and Kilmaurs. There was a debt of ^3600 on
the property. On ist March 1842 Mr M'Dougall accepted Thread Street,
Paisley, to succeed Professor Thomson as minister there. Everything
betokens that Kilmarnock congregation had not kept up the full swell of
prosperity to the close. The stipend, for one thing, was now fixed at ^180.
Sixth Minister. — William Ramage, from Roberton. Having declined
Cupar (Provost Wynd) he was ordained, 26th October 1842, the call being-
signed by 470 members and 140 seat-holders. In 1846 the congregation
decided by 365 votes against 118 that '"feeling was not ripe for Union
between the Relief and Secession Churches,"" but next year they intimated
their unanimous approval. On 22nd April 1847 Mr Ramage accepted East
Campbell Street, Glasgow.
Seventh Minister. — John Symington, translated from Bread Street,
Edinburgh, after two years of successful labour. At the moderation 234
voted for Mr Symington and 190 for Mr Matthew Dickie, probationer,
afterwards of Cumnock. Inducted, 14th December 1847. In 1851 the debt
on the property had its remaining balance cleared off. In 187 1 Mr Sym-
ington became utterly enfeebled, and on 12th December a moderation for
a colleague was granted, the senior minister to have ^150 of stipend, and
the junior ^200, but on the 15th he died, in the seventy-first year of his age
and twenty-ninth of his ministry.
Eighth Minister. — Alexander Brown, from Longridge. Ordained,
19th March 1872. The call was signed by 503 members and 131 adherents.
In 1876 Mr Brown declined a call to Cambuslang, but on 22nd May 1877 he
accepted North Leith, to be colleague to Dr Harper.
Ninth Minister. — Thomas Whitelaw, M.A., translated from Cathedral
Street, Glasgow, where he had been ten and a half years. Inducted, 3rd
January 1878. At the close of the following year King Street had a mem-
bership of 780, and the stipend was ^450. In 1883 Mr Whitelaw published
a volume, entitled " How is the Divinity of Jesus depicted in the Gospels
and Epistles?" and he received the degree of D.D. from St Andrews
University in time to enter the letters on the title-page. Of the works
mentioned here, this is the one which, in our opinion, best brings out
where Dr Whitelaw's strength lies. In 1880 he had published his "Pulpit
Commentary on Genesis," and this was followed by " The Patriarchal
Times" in 1887, "The Gospel of St John " in 1888, and "The Preacher's
Commentary on Acts" in 1896. His studies in this line have prepared him
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 293
all the better for dealing with the Higher Criticism. The membership of
King Street Church at the time of the Union was about 820, and the stipend
kept as before.
KILMARNOCK, PRINCES STREET (United Secession)
When Mr James Morison was ordained to the ministry of Clerk's Lane
congregation there was a want of harmony. At the moderation he was
carried over Mr James Robertson, afterwards of Newington, by 67 votes to
27, but the leaders of the minority contrived to let him know that about 140
members and 50 adherents were far from satisfied. Of the seven elders,
three signed this communication, while the other four were decidedly in his
favour. There were thus conflicting elements at work in the church already,
and when Mr Morison's Case came before the Presbytery on 2nd March
1 84 1 a memorial was read from 41 members and 9 adherents complaining
of the strange doctrines preached by their minister, and asking relief from
their trying situation. This party was granted sermon at once, and met at
first for Sabbath services in the hall of the George Inn. When Mr Morison
returned from Glasgow, with the Presbytery's sentence of suspension con-
firmed by the Synod, he called a meeting of session, at which four of the
members voted to disregard the edict of the Supreme Court, but against this
decision the other two who were present protested. At this point there was
the formal parting asunder. The minority were said to number about 100.
The building of a church had now to be proceeded with, as the property in
Clerk's Lane went with the majority. But, though few in number, the party
would be zealous, and the appeal to sister congregations for aid would in
some cases be warmly responded to. The church, with sittings for 750, was
finished in 1842, and the only aid they received from central funds, so far as
we can discover, was in May of that year, when the Synod granted them ^20.
First Minister. — David T. Jamieson, called from Buslay, where he had
founded the congregation and laboured for six years. Inducted, 2nd
November 1842. The call was signed by only 84 members, but there was
steady increase under Mr Jamieson. In 1858 he published " Scenes of Youth
Revisited," a poem marked by pleasing sentiment and rapid, graceful
versification. On iith July 1870 Mr Jamieson, being permanently in-
capacitated, resigned on an annuity of ^70 from the congregation, and his
demission was accepted on iith October. He died, 5th September 1875,
aged sixty-seven, having suffered much from chronic bronchitis in his
closing years. A tablet to his memory in Princes Street Church speaks of
him as having been "an able, esteemed, and successful minister of Jesus
Christ." Six months after Mr Jamieson retired the congregation called Mr
W. R. Inglis, now of Kelso (East), but the Rev. G. H. Dick, then of Stock-
bridge, had a large following, and the minority, headed by half the elders
and managers, did not acquiesce. The Presbytery sustained the call, but
they notified to Mr Inglis how matters stood, and he decided not to accept.
This was followed by a comfortable settlement in due time.
Second Minister. — James L. Murray, from Aberdeen (St Nicholas').
Called also to Loanends, Ireland, and Tranent. Ordained, 5th March 1872.
The call was signed by 183 members, and the stipend was ^165, besides the
;^7o paid to the former minister. In two years ^30 was added in name of
house rent, and in 1879 there was a membership of 465. The stipend was
^300, and a recently built manse besides. On loth April 1883 Mr Murray
accepted a call to Dennistoun, Glasgow, to be colleague to the Rev. Walter
Roberts, but in reality to the sole pastorate.
294 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Third Minister. — Robert J. Drummond, B.D., son of the Rev. Dr
Drummond, Belhaven, Glasgow. Ordained, 30th October 1883, and loosed,
7th October 1890, on accepting a call to Lothian Road, Edinburgh, to be
colleague to Dr Reid. There was a membership now of 649, and the funds
afforded a stipend of ^350.
Fourth Minister. — Robert Law, B.D., from Mearns, where he had
been ordained six years before. Inducted, 26th May 1891, and loosed, 15th
June 1897, on accepting a call to Bridge of Allan, to succeed the Rev. G. A.
Johnston Ross as colleague to the Rev. James Muir. During Mr Law's
ministry there had been further increase, the communion roll now reaching
700.
Fifth Minister. — JOSEPH HiBBS, M.A., from Leslie (West), after a
ministry of four years. Inducted, 25th January 1898. At the close of the
following year Princes Street Church had a membership of 732, and the
stipend was .£438, and a manse.
KILMARNOCK, HOLM (United Presbyterian)
In 1854 the Rev. James Banks, who had retired from the ministry of Canal
Street, Paisley, five years before in broken health, intimated to the Pres-
bytery of Kilmarnock that he was acting as a missionary in the town.
A man of great devotedness, and a born evangelist, this was the element
in which he lived and moved, and Kilmarnock was the place in which he
had been similarly engaged when a student. On 6th December 1862 the
fruit of his labours appeared in a petition from 56 persons to be formed into
a congregation in the mission district known as Holm of Riccarton. But
difficulties having arisen in connection with the proposed transference of
the property, this led to the petition being withdrawn and further pro-
cedure arrested. But Mr Banks was not the man to have his energies tied
down by Church forms, and accordingly in June following he congregated
the people on his own responsibility. In October the Presbytery took into
consideration a letter received from him at a former meeting intimating his
withdrawal from the fellowship of the U.P. Church, and, being present, he
was asked if he thought he had done wrong in taking matters into his own
hands ; but he answered that, if he were in the same circumstances, he
might do the same thing again. This led to the Presbytery declaring him
out of connection.
There was a pause now, but on 13th June 1865 Mr Banks came forward,
acknowledging his error, and expressing an earnest wish to be restored.
His congregation had already applied to be received into fellowship, and,
knowing his high-toned character, the Presbytery had no difficulty in
granting his request. On nth July minister and people were taken under
the inspection of the Presbytery, and, the pastoral tie being regarded as
already formed, Mr Banks received the right hand of fellowship, and took
his seat as a member of Court. At this time there were Ti names on the
communion roll, and an average attendance of about 250, "nearly all poor,
and most of them very poor." For office-bearers they had three elders and
three deacons, and, as Mr Banks was finding himself unable to discharge
the duties of pastor and missionary, the people were desirous to obtain a
suitable colleague for him. The hall in which they met accommodated 250,
and had been built at a cost of ^500. It was free of debt, a grant having
been obtained from the Ferguson Bequest Fund, and friends throughout the
Church, who sympathised with evangelistic work of the kind, lending their
aid — John Henderson, Esq. of Park, being a large contributor. The property
was held by Mr Banks, but he intended to make it over to the congregation.
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 295
as was done in due time. In April 1866 Mr Samuel Henderson, a preacher
of experience in Home Mission work, entered on a yeai-'s location at Holm,
but withdrew at the expiry of that time.* In making further arrangements
the people were desirous that Mr Banks, though retiring from active labour,
should retain the status of senior minister, but his demission was accepted
on nth February 1868. He had already been received as an annuitant on
the Aged and Infirm Ministers' Fund. After remaining in his old sphere of
labour for a time he removed to Saltcoats, where he officiated as an elder in
his native congregation (now Trinity), and in that capacity appeared in
Edinburgh, on at least one occasion, as a member of Synod, his tall, vener-
able form attracting attention. He died, 29th August 1890, in his eighty-
eighth year.
After Mr Banks retired the station was for some time wrought by Mr
David F. Mitchell, a senior student, afterwards of Kirkcowan, but he
resigned in the early part of 1872 on receiving licence. The grant of
^50 from the Home Mission Fund was still continued, and in view of a
settled ministry the people would try to raise j^^TJ, 10s. of stipend, a sum
which proved too much for them. This, with ^20 from the Ferguson Fund
and a Supplement of ^60, would make ;^I57, los., which was close on the
minimum. They now called Mr Douglas K. Auchterlonie, who declined,
and was settled next year at Craigdam.
Second Minister. — William R. Inglis, son of the Rev. John Inglis,
Blackswell, Hamilton. The call was signed by 75 members and 68 ad-
herents, and Mr Inglis had this in his favour that he was the choice of a
majority in Princes Street Church the year before. Ordained, 9th September
1873, 3.nd loosed, 9th February 1875, on accepting a call to Kelso, to be
colleague to the Rev. James Jarvie. The congregation now called the Rev.
James R. Cruickshanks, formerly of Westray, and afterwards of St RoUox,
Glasgow. As Mr Cruickshanks had only supplied one Sabbath the question
was raised whether the Revs, on the probationer list did not come under
the same rule as other preachers, who required to be heard two Sabbaths to
be made eligible. The Presbytery, however, sustained the call, but it was
declined.
Third Minister.— ^IhUXU CUTHBERTSON, from Abbey Close, Paisley.
Ordained at Portadown, in Ireland, on 15th July 1868, after declining Shapin-
shay, in Orkney, which might have proved a more comfortable place. After
holding on for nearly six years he resigned on 2nd June 1874, and returned
to the probationer list. Inducted to Holm, 14th September 1875, the
membership being only a little over 70, and the stipend from the people
;^72, los. In 1877 the minds of minister and congregation were turned
towards the erection of a church on a different site, a proposal to which
Mr Banks was much opposed, and after vacillating for three years they
resolved to pull down their hall, and build on the old site. The new church
was opened, ist June 1881, with sittings for nearly 500. The Board made
a grant of ^300, and the entire cost was ^1600. The membership was now
over 90, but with this additional burden to face the stipend had to remain as
before. Mr Cuthbertson died, 25th October 1891, in the fifty-fourth year of
his age and twenty-fourth of his ministry. There was now a membership of
140, and Mr Cuthbertson had the satisfaction of seeing the commodious
church free of debt before the end came.
Fourth Minister. — JOHN Cairns, from Duns (South). Ordained, 22nd
* Mr Henderson was from Barrhead congregation. Soon after leaving Kilmar-
nock he contracted serious illness, when fulfilling an appointment in Ireland, and
died, 23rd September 1867, in his thirty-fifth year.
296 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
March 1892. Before the close of the year the communion roll had risen to
200. In 1895 the congregation sustained harm by the withdrawal of six
elders, the entire session except two. There had been disagreement over
financial matters, and at a congregational meeting a vote of No confidence
in the above parties was carried almost unanimously, a course of action
rather too common when the ecclesiastical atmosphere gets into an electric
state. The Presbytery held that these men were in the right when the
quarrel began, but, as they offered to withdraw to save further trouble, the
offer was turned to account, and the matter took end. In the Returns for
that year there was a decline of 37 in the membership, and the ground lost
at that time has never been quite regained. At the close of 1899 the
numbers were 219, and the stipend from the people was .;^i5o.
NEWMILNS (Antiburgher)
On 15th June 1767 a petition from 37 persons in the parish of Loudoun was
laid before the Antiburgher Presbytery of Glasgow. It bore that they were
grieved and deeply dissatisfied with the arbitrary measures adopted by the
National Church, and owing to "their clamant situation" they craved
supply of sermon, and wished to have converse with some of the ministers.
Though this language implies that the parties were acceding to the Seces-
sion for the first time they were told that, as they were within the bounds
of Kilmaurs, they would have to send up the paper through the session of
that congregation. At next meeting, the application being not only trans-
mitted but concurred in, Mr Smyton was appointed to preach at Newmilns
on the third Sabbath of July. Services followed at the rate of one Sabbath
a month, or thereby, for several years, but they were held at Darvel, and
not at Newmilns. In 1773 the first church was built, with sittings for 400.
It is described as having been a long, barn-shaped house, with a wooden
stair at each end leading to the galleries.
First Minister. — James Greig, from Ceres (West). In 1768 Mr Greig
was taken on trials for licence in view of being sent as a missionary to
Pennsylvania, but he held back, and after a time got quit of the engage-
ment. Ordained at Newmilns, 30th November 1773. In the interim the
Synod had seen reason to admonish him "to keep up his dignity as a
preacher" ; but nothing of the kind was ever required again, and in a brief
biographical notice which appeared in the Christian Magazine it is stated
that, though his manner of address in the pulpit was not very agreeable, the
congregation prospered under his ministrations, and from a mere handful
"grew into a multitude of people." He died, 19th June 1813, in the seventy-
sixth year of his age and fortieth of his ministry. The congregation had
called Mr James Reid fifteen months before this to be his colleague, and
the Synod had preferred Newmilns to Crieff by a majority of two, but Mr
Reid firmly refused submission to the appointment, and was afterwards
ordained at Sanquhar.
Second Minister. — John Bruce, M.A., from Glasgow (now Cathedral
Square), a nephew of Professor Bruce of Whitburn. Ordained, ist May
1 8 16. There was a strong, well-compacted session of twelve elders at
this time. In 1833 the present church was built, with sittings for 780, and
some years afterwards the membership was given at 470. In 1835 Mr
Bruce published two discourses bearing on the Voluntary Controversy,
and in 1847 he received the degree of D.D. from Washington College, Penn-
sylvania. In 1862 a colleague had to be arranged for, who was to receive
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 297
^130 of stipend, and Dr Bruce ^100, with the manse, it being understood
that the work would be equally divided between the two ministers.
Third Minister.— X^DKKW ALSTON, from Strathaven (East). Called
previously to Gardenstown, and ordained at Newmilns, 28th April 1863.
At the moderation a goodly number voted for Mr George Graham,* but
the call was signed by 227 members. On 17th July 1865 Dr Bruce's jubilee
was celebrated, when he was presented with ^550 and a marble timepiece.
His kinsman, Dr W. Bruce Robertson of Irvine, preached, and the pre-
sentation was made by David M 'Cowan, Esq., Glasgow, son-in-law of a
departed co-Presbyter, the Rev. John Walker of Mauchline. For other
six years Dr Bruce took his share of regular ministerial work ; but on the
last Sabbath of August 1871 he appeared in the pulpit for the last time,
when he discoursed from the text with the closing words : " Enter thou
into the Joy of thy Lord." That week he had a severe stroke of paralysis,
and he died, 15th April 1872, in the eighty-first year of his age and fifty-
sixth of his ministry. Dr Bruce was married to a daughter of Dr Ferrier
of Paisley, and he had four sons-in-law in the ministry of the U.P. Church —
the Rev. Alexander Millar of Huntly ; the Rev. William Cochrane, formerly
of Muckart ; the Rev. James Martin, Carronhall, Jamaica ; and his colleague
at Newmilns. His son Thomas in 1862, when a probationer, appeared as
the author of a volume, entitled " Man's Part in the Chorus of Creation,"
which was much commended at the time. He afterwards emigrated to
New Zealand, where he still liv-es, and is engaged in farming. Another
son was preparing for the ministry, but he died after finishing his second
session at the University. In 1873 ^ ^^^^ of Dr Bruce's sermons and com-
munion addresses were published, with an Autobiography, brief but of much
interest, prefixed.
Mr Alston being now sole pastor his stipend was raised to .^175, with
the manse, but before the end of the year he was called to Garscube Road,
Glasgow (now St George's Road). He remained in Newmilns, however,
other four years, and then accepted a call to Cathcart Road (now Govan-
hill) on I2th December 1876. When the next moderation was applied for
the people came up spontaneously to ;^200, and the manse, a figure which
the Presbytery had named without effect years before.
Fourth Minister. — John T. Burton, M.A., from Lesmahagow. Or-
dained, 3rd July 1877, the call being signed by 303 members and 91
adherents. Six years after this Mr Burton took the foremost part in
originating Darvel congregation, though it was to cut off a large branch
from his own church, and accordingly we find the membership of New-
milns reduced from 440 members in 1883 to 320 in 1884. On loth
February 1885 Mr Burton accepted Nicolson Street, Edinburgh.
Fifth Minister. — James W. D.\lgleish, M.A., from Gorebridge. Or-
dained, 1st September 1885. Since then the losses of the preceding year
have been much made up for, so that in December 1899 there was a
membership of 417, and the stipend since 1890 has been .1^250, besides
the manse.
* George Graham was from Abbey Close, Paisley. He and his younger brother,
James, afterwards of Broughty F'erry, were licensed together by Paisley Presbytery in
January i86i. He had Newmilns for one of his vacancies the last quarter of 1862,
and his name never appeared on the preachers' list again. He caught a severe cold
in the North, which brought his work to an end. He was henceforth a confirmed
invalid, spending his winters generally in the south of France. But the ailment pre-
vailed at last. He died at Edinburgh, 12th December 1870, in the thirty-eighth year
of his age. He was a brother of Professor Graham of the English Presbyterian Col-
lege, London.
298 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
IRVINE (Relief)
This congregation comes up full formed in the earliest minutes of Glasgow
Relief Presbytery. On 1 8th August 1773 it is entered that they petitioned
for sermon ; but there is nothing to indicate that this was the first time, and
Dr Struthers puts the origin back to 1771. The Rev. John Craig, then of
Newlands, gave the history of the congregation with superabounding details
in the Christia7t Journal for 1842 ; but, though he speaks of the parish
minister as not generally acceptable, he had been twenty years in Irvine
at this time, and there was no special grievance to prompt a disruption.
Still, Relief principles must have been embraced by a considerable number
of the parishioners, and they had a place of worship, with 700 sittings, ready
to be taken possession of in 1773. In April 1775 they invited the Rev.
Thomas Monteith of Alnwick, who had been previously in the Relief Church,
Duns, to become their minister, but after some negotiations with the
Presbytery he declined acceptance.
First Minister. — James Jack, from the Burgher Church, Dunblane.
Ordained, 29th April 1777. In July he gave in to the Presbytery a list of
persons to serve as elders, and in September he reported their ordination.
Success attended the labours of their first minister, but he died on 20th
January 1782, in the thirty-third year of his age and fifth of his ministry. It
was fever, and the announcement that all was over was made to the congrega-
tion by his substitute in the forenoon of the communion Sabbath. A time-
worn tombstone, which has probably disappeared long ere now, used to reveal
dimly where he was buried. His ministry, though brief, gave the Relief
cause a standing in Irvine, which it retained through good and through
bad report.
Second Minister. — Hugh White, whose name occurs in the list of
students who joined the Burgher Hall in 1770. According to Dr Thomson
of Paisley he was a native of St Ninians,* and, if so, he was probably
brought up in Erskine Church, Stirling. But it was as a licentiate of the
Established Church that he was recommended by Mr Bell of Glasgow for
admission to the Relief, and having preached before Glasgow Presbytery
he was unanimously received as one of their probationers. A call to Irvine
followed, where he was ordained, 3rd July 1782. Mr White's history now
merges in that of the Buchanites, over which we cannot afiford to linger.
Under the tuition of Elspeth Buchan, who became an inmate of his dwelling,
Mr White proved himself an apt scholar, and he lost no time in giving his
people the benefit. On 30th June 1783 several members of his congregation
tabled a petition and complaint against their minister on the score of
fantastic doctrine. The Presbytery met on 8th July to take up the case.
On two points they found him decidedly heretical. He boldly maintained
that there is sin neither in the believer's soul nor in his body, though sin
cleaves unto both, and being asked by the Moderator if the bodies of Old
Testament saints were temples of the Holy Ghost, as well as those of the
New, he replied that he believed they were not. He was now suspended
from office, and the church pronounced vacant. On 8th October the
Presbytery met to hear his defences, a libel having been previously put
into his hands. Mr White appeared, but he had no written answers pre-
pared, the reason he assigned being that he was commanded to take no
thought what he should say. Evidence that he had preached and baptised
since his suspension was then adduced, and after he had " vindicated in the
strongest manner both the errors and the contumacy laid to his charge"
it was carried unanimously to depose him from the office of the ministry.
* Christian Journal {ox 1835, p. 9.
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 299
They wished to intimate the sentence to him, but, though called "three
times at the most patent door," he had gone beyond their reach. After the
Buchanite delusion collapsed he went to America ; but at this point he
passes from our view, as he had previously passed from the view of the
Presbytery.
Third Minister. — PETER ROBERTSON, from the Cameronian Church,
Calton, Glasgow. Ordained, 2nd November 1784. He accepted the call
on the express understanding that he would not require "to exercise" on
Sabbath evenings, or, in other words, conduct a third service. In 1789 the
old church was taken down, and another, with 938 sittings, built in its place.
A few years after this the Old Statistical History makes the number of adult
parishioners belonging to the Relief meeting-house about 240, and the
stipend ^70. If this calculation is correct the communion roll must have
been largely made up from other parishes. Mr Robertson died, 30th
January 1819, in the sixty-seventh year of his age and thirty-fifth of his
ministry. Dr Craig has described him as a preacher of free and sovereign
grace, often put in a highly evangelical form. His defect, he adds, con-
sisted in this, that he confined himself almost exclusively to didactic discus-
sions on doctrinal points, and, drawing on early recollections, he adds that
during his latter years "he became very monotonous, as if each discourse
had just been the reconstruction of the preceding." At his death the church
was in course of enlargement, having been found too small for the increas-
ing congregation.
Fourth Minister. — Archibald M'Laren, from Dovehill, Glasgow (now
Kelvingrove). Ordained, 29th March 1820. The congregation had been
much disturbed towards the close of Mr Robertson's ministry on the subject
of Church Psalmody, but the storm was allayed through a leading elder,
who was bitterly opposed to the introduction of new tunes, throwing himself
overboard. Mr M'Laren, so far as appears, had a peaceful course, and he
certainly left the congregation strong in numbers. He died on nth
September 1841, in the fifty-seventh year of his age and twenty-second of
his ministry. In the sermon preached on the occasion by the Rev. Robert
Brodie of Glasgow he is not credited with profundity of learning or powers
of eloquence, but there was consistency of deportment as well as faithful and
kindly work alike among young and old.
The congregation on proceeding to choose another pastor found them-
selves much divided. A majority resolved to apply for a moderation, but
an opposing petition was signed by 10 elders, 17 managers, and 239
communicants. The Presbytery now arranged for a meeting at Irvine, when
216 voted to go on and 176 to delay. The Presbytery paused for the time,
but a month afterwards they yielded to the wishes of the majority, and this
resulted in a divided call to Mr Bryce Kerr, afterwards of Largo, signed by
296 members and 151 adherents. The Presbytery finding the two parties
almost equally balanced resolved to set the call aside. They thus placed
themselves between two fires, 266 complaining to the Synod against the
moderation having been granted, and 285 complaining that the call had
not been prosecuted. The Synod disapproved of the Presbytery's action in
the former case but confirmed their decision in th6 other. In a few months
the congregation called Mr Alexander M'Leod unanimously, but he pre-
ferred Strathaven (West).
Fifth Minister. — James Drummond, translated from Provost Wynd,
Cupar, where he had been ordained fourteen months beforp. Mr Drummond
had been the minority's candidate when Mr Bryce Kerr carried. The
present call was unanimous, and it was signed by 336 members and 168
adherents, the communion roll having been reduced through recent with-
300 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
drawals. Inducted, 21st March 1844, the stipend to be ^145. Under]
Mr Drumrnond everything progressed satisfactorily, but the numerical!
losses through contention were not made up for, and have never been. He '
died, 9th July 1867, in the sixty-second year of his age and twenty-fifth of
his ministry. Dr William Robertson, we read, was deeply affected by the
loss of his friend and neighbour, and " outside the darkened home he ranked
himself as chief mourner." Mr Drummond's son, then of Erskine Church,
Glasgow, is now Dr Drummond of Belhaven Church.
Sixth Minister. — Henry Reid, M.A., from Glasgow (London Road).
Ordained, 7th July 1868. The stipend was to be ^160, with ^15 for expenses,
but no manse. The call was signed by 187 members and 30 adherents. In
1872 a manse was built at a cost of ^^1140, of which the Board paid ^300.
On 2nd March 1886 Mr Reid's demission, given in by letter, was accepted,
and the Presbytery recorded his "having resigned his charge without assign-
ing any reason and without craving extracts, and having immediately
thereafter left the country." He emigrated to Australia, but we search in
vain for his name on any clerical list there, and cannot even learn whether
he is dead or alive.
Seventh Minister. — John Gray, B.D., from Wellington Church, Glasgow.
Ordained, 23rd November 1886. The stipend was ^175, with the manse.
On Thursday, 26th June 1890, the church was reopened by Principal Cairns,
after undergoing a complete renovation. The cost, including the erection
of a new hall, amounted to ^2200, of which only ^200 remained to be raised.
On 2nd July 1895 ^^ Gray accepted a call to St George's Road, Glasgow.
Eighth Minister.— ^ow£M.i: Pollock, B.Sc, from North Leith. Or-
dained, 1 6th January 1896. At the close of 1899 the membership was 333,
and the stipend ^190, with the manse.
IRVINE, TRINITY (Burgher)
Up till the year 1772 there was not a single Burgher congregation within
the bounds of Ayrshire. At a prior date a family belonging to that side of
the Secession removed from the banks of Loch Leven to Irvine, and were much
inconvenienced through having no minister of their own persuasion within
reach. They got over the difficulty so far by walking to the Antiburgher
Church in Kilwinning, three miles distant, but when baptism was required
a Burgher minister was brought from Burntshields, in Renfrewshire, which
was not nearer than a dozen miles. In the above-named year a Burgher
congregation was formed in Kilmarnock, but even that was eight miles
distant. In Irvine the Relief had by this time a large congregation, but
genuine Seceders, even of the milder type, would be slow to identify them-
selves with a Church which cared nothing for the Act and Testimony. No
wonder though, amidst shiftings of population, the want of a Burgher Church
in the place came to be felt by a growing number of the inhabitants. In
Dr M'Kelvie's Annals it is stated that an attempt was made by the Burgher
Presbytery of Glasgow to meet these requirements so early as 1780, but
that from want of encouragement supply had to be discontinued. In the
Presbytery minutes no trace is to be found of such a thing till 31st July
1792, when some people in and about Irvine presented a petition for
sermon. Supply was granted for the second Sabbath of August, and con-
tinued at the rate of about two days each month till May 1793, when Irvine
disappears from the records.
Two months before this another petition for sermon had come in from]
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 301
Kilwinning. The applicants stated that there were 70 persons in or near
that town who went occasionally to the Burgher churches of Saltcoats and
Dairy, and that many others were expressing their earnest wish to have
supply. Irvine people, looking apparently with favour on this new centre,
were willing that the light which had been glimmering among them for the
last nine months should go out. The Presbytery on 14th June granted
sermon as desired, but owing to opposition from the minister and session
of Dairy, three and a half miles off, the Burgher cause never was allowed
free course at Kilwinning, and in a few years the quivering candlestick was
shifted back to Irvine. On 24th February 1801 the petition from that place
for sermon was renewed, and Kilwinning sank into silence. There was to be
permanence now, though the beginnings were humble. The meeting-place
for nine years was a malt barn, and until a fixed pastorate was obtained
there could be little progress made.
First Minister. — Alexander Campbell, from Greenock (now Trinity
Church). Competing calls to Mr Campbell from Pitrodie and St Andrews
had been before the Synod at its last meeting, and he was appointed to
Pitrodie, but now Irvine came in, and necessitated a pause. The Synod's
enactments were not like the laws of the Medes and Persians, and at next
meeting the new claimant got the preference. Mr Campbell was ordained
at Irvine, 22nd February 1809. The new church was opened some time that
year, with 658 sittings. The call was signed by only 39 members, but it was
concurred in by 112 who were not in full communion. But prosperity was
to supervene, and "under Mr Campbell's ministry the congregation," as
stated by his illustrious successor, "grew, first outwardly and then inwardly,
for thirty years and more," until at his death there were over 500 names on
the communion roll. He died, 2nd March 1843, in the sixty-third year of
his age and thirty-fifth of his ministry.
Second Minister. — William B. Robertson, from Stirling (now Erskine
Church). Ordained, 26th December 1843. There were other three candi-
dates proposed — Messrs Hugh Darling, Robert Jeffrey, and Robert Reid —
but Mr Robertson had an absolute majority. The stipend was to be ^130,
with expenses, and the call was signed by 346 members and 80 adherents.
To transfer the brilliancy which followed into the Historical Annals of a
congregation would be like transforming poetry into the merest prose.
Leaving the ethereal side of the subject to the Biographies of the Poet-
Preacher, by Dr James Brown and Mr Arthur Guthrie, we state instead
that Mr Robertson was called to the newly-formed congregation of Shamrock
Street, Glasgow, in 1851, the promised stipend to begin with being ^320,
and the call was renewed ten years later. Mr Robertson was also called to
Regent Place, Glasgow, in 1861, but though in all these cases strong
pressure was used to tempt acceptance he decided to remain at Irvine.
The declinature in 185 1 led to the building of a manse, the first which the
congregation possessed, and now their triumphant gladness aimed at higher
things. Trinity Church, which cost £7000, was resolved on and carried
through. It was opened by Dr Cairns of Berwick on 29th December 1863,
sittings 750. In 1869 the University of Glasgow conferred on Mr Robertson
the degree of D.D. In the Presbytery minutes Dr Robertson is entered as
having presided at the ordination of Mr M'Donald at Cumnock on loth
January 1871, and with this service his regular work as a minister was
wound up. He had returned from London a month before, bringing with
him, as he expressed it, a weight of cold on throat and voice, and that
morning he hurried to the train with neither topcoat nor plaid. Fully
developed pleurisy supervened, and week after week he was swimming for
life. The worst wore past, but as summer closed there had to be migration to
302 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
a warmer climate, while, as time went on, ability to resume his functions ai
Irvine became more and more a matter of hope deferred.
Sympathy with the gifted invalid now took active form in the West, an
without effort 5000 guineas were subscribed for a testimonial to Dr Robert
son. The moving spirits therein seem to have been Sir Peter Coats, Paisley,
and Mr David M'Cowan, Glasgow. It was a rich tribute of admiration antf
affection. But now the wants of Trinity Church pulpit had to be perman
ently provided for, and a colleague to undertake the whole work was found
to be indispensable. Accordingly, in 1874 the congregation called M
William Muirhead, afterwards of Stranraer (West), and in the early part
1875 Mr Armstrong Black, afterwards of Waterbeck, but both decline
The situation had its drawbacks, as there was reason for the apprehensio;
that Dr Robertson would be everything in the people's estimation, and th
colleague nowhere.
Third Minister. — George K. Heughan, from Dalbeattie. Called also'
to Portadown, Ireland, and Auchterarder (North). Ordained at Irvine, i8th
January 1876. The original arrangement was that Dr Robertson should
have ^100 a year, with the manse, and the colleague ^200, including house
rent, Ijut when the third moderation was applied for the Doctor was among
them again, and, thus inspirited, they added ^50 to the stipend of each
minister. The strain this involved may have helped to induce restiveness,
which, as appears from Dr Robertson's Life, began to work before a year
had passed. Discontent was fanned by money difficulties ; the advice of
the Presbytery was applied for ; and, to end the matter, Mr Heughan resigned.
This step was taken, he explained, " in view of the divisions existing in
Trinity Church, and the apparent hopelessness of either reconcihng parties
or continuing faithful ministerial work in the face of determined opposition."
At a meeting of the congregation it carried by 1 1 1 to 107 to acquiesce, but a
scrutiny of votes brought the numbers to exact equality. Such being the
case, Mr Heughan adhered to his demission, and on 22nd October 1878 the
connection was dissolved. Some of the junior minister's friends withdrew
from the membership, and even Dr Robertson did not escape without re-
proach. Next year Mr Heughan was inducted into Nairn.
Fourth Minister. — WilliAm S. Dickie, son of the Rev. Andrew Dickie,
St Paul's, Aberdeen, and brother of the Rev. Matthew Dickie, Alva. Called
previously to Peterhead, Buckie, and Wilson Church, Perth. Ordained, 5th
August 1879, Dr Robertson presiding on the occasion. The stipend was to
be ^250, with the manse, which Dr Robertson had now resigned. During
the vacancy he also deemed it right to retire into the emeritus position, the
congregation voting him ^100 a year. He now removed to Bridge of Allan,
and thence to Westfield House, near West Calder, where he resided till near
the end. He died at Bridge of Allan on 27th June 1886, in the sixty seventh
year of his age and forty-third of his ministerial life. Responding to the
strains of the grand Passion Hymn, his last words were : " Yes, that will do."
Thus passed away the man of rarest genius the U.P. Church in any of its
sections ever possessed.
The membership of Trinity Church in the last return before the Union
was 244, and the stipend ^250, with the manse.
DALRY (Burgher)
At the time of the Breach the Burgher cause was weak in Ayrshire, where
Mr Smyton of Kilmaurs and his entire session took the Antiburgher side.
However, there were some who declared for the more liberal party, and on
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 303
1st August 1749 they petitioned the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow to take
" their melancholy situation into serious consideration," as their pastor had
deserted the foundation on which he stood when the relation between them
commenced. They asked to be placed under the inspection of Mr Fisher or
Mr M'Ara, Glasgow and Burntshields being the only Burgher churches at
all within reach. It was arranged that there should be an interim relation
between Mr M'Ara and them until they were in a position to call a minister
for themselves. In this way, while the Antiburghers in the northern division
of .Ayrshire kept by Kilmaurs, the Burghers gravitated north to Burntshields,
which was outside the county altogether. At his ordination Mr Smyton had
been appointed to preach six Sabbaths each year at Dairy, eight miles dis-
tant, but now the small number of baptisms entered in the Kilmaurs list from
that district indicates that the greater number of families had passed from
under his care. Messrs Wilson and Fisher had held week-day services there
in 1736, and on Wednesday, 2nd May 1739, Messrs James Thomson and
Ralph Erskine " preached to a very numerous audifory," when observing a
Fast in the place. We are thus prepared to find a branch of Kilmaurs con-
gregation in Dairy and adjacent parishes.
For thirty-two years the Burghers in this part of Ayrshire claimed mem-
bership with Burntshields, though the distance for most of them must have
been incompatible with regular attendance. Hence the Burgher family in
Irvine spoken of already worshipped regularly with the Antiburghers at Kil-
winning, but it was Mr M'Ara who baptised their children, and it would be with
his congregation that they communicated. But on 28th July 1 779 some people
in Dairy petitioned the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow for sermon, which
was granted them on three stray Sabbaths. Similar applications followed,
but it was not till July 1785 that regular appointments began. A church,
with 500 sittings, was now in course of erection, and by the end of the year
it furnished them with shelter, but nothing more. At the Synod in May 1790
a translating call to the Rev. John Jaffray of Dalkeith came up to the Synod
from Dairy, but his state of health, which developed into insanity, was such
that the Synod came to no decision, but remitted the case to Edinburgh
Presbytery. Dairy people may have been influenced in their choice by the
fact that he was a brother of Mr Jaffray, the popular Burgher minister of
Kilmarnock, but it was well for them that he was continued in Dalkeith.
But some time before this Dairy became the seat of another congrega-
tion, which had a history not to be overlooked. There the Antiburgher
malcontents from around, who sympathised with Mr Smyton on the Lifter
question, pitched their encampment. Their minister was Mr John Gemmell,
who seems from his own showing to have been under Mr Smyton's tuition,
and was probably brought up in his congregation. There being no vestige
of the Lifter Presbytery's minutes in existence we only know that Mr
Gemmell was in Dairy in September 1789. He disagreed with Hunter of
Falkirk on what was called the Double Sonship, keeping closely by orthodox
lines, and a pamphlet he published in 1791, to which we are indebted for
some curious information, seems to have brought the Lifter Presbytery to
.an end. Of Mr Gemmell we have gathered the following particulars,
■ partly from trans-Atlantic sources: — The stipend promised him at Dairy,
■ but seldom paid, was ^40, and to supplement this he went in for Medicine.
For three sessions we have him walking in to Glasgow, twenty-five miles,
every Monday morning, and walking back on Saturday, attending classes
during the week, and preaching twice on Sabbath. From under this double
I burden he emerged with the degree of M.D. Later on he established a
printing office at Beith, which occupied much of his attention, and sent forth
books which have brought down his name on their title-page. The con-
304 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
gregation, which had stood soUtary for nearly thirty years, appHed in 1819
to the Constitutional Presbytery for admission, but they were told that, with
regard to the taking or non-taking of the elements before consecration, a
decision on either side would be making a new term of communion in the
Secession body. In 1822 Dr Gemmell left Dairy, and emigrated to America.
He became minister of a congregation in Lanark, Ontario, but his name is
found on the list of no Presbytery. He died in 1844. When he left Dairy
his congregation there broke up. An aged lady, with whom I conversed on
the matter, remembered little more than this, that towards the close the
people had frequent meetings and "a great deal of quarrelling." It was the
spirit of Bryce Kerr, the champion of the Ayrshire Lifters, lingering among
them. {See Beith, Mitchell Street.)
I^irsi Minister. — GEORGE Russell, from Cambusnethan, where his
grandfather was one of the first Secession elders. The Presbytery of
Glasgow in October 1789 appointed Mr Russell to Largs in preference to
Dairy, but opposition having arisen he refused to comply. Then Dairy
called him a second time, and he was ordained there, 29th March 1791.
The stipend was to be ^50, with a free house, but the Presbytery stipulated
for a rise as soon as galleries were put up. In 1793 there was an attempt
to form a Burgher congregation at Kilwinning, about four miles off, but
Dairy session pleaded that this would deprive them of 10 or 12 members,
and the Presbytery found they had only 112 in all. The movement, after
being tried for a year or two, was abandoned. In 1803 the revenue from all
sources was ^30, the stipend as at first ^50, with a free house, and the
members about 130. But it is attested that the congregation gained strength
by the accession of Antiburgher families who for convenience came in at the
Union of 1820. Mr Russell died, 5th May 1832, in the seventy-second year
of his age and forty-second of his ministry, leaving a good name behind
him " for humility, simplicity, and godly sincerity." A harmonious call was
addressed soon after to Mr James Robertson, preacher, but as he let it be
known that he preferred Portsburgh, Edinburgh, Dairy people disdained to
press their claim. Then they made choice of Mr James Towers, who
accepted Wigtown.
Second Minister. — David Henderson, from Dunfermline (Chalmers
Street). Called about the same time to the two Dalrys, the one in Galloway,
and the other in Ayrshire. Having preferred the latter he was ordained
there, 9th April 1834. The call was signed by 152 members and 42 ad-
herents, and the stipend in all was to be ^115. Resigned his charge on
31st May 1842, and became Chaplain in Gillespie's Hospital, Edinburgh.
He died at Innellan, where his son was minister, on 28th June 1871, in the
seventy-third year of his age.
Third Minister. — ^JOHN Duff, previously of Newarthill. Inducted,
26th July 1843. The callers were almost exactly one-half the number who
signed on the last occasion, but the stipend was to be ^i 10 in all. After
ministering at Dairy for nearly six years Mr Duff resigned his charge,
having resolved on emigrating to America, and was loosed, 27th March
1849. He stated that he had lived in great harmony with his people, and
their engagements with him had been honourably fulfilled. They on their
part regretted the step he was taking, but as he had seen this to be his
duty they would not stand in the way. In Canada he ministered at first to
the united congregations of Albion and Vaughan, but in October 1851
he was translated to Elora and Nichol, in the Presbytery of Flamboro.
He was living as a retired minister at Elora in 1883, and he died there, i8th
September 1888, in the eighty-second year of his age and fifty-third of his
ministry.
I
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 305
Fourth Minister. — GEORGE MORRIS, from Cairneyhill. Mr Morris
during a brief probationership received calls to Dalreoch, Largo, Kirriemuir
(West), and Coupar-Angus (formerly Relief, and nosv E.U.). These were in
succession declined. Ordained at Dairy, 9th July 1850. The call was
signed by 185 members and 42 adherents, and the stipend was to be ^100,
with manse and garden. The population of the town was 2700 at this time,
but it increased a third in ten years, and then tended to decline. In 1867
the manse was improved at a cost of ^350, for which the Board granted
^50, and twelve years later the membership was 338, and the stipend ^190.
In September 1899 Mr Morris, who was in the fiftieth year of his ministry,
and had required regular assistance for a considerable time, resolved to
retire, the people granting him ^60 a year, with the manse.
Fifth Minister. — John Thomson, M.A., from Buckhaven. Ordained,
28th November 1899, as colleague and successor to Mr Morris, the stipend
from the people to be ^190 in all. The membership at this time was 341.
SALTCOATS, TRINITY (Relief)
Application was made to the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow on 25th June
1 78 1 by a respectable body of people in the parishes of Ardrossan and West
Kilbride to be received as a forming congregation, and Mr Kerr of Bellshill
was appointed to preach at Saltcoats and converse with the applicants on his
way to assist at Irvine communion. The report he and other members of
Presbytery gave in being favourable, they were received on 23rd July, and
next year their first place of worship, described as a very plain structure,
closely seated, was taken possession of Saltcoats, most of which was then
in the parish of Stevenston, thus became the centre of the congregation. The
parish minister of West Kilbride, the Rev. Arthur Oughterson, has his name
entered along with that of Ferguson of Kilwinning as one of a group of
Ayrshire ministers who carried Moderatism to the verge of Socinianism.
A number of his parishioners were now taking part in seeking a full-orbed
gospel for themselves elsewhere.
First Minister. — David Ewing, who had been brought up under the
ministry of the Rev. WiUiam Cruden, but afterwards belonged to Dovehill
Church, Glasgow. Ordained, 28th April 1784. The call was signed by 106
members, and the stipend was to be ;^7o, with £\ additional for each com-
munion. In 1786 a peculiar question was referred by the session to the
Presbytery. They wished advice as to the terms on which they were to
admit members of the Established Church to occasional communion. The
answer was that they should ascertain whether such persons approved of
intrusion settlements, legal doctrine, and other abuses in the Establishment,
and, if they did, let them be excluded, but if they looked on these evils as a
burden and a grief let them be admitted. The Relief Church being on the
;,'round before either the Burghers or the Antiburghers came forward, this
secured them a marked ascendency ; hence while the Old Statistical History
in 1793 assigned 80 families in Stevenston parish to the Relief, it only gave
14 to the two sections of Seceders between them. Mr Ewing at this time
had families from Kilwinning and Dairy, as well as from the immediate
locality. He died, 15th June 1833, in the eightieth year of his age and
fiftieth of his ministry. He published in 1813 a little book, entitled " Vindica-
tion of Gospel Truth," in opposition to errors contained in the writings of a
local heretic. Mr Ewing left two sons in the ministry — James of Partick
(now Newton Place), and John, who was long a preacher.*
* John Ewing entered the Divinity Hall of the Relief Church in 1827. After
II. U
3o6 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Second Minister. — James Giffen, from Southend, Kintyre. Ordained
as colleague to Mr Ewing, 26th July 1831. The senior minister was to have
^50, and the junior ^70. The congregation had previously given an unsuc-
cessful call to Mr Alexander M'Coll, who five years after became minister of
Bankhill, Berwick.* In 1836 Mr Giffen gave the communicants at 311. A
new church had been built in 1832 at a cost of slightly under ^500, with
sittings for 650. The debt that remained on the property was ^150, and the
minister's stipend, including everything, was ^106. Mr Giffen's demission
of his charge was accepted, loth November 1863, and he died, 21st March
1870, in the sixty-sixth year of his age. A sermon of his remains in print,
entitled " Lessons taught by the Desolations made on the Earth." It was
preached in 1832, a year when the destroying angel was abroad.
Third Minisier.^Q^OV^Q^ Philp, from Bethelfield, Kirkcaldy. Ordained,
6th September 1864, having dechned Dubbieside two years before. The
stipend was ^120, and a capacious manse was added in 1870 at a cost
of ^1085, the people raising ^785, and the Board allowing ;i^300. In 1869
Mr Philp was called to Glengarnock, a young congregation which he had
done much to foster, but he preferred to remain in Saltcoats. After a long
struggle with shattered health Mr Philp died, 4th March 1889, in the sixtieth
year of his age and twenty-fifth of his ministry. For eighteen years he was
Clerk to Kilmarnock Presbytery before and after Ayr Presbytery was formed,
and at his death the two Presbyteries bore united testimony to the respect
and affection with which they regarded him. Those who knew him best
recall with pensive interest his sympathetic spirit and his fidelity to duty
in all its forms.
Fourth Minister. — James D. Taylor, translated from Kilwinning,
where his fourteen years of devoted service had gained for him a good
degree. He was inducted to Saltcoats on Tuesday, 6th August 1889. The
new church was opened on the preceding Friday at a cost of ;^2400, with
450 sittings. Mr Philp had raised a large part of the money, and within
two years the debt was cleared off, and a large hall built in the rear of the
being six or seven years a preacher he caused trouble to Hamilton Presbytery by
failing to fulfil Sabbath appointments, and by sending unlicensed persons to take his
place. Ignoring repeated citations to attend he was suspended from preaching
within their bounds. The Synod in 1840 approved of the sentence, and enacted that
suspension in one Presbytery shall apply to all the Presbyteries of the Church. After
a committee had dealt with Mr Ewing he was restored to a place on the probationer
list, but some marked defect in his delivery precluded all hopes of a settlement. In
1845 he was again in conflict with Hamilton Presbytery. He had been dissatisfied
with the talent he received from one of their congregations, and this led to corre-
spondence, in which he was not careful to measure his language. Again there was
suspension, which ended as before. Mr Ewing was long remembered for the strange
things he said and did. His name ultimately appeared year after year on the list of
Occasional Supply. He died at Greenock, 26th September 1875, in his sixty-sixth
year. His wife was a daughter of the Rev. George Campbell of Roberton.
* Mr M'Coll, like his brother in Partick, was from Bridgeton, Glasgow. A year
and a half after declining Saltcoats he obtained Bonhill by a small majority, but felt
it better not to avail himself of the advantage. Ordained at Bankhill, Berwick, 14th
July 1835. The congregation was a split off Chapel Street, and never made much
headway, and Mr M 'Coil's resignation was accepted on 23rd June 1847. He then
emigrated to America, and was pastor of a congregation in Lewiston, near Lake
Ontario, for two years. Then he laboured two years at Seneca Falls, whence he re-
turned to Lewiston, where he remained other seven years. A Presbyterian church at
Niagara Falls was his last charge. After being there for a like period he sustained a
severe accident, and though he survived a number of years he was never fit for service
again. He died, i6th November 1872, in the sixty-ninth year of his age.
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 307
church besides. When the vacancy occurred the question of union with
the West congregation was mooted, and an earnest but unsuccessful effort
made in that direction. The case was the reverse of urgent, as appears
from the fact that the membership of Trinity Church at the recent Union
was not under 300, and the stipend was ^200, with the manse.
SALTCOATS (Burgher)
This congregation owed its origin to the settlement of Mr John Duncan,
rector of Kilmarnock Academy, as minister of Ardrossan parish in 1788.
The presentation and letter of acceptance were laid on the table of Irvine
Presbytery in January of that year, and Mr Duncan was appointed to give
the parishioners a specimen of his pulpit gifts on the first Sabbath of May.
The arrangement failed owing to a mob having prevented him fulfilling the
appointment, and, such being the disposition of the people, the Presbytery
declined to require a second attempt. On 23rd September they were to
meet at Ardrossan to moderate in a call, but again a mob intervened with
" insult and opprobrious language." Thwarted thus far they left the form of
a call in the hands of their Clerk, with the names of three non-resident
heritors appended, and the case was referred to the Synod. The patron's
contention was that the presentee ought to be taken on trials without a
moderation at all, and the Synod enjoined the Presbytery simply to receive
concurrences, and proceed towards the ordination with all convenient speed.
Against this decision commissioners from the parish appealed to the
Assembly in 1789, by whom orders were given to have Mr Duncan settled
on or before ist September. Accordingly, the Presbytery met at Irvine on
28th August, when it was found that the serving of the edict had been
forcibly prevented, but orders had been given to affix it " to the most patent
door of the church." It was read now, the services went on, and Mr Duncan
was installed into Ardrossan parish.
A fortnight after this four men and twelve women were charged before the
Circuit Court at Ayr "for violently assaulting, invading, and attacking the
members of the Presbytery of Irvine" met at Saltcoats on 13th May for the
purpose of inspecting the schoolhouse. It was a peaceful mission, but
popular feeling sought an outlet for itself in this lawless way. One man and
two women were outlawed for not appearing, and the diet was deserted
against others. Only four women were found guilty, and owing to a legal
technicality the verdict was pronounced null and void. While the parish
was in this state of commotion a petition from Ardrossan for sermon was
laid before the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow on i6th March 1790, and
Mr Dewar of Fenwick was appointed to preach to them on the fourth
Sabbath of that month. After obtaining supply from meeting to meeting
the people gave in their accession to the Presbytery on loth May 1791, and
on the fifth Sabbath of January 1792 the congregation was regularly organ-
ised by the installation of four elders. A church, with sittings for 566, was
built in 1792, the Synod having granted ^20 to aid the cause in its feeble
beginnings.
First Minister. — James Boreland, from Kilmarnock (now Portland
Road). Ordained, ist November 1792. The call was signed by 148
members and 86 adherents. The stipend was ^70, and that of Mr Duncan
was only ^5 more, with manse and glebe. Mr Boreland's work was just
beginning when illness came, and he died, 17th June 1793, in the twenty-
ninth year of his age and eighth month of his ministry. Dunng the vacancy
3o8 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
of nearly three years which intervened the congregation called Mr Henry
Belfrage, whom the Synod appointed to be his father's colleague at P'alkirk,
and Mr James Keith, whom they sent to Fala.
Second Minister. — Henry Fraser, eldest son of the Rev. John Eraser,
Auchtermuchty. Ordained, i8th February 1796. The congregation seems
to have grown since the former call was issued, there being 1 50 signatures of
members when the Presbytery met on the following day. In addition to
the original £jo the minister was to be provided with a free house. Mr
Eraser's course at Saltcoats was as brief as that of his predecessor, and it
had a more regretful ending. Three weeks after his ordination he succeeded
to the estate of Lassodie, near Dunfermline, by the death of the former
proprietor's widow at the age of eighty-seven. The right came through his
maternal grandfather, the Rev. Henry Erskine of Ealkirk, eldest son of
Ralph Erskine and his first wife, Margaret Dewar, a daughter of the Laird
of Lassodie. In the Presbytery records Mr Fraser was now entered first
as Henry Fraser Dewar, and then simply as Henry Dewar, the entail
requiring the change of name. But a weightier change was impending.
At a meeting of Presbytery on 13th December 1796 Mr Dewar's place was
vacant, but his brother Donald, from Kennoway, being present for some
special purpose, was asked to correspond. A petition from Saltcoats con-
gregation bore that Mr Dewar had left them, and they wished supply of
sermon and advice in their present situation. The Clerk was now asked
from the chair whether he had heard from Mr Dewar, and in reply he laid on
the table a paper addressed to the Moderator and other members. Mr Fraser
of Kennoway now interposed, and pleaded that the Presbytery would delay
reading the paper. His brother, he said, had left for Dublin, but he had
reason to expect his return to this country in a few days. It was agreed by a
majority to leave the paper unread, and to meet again that day four weeks,
Mr Dewar to get notice to attend.
On loth January 1797 Mr Dewar intimated that he declined to put in
a personal appearance. Then the former communication and this second
letter were both read, and pronounced "rationalistic throughout." He
rejected the whole system of revealed truth, and held "that to believe
one doctrine rather than another is neither a merit nor a crime." He
closed by expressing the hope that they would all meet at last in that
happy state where they would look back with an eye of enlightened for-
bearance on those weaknesses, mistakes, and errors of their brethren
which they once detested. Commissioners were forward from the con-
gregation wishing a deliverance at once, and it was unanimously agreed
to pronounce sentence of deposition from the chair, and to declare the
church vacant. Mr Dewar's declinature and the other documents were
also to be sent up to the Synod, that they might pass judgment on the
merits. Thinking of his father at Auchtermuchty and his nearest relatives
Mr Dewar might well express the fear that the step he was taking would
cause them grief "to an overwhelming degree." Between him and the
brother just mentioned, who was only seventeen months younger than
himself, there had been blended interests all through. They entered the
university and the divinity classes together, and went on side by side
till they were licensed to preach the everlasting gospel, and now they
parted, as if for eternity.
After renouncing all connection with the Christian ministry Henry
Dewar went through a medical course, and took his diploma. Then he
was for some time an assistant surgeon in the army, and ultimately a
pubUc lecturer in Edinburgh on medical and scientific subjects, besides
publishing several treatises in the same line. He died on 19th January
I
m\ (^«yo
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 309
1823, in the fifty-second year of his age, after an illness of six days, from
blood-poisoning, through scratching his finger in the dissecting-room.
Third Minister. — Robert Forrest, from Dunbar. Mr Dewar had
commended the congregation to the special care of the Presbytery "as
in general a society of upright, warm-hearted people, who would make
any pastor happy that agreed with them in religious sentiment." The
Synod preferred the call from Saltcoats to another from Kirkcaldy. (Bethel-
field), and Mr Forrest was ordained, 27th February 1798. Other four years
went past, and again Saltcoats congregation was in commotion, minister
and people not drawing well together. In the beginning of 1802 the
Presbytery, in reply to a vague reference from the session, recommended
the parties to live together as brethren, and they warned Mr Forrest against
making incautious allusions, either in the pulpit or elsewhere, to matters
of dispute, a blunder into which many a young minister has fallen. But
the evil was too far gone to be remedied by mild advices, and on 22nd
April the Presbytery met at Saltcoats to deal with Mr Forrest's demission
of his charge. Dr Mason was over from America in quest of recruits from
the home Church, and discomfort at Saltcoats inclined Mr Forrest to
respond, though a petition signed by 178 members indicates that the great
body of his people wished him to remain. At this meeting three of the
members, one of them an elder, were dealt with for disparaging Mr
Forrest's ministerial work and circulating reports to his disadvantage,
while he was admonished for extreme rashness, particularly in saying
that " the one half of the congregation were ignorant and the other half
sceptical." The case being referred to the Synod he was loosed from
his charge on 29th April 1802, with the view of joining a group of brethren
who were shortly to set sail with Dr Mason for New York.
After being received into fellowship with the Associate Reformed Synod
Mr Forrest supplied a Secession pulpit in Montreal for a short time, but
returned to the States, where he was installed as minister of Pearl Street
congregation. New York, on 26th April 1804. Having resigned after four
years he was admitted in January 18 10 to Stamford, Delaware, where he
laboured till 1843, when he retired owing to age and infirmities. He died,
17th March 1846, in the seventy-eighth year of his age and forty-ninth of
his ministry. Mr Forrest is described as having continued a diligent
student to the end, though his lot was cast in a quiet, rural sphere. Be-
sides numerous magazine articles and other slight productions he was
the author of "A Testimony to the Doctrines of Original Sin and the
; Atonement," prepared by order of Synod.
Fourth Minister. — James Ellis, from Campbell Street, Glasgow (now
.Sydney Place). Ordained, 21st March 1804. The call was signed by
147 members, and the stipend was to be ^90. During the ministry of
[Mr Ellis the Presbytery had little trouble from Saltcoats, almost the only
[exception being a reference from the session in 1807. One of the people
[had given offence to some of the congregation by carrying the mail between
Saltcoats and Irvine on Sabbath, and it was unanimously decided that he
)ught to give this up, or cease to be retained in membership. In 1836
the communicants were a little way over 300, and, though the church was
situated in Stevenston parish nearly four-fifths of their number were
jarishioners of Ardrossan. The stipend had at one time been ^150, but
the minister had voluntarily surrendered ^20, and it was now ^130, with
I4 guineas at each communion. There was a debt on the property of
^240, which the people had no wish to reduce, looking on it as a metallic
)ond of union. Mr Ellis died on 24th July 1852, in the seventy-third year
>f his age and forty-ninth of his ministry. His funeral sermon was preached
3IO
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
by his old fellow-student, Dr Brown of Broughton Place, Edinburgh, and
the biographical part appeared in the U.P. Magazine shortly after. The
history of this congregation and that of the West Church, formerly Anti-
burgher, were now to merge peacefully into one.
SALTCOATS, WEST (Antiburgher)
The congregation of Kilmaurs had some families in Ardrossan parish almost
from the beginning. Mr James Mair, who acceded to the Associate Presby-
tery in 1739, and was soon afterwards ordained at West Linton, had been
assistant for years to the parish minister of Ardrossan, and a number of
his former hearers followed him when he joined the Secession. They had
sermon on the second Sabbath of December 1739, and again on the fourth
Sabbath of March 1740, the preacher on .the latter occasion being Mr David
Smyton, who was ordained at Kilmaurs before the end of the year, and on
whose ministry they required to attend, though the distance was at least ten
miles. When an Antiburgher congregation was formed at Kilwinning in
1758 they obtained regular supply of ordinances within three and a half
miles of Saltcoats, and with this arrangement they had to rest satisfied for
thirty-five years. Though the ground was now preoccupied by both the
Relief and the Burghers, as shown above, this did not prevent the forrnation
of an Antiburgher congregation within the same bounds in 1793. In 1799
this handful of people called Mr James Brownlee, whom the Synod ap-
pointed to Falkirk, and in 1800 a church was built, with 436 sittings.
First Minister. — John Gip^ford, from Nicolson Street, Edinburgh.
Ordained, 19th March 1800, but, no doubt finding his position in Saltcoats
discouraging, he resigned on 19th August 181 1. After returning to Edin-
burgh he acted as a probationer for years, and was latterly a member of
Potterrow Church. He died, 18th September 1847. The family name was
long prominent in Nicolson Street Church, and the late Lord Gifford was
one of his nephews, several of whom were widely known and much respected.
During the vacancy of three and a half years which followed Mr Gifford's
resignation the people called Mr James Meikle, whom the Presbytery
appointed to Beith, and Mr Andrew Scott, whom the Synod appointed to
Crieff.
Second Minister. — David Ron.\ld, from Brechin (City Road). A
stipend of ;^ioo was promised, with a dwelling-house, but the call though
unanimous was signed by only 25 (male) members with 22 adherents, and
on 25th January 1815 Mr Ronald was ordained. In 1836 there were 142
names on the communion roll, one-fourth of these from .Stevenston parish.
The ordinary income was ^i 10 a year, and the debt on church and manse
was ^200. But with two sister congregations in Saltcoats there was only
room for decrease, and the weakest of the three was likely to be the greatest
sufferer. Accordingly, in 1849 the membership was down to 85, and the
stipend from the people was ^65, which the supplement made up to ^75,
besides the manse. In 1840 Mr Ronald was appointed Clerk to the Associate
Synod, being carried over Mr Harper of Leith by 56 votes to 51, which
office he held jointly with the Rev. David Crawford after the Union of
1847. This added ^20 to his limited income. When Mr Morison's Case
was agitating Kilmarnock Presbytery Mr Ronald found scope for his
theological acumen, though so far as the universality of the Atonement
was concerned he did not differ materially from the accused. At the death
of the Rev. James Ellis of the Old Burgher Church the two congregations
amalgamated without the slightest audible demur. What follows belongs
to the history of the United congregation.
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 311
THE MIDDLE AND THE WEST (United)
At a meeting of Presbytery on 29th July 1852, Mr Ellis' funeral day, it was
intimated that the congregation were to meet on Tuesday first, and that
meanwhile there should be no pulpit supply provided beyond the approach-
ing Sabbath. There was a general wish among the people to form a union
with the West Church under the ministry of Mr Ronald, and this proposal
would then be brought to the test. The way to a consummation so much
to be desired had been prepared by settled friendship between the two
ministers. For some thirty years they had managed the preachers' distribu-
tion scheme between them, and had lived on the best of terms. Now it
carried by a vote of 45 to 29 that Mr Ronald should occupy the vacant
pulpit, and bring his people with him into what was the larger building.
It was union in the simplest way possible, and though the minority would have
preferred interim supply of preachers, everything was adjusted harmoniously.
On 24th August, the Presbytery having met in the Middle Church, Saltcoats,
the Rev. David Thomas of Mauchline preached from the text : " Behold
how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity."
The members of each congregation were asked to express anew their adher-
ence to the proposed Basis of Union by holding up their right hands. This
being done, they were declared to be united, the Rev. David Ronald to be
their minister, and both the former names to be superseded by that of
" Countess Street." The elders of the two churches were, of course, to form
the joint session, and the two properties were to be held by trustees in the
name of the united congregation. The Middle Church people spoke of
Mr Ronald being sole pastor for the time, evidently understanding that
a colleague would be required before long, but nine years passed before
steps were taken in that direction, and by that time Mr Ronald had reached
the age of threescore and ten.
Second Minister. — George Fairgrieve, from Tillicoultry. Ordained
as colleague and successor to Mr Ronald, i8th February 1862. The call
was signed by 172 members, and the stipend of the junior minister was to
be ^120, while, with the aid of ;^20 from the Ferguson Bequest Fund, the
senior minister was expected to have ^80, with the manse. At the celebra-
tion of his jubilee in 1864 Mr Ronald received a gift of 500 sovereigns, very
much as an acknowledgment of his long continued services to the denomina-
tion. The present church, which cost ^2000, and is seated for 670, was
opened by Dr Robson of Glasgow on 8th July 1866. About the same time
;^870 was expended in building a new manse, of which the Board defrayed
one-third. The whole debt was cleared off" within seven years largely by
the efforts of Mr Fairgrieve. Mr Ronald died, ist February 1873, in the
eighty-second year of his age and fifty-ninth of his ministry. He left behind
him two little treatises condensed and pointed — the one on Presbyterianism,
and the other on Christian Baptism, subjects well adapted to his logical
cast of mind. Mr Fairgrieve's strength became much impaired about the
time of his semi-jubilee, and a substitute was required for long periods.
Third Minister. — James Brand Scott, B.D., from Milnathort.
Called to Gardenstown and Pitcairn, but accepted Saltcoats, where he had
been assistant. Ordained, 5th August 1890. The stipend from the people
was ^130, which the Ferguson Bequest and the Surplus Fund raised to
^184, and the senior minister had ^70, and the manse. Mr Fairgrieve died,
23rd November 1893, in the fifty-eighth year of his age and thirty-second of
his ministry. In 1894 Mr Scott's stipend was raised from ^130 to ^160,
besides the manse, and in a short time there was a further increase of ^30.
On 9th January 1900 Mr Scott accepted a call to East Bank, Hawick.
312 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Fourth Minister. — James W. Purves, M.A., from Lothian Road, Edin-
burgh. Ordained, 26th June 1900. The stipend for some years had been
about ^200, with the manse, and the membership at the Union was 300.
In 1899 over ^600 had been raised for repairs on church and manse.
STEWARTON (Antiburgher)
The first church at Stewarton was built in 1775 at a cost of ^200, with
sittings for nearly 600. The people as yet formed part of Kilmaurs con-
gregation, and the building was erected for public worship, conducted by
Mr Smyton, their minister, during his periodic visits. About this time
attempts were made by sister denominations to get footing in Stewarton.
In July 1777 the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow appointed a day's supply in
answer to a petition for sermon from some people in that village, but we
read of nothing further. Two years later the Burgher Presbytery of
Glasgow was applied to in the same way, and services were kept up occa-
sionally for nearly two years, and then abandoned. While this was going
on the Antiburgher families in the place were disjoined from Kilmaurs and
formed into a distinct congregation. The petition to that effect was signed
by 39 heads of families, and they engaged to indemnify Kilmaurs for the loss
in seat rents by a payment of ^8 for the support o" Mr .Smyton, their minister.
At the Synod in April 1782 a call came up from Stewarton to Mr Walter
Galbraith in competition with three others from Ireland, and of the four
Londonderry carried.* Soon after this the disruption in Kilmaurs con-
gregation took place, when Mr Smyton struck out for himself on the
"Lifter" question, and carried the majority of his people with him. The
party adhering to the Synod being weak, a coalescence with the people of
Stewarton was carried into effect, the places being only three miles apart.
The terms of union were as follows : — (i) The two divisions were to share
equally in the minister's labours, and were to contribute equally for his
stipend. (2) The church-door collections, meant mainly for the poor, were
to go into a common fund ; and (3) The division in which the Presbytery
might fix the minister's residence was to provide him with a house. On this
footing Mr George Paxton was ordained over the united congregation in
August 1789, an arrangement which lasted for seven years. In 1797
Stewarton was disjoined, Mr Paxton remaining in Kilmaurs.
First Minister. — THOMAS M'CULLOCH, from Oakshaw Street, Paisley.
Ordained, 13th June 1799, and resigned in the early part of 1802 on accept-
ing a mission to Nova Scotia. In that colony he was inducted over a con-
gregation in Pictou, a mere hamlet at that time, on 6th June 1804, and in
the following year he opened a Grammar School, which widened out into
what was virtually a Theological Hall. In 1838 he became President of
Dalhousie College, Halifax. Received the degree of D.D. from the Uni-
versities of New York and Glasgow. He died on 9th September 1843, in
the sixty-seventh year of his age. Dr M'Culloch was a son-in-law of the
Rev. David Walker of Pollokshaws. His son, the Rev. William M'Culloch
of Truro, Nova Scotia, died, 14th July 1895, aged eighty-four.
Second Minister. — James Methvkn, who had been loosed from Balmullo
two years before. Inducted to Stewarton, 5th July 1802. During Mr
Methven's ministry there seems to have been little progress made, and on
* Mr Galbraith entered the Hall in 1777 from Drymen. Besides Stewarton and
Londonderry he had calls to Lame and Newtownards, in Ireland. Ordained at
Londonderry, 17th December 1782, and died, 30th April 1810, in the twenty-eighth
year of his ministry. Was not called to Kilmaurs as stated, page 278.
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 313
22nd May 1826 his resignation, tendered under partial constraint, was
accepted. His name appeared on the probationer list from 1828 to 1835,
and was then withdrawn. In June 1840 he petitioned the Synod to be
restored to the list, with a view to working in mission stations. The request
was not granted, but he received an increased donation from their fund, and
he was to be available for pulpit supply. He died in Glasgow, 28th June
1 84 1, after a brief illness.
Third Minister. — Peter Cairns, from Howgate. Stewarton having
been preferred to West Kilbride by the Presbytery, he was ordained there,
23rd October 1827. In 1836 the communicants numbered 274, having in-
creased from 150 during Mr Cairns' ministry. About one-sixth of the con-
gregation were from other parishes, chiefly Neilston, Kilwinning, and
Fenwick. The minister's stipend was ^109, including expenses, and he had
also a manse. Prosperity like this was less to be expected, as two other
dissenting congregations had sprung^ up in Stewarton within the last ten
years. The one was an Original Burgher church, which had a membership
at this time of 83. Having joined the Establishment in 1839 it gave rise to
the famous Stewarton Case of the Ten Years' Conflict. The other was a
Congregational church set up mainly by William Cunninghame, Esq. of
Lainshaw, who acted as pastor without any emoluments. He returned his
communicants at 64. In 1870 the U.P. manse was rebuilt at a cost of ^800,
of which the Board allowed ^300. On 31st October 1876 Mr Cairns' jubilee
was celebrated, and soon after a colleague was arranged for, the senior
minister to have ^120, with the manse.
Fourth Minister. — William S. Goodall, M.A., from Milnathort. Or-
dained, 26th June 1877. The stipend from the people was £170, to be
made up to ^200 from other sources, or by their own exertions if needful.
There was also to be a house, or ^20 instead. Mr Cairns died, 23rd July
1879, in the eighty-sixth year of his age and fifty-second of his ministry.
On 14th August 1883 Mr Goodall accepted a call to Greyfriars, Glasgow,
leaving a membership of 350.
Fifth Minister.— ]on^ C. Lambert, B.D., son of the Rev. George
Lambert, Rigg-of-Gretna. Ordained, 22nd January 1884. The stipend, in-
cluding expenses, was ^261, with the manse. Accepted a call to Cathcart,
Glasgow, 5th August 1890, a congregation to which he had been invited two
years before.
Sixth Minister. — James W. D. Carruthers, M.A., from Moffiit.
Ordained, 7th April 1891, and loosed, 23rd February 1897, on accepting a
call to the North Church, Perth.
Seventh Minister. — JOHN Ronald, B.D., son of the Rev. James Ronald,
Annan. Ordained, 29th June 1897. The membership three years after this
was not under 400, and the stipend was as above — ^261, with the manse.
FENWICK (Burgher)
On 2 1 St December 1737 a representation and petition from P'enwick and
parishes adjacent was laid before the Associate Presbytery declaring a
secession from the Established Church judicatories, with the grounds thereof,
and on the fourth Thursday of March 1738 Ebenezer Erskine and his son-in-
law, James Fisher, observed a Fast in that place. Encouraged by the large
attendance and the interest manifested, the people applied for a hearing of
Mr John Hunter, who was about to be licensed. It was as if they contem-
plated having a minister speedily fixed among them, but Mr David Smyton
having been ordained at Kilmaurs, four miles off, in November 1740, the
L
314 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
seceding families in and about Fenwick parish were placed under his
pastoral care. Their numbers, however, cannot have been large, as the
average number of baptisms did not exceed three a year. But on nth June
1782 a petition on a large scale was presented from Fenwick to the Burgher
Presbytery of Glasgow for supply of sermon. This was the outcome of a
general meeting held a few days before to determine which body of dis-
senters should be preferred, when 7 voted for the Antiburghers, 36 for the
Reformed Presbyterians, and 17 for the Relievers, while the Burghers
carried by a very large majority.
A violent settlement was in course of being carried through in Fenwick
parish at the time this application was made. A young man, Mr William
Boyd, had been presented to the benefice by the tutors of the Earl of
Glasgow, and after he had occupied the pulpit two Sabbaths a committee of
Presbytery came to moderate in a call. On 28th November 1780 the report
they gave in to the Presbytery bore that they had fulfilled their commission.
The scrolls of the call and paper of concurrence were next handed in, "and
found signed by no person whatever." On the other hand, there was a large
compearance in opposition to Mr Boyd. The whole affair was delayed till
another meeting ten weeks afterwards, when letters were read from three
non-resident heritors concurring in the presentation. A petition was then
read from the heritors, elders, and heads of families of the parish, humbly
showing that, as Mr Boyd had no call nor concurrence therein, "he can be
of no benefit apparently in this parish," and craving that the Presbytery
would interpose with the patron on their behalf Parties having been
heard at great length it was decided to refer the whole cause to the Synod
for decision, and from them it passed to the Assembly. In the Supreme
Court the concurrence of the three non-resident heritors was sustained, as
meeting all requirements, and the Presbytery of Irvine was enjoined to
proceed towards the settlement with all convenient speed. By a majority
the presentee was taken upon trials, and appointed to preach at Fenwick
as often as he conveniently could. Having duly notified his intention to
appear there on Sabbath week he arrived on the preceding Saturday, but
next morning the beadle refused to ring the bell, and "the locks of the kirk
doors were filled with small stones, so as that they could not be opened."
There was no convening for public worship, and as Mr Boyd and a friend
were proceeding towards Stewarton they were followed " for about a quarter
of a mile by a number of boys and some girls crying out ' thief and robber' !
and some of them throwing stones and dirt." On 7th May 1782 the edict was
returned, and, objections being called for, a paper was handed in authorising
eight elders and 20 heritors and heads of families to oppose the settlement by
all lawful means. The edict, it was argued, ought never to have been served,
as no call existed, so that the main link of the chain was wanting. They also
complained — (i) that they could not see of what advantage Mr Boyd's ministry
could be to them " when what he speaks cannot be heard by us in the kirk
of Fenwick by reason of his weak voice or slow way of speaking," and (2)
because he reads, and does not preach the gospel, and every intelligent
person, they said, knows that reading is one thing and preaching another.
They concluded thus : " May He who is the founder and foundation of Sion
appear in His glory and direct you in this weighty affair." Members of
Presbytery having expressed their opinion it was agreed to memorialise the
General Assembly on the subject. In this paper, of which a copy has been
preserved, they admit Mr Boyd to be "a young man of distinguished
abilities and worth," but, if his ordination is to be proceeded with, "they
would humbly petition them to ordain him themselves, which they can easily
do by a small committee of their own number." The suggestion was.
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 315
prompted by regard for the peace of that corner of the country, where the
minds of even their own people were " in danger of being aUenated from
the Establishment by Relief houses and Seceding meetings lately erected in
their bounds." The Assembly, however, ordered the Presbytery to go on
with the work, and also required every member to attend, the result to be
reported to the ensuing Commission. The Caledonian Mercury gives the
issue as follows: — "On 25th June the Presbytery of Irvine, in place of
meeting at Fenwick, met in the Council Chambers of Irvine, where they
ordained the presentee."
That was Tuesday, and on the preceding Sabbath the Rev. James Moir
of Tarbolton preached at Fenwick by appointment of the Burgher Presby-
tery of Glasgow, and though there is no record to that effect we may assume
that he had a huge audience. At that season the services would be con-
ducted generally in the open air,
